In this episode, Phillip sends his son Charles to the same boarding school he attended as a child. Charles' experience is horrible, and it would be easy to hate Phillip for it, but the episode does a good job of also showing things from his perspective so that we are not sure how to feel. Only at the very end does the episode appear to pick a side, and it's one I agree with.
Up to this point, the royal children have been little more than props, with no distinguishing traits and very few appearances. Given the span of time this series is set to cover, they're going to have to start treating them as characters eventually. I was expecting this to be the episode in which that happens, but it isn't really. We do learn a little bit about Charles, but the episode's primary focus is on Phillip.
Over half of the episode consists of flashbacks to Phillip's time at the boarding school. The actor who plays Young Phillip is fantastic, and his character arc is very emotional, but I would have preferred to have spent a little less time in the past and a little more time in present day developing Charles.
In conclusion, his episode tackles a tough topic (boarding schools) with pathos for all involved and a very emotional but perhaps overly dominant flashback plot.
Up to this point, the royal children have been little more than props, with no distinguishing traits and very few appearances. Given the span of time this series is set to cover, they're going to have to start treating them as characters eventually. I was expecting this to be the episode in which that happens, but it isn't really. We do learn a little bit about Charles, but the episode's primary focus is on Phillip.
Over half of the episode consists of flashbacks to Phillip's time at the boarding school. The actor who plays Young Phillip is fantastic, and his character arc is very emotional, but I would have preferred to have spent a little less time in the past and a little more time in present day developing Charles.
In conclusion, his episode tackles a tough topic (boarding schools) with pathos for all involved and a very emotional but perhaps overly dominant flashback plot.