As Netflix’s The Crown closes out its retelling of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign, a flashforward ending would only do harm for the award-winning series. Created by Peter Morgan, The Crown took on the life of Queen Elizabeth II, perhaps the most popular monarch in modern history – from her coronation to the numerous challenges she faced throughout her decades-long rule. Although the show’s earlier seasons were met with generally positive reviews, especially pertaining to its cinematography, acting performances, and writing, The Crown tackling recent events led to backlash concerning its use of artistic license, historical accuracy, and depiction of the royal family.
Premiering in 2016, The Crown was originally intended to run for six seasons; however, in January 2020, Morgan revealed that season 5 would be its last. But just months later, Netflix retracted the announcement, stating that the original plan would be followed to do justice to the complex storylines. Interestingly, just as updates about the show’s final season were rolling in, location photos showed Imelda Staunton, as the Queen, looking at a King Charles sign being installed at a London pub. While this hint might have just been taken out of context and could mean something else entirely in the show, it could also be a flashforward, which would then be an awful conclusion to The Crown.
The Crown Season 6 Should Avoid A Modern-Day Flashforward
Each season of The Crown covers a decade’s worth of headlines surrounding the royal family, and most recently, season 5 has dealt with the events of 1991 to 1997, particularly the disintegration of Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s marriage. As such, The Crown inches closer and closer to more recent storylines. Regardless, the show should avoid skipping to the present day as the possibility of receiving even worse criticisms remains imminent. In today’s politically aware landscape, there is no neutral means of discussing the recent controversies faced by the monarchy and witnessed firsthand by viewers without igniting fires along the way, making this historical dramatization difficult to achieve.
For instance, The Crown established that Prince Andrew was the favored child of Queen Elizabeth. In real life, he was involved in a series of scandals – from his exposed associations with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in 2011 to sexual abuse allegations that surfaced in 2014. Although he was not charged with any criminal offense, he was still stripped of royal titles.
Additionally, a modern-day flashforward of The Crown would most certainly depict the highly publicized relationship of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Harry and Meghan, their problems with the British institution, and their decision to step back from their royal obligations. The issues, if addressed on The Crown, would surely be met with poor reception, especially after the ing of Queen Elizabeth II.
King Charles' Coronation Is Not The Crown's Best Ending
Much of The Crown’s controversial season 5 hinted at Queen Elizabeth II’s conflicts with aging and abdicating from the throne to give way to Charles. Despite that, the inclusion of King Charles’ coronation would not be the best ending for the series since primarily, delving into current events would strip The Crown of its essence as a historical drama. Moreover, its portrayal of Charles focused on him pushing his ambition for the throne and continuing his affair with Camilla amidst his tumultuous marriage. This then rehashed a dark chapter in Charles’ life and allegedly contributed to a new generation frowning upon the newly installed King.
Should The Crown end with King Charles’ coronation, it might not be met positively, especially amidst renewed calls to abolish the archaic institution of monarchy. Fortunately, this might not even be on the table since The Crown’s creator opted to only discuss events that happened at least two decades ago.