The final five episodes of The Crown have finally dropped on Netflix – to very mixed reviews.
Series six part two arrived on on the streaming giant on Thursday, December 14, bringing the infamous show about the British royal family to a close.
The episodes explore William and Harry’s grief in the wake of Diana’s death, the final years of Princess Margaret’s life, as well as William and Kate’s first throes of romance while attending St Andrews University.
The first half of the season received much controversy over depicting the death of Princess Diana in Paris in 1996 – but the second half has led to a much more mixed reaction.
Reviewers mainly praised the scenes with Princess Margaret (Lesley Manville), seeing her role as a way to hark back to the more historical elements of the earlier seasons.
The final five episodes of The Crown have finally dropped on Netflix – to very mixed reviews
Reviewers had mixed reactions to the introductions of Kate (Meg Bellamy) and William (Ed McVey)
But the introduction of Kate (Meg Bellamy) and William (Ed McVey) in St Andrews received a lukewarm reception from viewers, particularly in the depiction of Carole Middleton’s desperate attempts to make a match for her daughter.
The Independent’s Katie Rosseinsky gave the show a mere two stars and was one of those who saw the end as a far cry from its successful beginnings.
She wrote: ‘When it comes to The Crown and what-ifs, the biggest one is this: what if this juggernaut of a show hadn’t squandered its once-golden potential?
‘As the final six episodes arrive on Netflix, bringing a saga spanning half a century to a close, Morgan’s drama is haunted by the ghost of past glories.’
The mainly scathing review added that some of William and Harry’s lines appear that they were written by an ‘AI bot’, and though she praised The Queen’s (Imelda Staunton) final scenes, she added they come ‘too little too late’.
Anita Singh of The Telegraph agreed, arguing that a ‘once fine drama abdicates with a miserable whimper’.
Singh said: ‘Farewell then to The Crown (Netflix), a show that started out as a sublime period drama – interesting history, fabulous frocks, a luminous Claire Foy – and ends as a Hallmark Channel movie in which the Queen has a nightmare about Tony and Cherie Blair being crowned at Westminster Abbey to a new national anthem of Things Can Only Get Better, and William and Kate’s dreamy first kiss is interrupted by a royal protection officer announcing the death of the Queen Mother.’
The Times appeared more positive by offering three stars, calling it a ‘middling end to a royal epic’, adding it was ‘quite dull’ and felt like it was ‘running out of power like a Duracell advert’.
Radio Times sees Ed McVey as Prince William as the saving grace of the series
However, it added that the series seemed to gain some of its own back in episode eight with the Princess Margaret scenes, ‘retrieving the excellence of its early series with a stunning performance by Lesley Manville’.
The Evening Standard’s Melanie McDonagh gives The Crown four stars, but this seems generous in comparison to the contents of the review that sees her mainly brand it as ‘fine’.
She added: ‘If you liked the previous series of The Crown, there’s a good chance you’ll like these. And if this sounds like faint praise, it’s the best I can do.’
The i and Radio Times however were far more complimentary of the new season, giving it four stars apiece.
The i’s Francesca Steele called it a ‘near perfect ending against all odds’: ‘If you’ve missed what you used to think of as The Crown – that elegant, strangely nostalgic (even for things you don’t remember) examination of changing national identity – good news. It’s back!
‘After 54 episodes and 143 awards since its 2017 premiere, and with six episodes to go following a shoddy first part of the final series, creator Peter Morgan has gone back to basics. It’s a joy.’
While James Hibbs of Radio Times sees Ed McVey as the key success figure of the final series.
Hibbs writes: ‘It may not be the series at its best, but this final batch of episodes succeeds by taking things back to basics.’
The Crown series six part two is streaming now on Netflix.
