The eagerly awaited show, The Crown season 6 part one, is finally here, but unfortunately, it has the show’s lowest Rotten Tomatoes Rating.
- The Crown season 6 received a low Rotten Tomatoes rating, disappointing critics compared to previous successful seasons.
- Some scenes in season 6, part one, were too melodramatic, missing opportunities for more depth in character relationships.
- Queen Elizabeth II and other important characters like Prince Philip and Princess Margaret did not receive enough screen time in part one of season 6.
The sixth season of the hit Netflix drama The Crown has failed to live up to the success of its previous seasons, receiving a lower Rotten Tomatoes rating than any other season in the show’s history. Critics have not been enthralled by the show’s latest installment, giving it a critics’ score of 53%. A measly score, mainly because The Crown season 4 had a critics’ rating of 94%, with season 5 dropping to 71%.
The Crown season 6 continues the story of Queen Elizabeth II’s (Imelda Staunton) reign from 1997 to 2005. The Crown season 6 part one is primarily about the events leading up to Princess Diana’s (Elizabeth Debicki) death, while part two of the final season of the show will feature Prince William (Ed McVey) and Catherine Middleton’s (Meg Bellamy) romance as well as the death of Princess Margaret.
Even before The Crown season 6 was released, the show faced a lot of controversy because it would depict the tragic death of Princess Diana, and fans of the show were not sure if it would be handled appropriately. Additionally, because The Crown season 6 depicts events that took place from 1997 to 2005, many viewers of the show would have lived through them and would not appreciate it if the show made changes to real history as it has done before.
The low Rotten Tomatoes rating does not necessarily mean the show, or season, is terrible. It had some good things going for it. For instance, Elizabeth Debicki’s portrayal of Princess Diana was phenomenal, earning her a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress.
The Crown Season 6 Is Too Dramatic
Granted, The Crown is a drama, so it should, in its essence, be dramatic. However, The Crown season 6 took the drama a little too far. Some scenes toed the line of being melodramatic and sometimes cringey. For instance, Dodi (Khalid Abdalla) and Mohammed Al-Fayed’s (Salim Daw) relationship played on the familiar trope of a father-son relationship depicted in movies and TV shows where the father is always disappointed in his son.
Their relationship had been like that since the Al-Fayeds first appeared in The Crown season 5. Season 6 of the series missed an excellent opportunity to show that there could have been more to their relationship other than a father’s disappointment in his son. Additionally, Mohammed Al-Fayed was portrayed as the puppet master pulling the strings on Dodi’s relationship with Diana. This was also completely unnecessary and could have been done for dramatic purposes.
Charles (Dominic West) and Camilla’s (Olivia Williams) relationship has been a sore spot for the royal family, mainly because it led to Charles divorcing Princess Diana, who was beloved by many.
In The Crown season 6, Charles and Camilla are openly together, but the people still do not like her, and for good reason. The scene where Charles works with his PR to change public opinion towards Camilla is overdone. Especially when he declared, “This is war!” It wasn’t, in fact, war, and there was no need for Charles to be shown scheming with his team because it came off as the writers trying to keep the show interesting when there were other ways they could do so.
The Other Characters In The Crown Season 6 Don’t Get a Chance to Shine
One of The Crown season 6’s most significant issues is Queen Elizabeth II not having enough screen time. The Crown’s main protagonist is the queen, so it’s baffling that she does not seem to be shown much in season 6. Since The Crown season 4, Princess Diana and Prince Charles have dominated the storyline. That was fine then, and it worked out great, but The Crown season 6 should have been when the show moved away from focusing on Princess Diana and Prince Charles. Other characters, including Prince Philip (Jonathan Pryce) and Princess Margaret (Lesley Manville), barely get any screen time, which is a shame because they were integral to the show’s success.
From its first episode, The Crown season 6 part one has been leading up to Princess Diana’s death, which explains why she and Dodi got more screen time than any other characters on the show except maybe Prince Charles. However, Prince William and Prince Harry are also featured on the show. They are rarely shown, so viewers have no sense of who they were when they were young.
Princess Diana and Dodi Appear as Ghosts
Princess Diana and Dodi both appear as ghosts after their death, but Princess Diana’s ghost has caused the most controversy. Princess Diana appears to Prince Charles and Queen Elizabeth II to advise them on how to grieve her death. Unsurprisingly, a lot of people were not happy with this creative choice.
Peter Morgan, the showrunner of The Crown, had an interview with Variety where he tried to explain his creative choice. In his interview, Morgan explained, “I never imagined it as Diana’s ‘ghost’ in the traditional sense — it was her continuing to live vividly in the minds of those she has left behind. Diana was unique, and I suppose that’s what inspired me to find a unique way of representing her. She deserved special treatment narratively.”
The Crown season 6 part one might not have lived up to the show’s usual standards, but part two of the show, which will be released on Dec. 14, might be its saving grace. Stream The Crown on Netflix.
