The Crown – Season 5 [2022]

Netflix’s The Crown season five feels like a second thought. Maybe we should have ended things as planned instead of overextending the number of episodes?

Let’s get one thing right from the beginning: I have no comments with actors and their performances. They were a master class in acting that got handed an awfully bad script and an ultimately disjoined season.

To be honest, I’m not sure what changed between the first four seasons and this one. I really wish I knew because season five of The Crown felt like a big disappointment. Yes, we got too close to what every living human actually lived, but that doesn’t mean you can mistreat milestone events.

For example, right in the first episode, the Queen asks the prime minister for the government to fund the renovations of the Britania. In fact, we spend the majority of that episode seeing the history of the Yacht all the way to the Queen’s request. You’d assume that when you make a big deal of something, that the episode will give you the answer. Instead, we get nothing during that episode. You’ll have to wait till the end of the season to get a single sentence mentioning Britania.

Coincidence? I think not. Even though the season covers the shortest period of time (7 years) compared to its predecessors, the season jumps events like a hopping bunny without actually taking the time to let the viewers know what happened before, during and after. I honestly didn’t connect with any of the characters or stories this season. None.

For a 10-episode season, covering 7 years, you’d assume that The Queen’s annus horribilis gets at least its own episode. You’re wrong. Same for Diana and Charles’ separation and then divorce.

Finally, where is Prince Harry? He’s weirdly missing the whole season.

Should you watch it?

The worst season from the whole series. If you’re a fan of the actors, you should give it a chance. Otherwise, you should watch almost anything else.

Where can I watch it?

You can stream all seasons of The Crown exclusively on Netflix everywhere.