#hillerska principal

[raincitygirl76]

I would argue that the purely practical aspects were a little worse for Simon, on two counts. #1. He didn’t have police protection officers to chase away tabloid journalists and just generally nosy strangers. #2. And he wasn’t able to deny that he was in the video. So yes, Wilhelm abandoned Simon (under extreme duress from Kristina), and thus they each had to face the aftermath alone. Which sucked, but it also sucked because, separated as they were, Simon had no opportunity to realize Wille was also still deeply traumatized. Because they were both working through the trauma separately.

The violation happened to BOTH of them. Both their families were affected. They both had to carry on with daily life surrounded by classmates and teachers who knew damn well Wilhelm’s denial was a lie. Everybody they had to interact with at school each day had seen them both naked and vulnerable during a moment that should’ve been private. They were both subject to major gossip and innuendo.

They both had to wonder which of their classmates had surreptitiously filmed them in an intimate moment and then leaked it all over the internet. And then later Wilhelm knew exactly who it was, had to face him every day, and had to live with the knowledge that his mother protected his second cousin who posted revenge porn over her son, the victim of August’s revenge porn.

Neither of them got proper adult support, either. Yes, Wilhelm eventually got counselling, but he didn’t get it because of the video. Kristina didn’t make him see a psychologist until he had a tantrum on speakerphone and threatened to abdicate. The video aftermath was not top of mind for her. Wanting him to control his angry outbursts was.

Simon didn’t get counselling at all. That said, there are often long waiting lists to see psychologists and counsellors for free in the public system, and Linda couldn’t have afforded to send him private and pay out of pocket. Nonetheless, the fact that Hillerska had Boris the school psychologist on staff and didn’t make his services available to Simon free of charge is sheer bloody negligence.

The violation took place at their school. Hillerska had a duty of care to keep their students safe, and they failed. Then they failed again, by not offering the victimized students (Simon only at the time, since Wille was madly pretending he wasn’t a victim) psychological support to work through the violation.

But yes @heartbreakprincewille is absolutely right. They were both violated, and in 2.06 Simon saw how badly it had affected Wille too. The statement he made under duress shielded Wilhelm from a few of the practical consequences of the video, but not from the majority of the consequences.

Great tags from @retrieve-the-kraken, @gulliblelemon and @helsteeth

And more tags from @capricious-soldes

I was watching the scene where Wille points the gun at August and it's such a brilliant scene for many reasons but the one that hit me the most is that Simon got to see the degree to which Wille was affected by the video.

In the Music Room fight that went down between them in the last episode, Simon basically says that Wille had it easy in terms of facing the repercussions of the video as compared to Simon. And Wille is rightfully offended because Simon fails to understand that just because the manner in which they both suffered was different, it doesn't mean that the suffering itself was any less for Wilhelm.

Like, when Wilhelm points the gun at August, the anger that flashes on his face is not some sort of a "quarrel" between the Royals, it's Wilhelm's pain resurfacing in the form of sheer anger, all the sleepless nights and tears bubbling and making their way into his voice. It's so evident in that scene, how Wilhelm was deeply affected by everything that went down and now that Simon had a chance to bring some justice to both of them, August snooped in and took that chance away from them. Like, Simon must have finally understood that the game is not rigged just for him, but Wilhelm is as much of a victim as Simon is. That Wilhelm's hurt ran so deep that he was ready to blow off his own cousin's head. And it could be one of the realizations that helped Simon understand that it's not him vs Wille, they both were equally devastated by August's actions and even more so, Wille's loyalty will always lie with what's right, and with Simon.

[skamenglishsubs]

Subtext and Culture, Young Royals, Season 3, Episode 2

Episode 2 starts days or maybe a week after episode 1. The curfews and phone ban is in place, so Wilhelm and Simon make the most of their one hour of phone sex talking.

Blink and you miss it: Wilhelm snapped a quick instant picture of himself and Simon at the palace in the last episode, using the camera we saw on his desk. The heart is still on his hand, so maybe it's the next day, or maybe he's been filling it in every day.

Cinematography: Intense red light typically symbolizes their mutual love, and this scene is overflowing with it.

Lost in translation: They both finish the phone call with "puss", which means kiss, but not exactly. It's more platonic, something you can say and do with your parents, or your kids, or end phone calls with. The other word for kiss, "kyss", is more romantic/sexual, and would be super weird to end a phone call with. Simon is using that word when he says he would kiss Wilhelm's collar bone birth mark.

Subtext: Of course Vincent doesn't believe anyone was bullied. He's the biggest bully, but what he does is just a joke, or the other guy deserved it. This is gonna be a recurring theme™ in this episode, how various characters look back on and remember, or choose not to remember, what happened to them.

Subtext: If you didn't pick up this meaningful glance, you're blind. The initiation porno was totally real, and Nils and August clearly remember it, and weren't as flippant about it as Vincent.

Culture: In Sweden, inner city schools are typically better and have richer students than the poorer schools out in the suburbs. This is the exact opposite of the typical US school demographical pattern.

Subtext: Wilhelm avoids Farima's question by evading it. Note that it does make sense that she doesn't know what's going on at these schools since she's an employee, she's not upper-class herself. Wilhelm's parents know though since they attended Hillerska, but they would of course never admit it either.

Culture: Ironically, this is exactly how the real-world Danish royal family handled the Herlufsholm scandal in 2022 involving prince Christian. Only when the media storm in Denmark got too intense did they pull him out of the school, while furiously denying knowledge of the abuse or that he was involved in any way.

Cinematography: We're in the cursed music room, but the light is soft and golden, and the scene is just cute. No fight this time.

Subtext: We're touching the theme™ again, but from Simon's perspective. He has the same outsider perspective we have; speaking up about abuse is always good, and if the school's closing because of it, that's an obviously good thing. There's plenty of scenes in this episode showing that most Hillerska students don't share this perspective, they really love their school, as fucked up as it is.

Subtext: Although it sounds like a rehearsed PR line and Felice is thinking about her girl group here, it's gonna come true for her and Sara.

Subtext: Yuck. No further comment.

Cinematography: The immediate cut to Felice getting her aggressions out in gym class shows us exactly what she thought of what the principal said and how much it pissed her off.

Blink and you miss it: Simon audibly sniffs Wilhelm's hair.

Blink and you miss it: Micke made dinner for both of them, but in her depression, Sara ignores the cooked food (Pyttipanna, btw), and makes herself a cucumber sandwich instead.

Subtext: Micke is a man on a mission, and he is constantly steering the conversation towards helping Sara get her driver's license. For him, it's a way to make up for having been a shitty parent.

Culture: Sweden has long been a holdout of stick-shift cars, and if you don't do your practical test in a stick-shift, you'll get a restricted license, so it's not out of the ordinary for Micke to be teaching Sara how to drive one. However, automatics have seen a sharp rise in the last decade, and in 2024 automatics will finally overtake them.

Culture: The green ÖVNINGSKÖRNING sign is compulsory in Sweden if a car is being driven by someone on a learner's permit, with a parent or friend as the instructor. There's also a red version of the sign, which indicates it's a student driver with a professional instructor in a dual control car.

Cinematography: The room is filled to the brim with things to do, there's a bazillion board games, they have books, magazines, fidget thingies, they're drowning in stuff, and yet the girls are still soooooo boooored just because they don't have their phones. Except Madison, who is knitting.

Subtext: Here comes the theme™ again, and Fredrika is firmly in camp denial. Everyone else is just lying and exaggerating! The wheels are starting to turn in Felice's head though.

Subtext: Nils and August are finally talking about the initiation without Vincent being present, and they can finally be honest about what they actually thought about it. It happened, they didn't like.

Subtext: Their idea of fixing it however is not to go out publicly and talk about it, but to just quietly stop the tradition, hoping they'll be the last ones. (Since there are no second-year students in the show, we have no idea what happened to them, so we're just gonna ignore that.)

Subtext: And here comes the reason that August wanted to put a stop to it. He was completely humiliated by it, and he doesn't want anyone else to know that he was humiliated, because that just makes it worse. This is also the reason that traditions like this keep on going, no-one wants to blow the whistle on it, because everyone was abused, everyone was a victim, it's hard for abuse victims to speak up.

Cinematography: The talk with Nils triggered an anxiety attack for August, and being inside his small room doesn't exactly help. Him going so close to the camera that he almost bumps into it really shows how he feels like the walls are closing in on him.

Culture: This, kids, is a standard Swedish landline telephone jack. For the longest time I thought phone jacks looked like this everywhere, but it turns out that this particular design was only used in Sweden and Iceland(!?!). You won't find these in newer buildings because landlines are pretty much dying out, and if there are phone jacks they'll probably be using the much more common RJ-11 standard.

Culture: This, kids, is an Ericsson Diavox phone. The former government phone monopoly in Sweden, Televerket, only allowed certified and approved phones to be used on the network, and they only approved a very small set of phones, so everyone had pretty much the same phones in their homes. However, in the 1980's the market started getting flooded with "illegal" phones from other countries, so the monopoly simply stopped enforcing the rule, and you could finally, finally, plug in that novelty Garfield phone that you always wanted.

Blink and you miss it: Sara is studying for her driving test, and she's reading about driving in the dark.

Subtext: We're gearing up for the main plotline of the season, dropping more hints that maybe Wilhelm's image of Erik wasn't complete, and what August says sows some seeds of doubt in him.

Subtext: This song is objectively not very good, please don't kill me, but it is very sixteen-year-old-boy-just-singing-from-his-heart, not thinking about the text.

Subtext: Simon isn't wearing anything purple, but just after he posts his song video, he picks up a purple shirt, drops it immediately, and then the camera lingers on it. Colour theory goes brrrrrrrr. He thought about Wilhelm, and then stopped because his music is more important to him or something?

Subtext: Unlike Simon, Wilhelm immediately understands how problematic the text is for him, and how people will interpret it...

Subtext: ...but since he doesn't want to hurt Simon's feelings, he lies about why he thinks the song was a very, very bad idea. And he cushions it by telling Simon that he thinks the song is jätte-jätte-bra. Giant-giant-good.

Subtext: Yes, but also no, and someone from the court really should have given Simon some media training and explained to him why he has to be very careful about what he posts. But it's drama fuel, which is why this disaster is allowed to happen.

Subtext: A nice little throwback to season 1, this is exactly what Erik told Wilhelm in the first episode, about making sure that their public image is carefully curated.

Subtext: That's some on-the-nose foreshadowing there, since Felice is one of the main causes for the school ultimately closing.

Subtext: We're back to the theme™, Fredrika is saying pretty much the same thing as Vincent. It didn't happen, and if it did, it wasn't that bad.

Subtext: However, Felice isn't playing along this time, she's starting to speak up about the issues, and the result is a long, awkward silence, because her friends are not willing to do the same.

Subtext: Wilhelm and the rest of the rich kids are of course all wearing pretty expensive high-end hiking gear, in contrast with Simon who is simply wearing one of his usual hoodies and his usual winter jacket that we've seen before. That's a damn fine jacket from Fjällräven, btw, the same company that makes the weirdly globally popular Kånken backpacks.

Blink and you miss it: Henry is getting dragged for his actually quite reasonable objection to the tent groupings.

Subtext: Felice physically distances herself from her friends, and joins Simon and Wilhelm, in a nice little foreshadowing of the show's ending.

Blink and you miss it: Did you miss the line in last episode where Ayub said they were also gonna go camping at Talludden with their classmates from Marieberg? Well, here they are, because they pitched their tents nearby, and decided to go check out the Hillerska camp. It's not just Rosh and Ayub randomly walking through the woods.

Subtext: In season 2, we learned that Stella has a crush on Fredrika that she thinks is one-sided, but Fredrika sure has some kind of reaction to seeing Stella being close with Rosh. Jealousy, perhaps? Not clear at this point in time.

Subtext: Read the room Fredrika, for fuck's sake. At least Wilhelm has started learning to recognize privilege. The other rich kids probably recognize their privilege, but they're mostly just enjoying how much better they are than the poor regular kids.

Subtext: But Wilhelm's still got a lot more to learn. Yes, technically he is forced to spend his summer studying, and technically it is a kind of work, but the underlying reasons are completely different. If he skips it or fails, nothing bad will happen to him, unlike the Marieberg kids who rely on their summer jobs to have any sort of spending money.

Lost in translation: Wilhelm's dad says that the queen is going to be "sjukskriven", which is more serious than someone deciding on their own to take some time off or to use some sick days. It means that a doctor has evaluated you and decided that you are not fit to work, and that if you're a regular person, you are eligible for sick pay for the foreseeable future.

Cinematography: Yeah, mommy is really sick and Wilhelm is feeling the weight of responsibility, but take a look at that sunrise! It's so pretty! Wilhelm is completely in shadow because trouble whatever, but look at how that light just pops, with the sky and the water and the sun on the trees! Beautiful!

[almostawinchester]

ooh I am really intrigued about that young royals trailer! are there a lot of differences from the subtitles to what they are actually saying? I have seen a few people say something similar but haven't seen anything written out.

File this under "Things I didn't know I needed: Explaining all the subtle differences between what's being said in Swedish in the Young Royals Season 3 trailer, and what the subtitles say."

It's similar, but there are just some small changes that give a different *vibe*, you know?

For example in the opening scene, what Simon literally says is "Hur har du drömt att det ska vara?", a.k.a. "How have you dreamed it should be?" It's not a super common way of phrasing it in Swedish either, so I'd probably go with, "In your dream, what did you think/hope it would/should be like?"

When Wille says "Jag vill bara att vi ska kunna ha ett privatliv" (lit. "I just want for us to be able to have a private life"), to me, there's a slight difference between "privatliv" (privacy in one's personal life) and "ett privat liv" (a private life). I'd go with, "I just want us to be able to have some privacy in our personal lives."

And then there are the small filler words, which I know are left out of subs, always. But they add nuance!

When the blonde girl says "Vem skriver du med, då?" (lit. "Who are you writing with, then?"), it's more like, "So, who are you texting?"

And then Felice answers "Wille kommer tillbaks idag, ba(ra)" (lit. "Wille comes back today, just/only"), which is more like, "It's just that Wille is coming back today". Both "ba" and "tillbaks" are informal versions of "bara" and "tillbaka", which adds to the *shrug, no big deal* vibe.

And then the blonde answers, "Vadå, det är ju en så stor grej ju!" (lit. "What, that is such a big thing!"). But! There's no way of translating "ju" – it's a filler word that means "as you/we already know/are aware of". It's not even grammatically correct to add it twice, but it happens in speech when you REALLY want to emphasize the "girl, what are you talking about, we KNOW this" part. I'd translate it as "What? But that's huge!" The "ju" comes back when the blonde woman says, "Jag vet ju att det är lite spänt mellan dig och August" (lit. "I know (as we both do) that it's a bit tense between you and August").

Then we jump to a very long sentence that I understand they had to shorten – Wille saying, "Om du tror att jag kommer låta dig ta över så kan du glömma det!" (Lit. "If you think that I will let you take over, so can you forget it" – this isn't a question, Swedish word order in subordinate clauses is just very different from English). If we had enough space, I'd go with "If you think I'm going to let you take over, you can forget about it!"

Then it's just super small differences. Simon says, "Vad är det som du tycker är så bra med monarkin?" ("What is it that you think is so good with the monarchy?"); the principal (I think) says, "Hela skolans framtid hänger på den här utredningen" ("The whole school's future hangs on this investigation"); the blonde woman says "Hillerska kan tvingas stänga, med omedelbar verkan" ("Hillerska might be forced to close down, effective immediately"); and Wille says, "Vad händer om jag inte vill det?" (lit. "What happens if I don't want that?")

Then I've only just realized Swedes tend to start sentences with "but", which sometimes is more like a filler word, to "soften" the sentence. For example, the queen says "Men vi kan inte ha såna här skandaler mer!" ("But we can't have these types of scandals anymore"). (That is followed by her saying, "Så ska du kunna ta över efter mig", ("So you should be able to take over after me") which is a subordinate clause, which means there was something that came before/after that wasn't included in the trailer.) And Simon says "Men jag försöker att alltid finnas där för honom, men vad jag än gör så, ah, så blir det fel" ("But I always try to be there for him, but whatever I do, then, yeah, then it turns out wrong").

And then there's the "Hur kommer man över sin bästa vän?" ("How do you get over your best friend?") In Swedish, we use "man" (lit. "man") instead of "you", so it's more like a less formal way of saying "How does one get over one's best friend?" – I'd still translate it as "you", though.

August swears! "Jag har saknat dig så jävla mycket att det gör ont." ("I've missed you so fucking much that it hurts!") Swearing in general is a lot more okay in Swedish society, than in for example England or the US, based on my own experiences – it's done at all levels of society, by everyone (especially kids/teenagers, even in school), except for maybe at work or in very formal situations.

Simon says "Kan vi inte ba skita i allt som har hänt?" ("Can't we just ignore everything that's happened?") "Skita i" literally means "to shit in", is pretty informal and could be translated with "to not give a shit about", "to ignore" or "to skip", depending on the circumstances. Wiktionary claims it's vulgar, but I'd use it with family and friends, no problem.

So yeah! There's just more life in the actual dialogue, I think :) And I know that that's always the case, and that the translator doing the subs has limited space and time, and they need to make it work in English without adding explanations, etc., etc. So overall, I think they've done a good job – but I'm still glad I speak Swedish :)

[raincitygirl76]

@levok2 is a delightful blog where @levok fills in the gaps in between episodes with text conversations etc. These texts are not canon, obviously, but they strike me as extremely plausible.

Sunday 11:24

Simon's phone

[lillifred]

One thing that really stuck out to me in Young Royals season 3 is how so many of the characters put so much energy in defending systems that actively hurt them. This is shown both large scale with the monarchy and small scale with the Hillerska ecosystem.

The monarchy and Hillerska brought the worst parts of Erik's characters to light and although he did not show it, I'm sure he suffered from the pressure too. And still he made sure to always keep up appearances and to teach both August and Wille how to uphold the system.

The Queen got serious health problems from all the pressure. She lost her relationship to her only remaining son to the system. And... she spends all her energy upholding the system.

Even Wille tries to live up the mold that so clearly doesn't fit him. And he subjects Simon to some of the same rules.

August had to suffer through that horrible initiation, he got bullied and felt lonely in his first year of Hillerska - but the only hope he sees is trying to profit from the Hillerska system by becoming principal. Also, he loves the monarchy despite the monarchy not loving him back.

The other Hillerska boys also cling to their traditions despite having suffered, too. They even start a petition and a strike so that everything can stay the same (except for a somewhat less bad initiation).

Sara suffers from the class difference but she wants to climb up that latter.

In contrast to that, Simon and Felice want a revolution. And Wille too, and he's almost ready to finally fully go through with it.

[bluedalahorse]

sunday snippet: experimenting with a canon divergence

I set a timer for 30 minutes this morning and wrote a few paragraphs for one of my ideas. Just going to leave this here for you all:

Sara stepped off the bus and wondered if her headband was a mistake. In front of the mirror this morning, it had looked as formal and understated as she wanted it to. Slim and black and satiny. Elegant, but not presumptuous. Sara wasn’t trying to look old money by wearing it, not really. Only like she knew what the difference between old money and new money was. Which she did, because she read about that kind of thing in books.  (The only kind of money the Eriksson household knew was vanishing money, but Sara had planned her outfit today so no one would ask about that. Clean plaid dress, nice sweater, nice shoes. Her horse necklace for luck. And of course the headband.) Mamma said it made Sara look pretty when she pulled her hair away from her face. Sara knew she wasn’t pretty—when pretty girls got asked out, it was for real and not a joke at their expense, not that Sara cared when the sporty guys in her year at högstadiet pretended to hit on her because the actual pretty girls dared them to, the sporty guys and pretty girls of Bjärstad were all stupid anyway—so she hoped the headband at least made her look mature. It’s just that the headband was also digging in to the patches of scalp behind her ears. It itched. It hurt. And Sara did not want it to distract her when she spoke with Anette Lilja, principal of the refined Hillerska Skolan, and politely asked about what she needed to do to become a boarder there. Growing up in Bjärstad was hell. And Hillerska was Sara’s only escape.

[oppositewilmon]

there's been an interesting s3 theory flittering across twitter that hillerska could be shut down due to its numerous scandals - past, present and future (ahem august)

it's been marinating in my brain for the past few days and i thought wouldn't it be interesting if hillerska was some sort of symbolic figure of the royal institution

i have some (not so) fun evidence to back my claim

first of all, erik. he held an esteemed position at hillerska but has now graduated, leaving wille to - begrudgingly - follow his footsteps. this one's pretty clear cut but, in real life, erik passes away, leaving the crown prince title to his little brother.

second point is based mostly on a joke. someone tweeted that, since erik and wille swapping places forshadowed wille becoming crown prince, did that mean wille would become hillerska's next principal due to him swapping places with her for their photo in s1e1.

which is funny butttttt when you really think about...wille swapping places with the head of hillerska...possibly foreshadowing wille swapping places with the head of the royal institution...possibly foreshadowing wille swapping places with queen kristina...

and while this feels like a pro king!wille post just waittttt abdication truthers - stick with me.

if hillerska really does end up shutting down in s3 and it's made clear it's supposed represent the royal institution - wouldn't that be the sort of perfect open-ending hint towards wille's future abdication?

[raincitygirl76]

I’m frankly surprised the headmistress didn’t quietly veto the song LONG before Jan-Olof got involved in the preparations. Maybe the headmistress is the only other person in the world, apart from Wilhelm, who doesn’t realize the song is actually all about Wilhelm.

The choir director/music teacher is obviously thrilled with her star tenor and budding composer, so she’s not going to worry about the press potentially having a field day. But I wouldn’t have thought Jan-Olof would be the very first adult to realize that having the Hillerska choir, including Simon, standing behind the Crown Prince when he does his speech is a bad idea, from the point of view of cutting down on fresh rumours.

But I suppose it’s difficult at the last minute to reorganize where everybody will sit or stand during the jubilee. Particularly since there’s a marquee, a stage, multiple bleachers that would all have to be switched in a limited outdoor space. And you’d have to find new places to put all the TV cameras. Easier to just cut the song with a solo by the boy who’s been scandalously linked to the Crown Prince in the past.

I suspect the programs had already been printed, though. Awkward to have Hillerska Song Remix, with music and lyrics by Simon Eriksson, tenor solo by Simon Eriksson, in the program. But at least it won’t actually be SUNG in front of the TV cameras. And nobody who isn’t physically present at the jubilee will have a copy of the program. Which means it won’t be mentioned when “This Year with the Royal Family” broadcasts.

I love how Wille going off script in his speech and taking back his lie completely fucked up Jan-Olof’s day. Week. Month. Possibly fucked up his whole YEAR. Suddenly, even with the solo axed, all the cameras are swinging to do close-ups on that tiresome, scandalous, disrespectful non-resident choirboy.

I’ve been holding a grudge against Jan-Olof since he got Malin to manhandle Wilhelm in 2.02. My feelings about him were not improved when he openly asked August to confirm his heterosexuality in 2.04, and wasn’t even embarrassed about it. Jan-Olof has zero qualms about saying the quiet part out loud.

the scene where jan-olaf stops simon from singing his song has to be the most frustrating in the whole series, it makes me so mad omg. he whispers the choir teacher, and you already know what's going to happen.. it feels just as horrible for us as it does for simon, realising that of course, he's not going to be allowed to sing because of the video, especially considering it's his face that's shown. they're not gonna let him have this opportunity.

but im totally in love with simon standing up to him right away and walking out of there.

also, i suppose it's symbolism of the royal court and the institution stopping wilhelm and simon from being together - whether it's through wilhelm's own actions or the court themselves. they stop simon from singing his song, the song about his love for wilhelm.

[nbrook29]

Yeah spoilers and synopsis and stuff. What was the big cliffhanger they kept talking about in interviews? And I heard Erik did something

Here you go (spoilers for s3 below):

So basically the video and Sara's call issue is resolved in the very beginning, and that's not the main plot of the season. I'd say it's Wilmon as a couple who come from different backgrounds and their differences are becoming a problem.

Lots of cute Wilmon scenes, but also a lot of this feeling that they don't really understand each other and are occupied by their own problems the other side not always understands or just diminishes (like Simon getting online hate).

Because of W's speech, Hillerska is on the radar and there's a story published about the students' awful initiations practices (drinking spit etc.) The school is under inspection, there's a new principal, and students' rights are severely limited (no phones, curfew at 19:00, no senior year activities for the seniors).

Regarding Eric - when he was a senior, our current seniors were freshmen so they underwent the initiation by Eric's class. It turns out that one of those practices was playing a p*rn video, telling the boys to get naked, and beating up the ones who got an e******* (idk tumblr's current policies so better safe than sorry with the * xd). And, well. As you can imagine, it comes as a shock to W, who always considered his brother to be perfect and who always thought E protected him and who would accepted his relationship with S. He as troubles accepting that fact and it's one of reasons he and S fight this season.

The cliffhanger - it's W's birthday and S is with him at the palace. The Queen has not been doing well mentally this entire season (the grief finally catching up to her), but it's also very clear that for her, E is the perfect son and W is not. Shit hits the fan during dinner, W finally yells at his parents and S witnessing his outburst. In the end, S breaks up with him, telling him he doesn't recognize him anymore and that he can't keep sacrificing himself/has to put himself first (like I said before, W was kinda dissmisive about S's struggles with his new role this season, it was not cute)

[altruistic-meme]

i am putting in a normal amount of research for this fic *has a 112 page pdf about becoming a principal in sweden open in another tab*

[skamenglishsubs]

Wanted to reblog this, and also add some thoughts:

In the US, religion is a thing, it's something people talk about, and have a strong opinion on, whether or not they're religious or irreligious. It's a force in society. Asking someone what church they go to is an accepted small-talk ice-breaker in large parts of the US, as inoffensive as asking someone what they do for a living.

Sweden, and large parts of Northern Europe, is the complete opposite of that. When Sweden is described as secular, we don't mean that the majority of the population is strongly atheist and that there's some kind of culture war around religion that the non-believers are winning.

No, Sweden is largely apatheist. Nobody cares about religion.

In the US, if you want to seek some kind of political office, you pretty much have to be Christian, and at the very least some kind of organized church religious. People will ask, people will care, it's a thing to debate. In Sweden, I have no idea if the current prime minister is religious. Nobody cares. Nobody asked. I guess he isn't, but I don't know.

When I was a kid in the 80's, the end-of-year assemblies for my regular public school was held at the local church. I probably sang some psalms at these as a kid. There'd be the principal or some teacher talking, and there'd also be a priest talking, especially before Christmas break. He, or she, would read a piece from the Christmas gospel. Nobody cared. We had kids in my class who were nominally Catholic or Muslim. They didn't care. Their parents didn't care. Separation of church and state!!! Yawn. This is how much I cared at one of these summer assemblies:

The Church of Sweden was the official state church until the year 2000, when that finally ended. Not after vigorous public debate or because of principles around religion and politics, but mostly because it was a bother. I think the church itself wanted to be less entangled in politics. I don't know. I don't care. Nobody else cared either. In Norway, they separated in 2017. In Denmark, the Church of Denmark is still the state church. Not because the Danes are more religious than Swedes or Norwegians, but because.. ugh... bother...

When I was born I was automatically made a member of the Church of Sweden, even though I've never been baptised, but simply because my parents were members. I quit in my 20's, not because of strongly held beliefs, but mostly because I'm a cheapskate and wanted to lower my taxes half a percentage point or something. I have plenty of definitely atheist friends who stayed members and later got married in church. Priests and prayers and holy matrimony before God and everything. I didn't care. They didn't care. Neither the couples nor their guests believed. Maybe some older relatives did. Maybe the priest. You actually don't have to believe in God to be ordained as a priest in the Church of Sweden. Whatever. Nobody cares.

But Sweden, and Northern Europe, is very much culturally Christian. Everyone knows the words, the songs, the stories. Jesus something. Fish. Wine from water! So a lot of people know enough to participate in the culture, even though they don't have faith, even though they don't believe it's true. And that's why the kids at Hillerska are saying grace before dinner. No-one believes, but no-one cares enough to stop the tradition either because... ugh... bother...

Hej ! I just read your post about Swedish facts (loved it) and i've been wondering for a long time, what place does have religion in Sweden ? Is it the default situation to be a believer or a majority of swedes are atheists ? Does it feel like the church have some grip and power over political decisions in Sweden ? Does the church seem more progressive in Sweden than in other countries (regarding of women, lgbtqia+ people, etc.) ?

Seeing it from Hillerska, it seems like students do not really care but the school in itself still has strong religious foundations with the chapel or praying before diner. And how monarchy is just very based on christian traditions.

If you've already talk about it i'm sorry and ik it can be a quite vague and though question, i read some stuff online but i thought it would be more interesting to have your view and opinion on it.

Have a nice day and thank you so much if you reply to this ✨

Hi.

Sweden is one of, of not the most secular country in the world and the church is very much a separate entity from the government. Many people are Christian "by default" meaning that they are not practicing but might believe in god a little bit or they don't really know. There are many people who are atheist too.

Sweden is still very tied to Christian culture though traditions ans holidays but they don't have a religious element for many people.

The Swedish state church is very open and liberal. They are open ans welcoming of Lgbtq+ people and have allowed lgbtq+ people to get married in church for several years. More Conservative churches are far behind but some are catching up and in this year qx gala a pastor of a church is actually nominated for hetero of the year for his work for lgbtq+ rights a more Conservative church.

State school is not supposed to have religous elements but private are allowed to to some extent. There are Christian private schools and also muslim schools that I know of.

Hillerska is a private school but I think it's mostly about keeping traditions than anything else.

The royal family is bounded by law though to be Christian which is against freedom of Religion which is a human right. They have to be raised Lutheran to inherit the throne. However it's very unclear how religious they are internally.

However, as you say, the monarchyis very much based on Christianity.

[thedecadenceofwar]

cashmere

He’d tried.

Simon was always fucking trying, wasn’t he. He’d tried to help Wille more times than he could fucking count. On the football field, the fucking video, even the fucking initiation – God, that was for him, too, and the principal today – it was all so stupid, and so fucking pointless. Nothing he ever did made a difference, not in the world, not to Wille, not to anyone. Not to fucking Sara, who apparently had gotten more expensive jodhpurs from her new Hillerska friends than Simon and Linda could afford together. 

He tossed the notebook on his bed. Underneath it, in his backpack, a deep orange.

Simon sighed and stared at it. He’d thought today, maybe he might have made a difference, maybe he could finally do something, but no. He’d gotten there late, shoved his way through the crowd of onlookers, but the situation was already fixed, apparently. I’m staying, Wille told Felice, and she’d walked him away. Simon had almost opened his mouth. I have your sweater, he might have said. Hey, Wille. I have your sweater. Or maybe he might have said nothing. Just held it out to him.

Like a peace offering, but there were no peace offerings between them now. Simon had closed that door. He continued to close the door. He had no other choice. 

He pulled the sweater from his backpack and something so deep lurched within him, he felt like crying. Almost on instinct, he bunched it to his nose and mouth like an oxygen mask, and breathed deep.

Oh, fuck.

Continue on AO3

[skamenglishsubs]

How do locals like Sara and Simon end up at an elite boarding school that’s so expensive August faces selling a portion of his estate to pay the high tuition? I would assume there’s some kind of grant or endowment that pays their way. However, in one of the episodes, August comments that there’s money out there to pay for people like Sara to go to the school. I made the assumption that that money was already paying for Sara to go to the school, but I guess that’s not correct. Can you explain?

Huh, I thought I had covered this in my subtext and culture series, but apparently not!

There's no tuition fee for studying at Hillerska, or any of the real-world boarding schools in Sweden, because they're not allowed to charge for that part. However, they're free to charge whatever they want for boarding, those fees are pretty hefty, and that's what August is struggling to pay.

The schools are also allowed to prioritize boarders over non-boarders, and since they control how many kids they take in total, it just so happens that they can say that the number of spots they had this year was exactly the same as the number of boarders, thereby keeping the riff-raff out.

(The real-world boarding schools have a fair number of non-boarder students, but they're located in the middle of nowhere, which makes it intentionally hard to attend as a non-boarder, so they only get students who really want to go there.)

In the case of Simon and Sara, Sara was bullied at Marieberg and wanted to move schools. Hillerska was the next closest, so someone (Linda, the principal at Marieberg, some social worker, I dunno) simply asked them if she could move there. They also asked if Simon could transfer as well, to make sure Sara wasn't gonna be completely alone, and because you typically keep siblings together at the same school.

Hillerska said yes, to score some goodwill and charity points or something, even though they didn't have to. And since Simon and Sara aren't boarding students, they don't need to pay for anything, so there's no scholarship, no grants, nothing.

This is why the extra math tutoring fee is a major plotline and an unwelcome surprise for Linda, because it's the first time the school has asked them for money in any way.

What August is talking about with Sara is a scholarship to cover the boarding fees, and I'm sure there's something out there you can apply for. All the rich kids will know you're not really one of them though, so beware.

[piebingo]

Stop assuming we’re all toxic bitches

I know we already talked about how refreshing it was to see girls staying friends and not fighting over boys (aka Felice and Sara) but I just appreciate that they did so even in the kind of setting the school is.

I went to an all girl private secondary school (not the rich/elite Hillerska kind). When I tell people that, they immediately assume that it was the most toxic, bitchy school ever. Like immediately assume that. 9 times out of 10 someone asks me how I survived. I think it’s honestly pretty fucking insulting.

Obviously, there were petty fights and girls that caused a bit of problems to the other girls. It’s always gonna happen in life, no matter what setting you are in. That doesn’t mean that it was worse than it is in mixed schools. And it doesn’t mean that boys can’t have petty, bitchy fights.

Most of the girls were friendly with everyone, talking with whoever was next to them. You needed a tampon? Just shout in the hallway and a bunch of girls you’ve never talked with will offer you one. There was no pressure to dress up (we had uniforms but on casual days we could wear whatever and most people were in sweatpants), no need to do your hair or your makeup. If you wanted to tho, you wouldn’t get shit for it.

I just get so sick of people, even other girls, assuming that I had a bad experience. That my experience was full of back-stabbing fake bitches. Because it wasn’t. And I know that is just my experience, but I also know that most of my friends felt that way too.

And I get so mad whenever I see all of these shows portraying girls as if we can’t be friends with each other. Yeah, it might happen from time to time. But I’m sick of girls and women always being put against each other. I’ve never seen people stick to each other as much as when a girl did something at my all girl school.

That rumor of a girl piercing other girls’ ears in the 3rd floor bathrooms? Never heard of it (say the girls with dried blood still on their ears). That girl who got sent to the principal’s office for wearing the wrong shoes? (Thanks uniforms for that one) You better believe half of the school was wearing the wrong shoes the next day in support just to stick with her. The girls stuck to each other, no matter if they were friends or not.

I really hope that we’ll see more of that in shows and movies. And I hope that, if Sara and Felice have a fall out (which might happen with the August thing, it would make sense for Felice to be mad), it will be done in a “nice” way. Yes girls can have petty fights, but they can also fight in a respectful way. They don’t need to turn everyone against the other. They don’t need to call the other hurtful names.

Because girls can be friends with other girls. Stop assuming we are all toxic bitches.

[heartbreakprincewille]

That song is actually a song from another artist, Aldrig Igen by Cherrie ft. Stormzy!

Which, it's such a fitting song for their situation (and interestingly, Stormzy's verse sounds so much from Wille's perspective). They knew what they were doing when they chose this song to be sung by Simon in the beginning of the season:

I would love to hear a full Omar cover though😭

As for the Hillerska song, I don't know. They(mainly Jan-Olof) rejected it for the Jubilee, but I think the principal was on board with the song? I can see it becoming the official Hillerska song because the school was actually looking for a new song and everyone liked Simon's rendition. But after Wille's speech and if they go public as a couple, I can also see people connecting the dots of the song to Wille and the school now suddenly being opposed to the song in order to avoid more scrutiny and Wille and Simon having to fight for it. It can go any way.

And I'm also confused about the dining arrangement! Sara doesn't have breakfast with the girls until she becomes a boarder. I think that since they are probably the only non-res students there and they have to commute to the school (as compared to like 90% of the students residing in Hillerska grounds itself), they opened up breakfast for them as well. And I think Sara avoided having breakfast with the girls because of her fear of getting bullied but Simon didn't give a fuck so he took advantage of the opportunity.

(Sorry if it isn't actually correct I just tried to guess-)

Edit: I just remembered that Sara does have dinner with the Manor House girls in S1 E5. So I think there's no problem with them having meals with the boarders?

Watching s2 again there's three things i wanna talk about:

First: why nobody is talking about the song Simon is singing in ep1 when Marcus sneaks into his room uninvited ? That song was aparently unfinished and it talked about his pain for Wille. I wanna hear that song!! Just saying. That brings me to another thing:

What will happen to Simon's song after Wille's speech? Are they gonna accept it now as the new Hillerska Song?

And third: I don't know if anyone talked about this before or if i didn't understand how that works but, is Simon supposed to eat at the dining room with the boys? In ep1s1 when they talk for the first time Wille asks him surprised why is he eating there, but in s2 (also in 1) he eats there all the time 😅😅😅

tack-boris asks 😬

[levok]

When Jan-Olof comes to take Wille from Hillerska in S2 Simon asks to got to the toilet but instead goes to the principal (as he tells Wille later). What do you think he could have told her? I find it quite funny to think about Simon being in her office trying to make her change the opinion of the Royal Household and their decisions 😃

I have no idea, but it’s a conversation I would love to hear 😂😂

He has no clue what’s going on. Such a desperate attempt 🥺