#diana daw

[daydreamerdrew]

Spicy Tales (1988) #19, reprinting a story from the January 1939 issue of Spicy Adventure

[thecrownnet]

First Official Look at The Crown Season 6

Part 1 premieres on Nov. 16. Part 2 premieres on Dec. 14.

[thecrownnetflixuk]

Goodbye to Diana, Goddess of the Hunt

Pt 1 of The Crown S6 Will Stand as the Definitive Dramatised Version of Diana & Dodi’s Final Days

Review (& gifs) by L.L @The Crown TV

Having seen Pt 1 of The Crown S6 before its official release, I can understand why Netflix decided to split the final season. The first 4 episodes are almost exclusively dedicated to the events surrounding the tragic deaths of Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed.

It's first-rate drama, but it's not always an easy watch. The series does have some lighter moments too, but it makes sense for The Crown to take a short pause before moving forward in December.

To be clear, Diana and Dodi's car crash is not portrayed in a voyeuristic way. We don't see the moment of impact; hearing it is traumatic enough. Diana's body is not shown. The show doesn't delve into what caused the accident. This is still The Crown, not CSI Paris.

Kudos to Peter Morgan and his research team who somehow scrutinised all reports of Diana and Dodi's final days and managed to turn no doubt conflicting accounts and opinions into 4 brilliantly dramatised episodes which feel like a definitive screen version.

I prefer the sharpened pace of S6 after a disjointed S5. All the cast seem more comfortable in their respective roles ... except ... Dominic West is a great actor, his grief and regret is so believable in these episodes, but for me, West's natural charm and roguishness still doesn't fit well with Charles. Perhaps Camilla would disagree!

There are no such issues with Diana. It's a difficult task playing an icon hunted by the paparazzi, but Elizabeth Debicki radiates the right emotional intelligence and effortless star quality of the princess. In fact, Debicki's empathetic and assured performance largely carries these pivotal episodes and tops her earlier impressive work in S5.

Warning - long read: more detailed spoilers ahead! GO & WATCH THE EPISODES FIRST (NOW ON NETFLIX)

Interview/images: courtesy of Netflix & Elizabeth Debicki.

The final season of The Crown begins in Paris with a bold flash forward to a dog-walker who witnesses the crash at the Pont de l'Alma tunnel. It's a jarring change of tone after S5, but effective.

From the start, we know where this story is headed. But first, it's back to Diana on her summer hols, impertinent rodents scurrying in the palace and Charles getting grumpy over the Queen not showing up for Camilla's birthday. Reassuringly, it's royal business as usual.

^ Happy 50th, Camilla. I'm with the Queen about this pair; still not quite on board.

Enter Dodi Fayed, who could not be more different to his overbearing father. Khalid Abdalla infuses the shy son-of-a-billionaire with an engaging soulfulness which contradicts Dodi's two-timing behaviour.

Dodi starts out romancing his fiancée, Kelly Fisher (Erin Richards), but after being bullied into it by his father Mohamed Al-Fayed, Dodi pursues Princess Diana. For a while, Dodi juggles both women, before redeeming himself and confessing the truth to Diana.

^ Diana & Dodi. This time, it's Diana herself who ends up not quite on board this ship.

BAFTA nominee Salim Daw is a force of nature as a magnificently Machiavellian Mohamed Al-Fayed. Daw's performance, along with Elizabeth Debicki's note-perfect Diana, is a standout in S6.

Those who had concerns that The Crown was too generous towards the real Al-Fayed in S5 have no such worries about S6. By episode 3, Mohamed almost crosses into arch villain territory, bribing Dodi into marrying Diana to get British citizenship and raise his social status.

^ Mohamed Al-Fayed. Give him a cat & he'd be the perfect future Bond villain.

It's a controversial post-death chat with a 'ghost' which (nearly) absolves The Crown's Mohamed. Salim Daw is tremendously genuine during his imagined conversation with Dodi, sobbing for forgiveness. Too little, too late, but we feel his real pain about the loss of his son.

Before watching these episodes, the idea of Ghost!Dodi and Diana in the show did seem off-putting. Confession: I didn’t make it through the surrealistic film ‘Spencer’, where Diana talks to the ghost of Anne Boleyn (although Kristen Stewart seemed well cast in her role.)

Now that I've actually seen the 'ghost' scenes in The Crown, they don't feel ghoulish or disrespectful. Following the crash, both Charles (Dominic West) and Imelda Staunton’s Queen have small conversations with Diana, as though the princess is still with them.

You could take that to mean they’ve gone full royal-bats-in-the-belfry, but as a person who recently lost my dad, I talk to the dead all the time. It’s often what happens when you lose somebody you love. To see this depicted on The Crown felt honest. And human.

^ Wassup, Betty? Just chillin', chatting w/dead Di* (*not dialogue from The Crown)

As the show wades through the aftermath of the crash, dealing with public sorrow, funerals and grief-stricken young William and Harry, it becomes heartbreaking. However, The Crown does handle heavy subject matter very well, as shown in episodes such as ‘Aberfan.’

With a golden jubilee coming up, hopefully Pt 2 of this final season will be more uplifting, and feature more scenes with Imelda Staunton as Elizabeth II. When we do see the Queen in Pt 1, her intonation is superb. There’s continuity too, with Staunton merging Claire Foy’s vulnerability and regality with Olivia Colman’s steely durability.

I'm no ardent monarchist, but now that we've said goodbye to Diana, I can't imagine that The Crown would end without paying tribute to another Queen of Hearts who reigned for over 70 years.

THE CROWN S6 PT 2:-premieres on Netflix | Thurs 14th Dec 2023

N.B: These are just my (humble) opinions at this point in time. No offence is intended. Agreement = lovely; not compulsory. Disagreement = happens; kindly coexist. Ta!

[lasaraconor]

[boardchairman-blog]

**Shots of the Episode**

The Crown (2016)

Season 5, Episode 3: “Mou Mou” (2022) Director: Alex Gabassi Cinematographer: Adriano Goldman

[awardswatcherik]

Netflix Releases First Look Images from Part 1 of the Final Season of 'The Crown'

[denimbex1986]

Numbers 1, 3, 4, 6, 10 and 19 often leave me biting my lip, with tears stinging my eyes or with a tear or two rolling down my cheeks, but 22 absolutely wrecks me EVERY SINGLE TIME.

[clarounette]

Blog post 06/17/22

I’ll get my reviews for Mansplainer by Avery Flynn and Last on the list by Amy Daws up before the end of the weekend. But not today, I’m way too tired… I’ve got several news! So, as you probably saw, I signed up for Fallen raven by Diana A Hicks and I’m already 25% in. I also received an ARC of In his protection by Sandra Owens, who’s new to me. I got an ALC of Wild about you by Rebecca…

[theinquisitxor]

Spoilery thoughts on Hell Bent:

Loved the opening prologue, spooky and fed right into the primordial fear of dark basements

Alex also says “fuck” like 6 times in that prologue, love it

Why does that guy need to give Alex 12k?? Also, impersonating Tom Brady is hilarious. Ah it's Eitan the bastard

Darlington is still so present in the story, through flashbacks and memories I love it

I’m sorry but the mental image of the reanimated corpse crab walking and scurrying around the floor was at both parts hilarious and terrifying

I like the little details about the rituals. A knot traps a demon better than a circle. Mix blood with salt. Bring an instrument

Glowstick cock. Did I really need to read they with my own two eyes Leigh Bardugo? Did I??

Diana Wynne Jones books are featured I’m :)

I thought Turner was an ass for most of book 1, and he’s still an ass, but I like him now. He’s just so unwilling with the magic it’s funny

(I lowkey ship Turner and Dawes)

Poor golden retriever baby Tripp

I’m enjoying the female friendship between Alex, Mercy, and Lauren even more in this book. In Book one they felt a lot like freshman year roommates. But in this one they feel like an established friend group

Linus Reiter give me Lestat vibes

hell heist Hell Heist Hell Heist

Leigh Bardugo back at it again with a heist

The Descent chapter was v cool. I loved seeing inside the other characters minds and what/who they killed

Of course getting Darlington back wouldn’t be that easy :(

Dawes is a witch!! does she know that about herself? I love Pamela Dawes so much

It was all a game! It was all a puzzle! Fuck!

I did not see the Anslem thing at all, jesus Leigh

Lmaoo I keep forgetting demon Darlington is naked in every scene. His ‘glowstick’ is just out there at all times

Darlington is so in love with Alex

Why no kiss, Leigh?! Why no kiss??!!

Very clever Alex, tricking Eitan and luring him into hell as the sacrifice, very clever

Poor Tripp, he’s babey

Good ending, not a cliffhanger but leaves things open for more.

Fantastic book, I forgive Leigh for taking 3 years to release this, it was worth the wait

[daydreamerdrew]

Spicy Tales (1988) #18, reprinting a story from the November 1938 issue of Spicy Adventure

[thecrownnet]

Diana (Elizabeth Debicki) and Charles (Dominic West) The Crown Season 5 ♚

[thecrownnetflixuk]

5 Truth Bombs from The Crown S5

Don’t Sweat the Technique

It’s official: The Crown is a fictionalised drama, not a documentary. Only 1% of GB adults surveyed viewed the whole show as fully accurate (which a drama will never be.) That figure edges up to 2% for those in the Gen-Z age bracket.

Nobody tell the 2% about ‘Spencer’, ‘The Windsors’ or those lifetime movies when Harry Botswana’ed Meghan and the, err, spirit of Princess Diana lives on in a lion (or something.)

But as Gillian Anderson put it recently, whilst certain scenes are fictionalised, The Crown is heavily researched, double and triple-checked. There’s true gems amongst The Crown’s jewels!

#1 Prince Charles did try to breakdance*

*apologies if eye-bleach is required

Actor Dominic West told Jimmy Kimmel that The Crown hired a choreographer(!) so he could dance in the same 'style' as Charles.

That’s a gift that must keep on giving during party season.

#2 Mohamed Al-Fayed did restore the former King’s home AND employed valet Sydney Johnson

When Sydney Johnson (Jude Akuwudike) started working for the Duke of Windsor it was unusual for a person of colour to be employed in a royal household. He went on to maintain this position for 30+ years before being employed by Al-Fayed (Salim Daw.)

Mohamed Al-Fayed auctioned the royal heirlooms in the 1990's – with rumours abound that Queen Elizabeth II was a secret bidder!

#3 Prince Philip donated his real DNA to identify the Romanovs

Prince Philip’s (Jonathan Pryce) maternal grandmother was Czarina Aleksandra’s sister. He donated blood to prove that bones unearthed in a Russian forest in the 1990′s belonged to the Romanov family, who were executed in 1918.

Philip’s DNA helped prove that Anna Anderson was what Time magazine called “one of History’s greatest imposters.” Anderson claimed to be the lost Grand Duchess Anastasia, but none of the Czar’s children survived the shooting.

#4 Prince Charles and Princess Diana really became “Couple 31”

After the biggest royal wedding of the 1980′s, the most famous royal fairytale whimpered to an end as just another  couple in divorce court.

Neither Charles or Diana attended court for the routine hearing (perhaps too busy making breakfast?!🍳) Their divorce was later finalised in Aug 1996.

#5 Princess Diana did vote against the monarchy

“Monarchy: The Nation Decides” was televised in the UK in January 1997. According to one source, the real  Diana voted ‘no’ for a monarchy 250 times(!)

Head of Research Annie Sulzberger told The Crown Podcast  that although this wasn’t shown on screen, teenage Prince William was there too, trying to convince his Mother not to keep voting due to the cost of the phone calls.

Image(s): Ana Blumenkron, courtesy of Netflix

[ao3feed-superbat]

What Mad Pursuit

read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/VI0g915 by arrowinthesky (restfulsky5) Clark and Bruce are finally honest with one another and share one night in each other’s arms, then a heat, with the promise of more. But then Bruce becomes deathly ill. Self-doubt is Clark’s worst enemy, and his newly acquired omega status Bruce’s. Believing he isn’t enough of an Alpha for Bruce to survive his biological alteration, Clark finds a way to time travel and bring someone the omega had once loved back from the dead. Upon his return, without the person he’d meant to bring back for the greater good but with other Gothamites from Bruce’s past instead, he finds his world changed—again. Bruce appears to be improving, but Clark’s claiming mark on Bruce’s neck is covered by another’s. Or is it? Words: 5904, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English Fandoms: Batman - All Media Types, Superman - All Media Types, Batman (Comics), Batman (Movies - Nolan), Justice League - All Media Types Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Categories: M/M Characters: Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent, Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Damien Wayne, Jim Gordon, Barbara Gordon, Barry Allen, Hal Jordan, Diana (Wonder Woman), Leslie Thompkins, Rachel Dawes, Harvey Dent, Cassandra Cain, Slade Wilson, Lois Lane, Alfred Pennyworth, Oliver Queen Relationships: Bruce Wayne/Clark Kent, Barbara Gordon/Dick Grayson, Jason Todd/Bruce Wayne, Bruce Wayne/Other(s) Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Omega Verse, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Worldbuilding, Pack Dynamics, Mpreg, Unplanned Pregnancy, Complicated Relationships, Omega Bruce Wayne, Alpha Clark Kent, Alpha Jason Todd, Alpha Dick Grayson, Beta Alfred Pennyworth, Omega Damien Wayne, Protective Batfamily (DCU), Possessive Clark Kent, Bruce is a good parents, Bruce Has Issues, Bruce Wayne Whump, Hurt Bruce Wayne, Bad Coping Skills, Mental Health Issues, Possessive Superman - Freeform, past Bruce Wayne/Selina Kyle - Freeform, Selina skipped out on Bruce, Nonsexual Submission, Mating Cycles, Knotting, Heats, Scenting, Intersex Omegas, suppressants, suppressant abuse, omega drop, high level omega, Nesting, Age Regression, Jason Todd is temporarily Bruce’s Alpha, Body Modification, Non-Consensual Body Modification, Dubious Consent, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Mating Bonds, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Omega Tim Drake read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/VI0g915

[the-celluloid-correspondent]

The Crown Season 6 Part 1 Review

The life of Queen Elizabeth II from her wedding to Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, until the early 21st century. 

Netflix’s acclaimed drama, The Crown, has begun to end its reign as it enters its final season. After a mixed fifth season, The Crown had to regain some of its audience in the final season. And the question of whether it would stick its landing began to ponder everyone's minds. Sadly, this will not be the case based on the first half of this concluding season. The Crown has sadly fallen into a melodrama soap opera, a sad shadow of its former self driven by character and history.

Since Season 4, the series has slowly pivoted its focus from the late Queen Elizabeth II to the late Princess Diana of Wales.  Now in its’ final season, the series is entirely about The People’s Princess, and the Royal Family have become side characters in their show. Thus, causing The Crown to fall into the same traps as the press did in the 80s and 90s, as it becomes infatuated with the Late Princess. We follow Diana in the final weeks of her life stretched out over four episodes. For four straight hours, we watch Diana being abused by the media and paparazzi. This abuse was putting a horrible taste in my mouth as I was begging for the show to get on with the inevitable tragedy.  Hollywood's obsession with Princess Diana by not letting her rest in peace is disgusting at this point. 

Then when her tragic passing finally arrives, the series handles it well for the most part. I was moved by the grief being expressed towards the late Princess. Dominic West gives an Emmy-worthy performance here with the grief and regret he can put forth. The internal conflict of regret is portrayed masterfully and the cry he gives is haunting. The same can be said for Salim Daw. Then it is ruined by that scene. No matter what the series was between a rock and a hard place when handling her death, and the series was handling it incredibly well, then the ghost scenes arrived. Now I understand that Diana’s ghost is meant to be a reference to King Henry VIII seeing the ghost of his former wives. However, the series completely misunderstands why Henry is seeing those ghosts. King Henry VIII saw those ghosts as they forever reminded him of the foul deeds and abuse he gave out to them. If The Crown would have taken this approach, then this would have worked perfectly. To see Royal Family members look in horror realizing the abuse they have to Diana and have them apologize profusely to her silent ghost would have been a masterful portrayal of grief and regret. Yet, the series decides to have Diana say how much she loves them and how grateful she is to have them as family. I’m not going to lie, but that put a bad taste in my mouth. At least they had shown the now King Charles some kind of regret for how he treated Diana. 

Overall, now a particularly strong start for the final season of The Crown. It has become a shadow of its former self as it has lost focus of what the series is truly about. It’s not a soap opera about the Royal Family, but a character study of Queen Elizabeth II and her family. We shall see if the series can find itself again in its final six episodes.

[mediaevalmusereads]

Beauty and the Blacksmith. By Tessa Dare. Avon, 2013.

Rating: 3/5 stars

Genre: historical romance, novella

Part of a Series? Yes, Spindle Cove #3.5

Summary: Beautiful and elegant, Miss Diana Highwood is destined to marry a wealthy, well-placed nobleman. At least, that's what her mother has loudly declared to everyone in Spindle Cove.

But Diana's not excited by dukes and lords. The only man who makes her heart pound is the village blacksmith, Aaron Dawes. By birth and fortune, they couldn't be more wrong for each other...but during stolen, steamy moments in his forge, his strong hands feel so right.

Is their love forged strong enough to last, or are they just playing with fire?

***Full review below.***

Content Warnings: blood, danger associated with armed robbery, graphic sexual content

Overview: I completely blanked on the fact that there are a couple of novellas in this series, so here we are. I was looking forward to this novella because I'm getting a little tired of romances about titled heroes; a working class hero sounds like just the thing to shake things up. Unfortunately, I didn't find this book to quite live up to my expectations. While I don't think anything was "bad," I just personally wished the narrative was a little more robust. As it stands, the non-romance plot doesn't seem to support the stakes of the love story, so for that reason, this book gets 3 stars from me.

Writing: Dare's writing in this novella is comparable to the prose in the rest of the Spindle Cove series. It's quick, funny, and well-balanced, and if you're an avid romance reader, it will be pleasantly familiar. I don't have much to add that I haven't already said in other reviews.

Plot: The non-romance plot of this book follows Diana Highwood, the eldest daughter of the Highwood family, as she contemplates resisting her mother's efforts to marry her off to a titled gentleman. Diana has been living in a gilded cage her whole life; as the most beautiful of the Highwood daughters, her mother has always insisted that Diana would be the one to marry well and secure the family's future. However, Diana wishes to live her life for herself, and she plans to start doing so by pursuing her two year attraction to the village blacksmith, Aaron Dawes.

While I found the premise of this plot to be intriguing, in practice, it didn't quite play out in a way that I found satisfying. The narrative didn't do much to challenge the characters to grow or evolve and heavily featured some threads that turned out to have little consequence. For example, a chunk of this novella is devoted to preparing for a dramatic production of the legend of St. Ursula, with Diana cast as the lead in order to woo the titled host. However, I didn't necessarily feel like the play was doing much for Diana's development, and it felt more tedious to read about than exciting or engaging.

The subplot featuring the string of thefts was also fairly dull, as I didn't feel invested in it until it had the potential to affect Diana towards the end. I was surprised that no one tried to pin the crimes on Aaron, who was of a lower class, as that would have provided some ferile ground for exploring class issues in more depth. And I don't say this because I just want to novella to be about class; the class difference is a major issue in the protagonists' relationship, and I wish Dare had done more to show how different Diana's and Aaron's worlds are.

Characters: Diana, our heroine, is sympathetic in that she feels the heavy burden of being the sole source of hope for her family's future. I liked that much of her arc involved asserting her own desires and forging her own path rather than letting her mother dictate it instead. I do wish there had been more moments that built up her confidence, though. As it stands, it didn't feel like Diana was evolving so much as just deciding to be herself.

Aaron, our hero, is likable in that he's a warm, affectionate man who trusts Diana to assert her desires. But as likable as he is, I do wish Aaron had more of a personal arc; most of what he does is waver back and forth between caring about class difference and not caring, and the wavering made for an evolution that didn't quite feel believable.

Supporting characters are fine, though I don't have too much to say about them. They seem to do their jobs and then quickly disappear, but since this book is a novella, it didn't really bother me.

Romance: Diana and Aaron's romance is sweet but doesn't grow too much. While I really liked that their evolution as a couple included not caring about what other people think of their class difference, it also felt like they didn't grow much at all. At the beginning of this book, the two have been pining for each other for two years, so by the time they finally give themselves permission to be with each other, it seems like they're already in love. Personally, I most enjoy romance when I get to see how a couple goes from initial attraction to a deeper emotional intimacy, and it seemed like most of that development happened off page.

TL;DR: Beauty and the Blacksmith is refreshing in that it's not a love story involving a titled hero, but stumbles when it comes to building a meaningful plot. A lot of the love story seems to have already developed off page, and the main narrative doesn't do much to help the protagonists grow together as a couple.