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Created by: Peter Morgan

Runtime: 54-61 mins / 10 episodes

Original Network: Netflix

Main Cast:

• Claire Foy as Queen Elizabeth II / Princess Elizabeth
• Matt Smith as Philip, Duke of Edinburgh / Prince Philip
• Victoria Hamilton as Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother
• Vanessa Kirby as Princess Margaret
• Pip Torrens as Tommy Lascelles
• Will Keen as Michael Adeane
• John Lithgow as Winston Churchill

Review by: Anthony

Season 2 of Netflix’s The Crown follows where Season 1 left off. Elizabeth is the Queen and has a host of issues to deal with in her marriage, her family, and her role as sovereign.  

There’s laundry list of issues concerning her relationship to Philip. His strong personality may have been what drew her to him but it’s that same personality that gets him in trouble time and time again. Speculation of affairs with Russian ballerinas, questionable friendships with certain journalists combined with the philandering behavior of his best friend Michael Parker (played by Daniel Ings) and the subsequent boasting to The Thursday Club are all a recipe for disaster.

Adding onto the marital fidelity problems are the Kennedys from America, more specifically Jackie Kennedy, bringing in and adding onto already building insecurities and self-esteem issues one would think the Queen of England would be far above. Those same insecurities and the Queens public perception are explored further after a reporter’s personal criticism of the Queen.

There are family issues with her Sister’s love life and the man she chooses to marry. Secrets from her father’s past come back to haunt her. And as always, there’s Uncle Edward and his bag of issues to deal with.

One of the better episodes this season concerning Elizabeth’s family barely involves her at all. In “Paterfamilias,” episode 9 of season 2, we see Prince Philip insisting upon sending his son  Prince Charles to his alma mater of Gordonstoun, the all-boys Scottish school, opposed to Prince Charles attending Eton College. The episode jumps back and forth from Philips time at Gordonstoun and Charles’ time there and this looks like the worst school ever. The bullying and unnecessary hardships are everywhere all in an attempt to toughen up young boys and turn them into men, teaching life-long lessons along the way. It’s horrifying and at the same time, I couldn’t stop watching.

In her role as Sovereign, there’s the trouble with her government from the revolving position of Prime Minister, military conflicts with Egypt, and the peculiar situation with attempting to keep Ghana within the commonwealth. Then there’s the discovery or the re-discovery of the Marburg files and the dirty history of the Windsor family and their closeness with Hitler and Nazi’s.

Images Courtesy of IMDB