Queen Victoria Syndrome (S05E01)

The fifth season is facing the same problems as the third, i.e. the change of cast. This time, however, I feel that the shock is a little less, especially as far as the lead actress is concerned, and the transition from Olivia Colman to Imelda Staunton doesn't hurt nearly as much as it did when the incomparable Claire Foy, with all her feminine fragility, strength and elegance, left us. The affairs of the Crown in the 1990s are more comparable to a tabloid, so it will be quite a challenge for the creators. It can end interestingly, or it can end in disaster; what matters is how some of the key junctures of the story are grasped. (02.03.2023)