God Save the Stamps
The gimmick of the opening is the Queen approving her new stamp as compared with her younger profile. Olivia Colman relishes getting to call herself "Old Bat," and her aides all dance around the idea that she doesn't look THAT different, before she delivers a cutesy few lines about how, well, there HAVE actually been rather a lot of changes, but one must accept it and get on with it. WE HEAR YOU, PETER.
God Save the Wig
I think she carries the wig well.
God Save the Props
HBC leads off with Margaret in full hung-over crank mode. Did she have that pillow last season -- the one that reads, "It's Not Easy Being a Princess"? That is awfully on the nose.
God Save the Robe
Tony is refusing to attend a family birthday lunch, and so Margaret stalks semi-soberly across the courtyard in this BILLOWING robe over matching pajamas, and it's amazing.
God Save the Duke
You can't really get the feel for it in a still, but Philip here is needling Lord Anthony Blunt, and Tobias Menzies is SO GOOD at Phil's more imperious nature. He's gruff and wry and disdainful and somehow affectionate all at once, in the same scene, but in different directions. It just works.
God Save the Chemistry
He also made Lord Blunt look away while he kissed the Queen goodbye. This, I assume, is the show's way of letting us know that EVERYTHING IS FINE NOW, Y'ALL.
God Save the Heart Eyes
Colman adeptly melts whenever he's affectionate toward her.
God Save the Emmy Winner
Well, Lithgow doesn't have enough to do this season to get a guest actor nod, but he does thoughtfully roll up in time to lie in this bed and give the prop-masters a LOT of things to do.
God Save the Peephole
Lord Snowdon is avoiding Margaret, and comes home on his bike and removes some books from a shelf so he can spy on her party. That is VERY cunning, Tony. Do we think she knows you can spy into the room from the hall?!? She's drunkenly singing, and not terribly well, but with tragic feeling. He's disgusted and bored, and stalks off into his darkroom to be important. She, meanwhile, sways in this great dress.
God Save the Posture
Colman is also very effective at sitting ramrod straight, intimidating the hell out of whoever is across from her.
God Save the Newbie
Harold Wilson is the new prime minister, and the actor who plays him has a very earnest face, in a way that made me really want him to impress her.
God Save the Frock
The Queen here has busted out a really nice dress AND some arms for her uncle's birthday (Henry, Duke of Gloucester). That is the new Michael Adeane back there, by the way. We haven't had New Martin Charteris yet, but yes, it's true, both Martins are played by actors who've romanced Lady Edith Crawley.
God Save the Cigarette Holder
Margaret is wearing a lovely hair comb and a LOT of minty eye shadow, and HBC is working that cigarette holder like her life depends on it.
God Save the Mum
Marion Bailey has stepped into the Queen Mum's shoes, and makes very little impression on me right now (she is also not widely used). Something about her reminds me so keenly of Kathy Bates that I kept expecting her to burst out with, "Well HELL, honey, y'all gotta quit feelin' sorry for yourself and get the hell over your own sorry ass."
God Save the Interiors
This show is peerless when it comes to establishing the scope of its sets.
God Save the Jerkwad
Ben Daniels seems to enjoy playing this particular cad.
God Save the Special Effects Budget
Gorgeous. (They went to a LOT of trouble for Winston's funeral, only to do almost nothing with it.)
God Save the Hat
Nothing, that is, except put her in this ENORMOUS beret. Which seems fairly historically accurate, but... perhaps a bit fuller.
It's BEEFY.
We had shots from the set of her walking with Helena and Marion, neither of whom factor in here at all. Imagine having the budget to bring those two to work, only to gloss over them entirely.
God Save the Spine
MORE imperious posture.
God Save the Jewels
This just feels very RIGHT, to me.
God Save the Gold
For what it's worth, I like PM Wilson's wife's dress here very much.
God Save the Emoting
It seems that Staring Out The Window With Big Feelings is this season's Having Deep Realizations While Moisturizing or Removing Makeup In Front of a Mirror. (Although I think Foy did her share of looking out windows, too, so I guess... this is just how Peter Morgan believes we all do our thinking. Maybe he's forgetting that we might also be spying on our neighbors.