This show has made it clear from the very first episode that it is character based, not event based. With that in mind, this is a very fitting penultimate episode. It does not contain any shocking reveals or exhilarating moments. It just artfully and skillfully draws Churchill's arc to a close, and brings Elizabeth and Phillip's to a crisis point. The "assassins" are not literal assassins, but assassins of the mind. It's an episode about denial, art, jealousy, and sense of self.
While the episode spends some time on Elizabeth reconnecting with her childhood friend Porchey and fighting with Phillip, most of the episode focuses on Churchill. The government hires artist Graham Sutherland to paint his portrait in honour of his 80th birthday. Through his interaction with Sutherland, Churchill is forced to confront his own demons, to accept his own physical condition. Lithgow digs deep, and the actor who plays Sutherland (formerly Stannis Baratheon on Game of Thrones) also does great work here. The result is deeply moving, particularly due to the fact that you can feel that this is the end for Churchill; he lives another 11 years, but his character arc is satisfied and his role in the show is complete. He may still show up every once in a while, but this is likely his last major episode.
In summation, The Crown delivers yet another moving, riveting episode which seems uneventful on the surface yet oozes subtext and subtlety.
While the episode spends some time on Elizabeth reconnecting with her childhood friend Porchey and fighting with Phillip, most of the episode focuses on Churchill. The government hires artist Graham Sutherland to paint his portrait in honour of his 80th birthday. Through his interaction with Sutherland, Churchill is forced to confront his own demons, to accept his own physical condition. Lithgow digs deep, and the actor who plays Sutherland (formerly Stannis Baratheon on Game of Thrones) also does great work here. The result is deeply moving, particularly due to the fact that you can feel that this is the end for Churchill; he lives another 11 years, but his character arc is satisfied and his role in the show is complete. He may still show up every once in a while, but this is likely his last major episode.
In summation, The Crown delivers yet another moving, riveting episode which seems uneventful on the surface yet oozes subtext and subtlety.