The Crown - Season 2

The second season of The Crown was made available for Netflix subscribers on the eighth of December. Is the second season just as good as the first one? In my opinion, it was brilliant, but it was also lacking something. If it were up to me, there should have been more of Queen Elizabeth. In this season we saw a lot more of other royal lives, such as that of Prince Philip, Princess Margaret, Crown Prince Charles and even President Kennedy (Michael C. Hall, Dexter) and his wife Jacky (Jodi Balfour, Quarry) got some screen time.

Of course it isn't wrong to get some insight into the lives of those surrounding Queen Elizabeth, but it has resulted in some hollow episodes. Just like the life of the British Monarch. In the second season, we see that the Queen is actually so lonely, that it nearly hurts to watch. Where I still had some aversion towards the Queen in the first season, I now have quite a bit of sympathy for her.

Elizabeth could very well be the loneliest woman, who's actually never alone.

Despite the fact that Elizabeth is surrounded by many people, children and dogs (Pembroke Welsh Corgis) she could very well be the loneliest woman on earth, who's actually never alone. In her first ten years as Queen, she rose to power in 1952 after her beloved father died, she has never spoken her mind. Harsh words that should have been said, never reach the person whom it should reach. Elizabeth is a person who prefers to look away and according to her husband, Philip, she's even managed to turn avoiding into an art form.

Whether or not that has resulted in Elizabeth's loneliness, I doubt it. She's put herself into that position. Maybe she was right when she said "I'm not cut out for the role of queen, whereas my sister is much better suited to play Queen." At some point you start hoping that Elizabeth will put her foot down and starts making the right decisions. When she actually does that, the whole world turns upside down. Luckily for Elizabeth it turns out as she had hoped it would, but after that she returns to her former 'nod yes, do nothing' demeanour.



In the second season the Queen is pregnant at two different occasions, with Andrew (1960) and Edward (1964). During the second time she is forced to take it easy and because of that we can see the beautiful estate of Balmoral in Scotland many times. It isn't all sunshine and rainbows in the marriage between Philip and Elizabeth either as they have to overcome several issues in this season. Him leaving for five months, which was advised by the Queen Mother, and the Profumo affair didn't do the marriage any good. If love will overcome all of this, is something we'll have to find out in the future.

The closer look into Elizabeth's private life is fascinating. As a viewer of this show, you are taken into a world not many people get to see. It is intimate, personal and at times even heartbreaking. Not because someone dies or because something terrible happens, but because the Queen's face speaks volumes. "Let them come, those harsh words", I shout in desperation towards my TV, but nothing happens and no one is forced to clean up the mess.

Elizabeth was and remains lonely and I so badly want to wrap my arm around her and tell her that it doesn't have to be that way. She's only human and it's not a bad thing to show emotions. The third season will have a new, older version of the Queen, portrayed by Olivia Colman (Broadchurch). I'm curious to see if she can do as well as Foy, or maybe even better. It is not yet known who will portray the other characters, but I can't wait for the third season.