In a jarring break from the series’ established narrative, a just added episode of The Crown follows an anthropomorphic cockney rat roaming the streets of London for a full 45-minute episode.
“It was really odd,” says Maria, a viewer of the hit Netflix series that chronicles the life of the British royal family, generally. “I was watching season four, and suddenly this episode came on, listed as number 6.5.”
“The anthropomorphic talking rat called Darvis definitely felt not in the world of the show,” she adds. “But I assumed Darvis would maybe bookend the episode, or at least connect to a larger story arc from this season. He did not.”
While viewers agree they learned a lot about Darvis who enjoys raunchy humor, scaring small children, and garbage scones, some felt the episode contributed little to the overall season arc.
“It just didn’t feel like The Crown I know and love,” says another fan, Jack. “Where’s Diana? Where’s Charles? Where are any humans apart from the small posh children being terrorized by Darvis and his lackeys?”
“I kept waiting for Darvis’ whole thing to intersect with the characters of the show,” Jack adds. “At one point he scurried up to the side of Buckingham Palace, and I was like this is it, but then he just said, ‘Right, I’ve got more sense than that, ‘aven’t I?’ and scurried away.”
“You could literally see Elizabeth and Diana through the window.”
If the presence of Darvis’ full-length episode wasn’t disorienting enough, viewers were also soon met with the realization that they were unable to skip the episode if they wanted to move forward in the show.
“After nine minutes of Darvis eating a scone followed by a nauseating rant about his belief that the Irish are incapable of self-governance, I was ready to skip ahead to episode seven,” says Leslie. “But when I tried the screen just went bright red and an automated voice said, ‘NO’.”
While viewers hope to see no more of Darvis going forward, a member of Prince Charles’s estate called the episode, “the least offensive of the season.”
