First of all, Her Maj is bringing us some REAL Church Lady vibes with these glasses, which are also incredibly on-target for 1982. There are some cute hipster girls in Brooklyn wearing these semi-ironically right now, also. I personally am too elderly to look cute in these; I just look dated.
I must say that the production and set designers on this team are extremely good at their jobs; the juxtaposition of Fagan's flat and the Palace is striking and stark.
There's some blah blah in this episode about whether or not the royal family is "too accessible" -- literally -- and it dovetails with them being forced to mingle with folks at a Buckingham Palace garden party, in a scene which also very cleverly juxtaposes with scenes of folks in line to get their unemployment benefits.
I assume this look on the Queen is based on a real one, but I haven't seen her holding a white purse in....well, actually, maybe my lifetime. Margaret, on the other hand, looks quite chic over there.
This was the little throwaway bits of Trooping the Colour, and I honestly don't think they're doing to film all this if they weren't actually going to do something more with it at SOME point. It's fine -- the Queen's attempted assassination can go in the file with Anne's attempted kidnapping. Parenthetically...this family had TERRIBLE security in the 80s, apparently.
PETER MORGAN TURN ON SOME LIGHTS CHALLENGE. Having said that, of course you sit on the throne if you happen to break into Buckingham Palace. I really enjoyed the bits of this episode where it seemed like someone could live secretly there, like a royal Mixed-Up Files of Mrs Basil E Frankweiler.
These men are bad at their jobs.
This was meant to be at Windsor Castle, and the Queen's redone the place. It looks very cozy! (And expensive.)
I will say that while I had sympathy for Fagan as he was portrayed here, I REALLY had sympathy for his kids, whose father and step-father are wrestling while they're just trying to get their playground time in.
But Peter Morgan knows that what we're really all here for is hot Lampshade Action. This shot just screams, "right, but WHAT ABOUT THIS SCONCE!"
"WHAT ABOUT THIS CHEEKY BEDSIDE LIGHT?"
"What about THIS cheeky bedside light?!" It is pathological that a show that is so literally dim also features SO many lamps.
Maybe Her Majesty ought to keep a dagger under her pillow, as I believe rules did in ye olden times.
This scene, where Fagan and the Queen have a nice chat, is actually quite good and very well done on both actors parts and it is a shame that their faces are not that well-lit.
WHAT. IS. HAPPENING. WITH. THIS. WOMAN'S. WIG.
EXACTLY.