The Crown – Season 5 Episode 6 “Ipatiev House” Recap & Review

Ipatiev House

Episode 6 in The Crown season 5 is perhaps the darkest episode we’ve seen thus far and its plot focuses on the slaying of the Tsar of Russia Nicholas and his family. It also suggests the idea of creating a sequel in The Crown that focuses on Elizabeth’s ancestors during the early 20th century.

Through the course of World War I and the Bolshevik Revolution as well as World War I, the story begins in 1917. After the recent overthrow of the Tsar Nicholas of Russia The British Premier, David Lloyd George, demanded King George V for permission to send a vessel towards Russia to help Russian royals. Russian Royal family members to protect them during the chaos of the revolution.

In the period of the uprising of the socialists which brought Vladimir Lenin to authority, the plea was to bring Nicholas and his wife Alexandra and their five children as well as a few of their employees back to England after being restricted to living in house confinement.

As the heir to the crown Edward VIII watches, George thinks about the proposal and then leaves it to his wife who is the closest of Tsarina Alexandra’s cousins.

The show shifts to Ipatiev House in which the Tsar as well as his family were imprisoned. The entire clan was under intense scrutiny, with locked up windows, poor food, not being allowed to talk to strangers, and was confined to the house for 24 hours per day, despite the fact that the show depicts it as a basic but nonetheless well-spread out home.

The family had been imprisoned in various places from 1917 until 1918, following a plea to the King for help and being summoned by the king at the end of the night. They were given some hope when they were informed that they were to be moved to a safe location. They believed that George was finally sending the ship that would save the family at this time.

After a short time under the pretense of being photographed the family is escorted to a room where they are shot in the face by Russian soldiers who then attack anyone who survived. Instead of being buried the bodies of their victims are thrown in a truck, then placed in graves that are not marked, and then covered in acid prior to setting them on fire.

In the year 1994, John Major visits the queen. He’s returned after a trip to Russia where he came into contact with a highly drunk Boris Yeltsin. Yeltsin is a fan of England and has requested Major to inform Queen Elizabeth know he would like to meet her. As we’ve already learned, the monarch is delighted by the idea of uniting Russia and England since the main theme is that of the state head, who is an heir to a different timeline.

Prior to the Cold War, there used to be a close relationship between the two countries, however, now that Yeltsin is elected president, the first nation’s democratically elected president she believes it’s the right time to reopen the borders.

Initially, they are able to get together well. However, the moment Yeltsin asks her to visit Russia she relates the unpleasant reality that in the 1970’s Yeltsin personally issued the order to destroy Ipatiev House, which was very disrespectful to the queen’s ancestral ancestors, given that she descends from the Tsar. Yeltsin apologizes but vows to do to make an appropriate memorial that will preserve the Tsar’s legacy.

After his arrival, he honors his promise to offer the Russian royals a fitting funeral as well as an excavation of graves that are not marked, as well as DNA tests of the remains in order to determine those who were killed. The queen is informed by Prince Philip of the new and cutting-edge DNA analysis. These days, Philip is a bitter man who isn’t afraid to express his disdain towards his wife and queen in any way.

If his wife was a bit more educated and curious than his best pal Penny was, then he thinks she’d be less intrigued by DNA-related issues. The episode in question shows prince Philip’s displeasure and gloom as a source of irritation rather than just saying “Okay!” when the monarch informs Philip that his DNA could help identify some of the corpses based on his own background. Philip also inquires what kind of specimen they’ll require from him. “Can you give more details? Hair? Blood? Saliva? Did you ask? The fact that your majesty doesn’t know and didn’t question what she was told is a source of frustration for Philip.

Penny is almost bowing to Philip’s feet as he explains to Penny more details about her DNA issue telling him she believes that he alone helped to learn more about the Romanovs who were laid to rest. Penny actually goes as far as saying that perhaps DNA research could shed some light on whether our lives are completely predetermined. Philip is intrigued by her insights into the subject and enjoys the thought-provoking discussion.

The Queen sticks to her promise to Yeltsin and she as well as Philip travel to Russia to begin the time she believes it is a trip that’ll allow her to re-connect with her husband when the remains of the deceased are discovered and a respectable ceremony for the Romanovs could be considered. This has the opposite effect. He says the requirement was to shed a significant part of his self-worth after having a relationship with her, and their discussion turns into a nasty disagreement.

Philip tells Elizabeth that he is looking for a social likeness, his companion Penny. Then, he proposes that by spending some time with Penny the monarch may find out the reason the Romanovs perished.

Penny is a guest at Windsor Castle and presents her theory that the reason that Queen Mary barred the Tsar and his family members from visiting the nation was that Mary was jealous of the attractiveness of Alexandra and both women were at war for a lifetime.

Then, Elizabeth informs Penny that while the czarina Alexandra Romanov, remained pro-German in England’s fight with the Germans Protecting them would’ve been difficult and could have caused some unrest.

In a way, Elizabeth justifies her ancestor’s actions. She says that even though queen Mary could have taken the ultimate choice, Elizabeth was deeply saddened by the mass murders. As queen, she was left with the option of having to cover and hide her emotions.

Because Elizabeth has been pushing hard to see her image affected by Philip’s death The monarch is aware that controversy is likely to occur if the media attempts to portray Philip as a cheater. Therefore, in order to quell her jealousy over Penny, Elizabeth extends an offer to the former to join the family in the church.

The Episode Review

The similarities between the reigning queen Mary who was required to make a tough decision about how to protect the Monarchy through 1917 and Elizabeth who is fighting to safeguard the reputation of the monarchy in 1994, illustrate how the wives each woman put themselves in a vulnerable position where they need to utilize their diplomatic skills to preserve their good standing.

Through the interconnection of the two stories, the show plays with symbolism time and time. Over the course of time, England and Russia were conflicting, but in this particular episode, Elizabeth is determined to make peace with the two nations. Elizabeth and Philip have marital difficulties because they share different preferences and don’t have an interest or hobby.

In his weekly meeting during his regular meetings, the Prime Minister teaches the Queen a crucial lesson. He explains Fyodor Dostoevsky’s wife, Anna Dostoevsky’s story of how she doesn’t have much to do with her husband, and the fact that they continue to have successful relationships. In spite of this, they aren’t imposing their needs on one another, and they coexist in their own way.

Similar parallels are used in describing the relationships between Russia and England and also the relationship between Queen Elizabeth as well as Philip. Russia, as well as England, have differing views on politics however when they don’t force their opinions on one another and keep their friendship strong. Similarly to this queen Elizabeth as well as Prince Philip has very little in common but are able to have a great relationship when they do their own thing and don’t push their views on each other.