The Crown (TV Series) Wolferton Splash (2016) User Reviews

Making a Splash at Wolferton

[lavatch · 9/10 · 24 December 2017]

The title "Wolferton Splash" of Episode 1 of "The Crown" refers to the village in Norfolk in the north of England where a group of the royals partake in duck hunting. As a tagline for the opening episode, the Wolferton image makes it clear that the mundane experience of aristocratic life will figure prominently in how the snobs are depicted in this series.

The opening episode is simply filled with these mundane details.

(1) The young Princess Elizabeth hesitates during her wedding ceremony when he utters the word "obey" in regard to her consort Philip. Of course, in their long married life, he is the one who must obey her, not vice versa.

(2) The words in the lengthy medical report about the surgery of King Edward VI are carefully examined by Winston Churchill, who brings in an exert to unpack the medical "jargon." In the process the incoming prime minister Churchill learns that he will shortly be working closely with Elizabeth, as her father in terminally ill with lung cancer.

(3) The arrogant Danish-Greek Philip is huffy when he learns that he is to accompany his wife on a whirlwind tour of the Commonwealth. His pouty manner is a sign that he will need to adapt to his role as Elizabeth's subordinate and may not be able to return to his beloved naval duties as a minor potentate.

Along with the superb casting and outstanding performances, the opening episode of "The Crown" includes spot-on scripting. The writers incorporate understated humor in such moments as Churchill's arrival at Westminster for the marriage of Elizabeth and Philip. The crusty and politically savvy Churchill knows that it is best to arrive last for a public event because he will garner the greatest adulation of the crowd.

The secret to success in dramatizing such a family story as that of the royals of Great Britain lies in the details. And the teleplay affords a wealth of detail with the ducks making a great splash at Wolferton.

A very smooth start.

[TouchTheGarlicProduction · 8/10 · 4 November 2016]

A heavy burden falls on the first episode of a series, particularly a complex slow-burn character drama like this one. My main worry with this series was that it would be difficult to get into; that learning about all the people would be a chore and that it wouldn't do enough to hook me. This episode allayed my fears. On a surface level, there isn't a whole lot that happens in it. But the acting and writing ooze subtext and convey a full and compelling arc about denial and mortality. It may not have many huge "events", yet it is great television. I hope the rest of the season continues the marvellous subtlety and casually gripping quality of the first episode.

The show opens with King George in a bathroom coughing up blood. He is told that it's "just the cold weather". These opening moments convey the story of the entire episode; the King's health is declining yet he and others are in denial about it. The importance of an opening scene is often underestimated, yet here it is used perfectly, conveying the overall message of the entire episode.

A few other things I appreciated were the performances (particularly John Lithgow as Churchill), the attention to detail in costume and set, the cinematography, and the score. All the elements came together really well in the episode.

Looks Like a Winner

[Hitchcoc · 9/10 · 9 November 2016]

The first episode begins with an obviously ill George VI preparing to give daughter Elizabeth away to Philip Mountbatten. He has the same hesitancy as any father. We are led to believe he sees Philip as a bit of a cold fish. Meanwhile, Winston Churchill (played by John Lithgow) has been re-elected Prime Minister. He and the King are a bit at odds, but there is restrained respect for one another. Shortly after the wedding, George has a lung removed. He has a horrible cough and smokes incessantly. We know history and we know this is not good. Elizabeth begins to suspect that something is more serious. She is going to have begin to learn the ropes in order to take over if something final happens. The marriage appears to be one of tension and some fear. The exchanges of vows are quite pregnant. As the episode ends, Elizabeth and her new husband are about to embark on visits to British colonies because George can't manage the travel. Excellent beginning.

Excellent start of a great story telling

[Shantalecinematicexpresso · 10/10 · 4 January 2021]

This first episode got us as a audience. Constantly thinking about the great choice with the cast in this series.

Splashing with greatness

[TheLittleSongbird · 9/10 · 18 August 2020]

'The Crown' was one of those series that fascinated from the get go, being a fan of films/television etc centered around history and kings and queens was of great fascination when younger. Despite not being the biggest of fans of Netflix, there was no doubt about seeing 'The Crown' with such a great cast, that it looked like it would be great and because the subject matter (the life and reign of our now longest reigning monarch) was so interesting. Had no doubt it would be at least good and for most of its run was not disappointed.

"Wolferton Splash" did not disappoint. It was a great start to a series that continued to go from strength to strength (the latest season not so much), set things up beautifully for what was to come and lived up beautifully to what was expected. When "Wolferton Splash" first aired/was first released it was in a different league to much of what was being shown on Netflix and television, so much so it had been checked to see whether 'The Crown' really was from Netflix. Some didn't like that some of the series' characterisations were biased and inaccurate, to me that wasn't too big a problem in this episode.

Some may find "Wolferton Splash" too slow, it is a deliberately paced episode and is mainly set up. Set up that is still done incredibly well and is investable emotionally.

Visually however, "Wolferton Splash" couldn't be any more classy and sumptuous. The photography and production and costume design are evocative and a sight to behold. The music for me wasn't too intrusive or low-key and was beautiful scoring on its own. The main theme is not easy to forget.

Moreover the writing probes a lot of thought and intrigue, it is much more than just soap-opera, has some understated humour and doesn't seem too modern. Loved the intimacy and subtle tension of the storytelling in the episode, the deliberate pace in no way a hindrance, and the character chemistry scintillates. The characters are very compellingly written, with enough balance in characterisation to overshadow the instances of one-sidedness and most of them have more than one layer. To me Churchill was one of the more interesting characters (entertaining too) and King George connected with me most emotionally, seeing him so gravely ill brought a lump to my throat.

Almost all the acting is great, did have reservations about Vanessa Kirby in general throughout the series as Margaret but the rest were fine. John Lithgow's wonderfully crusty Churchill and Jared Harris' authoritative and moving King George were standouts. Claire Foy is dignity and class personified already, and those qualities would get stronger with each episode, and Matt Smith has authority and doesn't look uncomfortable with playing Phillip.

Overall, great and a fine example of why the acclaim for 'The Crown' was richly deserved. 9/10

A Great Start.

[pratyushkumar-08003 · 8/10 · 5 July 2020]

When a historic show is aired the most difficult part is to get the audience attention which this very first episode did very well. Starting with the illness of His Majesty to the marriage of Her Majesty and the actual politics of Britain of that time. I must say he keep me wondering about many things. The acting and writing were so good. It makes you feel that you were there and when this all was taking part. I hope this show keep being like this.

It looks simple...

[Oktay_Tuna · 10/10 · 31 August 2020]

The Crown's first episode, is probably my favorite first episode. I loved everything about it. We get to learn main characters not right at the beginning but as the story progresses. We understand who these people are. We understand what is royalty like in Uk in those times. We see the family relations. The casting is magnificent, the talent behind the camera is really good. The production design is way better than its counterparts in movies and it just smells quality. But still what I loved the most was how subtle the script was. There is nothing in it to surprise you, not even close. You might even think what's special. Maybe that's why I loved it so much. It just feels like it happened in real life, without any decoration or stuff. It might feel like it is easy to write something like that but that's the hard part. It is really well-written that it seems easy. Some might find this slow-paced but quite the opposite for me. I was hooked to the screen, which rarely happens when I watch something from my laptop. I regret not starting the show sooner but also glad that there are 29 more episodes to go.

History In Film

[vivianla · 6 September 2020]

I love it - it has this grand feeling every scene. British and very fancy.

Elizabeth weds Philip in a beautiful gown. when she gets out of the carriage her blue eyes are stunning.

She hesitates to say "obey" to her husband.

Photos are taken and the girls are dressed in matching dresses and each holds a garland of flowers. The group line up ready to walk out on the balcony.

Elizabeth's father has cancer - his left lung is removed. Winston Churchill is re-elected as prime minister and Elizabeth's father is happy to hear so. He confesses to Churchill of his illness and wears rouge to cover his pale face.

Elizabeth catches her sister Margaret have a moment with Peter Townsend. Margaret tells her the papers ships her with two other men but they are just boys. Peter is different and Elizabeth says she knows what makes him attractive, definitely, but he is married. Margaret is beautiful - she has this dark brown hair, foxy-eyed look.

Elizabeth is asked to see her father in his study with urgency. Elizabeth sits in front of her father's desk and he coughs a lot. They have a very nice father-daughter moment - Elizabeth looks like the proper girl a father wants.

Father goes hunting with other men on boats. Elizabeth asks Philip about taking her father's place to travel around the world and cut ribbons. Philip agrees.

Aliens

[bevo-13678 · 10/10 · 18 November 2020]

Great casting Evil dick makes a great Winston Churchill

I'm Sold!

[matdeman · 7/10 · 18 February 2021]

I really enjoyed this. The entire thing just felt so immersive, and it just sucks you in this world. The main thing that carried this pilot imo was the acting. Everyone just completely transformed into their characters especially Jared Harris who I wished stayed for more eps. As much as I love Mad Men (it's actually my favorite show ever), the actors in that show's pilot felt so enthusiastic about the project that it sometimes felt distracting, but I gotta say that problem is completely absent here. The cinematography was pretty solid, but once again we have another period piece that has this annoying goddamn filter. I get that it might be used to further stress the miserable tone of the show, but a part of me is just upset that the show could have been a lot more visually pleasant if it was a tad brighter. The sound mixing was pretty amazing, and it highlighted many stressful situations. One thing that bugged me was the song choice in the end which I thought was awkwardly selected. It was simply so loud that it completely undermined the emotion the scene was trying to convey, but other than that, not much else that I was super annoyed with. Why is it a 7? That's because this is simply a set up episode, and nothing groundbreaking has happened yet so yeah we'll see where this takes us.

A good start

[kunalkukreja457 · 7/10 · 16 December 2020]

I've heard a lot of great things about the Crown and thought of giving it a try. I liked the first episode, especially the ending sequence where the king explains Prince Philip his duties. It's interesting to peek into the life of the royal family back in the time.

Creates good atmosphere, but has troubles to get audience interested

[getsadzeg · 6/10 · 10 October 2017]

The plot involves British royal family in 40's and 50's, including characters based on real-life people. I think episode focuses on creating the atmosphere and (mainly) characters rather than plot, which makes it a bit boring, especially for the kind of audience who are not extremely interested in monarchy or important persons within the monarchy. But, it still manages you to start caring about them, King George IV, for example, which I think the most part of episode is about. I can say that the episode really succeeded in creating atmosphere and there were several things that helped in it, such as costumes and decorations, design. So it's able to transport you to its world, which is very good and does the job to make you feel like you're in Buckingham Palace.

I think all of these are enough for the first episode, but it still lacks ambitious plot(reason of why I think so can be that I'm not really into the topic it's about), which is the most important for me and I got bored in the very first minutes of episode. And it was 56 minutes long.

My vote is 6/10.