The Crown season 6 spoilers follow – including part 1, episodes 1-4.
Netflix's final season of The Crown pushes back against tradition, much like Diana herself did.
The show's standard tone and aesthetic remain in place, but the first three episodes avoid the usual standalone format in favour of an ongoing, slow-burn look at Diana's final months. And by doing so, these three chapters connect through an impending sense of dread as the inevitable draws near.
The Crown wisely avoids showing Diana's actual death though, instead focusing on the impact this tragic loss had on those close to her and the world at large.
This means the rest of the cast members don't really come into focus until the fourth episode, titled 'Aftermath', but that doesn't mean Elizabeth Debicki's time on the show is quite over by that point.
Yes, the rumours are true. Diana's 'ghost', for want of a better word, shows up twice after her death, speaking to both Charles and Queen Elizabeth II from beyond the grave. Just don't let series creator Peter Morgan hear you describe it as such.
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When news of this narrative twist first arrived ahead of the new season, Morgan told Variety that he "never imagined it as Diana's 'ghost' in the traditional sense".
"It was her continuing to live vividly in the minds of those she has left behind," says Peter. "Diana was unique, and I suppose that's what inspired me to find a unique way of representing her. She deserved special treatment narratively."
Now that much is true. Diana's death was always going to be the toughest moment to adapt, and for the most part, it's handled just as sensitively as you'd hope for. But then her spirit or essence appears in front of Charles to offer him some kind of closure.
"You looked so raw, broken, and handsome," Diana tells him in reference to the moment he identified her body in the morgue. "I'll take that with me."
There is something admittedly beautiful about this moment. Earlier on in the season, it's established that Charles and Diana are on better terms now, post-divorce, and his grief at her untimely passing is genuinely quite moving. So it's heartening to see them find peace with each other and acknowledge what they had.
But would Diana have really said that to Charles given the chance to do so? We'll never know. And do we as viewers even need these unspoken sentiments brought to life?
The grief Charles feels is palpable enough, speaking to their connection without speaking it out loud. To make Diana physically tangible here feels more like a lunge for headlines than anything actually meaningful.
Before season six even started to air, royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams felt the same way, telling Mail Online that these "ghostly appearances by Diana" sound "utterly tasteless," adding: "It is pitiful that someone with [Morgan's] skills has reduced what is undoubtedly a tragedy to something that he knows perfectly well will be controversial."
In response to this 'ghost' controversy, Morgan told Deadline: "The word 'ghost' is unhelpful. I was never writing anything from a supernatural perspective, not at all.
"It was more an indication that, when someone has just passed, they're still vivid in the minds of all those close to them and love them. And sometimes it's impossible to keep them out of the minds. It felt to me more like an extension of her in real life, rather than a ghost."
That's all well and good, but there are other more tasteful ways to achieve that effect, particularly when you consider Diana's second appearance in the episode alongside Queen Elizabeth II.
The pair famously didn't get on, as seen often in The Crown itself, yet Diana still becomes a source of comfort for her ex-mother-in-law here as well.
In the show, Elizabeth is depicted as bitter, saying: "I hope you're happy now. You've finally succeeded in turning me and this house upside down."
But Diana is almost saintly in this moment, showering the Queen with kindness and compliments quite divorced from what we'd imagine of their relationship in real life.
"You've always shown us what it meant to be British. Maybe it's time to learn, too", she says, urging the Queen to show the world how much the royals actually cared for Diana.
To be clear, this isn't Diana herself speaking. As Morgan pointed out, this is but a mere "extension" of how the Queen perceived Diana. Still, that won't be clear to everyone watching unless they read around these moments in external reviews or features like this one.
And again, tacky writing aside, the question here is would Diana have even wanted to be represented by this kind of dialogue on screen?
This is an issue that plagues not just Diana's portrayal in the show, or even the other royals, but also anyone whose life story is adapted in some way.
However, this issue is particularly pertinent here given how much Diana was hounded and misrepresented by the media throughout her life, not to mention how media scrutiny played such a large role in her actual death too.
Netflix can claim all it wants that "these sensitive and thoughtful imagined conversations seek to bring to life the depth of emotion that was felt" (as mentioned in a statement to Radio Times).
But there's no getting away from how crass and unnecessary these 'ghost' scenes actually are, including Dodi Fayed's as well – especially when the rest of the episode does such a great job of hitting those emotional depths without sensationalising Diana's demise.
At one point before the ghosts show up, Charles says he let Diana down in life, "but I will not let her down in death". If only the same could be said for the media which continues to do a disservice to her memory, even now, almost three decades after she passed.
The Crown season 6 part 1 is now available to watch on Netflix, with season 6 part 2 following on December 14. The Crown seasons 1-5 are streaming on Netflix. Seasons 1-4 are also available on DVD and Blu-ray.
After teaching in England and South Korea, David turned to writing in Germany, where he covered everything from superhero movies to the Berlin Film Festival.
In 2019, David moved to London to join Digital Spy, where he could indulge his love of comics, horror and LGBTQ+ storytelling as Deputy TV Editor, and later, as Acting TV Editor.
David has spoken on numerous LGBTQ+ panels to discuss queer representation and in 2020, he created the Rainbow Crew interview series, which celebrates LGBTQ+ talent on both sides of the camera via video content and longform reads.
Beyond that, David has interviewed all your faves, including Henry Cavill, Pedro Pascal, Olivia Colman, Patrick Stewart, Ncuti Gatwa, Jamie Dornan, Regina King, and more — not to mention countless Drag Race legends.
As a freelance entertainment journalist, David has bylines across a range of publications including Empire Online, Radio Times, INTO, Highsnobiety, Den of Geek, The Digital Fix and Sight & Sound.
