The Crown – Fagan

By: Kelly Kearney

After a terrifying break-in at the palace, The Queen’s eyes are opened to the struggle of her people at the hands of the PM’s policies. Michael Fagan looks back at a Britain in economic shambles resulting in a wake up call for the Queen and her heavily guarded palace.

The Late-Night Visitor

The hour begins with real-life news footage of a man named Michael Fagan who surprised the sleeping Queen when he managed to break into her bedroom. The news rocked the nation, as well as palace security whose incompetence allowed a desperate man to, not once, but twice waltz into one of the most heavily guarded homes in the world. Cut to Elizabeth (Olivia Colman) who is watching the same archived footage, but in real time, of her very bizarre bedside meeting. Everyone wants to know what Michael Fagan and The Queen talked about and the answer firmly lies at the feet of Margaret Thatcher’s flailing economy.

We flashback to Michael (Tom Brooke) in his dilapidated flat listening to the news radio about Thatcher’s ideas to transform the country. Fagan is obviously annoyed as he heads to his local job center for an unemployment check. His luck in finding work comes in the form of a cash in hand day job but offers him no real out for his financial predicaments. He is one of many victims of Thatcher’s transformative ideas. With money problems comes relationship woes as we see Fagan in a local pub arguing with his ex-wife (Leanne Everitt) about his flat and his lost time with their children. He starts to get physical with the woman’s current boyfriend (Josef Davies) and subsequently gets tossed from the pub.

 War is Over

After a look at how her policies are negatively affecting the people, Margaret Thatcher (Gillian Anderson) updates the Queen on the skirmish in the Falkland Islands. The British have managed to recapture South Georgia without losing a single soul of their own. Now she believes their success will repeat itself by capturing the islands and ending the war. It’s good news indeed, followed by the bad news that the PM is ordering more security for the palace as the fighting in the islands are sure to hit an all time high. More security is not what anyone in the palace wants, especially if it means an exit of the Queens royal duties and public engagements. The war and the fall out is Thatcher’s focus, but the Queen seems to care less about that and only about her daily schedule and the status quo.

Later that evening Thatcher is seen on television defending her economy and the rise in unemployment. She claims the country needs to see this as a challenge. It will require the people to dig deep and improve themselves as only then will their lives and the country improve. She seems to think the problem is laziness; complacency with doing the bare minimum and expecting the government to reward them for it. She is so out of touch with people like Fagan, who still can’t find a job no matter how hard he pounds the cobblestone streets of London in search of one. Choosing to take matters into his own hands, Fagan expresses his concerns to his local MP (Richard Cant), someone who was elected to represent people like him. He uses his time to complain about an unfair system that holds people back instead of offering them a chance to make their lives better. More so, he believes the money spent on the war could have been better used to improve Britain and the lives of its citizens. His MP tells him he has two choices: He can take his outrage to Thatcher by alerting the leader of the opposition or he can take it to the Queen herself because he is not interested in hearing it.

The First Break In

Taking his MP literally, Michael passes the Palace on his way home to his flat and decides to do what he was told and take his concerns to the Queen. Jumping over the front gates Fagan walks the ground until he finds a drainage pipe he can climb and then scales the walls to an open window on the second floor! Once inside he swiftly moves from room to room hiding in the shadows undetected until he knocks over a vase while sipping the palace wine! The glass shatters and a servant spots him and begins to scream for help. The security team catches wind, but it’s too late. Michael shimmies down the outside wall and catches the bus for home. The next morning Elizabeth is told the news about the unknown intruder and how her home’s outdated security system malfunctioned. Immediately, she lets them know she would prefer it if this news never made it to Downing Street. If the escalation in the Falklands meant The Queen would need extra guards, this break-in would take a torch to her royal meet and greets and they are the one thing she looks forward to. They all agree to keep Thatcher in the dark, but for some reason do not take this as a clue to update their protection protocols. So, it’s no surprise when after Fagan is refused access to his daughter he plans a return trip Buckingham Palace.

In the meantime, Margaret Thatcher goes on the news to announce the Falkland war is over and Britain is victorious! They have recaptured the islands from the Argentinians and everyone in the streets of London are celebrating. Maybe now their taxes can go to fixing their unemployment numbers? Not likely and no amount of cheering, “Maggie! Maggie!” is going to fix the problems in Fagan’s life. He still cannot find work, still cannot see his children and he is at the end of his very frayed rope. That night he decides to enact his plan and once again jumps the palace gates and walks right in through the front door! This time he makes his way to the Queen’s bedroom where Elizabeth is peacefully slumbering. She stirs when she hears a noise, assuming it’s her staff waking her up. When Fagan pulls the curtains back she catches a glimpse of him and starts to panic. She demands to know what he wants, assuming it’s money, but that is not why he is there. Against her better judgment she allows him to take a seat and he begins to tell her about her own country, a place she only sees from the vantage point of her castle. Even the “real people” she shakes hands with are on their best behavior and she never gets the hard truths, just the polished version. Slowly Elizabeth starts to realize that this man isn’t crazed or interested in hurting her. He is lost and just wants someone to listen. She notices he is bleeding and as she directs him to her bathroom to take care of his wound she uses the distraction to reach for her alarm. Unfortunately, the bells are drowned out by a maid’s vacuum and, for now, The Queen is on her own.

Funny enough, when Michael exits the bathroom he is shocked by two things. The Queen’s common toothbrush (he assumed she would use a posh electric) and the state of the paint on the walls. As an out of work decorator, he offers her his expertise. It is uncanny how one of the richest women in the world finds herself defending her home’s upkeep to a man who just broke into her house for a chit chat! The scene is comical but also speaks to the fact that wealth can separate us by rank, but when it comes right down to it we are all human facing the same challenges. In the right situations, even the most powerful people can relate to a person like Michael Fagan on some level. Fagan then goes on to explain the real reason he stopped by and that’s to tell her to get rid of Thatcher before she destroys the nation and everyone in it, including the Crown! After all, there cannot be two women running the show and Margaret has already proven ranks her position above The Queen’s. It’s only a matter of time before she strips her of all her duties, something that rings true to Elizabeth who is already worried about the PM’s overreach into her schedule. With her typical “do nothing” response, she tells Fagan she has no power over the PM and eventually the country will bounce back. He wonders how can it when he has tried to bounce back and keeps getting blocked at every attempt. He is now hopeless and lost confidence in himself and the country he once loved. Fagan was right when he said the system was broken. If the only person that will listen to him is the one he is holding captive in her bedroom then what does that say for the rest of the citizens who don’t have the attentive and frightened ear of the Queen? Soon the talk is interrupted by Elizabeth’s servant (Alison Pargeter) with her morning tea and, instead of finding a freaked out Queen, she finds a calm and relaxed Elizabeth who asks her to get a police officer while she stays to finish their conversation. The tea woman hurries off and Elizabeth asks Michael if there was anything else he would like to say before the police arrive. He does and thanks her for listening since it is the first time anyone has done it. Soon the police descend onto the room and as they drag Fagan away he shakes Elizabeth’s hand. She graciously returns the favor and admits she will think about what he said.

It’s not long before the media catches wind of the two-time palace intruder and everyone is shocked and dismayed by the lack of security at the palace, especially Margaret Thatcher. When the two women meet she immediately apologizes for the violent intruder, but Elizabeth defends Michael and calls him a victim of her economy. While money is important, she wonders about the country’s declining moral economy at the hands of the female PM. Her fears are only solidified when Margaret says the country cannot recover until it gives up its outdated collectivist governing for an iron fisted grab at individualism and self-interest. She believes success should only be offered to those who work tirelessly to better themselves and anyone who chooses not to is not worthy of her concern. She then uses her father as an example of determination and grit, but the Queen reminds her that not everyone can be her father. Thatcher volleys back with the idea that everyone has it within themselves to try and it’s a choice if they succeed or fail.

The episode draws to a close when Margaret reveals Michael is afflicted with Schizophrenia and will probably end up in a hospital rather than a jail cell. She stands up ready to leave for her victory parade, leaving Elizabeth stunned by her PM’s take control attitude at ending their meeting. She may have won the war, but Elizabeth is still the Queen…for now anyway. Perhaps Fagan was right and with enough support Margaret could send her to the unemployment line right along with him! Later, as she watches Thatcher do a victory lap on the news, she tells Phillip (Tobias Menzies) she thinks Margaret’s ego and power are running amok. He laughs off her worries and instead apologizes for not being home to protect her from Fagan the lunatic. But Elizabeth knows better. Michael wasn’t crazy. He was just tired of getting knocked down every time he got back up to try and better his situation. As the credits roll we see Michael Fagan did wind up in a mental hospital for three months and is still alive today, living in London and probably screaming about Brexit to an equally deaf MP.