The Crown | ★★★★★★★★★★

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Ann wanted to watch this ten part Netflix series. I was not thrilled but watched with her anyways. And I am glad that I did. Here is a list of things that I absolutely loved about The Crown.

• The transparency and honesty of the script. I thought that this would be a puff piece of adoration towards the English monarchy and all things royal. Oh my. I was mistaken. The portrayal of royal life was not cast in the best light.
• The relational way the story was told. Four relationships dominated the storyline. The narrative emphasized the interactions between Queen Elizabeth and her father, her husband, her sister and Winston Churchill.
• The maturing of the young queen. I was shocked to find out how poorly educated the queen was in her early life. It seemed to be both a reflection of the times and of the monarchy. Her passion to grow as a human being was impressive.
• The resistance to change by the British government. It was difficult to watch 'statesmen', Churchill included, manipulate the young queen the way that they did. They resisted everything from TV cameras at he coronation to which royal secretary the queen could hire to who her sister could marry.
• The responsibility that the queen felt to choose 'The Crown' over her family. This seemed to come to bear frequently. It began when her uncle was banished from the realm when he abdicated the throne and continued on into many decisions Elizabeth had to make.
• The acting. Claire Foy recently won a Golden Globe for her performance and John Lithgow was nominated for one. The way that these two humanized Elizabeth and Winston was so amazing. The gloves came off and these two showed us a compelling and raw image of these people. I also loved the acting of Matt Smith as Prince Phillip and Vanessa Kirby as Princess Martgaret. 
• Finally, and I could wax on, each of the ten episodes seemed to speak to the difficulties of making hard decisions even when they are made for 'royal' purposes. The series showed us dysfunction in families, in governments and in ourselves. Each of us feel that we know the 'royal' thing to do but in the end find ourselves questioning the nobility of those decisions.

I really liked the series and, on a scale of ten, give it ★★★★★★★★★★.

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