Stream It Or Skip It: ‘The Crown’ Season 6 on Netflix, A Look At The Final Weeks of Princess Diana’s Life

There’s been a slow shift over the course of the past two seasons of Netflix’s The Crown, a shift from historical drama to something less easily defined. Yes, the show is still an interpretation of certain events that transpired in the royal family, but as the show nears the end and depicts things like the death of Princess Diana, we’ve become acutely aware that this is a dramatic reenactment that, while often beautifully acted, is sensationalizing a tragedy for our uneasy entertainment. Season 6 of Peter Morgan’s series falls somewhere between prestige television and a Lifetime movie, a far cry from its first seasons, but still addictive entertainment.

THE CROWN SEASON 6, PART I: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: A man goes for a midnight walk with his dog in Paris. As he tries to get his dog to pee, he witnesses a high-speed car chase and hears a thunderous crash inside a tunnel.

The Gist: The first four episodes of The Crown‘s sixth season put the last eight weeks of Princess Diana’s life under a microscope. Though the first episode begins with her death, we soon flash back eight weeks as she and Prince William (Rufus Kampa) and Prince Harry (Fflyn Edwards) travel to St. Tropez as guests of Mohamed al-Fayed (Salim Daw). This sunny, glittering trip is a diversion for Diana, an escape from life at home, where she’s actively trying to ignore her ex-husband, Prince Charles (Dominic West), who is throwing a 50th birthday party for his partner Camilla Parker-Bowles (Olivia Williams).

Charles is desperate for any of his family members to attend the party, but most specifically, his mother, Queen Elizabeth II (Imelda Staunton) whose attendance will legitimize his relationship with Camilla in the eyes of the public, and would also go a long way for Charles. But the Queen refuses, bluntly telling her eldest son that she doesn’t want to legitimize anything. “How can I possibly give my approval when I don’t approve?” she tells him when he invites her.

Making matters worse for Charles is the fact that Diana has managed to charm the paparazzi who have been swarming her in St. Tropez: she promises them that if they leave her alone on this trip, she’ll provide them with better material another time. The fact that she asks them to lay off of her while she’s in a sexy animal-print bathing suit results in photos of her splashed all over the front pages of the newspapers, usurping all coverage of Camilla’s party. All Charles wants in life is a positive headline in The Daily Mail regarding Camilla, and once again, he is foiled by his ex.

As with all of the previous seasons of The Crown, this one tackles not just the relationships between members of the royal family, but also their relationship with the press and the public at large. It’s a relationship that, as we know, only grew more dangerous with every decade and would change history thanks to the paparazzi chase that led to Diana’s death. But this season also shows the ways that the press took a toll on Charles and Camilla. According to the way the show depicts Charles, he lives his life according to the news cycle and his emotions are dictated by positive coverage, and he’s finally learning that there’s no winning with them, Diana is unbeatable at spin.

The trip to St. Tropez is more than just an escape for Diana, it’s also a setup. Mohamed has made sure that his son Dodi, who is engaged to an American actress named Kelly Fisher, is there to be something of a companion to Diana. Dodi resists the idea of this at first on account of, you know, his fianceé, but you’ll recall that his father is passionate about two things in this life: getting exactly what he wants, and the royal family. In this case, what he wants is a place in the royal family, and a romance between Dodi and Diana is his way in.

Fortunately for Mohamed, the plan works, and to the show’s credit, the flirtation between Diana and Dodi occurs naturally, and slowly. Diana respects the boundaries of Dodi’s engagement, until he implies that the engagement is cut off. The two bond over their shared daddy issues (he with the controlling dad, her with the neglectful one), and from there… well, we all know where this is gonna go.

Parting Shot: Diana returns to her home in London after spending time with Dodi and Mohamed in St. Tropez. When she opens the apartment door, the home is filled with bouquets of roses, and she opens a box that holds a diamond-studded watch and a note that says “Paris next week?” from Dodi.

Our Take: The world knows too much about Diana for this season to be anything but a spectacle. The question for most viewers is no longer “What is the show going to address?” but “How will the show address what we all know is about to happen tactfully and respectfully?” As the episode closes, with Diana reading a note from Dodi inviting her to Paris, you can’t help but cringe: this is the beginning of their end. It’s not a good feeling knowing that what you’re watching is a simulation of a very real tragedy, and these first few episodes are bumping and setting the eventual spike that ends in the death of three people.

While the first four seasons of The Crown set the bar as Netflix’s premier prestige drama, it’s unfair to compare seasons five and six of The Crown to those earlier seasons, as this has become a completely different show in many ways. The quality of the first few seasons was buoyed by the incredible performances of Claire Foy, Josh O’Connor, and Emma Corrin, but we were far enough removed from the time periods of those seasons that we could accept the show as a dramatic reenactment of historical events. Seasons 5 and 6 and thrust us into more uncomfortable territory, and even though Elizabeth Debicki deserves all the accolades for her performance, the material she’s got to work with is difficult to digest at times. The show looks different, because it’s a whole 45 years after the coronation, and that’s fine, except that 1997 is still a vivid memory for a lot of us. Hearing Chumbwumba on the radio is true to the time period, but it also does something to diminish the “prestige” of the show, it turns history into caricature, and I know that’s not what the show is going for.

Sex and Skin: It’s implied that Dodi and his fianceé Kelly have sex behind closed doors, but beyond that, no one else shimmies out of their dowdy tweeds this time around.

Performance Worth Watching: Elizabeth Debicki is the star you can’t take your eyes off, but her rapport and chemistry with Khalid Abdalla, who plays Dodi, is special. Abdalla is styled to make Dodi look fairly average, he’s certainly no playboy despite his money and lifestyle, but the show depicts him as subtle and vulnerable, which plays into Diana’s own traumatic history and depicts the pair as two wounded souls who have found comfort in each other.

Memorable Dialogue: “What’s the use of a few warm headlines when Camilla can be eclipsed by Diana at the drop of a hat?” Charles whines as he compares the type of press coverage that Diana receives compared to the type that his beloved Camilla receives. Though Charles is depicted as being truly happy now that he’s freely and openly with Camilla, he’s still also vengeful and competitive when it comes to the way the public perceives him and Diana.

Our Call: There should be a disclaimer for this season of The Crown: Portions of this show will leave viewers with a looming sense of dread. Whether that affects your ability to enjoy the show is a different matter. While I’m able to watch and enjoy it for Debicki’s performance, I feel like it’s also a good thing that the show is ending now, the time has come. Though it’s not quite as good as it used to be, I still say STREAM IT.

The Crown Season 6 Part 1 is now streaming on Netflix; The Crown Season 6 Part 2 will premiere on Thursday, December 14.