Category Analysis: For Drama Directing, will The Crown get the crown?
Tuesday, August 10, 2021 at 8:24PM Team Experience takes a look at the episode submissions for all the major Emmy categories.
Unlike last year where eight nominees sprang from just three shows, the nominees this year were fairly distributed. Five of the six nominees were either season premieres or season/series finales. Fifty percent of the nominees in this category were women. In the shows nominated, only The Crown and The Handmaid's Tale have won previously. These are just some of the stats that might (or might not) help in predicting the winner of this category. The Crown is the frontrunner for Drama Series, but would that help with its two nominations here? Could The Handmaid's Tale or The Mandalorian snag a win? Could Pose win for its series finale? Or is the Bridgerton love for real?
Without further ado, the nominees...
Julie Ann Robinson - “Diamond of the First Water” (season 1 episode 1) - Bridgerton (Netflix)
Description (from ballot): “Daphne debuts on London's marriage market as a new gossip sheet sets high society atwitter and Simon, the eligible Duke of Hastings, returns to town.”
Bridgerton is a show that constantly chooses excess over restraint and explosion over subtlety. This language of the show is easily established in its pilot episode, one that sees colors continuously burst into the frame without holding back, as if it is always consummating its lust for historical reimagining. Robinson leans heavily into the heightened (mostly physical) comedy and the facile melodrama that propels the story and its characters. For instance, Daphne's entrance into the queen's court is full of predictable directorial choices that highlight the emotional significance of this moment. The show does not pretend to delve into cryptic semiotics. Instead, Robinson chooses to live happily in the constant marriage of prestige period drama-comedy and fluffy panache. Robinson's choices work for the most part, especially in selling this world of gossipy high society.
Bridgerton did very well with nominations. However, other shows have stronger or at least more vocal passion. Also, Netflix has a better shot of triumphing with The Crown. This is Robinson’s first nomination but a win is a longshot.
Benjamin Caron - “Fairytale” (season 4 episode 3) -The Crown (Netflix)
Description (from ballot): “After Charles proposes, Diana moves into Buckingham Palace and finds her life filled with princess training, loneliness — and Camilla Parker Bowles.”
The first of The Crown's two nominated episodes centers squarely on Diana's forced acclimation to royal protocol as her wedding with Charles nears. However, the entire arc of the episode is to illustrate Diana's supposed integration to the royal family as internal disintegration, a cautionary warning diametrically opposed to the episode's title which was the world's understanding of this impending union. Caron captures Diana's journey in this episode with the constant juxtaposition of images that further this running theme. The camera spirals as her friends look down on her while she goes down the stairs. The sight of her puking is framed, almost overcome even, by the flowers of admiration from strangers. Her final walk in her wedding gown is captured without her face, as if the extravagance overwhelms the human being underneath. Meanwhile, a fireworks display outside the palace window illuminates Charles's face as his eyes well up with tears. The final moments of this episode are downright chilling. For an episode that leads up to a wedding, Caron crafts it as an elegy.
While it is easier to call The Crown's win in Drama Series, it's a tougher call here due to two episodes competing. I give the edge to this one since the most talked about aspect of this season is Diana herself and this episodes focuses entirely on here (this is also Emma Corrin's episode submission for Drama Series, Actress). "Fairytale" also feels more of a directorial showcase of the two. This is Caron's third nomination.
Jessica Hobbs - “War” (season 4 episode 10) - The Crown (Netflix)
Description (from ballot):“Amid a growing challenge to her power, Thatcher fights for her position. Charles grows more determined to separate from Diana as their marriage unravels.”
The second nomination for the show is for its season finale, an episode essentially bifurcated between Princess Diana and Margaret Thatcher, both deep into their own wars. Hobbs's approach in this episode is more matter-of-fact, and doesn't stick out from the rest of the season. Which is not to stay that it's not powerful. The episode is all about confrontations of different kinds. Thatcher meets with the Queen several times as she struggles to hold onto her position of power. Diana and Charles have a series of subtle aggressions that lead to an angry confirmation that their marriage is over. Prince Philip and Diana have a chat that both reads as advice and as implicit threat. Hobbs' choice to dwell on the faces for extended periods of time to unravel the ugliness of the royal setup is a discerning move. Finally, Diana's final closeup is vital, a lasting image as she will, whether willingly or not, go against the people that surround her.
The Crown’s dominance in nominations could go either way. Both episodes are strong, but that might work against their favor come voting time. But if they are going to give the show the win for Directing as well, methinks they would lean towards “Fairytale”. This is Hobbs’s second nomination.
Liz Garbus - “The Wilderness” (season 4 episode 10) - The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu)
Description (from ballot):“June draws on all her resources and relationships, risking everything to ensure her own kind of justice.”
I have written an FYC for Garbus before the nominations were announced, saying:
With Garbus’s direction, what [might seem to be an] outlandish premise is turned into an episode of utmost patience and precision. With expertly blocked shots, Garbus heightens the sense of isolation that June feels, the looming sense of defeat as the justice system fails her. What is interesting is that Garbus really tempers the pace of the episode for the most part; she trusts scenes of low-key dialogue as set-up of what is to come. Garbus keeps that unsettling tension going.”
And with regards to the climactic death scene, I have written:
“To dismiss this scene as a cheap fanservice is to miss the point. Garbus pushes the heightened reality of the show while maintaining the emotional veracity of the moment. This is one of the most conflicting scenes from the season (and possibly, from the show) and Garbus’s audacity to explore the complexities of this moment is jaw-dropping.”
The Handmaid’s Tale exceeded expectations, with 21 nominations, signaling that the show has maintained popularity within the world of Emmy voters. Recent trends have shown that most winners in this category come from shows with only one nomination here. Before last year, the last show to win with two competiong nominations was The Handmaid’s Tale in 2017, but it was a case of having an obvious choice between its two nominations. That does not seem to be the case with The Crown, with both nominated episodes being highly popular hours. Consider this a warning that The Handmaid’s Tale could sneak into this race and win. This is Garbus’s seventh nomination, winning twice for producing in 2007 and 2015.
Jon Favreau - “Chapter 9: The Marshal” (season 2 episode 1) - The Mandalorian (Disney+)
Description (from ballot):“The Mandalorian is drawn to the Outer Rim in search of others of his kind.”
The Mandalorian gets in for Directing for its season premiere which is a bit of a surprise considering the show’s stronger submissions like “The Believer” (episode 7) or “The Rescue” (episode 8). Watching the episode itself, I was trying to spot any distinctive directorial choice that would inspire a conversation but found it wanting. The tension building is effective yet predictable (first time meeting the marshal), the humor a bit forced, and the reaction shots of Baby Yoda are too obvious a move to incite easy sympathy. For the majority of the episode, I resigned to the notion that I am just not on the same wavelength with the show. And then the last ten minutes of the episode changed things for me. Perhaps it just took me by surprise, I appreciated the moment of silence that preceded and its constant focus on size difference of objects in a frame, but that shift (viewers would know what I am talking about) signaled an exciting direction that the episode took. A show that was already dead set on its cinematic syntax suddenly switched gears and it gave the episode a much-needed creative jolt.
The Mandalorian did exceptionally well with nominations, tying The Crown's 24. Voters obviously love it. Like Garbus, Favreau is most likely waiting to sneak in as the two nominees from The Crown are very competitive too, allowing for a potential vote split to happen. This race might be close.
Steven Canals - “Series Finale” (season 3 episode 7) - Pose (FX)
Description (from ballot): “When Blanca discovers an HIV clinical trial is denying access to people of color she joins ACT UP in an effort to get Pray Tell the medication.”
Series finales are always mortifying for me as a viewer. I tend to consider a series finale strong if a) it makes sense to end the story at this moment, b) allows the characters to have lives that would extend beyond the show. My struggle with this episode is that it does a lot of things right while also feeling both scattershot and overstuffed at the same time. Blanca's resistance to the racist drug trials, Pray Tell's fate, the activism that results from both, and Blanca's success are emotionally resonant beats that are executed without visual dishonesty. However, these moments come as disparate and too close to each other. Both scenes needed time to breathe to reach impact. Also, the first half of the episode is much stronger and more tonally coherent and beautifully restrained than the second half (which drops the ball). It's still a powerful denouement to a series but too many peaks feel shoehorned in and messy.
Relatively speaking, Pose had its best showing this season, getting key nominations for Series, Directing, Writing, and two Lead nominations. However, series finales tend to win more often in Writing than in Directing. Pose is also up against shows from episodes that are more known as directorial showcases (The Crown, The Handmaid’s Tale, The Mandalorian). I do not feel a win is coming, but it depends on whether the show will gain steam and goodwill in the next month. This is Canals’ second/third nomination, also getting a nod for writing this episode.
Ranking (predicted winner):
- Benjamin Caron - The Crown - “Fairytale”
- Jessica Hobbs - The Crown - “War”
- Liz Garbus - The Handmaid’s Tale - “The Wilderness”
- Jon Favreau - The Mandalorian - “Chapter 9: The Marshal”
- Steven Canals - Pose - “Series Finale”
- Julie Ann Robinson - Bridgerton - “Diamond of the First Water”
Ranking (personal preference):
- Liz Garbus - The Handmaid’s Tale - “The Wilderness”
- Benjamin Caron - The Crown - “Fairytale”
- Jessica Hobbs - The Crown - “War”
- Jon Favreau - The Mandalorian - “Chapter 9: The Marshal”
- Julie Ann Robinson - Bridgerton - “Diamond of the First Water”
- Steven Canals - Pose - “Series Finale”
Who would you vote for?
Reader Comments (4)
The whole Bridgerton acclaim is not gonna last. Let's be real.
Fairytale for the win honestly. It might get all Writing, Directing, and Lead Actress wins. It's also Emerald Fennel's episode submission!
"The last show to win with two competing nominations was The Handmaid’s Tale in 2017..."
Actually, it was Succession just last year. Both Hunting and This Is Not For Tears were nominated for Directing, and Hunting took it (which was a surprise, sinceThis Is Not For Tears was the one with the writing nomination and win).
I'd vote "War" but suspect Favreau may actually take this.
Fairytale is a pretty impressive episode of the Crown that moves and feels a bit different from any one that comes before it. In many ways, it functions almost like a Pilot episode for the Diana/Charles marriage to come, and expertly sets up her character, while also giving the Queen, Charles, and Margaret key moments that up the stakes of this moment for the family (and the series). I'd be a bit shocked if Fairytale lost.
At the same time, I think there's real love for the mandelorian, and it's easy enough to see the award pushed that way. Sometimes, voters like competence and Favreau gives plenty of that.