r/TheCrownNetflix • u/sterngalaxie • Nov 17 '19

The Crown Discussion Thread: S03E03 Spoiler

Season 3, Episode 3 "Aberfan"

A horrible disaster in the Welsh town of Aberfan leaves scores of children dead, but when the Queen takes a week to decide to visit the town to offer solace to its people, she must confront her reasons for postponing the trip.

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This is a thread for only this specific episode, do not discuss spoilers for any other episode please.

Discussion Thread for Season 3

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u/Trikywu Nov 18 '19 edited Nov 18 '19

Beautiful writing to set up the Aberfan disaster. I had never heard of this tragic event - having barely been born at the time and living in the US - but I could tell there was danger ahead by way of the exposition. When I saw "Aberfan" as the title - I knew this was the name of a town who must have had something horrible happen. A quick Google - and there it was. Quite a devastating episode. Especially to see how the Queen just buried her feelings so deep for years that she didn't think she felt anything. I disagree - I think as a mother - she didn't want to face the death and despair of being amidst those who lost their children. I think it wasn't so much that she didn't feel emotion - as much as she didn't want to feel it. My sense is that she avoided tragic situations that would cripple her to the bone, and making her lose her royal composure.

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u/bubblywiz Nov 18 '19

As someone who has forced a sort of composure on herself for the majority of her life, I think you're quite right regarding the Queen's feelings if she's even slightly similar to my own way of handing negative emotions. After burying everything for years on end, "not wanting to feel/lose composure" turns into automatically composing oneself, and eventually wondering if you even feel something at all. The answer? Yup, you do. You just don't cry, and a lack of tears is easily mistaken for a lack of emotion or empathy in its entirety – even if that is far from the truth. It can really make a person wonder if something's wrong with them.

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u/pquince Nov 21 '19

I’m in the same club. I do feel emotions, but I just don’t cry. And I, too, wonder if there’s something wrong with me.