If you're not watching The Crown, then what the heck are you doing?
January 07, 2018 |
| GIF via Netflix |
Hello! I'd like to dedicate my first post for the year to this little series I fell absolutely in love with. As a history geek, The Crown easily captured my interest. And as I continued watching episode after episode, the reasons as to why it's now my favorite series ever just piled up. There are already so many other posts as to why Netflix's The Crown is a must-watch but I'll try to add to that.
I honestly don't remember when I first heard about The Crown. It was early last year I think, when the series just debuted its first season. I sat down for three days to marathon it and I just couldn't stop. Then when I heard Season 2 was coming out in December 2017, I was too excited altogether. I spent my holidays (or my the free time I was able to squeeze in during the holidays rather) having a royal marathon. I keep saying this, and I say it like once a day every day on Twitter, the show is just too good. Every episode just keeps getting better. I mean if you thought Season 1 was good, wait till you watch Season 2. Oh my God.
So allow me to [try to] stop gushing and start listing down my personal reasons why I love this show so much.
Almost Too Accurate Casting
I won't pinpoint one by one on the comparisons between the actors and the real life people they play because you can literally type that in Google and it will give you probably at least 5 results. Anyway, what I do want to point out is how accurate the casting is that it's almost too good to watch. At this point I honestly cannot read articles about the Queen without picturing Claire Foy in my head, or see a photo of a young Prince Philip without seeing Matt Smith. Two of my personal favorites aside from the royal couple were John Lithgow as Sir Winston Churchill and Jeremy Northam as Sir Anthony Eden. The resemblance is amazing. And the way each actor played their respective Prime Minister was really brilliant.
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| Jeremy Northam as Sir Anthony Eden |
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| John Lithgow as Sir Winston Churchill |
Brilliant Acting
And of course, if you have a brilliant cast, it cannot be denied that they also have the acting skill as well. Aside from the fact that they were trained in the royal ways, each of the actors are talented in their own way. I put on top of my list Claire Foy and Matt Smith. They are incredible. Especially in Season 2. Their chemistry worked so well, but I'll get more to that later. Individually though, they were just too good. I love actors who are able to connect with their viewers, even if they have no idea who these viewers are. That's a real talented actor for me.
For example, Claire Foy really nails it every time she has to show that the Queen is hurt by what Prince Philip has been up to, because the Queen first and foremost is a strong woman and barely shows emotion, but Claire does it in a way wherein she really captures your emotions and you'd feel so much for her. Another scene I remember from Season 1 was during her first days as Queen, and she was meeting with Winston Churchill and gave this iconic line, “I would ask you to consider your response in light of the respect that my rank and office deserve, not that which my age and gender might suggest.” It was one of my favorite moments from Season 1. I wish these were available to view online but guess what, you have to watch the series to find out!
Breathtaking scenery and setting
As it is primarily the story of Queen Elizabeth II's reign, The Crown takes its viewers to different parts of the world. In Season 1, it brought viewers along on an African safari, one of my personal favorite episodes, in 1x02, "Hyde Park Corner". In Season 2, there were a lot of scenes shot in beautiful Pacific islands in 2x02, "A Company of Men". Throughout the series we're also taken on the beautiful landscapes of Scotland and other parts of the UK. I also personally loved the setting as well because of the era (yes, I'm talking about the outfits lol).
History geeking
For someone like me, who's a history junkie since elementary, you would really appreciate The Crown. I majored in American studies in college so I'm more familiar with their history but growing up I was able to read enough about basic British history. But when I started watching The Crown, I began searching things like the timeline of UK Prime Ministers, royal protocols, and moments that actually happened in history. (These things really amaze me, okay.) But there were also moments like in 2x08, "Dear Mrs. Kennedy" when I was watching and towards the end we see her Majesty in the middle of a forest driving a truck when one of her men calls her back to their house and she's needed immediately because something has happened. And then I found myself saying, "Oh JFK's been shot, hasn't he..." And yup. There we go lol. Also just to add, I find this comment by the official The Crown Twitter account hilarious - "It's not a spoiler if it's part of history, is it?" LOL
Claire Foy and Matt Smith's chemistry
I saved this one for last because this is actually the top reason why I got so hooked on it in the first place. Their chemistry is just... I don't have a word for it. Perfect? Yep. I mean, I couldn't imagine someone else play the roles as perfectly as them. (I mean I know they're going to change the actors for Season 3, but let's not think about that first lol) This was especially in Season 2 where the main storyline was the rumbling marriage of Elizabeth and Philip. Each one was able to portray the pain each character was feeling and it was so beautiful.
My favorite scene of all might probably be the last fifteen minutes of 2x10 "Mystery Man" where Elizabeth (while pregnant, mind you) finally confronts Philip of his shortcomings as a husband. It ends with, and I will try my very best to describe it as beautifully as the scene was, Philip kneeling and saying, "I'm yours. In. And not because you've given me a title, not because we've come to an agreement. But because I want to be. Because I love you." In Filipino I guess the right word would be I felt kilig because seriously, after everything the royal couple has been through, let's face it - they're still together until this very day. And Philip has always been by the Queen's side through it all. Claire and Matt have brought a new kind of emotion towards these characters - real life people - and it's brilliant. They're just really talented actors who simply have great chemistry, even off camera. I love their friendship so much.
In conclusion really, all I'm rallying for in this post is for you to watch The Crown. And also for it to win at tonight's Golden Globes. But that's besides the point lol but I honestly wish people would appreciate more series like this. It's so beautifully written, the cast is amazing and it will definitely tug on your heart's strings. Watch it if you haven't, Season 2 is now streaming on Netflix!
♥, Murgaloo
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