The Crown (TV Series) Willsmania (2023) User Reviews

Fathers and sons

[fretyuizudg · 9/10 · 16 December 2023]

While The Crown has many moving episodes, this one is at the near the top of the list for me personally.

This program is about the life of the royals and all the pomp and circumstance that comes with their privilege. However, most of my favorite moments have nothing to do with any of the politics or grandeur.

It's about relationships. And one of the most powerful and complex relationships is between father and son.

I was moved to tears. The painful scene between William and Charles brings up a lot of emotions. And the resolution is equally as powerful and also cathartic.

Thank you to the writers and show runners for a beautiful show. I'll miss it.

William said it just right

[phd_travel · 7/10 · 18 December 2023]

The writer let William say to Charles what the world wanted to say to Charles. Blaming him for the death of Diana. Who knows if it happened in real life but it felt good to see it depicted on screen. Tell him off!

Hated Prince Philip for trying to convince William to not blame Charles.

The episode focuses on William coping with Diana's death. Also to a less interesting extent his popularity with the public.

Strange choice of actor for Harry. Harry was not handsome ever but this actor who plays him is frightening.

The scars from the trauma and damage Charles caused his sons is still felt today. All the trouble with Meghan Markle can be traced back to Harry not having a mother and someone to guide him.

Sort of Bland

[Hitchcoc · 7/10 · 25 December 2023]

As William enters his public persona as the son of Diana, he is beset by admiring people (mostly women) and can't seem to do anything or go anywhere without being mobbed. At times he enjoys this but it gets old. He is seen here as a student with others of some esteem. Charles wants to help him but William is bitter and distant, rather nasty. The episode is paced slowly and rather one dimensional, not delving into the politics of the Crown. He is a hurt young man. Still the whole thing seems rather like a soap opera. Interestingly, Camilla comes across in a really positive way, really understanding William, where Charles can't get a handle on it.

The tears.

[jacklynebetty · 10/10 · 14 December 2023]

The pauses. The glares. The staring into the distance.

The scores.

The dialogue.

The intimacy of each of the scene locations: A dorm.

A small(er) tea room.

A car.

An empty and dark hall in a school, with lights only focused on the 2 characters in the scene.

It's impossible to miss this move, given the grand nature of the castle scenes we've known through the series.

This episode will bring you to tears, just as it does to the depth of the grief over Princess Diana's death, as depicted on the show.

Every single shot delivered an intense draw to the abyss of a terribly accurate amalgamation of all stages of grief.

The transference.

The isolation.

The disillusionment to help offered from those who see it for what it is: Love with no place to go.

The patience of a parent, that is only superseded by their love for their child.

The support rallied around the protagonist (trying to avoid any major spoilers) was soul-wrenching.

I may have to rewatch that episode alone.

The director truly delivered.

Uncharacteristically poor casting

[wrxsti54 · 5/10 · 7 January 2024]

One of the great features of The Crown has been the fabulous attention to casting accuracy across all of the episodes involving not just the major royal family characters, but also the cast of English Prime Ministers and other major figures through the history of Queen Elizabeth's reign. This episode departs from that trend with the mistaken casting of William and Harry. In Season 6 episode 4 we see 15 year old William played by 16 year old Rufus Kampa and almost 13 year old Harry played by 13 year old Fflyn Edwards. Rufus is an almost perfect fit for the now awkward mid teen William. He would've seamlessly transitioned to 16 year old William in episode 5 Willsmania but the casting lept to 24 year old Ed McVey who actually did a fabulous job as the university aged Wills.

Similarly casting 22 year old Luther Ford as the 13/14 year old Harry in Willsmania was a massively inaccurate casting leap from Edwards who was perfectly cast as the early adolescent Harry easily covering his age in episodes 4 and 5 which was sad because Ford was excellent as the young adult Harry. These were very puzzling decisions given the very small age gap portrayed between episodes 4 and 5.

Harry grew up 10 years just like that...

[lenfoire33 · 5/10 · 15 December 2023]

The Crown is a vert good written and acted show. One of the principal things why I always loved the series was the accuracy with the cast for each period... here we have a couple of months gap between Diana's death and the new life for her kids. And, men, what a terrible choice of casting for Harry. Just one episode before, he was played by a 12 year old. Now, he looks older than William! How a show that is obsessed with details can make such a mistake? Every scene with new Harry lost me: it's a young adult man playing a 12 year old that pours champagne in Williams tea... What a shame and waste of good taste with this decision: it makes this last season, that had already some pacing issues, the weakest of the show.

Snoozefest

[tknc · 2/10 · 15 December 2023]

They definitely ran out of material after season 5. And even that is a stretch. The royal family after Diana is really boring. The only excitement is Harry and I cannot imagine they'll go too deep into that relationship with the partnership Netflix has with those two. This series would ha been much better if they had spent more time in the fifties and sixties and delved into the events that really transformed the nation instead of stretching out the Diana story. The Diana story could have been handled in one or two episodes instead of four. We all knew the aftermath would be sad but I've had more thrilling root canals.

Charles Rewritten

[donnaasfar-82332 · 5/10 · 14 December 2023]

As an American, I feel the royal family is past its purpose. The only time that it held any interest for me was during the Diana years. They are completely out of touch with reality. Had Charles been able to marry Camilla, I think that public opinion would have completely destroyed the monarchy. They are a caricature of themselves...the result of generations of inbreeding. The writers are desperately trying to portray Charles with a personality. Casting him with a good looking actor, is not going to make him more attractive. Nothing will make Camilla attractive. The only sparkle in that group was Fiana and now William.

Two words to define this episode: boring and propaganda in favor of Charles' big ear

[iamangelcortes · 21 December 2023]

From the silly episode title "Willsmania" I assumed it was going to be boring. Dominic West, in my opinion, is the worst possible casting, he is nothing like Charles in real life. After season 4, Peter Morgan seems to have regretted his portrayal of Josh O'Connor, and decided to write a new version. This Charles is not the Charles from seasons 3 and 4. This Charles seems written by Charles himself. William acts well, but is not up to par with other young actors like Josh O'Connor in seasons 3 and 4. The actor who plays the role of Philips leaves a lot to be desired, it is another result of the poor casting they did. I hated this season and each and every one of the main actors, they are nothing like the previous ones and make everything seem boring.

Duller than dishwater

[yogagalCO · 5/10 · 30 January 2024]

I had downloaded this episode for the plane and it was sleep inducing. It stands apart from all other previous episodes of. THE CROWN distinguished by it slow pace, pathetic attempts to make Charles theme as if he really loved and cared about his late wife Diana, and depiction of Prince William, as a brooding and sullen spoiled teenaged heir to the throne. Honestly., the episode was so awful. That I seriously considered stopping right there and not continuing with the season. There is not much else to be said other than the further depiction of Prince Philip as peacemaker and adoring father of Prince Charles. Rather a pathetic attempt, in my opinion, to paint him as a person with soft feelings toward his male progeny.