The Crown - season 6

[1975wasthebest]

Is anyone else looking forward to this? The first part of the final season is on Netflix from 16th November (four episodes), and the second part (six episodes) from 14th December.

https://www.vogue.co.uk/arts-and-lifestyle/article/the-crown-season-6

I thought the previous series was a bit boring so I'm hoping for more drama this time round.

Watching. I didn't know Dodi was in a serious relationship with his fiance when he had to go on holiday with Diana - on the boat. I thought he'd split. Seems Dodi and Diana only spent a couple weeks together or so though.

Yes I remember reading somewhere that Dodi & Diana hadn’t been seeing each other long- I think they’d only known each other 6 weeks. I think it’s unlikely that they would have got engaged, it certainly seems as though Mohamed had interests in it going further but who knows if he pushed it to that extent.

Also such good acting from the Diana and Dodi actors and very moving.

The ghost bit was a bit stupid. If it was meant to represent Charles talking to Diana imagining his dead ex wife telling him how handsome he was and how much she loved him. It probably would have been fine if he asked her about how he would deal with the children or just about his regrets or something

I thought the scene where Mohammed Al Fayed identified Dodis body was very moving. Very well acted

@Stroopwaffels

I could have written your post myself - what drivel it was ...
and yet I watched it all 🙈

I've just watched the last episode.

I think the Dodi ghost scene was well acted and felt more like a conversation that Mohammed was having with himself. Not so sure about the Diana ghost...

It was a bit like a soap opera to be honest, but I'll be watching the final episodes in December all the same.

That scene where William buggered off was a bit weird. One minute they're all concerned for him and dash out looking for him, then they all somehow return at exactly the same time having packed in the search even though they haven't found him, and they then just sit around waiting to see if he'll turn up. Surely if the heir to the throne disappears they would take it a bit more seriously?

Well technically he isn't the heir to the throne at the time. They had a spare in any case.

Yea this was odds. Feels like something was lost in editing. Whole episode felt a bit rushed.

I agree. It was weird.

Second in line to the throne, then. The principle that surely they would take it more seriously holds. They wouldn't think to themselves "Goodness, William may be dying in a ditch, still, never mind, Harry can take over.

Yes it was strange that scene. I also agree the espisode felt very rushed. Especially considering how slow (and a bit boring!) the prior 3 episodes where with nothing really happening in those. Then here we are aftermath and it’s all rushed even the discussions around the funeral etc.

After watching I went back to season 1. It was so much better. I’ll still watch the final 6 but am also dreading it all a bit.

Enjoying it overall, and more convinced by Dominic West and Imelda Staunton in Episode 4 than I had been previously.
However, the ghost scenes were mawkish and unnecessary, and the dialogue in them trite in the extreme.

It's definitely better than the last season and I think some of the reviews are overly harsh.

Of course it has a different feel now compared to be first few seasons, that's inevitable as it starts to cover events that the majority of the population remember. The first two seasons were like lightning in a bottle IMO.

They can't really avoid being Diana centric in this period either, that's how it was in reality.

The ghost stuff was a bit odd alright but I can see what they were going for.

Looking forward to seeing how they handle the post Diana years.

I watched the first two episodes last night. I found it hard to watch knowing what was going to happen. I had forgotten how intrusive the media (paparazzi) were in those days. Dodi seemed starstruck and a complete flake to break off his engagement with only three weeks to his wedding day. It's pure speculation to think that Muhammed was behind that photo shoot. You would wonder if he would have really done that.
I'm finding it good so far but it's an uncomfortable watch.

Mohammed Al Fayed is the best character in this season (and last). Very well acted and I liked that they showed Dodi's funeral and his body being identified - they could have just focused entirely on Diana but they reminded us two people died and I'm glad they did that.
I'm also glad that they focused a lot more on William's grief than on Harry's - god knows we've heard enough about Harry's grief in recent years so I'm pleased the world got a reminder of William too.
I liked how the Queen was portrayed in these episodes, very believeable.
Charles was more believeable although I don't believe the queen's speech / funeral walk were all because of his influence.
The ghosts completely ruined the season for me. How utterly ridiculous.

The ghosts and the Disney-mom portrayal of Diana were the only negatives. Apart from that, it's really very good with great acting all round.

The actor that plays Al-Fayed Snr is extraordinary and looks just like him.

Yes I really liked it overall but the bit where ghost Diana thanks Charles for ‘for being so raw, broken and handsome’ was hilariously bad.

I totally agree with all of this.
(The ghosts- just no, though the Dodi one was ok ish. )

I think separating the season like they have done was a very good idea.

I think it was tastefully done and need the 4 episodes so it didn't feel rushed

I agree that the first three episodes were ridiculously slow, particularly when you consider that they were covering the events of only a few weeks. It was pointless spending so much time on exchanges between Diana and Dodi which are complete speculation and which didn't really tell us anything more than we knew already.

So I’ve had a child free days and watched episodes 1-3 and 17 minutes of episode 4 before falling asleep 🤣

My take aways:

Diana actress - BRILLIANT. Quietly sobbing in the Ritz restaurant was an excellent moment that said so much with so little. What an actress!

Dodi and Mohamed Al Fayed actors are uncanny. Mohamed AF was a particularly batshit deluded nut job and the actor captured his greed and gauche-Ness Very well.

I was very intrigued by the Diana/Dodi break up interpretation as the media always made them out to be star crossed lovers when in fact they barely knew each other and it did seem to be a summer romance on a posh boat. The scenes felt very sad - and the Dodi actor was very good in his role as downbeaten son. The scene where his dad identifies the body broke my heart.

William’s stag killing - just fucking why. I know it’s what posh people do but that storyline has been done to death.

I loved Dominic West showing an emotional Charles - something that isn’t always portrayed when it comes to KCIII.

I am however looking forward to more Queen and Prince Phillip episodes.

Having said that - on a moral basis I think they should have stopped at season 5. William and Harry are real people who lost their mummy very young and are still openly grieving. To fictionalise real grief feels very ghoulish.

Just starting episode 3 the queen has become a side piece in this show yet still the strength of it. Was diana literally the only thing of interest to include in the show?
Feeling like it's run its course now

The focus has definitely changed from the first couple of seasons, which were more about how the Queen faced the issues of the day, to her family being the issue of the day. Which maybe is part of the point of the Diana problem.

I’ve just finished it and in parts I thought it ridiculous but in others I was really moved! I cried a fair bit. The actor playing Mohammed Al Fayed was fantastic I thought though I could have lived without all those cringe imagined yacht shenanigans. I actually didn’t mind the ghost bits!

But what happened at the end, the queen was saying her prayers and then looked around concerned and the music was all intense… was it supposed to be Diana’s ghost coming again?