Crown Season 4 Episode 9 Recap: Avalanche

The crown

avalanche

Season 4

Episode 9

Editors Note

4 stars

****

Photo: Des Willie / Netflix

It’s been a minute since The crown recorded the tumultuous wedding in Wales, and it goes without saying that things took a serious turn for the worse in the years following Prince Charles and Princess Dianas’ tour of Australia / New Zealand. We know that they succeeded in procreating once more, resulting in the birth of Prince harry, but that happy day in September 1984 was also marred by the fact that, according to Diana: her true story in her own words, by Andrew Morton (and Princess Anne in this episode), it marked the end of their relationship.

When we first meet the hapless couple in the open cold for Avalanche, they attend a Charles 37th birthday gala at the Royal Opera House, setting events back in 1985. Shortly after Diana apologizes, she shocks the public in join dancer Wayne Sleep on stage for a duet with Billy Joe-THEs Uptown Girl. (Unfortunately, there is no video of this performance, but there is Pictures.) As everyone goes wild for Princess Pop Star, the priggish Charles awkwardly tries to hide his embarrassment. On the drive back to Kensington Palace, Charles angrily throws his wife’s birthday present in her face, accusing her of using her fame to her advantage (the Morton book confirms that Charles disapproved of the surprise performance of Dianas).

So far, Charles’ behavior towards Diana has been more listless than cruel. But spending several years stuck with someone he doesn’t like has now made the guy rather bitter. Diana, too, has been toughened up, but remains somewhat optimistic, continuing to believe that those cute glasses won’t end in heartache. Don’t get me wrong, I love her taking the stage, considering how few outlets she needed to express herself. It’s just a shame she couldn’t lower her expectations.

The episode then jumps to March 10, 1988. Charles, while skiing in the Swiss Alps, is caught in a deadly avalanche who kills one of his friends. As soon as Martin Charteris confirms to the Queen that his son has survived, he brings up a more delicate subject: With Charles and Diana returning to the front page, Elizabeth should brace for more speculation about their relationship.

Having turned her back on the truth for so long, the Queen visits the one person who will not only be honest, but will do it without any sugar coating: Princess Anne. Watching this fantastic scene between Olivia Colman and Erin Doherty, I became Overused gif every time Anne opened her mouth. The way she clearly describes how bad things went between Charles and Diana, it really made me think Lillibet is going to figure out now, right?

I mean, what else is there to explain? Charles was already in love with a married Camilla when Diana arrived. End of the story. The age difference, lack of common interests, mutual infidelity, these factors certainly didn’t help, but the marriage in Wales failed because Charles and Diana were never on the same page at the departure.

The Queen summons the Prince and Princess of Wales for a reunion, and this time Charles walks in with a solid plan: his near-death experience on the ski slopes convinced him it was time to marry Camilla. Armed with several pages of notes, he arrives at the meeting impatient to go. Elizabeth begins the process by telling her son and daughter-in-law for the umpteenth time that the marriage of the future monarch cannot fail.

However, she also can’t ignore the past seven years, so she puts the blame on Charles and Diana, asking them squarely if they don’t want their marriage to work anymore. As Charles pulls out his handwritten notes, Diana grabs the only power she has left and insists she wants to make amends. If there’s one thing she’s learned in her seven years as a royal, it’s how to perform the play to her advantage. She confesses to cheating on Charles because she didn’t realize how much she loved him until he was almost killed, and takes full responsibility for all the suffering inflicted on her husband.

Forget to dance on Uptown Girl, this is his royal command performance. Diana’s act of self-flogging in front of her in-laws destroyed any hope Charles had of escaping this wedding prank. But the saddest thing to take away from this scene isn’t that Charles wasn’t prevented from speaking, it’s that Diana still believes there is hope for reconciliation.

That night, Charles seeks comfort from Camilla, but she is even scared of his new dirty play plan: to have her protection officers tell her if Diana is still messing around because she is now ready for revenge.

It is absolutely scary to see Diana enthusiastically informing her therapist (according to Morton’s book, she started therapy around this time) that she has ended things with her lover. Major James Hewitt (Daniel Donskoy), and how much better she feels now that she is putting her marriage first. She doesn’t seem to understand that preventing Hewitt from Kensington Palace and inserting herself into a The Phantom of the Opera performance doesn’t make a shred of difference if your husband attempts a getaway with his mistress on your birthday.

Diana surmised that by removing the public element from her performances, Charles would suddenly fall in love with her the second she showed her inner Christine Daa. For their seventh wedding anniversary, she presents Charles with a VHS tape of her, in full costume, standing in the West End. Ghost stage, singing All i ask you. A completely private performance, reserved for the eyes of her husband. And because it’s private, The crown circumvents the veracity of this scene, there is no documentation to indicate that Diana ever went to the West End to recreate this Ghost ballad, or that she was a singer.

Charles hated it.

But who would have thought it would end up The crownromantic hero of s? Undeterred by Dianas’ delusions about their relationship and his sisters Debbie Downer’s advice to leave the Parker Bowles marriage alone, Charles goes to Camilla to ask her to promise her that they will have a future together. Ironically, without an orchestra or flowery lyrics, he is the one who plays the All I Ask of You scene from Ghost.

Camillas’ sane answer about what they want and what they can do being two different things is really the only answer she can give him. In 1988, the idea of ​​Charles divorcing Diana, marrying Camilla (who would herself be divorced) and becoming king again was an impossible dream. But for the hottest of hot minutes, Camilla lets the fantasy overtake her, giving her the word that in the event of a miracle, she would. divorce from her husband and become Charles’s wife.

Camillas ‘declaration of love is like a drug for Charles, causing another dark period in his marriage: he begins to ignore Dianas’ calls, leading to the return of the princess’s depression. Soon, she immersed herself in manic dance lessons and solo public appearances, where even loud and enthusiastic crowds couldn’t quell her sorrows. Unable to cope with such oppressive loneliness, Diana rekindles her affair with James Hewitt and my Gd, what took her so long?

If there’s ever been one episode that, to quote Diana, really makes me hate the Royal Family (and, oh, there are a lot of them), it’s her Avalanche. Rules, protocol, demands of duty to the individual erase the soul of a woman who is always looking for love in all the wrong places.

Because if memory serves, you had your own ballerinas for that. 1. BURN! 2. Well done to Elizabeth for never letting Philip forget his alleged indiscretions.

Charles has been sleeping with Camilla for almost 20 years, and she again should call him sir? Ew, Charles!