The Crown Recap: Episode 9, Season 2 : Paterfamilias

Paterfamilias

This is easily the most serious episode of the season, and it focused on male relationships; fathers and sons, uncles and nephews, school boys and more school boys with some father figures thrown in for good measure.

This episode compares and contrasts young Philip’s arrival at a rugged new school, Gordonstoun, to young Charles’ arrival at the same school many years later. It begins by establishing that Charles isn’t the most athletic of kids and that Philip wants to toughen his son up by attending his alma mater.

Charles spends a lot of time in the mud

 

Charles thinks he’s going to Eton, EVERYONE goes to Eton, it’s right down the street and he can wear lots of snazzy clothes there.

 

But no. He’s going to Gordonstoun and wearing this outfit–the same one his dad wore– like, exactly the same one.

 

Philip forgot that he, too, hated this outfit but, for some reason, he saved it for his son.

 

Philip’s drop-off day was with his favorite sister, Cecile, who hates flying.

Prince Charles’ drop-off day had more people than Philip’s. The real Charles on that day looks a lot happier than The Crown Charles.

 

Charles got the same room as Dad! The same bed! The same broken window! Ahh, Gordonstoun never changes (although people who actually went there said it was clean, nice and well kept.)

 

Yup, still broken.

 

Charles dealt with his rough entrance into Gordonstoun life by having Uncle Dickie come up for a picnic.

 

Philip dealt with his rough time at Gordonstoun mourning the tragic death of his sister and her family. This is so very sad…but this imagination scene was surreal and very well done.

 

She looks like Duckface, right? AKA Anthony Armstrong’s mum? It’s not, it’s an actress named Sophie Stone who should play Anna Chancellor’s sister in a movie! (Here Sophie plays Princess Alice, Philip’s mother.)

 

Philip attends the funeral of Cecile and her family…her husband was a Nazi officer.

 

But Charles has it pretty bad, too, when he fails an annual endurance race that his father excelled at.
Philip gave awards out… but that’s not too weird, to be standing under your own portrait, right?

 

Philip built a gate as therapy and as a metaphor for him rebuilding his life from nothing with a little help from his friends.

 

Charles ending the school year with some well intentioned but really bad parenting.

It was a very emotional episode and we, of course, compare and contrast what played out on the screen and what played out in reality.

Gordonstoun looks like a lovely place now, and it’s co-ed. Gordonstoun School…and if you’re school shopping for your lad (no lassies admitted, we’re afraid) we’ll just leave this right here…Eton College.

For more information about Princess Cecile, her family and their horrific deaths, you could start with this blog post on History of Royal Women and more about all of his sisters in this Express piece.

Photo Credit: Netflix; Stills: The History Chicks via Netflix