3x05 Coup

[7.5/10] I kind of want the Queen to do nothing. That goes against my interest as a television viewer. Shows like The Crown need drama. And if you’re like me, and get tired of the back-and-forth romantic tumult which is seemingly the stock and trade of anything vaguely soapy, that means a show like this one requires politics, diplomacy, world-shaking events!

Except, in an ideal world, I’d rather that unelected hereditary rulers not really have any say in those things. So color me excited when Elizabeth herself basically says as much, at least insofar as getting involved would thwart the democratic will of the people. When her uncle pussyfoots around with a coup, and comes to ask for her support, she rebukes him in no uncertain terms. She basically says that the country could go to hell in a handbasket, and it still wouldn’t be her place to subvert the will of her citizens’ elected leaders. And here here!

But maybe that's easy to say when, if Elizabeth could wave a magic wand and have her heart’s dearest wish, she wouldn’t be doing this job. One of the most poignant moments in an episode not short on them is the Queen confiding in dear old Porchie that she thinks horse-managing is what she was truly meant to do, and that being the English monarch is merely “the other thing”, a sad avocation she is bound to unhappily. Her extended visit to the stables of France and America -- which the episode paints a bit as Nero fiddling while Rome burns -- are a rousing but ultimately depressing taste of the life she’ll never get to live.

In an episode centered on a country suffering a financial crisis so great that it must devalue its currency, it is, as always, a little tough to feel too bad for someone who can just decide to piss off and go gawk at horses for a month. But the magic trick of The Crown is that most of us can relate to fulfilling our responsibilities while we yearn to delve deeper into our passions. That the Queen is no exception brings her closer to our level, even as she dines on fancy sandwiches in an idyllic countryside while others make do with bread and water.

And yet, not everyone feels as she does. Dickie Mountbatten is a true believer, someone who loves his country, has given his life in service of it, and worries that something must be done to save it from those who might lead it to ruin. So he is willing, nay compelled, to take action to save it, even if it means staging the titular coup and seizing the reins of government to steer his nation in what he believes to be the right direction.

In truth, there's not much in the way of actual stakes to the scheme. My knowledge of English history is spotty at best, but I feel like I would have learned about a military takeover of the U.K. in recent history. The plot never gets beyond a few boardroom discussions and a single grave phone call, so it’s hard to buy that this is an impending threat the sovereign must act to stop.

But like so much on The Crown, the true weight and impact is more personal than political. Dickie does have his ideological differences with PM Wilson’s government, whether it’s on economic policy or military spending. Nonetheless, you get the sense, from the Queen and from the show writ large, that that's not the full story of what’s motivating this move from Lord Mountbatten.

It is, instead, a sense of aging out, of being cast aside, of feeling the moment pass you by and worrying what’s going to be left of what you built in your younger days. Dickie feels personally affronted by Wilson showing him the door. He feels spurred to action by the sense that he still has more to give despite being sacked from his position of military leadership. And most of all, he’s afraid of having nothing of consequence left to do.

That comes through in a bravura performance from Charles Dance stepping into the role. Game of Thrones fans are quite familiar with how he can be commanding and dramatic. But what’s striking in “Coup” is how vulnerable, sentimental, wounded Lord Mountbatten is by all of this. Dickie is not the type of man to say such things himself, so it has to come through in Dance’s sullen face when he hears his seconds singing him a fond farewell, his heavy breathing as he reflects on his life and legacy in the bath, his sense of spiritual calling when he speaks to his fellow veterans on what they have forged together.

This is a story of a man acting out of a sense of duty, but also out of fear and pain. That's not an easy thing to communicate, especially with a comparatively restrained script. But Dance pulls it off with flying colors.

When read the riot act and appropriately chastened by the Queen, Dickie goes to see his sister, Princess Alice. And there, Dance and late-coming star Jane Lapotaire have a lovely scene, reflecting on the peace and pain of hitting those golden years. For Alice, it means freedom, the chance to step back and not worry about the end of the world for people without a country. For Dickie, it means letting go in a way he hasn’t for decades, if ever, in a country he cannot help but claim for his own. For both, whether they want it or not, it’s time for rest, and on that they can find common ground.

That stepping back, that discretion, that forbearance, is what I want from the established families of old. I don’t agree with every election result, but I prefer it to the nobility sticking their noses in and deciding what’s best for everyone. To have that clout, to disagree fiercely with how things are going, and still decide not to intervene, must be incredibly difficult. It is not a position many of us are likely to find ourselves in, but we can relate to the notion of a time coming when we must cede the ground to the next generation. I still want the royalty of the world, official and unofficial, to take that step back, but I cannot pretend it’s easy.

I've returned to the show after a long break and now I see it was a mistake to take this break from watching it. Game of Thrones Charles Dance steals the show (or at least the episode) as Lord Mountbatten, it is a great role. I am not well-versed in the 20th century British history, so the episode was also quite suspenseful as I was not sure whether they would actually proceed with the coup. It was a bit humorous when Lord Mountbatten made the conspirators aware that such a coup would be completely impossible in Britain, unless they had the support of the Queen, which they finally don't get as she decides to support democracy and the law - thouhg I wonder whether she did what she did because the Prime Minister got to her first and to some extend threatened her to try and remove support for the royal family?

It is great to see Lord Mountbatten reconnect with his sister as well as to see the relationship between the queen and Phillip on the mend. Though I guess the fact that she travels to France and America with Porchey to find out more about modern horse breeding while there is an economic crisis in Britain does not show her in good light. Though I liked the scene when she had a heart-to-heart with Porchey and told him what life she would like to lead had she not became the queen.

It is a bit strange to watch the show about the queen after she is gone, I am not British but I am a fan of everything British and she was someone who has always been there and it was quite sad when she passed away, I guess what the British people must have felt, was it like we in Poland experienced when John Paul II died? After all, the queen was also a religious leader, though she is not often depicted in this capacity in the show.