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I’ve been a fan of Netflix's The Crown since the very first season, when we were all enchanted by Claire Foy’s performance as the young monarch. As the series progressed through the decades of Elizabeth’s rule, however, it has gradually gone from being a sumptuous period piece–with all of the pleasures that genre offers–to some combination of psychodrama and docudrama, neither of which, I think it is safe to say, are what we signed up for way back in 2016. Indeed, the shift into a different generic register has proven to be a mixed blessing, for while The Crown still looks like the show it’s always been, it is often tripped up by its new foci. These mixed blessings are very much on display in the sixth season of the series, the first half of which started streaming on Netflix this past weekend. While I don’t dislike it nearly as much as many other critics–its Rotten Tomatoes score is currently the worst in the history of the show–it still shows signs of decline and strain. 

Part of this has to do with the fact that, starting in the fifth season, Elizabeth has gradually become a footnote in the story. Let me be clear: this is no way Imelda Staunton’s fault. Indeed, she is masterful in all of her scenes, ably capturing the late sovereigns crisp diction, her immaculate self-presentation, and her iron self-control. Instead, it has to do with the writing, which unsurprisingly pays far more attention to the romance between Diana and Dodi Fayed (as well as the bullying machinations of Dodi’s father, Mohamed). The royal drama and machinations that have long been one of the key appeals of the series mostly get drowned out by its ongoing (and at times quite morbid) fascination with the doomed Diana. 

That being said, Elizabeth Debicki continues to be uncannily on-point as Diana, capturing the late Princess of Wales’ mannerisms and, dare I say it, her spirit. Personally I find her scenes with Dodi, and their courtship more generally, the most grating parts of the season. Far more emotionally satisfying are those moments she gets to spend with William and Harry, even if it’s just on a phone call. Their last conversation before her untimely death in the Crash is remarkably effective, despite its schmaltziness. 

However, I must admit that I found the “ghostly” portions of this season to be both jarring and borderline vulgar. For all of its melodramatic trappings and excesses and its tendency to take significant liberties with historical accuracy, The Crown has, appropriately enough, always shown itself to be a series with a fair amount of restraint. Apparently, however, the death of Diana and Dodi was just such a momentous and traumatizing event–for both the nation and their families–that the only way to convey it was by having the ghosts of Diana and Dodi appear to their respective families to impart some last wisdom before they depart for the afterlife. I couldn’t quite believe what I was seeing, and I think these moments will come to be regarded as the show’s nadir.  

Far more interesting, I think, are those moments that occur after the Crash, when the Royal Family has to decide how to address it. Philip–once again superbly rendered by Jonathan Pryce–is stern and unyielding in his belief that, since Diana is no longer part of the family, she isn’t deserving of a state funeral. Charles (somewhat implausibly) tries to strongarm his parents into doing more to show the people that the Royals do care about their feelings and their collective grief, but to little effect. Dominic West is, again, quite good as Charles, imbuing the Prince of Wales with a sort of long-suffering and stoic nobility, and his grief over the death of Diana is quite wrenching. He is inarguably more human and charismatic than the real Charles has ever managed to be. 

Of course, the senior royals find out soon enough that they have badly miscalculated the public mood, and there are numerous shots of talking heads on the various news networks demanding more from their monarch. As it has since the very first season, The Crown ably demonstrates the extent to which the Crown as an institution and the media are in a relationship that is both symbiotic and deeply confrontational. Elizabeth resists as long as she can, but if there is one thing she has always been good at it is in reading the national mood and responding accordingly. Staunton is unsurprisingly excellent in these scenes, particularly the last moment before the cut to black, when Elizabeth, alone in her bedroom, kneels down for her prayers and seems to sense Diana’s spectral presence. The last shot of her, alone and kneeling, is a fitting visual metaphor for the fate of one who wears the crown. 

There are some other bright spots in this first half of the season. Olivia Williams, Lesley Manville, and Claudia Harrison are excellent in their roles as Camilla, Princess Margaret, and Princess Anne respectively, but they are largely ignored (as they have been for the past couple of seasons). This honestly feels like a missed opportunity, as these three women are just as fascinating as Diana and, what’s more, they have also each found their own personal desires and wants crushed beneath the overbearing weight of the Crown. I hope that the latter half of this final season gives them a bit more to do than just offer sly asides, because they certainly deserve better. 

Overall, I enjoyed this first half of the final season of The Crown, even though it doesn’t even come anywhere close to the heights it achieved in the first three seasons. It’s almost as if the series has sought to replicate the declining nature of its subject and, if so, it would help to explain why its last few seasons have fixated so resolutely on Diana to the detriment of almost every other character. It certainly seems like the back half of the season will give attention to William, but I hope that it doesn’t replicate the mistake of pushing Elizabeth and the other members of the family so firmly into the background. 

At this stage, I’m not holding my breath.

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