The Crown Season 5 episode 2 recap/review: Who is Andrew Morton?

The much-awaited The Crown Season 5, finally made its arrival this Wednesday, November 9, 2022, on Netflix. Since its arrival, it has already started to create a lot of positive buzz among critics and the audience for its riveting storyline, brilliant direction, and immersing performances by the lead cast of the series.

Based on the Netflix description for The Crown Season 5:

"Inspired by real events, this fictional dramatisation tells the story of Queen Elizabeth II and the political and personal events that shaped her reign. It’s a new decade, and the royal family are facing what may be their biggest challenge yet: proving their continued relevance in ‘90s Britain. As Diana and Charles wage a media war, cracks begin to splinter the royal foundation."

The first episode of the series' Season 5 titled, Queen Victoria Syndrome, ends on a gripping note, with Prime Minister John Major expressing his concern to his wife regarding both the rift between the royal family's old and new generations and Queen Elizabeth II staring at Queen Victoria's portrait in an unsettling manner.

Without further delay, let's dig deep to find out what happened in episode 2 of The Crown Season 5, titled, The System.

---

A recap/review of The Crown Season 5 episode 2: The System

Who is Andrew Morton and what does he want?

Episode 2 of The Crown Season 5, tilted The System, has been directed by Jessica Hobbs and written by Peter Morgan. In the second episode of Season 5, the audience gets to meet Andrew Morton, a journalist eager to learn all about Princess Diana's life and the truth about her marriage to Prince Charles.

Andrew Morton wants to write a book about Princess Diana and for that, he wants to meet her and hear her side of the story. Diana learns about Morton and his intentions from her close friend James Colthurst. Diana wants to tell her story to Morton but is extremely nervous about meeting him face-to-face.

James Colthurst volunteers to be the middle-man and to take Diana's voice recordings of her story to Morton. Princess Diana then goes on to record a tape, explaining how fragile and disturbing her married life was to her husband Prince Charles and how she always gets a cold shoulder from Queen Elizabeth II.

Amidst all of this, it turns out that someone is keeping tabs on Diana and Morton's book about Diana. Later on, the audience sees a white van almost hitting Colthurst, and Norton’s home getting raided.

---

What does Prince Philip do?

In episode 2 of The Crown Season 5, Prince Philip goes to see one of his old friends, Norton, whose little child of five years of age has passed away due to cancer. Upon Philip's visit to Norton's place, his wife Penny informs him about the book regarding Princess Diana that Andrew Morton intends to write.

At the end of the second episode, the audience gets to see that a meeting has been arranged between Princess Diana and Prince Philip. During that meeting, Prince Philip talks to Diana quite firmly. He goes on to explain the meaning of "The System" and how Diana is also a significant part of it.

According to Philip, as a part of “The System”, Diana should stay loyal to her husband Prince Charles so that their marriage is not shaken. Diana is seen stunned at Prince Philip's speech and does not utter a single word.

At the very end of the episode, Andrew Morton's book about Princess Diana is published. The book globally explodes, leaving the entire Royal Family in deep crisis.

---

Don't forget to catch episode 2 of The Crown Season 5, which is currently streaming exclusively on Netflix.