"Old bat?": Olivia Colman sizzles in Season 3 of The Crown and how!
When Netflix announced the return of its much-beloved period drama The Crown, excitement along with anxiety engulfed us all. While the anticipation was a given, the palpitations for an avid fan of the show were due to one main worry -- an entirely new cast.
It is difficult for a historical drama to hold your attention. The stakes are higher when dissecting and presenting a real-to-reel-life projection of arguably the most famous royal family in the world.
A stellar cast, among other factors, in the previous seasons ensured the show generated a significant amount of interest, winning three Emmys and two Golden Globes.
The real challenge for season 3 was to hold on to its viewers and ensure that they warmed up to the new cast. And the show does not disappoint, for the most part.
Here’s what worked
Queen Olivia
Even with an engaging plotline, shuffling the cast is a big risk for any creative team to take, especially when the ensemble has been well accepted.
But with renowned actors like Olivia Colman taking over the baton from Claire Foy to essay Queen Elizabeth II, the transition was smooth.
Olivia, right from her opening line, “Old bat?”, addresses the audience’s apprehensions and knocks any worries straight out the door. Her mannerisms, dialogue delivery and command over ‘Queen’s English’ are spot on. So much so, that if you shut your eyes, her voice sounds like a slightly older version of Claire Foy and like a one-woman army, she pulls the show through without a glitch for the next nine episodes.
No detail is too trivial
One of the key elements of The Crown's success has been its aesthetics and it caught the eye this time too. Right from the set design and costumes to casting the right faces and paying attention to their physicality -- keeping in mind how their real-life counterparts look like -- it was all paid heed to.
Such trivial details can make or break a series like this as most of us are guilty of deriving factual information and historical insight from telenovelas despite disclaimers. Attention to them has been The Crown’s greatest USP and the show does every bit to remain true to facts while retaining its artistic liberty.
A show with character(s)
Spanning over 10 episodes, the third instalment of the show balanced its focus on almost all the characters evenly, both recurring ones (Prince Philip, Princess Margaret) and additions (Prince Charles, Princess Anne).
The plot is essentially a dramatization of historical events seamlessly interwoven with the narratives and struggles of its cast.
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In some parts, it did feel like an increased effort was put in to make the characters more likeable and relatable, which hasn't really been The Crown's forte but it did not take away from the flow of the storyline and can hence be given the benefit of doubt.
What didn’t work
While Olivia Colman and Tobias Menzies (who played Prince Philip) acted exceptionally well, their chemistry lacked the spark shown by their predecessors (Claire Foy and Matt Smith).
Similarly, award-winning actress Helena Bonham Carter, who replaced Vanessa Kirby as Princess Margaret, struggled to ‘look the part’ and carry it forward, perhaps due to the dissimilarity between Carter and Kirby’s features and their apparent height difference.
What lies ahead
Those hoping to catch a glimpse of Princess Diana (who will most likely be played by Emma Corrin) will have to wait another season.
However, with Camilla Parker Bowles making an appearance both in Prince Charles' life and the show this time, the wait for her may not take much longer.
The Crown still has a story to tell, with the right actors by its side. The die has been cast. We await Princess Di!