The Original
Hello, old friend! Claire Foy can still rock a red lipstick. It was interesting to see the younger and more naive Elizabeth in the same hour as the more seasoned one. It reminded me of the struggles she had with understanding her role early on, and made me wonder whether I believe she'd actually have gone out on the limb that the show alleges.
The Prose
But can it? CAN such a nugatory distinction pertain?!?
The Twaddle
SOMEBODY recently made sweet love to his Roget's Thesaurus.
The Agent
There's a huge part of me that wishes we still lived in these times, and that we got to print out The Royal We and The Heir Affair and plonk them onto our editor's desk in a leather folio.
The Kitchen
There's a scene where Thatcher discusses politics -- slooooowly and SO MUCH RASPING -- while also cooking a meal. We've seen a LOT of juxtapositions of Thatcher's political duties and her domestic ones. Apparently that's relatively accurate, but still. It feels almost fetishistic.
The Spare
Andrew is enjoying the idea of sidelining Charles on his wedding day, because he says Chaz is jealous of him. The Queen is like, "Of WHAT?" which is funny to me. Andrew announces that he's more popular, happier, has real medals from a real war, and "like other second sons I could mention, would so obviously be better at [reigning] than him."
The Fergie
Even from a distance, this casting seems very correct.
The Sneer
The Queen hears Andrew tell Sarah that Edward is the official Best Man -- eavesdropping from the room she's in, out into the hall, down the stairs, and into the foyer. Are we really to think the Queen's private dressing room is basically right at the top of the Buck House stairs? Hell no. Anyway, she is a bit sneery at Andrew. DESERVED.
The Specs
The glasses really do make her a ringer for Elizabeth.
The Hat
This is the only glimpse we got of this fancy headgear. Do not waste a hat, Peter Morgan!
The Meeting
There are expansive symmetrical overhead shots of this Commonwealth gathering in Nassau, and they probably cost a fortune, so let's ogle.
The Table
And another one! I appreciate the reverse-C of it all.
The Condescension
I am very excited for Gillian's Thatcher to be done.
The Yacht
Then, Thatcher traveled by zebra to the Royal Yacht. (Which is docked in Edinburgh, so I assume the Queen sailed to this meeting rather than flew? Very old-school.)
The Living Room
I love the yacht. It's fun to tour, and very much a time capsule. This is super accurate.
The Gang
In real life, Thatcher wore blue. In the show universe, red was probably chosen as a silent power play. The Queen looks more washed out; Thatcher looks more dynamic.
The Scapegoat
I mistyped the slide header as "The Spacegoat," which is amusing because there is an American Michael Shea who is a fantasy author and HE probably would LOVE a spacegoat. Anyway, this is UK Michael Shea, as portrayed in the show, looking put-upon and sad.
The Sister
This is a pretty accurate version of Anne's wedding ensemble. I would not have pegged her for a yellow flowery sort.
The Shock
The looks on all their faces when Charles drops the "fringe member of the family" hammer and then leaves... are great. I really wish we'd seen more of these twerps. (Not you, Anne. You're not a twerp and even if you were I would NEVER call you that to your face because you would have my spleen.)
The Happy Couple
I really wish we'd gotten to see more of the dress. This is all about as correct as it needed to be given that we're only going to see this much of it.
The Staring
Why, yes, the Queen DID stare out a window morosely while watching another character's life change.
The Exit
In this case, it was Mr. Shea, whom we are given to believe packed his belongings in a box and was ushered out THE FRONT FREAKING GATE OF BUCK HOUSE through a pack of tourists. In the middle of the day. MMMHMMM. I'm sure.