hooooohhhh boy. ohh boy. ive been excited about this one for a while but going in i suddenly thought oh. wait what if I don’t like it but ITS FINE it’s ok I did. how does the kingdom? it goes fine. in all honesty, I’ve always been quite negative about tv/film surrounding royals, i just thought i really couldn’t care less, but this one had me surprisingly invested. im guessing that’s because it’s about more than royalty (it’s focused more on loyalty you might say if you like a good pun which i do), but also I think it’s just handled so well. it isn’t a breakdown of what being royal is and how to do it, it’s more about what being royal, or trying to be, can do to you. the characters are very well developed in my opinion, and honestly I’m finding it difficult to figure out which side im on, if we’re supposed to subconsciously pick sides anyway, but I’m grateful to have seen each character at their worst and their best. the whole experience is sort of like you’re a guard in the palace stood up straight and in silence all day long, holding your breath when people walk past but always hearing and seeing what goes on out of the corner of your eye even though you’re not allowed to comment on it. it’s everybody’s secrets presented to you on a royal platter. the performances are brilliant, from everyone, and i don’t say that as a washy overview to avoid detail, these actors are at their best here and they all come together in an uncomfortably perfect way, like if an orchestra were to each play the wrong notes but somehow it sounds good. their conflict and pain and distaste for one another moulds into a sort of symphony; sometimes lifted by the more graceful moments of sincerity and humour. it isn’t perfect to me. upon my first watch, i personally feel it loses its balance towards the end, as i found myself wondering where it was going and if i had any idea at all. I suppose there’s a comfort in not knowing everything all the time, but the way it wrapped up feels loose to me. i don’t think i could watch this again soon, it’s a little too much of an event to throw myself back into and i think it asks a lot of you as a viewer, but perhaps after another watch in the future my irks could be changed. but all in all I’m glad I finally got to see this, and now i will end with my stupid one liner: i never knew what joe alwyn looked like until now but i have to say, when his wig was off, so was mine x k bye