Misadventure
- Episode aired Dec 8, 2017
- TV-MA
- 56m
As Philip leaves for a long tour, Elizabeth makes an upsetting discovery. Prime Minister Eden wants to strike back after Egypt seizes the Suez Canal.As Philip leaves for a long tour, Elizabeth makes an upsetting discovery. Prime Minister Eden wants to strike back after Egypt seizes the Suez Canal.As Philip leaves for a long tour, Elizabeth makes an upsetting discovery. Prime Minister Eden wants to strike back after Egypt seizes the Suez Canal.
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAnthony Eden's (Jeremy Northam) drug use is now commonly agreed to have been a part of the reason for his bad judgment while prime minister during the Suez Crisis. Benzedrine, the wonder drug of the 1950s, regarded then as a harmless stimulant and used in a very casual way, has serious side effects such as insomnia, restlessness, and mood swings, all of which Eden suffered at that time.
- GoofsSir Anthony addressed the assembled student body at Harrow, not Eton.
- Quotes
Lord Mountbatten: Thank you for supper.
Queen Elizabeth II: [chuckles]
Lord Mountbatten: You... You will let me know, won't you, when I can take care of all this and send you someone really good?
Queen Elizabeth II: What?
Lord Mountbatten: The food.
Queen Elizabeth II: What's wrong with it?
Lord Mountbatten: It belongs in a nursery. Everything that should've been hot was cold. Everything that should've been soft was hard.
Queen Elizabeth II: [sighs] I've neither noticed or cared. And frankly, Dickie, the older and grander you get, the more common you become.
[chuckles]
While not one of the best episodes of Season 2 or 'The Crown' at its very best, "Misadventure" still manages to be a great start for the second season, with plenty of what makes 'The Crown' so good as a series more than evident. It deals with two major subplots and, while one is to me more interesting than the other, they both are very well written and intriguing, handled well structurally for an episode that could easily have been disjointed and show a lot of character growth for Elizabeth.
Occasionally, the pace is a little on the too deliberate side, especially in the Phillip subplot. Otherwise, "Misadventure" is an absolute winner.
Visually, "Misadventure" as ever for 'The Crown' couldn't be any more classy and sumptuous. The photography and production and costume design are evocative and a sight to behold. The music for me wasn't too intrusive or low-key and was beautiful scoring on its own. The main theme is not easy to forget.
Can't say anything bad about the writing either, which is intelligent and intrigues. The subtle but also tight tension of the dialogue in the Suez crisis subplot stands out and the Phillip subplot's writing avoids being soapy. The story on the most part is incredibly compelling, the better of the two subplot is the one detailing the Suez crisis. Tighter paced and had more tension and intrigue. But both are handled beautifully on the whole and tie very well together, there is never too much of a disconnect from each other.
All the characters are written with no problem, Elizabeth is written with a lot of nuanced complexity. Margaret's screen time is brief but she was a lot more bearable than she was in Season 1, not near as much of a sense that the series going too far on making her unlikeable. The acting is superb all round, particularly the subtly powerful turn of Claire Foy.
Summing up, great beginning to Season 2. 9/10
- TheLittleSongbird
- Mar 16, 2021
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Language
- Filming locations
- Belvoir Castle, Belvoir, Leicestershire, England, UK(Windsor Castle)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime56 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.00 : 1