Wednesday, January 4, 2023

What I’m Watching: The Crown (Season Finale)

The Crown: Season 5, Episode 10 “Decommissioned” (B)

I found this finale a bit underwhelming, only because things seemed to slow a bit and didn’t end in a truly emphatic way. But there is one more season, and while it was entertaining to see Diana repeatedly dial and vote against the monarchy in the TV poll, her tragic ending evidently won’t come until sometime in the middle of next season. Retiring the yacht and debating what was going to happen to it was an appropriate conversation for these changing times, which were highlighted by Charles having to fly business while the politicians were in first and him getting to meet with Tony Blair as brothers. Making a case for remarriage rather than the yacht’s continued existence was interesting, and hearing Tony’s reaction was very informative, setting up his role for season six. It was good to see Dodi and Mohamed again, though Kelly was not fond of the way that the two men spoke Arabic around them even though they didn’t understand it, which Heini explained wasn’t a problem because you didn’t have to speak Arabic to know what they were saying. Elizabeth summoning Charles at the end of the episode was a crucial moment in their relationship, something I hope will be explored more in the show’s final season. This year has been interesting and very good as always, but I’d like to see the show go a bit deeper with all of the characters in the same way previous seasons have with the time that’s left.

Season grade: B+
Season MVP: Elizabeth Debicki as Diana

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