#simon eriksson analysis

[raincitygirl76]

I wonder how much of the Sargust fallout in 2.06 was due to August being an only child…

He clearly did not anticipate Sara reacting as badly as she did to finding out that her boyfriend had used her tipoff to blackmail her little brother. He probably figured she wouldn’t be happy. But her level of betrayal seemed to catch August off guard. But then, August doesn’t know what it’s like to be truly pissed off at your sibling, but they’re still your sibling.

I had a fight with my sister on the weekend, and we just made up via text. We’re both gone 40 and she’s married with 2 kids (who have their own sibling rivalry issues). But she’s still my little sister, and fighting with her is still not fun.

Sara in 1.06 was not happy with Simon, and I suspect that made it easier for her to cut that deal with August. Judging by 1.06, August could have assumed that Sara doesn’t like Simon very much, and won’t particularly care what August does to him. But again, August has no siblings.

Sara cut a deal with August in 1.06 when she felt betrayed by her brother and panic-stricken at the thought of her mother forcing her to return to the old school where she had been viciously bullied. But eventually Sara’s anger at her little brother cooled. And he remained her little brother.

A few months pass. Simon and Sara aren’t as close as they used to be, with Sara boarding at Hillerska this term. And Sara is preoccupied with both her secret romance and the pending sale of Rousseau. But Simon still tells her when he finds out it was August who leaked the video. And Sara tells August what Simon told her, expecting him to do the right thing. Is she naive for thinking that? Yes. But she’s also only 18 and in love.

Then August uses her information, not to confess his crime to the police “spontaneously” before Simon can turn him in. But instead to blackmail Simon with something or other (Sara doesn’t know the specifics) so Simon can’t turn him in. Sara must be doubting at this point whether she ever meant anything to August, or if he was just using her to keep her quiet about what she knew.

As it happens she’s wrong about that, but it’s not unreasonable for her to doubt August’s motives for pursuing her, given what she’s just found out about how he used the information she gave him. Note on the shooting range she says “Because I was in love with him.” Past tense. Not “Because I’m in love with him,” present tense.

Furthermore, when she tells the truth, partly because she fears Wilhelm will blow August’s head off, Simon is devastated. He trusted Sara, and she betrayed that trust. She betrayed it more than once, has had this information since December and got involved with August anyway. I don’t think it really hits Sara until this point just how badly she’s fucked up, or just how devastated Simon is.

He’s her little brother, he’s in pain, she wants to hurt the person who hurt him. But the person who hurt him is her. She did this to him. Sara is not a forgiving person, look at how she decisively cut Micke out of her life. She must be fearing that she’s ruined her relationship with her only sibling for the rest of her life, that he will never forgive her.

I personally think Simon will forgive Sara eventually. But Sara knows what it’s like to be betrayed by an immediate family member, and knows she will never forgive Micke. It’s not difficult to imagine Sara extrapolating from her own experience, and believing Simon will permanently cut her out of his life the way she has permanently cut their father out of her life.

So she’s hurt her only sibling very badly, and for what? For a guy who turned out to be a duplicitous asshole and used her tipoff to hurt her brother. Again.

And August thinks she’ll simmer down. Yeah, she walked away from him on the shooting range, but he approaches her the following morning confidently. He has an ace in the hole to get his girlfriend to stop flipping out: he’s bought Rousseau for her. August (again, an only child) assumes the gift of Rousseau will be sufficient recompense for deep-sixing Sara’s relationship with her brother.

It isn’t sufficient recompense, and August is taken aback when Sara refuses the magnificent gift. But August doesn’t understand the push-pull of sibling dynamics. That Sara is experiencing family loyalty at a very inconvenient time (from August’s point of view).

August’s father is dead, he’s clearly not close to his mother, and he hates his stepfather’s guts. And he has no siblings, nobody else who understands what it was like to grow up at Arnas with Carl Johan and Louise Horn as their parents.

He was pretty close to his second cousin Erik before Erik wrapped his Ferrrari around a tree. But it seems like that friendship didn’t really get close until a traumatized, recently bereaved 16 year old August showed up at Hillerska as a first year and Erik (then a third year) took August under his wing.

August and Erik knew each other all their lives, but they were only close for about 2 years. And given they first got close at 16 (August) and 18 (Erik), that’s not actually analogous to a sibling relationship. Erik was already old enough to drink and vote, and August only a few years off. That’s not spending your childhood together.

And we’ve seen how superficial August’s friendships with his two best friends at Hillerska are. In S1, August and Vincent trash talk Nils behind his back for being nouveau riche. In S2, given an opportunity, Vincent sells August out, and Nils helps Vincent do so. August does not have any siblings, nor any sibling-like relationships where mutual loyalty is crucial.

So August sees Sara sell Simon out in 1.06 and takes that at face value. He doesn’t realize that Sara is angry with Simon at that point, but will get over it. Because August doesn’t understand the messiness of sibling relationships. Or their importance.

I know adults who have cut siblings out of their lives because that sibling had hurt them so grievously they said enough. But I don’t know anyone who has cut a sibling out of their life without giving it serious thought beforehand. Even if they’re better off without that sibling in their life, it’s still a huge decision. Sometimes it’s a bigger decision than cutting a parent out of their life.

Matters are complicated somewhat by divorce, remarriage, half-siblings, step-siblings, etc. obviously. But generally speaking, if you spent a significant chunk of your childhood living in the same house as someone, the decision to cut them out of your life is a very serious one.

My best friend has two older half siblings she is not close to and has never been close to. But one is 20 years her senior and the other 18 years her senior. She is the only child of her father’s second marriage, and she acts like an only child. The combination of her father’s divorce from his first wife and the massive age gap means she has very few shared experiences with her half-siblings. Now, part of that is on her dad. But part of it is simply that both her half siblings are old enough they could be her parents themselves.

So yeah, August was raised as an only child. Even if it turns out Carl Johan fathered another child out of wedlock at some point, that hypothetical half-sibling didn’t grow up with Carl Johan. There might be curiosity, it might even lead to a bond eventually, but there won’t be the shared childhood experiences.

Whereas Sara and Simon are full siblings close in age. Furthermore, they grew up together, in a traumatic family situation with a father who was an addict (and possibly abusive to boot) and a mother who meant well but was struggling to cope. Even if Simon and Sara never reconnect, they will still always have those shared experiences of growing up as Micke and Linda Eriksson’s children.

So I really don’t think August saw Sara’s total disillusionment with him in 2.06 coming. Because August isn’t anyone’s brother and doesn’t really get it.

[raincitygirl76]

https://x.com/jagalskardigsss/status/1790877785973514631?s=46&t=OipN1GuDN-JMNVL-ABY-5A

Great Simoncentric video on Twitter. Please give it a like over there if you enjoyed.

[raincitygirl76]

A terrific review of Young Royals Season 2 in The Sophian.

The Sophian is the student newspaper of Smith College in Northampton, MA, USA. I don't know how long college newspapers keep their archives up, so just in case, I copy-pasted the article below. But assuming the link above works (and it worked just fine right now), please go to the link, don't read my copy-paste.

All Things Real: a Review of “Young Royals” Season Two

BY CATE CHRISTINIDIS ON NOVEMBER 15, 2022 | 

ARTS AND CULTURE, POP CULTURE, REVIEWS AND TV

Photo by Robert Eldrim via Netflix.

Hillerska: a private boarding school tucked away in Sweden; horseback riding, rowing, rowdy parties and, most notably, 16-year-old Crown Prince Wilhelm. Still, “Young Royals” (2022) is no fairytale. A simmering pot of angst, romance, betrayal and battles of the conscience, “Young Royals” displays unadulterated teenage reality. Season One ended with Hillerska’s most scandalous term to date, and Wilhelm, played by Edvin Ryding, reluctantly left it behind to the promising tune of Elias’ “Revolution.” In the rubble of Season One, audiences couldn’t help but wonder: would Season Two be that revolution? 

The short answer is yes. The romance that blossoms between openly gay Simon Eriksson (Omar Rudberg) and closeted Crown Prince Wilhelm enters uncharted territory. Wilhelm’s self-discovery is thwarted by the looming sense of duty pressed upon him by Sweden’s royal court, who deem queerness as a threat to the monarchy. Yet, the essence of the story does not lie in Wilhelm’s royal title, but in the title of the show itself: “Young Royals.” It is easy to forget, and equally important to remember, that the students of Hillerska are just kids. Their mistakes are children’s mistakes, and their resilience and bravery are monumental. 

This also means that every catastrophe is that much more devastating. Both seasons deal with a case of child pornography –– a cellphone video of Simon and Wilhelm, recorded through Wilhelm’s dormroom window. Regardless of social power, money or fame, the problems that overwhelm Wilhelm and Simon’s relationship are unmistakably larger than they are. 

“Young Royals” is all things real –– the bodies and situations portrayed on screen all reflect some semblance of teenage existence; simultaneous chaos, uncertainty, imperfection and beauty. The series doesn’t shy away from the ugly side of teenage life: where partying and stress meet drug use and where jealousy leads to impulsive, criminalizing mistakes. “Young Royals” is both dark and refreshing, unusual in its ability to look life right in the face. 

The American media tends to place a beauty filter over the formative years. Audiences lapse into patterns of falsified viewing, scarcely aware enough to ask themselves: Hey, aren’t teenagers supposed to have acne? “Young Royals” doesn’t blink twice at these “blemishes” –– acne, crooked teeth, etc. In fact, they are clearly embraced, normalized and desirable –– clear skin and perfect teeth are not deal-breakers for being the most popular girl in school or the Crown Prince. 

“Young Royals” likewise considers the psychological realities faced in the war between authenticity and duty. Season one introduced Wilhelm’s struggle with anxiety, but Season Two pursues the extent to which anxiety and panic consume Wilhelm after Season One’s events. It may sound cliché –– the prince who can’t handle the pressure of the crown –– but Wilhelm doesn’t ask the audience to feel sorry for him, and neither does “Young Royals.” Wilhelm is much messier in Season Two. He explodes with emotion –– fear, pain, anger, guilt and sadness –– and, without Simon, there is nowhere for it to go. He is selfish, rude, depressed, spoiled and makes bad choices. But Wilhelm’s reasons for not wanting to be Crown Prince are rightfully selfish; at 16, he is resigning himself to an empty and dishonest life. Forced by his mother, the Queen, Wilhelm begrudgingly sees a therapist, and while he resents the need for it, Season Two’s “revolution” finds Wilhelm overcoming his personal barriers to enact change.  

Wilhelm and Simon are separated by class more than anything. Wilhelm, as a member of the royal family, is an elite, while Simon, a non-boarder, can’t afford to live at the school. While Wilhelm tries to understand Simon (and vice versa), there are times when their differences speak louder than they do. Simon’s inability to understand why Wilhelm, as Crown Prince, can’t disregard the crown and take a stand, clashes with Wilhelm’s inability to see how Simon’s social status caused him to receive the brunt of the backlash for the sextape. Season Two is a testament to revisions and the rightings of wrongs; as Wilhelm works through his own emotions, he learns to use his power and status for progress.

Season Two of “Young Royals” is all about decisions; specifically, revising and listening to one’s conscience to make the right one. Which decision will start a revolution, which will fuel it, which will kill it? Despite the tumultuous path to togetherness, Simon and Wilhelm have an incredibly realistic and healthy relationship. They show love through communication; their need to be seen, heard and understood by each other is unshakable. It makes the moments when they do touch –– which are surprisingly few and far between –– feel all the more worth fighting for. Wilhelm certainly agrees; each season begins and ends with his eyes locked on the camera. This is his story, and he’ll go to war for it.  

[bigalockwood]

I think it’s worth mentioning that after the break-up in season three, we see what Wille has learned from the break-up in season two.

He approaches Simon in the library but keeps his distance, trying to hold the balance between telling him the truth (he feels empty) but clearly also struggling to find words that don’t inflict further pain on Simon. He’s trying to be honest but not manipulative.

At the party he doesn’t even approach Simon, even though he sees him. Simon has to go to him first, until Wille, clearly in pain, says yes to forgetting everything for the night. If Simon hasn’t gone up to him, I don’t think Wille would’ve approached him all night.

And then at the graduation, Wille only goes to Simon to say thank you for the song and let him go, repeating what he intended to do at the Valentines ball. He would’ve let Simon go, then and there, if he hadn’t realized that Simon doesn’t actually want to be let go off and that he doesn’t need to be the Crown Prince and can just… be Wille.

No one dare say Wille hasn’t grown or learned.

[raincitygirl76]

When Simon Eriksson decides to fuck with the monarchy, he brings his A game. You can’t criticize his commitment to the cause.

simon thoroughly fucking this boy up like 5 minutes before he has to give his speech. thanks pal!

[vampyrmar]

simon has lost everything that made wille fall in love with him and wille doesn't even notice.

it's a heartbreaking story to watch but in a brilliant way i'm fixated on it. and not in a simon deserves better than wille way but in a they both need to find themselves again in order to be happy.

simon is proud of his morals and who he is as a person, he's never been apologetic of it and wants people to know because it is deeply important to him to have a strong self identity in a world where he comes from a broken home, where he's gay, where he's lower socioeconomic class, where he's poc in a hugely white community, and where he has leftist ideals in a monarchist country. when wille tells him he can't post on socials because it reflects on something the crown can't have a position on, he feels he's losing his voice. and all wille can see is trying to minimize a headache.

singing has been simon's lifeline throughout the show, and something thats important to him because it is one of the good memories he has with his dad. when wille sees he posted himself singing all he can see is simon drawing more attention, it needs to be deleted. he doesn't even comment on simon's singing or let alone the lyrics which they make it seem he clocks what simon is saying this season as apposed to last but he's too focused on himself.

and then when simon admits to wille outside he feels he's losing his voice and confidence, everything has become too much. he can't enjoy singing, he's not pursuing a solo this season for the first time and he can hardly string together his song. but it goes over wille's head, he can't even notice the gravity of what simon is trying to say to him

at the sit in simon initially stands his ground and calls out all of their hypocrisy and rightfully points out wille only takes a stand when its low risk for him, but he caves lated because he doesn't want to disappoint wille and doesnt want wille to be mad at him. and despite wille saying he likes that they learn from the other's perspective, he doesn't make a move to understand any of simon's pov.

simon had to throw up a white flag in ep 5 becuase not only had simon shriveled into a shell of himself and wille not noticed, this change of simon was enabling the way the monarchy breaks wille. previously, and in glimpses this season we have seen simon show wille where the monarchy goes wrong and tries to pull wille into safety a bit but wille can not see past the status quo this season. he got simon so why should he worry right? but this is not the simon he loves, there is no point to this simon. if this is the guy you wanted to love you could've found anyone who was ok with a private relationship why go after the proud boy who is the antithesis to you?

this gives me hope for ep 6. i think wille needed a rude awakening desperately because he was depriving simon of the oxygen he needs to flourish and letting himself drown at the same time. wille needs to see why he fought so hard for simon, why simon was so important to them. they are so special, wille needs to get past the weight of the crown

[othervee]

The birthday breakup

For some reason I have been musing over Wilmon's birthday breakup and what might have happened if Simon hadn't done it. I'm very interested in what possible futures might have played out and I'm convinced that if they hadn't split up then, they would never have ended up together.

When Wille excuses himself from dinner, Simon is trying to negotiate the situation as best he can. Wille is allowed to be upset, but he's also abandoned Simon to two people who barely know him, are talking without him about someone he never knew, and have nothing in common with him except Wille. Polite as the three of them are to each other, Simon and Wille's parents don't really know how to interact with them at the best of times, and this is not the best of times.

What Simon sees and hears when he goes to talk to Wille in the corridor is really important. He offers to leave. He can feel the air vibrating with tension and he knows that his presence is just standing in the way. Wille wants to hash things out through talk while his parents are in denial. Simon's presence provides a shield for them all to hide behind; we need to be polite and pretend everything's fine in our first real interaction with our son's boyfriend.

Simon's offer to remove himself is actually the most sensible thing he can do. He's fairly casual in the way he offers to go, and also in the way he says to Wille, "Please don't leave me alone with your parents like that." It's making his wishes clear and honest but keeping things as light as he can, not wanting to increase the tension in the air.

Wille, though, is incredulous that Simon even suggests this but his main response is "I… I need you here!"

In that moment and in the scene that follows, I think Simon sees what their future will be if he accepts the role he's being set up to play. He'll be Wilhelm's mascot, his buffer, his shelter from the storm.

I'm not suggesting that Wilhelm is the selfish one and Simon's the selfless one, because things are more complicated than that. Wilhelm loves Simon for himself. But Wilhelm at the palace inhabits a different world and is under different pressure, and as the cracks worsen he needs Simon there to comfort him and soothe his feelings and be on his side. Wilhelm hasn't had anyone on his side in the palace since Erik died. At the palace Simon is his buffer, his shelter from the storm.

But having Simon there will also mean Wille has a crutch to lean on, and an excuse to keep going in the same old patterns with his parents, because he thinks he can bear it as long as he has Simon. And that means he will stay in this role, he will keep trying to fit himself into the wrong shape, even as everything cracks and shatters around him. And eventually things with Simon will sour as well.

Simon can't fix the family relationships, and he can't stop the bad things from happening, and he can't give Wille the tools he needs to cope because - like Wille - he's a teenager. A teenager who has no idea how to operate in Wille's unfamiliar royal world. Wille needs Simon to ward off the bad atmosphere, but he'll only end up poisoning them both. So Simon needs to go. Going might not fix anything, but staying definitely won't. It will give Wille an excuse to maintain the status quo.

So Wille doesn't give up the crown for Simon. Absolutely not. But Simon's action in breaking up with him helps to create the conditions that make Wille able and willing to give up the crown for himself.

[dusty-daydreams]

A lot of the things that Wille found attractive in Simon in season 1 became obstacles in when they were finally allowed to be in a relationship.

Simon’s principles - attractive in season 1 but a reason to pull away for fear of judgement in season 3

Simon’s willingness to stand up to bullies - attractive when it’s against Vincent the first time Wille ever saw him but a problem when Simon should be ignoring the online and physical harassment in season 3

Simon’s singing - attractive in season 1 but a problem because Simon is drawing attention to himself in season 3

Wille wanted what he couldn’t have and then he got it and didn’t change anything about his circumstances so that he could have him

[raincitygirl76]

And we’re back up to 500 posts to reblog in the queue. You people talk too much! And say too much good stuff!

Okay but the scene where Wille sees Simon for the first time is cinematic excellence and in this essay I will discuss why

My cousin pointed this out to me that when Wilhelm arrives at the church, all our attention is taken up by the arrival of Felice, as she and Wilhelm greet each other.

We barely notice Simon entering the scene as it is Wilhelm's POV, and he doesn't notice Simon, so neither do we. Plus, they purposely placed him behing Felice so he never stands out.

Simon starts singing but he isn't giving his best. Wilhelm's attention is everywhere but not on Simon. In this scene, Simon is continuously going in and out of the camera's focus, sometimes even blurred. The lightening doesn't help either, Simon is clearly not the main subject.

But when the bloke interrupts the choir, that's when Simon starts giving his best and sings out loud in defiance. And that's when magic happens.

Wilhelm notices him properly for the very first time- he's the main subject of the camera and the lightening, he's the main lead now. Wilhelm actually ✨SEES✨ him, and so do we.

And for him Simon is the most beautiful thing he's ever seen at that moment, because just look at this- the angle, the light, his smile- everything just makes him look ethereal.

At that moment, he's the most beautiful thing we've seen too, all because Wille finds him to be. Combined with Omar's otherworldly singing, it's just *chef's kiss*

The cinematography of that whole montage is out of the world, it's so well thought out.

Stuck in my brain, it kept me sane ~

[omartinyosef]

JUST LOOK AT HIM

SIMON'S SWEETNESS IS EVERYTHING WE NEED. LOOK AT FUCKING HIM AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

HIS FUCKING VOICE AND THE LITTLE ''NEJ'' IS EVERYTHING AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[allthefakepeople]

i think @billfarrah has touched on this and probably a few others

but i find it super interesting that so many people see wille as this super awkward, clumsy person and are surprised when he knows how to flirt with simon and i know a lot of these are jokes and also come from wille's first interaction with simon where he trips

but i actually think wille is pretty confident both in his relationship with simon as well as outside of it

take the fish scene for example, he was fully confident and in control in that scene

he's the one who introduces himself to simon in ep 1 and he's the one who asks simon if he wants to spend time with him at the party

he goes to simon in ep 5 of s2 and lays out exactly what the circumstances are, in front of rosh and ayub, without hesitation

he offers to get simon hotdogs

he tells simon that he'd "show him" what he wanted to do if simon ever came to the palace

he lures (lol probably the wrong word but whatever) simon into the music room for a hook up with just one look

he chases after simon's car and puts in clear words that he wants to be with him but he left the crown behind for himself

the times where he does seem awkward or he stumbles over his words are when his and simon's relationship is uncertain

when he asks simon to stay with him for parents weekend, he seems awkward because he's trying to figure out how to phrase his offer and he's not sure where he stands with simon

when he tells simon he got a haircut in their first interaction after their break up, he's just trying to figure out what to say and how to start a conversation

when he asks simon to open the pencil case, he just wants simon to pay him some attention

any of the times where he seems awkward, it's because him and simon aren't on steady ground

i think it's fine if people view him as clumsy and awkward, but i think it's also important to note that when he's certain of his relationship with simon, he doesn't hold back and he actually does have quite a lot of game.

that's all

[love-byers]

the van scene is going to pay off. THE VAN SCENE IS GOING TO PAY OFF. the VAN SCENE. (where will basically stabs himself in the heart and accepts that he's going to be desperately and unrequitedly in love with mike for the rest of his life) is going to PAY OFF.

DO YOU GUYS REALIZE WHAT THIS MEANS?? ROMANTIC TROPES LIKE THIS CAN ONLY GO ONE WAY

okay okay for example, in young royals (spoilers ahead) season 1 ends with simon and wilhelm at odds because wilhelm denied their relationship to the public despite telling simon he would tell the truth. simon decides he can't be wilhelm's secret and basically breaks up with him.

then, in s2, wilhelm is constantly trying to weasel his way back into being with simon because he desperately misses him, but simon sticks to his word and doesn't cave in. simon gets a new boyfriend and wilhelm fucking SPIRALS and briefly becomes borderline psychotic, but then one night at a dance/party/ball where he properly meets simon's boyfriend, he gives up and accepts that simon is moving on, like simon has been asking him to do all season. he tells simon that he's sorry for bothering him and that he'll leave him alone from now on and his boyfriend seems nice. he does the thing that deeply hurts himself, but he believes will make simon happy. he chooses simon's happiness over his own. he does the right thing. he does the selfless thing.

and guess what happens next? simon follows wilhelm outside and kisses him and they make out in a garden. wilhelm got what he wanted, but only after putting simon's happiness before his own.

and this same thing happens at the end of the season. in s2 simon goes on a journey of learning to understand why wilhelm wants their relationship to be a secret, because at first in s1 he doesn't at all and it makes him very angry. but by the end of s2 he finally understands. he tells wilhelm that he wants to be with him and if that means they have to be a secret, then so be it. simon makes a sacrifice. he lets go of his integrity towards himself and decides to be wilhelm's secret, even though that's not the ideal scenario. he knows it's what wilhelm wants, and if that's the only way it'll work, then so be it.

and guess what happens next? wilhelm goes up in front of the whole country and admits that he is in a relationship with simon and that he won't be hiding any longer. simon got what he wanted all along, but only after putting their love before his own self-integrity.

are you getting what i'm saying?

in writing, sacrifice and making the difficult decision rewards characters with getting what they want. that's what makes it so satisfying, that's what makes it PAY OFF. that's what "pay off" means. hard work pays off. hard, uncomfortable, painful, sorrowful work pays off because something good comes from it. something so good that it makes all the pain worth it, because the pain is what directly lead to it. simon and wilhelm didn't get the happiness they wanted until they sacrificed something they wanted for the overall good or the good of someone else. they didn't get what they wanted until they were selfless.

literally the only way a scene like the van scene can pay off is with will getting what he wanted all along. there is literally no other way i can see this going. it's just unheard of for a plot point like this to end in any other way than in will's favor. will giving the painting to mike is symbolic of him letting go and accepting that he will always love mike and will never be loved back. the painting itself is symbolic of will's feelings. it's wills feelings in a physical form, because after the van scene will does not plan on ever bringing it up again. that's why the painting has to exist, so that will's feelings can come to light in s5, because will is not gonna be the one to bring it up. he thinks it's game over. mike gently confirming to will that it is indeed game over but being an ally to him is not a reward, that's the bare minimum. like i can't stress to you enough how an arc conclusion like that is the exact thing writers are taught not to do, the exact thing we are warned against in school. the exact thing that gets a bad response in a workshop. you just don't do it you don't, especially not with a character as tortured and marginalized as will byers

anyways my point is, the thing will used to accept that mike will never love him and push mike and el together (the painting) is going to be the very thing that pulls mike right back in. this painful and selfless thing that will did is actually going to bring him the biggest reward, the thing he's always wanted. that's just how writing works bro

edit: and i wanted to add one more in here real quick bc ive seen people say "oh so only happy endings make sense??" when bylers say will deserves a happy ending

no, that's not the case at all. "pay off" does not equate to "happy ending" payoff can mean all kinds of things. if a character repeatedly makes bad decisions and it lands them in the shitter, that's pay off. that's good writing. unless you're writing a story just created to make people sad and leave people unsatisfied as some sort of statement, there is absolutely no reason for that.

and another good example of pay off that isn't necessarily happy: the hunger games (spoilers ahead). the hunger games is a story about oppression and corruption and abusive government. it's a commentary on control and abuse of power and how it hurts people. the whole thing is kick started by katniss volunteering for the games in place of her sister, it's kick started by katniss trying to keep her sister alive. so prim (her sister) ultimately dying in the last book can be considered payoff. and though this isn't happy, it works because of the overall theme of the books. it's about abuse, tragedy, trauma, etc etc. and it goes even deeper when you consider the fact that prim was killed by a bomb made by "the good side", because mockingjay (the last book) delved into showing the beginnings of yet another abusive controlling government and how more war and killing only leads to more suffering for EVERYONE. prim dying is UNFAIR. and that's the point. that's why the whole thing, ALL the corruption, even on the "good side" must come down because it only leads to tragedy and unfairness. though this is quite depressing, it is "pay off". it's good writing

okay hunger games ted talk over

[raincitygirl76]

I think it’s entirely possible for someone to be both scared OF their partner and also scared FOR their partner. Especially during or shortly after their partner has had a temper tantrum. People are complicated.

Either way, what Simon witnessed at the birthday party was enough for him to decide to cut Wilhelm loose. What Simon’s precise motivations were beyond what he said out loud at the time, we don’t know for sure. But we know he wanted out.

I think people got Simon's reaction to Wille's outburst wrong. People have speculated about Micke's violent tendancy ever since we saw him, but it was never confirmed in the show (except that time in season 1 when he grabs Simon, but it might have been a one time occurance, we don't know that. I also think it's important to say that it was confirmed in season 3 that Simon only stopped seeing his dad because of Sara, not because he didn't want to), and I think that's why people think that Simon is scared of Wille in that scene.

But hear me out. Would you go into bed with someone who just scared you? Would you?

Also, in that heartbreaking scene, Simon says that he sees how the situation his hurting Wille and that seeing him hurt hurts him too. I think with that outburst, Simon was shocked to see how deep Wille's trauma is, how deeply he is hurt by his familly. And that hurst Simon too because he loves Wille and he hates seeing him like this.

And someone pointed out that Simon is fully aware of Wille's temper. He saw that video of him getting in a fight in that club. He saw Wille treatening August with a gun. And he never said anything about it.

So I really believe that Simon wasn't scared of Wille in that scene. I think he was scared for Wille. And that's another thing.

However we can all have different opinions so please don't come at me for that as I totally respect other opinions.

[sflow-er]

About the settlement in YR S3

A discussion with @scatteredpiecesofme a while back inspired me to look more closely into the settlement between August, Wilhelm and Simon. I already dabbled in criminal justice meta after S2, but I didn't account for a settlement back then, so it's time to update my info!

Posting this, I know it's a topic people have strong feelings about. If you choose to read below the cut, please keep in mind that it's not meant to be a moral judgment. It's an attempt to review the case as presented in the show and interpret it through what I've learned about law and procedure in real Sweden.

TL;DR: The offences being settled are defamation and unlawful breach of privacy. The settlement of 1.2 million kronor is dozens of times higher than what Simon could realistically expect from court.

Sources: Swedish Criminal Code (EN-SV), Code of Judicial Procedure (SV), preparatory documents for relevant laws (this and this), reference collection on kränkningsersättning, cases available online or in the media (e.g. this and this on dagensjuridik.se), legal blogs, articles and legal advice websites (e.g. lawline.se, Domarbloggen), discussion on treasonable offences (SvD column, expert exchange, motion to parliament, this and this tabloid article), guidelines/advice for prosecutors (e.g. on defamation, day-fines).

Disclaimer: I'm just a layperson and not even Swedish myself, so it's entirely possible I missed something! Respectful discussion and corrections are very welcome!

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The facts of the case against August

Quick recap

August committed criminal offences by filming and posting the video.

Sara reported August to the police.

August, Wille, Simon and their legal counsels and parents negotiated a settlement at the royal palace with Jan-Olof presiding.

JO said they wanted to avoid a trial. Rickard claimed the evidence and testimonies would not be enough to secure a conviction, and the video was not likely to be considered explicit.

Simon's counsel said Wille's legal team had already decided not to pursue the matter in court.

They settled for 1.2 million kronor, presumably per plaintiff.

The offences on the table

“Spreading that kind of video could be considered gross defamation, gross unlawful breach of privacy, and possibly a CP offence. The penal value is prison, in any case.”

It's pretty clear August also committed intrusive photography, but that overlaps with unlawful breach of privacy, so that might be why it wasn't mentioned. Here's a complete list:

- intrusive photography (kränkande fotografering, covertly photographing or filming someone in a private space) - unlawful breach of privacy (olaga integritetsintrång, disseminating sensitive images in a way that's liable to result in serious harm) - defamation (förtal, disseminating information that identifies someone as a criminal or their way of life as reprehensible, or is otherwise liable to expose them to contempt) - treasonable offences (högmålsbrott, a clause that, among other things, makes some crimes more severe when committed against a member of the Royal House) -CP (I'm not writing this out so the post doesn't get caught in filters)

Unlawful breach of privacy was also mentioned by Rosh back in S2. It's a fairly new offence that entered into force in 2018, and very few cases lead to a conviction (only 27 out of the total 1,876 in 2021). Even when a perpetrator is identified, it's hard to prove it was them (and no one else) using the device. Proving an intent of serious harm isn't easy either, but the court usually considers whether the defendant should have known that was liable to occur.

The main angle in the show was defamation, which doesn't need to be untrue in Sweden. It's all about exposing someone to contempt - and if the defamatory statement is also liable to result in serious harm, it becomes gross defamation. This is why Rickard, who already called gross defamation in S2, argues in S3 that outing someone no longer counts as exposing them to contempt (he's refuting that it was defamation at all).

Another way off the hook would be to show that 1) the statement was true and 2) the defendant was “obliged to make it” or it was “otherwise justifiable to provide information about the matter.”

The treasonable offences clause is a bit of a legal minefield. It allows the public prosecutor to demand harsher punishments for some crimes when they are committed against members of the Royal House, but it also creates questions of whether the royals are even able to bring these types of charges the normal way. It clearly didn't come into play in YR, but I'll return to it in the conclusion.

A CP offence was also mentioned in S2 by Rosh and Rickard. Rosh reckoned it was a sure thing and could land August in prison, but Rickard only listed it as a possibility. He said the penal value was prison “in any case” because gross unlawful breach of privacy is always punishable by prison (more about the penal values in my now-obsolete post).

Still, this was dramatic exaggeration by the writers. August is 18, and persons under 21 could not be imprisoned unless there were very heavy grounds for it back in 2020/2021. Even the stricter law from 2022 mainly applies to violent and gang-related offences.

By the old law and practice, any sentence given to an 18-yo would be reduced to 50% of an adult's sentence, and August is also a first-time offender. If convicted, he'd be looking at some combination of fines, youth community service, and/or a suspended sentence.

That's another silly thing about the Alexander ploy in S2, although not as silly as Alexander forgetting he had already been caught with the drugs.

So that's the potential crimes listed. We'll get to the crimes that were actually being settled in a little bit.

Relevant facts about procedure

To understand how they got from Sara's police report to the settlement scene, it's useful to look at some intricacies of the Swedish justice system that may differ from other countries.

The right to press and pursue charges

By Swedish law, most crimes are subject to public prosecution by the state. The police are legally obligated to start what is known as a “preliminary” investigation when a crime is reported, and the prosecutor is legally obligated to consider charges and pursue them. Regardless of what the victim/plaintiff wants.

There are two notable exceptions. Charges for målsägandebrott (“plaintiff offences”) can only be brought by the plaintiff, and angivelsebrott (“offences subject to report”) must be reported for prosecution by the plaintiff. If an angivelsebrott is reported by someone else, the plaintiff decides if they want the case to go ahead.

These are also the only types of crimes where the plaintiff is able to withdraw the charges. If they do, neither they nor the public prosecutor can ever bring the same matter again.

In the YR case, defamation is målsägandebrott, the privacy offences are angivelsebrott, and CP is always subject to public prosecution.

It's also possible for angivelsebrott to be publicly prosecuted when public interest calls for it (e.g. gross unlawful breach of privacy is often considered serious enough to meet this bar). The same goes for målsägandebrott under certain circumstances, e.g. when the victim of defamation is under 18. Public prosecution also applies if there are multiple offences and one of the other offences is subject to it.

If charges are raised by public prosecution, the injured party becomes unable to withdraw them (the state becomes the plaintiff in their stead).

Concurrent offences and protective interests

When someone commits more than one offence by a single action, these are assessed for brottskonkurrens (concurrence of offences).

In some cases, the offence with the harshest punishments 'consumes' the others so they no longer count. For example, gross unlawful breach of privacy is always punishable by prison, so it often consumes defamation and even gross defamation.

In other cases, all the offences count 'in concurrence'. One example is when the laws that were broken had different skyddsinteressen (protective interests). In the YR case, intrusive photography and unlawful breach of privacy have the same protective interest: both crimes infringe on the right to privacy and personal integrity. Defamation infringes on a person's honour and reputation, which is a different interest. Hence, unlawful breach of privacy of normal severity is often pursued and punished in concurrence with defamation (normal or gross), but less often with intrusive photography.

As for CP, Swedish law classifies it as an offence against the public order (not as a sex crime, although it can overlap with sex crimes such as using minors for sexual posing). The protective interest is twofold: the individual child's right to personal integrity, and the right of children at large to be safe from CP. So there is some overlap with the privacy offences, but it's also an offence that falls within a completely different area of law.

Note that the sentence is not given as the sum total of the concurrent offences! It's the sentence for the most severe offence, with increases for the concurrent offences (as determined by the judge).

Settlement vs. mediation

JO tells us the parties are doing förlikning (settlement) to avoid the matter going to trial. This is different from medling (mediation).

Settlement primarily applies to disputes, but it can also be a private, out-of-court resolution for some offences. In my understanding, these would be målsägandebrott or angivelsebrott, as the plaintiff agrees not to pursue the matter in exchange for compensation. The settlement also prevents public prosecution even if it is determined later on that the conditions for that are met.

Mediation is a process where a neutral party authorised by the court (not JO) brings the victim and perpetrator of a crime together. It can also be used for family law disputes, but this is less relevant for us. The parties can agree on compensation, but the main objective is just to discuss and process the matter. The perpetrator must admit their guilt in order for mediation to go ahead.

Mediation is separate from the court process, but the defendant's willingness to enter it and a favourable outcome may be taken into account. The prosecutor may bring less severe charges or even offer åtalsunderlåtelse (no-prosecution deal), whereby the offence goes on the guilty person's criminal record but they avoid trial and punishment. If a trial does happen, the judge may be more lenient.

How this all relates to the settlement scene in YR

Based on the above, the settlement in 3.01 must be for defamation, and very likely also unlawful breach of privacy. Intrusive photography is also possible, although the characters never mention it.

Defamation is målsägandebrott and privacy offences are angivelsebrott. Hence, the matter can be settled out of court.

It's hard to say if any of the offences could be gross, despite what Rickard said back in S2. The breach of privacy probably isn't, since it hasn't consumed the defamation or been publicly prosecuted. The defamation could certainly be (this would align with legal precedent for spreading sex tapes), but I think this type of gross defamation of the Crown Prince and another minor should already meet the threshold for public interest.

We don't know exactly when the settlement scene is set, or how long has passed between seasons. Offences involving minor parties must be investigated without delay, but it is possible that the prosecutor is still considering whether to claim public interest. If the settlement is finalised before public charges can be brought for these particular offences, that will no longer be possible.

The opposite is true for the potential CP offence. In my understanding, being able to settle out of court means that must already be off the table.

The police will have been legally obligated to open a preliminary investigation when they received a report about a legal (young) adult having filmed two minors in a sexual situation. Simon and Wille will have been notified of the privacy offences and defamation, and asked if they wanted the investigation to go ahead (since they didn't make the report themselves). But a CP offence is different. It's the kind of crime that must have been investigated even if the victims said they didn't want to press charges or refused to cooperate.

Based on the preliminary investigation, the prosecutor will have considered charges. August's age and development gap to Wille and Simon and the explicitness of the video will have been assessed. His defamatory (not sexual) intent and the other offences could have factored in as well.

I'm not going to guess any further at the reasoning, but no charges were brought. CP is subject to public prosecution, and that also applies to any concurring offences. The settlement wouldn't be possible if it was still in the mix.

Instead, they could be having court-authorised mediation with a neutral party, but only if August already admitted his guilt. (This was actually the part that confused me the most when I first watched the show and wasn't aware of the difference between the processes.)

Anyway. Now that we know what was being settled, I also want to look at the level of compensation.

Compensation compared to court sanctions

The settlement was for 1.2 million kronor. Presumably per plaintiff, as that was the number Simon's counsel gave him. Both he and Rickard described it as generous.

So how does the sum actually compare to what the court might have awarded Simon or handed down as a punishment to August?

Fines

If convicted in court, August could be sentenced to dagsböter (day-fines). The sum ranges from 50 to 1,000 kronor per day, and the minimum number of fines is 30. The maximum is 150, or 200 for multiple offences.

In this case, there are indeed multiple offences (two or three depending on whether intrusive photography still counts), so the absolute maximum is 200,000.

Now for some speculation!

A day-fine is the person's annual income divided by a thousand, adjusted for net wealth and debt. August is a cash-poor student with no job. He must get a bit of income from the estate and possibly some other investments, but if he can't afford to pay Simon back for the drugs and alcohol, it can't be much.

So, the base sum will be low. It gets raised by 50 kronor for every 500,000 of net wealth over 1.5 million, but then there's also a reduction for significant debts. If August truly has to sell his estate to free up 2.4 million, it can't be valued very high and/or he must be in serious debt. His day-fine will land in the hundreds, but I doubt it reaches 1,000.

It's hard to say how many day-fines he would get, but I don't think it would be anywhere close to 200. In examples found online, 40 seems pretty common for each of these crimes at normal severity. In one case, a man convicted of unlawful breach of privacy and gross defamation got a suspended sentence + 80 day-fines, which changed to 100 day-fines for just gross defamation on appeal.

Although the parties in these cases are all adults, while August is in the young offenders bracket. For example, he might get those 80 day-fines but no suspended sentence, or he might get something else entirely. Compare with a case where an 18-yo boy (17 at the time of the crime) spread a film of his friend having sex with a woman: he was convicted of both intrusive photography and unlawful breach of privacy but only sentenced to 35 hours of youth community service.

However, the boy did have to pay compensation.

Compensation payable to the victim

An injured party is often entitled to apply for compensation. In these types of crimes, it's called kränkningsersättning (compensation for infringement/suffering), and there is no cap on it.

However, there are some relevant sample cases online.

The boy in our previous example had to pay 25,000 to the woman.

A person who spread a sexual film showing a 14-yo girl was convicted of gross defamation and had to pay 25,000.

A man who secretly filmed an 8 to 12-yo girl in the bathroom was convicted of a CP offence and had to pay 25,000. The reference collection of cases says it's worth noting this happened before intrusive photography was criminalised as its own offence.

A woman who filmed a 16-yo boy having sex with his girlfriend and posted the video online was convicted of unlawful breach of privacy and gross defamation and had to pay 30,000.

A man who spread sexual photos of his ex to her friends and employer was convicted of gross defamation and had to pay 50,000.

A man who uploaded films of his ex on an adult site was convicted of gross unlawful breach of privacy and had to pay 60,000. In a very similar case before the privacy offences were criminalised, a man was convicted of gross defamation and had to pay 70,000.

The settlement sum of 1.2 million is 17 to 20 times higher than the highest examples. It's also 40 times higher than the example of the 16-yo boy and his girlfriend, which I think is a remotely similar case (although the place of filming was less private and the dissemination was less broad and damaging than in YR). On August's side, the 2.4 million is many times higher than the day-fines plus compensation, even if we don't know the exact numbers.

So that gives us some idea of the level of compensation and monetary punishment that Simon and August could realistically expect, but those aren't the only factors Simon might consider.

Conclusion: a trial could get very complicated

As mentioned above, Wille's legal team had already decided they would not be going to court. It's unsure if that could have even been done in the normal way.

Some legal experts believe the treasonable offences clause prevents members of the Royal House from bringing normal charges at all if they are victims of målsägandebrott or angivelsebrott, because they are considered a stately institution. Others think it should be possible if they just waive their right to treasonable offences, but the royals have never tried.

Instead, the public prosecutor may ask the government to authorise a treasonable offences charge. In theory, the government could say yes even if the victim themself said no, but that's extremely unlikely (for example, when a teen threw a cake in the real king's face in 2001, it was considered the king's decision). The prosecutor who handled the matter in YR could have already asked and been denied, or they could have decided against it if they knew Wille would object.

If Wille had decided to try and bring normal charges, his legal standing would have become a hot topic. If treasonable offences had been charged, the charges would have been public. Either way, the case would have gained a lot of media attention.

Wille being one of the plaintiffs could have also lead to a more stringent punishment for August. Especially for treasonable offences; the real cake-thrower was sentenced to 100 day-fines for harassment, which is a big sentence for a 16-yo (an adult could've got up to four years in prison). Even if they were normal charges, Wille was the one August intended to harm, which would have made the crimes all the more severe.

The level of compensation could have been higher too...at least for Wille. It's frankly beyond my comprehension as a layperson whether his and Simon's cases could have even been tried together due to their wildly different circumstances.

Simon is like any other person in the legal system. If the case did go to trial and August was convicted, he would receive compensation in line with the above. August would also have to pay his legal fees, as well as the potential fines.

It's hard to say how good the chances of a conviction were. Rickard was just defending August when he said identifying someone as gay was no longer considered defamatory, but that is true for Swedish society at large. However, it can still be defamatory if you out someone to people who can be expected to react with contempt (e.g. a religious group). For both defamation and privacy offences, it should also matter how widely the information was disseminated and how bad the consequences were (although you won't be rewarded for causing less harm than expected/intended).

We never actually heard if Rickard had a defence in mind for Simon's particular circumstances. On the one hand, Simon was already out, and he wasn't the target of August's harmful intent. On the other hand, surely August should have known he was liable to suffer serious harm by association. Their lawyers could argue these and other standpoints, and it could get complicated, especially if Wille couldn't be involved after settling.

For argument's sake... Let's say Rickard was right about the evidence and testimony not being enough, and Simon lost the trial.

He would have to pay both his and August's legal feels. Those are probably covered by the Erikssons' home insurance, but there will be a deductible of about 20%, and a cap of two, three hundred thousand. I assume this would normally be enough, but going up against “one of Sweden's best criminal lawyers” could still be a daunting prospect. Rickard might be representing his stepson for free at this early stage, but if the case went to trial and he was very confident they could win, that might change.

And leaving the financial stuff aside, Simon says he just wants the whole thing to be over. He doesn't want to have to rehash it all in court against August and Rickard, and although it's Wille's side who complain about the media storm, that isn't fun for Simon either. On the contrary, he's the one who's been targeted for hate and scrutiny.

The proceedings would likely be held behind closed doors since Simon is a minor, but an anonymised version of the court decision would still be public. At any point, word could get out about the case, which would quickly be connected to Wille because they were on the video together, and the media would be all over Simon again.

All that considered... Settling out of court for a comfortable sum of money he can use to move on with his life might not be the path of “maximum justice” for Simon, but it is a very understandable choice.

[omartinyosef]

FUN FACT THAT KILLED ME COMPLETELY: USE HEADPHONES

If you use headphones you can hear Simon sniffing Wilhelm's neck. I cried okay?