It’s no surprise that the secular shift accelerated in the 20th century, when mass media reshaped the world into one of constant spectacle and mediation (see Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World and Neil Postman’s Amusing Ourselves to Death, among others). But it also reveals much about the broader dynamics of faith in our modern, secular age.

The juxtaposition sets in motion the episode’s central conflict-Philip’s loss of faith and accompanying midlife crisis, against the backdrop of the dramatic lunar landing. Walking into Sunday service with the Queen (Olivia Colman), he asks, “Why do we do this, week in, week out? Like lemmings.” As the aging dean preaches his sermon, Philip leans over to the Queen and says, “It’s not a sermon. This is in stark contrast to Philip sitting in church, bored out of his mind. The episode is one of the most insightful explorations of faith I’ve ever seen on TV.

What courage.” As he sits in front of the TV, the energy in his eyes says it all. “Extraordinary,” he says with gleaming eyes as he later watches Apollo 11 lift off at Cape Canaveral.

As he watches a press conference on television featuring the Apollo 11 astronauts (Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins), the Duke of Edinburgh is utterly transfixed. The episode opens by juxtaposing two viewing experiences of Philip (Tobias Menzies).

Brave writer secular