Another episode with heavy emphasis on Margaret, where, as usual, Elizabeth’s position complicates her efforts to support her sister. The episode also features another appearance from Matthew Goode’s Tony and another mixed bag where Philip is concerned (a few spoilers.)
When Margaret gets some unexpected news from Peter, it throws her into a tailspin and leads to an impulsive engagement (getting misguidedly engaged when she’s unhappy is becoming a habit for Margaret.) Despite the less-than-ideal circumstances, Elizabeth is determined to support Margaret this time, although she has some news of her own that throws a wrench into the proceedings.
I’ll repeat my approval of Matthew Goode’s performance as Tony. He does a nice job balancing the aspects of the character, and he makes you easily see why Margaret would be drawn in by him while simultaneously revealing the reasons why he shouldn’t necessarily be trusted. This episode gets him into something he’s not prepared for, and it’s kind of satisfying to watch his cool façade falter as he tries to navigate it. Vanessa Kirby has less interesting material to work with, since here, Margaret is mostly just forging ahead blindly, clinging to the idea of the life she wants for herself regardless of any red flags.
The stuff between Elizabeth and Margaret feels a little wash-rinse-repeat, although it’s done well. Honestly, at this point, I’m really just marking my time until I get to the end of season 2 and the end of Matt Smith’s tenure on the show. Even though the acting continues to be strong and it’s an objectively well-made series, it’s been holding my interest less and less. I don’t think I’ll keep up with it when I get to the end of season 2 – we’ll see if my appreciation for Olivia Colman and Helena Bonham Carter can lure me back.
Like I said, it’s a little of both when it comes to Philip today. He shares a sweet scene with Elizabeth, because we need reminders of why she fell in love with him in the first place – they share a nice, quiet moment together that displays how well Claire Foy and Matt Smith can play off of each other when they’re given the chance to. However, at a soiree for Margaret’s engagement, his periodic elitist tendencies coming roaring out full force, along with Philip’s superpower of Making Everything about Him. Seriously, the dude must be exhausting to be around with his perpetually-fragile ego and need to complain about everything. Once again, we see how his “we’re not just a bunch of stuffy old royals, for Pete’s sake!” attitude is less of a sincerely-held philosophy and more a belief that only seems to matter deeply to him on the occasions when it can be wielded in opposition to whatever Elizabeth is trying to do at the time.
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