Does The Crown have a problem with Northern Ireland? This is now the assumption of many spectators… It has to be said that, since its inception, the magnificent series dedicated to the Windsor family has always dodged the issue. Over the course of the superbly crafted seasons, the subject seems conspicuous by its absence… And season 4 is no exception… Discussing the years under Margaret Thatcher, many expected to hear familiar names such as Bobby Sands… But this is not the case. With the exception of a single episode featuring the IRA and its attack on Lord Mounbaten…
Every season, it’s the same thing. Northern Ireland is about to see its political history retraced through the story of Queen Elizabeth II. But every time, the series disappoints with its omissions: out with the Troubles in Northern Ireland… Gone is the Bloody Sunday of 1972…
And the fourth season continues in the same vein: apart from an episode dedicated to the IRA attack on Lord Mounbaten in Mullaghmore, Ireland, there’s nothing to suggest that there was any political unrest in Northern Ireland at the time. Forget hunger strikers, forget prisoners locked in H-Blocks, forget the Blanket Protest, forget Bobby Sands…
Margaret Thatcher in The Crown
We just catch a glimpse of Margaret Thatcher, promising the Queen to crush those responsible for Lord Mounbaten’s death… with total determination. For her, the conflict must be crushed, and the guilty must pay… For the rest, a few shots are shot on the walls of Northern Ireland… Murals referring to the conflict… And so the file is quickly closed.
In this way of dealing with the Northern Irish question, the series seems to be admitting a malaise. A clumsy way of dodging or ignoring the elephant in the room. This attitude has already been noted by critics, and has once again disappointed the series’ Irish and Northern Irish fans.
But rest assured: The Crown has many other qualities. You’ll have to make do without Northern Irish history, but this Netflix show is still worth the detour!
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