S02.E01: Misadventure

[tennisgurl]

I finally have time to catch up on The Crown, or, as I like to call it, "Running off to Wikipedia to learn about who all these really were and what was actually going on at any point", which is why I love it. 

I really liked the whole speech that Mountbatten gave about loving his wife and letting her get away with everything because of how much he adores her. It really made him more human, and thats why I like this show so much. It finds the humanity in all of these proper, composed historical people. Well, most of them are proper and composed *hands Margaret an aspirin*. 

On the one hand, I do feel for Philip in a lot of ways. Back than, being the man of the family and the Head of House was a big freaking deal, and having a wife being the head of not only the house, but the entire country, would leave your average man feeling rather emasculated and without purpose. Hell, some men still struggle with living up to the "provider" imagine now, and its been several decades since then. And being a royal, for all its perks, just generally seems like a pain. Everything is so dictated by tradition or PR or rules, that its hard to have a real life, or a life outside of duty to your country. And I get that the "plan" was for he and Elizabeth to get to be a young married couple for awhile and raise their family and get to more or less do their own thing until Bertie died and they could worry about it then. On the other hand, he should have known that plans like that can easily change. I mean, Elizabeth's own father didn't plan on becoming King at all. By most accounts, he was just fine being the second son and doing some ceremonial stuff, but mostly just living as quietly as possible with his family, but that all changed when Edward met some random hot chick and then he had to take over the Kingship and roll with the changes. This was always a possibility, and Elizabeth is rolling with it, so he should too. And besides, being cold and uncaring towards his wife is extremely uncalled for. Its not HER fault her father died and she had to take over the Queenship. So, yeah, I do get what he is so bitchy all of the time, but I am totally on Elizabeth's side. 

On the other hand, I feel kind of weird about the strong implication that he had an affair here. I mean, he certainly could have had an affair, and I know there were rumors, but nothing was ever proven, so if they totally go the rout of showing him screwing some ballerina (who was also a real person) I am going to feel rather uncomfortable. These were real people after all, some of whom are still around and in the public eye. 

Eden really is a pompous windbag isn't he? His speech at Eton is basically Eden in a nutshell. He thinks because he is from the "right" people and went to the "right" school, he is totally right about everything, everyone not from those places is wrong, and any call he makes is golden. Yeah he was right about Hitler and made some good calls during the war, but that doesn't mean he is right about everything. He is obviously underestimating Egypt (and basically proving all that stuff about colonial oppressors right) and is just being a big whiner. Even more so than Philip, and THAT is impressive. At least when Philip whines, nobody get shot over it.

Claire Foy is still awesome. 

[7-Zark-7]

5 hours ago, Milburn Stone said:

On 12/16/2017 at 5:18 PM, PBSLover said:

I find it interesting in this show that the actors that are portraying these characters are not as good looking as the real people themselves (except for Claire Foy). And of course, Greg Wise.

That's an interesting (and possibly true) generalization, but personally I think the actress playing Margaret is more attractive than her model.

I think they're all better looking than the people they portray, which is usually the case with film casting. I know some people don't think much of Matt Smith's looks, but I looked at enough photos of young Prince Philip and he was an average looking guy to me. 

Edited December 18, 2017 by 7-Zark-7

[Roseanna]

22 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

I really liked the whole speech that Mountbatten gave about loving his wife and letting her get away with everything because of how much he adores her. It really made him more human, and thats why I like this show so much. 

Yes, there are people are willing to suffer constant humilations, even violence, from a person they love, but I doubt they lack even basic self-respect.

Spoiler

That phenomen is seen even more clearly between Macmillan and his wife. 

[CousinAmy]

22 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

I finally have time to catch up on The Crown, or, as I like to call it, "Running off to Wikipedia to learn about who all these really were and what was actually going on at any point", which is why I love it. 

I really liked the whole speech that Mountbatten gave about loving his wife and letting her get away with everything because of how much he adores her. It really made him more human, and thats why I like this show so much. It finds the humanity in all of these proper, composed historical people. Well, most of them are proper and composed *hands Margaret an aspirin*. 

On the one hand, I do feel for Philip in a lot of ways. Back than, being the man of the family and the Head of House was a big freaking deal, and having a wife being the head of not only the house, but the entire country, would leave your average man feeling rather emasculated and without purpose. Hell, some men still struggle with living up to the "provider" imagine now, and its been several decades since then. And being a royal, for all its perks, just generally seems like a pain. Everything is so dictated by tradition or PR or rules, that its hard to have a real life, or a life outside of duty to your country. And I get that the "plan" was for he and Elizabeth to get to be a young married couple for awhile and raise their family and get to more or less do their own thing until Bertie died and they could worry about it then. On the other hand, he should have known that plans like that can easily change. I mean, Elizabeth's own father didn't plan on becoming King at all. By most accounts, he was just fine being the second son and doing some ceremonial stuff, but mostly just living as quietly as possible with his family, but that all changed when Edward met some random hot chick and then he had to take over the Kingship and roll with the changes. This was always a possibility, and Elizabeth is rolling with it, so he should too. And besides, being cold and uncaring towards his wife is extremely uncalled for. Its not HER fault her father died and she had to take over the Queenship. So, yeah, I do get what he is so bitchy all of the time, but I am totally on Elizabeth's side. 

On the other hand, I feel kind of weird about the strong implication that he had an affair here. I mean, he certainly could have had an affair, and I know there were rumors, but nothing was ever proven, so if they totally go the rout of showing him screwing some ballerina (who was also a real person) I am going to feel rather uncomfortable. These were real people after all, some of whom are still around and in the public eye. 

Eden really is a pompous windbag isn't he? His speech at Eton is basically Eden in a nutshell. He thinks because he is from the "right" people and went to the "right" school, he is totally right about everything, everyone not from those places is wrong, and any call he makes is golden. Yeah he was right about Hitler and made some good calls during the war, but that doesn't mean he is right about everything. He is obviously underestimating Egypt (and basically proving all that stuff about colonial oppressors right) and is just being a big whiner. Even more so than Philip, and THAT is impressive. At least when Philip whines, nobody get shot over it.

Claire Foy is still awesome. 

Philip and Elizabeth met when she was a young teenager, and supposedly she was instantly smitten with him. She was a very pretty teenager, and during the War she proved her mettle working as a mechanic and a driver. He knew exactly what he was getting into - after all, he was already a prince, but there wasn't much higher to go than to marry the Next Queen of England! (Of course there was always Margaret Truman in the U.S.) 

 

I don't like Matt Smith's looks, but I especially hate his nasal voice. I never heard Philip's voice when he was a young man, but that voice doesn't match his handsome, charming appearance and presentation.

[AnnieBeez]

3 hours ago, CousinAmy said:

Philip and Elizabeth met when she was a young teenager, and supposedly she was instantly smitten with him. She was a very pretty teenager, and during the War she proved her mettle working as a mechanic and a driver. He knew exactly what he was getting into - after all, he was already a prince, but there wasn't much higher to go than to marry the Next Queen of England! (Of course there was always Margaret Truman in the U.S.) 

 

I don't like Matt Smith's looks, but I especially hate his nasal voice. I never heard Philip's voice when he was a young man, but that voice doesn't match his handsome, charming appearance and presentation.

I agree. Matt Smith is just odd-looking. I don't think he looks anything like Philip. The nose is especially off. 

[Clanstarling]

52 minutes ago, PuhLeeze said:

I agree. Matt Smith is just odd-looking. I don't think he looks anything like Philip. The nose is especially off. 

He's a bit Howdy Doody, but I've grown to appreciate him. He's not an exact replica of Philip, but I do think he captures something of him. 

[TheNewJanBrady]

I'm confused: I just watched the season 1 finale, and in the scene where Liz and Phil discuss him going to the Olympics (she's in white dress and full regalia), he's super-surly about being sent away and leaves coldly without her really getting to say goodbye. In this ep, the scene is reshot to show he's making the best of going and he's all jokey and  loving; she's the one who grows cold when she finds the ballerina photo. They're depicted as far more loving until that point than they were in the season 1 finale depicting the same few days. Retcon to set up the cheating storyline?

Edited December 20, 2017 by TheNewJanBrady

[biakbiak]

I dont think they took place within a few days of each other. Planning the trip woukd have taken months.

Etb Looked it up Season 1 ends in Spring of 1955 and the games were in Summer of 1956.

Edited December 20, 2017 by biakbiak

[VCRTracking]

I inhaled through my teeth when Elizabeth found the ballerina's picture in Phillip's bag.

Claire Foy is great at barely contained rage behind a calm exterior.

Can't help thinking about Billy Joel singing "Trouble in the Suez!" in this episode.

[TheNewJanBrady]

@biakbiak huh. maybe not a few days, but I could swear both season 1 finale and season 2 premiere show the same one scene differently. Guess I need to rewatch!

[Milburn Stone]

16 hours ago, TheNewJanBrady said:

I could swear both season 1 finale and season 2 premiere show the same one scene differently.

Maybe they imported some writers from The Affair.

[PeterPirate]

On 12/19/2017 at 11:39 PM, biakbiak said:

I dont think they took place within a few days of each other. Planning the trip woukd have taken months.

Etb Looked it up Season 1 ends in Spring of 1955 and the games were in Summer of 1956.

That got my curiosity up.  Margaret announced her breakup with Townsend on  31 October 1955.  The 1956 Olympics opened on 22 November 1956.  (It took me a few moments to realize that "summer" in Australia is different down under.)  I have not been able to find out when Britannia departed for Australia, but it was at least 11 months since the end of season 1.

 

On 12/20/2017 at 1:09 AM, VCRTracking said:

I inhaled through my teeth when Elizabeth found the ballerina's picture in Phillip's bag.

Claire Foy is great at barely contained rage behind a calm exterior.

Can't help thinking about Billy Joel singing "Trouble in the Suez!" in this episode.

I don't know if anyone else caught it, but the facial expression in the picture matches the final close-up of the ballerina.  It's creepy.  (I haven't been able to find an image of the photo.  There's a screencap of the closeup in the recap.)  

Edited December 22, 2017 by PeterPirate

[ItCouldBeWorse]

On 12/10/2017 at 2:24 PM, Mindthinkr said:

Thanks for your reply with information but when I read the name of the gloves 'mousquetaire' my mind mispronounced it Mouseketeer and I had a laugh. 

Not so strange. "Mousquetaire"  is French for "Musketeer" (as in the "3") and I assume "Mouseketeer" was a play on that.

[lids]

On 12/20/2017 at 2:27 AM, TheNewJanBrady said:

I'm confused: I just watched the season 1 finale, and in the scene where Liz and Phil discuss him going to the Olympics (she's in white dress and full regalia), he's super-surly about being sent away and leaves coldly without her really getting to say goodbye. In this ep, the scene is reshot to show he's making the best of going and he's all jokey and  loving; she's the one who grows cold when she finds the ballerina photo. They're depicted as far more loving until that point than they were in the season 1 finale depicting the same few days. Retcon to set up the cheating storyline?

Yes. This season premieres took place directly after the end of season 1. At the end of the season 1 finale, Philip says he's leaving. He's in a bad mood. Elizabeth calls after him, "You're coming back?" Philip doesn't answer, leaving us to believe he's going away on bad terms. In this episode, we see he DID come back. Eliz must have been taking pictures in her gown for some gala they were going to that night. She's still in her gown but it's evening and she starts off asking him where he's going for his trip and he jokes, "I just told you earlier." Making reference to the fact that the production left us on that same conversation in the season finale. And yeah, he's in a much better mood. He must have gone to the club with Mike. (rolls eyes).

On 12/18/2017 at 3:12 PM, tennisgurl said:

On the one hand, I do feel for Philip in a lot of ways. Back than, being the man of the family and the Head of House was a big freaking deal, and having a wife being the head of not only the house, but the entire country, would leave your average man feeling rather emasculated and without purpose. Hell, some men still struggle with living up to the "provider" imagine now, and its been several decades since then. And being a royal, for all its perks, just generally seems like a pain. Everything is so dictated by tradition or PR or rules, that its hard to have a real life, or a life outside of duty to your country. And I get that the "plan" was for he and Elizabeth to get to be a young married couple for awhile and raise their family and get to more or less do their own thing until Bertie died and they could worry about it then. hip.

I've seen this sentiment expressed in many posts but I don't know if I agree. The Queen Mother already told us that Philip has more freedom than any other consort who has been in his position. Also, Mike doesn't have a powerful wife that could emasculate him and he and Phil act pretty much the same way. I think Phil is just a playboy. He is not well suited for the 'doting husband' role he has to play. They show us Mike's wife as a parallel character to The Queen. Someone like Mike's wife could leave if it gets too unbearable. That is not an option for Elizabeth. She chose a dud, but for the crown she's going to work as hard as she needs to in order to polish a turd.

The thing I like the most about the ballet scene was that they turned down the orchestra and amplified the pattering feet of the ballerina. It was like her husband's lover was dancing all over her heart.

[TheNewJanBrady]

THANK YOU, @lids, for assuring me I'm not (that) crazy! Makes sense that the conversation in season 2 is a continuation, not a retcon, at least.

[PeterPirate]

On 12/29/2017 at 6:53 PM, lids said:

Yes. This season premieres took place directly after the end of season 1. At the end of the season 1 finale, Philip says he's leaving. He's in a bad mood. Elizabeth calls after him, "You're coming back?" Philip doesn't answer, leaving us to believe he's going away on bad terms. In this episode, we see he DID come back. Eliz must have been taking pictures in her gown for some gala they were going to that night. She's still in her gown but it's evening and she starts off asking him where he's going for his trip and he jokes, "I just told you earlier." Making reference to the fact that the production left us on that same conversation in the season finale. And yeah, he's in a much better mood. He must have gone to the club with Mike. (rolls eyes).

 

On 12/30/2017 at 5:16 AM, TheNewJanBrady said:

THANK YOU, @lids, for assuring me I'm not (that) crazy! Makes sense that the conversation in season 2 is a continuation, not a retcon, at least.

 

I can't argue with the logic, but I must say that I don't like it.  Philip goes from sour to sweet in a couple hours?  How so?  Obviously he hasn't been having some fun with the missus.  

[TheNewJanBrady]

Agree, @PeterPirate. It threw me watching the scenes back to back.

[Hanahope]

I'm not sure I like how the episode/season begins, with the 'discussion/argument', then the flashback 5 months before.  

And while I appreciate the drama of Margaret continuing to go on about not being allowed to marry whathisname, since that really wasn't the case, I wish the show would show a little more of the truth as to why Margaret became such a party girl.

And really Phillip, no phone call if how long?

[dubbel zout]

2 hours ago, Hanahope said:

I wish the show would show a little more of the truth as to why Margaret became such a party girl.

Because she could, basically. I think she had a real love-hate relationship with her status, which is understandable.

[Gareth3]

Is there any reason why Elizabeth couldn't have directly objected to the Suez thing, in private? She wouldn't be taking control of the military or undermining the government in public. Just saying it's a dumb idea and warning the Prime Minister about the consequences. 

[OtterMommy]

2 hours ago, Gareth3 said:

Is there any reason why Elizabeth couldn't have directly objected to the Suez thing, in private? She wouldn't be taking control of the military or undermining the government in public. Just saying it's a dumb idea and warning the Prime Minister about the consequences. 

I don't know if it is actually codified anywhere, but the monarch "has to" remain neutral on affairs of state.  Personall, I find it a little perplexing, but that's how it goes.  As I said, I don't know if there is anything formal about it recorded anywhere, or if it is just how it has always been done.

[Gareth3]

In public, sure.  But it's a waste of time for politicians to talk to her if she can't express an opinion in private. It actually applies more now than it did then. For example, she's been Queen for the entire history of European economic cooperation, so she probably can give good advice on the whole Brexit mess.

[WatchrTina]

15 hours ago, Gareth3 said:

It's a waste of time for politicians to talk to her if she can't express an opinion in private.

According to one website I found Her Majesty’s actual rights as a Queen are:

• The right to be consulted by the Prime Minister
• To encourage certain courses of action, and
• To warn against others.

So she absolutely has not only the right but the duty to express her opinion in private during her meeting with the Prime Minister and other ministers.  In one of the season 1 episodes she makes the point to Winston Churchill that by hiding from her the fact that he had been seriously ill, he had conspired to prevent her from fulfilling that duty.

[Gareth3]

Right, I've read the same thing. You have to wonder whether the Queen can do anything if the Prime Minister lies to her, besides scolding.

[Pallas]

8 hours ago, Gareth3 said:

You have to wonder whether the Queen can do anything if the Prime Minister lies to her, besides scolding.

She can cut him dead. 

[Roseanna]

On ‎13‎.‎1‎.‎2018 at 0:33 AM, Gareth3 said:

Is there any reason why Elizabeth couldn't have directly objected to the Suez thing, in private? She wouldn't be taking control of the military or undermining the government in public. Just saying it's a dumb idea and warning the Prime Minister about the consequences. 

She could have warned Macmillan. But the better method is often to ask questions that points weaknesses without saying it aloud.

However, it's been much discussion whether Macmillan told all even to the Queen. And she wasn't yet experienced.

In the show she speaks of United Nations, but the chief weakness was that Macmillan hadn't make sure that he had the backing of the USA. Instead, for the first time after the WW2, the USA and the Soviet Union worked together.  

Also the international background was lacking. It was because the Soviets had hands full in the uprising in Hungary that Britain and France thought that they could invade Suez.  

All in all, I was a little disappointed with the political plot. I think it should have gone deeper, showing at least a scene about the discussion in Parliament which, astonishingly, is entirely lacking in the show.        

[kassygreene]

7 hours ago, Roseanna said:

She could have warned Macmillan. But the better method is often to ask questions that points weaknesses without saying it aloud.

However, it's been much discussion whether Macmillan told all even to the Queen. And she wasn't yet experienced.

In the show she speaks of United Nations, but the chief weakness was that Macmillan hadn't make sure that he had the backing of the USA. Instead, for the first time after the WW2, the USA and the Soviet Union worked together.  

Also the international background was lacking. It was because the Soviets had hands full in the uprising in Hungary that Britain and France thought that they could invade Suez.  

All in all, I was a little disappointed with the political plot. I think it should have gone deeper, showing at least a scene about the discussion in Parliament which, astonishingly, is entirely lacking in the show.        

Not disagreeing here, but Suez was Anthony Eden.  Macmillan was the next PM, because of how badly Eden handled Suez.

[VCRTracking]

Yeah, it was Eden's folly. It was what he'll always be remembered for, like Blair and Iraq. There's a great 2 part video about the history of the Suez Crisis on YouTube that helped me better understand it.

[WatchrTina]

On December 20, 2017 at 1:27 AM, TheNewJanBrady said:

I'm confused: I just watched the season 1 finale, and in the scene where Liz and Phil discuss him going to the Olympics (she's in white dress and full regalia), he's super-surly about being sent away and leaves coldly without her really getting to say goodbye. In this ep, the scene is reshot to show he's making the best of going and he's all jokey and  loving; she's the one who grows cold when she finds the ballerina photo. They're depicted as far more loving until that point than they were in the season 1 finale depicting the same few days. Retcon to set up the cheating storyline?

I'm doing a re-watch today and I think I've figured out the source of the confusion.  In the last episode of Season 1, Elizabeth is wearing "full battle dress" for an official portrait.  Philip is leaving in that scene to BEGIN the discussions around his trip to Australia to open the Olympics.  At that point he's feeling like he's being banished and is generally in a foul mood.  But in the passage of time between his decision to go and his actual departure he seems to have gotten to like the idea.  It appears that he has come round to the idea that the Queen Mother was right -- the tour will give Philip a chance to shine on his own.  It's clear in the seasons 2 opener that he's looking forward to some of the stops along the way and he's pleased that they have recently added stops to the tour including Antarctica, even though that means prolonging his time away.  In that atmosphere (and anticipating a long separation) relations between Elizabeth and Philip (both sexual and emotional) appear to have taken a turn for the better . . . right up until she finds the photo of the ballerina in his briefcase.  Then the wheels fall off the cart and Philip can't figure out why the saucy minx who cajoled him back into her bed has now retreated into royal hauteur at their official leave-taking.

I blame the dress.  Elizabeth is wearing the same "full battle dress" for the portrait sitting in the season 1 finale as she wears to a state event in the season 2 opener.  The two events are months apart -- that's how long it would take to plan Philip's extensive tour.  But for the viewer it can be a confusing visual cue -- especially since the season 2 opener (the very first scene on the yacht during the storm) jumps far forward in time to the END of Philip's world tour.

I'm really enjoying my re-watch.  One of the things I did was watch the first few episodes of season 1 and then I skipped to the last few of season 2.  It is amazing to see how well Claire Foy communicates the change from the young princess she plays at the beginning to the queen with 10 years experience under her belt in the last episode.

Edited January 20, 2019 by WatchrTina

[Nidratime]

Speaking of actors who are more attractive then the character they portray, I've always had a thing for Jeremy Northam who plays Anthony Eden. Loved him playing Mr. Knightly in Emma.

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000562/

[vadare]

On 12/16/2017 at 8:18 PM, PBSLover said:

He’s such a hottie.  

I find it interesting in this show that the actors that are portraying these characters are not as good looking as the real people themselves (except for Claire Foy). And of course, Greg Wise.

I'm late to this party, but I must toss this in.

Jeremy Northam is way hotter than Anthony Eden. He also played Thomas More in "The Tudors" and I had to go to Confession for drooling over a saint!

[Lonesome Rhodes]

The relationship arcs bore me, so this ep is not a favorite.

I did very much enjoy the aside about the palace food and how Elizabeth seemed to not care a whit about it.  Yet another example of how dead her life often was.  Robotic.

The cabinet scene was odd to me.  The animal instincts kicking in with the table pounding rang very true.  But, one dude says the UN is the be all, end all and not one of them reacts with the emotion which had just erupted?   Badly executed.  

The expression of the Eton "code" was chilling.  The entitlement and tribalism is evil.  However, at least many in the preceding generations served and bled in the world wars.  The dangers and the sacrifice of the folks in the homeland under German bombs have stayed with Elizabeth and informed her worldview to this day.  So, too, her father's bravery in staying right under the attacks.