Other Doctor Lives: The Crown: Season 2, Episode 6 – “Vergangenheit” (2017)

A slightly uneven episode for me, but the good parts are very good. This is a case where I knew the bare bones of the history involved – just enough to have familiarity with the topic but not enough to know how things would play out (historical spoilers.)

When David comes to England with a view to reconnecting with royal life, Elizabeth finds herself in a quandary. Her interest in the visiting American preacher, Billy Graham, urges her to consider David’s request of forgiveness for past transgressions. However, as news of a secret British war document winds up in the hands of foreign newspapers, Elizabeth is briefed on just how deep those transgressions went.

I’m glad the show addressed this, David’s cozy ties to the Nazis during World War II. Again, I knew the bare fact that this had been a thing, but I was unaware of many of the specifics, as well as how Elizabeth herself was made privy to it. Unsurprisingly, David tries to spin things in a, “Well, how could we have known then what Hitler would go on to do?” way, but the series in no way shrinks from how bad his associations were. It’s disturbing in a very effective way, especially a scene of Elizabeth talking to someone who can give her more visceral details from that time.

Additionally, it serves as a good jolt for the viewer. As a character, David is (a tiny bit) like Jefferson in Hamilton. Again, as a character, David is an enjoyable antagonist, and I really like his awfulness. But in my head, I periodically have that thought, “Screw you – you were a Nazi sympathizer,” much like my Jefferson thought is, “Screw you – you owned some of your own children” (although, David wishes he had Jefferson’s swagger.) In this instance, the show did the reminding for me.

Everything about this plot is really strong, but the Billy Graham stuff doesn’t work as well for me. I suppose these were two events that were happening in Elizabeth’s life around the same time, and they tie it in a little bit with the whole forgiveness angle, but on the whole, it feels really tacked on. I don’t care that much about Rev. Graham’s tour of Britain and Elizabeth maybe having a tiny crush on him when there are revelations to be made about Uncle David’s Nazi ties! While any B-plot probably would’ve suffered in comparison, this one really doesn’t stand a chance.

An uneven episode for Philip. On the plus side, we see a moment of some good advice from him (good in both the substance of it and how it’s given, with only minimal toolishness) and a sweet scene between him and Elizabeth toward the end. On the negative, there’s him repeatedly trying to contradict Elizabeth while she’s actively engaged in queen business and his snooty/snarky attitude toward Billy Graham. However, I find that Philip bothers me less now that I’ve basically given up on him. I can take the good moments when they come and, in the formerly-aggravating moments, I largely just roll my eyes at him now, rather than want to bang my head against the wall.