#tradition young royals

[raincitygirl76]

Season 1 ends tragically. Wilhelm betrays Simon, and loses him as a result. Wilhelm then discovers he has been betrayed too, not only by his cousin, but also by his own mother. Season 1 contains lots of sweet fluffy moments of happy, giddy boys, but it ends in heartbreak. Two innocent kids fell in love for the first time, only to have their lives and their relationship destroyed by the system.

There was NO WAY Season 2 was going to contain lots of sweet giddy fluffy Wilmon moments, particularly not in the first few episodes. Season 1 shows them falling in love and then falling apart. Season 2 shows the messy, painful process of them trying to figure out life after their breakup. It eventually shows them figuring out enough about themselves and each other that they could get back together. Stronger than before because they’d tried being apart, they’d tried moving on with other people, and nothing worked.

They’re still in love with each other, and they get back together at the end of S2, but their power dynamic had been changed by their time apart. Wilhelm and Simon in 2.06 are both sadder and wiser than Wilhelm and Simon in 1.06. In 1.06 when Simon rejected the secret relationship Wilhelm was offering post-denial, Simon saw HIMSELF as the secret. By 2.06, Simon agrees to a relationship that THEY will keep secret from the world, together. He’s come to understand Wilhelm’s position, he trusts Wilhelm much more, he’s willing to make that compromise if it means they can be together again.

Wille has been begging Simon for a secret relationship from 1.06 to mid-2.04. Until he finally realizes their differences can’t be resolved, and he needs to stop chasing after Simon. He sees his ex-boyfriend apparently happy in a new relationship, and decides to put aside his jealousy and his own love for Simon to focus on Simon’s happiness rather than his own. Wilhelm thinks being with Marcus makes Simon happy, so he gives them his blessing, and promises to leave Simon alone in future.

As it happens, that isn’t what Simon wants at ALL, but Wille had to stop chasing him and walk away before Simon could realize that. And Wille walks away lovingly, because he wants Simon to be happy, even if it’s with someone else. Yeah, Wilhelm is heartbroken when he accepts he can’t make Simon happy. And ironically, that’s what makes Simon realize how badly he wants Wille to keep fighting for them, instead of leaving him alone. As soon as Wilhelm stops chasing him, Simon chases him right back.

It isn’t the end of the story. Simon still has to grapple with Wilhelm’s position, with all the powerful adults determined to keep them apart, and the news from Wille that he’s known all along August is the perpetrator of the video. Their fight in the music room in 2.05 is horrible, but at least Wilhelm tells Simon the truth willingly. And maybe Wille needs to hear that him lying to Simon and thinking he was protecting him (Simon) isn’t so different from the way Kristina has lied to her son and thought she was protecting him. That secrets and lies, even if you convince yourself they’re for the best, are destructive and harmful anyway.

At which point Kristina tells Wilhelm August is his backup. She thinks Wille’s hatred for August will make him commit to his role as Crown Prince, if only to spite August. She fails to realize Wilhelm loves Simon even more than he hates August. Wille doesn’t want August to be Crown Prince, but he could live with it if it meant he got Simon back. Kristina’s plan completely backfires, with Wille taking the first opportunity to explain the full succession situation to Simon. And by the way, offer to renounce his place in the succession if that will win Simon back. Oops, good thing the Queen doesn’t hear that conversation. She would’ve had a heart attack.

Simon is suspicious, thinks this is Wilhelm trying to manipulate him into protecting August. But Wille gives up all control of the situation, just states his feelings but confirms that the decision is up to Simon. Simon has spent much of both seasons feeling helpless and powerless compared with the royal family, but Wilhelm is deliberately giving Simon power. And giving up his own power.

Simon decides he needs to pursue justice, will go to the police and expose August. Even though that means August can’t be Wilhelm’s backup anymore, even though it will keep Wille as Crown Prince. Simon so often puts the needs of his loved ones ahead of his own, and when I was watching 2.05 the first time, I was convinced Simon would do that again. Protect August so Wilhelm could renounce and they could be together. Instead Simon makes the tougher, more complex choice. It gets him a chance at justice but may well cost him any chance of being with Wilhelm again.

But Simon seeks out Wille and makes it clear his plan to file charges against August isn’t about trying to hurt Wille. It’s about demanding someone who seems untouchable be held accountable for their crimes. And Wilhelm understands, doesn’t resent Simon’s choice even as it terrifies him, even as it traps him in the Crown Prince straitjacket. Wille isn’t just talking the talk about respecting whatever Simon decides, he’s walking the walk. And they throw caution to the winds and have one last night together, before all hell breaks loose when Simon goes to the police.

And then August finds out from Sara that Simon is going to the police, and he reverts to old habits by blackmailing Simon into silence. Wilhelm backs Simon to the hilt, enraged that August is STILL fucking with them both, enraged that Simon won’t get the justice he wants. Even though Wille didn’t want August to be charged, because he thought that would make it impossible for him and Simon to get back together. But Wilhelm is 100% on Simon’s side, leveraging his position as Crown Prince to insist August tell Simon who tipped him (August) off.

He puts a gun to August’s head, and reminds him the royals are masters at covering up “accidents”. A callback to 1.01 when August brags to a clearly disturbed Wille that they’re so untouchable, they could murder someone and get away with it. August realizes at the shooting range Wilhelm is more untouchable than he is. I don’t think Wilhelm has any intention of actually shooting August in this scene, but he needs to convince him his life is in danger. What better way than to echo August’s boasts that people in their position can get away with murder?

Simon is stunned when he finds out Sara betrayed him, has known it was August all along and protected him all this time. As soon as Simon leaves, Wille loses interest in revenge. He drops the gun and spits at August, then promptly runs after Simon. He hates August, yes, but he loves Simon more. He doesn’t punch August, he stops threatening him with a weapon. Wilhelm takes a brief moment to show his contempt, then follows Simon to try and comfort him.

He fails, Simon is inconsolable, can’t accept Wille’s support right now. And Wille lets him go, again. But he realizes now how damaging secrecy and lies are, even when someone thinks they’re concealing the truth to protect their loved ones. Wilhelm hid the truth about August from Simon and convinced himself it was for Simon’s own good. Sara hid the truth too, and she probably convinced herself it was for the greater good too. But her lies hurt Simon just like Wille’s lies did.

Now Wille is looking at his own family, all their secrets and lies, and refusing to accept the status quo. His mother reminisces about her own schooldays at Hillerska, partying decades ago where Wille parties now. His parents laugh at the trouble Kristina got into at Wille’s age that nobody knows about. To Kristina and Ludvig, it’s discretion, upholding the monarch’s dignified image in public. To Wilhelm, it’s yet more hypocrisy, yet more lies. Do whatever you want in private, just don’t get caught. His parents don’t understand his anger and don’t much want to. A frustrated Wille leaves dinner early and spends a sleepless night holding his big brother’s cigarette case.

Meanwhile Simon has decided if everybody else at Hillerska gets to lie to protect themselves and their families, he can too. After all his anger at Wilhelm for lying to him and about him, now Simon is in his own impossible position. If he tells the truth about August and the video, August will give the police Micke’s pill bottles. Linda will be devastated and Simon himself will probably face criminal charges.

He’s trapped, he can’t win. His only option is to keep mum about August, embrace the culture of secrets and lies he’s always despised. A culture that cost him Wille last December. But if he has to lie about August for his own protection, maybe he can get some benefit out of lying, be less miserable.

Simon wonders to Ayub if maybe a secret relationship might not be so unbearable after all. It would only have to be until Wilhelm’s 18. Simon is thinking long term here, imagining a relationship that could last for years, where they will still be together long after Wille turns 18. He also implicitly trusts Wilhelm now to keep that promise of coming out when he’s 18. Even though Wilhelm broke his heart a few months ago, Simon’s willing to take that leap of faith.

When Wilhelm first brings up the idea in 2.02 of them keeping it secret until he’s of age, Simon can’t imagine trusting him to follow through. Wille’s betrayal is too fresh, and Wille hasn’t yet demonstrated his trustworthiness in other ways. But in 2.04 through 2.06, Wilhelm has been consciously working to level the playing field, to treat Simon as an equal, to back Simon’s decisions to the hilt even when Simon’s decisions (like prosecuting August) make Wille miserable.

So before the jubilee, Simon pulls Wille aside, affirms that although he hates August, he loves Wille more. Simon offers to be with Wilhelm in secret, as long as they promise to be honest with each other. It’s not what he wanted, but he’s realized he can compromise on this now without losing his self-respect. That compromise was intolerable to him last December, but so much has happened between them in the past few months. They’re in a place of trust and mutual respect now. Simon can handle the secrecy under those conditions.

And Simon finally tells Wille out loud that he loves him. He’s probably known it for months, probably knew it in 1.06 when Wille first said it to him. But now he makes it crystal clear to Wille that he feels the same way. Wilhelm is quietly ecstatic. He’s finally getting what he’s wanted all this time, and Simon is no longer resentful and angry, has accepted Wille’s impossible position. They can be together discreetly, avoid the glare of publicity and scandal, avoid the inevitable shitstorm if Wille came out.

But Wilhelm is so overwhelmed by suddenly getting his heart’s desire that he’s doing a lousy job of maintaining the secret. When Jan-Olof calls Wilhelm’s title as they hold each other, Simon jumps back immediately, mindful of discretion. Wille holds on to Simon a little longer, has to force himself to pull away from his boyfriend, compose himself, and walk out of the coat room with his public mask on.

Later, on the marquee, Wilhelm’s nerves get the better of him. He’s elated he has his boyfriend back, but that doesn’t make public speaking any easier. He agrees August can do the speech, then remembers the courage it took for Simon to compromise his principles to be with Wilhelm. For Simon to trust him not to hurt him again. Remembers everything August took from both of them, and decides fuck that, he’ll do the speech after all. He won’t let August have this public triumph in front of both his victims.

So Wille gets up, speed-walks past August, and starts the speech. Nervous at first, then getting into the rhythm of it. Glorifying traditions going back to 1901 when the school was founded (and probably even further back), glorifying an upper class heritage that would consider Simon (the working class, biracial son of an immigrant) beneath contempt, praising a past when his relationship with Simon would have been illegal. I don’t believe Wilhelm is thinking all these things consciously, but somehow he comes to realize that the speech he’s giving is the exact opposite of what he really thinks. He’s on camera glibly praising traditions that have hurt him, hurt Simon, nearly destroyed them. He’s part of the problem.

He trails off, says no. Then starts speaking again, off script. Shares his true opinion, that blindly respecting tradition can make things worse. You have to analyze traditions, decide which are helpful and which destructive. Takes a jab at Jan-Olof about the song. And with traditions so often come secrets and lies. I think at this point he’s still speaking off the cuff, hasn’t really planned what to say next. He didn’t plan any of this.

But he’s talking about lies, about the harm they do. And he suddenly realizes he has a chance to be as brave as Simon. Simon who compromises his principles because he loves Wilhelm so much. But he shouldn’t have to. Wille has seen firsthand how badly secrets and lies have devastated Simon. He can’t let Simon make this compromise. Which means he has to level the playing field again, and be honest. In front of all these rolling cameras, whatever he says next CAN’T be hushed up. So Wille tells the truth, finally. And he not only sets Simon free, he also sets himself free. He stops hiding and changes the narrative.

He also wrests control away from his mother and the royal court. They wanted to hush everything up, pretend to the world he’s the perfect crown prince. And a perfect Crown Prince would of course be heterosexual, like Erik. But Wille will no longer lie to appear perfect. He’s willing to accept the job he reluctantly inherited when Erik died, but he’ll do it on his own terms.

In public he will finally be the imperfect, non-heterosexual Crown Prince he’s always been in private, and let the chips fall where they may. Sweden and the world may recoil from the real Wilhelm, or not. He has no control over the reaction to his blurted out confession. Regardless, his reward is that he will no longer have to hide his relationship with Simon.

THAT is the journey of Season 2. And we had to suffer to get to that point. Wilhelm and Simon had to suffer to get to that point. In 1.06 Wille lies to the world and abandons Simon to face the aftermath of the video alone. He’s under horrendous parental pressure to make that decision, but he still makes it. He’s manipulated into it, but he still betrays Simon. Because he’s afraid of the consequences of telling the truth.

Over the course of Season 2, Wilhelm finally gets to the point where the consequences of telling the truth scare him a little less than the consequences of continuing to lie. In 1.06 he was too scared to admit to his relationship with Simon. By 2.06 Simon has forgiven that betrayal and offered him the secret relationship he wanted all along. But Wille suddenly realizes he no longer wants that for either of them.

Secrets and lies have already nearly destroyed them, separately and together. Wille’s just as scared as he was in 1.06, but he has to fight for both of them now. He wants to be worthy of this second chance, the love and trust Simon has given him again. Wille knows he can’t face the consequences of coming out. Right up until he realizes actually, he can. Actually, it will set them both free.

tl;dr Shit, that got LONG. Uh, skip all that. What @alusart said.

Editing to add chef’s kiss tags from @bluedalahorse

People who hated season 2 ONLY because it didn't have as much wilmon fluff as season 1, need to understand what kind of show they're watching, young royals is more than just two boys being happily in love.

It's valid tho, i just don't understand after what happened in season 1, how were people expecting wille and simon to made up right away?, They both needed to be apart and understand each other's perspectives before getting together again!!

[david-tennant-in-chairs]

A different kind of April Fool...

David as Touchstone in As You Like It (1996-97)

More images in this fascinating article of DT recounting this turning point in his career

[chaotic-poet]

Being the "it" girl with S2 Prince Wilhelm (Part 2)

1. Do makeup

2. Eat good food

3. Have a panic attack/menty b

4. Go to therapy

5. Plot revenge

6. Reject roles/responsibilities

7. Burrito

8. Break tradition with the squad

9. Break tradition again

10. Shatter tradition + the monarchy

Part 2

Part 1

[raincitygirl76]

And great tags from @crownedwille including the fact that Kristina was probably rebellious once herself. She and Wilhelm seem to be very similar in their temperaments.

What we saw of Erik was that he was a “don’t rock the boat”, “let’s compromise so there’s no awkwardness” type like their dad Ludvig. Whereas Kristina and her younger son are both headstrong and determined.

I suspect the family dynamic prior to Erik’s death was Kristina and Wilhelm frequently butting heads, because they both have strong opinions, and Ludvig and Erik smoothing over their arguments. Pouring diplomatic oil on troubled waters because Erik and Ludvig are conflict-avoidant and want a quiet life.

Kristina is essentially who Wilhelm will be in thirty years or so if he lets the crushing weight of the royal court and the general public’s demands take over his life. Kristina has drunk the koolaid that preserving traditions and preserving the image of the monarchy are the sacred purpose of her entire life.

Wille hasn’t yet drunk that koolaid, although he tried hard to be the perfect Crown Prince in S1 by doing the lying media statement in 1.06, which led to him getting dumped by his boyfriend. But he had a lot of character growth in S2. After the jubilee speech in 2.06, I suspect Wille’s parents, the royal court, and the upper classes will have trouble trying to shove him back in the closet. Or drink the koolaid and truly believe, as his mom does, that tradition and secrecy are objectively good things.

YOUNG ROYALS S01E06 - “Episode 6″

[the-impala-is-my-home]

originally I was planning not to do anything for day 30 of Simon's month (prompt: home) because I didn't really know what to write, but while I was on a train inspiration struck and I ended up drawing this little sketch instead. (The reason it might look a little wonky is because the train ride was EXTREMELY shaky and my pencil was blunt but oh well haha)

For me, home is the feeling of comfort and safety that means you can let your guard down and rest. The scene of Wille and Simon falling asleep against each other at Hillerska in S3 really feels like that for me, they're just so soft and happy to just be next to each other.🥹

@youngroyals-events

day 30: home

[fredtheengels]

i’m not here to do discourse but king wilhelm truthers are the funniest people how do you misread a show that badly

[frogprinsen]

Wilhelm: I think I mostly want to see what happens when this whole place breaks apart.

[raincitygirl76]

My only very minor tiny nitpick with @writingfarintothedark ‘s take is that Felice’s curly hair in Season 2 is not her natural hair (which would probably be MUCH curlier than that). It’s a weave, and we see the hairdresser putting in the detached pieces of curly hair at the start of episode 2.01. But for everything else, absolutely.

Ok, technically I saw this issue mentioned on twitter but I’ve seen it before on tumblr too, so I needed to make a tumblr post about it. Like, hate to break it to you for the (hopefully) few people people that truly think this, but I don’t know a country in the world where racism doesn’t exist- racism is not just an “American” issue, it very much exists in Europe as well INCLUDING Sweden, and in the world of Young Royals(AND to be clear, race issues and class issues are often related, it’s not just one or the other as I’ve seen some people imply).

I really disagree with anyone that erases racial issues from the story in Young Royals(in fairness, many people in the fandom don’t do this). The issues in the show are not all racial, and I certainly don’t think racism is the driving force of the problems in the show, but you CANNOT ignore that race is an aspect. We often praise yr for its realism in many aspects, and racial bias is unfortunately very much a part of the real world. Yes, the story could have still been executed even if race was taken out of the equation, but the fact of the matter is there ARE nonwhite characters(as there should be, because white it not the default), which adds depth, and you can’t just remove that people will analyze how that impacts the story. Young Royals is not written to be some utopian world where prejudice doesn’t exist- in fact, it’s quite literally the opposite. Hillerska is a traditional place where social divides are shown pretty explicitly and subtly, so it doesn’t make sense to see some people analyze all these other realistic social issues in the show but deny the racism. Yes, we have poc that are a part of the “elite” class like Felice, Nils, and Alexander(and I really appreciate how the show is inclusive with its casting), but that doesn’t mean they are free from microaggressions/race divides. For instance, Felice’s journey with her natural hair; the Society needing to be first sons of noble blood, which will inevitably be white boys(and also these white boys are considered of the highest status because they have the most history,) and not accepting people like Nils; etc, ALL have roots in racism to an extent. (also the Society is so messed up and creepy as a concept but that’s a different post)  

Additionally, Simon being a poc is by no means the only issue with the video scandal, but it’s a bit reductive and naive imo to think that there are no extra struggles, even if indirect/subconcious, that come from the prince being with a latin boy.

I mostly believe that if people completely think that none of the issues in the show have anything to with race, there’s a likely chance they don’t understand what it’s like to be a poc in western country and they’re overlooking how traditional Hillerska is. I’m not saying we should attack people for every small mistake, because I don’t think that’s productive or right, but come on guys, there is a bare minimum, which includes not gaslighting people who bring up the racial aspects and refusing to consider that race is a factor in analysis.

I appreciate that the creators said they wanted to cast in an inclusive way that was reflective of reality, because I truly do think it made a great end product. To be clear, the characters are more than just their race, they are people and fully fleshed out characters, and they are more than just stereotypes. Analyzing race in the show in no ways strips them of their well-roundedness and individuality.

[raincitygirl76]

Wisdom of Tumblr, is it possible to link to every post which one Tumblr user has tagged with the same tag? Because I could’ve sworn there was a way to do that, and that I’ve done it before. But when I try to do it today, I’m only able to link to the most recent post that person gave that tag to.

@starvalisedham has some super interesting posts about how Swedish surnames work in general, and how Swedish noble surnames work in particular. All tagged with #edvin Ryding. But I can’t reblog any of those posts, for some reason. I was hoping to be able to link to all of them instead, as an alternative to Reblogging.

It’s not the end of the world if I can’t. LOL There aren’t THAT many posts, so I can just link each one individually. But it’s bugging me that I could swear I’ve done it before with a completely different Tumblr user and completely different tag.

Edited to Add:

Thanks to the brilliance and helpfulness of @skibasyndrome I now know how to do this. Voila all the links in question!

And here's HOW you do it, once again courtesy of @skibasyndrome

Example:

URL.tumblr.com/tagged/the-tag-you-want

Actual Coding I typed in so I could create the link above. Please note you use the code "%20" instead of spaces when you're typning tags. Since the original tag was Edving Ryding, rather than a space, I typed in Edvin%20Ryding for the relevant tag. And got all that user's posts with that tag.

https://www.tumblr.com/starvalisedham/tagged/edvin%20ryding

[bluedalahorse]

Late night YR thoughts inspired by the posts I’ve seen about IRL Swedish boarding school culture: one of Maddie’s lines that lives rent-free in my brain is the one where she’s like “can’t believe this school costs $20k a year and yet the showers are still cold!” I’m paraphrasing, but I think I have the $20k right.

Anyway. Based on things I know about the private school scene in the the US, that’s still less than half the tuition Maddie would be paying for an equivalently elite American private school in DC, New York, or somewhere else in the Northeast. I’m sure the west coast is similar! And those are the day schools. I’m not as familiar with US boarding schools but I assume they cost even more.

Have Maddie’s parents just found a secret way of saving money? Do they need to save money if they can already afford a few plane tickets a year and Hillerska boarding fees? What even is going on?

[mikewheelerscloset]

idk about yall but I've always had a weird feeling abt Erik

[othervee]

'wonderful traditions, as always'

Wilhelm's initiation was just on his own, because he started at Hillerska a bit later than his compatriots. Presumably, though, Alexander and Walter and Henry and the other first-years all started together. So what is initiation like at Hillerska when there's more than one newbie? Do they all get initiated at once, or one at a time?

And if it's all at once, there are only so many second- and third-years to control them. Do they all get dragged and tied as Wilhelm did? There are only so many statues to go around, surely.

Or is it possible that Wilhelm's initiation was actually worse than the usual ones, because usually there are more first-years to torment and so it's shared out among them all, whereas in his case there was only him?

[adreamareads]

end of an era

Remember Teaser Tuesday? It's complete and it's live!

Thank you to @onthewaytosomewhere for her beta skills!

Tagging friends who were interested in the teaser:

@gayrootvegetable @hgejfmw-hgejhsf @inexplicablymine

[raincitygirl76]

Ooh, really excellent point. Even if the OP is encountering memory loss about having said it in the first place, which is worrisome. But never mind the memory loss. Let’s get back to the FABULOUS POINT!

The first thing Simon talks to Wilhelm about in season 2 is how much he hates the traditions the kids at Hillerska uphold. And the last thing Wilhelm does in season 2 is fucking destroy them.

[mooonblooom]

[old repost, originally from november 2022]

EVEN MORE SIMON. (plus a lisa notice)

[the-impala-is-my-home]

New profile picture! 💜

Pencil and a simple textmarker since I'm at my parents and all my art supplies are at my flat.