16 Questions I Asked While Watching Netflix’s ‘The Princess Switch: Switched Again’
Christmas has come early as Netflix has dropped the highly anticipated sequel to The Princess Switch.
The Princess Switch: Switched Again rejoins the Princess of Belgravia, Stacey (Vanessa Hudgens) and the Duchess of Montenaro, Margaret (also Vanessa Hudgens) along with a new royal, Lady Fiona (again, Vanessa Hudgens). In short, it’s basically a Vanessa Hudgens drag show, and I’m not mad about it.
i hope every year they keep adding princess switches and in 2035 there will be seventeen vanessa hudgens princesses
— fat jon boyega (@larryowenslive) November 21, 2020
The film sees Stacey trying to reunite Margaret and Kevin, who recently split after finding out Margaret had to step up and become Queen. There’s a bunch of unnecessary high jinks, a lot of Christmas cheer, and triple the switching.
Tbh the sequel is even more confusing than the original and left me with more questions than answers.
16 Questions I Asked While Watching Netflix’s The Princess Switch: Switched Again:
The movie begins with an update, as it’s been two years since the first film, and we learn that Margaret is soon to be Queen as the King of Montenaro has died, “which has royally messed up everything in the romance department,” according to Stacey’s voiceover, confirming that Margaret and Kevin have broken up since we last saw them.
1. Ummm, is it also rather unfortunate that Margaret’s father is dead?!
Anyways, we move. The dad’s dead and Stacey is presenting some baking award. Afterwards, Prince Edward is whinging that she isn’t spending enough time with him, she doesn’t really listen to him, and instead bangs on about wanting to get Kevin and Margaret back together.
She visits Kevin at their Chicago bakery, where he’s dressed casually and talks about wanting to adopt more cats. “You’re wearing sweat pants, you won’t date and you’re collecting cats!” Stacey whines.
2. ARE Y’ALL SHAMING CAT PEOPLE ‘COS I’M ABOUT TO THROW HANDS??
3. Also, I think he looks fine?? He’s running a bakery, he’s not running a fictional country, Stacey!
Anyways, Stacey invites Kevin to Margaret’s coronation as a ploy to try to get them back together, telling him to attend as her friend. They all arrive at Margaret’s palace in Montenaro and within a few scenes Kevin and Margaret are flirting up a storm, engaging in a flour fight in the kitchen, which looks kind of fun but, tbh, I’m just thinking about the mess.
Some strange man walks in on them — his name is Antonio and he’s Margaret’s chief of staff. We immediately know that he’s a villain as he has greasy slicked-back hair, and his eyes are filled with mischief and deceit.
4. How can Margaret not see that this guy is shifty as hell?
They all attend a ball at the palace and all of a sudden, there’s ANOTHER Vanessa Hudgens. This one is blonde, her name is Lady Fiona, and she is ICONIC. She sets her sights on Kevin, greeting him with a seductive, “Well, hello tuxedo man,” and later shouts out, “Minions, I need more champagne!”
She is my personal hero.
5. But why do all of Fiona’s assistants have different accents? Mindy sounds like she’s from 18th century England!
Kevin and Margaret struggle to find time to talk, as her work keeps getting in the way. Well — more specifically — Antonio keeps getting in the way, as he whisks her away to admit that he has feelings for her. “You’re not just about to become the Queen of Montenaro, you’ve also become the queen of my heart,” he actually tells her.
6. Why is she not running from this creepy guy?
Antonio says he wants to become a couple, but she hesitates because of her feelings for Kevin. Stacey arranges to do another switch with Margaret, in an effort to give her some time with him. They then go into hair and makeup to transform in each other.
7. Do they really have to go to all this effort just so Margaret and Kevin can have a conversation?
8. Couldn’t Margaret and Kevin be talking instead of all these long makeover montages??
Meanwhile, Fiona plans to do her own switch-up to steal the crown from Margaret, by transforming into the royal and kidnapping the incoming queen. Hmmmm…there are a lot of holes in this plot.
9. Does she just plan on pretending to be Margaret for the rest of her life? Wouldn’t both Stacey and Edward be able to easily expose her?
After switching identities, Edward vents to Margaret — who is actually Stacey — saying that he misses his wife and finds himself spending his days trying to keep busy while she’s occupied.
10. Edward, aren’t you supposed to be helping to run Belgravia? Why do you have so much free time??
Stacey and Margaret’s plan goes pretty well, with Kevin and Margaret deciding to try and give their relationship another chance. However, their plan to switch back comes undone after Fiona kidnaps Stacey — thinking she is Margaret. There’s so much switching going on!!
As Margaret returns to the palace, Fiona realises they kidnapped the wrong royal, but she doubles down and still pretends to be Margaret. It’s a bold strategy. Margaret realises she isn’t talking to Stacey, and Fiona threatens to have her thrown out.
11. BUT IF PEOPLE THINK THAT’S STACEY, ISN’T SHE A PRINCESS AND AS MARGARET IS STILL A DUCHESS, SURELY STACEY WOULD OUTRANK HER? (I don’t actually know, I base all my knowledge of the royals on The Princess Diaries.)
Fiona’s minions realise they have the wrong royal in the basement and in a frantic move, they decide to move the coronation to the following day, so Fiona can become queen before their plan continues to unravel.
12. Wouldn’t it be known to the whole family that Margaret and Fiona look identical, so surely one of them should have to prove their identity before being named Queen of a whole country??
Anyways, Fiona dumps Kevin while pretending to be Margaret, so in turn he leaves for the airport to return home. After discovering Stacey is missing, Edward and Margaret finally register that it’s Fiona who is behind all this. Well, duh!
13. Why did it take them so long to work out that the person who looks identical to Margaret and Stacey is the person who looks identical to Margaret and Stacey?
Antonio threatens to out Fiona, telling her that she has to give him lots of money or he’ll rat her out to the palace. She agrees. Stacey escapes the basement just as Edward shows up, and after getting passed minions Mindy and Reggie, she is saved.
14. Why does Reggie smile after getting punched in the face?
Does he derive pleasure from pain? This movie just got DARK.
Antonio and Fiona arrive at the coronation, and as the priest questions her planned visit to a church to meet orphans, she replies, “it’s a world tour of orphans!” and I laughed SO MUCH. It’s legit the funniest line of the movie. Fiona getting Margaret’s second name wrong during the coronation is a close second.
Stacey and Margaret arrive to stop the coronation just in time, sending Antonio to the dungeons. Fiona apologises and Margaret says she will ask for the judge to go lenient on her but we see her flee the scene before getting arrested. After finding out Fiona dumped Kevin, they all rush to the airport and Margaret asks him to marry her and they have their wedding at the airport.
15. This doesn’t feel like something a royal would be allowed to do?
I’m sure Megan and Harry would have preferred to get hitched at Heathrow and then just yeet on out of there.
The movie ends with Stacey flirting with the idea of having a baby with Edward, which will obviously be what happens in the next movie. Then at Margaret’s coronation, there’s two familiar faces in the crowd: A Christmas Prince’s Amber and Richard. Let me tell you, it is unsettling.
Fans will remember that Stacey and Kevin watch A Christmas Prince in the first film, so this truly blurs the lines between fiction and reality.
16. WHY HAVE YOU JUST RIPPED THE CHRISTMAS CINEMATIC UNIVERSE INTO SHREDS, NETFLIX? (It’s the only thing holding my life together in 2020!)
Anyways, happy ending! Stacey and Edward are together and prepping for a baby. While Margaret is Queen of Montenaro and married to Kevin. Our new icon Fiona is a fugitive under suspicion of treason. Love that for her!
This movie is baffling and yes, I absolutely need a third instalment ASAP.
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The Princess Switch: Switched Again is available to stream on Netflix.