S01.E09: Assassins

[formerlyfreedom]

Quote

As tensions with Philip increase, Elizabeth spends time with her old friend Porchey. Churchill’s portrait is painted for his 80th birthday.

 

[niels3030]

Holy symbolism!!! The director was all over that episode.... 

[zxy556575]

Will Churchill just die already? Gah. I kept skipping ahead to get to a scene without him, but there weren't many. I gather he didn't like his stupid portrait. I don't care.

[SeanC]

Ah, the Graham Sutherland portrait.  I read my first Churchill biography back in Grade 5, so the second that was mentioned in the episode I figured the thematic point they were going to make.  Artfully done.  Sutherland was a talented artist, but the wrong choice for the sort of painting he was commissioned to do.

At the unveiling ceremony after the portrait is shown, there's a brief shot of the Queen shaking her head.  At what, exactly?  She can't possibly have a view of the portrait itself on the shitty quality and far-away TV camera we were shown her watching from.

Another sign of the changing times is how informal the whole leadership process is, in a way.  Churchill decides to retire and just has a word with the Queen, and bam, Eden is PM and party leader.

[PRgal]

2 hours ago, lordonia said:

Will Churchill just die already? Gah. I kept skipping ahead to get to a scene without him, but there weren't many. I gather he didn't like his stupid portrait. I don't care.

Yeah.  What a cranky old man.  He's EXACTLY the kind of guy who yells at kids to get off his lawn. 

[kermitmissesjim]

This has been my favorite episode so far; the exchanges between Churchill and Sutherland were excellent, start to finish.

Not that the queen could detect any nuance on these 50s tv screens, but I assumed she was reading the room and shaking her head at Churchill's dismissiveness, portrayed by both his jokes and Sutherland's crestfallen face.

[dubbel zout]

Stephen Dillane! Swoon.

5 hours ago, kermitmissesjim said:

Not that the queen could detect any nuance on these 50s tv screens, but I assumed she was reading the room and shaking her head at Churchill's dismissiveness, portrayed by both his jokes and Sutherland's crestfallen face.

That's how I saw it, too. She mentioned to Adeane that Churchill wasn't behaving. (My paraphrase.)

[iggysaurus]

On 11/5/2016 at 1:36 PM, lordonia said:

Will Churchill just die already? Gah. I kept skipping ahead to get to a scene without him, but there weren't many. I gather he didn't like his stupid portrait. I don't care.

I found the part about Churchill and the painting to be the most interesting part of the episode. The stuff with Porchey and the horses was more tedious to me. The portrait thing intrigued me enough to look it up to find out the real life details. Apparently, it wasn't burned almost immediately like they showed at the end of the episode, but was kept in a cellar for many years until after his death and then Clementine quietly had it disposed of. 

I know he's a cranky old man but I had sympathy for him when he was forced to face his own aging body and mortality via the painting. When Sutherland was yelling at him that if he sees decay, it's because there is decay, etc., I felt so bad for ol' Winston. Most of us can relate in some way to realizing that the way we see ourselves isn't always what others see - like when you see a picture of yourself and suddenly realize how old or overweight you're getting, and you were just mentally blocking it out or in denial until that moment. 

Also, I think the stuff with Churchill is important and not just something to skip over, because although this is ostensibly a series about the Queen, it's really about everything that was going on in the monarchy and government at the time, and just using the Queen as a central device to tell that larger story. Churchill is a big part of that era in Britain.

[millk]

I have a friend who is a Churchill scholar and he really enjoyed the portrayal of Churchill in the series. there were apparently tonal differences in some speeches and comments and (I hope you are sitting down) they had his ring all wrong! I know! Could you just die?

[tanita]

The second painting scene with the pond exchange was magnificent. the moment of realization on Churchill's face as he admits that he put in the pond after Marigold's death and that that was the desperation underneath was just spectacular.

[PRgal]

I'm not up to my British history, but who WAS Porchey?  Was he a real person? 

[dubbel zout]

Yes! He was the queen's racing manager. He was Viscount Porchester then earl of Carnarvon (his grandfather funded Howard Carter's dig in which he discovered King Tut's tomb). Fun fact: It's the Carnarvon ancestral home, Highclere, that stood in for Downton Abbey

Edited November 9, 2016 by dubbel zout
clarification

[tanita]

Also, he is the rumored father of the Queen's second son, prince Andrew.

[Primetimer]

In 'Assassins,' the return of Elizabeth's old friend puts even more strain on her troubled marriage.

View the full article

[DHDancer]

This was a very powerful episode IMO and of course sets the stage beautifully for Churchill's stepping down as Elizabeth finally steps up to take the reins.

I think John Lithgow has done a fabulous job with Churchill EXCEPT he's just too tall for the part and that keeps taking me out of his portrayal.  They have him all hunched over but he still towers over everyone and just seems all wrong. 

I laughed myself silly at the scene of him sitting on that tiny chair in the waiting hall before his dressing down with the queen: that just made more of the point that the actor is way too tall.

 

[dubbel zout]

2 minutes ago, DHDancer said:

I laughed myself silly at the scene of him sitting on that tiny chair in the waiting hall before his dressing down with the queen: that just made more of the point that the actor is way too tall.

I saw it as another way Elizabeth was telling him he was getting a scolding, and a good one.

[GaT]

Hmm, I found this episode boring, & I don't understand why it was called Assassins. Also, the horse sex scene was a little weird.

Edited November 12, 2016 by GaT

[PRgal]

I read that Porchey went to Eton.  Was the kid who nodded at Elizabeth when she was at Eton (episode 7) to meet with her tutor supposed to be Porchey? Hmmmmm...

[Brn2bwild]

On 11/5/2016 at 1:36 PM, lordonia said:

Will Churchill just die already? Gah. I kept skipping ahead to get to a scene without him, but there weren't many. I gather he didn't like his stupid portrait. I don't care.

I find him to be the most boring part of this series.

[Bec]

Hey, the stuff with Winston Churchill is how I got my dad interested in watching this with me. Dresses and architecture were what drew me in. To my surprise the old men parts have not been boring for me.

I'm pretty impressed with how the writing and directing took something so dull (sitting for a portrait) and make it such a riveting story. The whole time I thought "what painting is this? Is this something famous that's being kept in a museum these days?" 

And then that ending "Welp, guess it didn't end up in a museum."

Yeah, nobody wants to look at themselves and see decrepitude. But we all age (it sure beats the alternative), and we would do well to face it. I thought the story got the point across really well.

I'm gonna miss scenes of QE with Winston Churchill. They played incredibly well off each other.

On 11/11/2016 at 11:49 PM, GaT said:

Hmm, I found this episode boring, & I don't understand why it was called Assassins. Also, the horse sex scene was a little weird.

I think it's referring to "character assassination" - as in ruining someone's reputation. Heh, I thought there was going to be some exciting assassination plot, turned out totally different from what I was expecting. Churchill's wife assured him the painter is "not an assassin" in one scene. There's also Philip casting doubt on QE's character by pretty much accusing her of having a thing with what's-his-face the horse guy.

[shipmate]

What was it that Prince Philip mouths to Queen Elizabeth at Winston Churchill's retirement dinner?

[dubbel zout]

I think it was "I'm sorry," or was that at another dinner?

[Juneau Gal]

Perhaps it is because of a recent trip to London where I visited the Churchill War Rooms and Churchill Museum, I found this episode to be extremely well done and touching. I found myself with tears in my eyes throughout much of the episode. 

Edited November 18, 2016 by Juneau Gal

[Jeeves]

Hmm. I loved the series but hated this episode and finally resorted to the FF key to skip through it. I'll have to give it another try.

[tanita]

It's strange. I was kinda indifferent to Churchill scenes before, but this episode really sold me on him. I loved it.

[tenativelyyours]

On 11/12/2016 at 2:49 AM, GaT said:

Hmm, I found this episode boring, & I don't understand why it was called Assassins. Also, the horse sex scene was a little weird.

I think it is supposed to refer to several plot points in this episode.  With Elizabeth we see Philip act surly and snide over the matter with Porchey when he is the one who has distanced himself.  There wouldn't even be a perceived issue with Porchey if Philip took the opportunities Elizabeth keeps putting out there for him to act like her husband and not just her consort.  With whining insinuations, Philip seems to want to 'kill' the history and current relationship Elizabeth has with Porchey.  Not out of actually being jealous of Porchey himself so much as simply being jealous of anyone he thinks gets ahead of him.  As he does nothing but has fun but then complains of being marginalized.  In a way he also slips a knife into the marriage itself with his attitude over the trip initially.  Elizabeth sees it as an opportunity and a way to soothe that bruised ego that pretty much states it wants attention and needs to be told it is important. But all Philip sees is more offense. 

 

But in particular I think it refers to Churchill who sees himself as sort of Julius Caesar and his own cabinet as the Roman Senate who will betray and destroy him.  He sees the portrait as a set up to mock him and drag his legacy down.  The irony is he reacts to it as such and does the same thing to Sutherland by having it destroyed when it truth it captures the incredible burden he did bear in leading the nation through its most difficult times.  Sutherland is the one man in the whole process who is much like Churchill both in terms of art and in terms of personal loss.  Sutherland taps into Churchill's pain over his daughter's death in a way that is incredibly personal that Churchill would never let in (see below*) and yet Sutherland does not do it to become closer to Churchill.  It is not a means to take advantage.  It is from respect and honor.  And Churchill's ego lashes out instead at the revealing of the portrait.  Churchill tries to assassinate Sutherland as an artist in the revealing.  In a moment Churchill reveals he is not the gracious leader at a time he should be, but a petty angry egotist. 

*It also plays into Churchill's attachment to his young secretary who dies in the Fog crises I think.  His attraction to her is not sexual but rather he sees her perhaps as the dead daughter grown up and so her death hits him even harder.  Death figures in his life and death itself is looming.  In this case his fears are not being betrayed in life but having his image and legacy post-death tarnished or distorted in ways he cannot address or re-address.

[Rinaldo]

Nicely put. The "horse sex scene" was another example of Philip perceiving a part of Elizabeth's life (really, one of the few parts of her life where nobody's putting limits on her) as something excluding him, and resenting it. For all her seemingly sheltered, restrained-to-immobility aspects, she (like other horse-involved people) sees breeding as a completely unremarkable, unsalacious part of the business. It must take place if so arranged, and must be seen to have taken place -- all in a day's work. Whereas her husband can only react with jokes and uncomfortable remarks, all the while understanding on some level that (yet again) he's not living up to her standards.

[Thalia]

I was mainly upset when I realized it was going to be a one-off for Stephen Dillane, and that, unless they decide to change history and have QE2 leave Phillip for Sutherland, that is the last we'll see of him.  Sob!  

I'm in my mid-50s, and consider myself fairly well-informed, but I discover I have only a surface knowledge of the people and events surrounding the Windsors when they lived in, well, the mid-50s.  I'm enjoying the opportunity to google/wiki people and events, like the Sutherland/Churchill contretemps.  

[roamyn]

On Wednesday, November 09, 2016 at 6:09 PM, tanita said:

Also, he is the rumored father of the Queen's second son, prince Andrew.

The Duke of York is a Hanover through & through.

I highly doubt the Queen would've committed adultery.  The DoW's situation is still very fresh in the back of everyone's minds.  QEII very much thinks of her duty above all else.

And, after all, she admits that she has only ever loved PP.

[Brn2bwild]

8 hours ago, Thalia said:

I was mainly upset when I realized it was going to be a one-off for Stephen Dillane, and that, unless they decide to change history and have QE2 leave Phillip for Sutherland, that is the last we'll see of him.  Sob!  

I'm in my mid-50s, and consider myself fairly well-informed, but I discover I have only a surface knowledge of the people and events surrounding the Windsors when they lived in, well, the mid-50s.  I'm enjoying the opportunity to google/wiki people and events, like the Sutherland/Churchill contretemps.  

I didn't even realize that was Stannis!  Now I want to watch again.

[corter20]

Does anyone know what Philip whispered during the dinner scene at the end?

[tenativelyyours]

On 11/20/2016 at 0:03 AM, roamyn said:

The Duke of York is a Hanover through & through.

I highly doubt the Queen would've committed adultery.  The DoW's situation is still very fresh in the back of everyone's minds.  QEII very much thinks of her duty above all else.

And, after all, she admits that she has only ever loved PP.

 

Saying he looks like his mother's ancestors hardly precludes him being Porchester's son.  I'm not arguing he is, but saying he looks after his mother's side hardly serves up an argument towards his paternity.

And looking at pictures I don't think Andrew looks that Hanoverian.  Especially since all the British ruling Hanoverian pics we have are paintings.  And the Cumberland Hanoverians vary and look more Hohenzollern a generation down despite having some of the same quarterings as the Saxe-Coburg/Windsors by George VI's time what with marrying into those ubiquitous Holstein-Gottorp sprawl.   

I to think Andrew does bear a huge resemblance to Porchester, but I would be more inclined to look at Porchester's recent ancestors and wonder whether there isn't a bit of Saxe-Coborg slipped in on the sly than him and Lizzie going all telenovela with each other but anything is possible and the family has had a firm grip on what gets out.  The royal family truly is a business and has been since Albert and Victoria.  

But considering how all of Victoria's sons got around and even Prince Albert of Clarence who was also rumored to be a suspect in the Jack of Ripper case seems to have been rumored at least to have had the potential to be named in more than one divorce complaint. 

It was a joke about how it wasn't the thing to dump a cuckoo in the heir's spot in the nest, but younger children it was just fine.  You just didn't have the bad manners of talking about it.  Of course heirs and their lines of precedent had a tendency to die out.  But I think if infidelity was an issue with the resemblance between Porchester and Prince Andrew it comes from being close cousins rather than illicit offspring.

[roamyn]

2 hours ago, tenativelyyours said:

 

Saying he looks like his mother's ancestors hardly precludes him being Porchester's son.  I'm not arguing he is, but saying he looks after his mother's side hardly serves up an argument towards his paternity.

And looking at pictures I don't think Andrew looks that Hanoverian.  Especially since all the British ruling Hanoverian pics we have are paintings.  And the Cumberland Hanoverians vary and look more Hohenzollern a generation down despite having some of the same quarterings as the Saxe-Coburg/Windsors by George VI's time what with marrying into those ubiquitous Holstein-Gottorp 

I was thinking more King Edward VII, who I tend to view more Hanoverian, than his siblings, as he most resembled that side of the family.

I don't know how much Alfred, Arthur, and esp Leopold got around.  Alfred was a grump who really had no girl friends, and Leopold stuck to his mother until college aged. Arthur I don't know much abt, admittedly, other than he was the father of the tragic Crown Princess Margaret of Sweden.

If we go back a generation, that's a completely different story.

[MamaMax]

On 11/5/2016 at 4:46 PM, SeanC said:

Ah, the Graham Sutherland portrait.  I read my first Churchill biography back in Grade 5, so the second that was mentioned in the episode I figured the thematic point they were going to make.  Artfully done.  Sutherland was a talented artist, but the wrong choice for the sort of painting he was commissioned to do.

At the unveiling ceremony after the portrait is shown, there's a brief shot of the Queen shaking her head.  At what, exactly?  She can't possibly have a view of the portrait itself on the shitty quality and far-away TV camera we were shown her watching from.

Another sign of the changing times is how informal the whole leadership process is, in a way.  Churchill decides to retire and just has a word with the Queen, and bam, Eden is PM and party leader.

I think it was underlining that fact that modern life had moved on whilst Winnie had not... and that he was fooling himself about that. 

I think Lisbet knew that tone and attitude from Churchill and knew it meant he was mightily displeased.

On 11/8/2016 at 6:53 PM, iggysaurus said:

I found the part about Churchill and the painting to be the most interesting part of the episode. The stuff with Porchey and the horses was more tedious to me. The portrait thing intrigued me enough to look it up to find out the real life details. Apparently, it wasn't burned almost immediately like they showed at the end of the episode, but was kept in a cellar for many years until after his death and then Clementine quietly had it disposed of. 

From what I read, its not clear when Clemmie had it destroyed, but just that all requests to borrow it were refused and it became clear much later that it HAD been destroyed at some point. Some people consider it a lost masterpiece.

On 11/10/2016 at 4:37 PM, DHDancer said:

This was a very powerful episode IMO and of course sets the stage beautifully for Churchill's stepping down as Elizabeth finally steps up to take the reins.

I think John Lithgow has done a fabulous job with Churchill EXCEPT he's just too tall for the part and that keeps taking me out of his portrayal.  They have him all hunched over but he still towers over everyone and just seems all wrong. 

I laughed myself silly at the scene of him sitting on that tiny chair in the waiting hall before his dressing down with the queen: that just made more of the point that the actor is way too tall.

 

I appreciated it, in that at this point in his life, good ol Winnie was larger than life. The actors stature is a representation of that, and it makes his dressing down even more humbling. If the director didn't want him to tower over everyone, he wouldn't. THey would have shot it from different angles (and given him a different chair, LOL).  After all, Tom Cruise doesn't look like a tiny human in any of his movies, even though he is.

Edited November 23, 2016 by MamaMax

[SeanC]

12 minutes ago, MamaMax said:

I think it was underlining that fact that modern life had moved on whilst Winnie had not... and that he was fooling himself about that. 

It's not really erroneous that a ceremonial portrait is meant to flatter the subject.  Many people thought Sutherland's portrait was good art, but it wasn't considered particularly flattering.  It showed a rather tired old man.

[kittykat]

Count me in on those who didn't recognize Sutherland as Stephen Dillane. The whole episode I was even thinking that the guy sounded like Stannis Baratheon. And then I checked IMDb...

DERP!

Overall interesting episode. Figured this was leading up to Churchill's retirement but it was wonderfully done. The whole idea with him facing his whole mortality through the guise of the painting was well told.

[Clanstarling]

On 11/8/2016 at 3:53 PM, iggysaurus said:

I know he's a cranky old man but I had sympathy for him when he was forced to face his own aging body and mortality via the painting. When Sutherland was yelling at him that if he sees decay, it's because there is decay, etc., I felt so bad for ol' Winston. Most of us can relate in some way to realizing that the way we see ourselves isn't always what others see - like when you see a picture of yourself and suddenly realize how old or overweight you're getting, and you were just mentally blocking it out or in denial until that moment.

This was the moment during which I had the most sympathy for Churchill. Having your illusions swept away is rough, no matter how powerful you are (or think you are). And, as someone getting increasingly creaky, though decades away from Winnie's age, it spoke to me

 

On 11/19/2016 at 10:39 PM, Brn2bwild said:

I didn't even realize that was Stannis!  Now I want to watch again.

And he played Thomas Jefferson in the John Adams miniseries. Versatile man. I didn't recognize him at all (despite being a GoT fan), the mister (the JA fan) kept saying "there's something familiar about him" so we looked it up.

I found the Porchey subplot a bit tedious. And I'm tired of whiny Phillip. I haven't a clue if the real Phillip is anything like portrayed, but boy, they do not present him well, with the exception of playing with his children (though when I see him horsing around, I keep seeing Matt's Dr. Who - which to the actor's credit - is the only time I see the doctor.)

[Constantinople]

On 11/18/2016 at 0:57 PM, Rinaldo said:

Nicely put. The "horse sex scene" was another example of Philip perceiving a part of Elizabeth's life (really, one of the few parts of her life where nobody's putting limits on her) as something excluding him, and resenting it. For all her seemingly sheltered, restrained-to-immobility aspects, she (like other horse-involved people) sees breeding as a completely unremarkable, unsalacious part of the business. It must take place if so arranged, and must be seen to have taken place -- all in a day's work. Whereas her husband can only react with jokes and uncomfortable remarks, all the while understanding on some level that (yet again) he's not living up to her standards.

Perhaps, but the stallion's racing career was cut short so he could do his "duty" as a stud, and nothing more, all while being constantly watched and judged.  That may have hit a little too close to home, hence

On 11/5/2016 at 10:41 AM, niels3030 said:

Holy symbolism!!! The director was all over that episode.... 

[Zima]

I had tears in my eyes when Churchill came to the realization about the pond. When he and Sutherland were arguing after the portrait reveal, I was full-on ugly-crying. We will all have to face our own decay and mortality someday. It must be even more difficult for someone who was once so grand and important to now be reduced to an old man snoozing away in his chair.  This episode was rough to watch, and I loved it. Such superb acting in this series.  Count me in as one of the people who looked up the Sutherland portrait after the episode aired. 

[Crs97]

I definitely looked up the Sutherland portrait and understand both sides, but side with Churchill: it was an important piece of art, but if I were related to Winston I might have burned it, too.  I thought that Sutherland was correct, but unnecessarily cruel, especially considering it was supposed to be a gift to Winston.

[GinnyMars]

On 15/12/2016 at 0:50 PM, Zima said:

I had tears in my eyes when Churchill came to the realization about the pond.

What really got me was that final sentence printed on the screen: "He never stopped painting the pond."

;_____;

Edited December 17, 2016 by GinnyMars

[kwnyc]

I posted on my other social media about how there must have been a great harumphing among British actors of a certain age when Lithgow's casting as Churchill was announced. Then they watched the show and went: never mind, carry on.

This is one of the best things that Lithgow has done in a pretty amazing career, and it almost seems like a part he was born to play.

I can't get over how the writing, acting and direction created such an amazing portrait of a great flawed man.

Edited December 19, 2016 by kwnyc
spelling and making sense count

[paramitch]

I thought this episode was far and away the best one of this series so far. The scenes between Churchill and Sutherland were so incredibly moving -- absolutely riveting work by both Dillane and Lithgow. (Lithgow did career-best, absolutely amazing work here but I always think Dillane is so underrated -- and how does he always look completely, physically different in every role he plays? He utterly disappears into his characters and I love that.)

And I felt real, actual pain when Churchill burned the portrait at the end. For me it was a terrible and shocking act of violence -- I cannot stand to watch a book or a painting burned, and it really upset me, not least because I felt like Sutherland had done something extraordinary with his portrait that Churchill chose to ignore.

The irony was that the image I saw was that of a tired, sick, puffy old man who was nevertheless brave and fierce and undaunted. His body was defeated but his spirit refused to acknowledge it.

So the final moments were so painful because Sutherland's portrait was such a gesture of honesty and respect, if you look at it that way -- and Churchill did see that, but he could not accept what it meant.

This episode broke my heart, and in the best way. For me it's totally the standout of the series, and the parallels between Sutherland and Churchill's understanding and Elizabeth and Philip's fragile disintegration were really well done. 

Meanwhile, great PTV recap, except that it paid all that attention to what I felt was clearly the "B" plot (Elizabeth/Philip) and weirdly never acknowledges the truly shattering storyline between Churchill and Sutherland at all. I just felt like it chose a far less interesting, more predictable "that moment" than the one that really mattered -- the one when Churchill burns the painting at the end. Really a bummer.

Edited December 20, 2016 by paramitch
Missing text

[CeeBeeGee]

1 hour ago, paramitch said:

I thought this episode was far and away the best one of this series so far. The scenes between Churchill and Sutherland were so incredibly moving -- absolutely riveting work by both Dillane and Lithgow. (Lithgow did career-best, absolutely amazing work here but I always think Dillane is so underrated -- and how does he always look completely, physically different in every role he plays? He utterly disappears into his characters and I love that.)

Dillane is ridiculously talented. Like Gary Oldman he is a true changeling--I literally never recognize them from part to part. I loved how so much of his scenes with with Lithgow were so reactive, and he reacted to beautifully. (Side note--Dillane's son played young Tom Riddle in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. His scene with Slughorn is a master class in How To Play a Macro-Intention. Every beat--so calculated, so careful. "It's called...as I believe...a horcrux....which is--why I came to you...It'll be our little secret." Just brilliant work for such a young actor!)

[paramitch]

@CeeBeeGee, thank you for sharing that! I had no idea that Dillane's son was the young Tom Riddle. That's fantastic! And the super-young Tom Riddle (at 11) was the nephew of Ralph and Joseph Fiennes, so the Tom Riddles in that chapter of the franchise were definitely appropriately talented!

Meanwhile, I will also confess to a massive, massive crush on Dillane, ever since his elegant portrayal of Jefferson in "John Adams" (in so many scenes, I evilly shipped him with Abigail, and once or twice with John --- basically, I ship Dillane with everyone he shares a scene with sooner or later). I also adored Dillane's painfully honest, unselfconscious portrayal of Stannis in "Game of Thrones," and thought his work as Sutherland here was, as always, riveting.

I thought the saddest part of this was that Churchill, exploding at Sutherland, actually admits how much he liked him, how betrayed he felt by someone he had come to think of as a good friend. It's all the more sad because you know that Sutherland's honesty has cost him that friendship. (Worst of all: Churchill has the wit and genius to understand what Sutherland has painted, and how it's a tribute, but he will never accept it as such.)

[absolutelyido]

On 11/17/2016 at 11:30 PM, Juneau Gal said:

Perhaps it is because of a recent trip to London where I visited the Churchill War Rooms and Churchill Museum, I found this episode to be extremely well done and touching. I found myself with tears in my eyes throughout much of the episode. 

It's been several years since I have been to the War Rooms and Churchill Museum, but I was tickled to see Churchill wearing his one-piece "romper suits" when he was sitting for his portrait. I remember seeing one on exhibit in the museum, I believed he designed them himself.

[Guest]

I loved this episode.  I find myself wishing the show was about Churchill rather than the royals, who seem to be fusty ornaments with little effect on anything outside their own little interpersonal struggles.  

Masterpiece or not that painting was very unflattering.  He looked asleep and brown as a mummy.  

My user name has nothing to do with that Winston, too, though I find myself now proud of adopting a dog with that name.  Lithgow is killing it, and I don't think I've said that about an actor here ever.  I know he's worked steadily but I keep flashing back to him as the reverend in Footloose.  

[Superpole2000]

I found it tedious. I just watched the 26 part documentary The World at War and really appreciated Churchill's impact. Nevertheless, I don't want to watch him complain all season long. It's not much fun, especially when the only scenes breaking it up are Philip being an ass scenes.

I guess I just want to like the people on the show more.

[snarktini]

That was outstanding physical acting from Claire Foy in the scene where she tells Philip she's only ever loved him and could he say the same. She fully embodied Elizabeth's righteous, controlled anger and nailed the rapid breathing and taut body language. Also thought it was a good creative direction to have their fight in the car be visible but not heard, told in flashback. God, I hate Philip.

It would be helpful to see the real painting of Churchill. Most commissioned portraiture is expected to be at least a little kind so I'm sympathetic to his displeasure. And while I agree with the artist that art should be honest, there's a range of honesty. You could catch me in the morning light with a double chin and puffy eyes and that would be totally true, but a picture of me would be equally true from a different angle in better light. Harsh reality has its place in art and portraiture, just not generally in a portrait for hire. I get what the artist was going for and perhaps Churchill was just being vain, but this just doesn't seem like the right deployment of that kind of character study. I'm also a bit surprised he wasn't able to preview it before it was unveiled. That said, Churchill seemed to be in quite a bit of denial, so a kinder portrait may still have upset him. Oh, Winnie. 

When I was in college, I had a drawing class that required me to do self-portraits a couple of times a week for an entire semester. It took more than half the semester for me to stop making myself prettier, with more idealized features. It was extraordinarily difficult to get real with the mirror. 

[Crs97]

Here's a link to the painting:

https://www.google.com/search?q=winston+churchill+lost+painting&client=safari&hl=en-us&prmd=ivsn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiIqPOTn7bRAhUBxYMKHfYQCqkQ_AUIBygB&biw=320&bih=529#imgrc=lgxsxAxIF97gXM%3A