The Crown season 5, episode 7 review: The most controversial Princess Diana episode yet?

The Crown returned with its fifth season on November 9, 2022, on Netflix, shedding light on one of the most tumultuous periods of British royalty.

The Netflix show has long been criticized for overly dramatizing the events in British history. However, this season has so much spice from historical accounts alone that Netflix did not need to add much to make it dramatic.

Covering mainly the period from the early 1990s to the mid-1990s, this season of the show saw some glaring attempts at uncovering the drama that took place both within and outside the Windsor family.

With the seventh episode, the show started examining some more controversial topics, like Diana's (played by Elizabeth Debicki) growing distaste for the family and her attempts at being the free bird that she is, under the watchful eye of the Royal Family. The seventh episode could be one of the bravest episodes of The Crown so far.

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The Crown episode 7 review: How was Princess Diana surveilled?

After the infamous split with Prince Charles, Diana's life was more difficult than ever. This episode of the Crown was solely focused on the intricacies that Princess Diana had to endure while trying to live her life after the split.

The episode began with Diana talking about her struggles being the center of attention while life was passing her by. It also took time to focus on the rising tensions between Charles and Diana, with their son starting school.

The episode soon moved on to Martin Bashir from the BBC, who met with Diana's brother, Charles Spencer, who suggested that Diana and those close to her were being spied upon by the secret services.

He also believed that Diana's secretary was involved in the process. This was a nod to the heavy complications surrounding the Princess and how the family dealt with her.

The next part of The Crown season 5, episode 7 focused on Diana's growing affiliation with Dr. Khan, as she spent a lot of time in a London hospital. It also depicted Charles Spencer expressing his concerns to Martin Bashir.

Seemingly insignificant details like Diana's car not starting and the conversation with Charles showed the effect events like these can have on people, even if they are not ordinary people.

Diana's affair with Dr. Khan was also explored with great poise as the two slowly get close to each other. One of the more glaring sequences saw Dr. Khan and Diana plan a movie date, where Diana went in disguise. Their little moments of freedom somehow worked very well to generate sympathy for the princess who was seemingly fighting a big institution alone.

The entire episode was politically charged. With allegations that the Royal family would never address in real life, there were a lot of plotlines in the episode that would probably always stay a secret.

The last sequence of the episode saw Diana leaving her Royal home with the car roof down, smiling. This was one of the braver episodes of The Crown, and hopefully, it will live long in the memory of the viewers.

All the episodes of The Crown are now streaming on Netflix.