The Crown: Season 6

"Reclaims its glittering throne."

"A wobbly take on the Diana/Dodi romance."

"Makes The Crown feel like an ailing project."

"It’s soapy, biased, and often melodramatic."

"The Crown shines in its final season — just remember it's not the History Channel."

"So bad it’s basically an out-of-body experience."

"A wistful, restrained send-off to Princess Diana."

"Struggles mightily with Princess Diana’s death."

"There is clumsiness throughout."

"The lavish Netflix drama really died with Queen Elizabeth II last September."

"Elizabeth Debicki is transcendent."

"A wreck on a scale the show has never seen before."

"Reaches a creative dead end."

"The Crown has saved the worst for last."

"An uneasy and awkward start to the penultimate chapter of The Crown."

"For the most part The Crown’s final season portrays Diana's death with admirable restraint."

"Increasingly becomes a fantastical apologetic for the royal family."

"It's Debicki's show, and everyone else is just along for the ride."

"Goes off the rails into melodrama."

"Gives the story of Diana’s death some surprising twists."

"The show feels just as gross as the paparazzi who chased [Diana] into that Parisian tunnel 26 years ago."

"[Debicki] channels Princess Diana in her last weeks with a devastating precision."

"Such overreaching, such redundancy, such ghastly plotting..."

"Slips fully into melodrama."

"A marked improvement over Season 5."

"Elizabeth Debicki’s towering performance as Diana reduces the Queen to a supporting character."

"It all certainly does make for riveting television."

"The Crown has lost much of what initially made it shine."