Smoke and Mirrors
- Episode aired Nov 4, 2016
- TV-MA
- 55m
Elizabeth rejects protocol by appointing Phillip to coordinate her coronation, but his ideas create conflict. The Duke of Windsor returns to London.Elizabeth rejects protocol by appointing Phillip to coordinate her coronation, but his ideas create conflict. The Duke of Windsor returns to London.Elizabeth rejects protocol by appointing Phillip to coordinate her coronation, but his ideas create conflict. The Duke of Windsor returns to London.
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe Duke of Windsor's nasty comments about his family are profusely documented in his letters to Wallis Simpson, which have been researched by historians.
- GoofsDuring the coronation scene, the bishop pours oil out from a container onto a spoon even though there is already oil on the spoon. Also, when he makes the pouring motion, nothing comes out of the container.
- Quotes
Duke of Windsor: Oils and oaths. Orbs and sceptres. Symbol upon symbol. An unfathomable web of arcane mystery and liturgy, blurring so many lines no clergyman or historian or lawyer could ever untangle any of it.
Party Guest: It's crazy.
Duke of Windsor: On the contrary. It's perfectly sane. Who wants transparency when you can have magic? Who wants prose when you can have poetry? Pull away the veil and what are you left with? An ordinary young woman of modest ability and little imagination. But wrap her up like this, anoint her with oil, and hey, presto, what do you have? A goddess.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Ringer's 100 Best TV Episodes of the Century (2018)
Most of the episode focuses on the preparation for and planning of the coronation. Elizabeth places Philip in charge of planning the coronation. He generates a lot of conflict when he proposes a number of unconventional ideas, prompting a number of scenes which examine the purpose of a monarchy in a very interesting way.
Philip also receives quite a bit of character development in this episode, as his motivations are made clear and his increasing sense of emasculation is shown. Matt Smith is quite good in the role. I was skeptical when I heard he had been cast; I enjoyed him in Doctor Who, but he did not do a whole lot to make me confident in his acting abilities. But in this episode, he does very well.
Overall, this is a marvellous episode of the crown. It contains many great scenes, but will be remembered mostly for its pitch perfect recreation of the coronation.
- TouchTheGarlicProduction
- Nov 5, 2016
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Language
- Filming locations
- Ely Cathedral, Chapter House, The College, Ely, Cambridgeshire, England, UK(Palace of Westminster)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime55 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.00 : 1