Season 4 of The Crown: Three’s a Crowd

CONTENT WARNING: mentions spoilers

On November 15th, Netflix released the fourth season of its original series The Crown, a  highly-acclaimed series chronicling the life of Queen Elizabeth II. This season, which takes place in the 1980s, brought a highly anticipated introduction of two infamous women: Margaret Thatcher (Gillian Anderson) and Diana, Princess of Wales (Emma Corrin). In addition to Margaret Thatcher’s premiership, the season follows Prince Charles’ (Josh O’Connor) and Lady Diana’s courtship and subsequent breakdown of their marriage. Corrin’s role has revived Princess Diana’s popularity,  for a whole new generation, Gen Z, and caused Camila Parker-Bowles to face some hate as a result.

The season picks up where it last left off: Charles is dating Diana’s sister, Sarah Spencer, which is how he meets Diana. However, Charles is still seeing now-married Camila Parker-Bowles on the side. In episode two, “The Balmoral Test,” both Margaret Thatcher and Diana receive an invitation to the Winsor family’s private home. While Diana successfully passes the Balmoral test and is accepted by the family—even helping Prince Philip shoot a deer—the Prime Minister does not. Here, The Crown takes some creative liberties. Charles saw himself as the deer, claiming to be the victim in his already unhappy relationship with Diana. However, the viewer realizes how the stalking of the deer foreshadows the press stalking Diana at the end of the episode. The use of both symbolism and humor in the episode helped set up the rest of the season while still being an enjoyable episode by itself.

In later episodes, tensions between the Queen and Thatcher grow higher. Similarly, Charles’ and Diana’s marriage becomes even more strained due to extramarital affairs coupled with Charles’ jealousy over Diana’s press attention. Appropriately named “War,” the final episode culminates at the breaking point in the couple’s marriage as well as Thatcher’s resignation from office.

Although The Crown has received mixed reviews from The Royal Family due to its dramatizations, I still highly recommend it. Viewers don’t even have to watch previous seasons to understand what happens in season four of The Crown. The season engages viewers in both plotlines, and I find myself excited to see how The Crown will portray Charles’ and Diana’s divorce and Diana’s death in the coming seasons. With stellar performances from the whole cast, this season is the most entertaining yet. 

by ANIKA BASU