#young royals thoughts

[retrieve-the-kraken]

Okay, so I’ve finished my taxes, and I’m basically out of the woods with some overwhelming work stuff, and everything turned out well with a medical situation with my mum, but I am still very tired, but I also cannot keep going without putting my preliminary thoughts on my very first viewing of season 3 down on a post…

It seems my worst characterization so far is assuming that these two idiots would learn to communicate. They haven’t, they’re stupid teenagers, they’re really bad at it, they get mad at each other for everything, and they don’t listen. And that needs to change soon if we want Wilmon endgame.

Boris, do you do couples therapy? PLEASE HELP THEM.

I think a big reason Wilhelm lashes out, besides getting caught up in his own head, is the fact that he’s also constantly afraid of saying the wrong thing and pissing Simon off. But the stakes for Simon are clearly higher. Wilhelm really needs to learn to communicate, but he’s dragging a whole life of terrible communication and zero support, so HOW is he supposed to learn, if he naturally feels afraid to open up?

It shows in the way he reacts to learning about Erik. Simon might be right, and Erik maybe just gave in to peer pressure, like everyone else in that school (which we see over and over again, like with the strike, and that guy who just repeats ‘yeah hilarious’ when Vincent tells him, and the graduation rituals and basically everything that everyone does at that fucking school), and maybe he wasn’t particularly homophobic. Or maybe he was, but if he had found out about Wilhelm maybe he would have changed his views (after all he was a stupid kid too)… But how would Wilhelm know? Erik is dead, there’s no way of asking him, confronting him about it. And people still call him perfect, and still compare him to his brother.

It must be so traumatizing to have held this person in your head as the one you trusted for everything, the one who would support you most, the one who probably knew you better than anyone else, who would love you and be there for you no matter what, and it turns out that he might not have accepted you at all. And just like that Wille is all alone and angry and afraid again.

(This is why it’s extra cruel that August posted that fucking video, especially how premeditated it was to share it over the whole world, but also then tell Wilhelm that his brother was possibly a homophobe. It doesn’t matter that he went through that horrible hazing, it doesn’t matter that he put a stop to it, and it doesn’t matter that he’s a stupid kid too, the fact that he did THAT to someone, anyone, is awful and he should have known better.)

So that scene in season 1 when Erik teases Wilhelm about his crush potentially changes completely. Maybe he didn’t suspect anything, maybe it was just a coincidence that he never used any pronouns…

And that makes it even more traumatizing that his parents still think of Erik as the figure of perfection, and Wilhelm, who is queer and scandalous and rebellious, is the real thorn on their side. Fucking Ludvig saying that Erik really was perfect, that he didn’t have “that darkness inside of him”, to his surviving son… But for all we know maybe Erik’s death was not accidental, maybe he did have “a darkness” inside of him.

On the other hand, that “darkness” doesn’t excuse Kristina at all. I am convinced that this depression/burnout that she’s going through is absolute bullshit. Sure, she might be depressed, she’s still grieving her “perfect” heir, and she’s going through a lot. But it’s like Wilhelm says, how convenient that she shuts down and breaks down now. She wasn’t like this when the video happened, because she could still cover it up. And she wasn’t like this when Wilhelm called her to scream that he was going to abdicate, because she could still drag him out of Hillerska. It was only when he told the whole world, and there was no covering it up anymore, that she suddenly became fragile with grief.

And even if it were true, even if she’s going through a severe depression or burnout, as a result of everything that’s happened, that doesn’t excuse her previous lies and manipulations. And it makes the fact that she still really wants Wille to become her successor, despite knowing what it could do to him, despite knowing that he’s already extremely anxious and that he does not know how to manage his own emotions, is evil.

(And even if she wants August to be the backup too, knowing how he is, knowing his own family history, and how it could affect him too, is evil too.) MORE on this later.

Kristina uses her breakdowns to emotionally manipulate Wille into trying to do his best to be the perfect crown prince, now indirectly through Farima and Ludvig. And Wille’s so concerned with her and her fragility that it affects his relationship with Simon. Because he’s anxious about the possible imminence of having to take over, of being the new monarch, when he can barely control his own feelings, when he just wants to enjoy his first relationship and just be in love.

Of course he made things worse for himself and Simon when he publicly revealed their relationship, but we can understand where that’s coming from. He didn’t want to hide anymore, he didn’t want to not be able to be himself anymore, not be able to be with the boy he loves. But they’re still forced to hide, because people start hating on Simon, because people won’t stop talking about them (as much as I HATED Wille shushing Simon, I also understood that he didn’t want anyone to hear their argument, because he didn’t want to give people more reason to talk about them, but also there’s probably a lot of ‘keeping up appearances’ embedded in his mind), because they are very different and almost incompatible for many reasons, and because being the crown prince means conforming to a lot of things (no tattoos, no cutting your hair shorter than, no nail polish, no expressing political opinions, etc etc), and so he has to remove the nail polish and he doesn’t want his foundation to be geared toward LGBTQIA+ people or mental health issues… He can’t express himself, he can’t be himself, because what he is or who he is for real is not compatible with his role or what is expected of him… he’s so repressed still.

(The whole nail polish scene, and the scene where Simon suggests that Wille’s foundation could be geared toward LGBTQIA+ youth, reminded me a little of Isak in SKAM saying that he wasn’t just going to start marching in the Pride parade or wearing makeup. Wille is not necessarily about identity expression, or at least he doesn’t think that he should be. He just wants to be himself, and be with the boy he loves, and that’s it).

As for Simon, he can do no wrong, and I absolutely agree with everything he says and does, but he has always been very idealistic, and he does come across as a little more naïve than I expected, especially with the whole social media comments and his song. It wasn’t the first time he experienced it, because things went south for him when he appeared on the video, so for him now to think that people are magically not going to be cruel.

But I understand how much he’s sacrificing for Wille, and Wille not appreciating it at all must sting. Just like he points out that he didn’t have contact with Micke for years, for Sara’s sake, and suddenly she’s living with him… that fucking hurt. Simon has always been very opinionated and outspoken, and he’s very authentically and proudly himself, but he’s also always molded himself to what other people need, like being a parented child and taking on too much in the house to relieve Linda, and taking care of Sara, and worrying about his father, and letting himself be manipulated by Marcus, and now basically giving up a lot of himself to be with Wille. And as a result Linda treats him like he’s a drug addict, and Sara goes to the father she didn’t want to have contact with, and Marcus talks shit about him to the press, and Wille doesn’t listen to him…

Sara saw the light (sort of), so maybe hopefully Wille will too. More on that later too.

Anyway, it would have been nice for someone from the royal court to sit Simon down and explain to him what being the boyfriend of a royal involves, so that Wille doesn’t have to figure out how to tell him all these difficult things himself. Wille is so used to some of these things, they seem so obvious to him, that he might not immediately think of how weird or outlandish it might seem to Simon. (THat scene with the cake, I mean… it was funny in a way, but I wonder how many terrifying thoughts crossed Simon’s mind, the obvious “wait what??? did I just eat poison???” but also “wait what??? someone’s trying to poison my boyfriend????” and “there are kids here, have they also accidentally been poisoned????”).

I really really hope that, since he’s being forced to go to Boris with August, that Wille will think about going with Simon, and trying to work things out. They need to be able to say all these things to each other, get on the same page.

More importantly, I need a callback to what Boris said to him in season 2, about the expectations of his family, about being able to make his own choices. Which Wille internalized beautifully with that speech to Simon outside his house.

Anyway, this is already very long. Moving on to more general thoughts:

- I did think that the fact that they sort of resolved the whole issue with the police report and the drugs felt a little anticlimactic. It was built up and built up and the whole season 2 finale was about that, and we had a cliffhanger and everything, and then… bye. I wonder if it will come back (more on that later).

- And for that matter, Alexander just became a background character. Did he even have any lines? I could barely spot him.

- August telling Wilhelm in front of everyone at the table that he’s sure Wille will fuck up on his own… rich.

- Also Stella and Rosh was sort of hinted at, it happened in a blink, and then Fredrika was… jealous? Confused? Homophobic? All of the above? But then… NOTHING. Stella was even missing in the last episode, because she was “sick”… (scheduling conflicts for Felicia? Actually sick?)

- I think it’s interesting that Sara preached and preached to Simon about giving people a second chance, including their dad, and then she… goes and does it? It wasn’t the first time she did, she was with August despite the awful thing he did. And then she goes and… gives August ANOTHER chance????

- Someone needs to tell Sara that she needs to stop getting wtih August, because every time they get together somehow, Wilmon go south… It seems these two couples cannot exist simultaneously…

- So I still have to rewatch, but… is August then in the middle of selling his father’s estate to pay Simon? Are any of his friends aware of this?

- I have a cultural question: what was the whole deal about travelling to the US? I mean, I thought they were asking if these kids have never travelled abroad, but they mentioned the US specifically, several times… Is that a thing in Sweden, traveling to the US? Not any other part of Europe? Not Asia? Just wondering. Made me curious.

- Still waiting for this season’s Elias song… just one episode left… If we don’t get one, or a callback to Revolution, I might claw my face off…

- Nils repeating that maybe Wille would have been better off with someone from the inner circle. Seriously, Nils, who do you mean? WHO? Who could you be referring to? Hmm?

- Something else about Nils… a part of me really wished that Wille would have asked Nils for confirmation on the Erik thing. Wille obviously doesn’t want to believe it at first, but then he does, and hearing it from August makes it even worse, so maybe hearing it from someone like Nils would be the final confirmation that he would need, that his brother was the worst. On the other hand, for him to ask Nils to confirm something like that, as a gay, and possibly hearing what happened to him as a result of it… that would have probably made it even worse.

- Really hate that Marcus was mentioned, that he came back to haunt Simon in a way, even if it was minimal. But props to Simon for not rising to the bait in that moment.

- Simon, my love, i understand that you’re upset and heartbroken, but… it would have been nice if you tried to get Wille to talk to you one last time, before breaking up with him on his birthday… especially seeing everything he’s going through. Not that your feelings are any less important than his, of course, but… are you trying to get him to jump out the window????

-Eternally saddened by the disappearance of the orange sweater. Eternally saddened by the fact that Wilhelm did not set foot in or around Simon’s house this season. Although who knows, still one episode left…

Things that I liked most:

- Seriously the chemistry between Edvin and Omar is OFF THE CHARTS. The intimacy coordinator this season was very good.

- Especially that sex scene. Not just because it makes me immensely happy when my favorite ship fucks, because holy shit that was hot, but also because there’s a whole theme around all the hate mail and messages and classism and homophobia and toxic masculinity that Simon is a target of, especially being Latino, whilst Wille, being white and privileged and high class and the heir to the throne, is probably seen as the “man” of the relationship (especially since in the video he’s also the one “in control” whilst Simon is the receiver), so it’s very VERY satisfying to see that they are both top and bottom at times, and they both equally enjoy it.

- Also the use of choir music during the sex scene, giving it a very holy feel, much like Elias’s Holy playing when they have sex again in season 2… seriously I NEED my Elias song this season or I WILL START A REVOLUTION.

- At first I was annoyed at the whole “school possibly closing” plotline, because I thought it was unneeded. Or that maybe it would play a bigger role in the whole video-drugs controversy. But the truth is that it was really good, how it highlighted these kids’ privilege and the absurdity of wanting to cover things up and uphold traditions, and it also worked wonderfully to highlight the divide between Simon and Wille. As Simon says to Wille, he only takes a stand when he has nothing to lose.

- Felice. Felice this whole season was magnificent. Her whole breakdown over the end of her friendship with Sara, showing how truly important it was to her. And Madison saying that sometimes breaking up with a friend is worse than getting dumped, and I AGREE SO MUCH. But then I also think she loses her sense of self, because despite being popular and beautiful, she still gets used and treated badly, by August (obviously), but also by Wille (the kiss), and worst of all by Sara (who in a way used her for her horse, but also for the clout). And in the meantime, she’s treated differently than the other students for being one of the few black girls, and she gets singled out for her hair… and yet, the school is using her to make themselves look good. And now she decides to give Sara a second chance, because she really missed her, because it really hurt to lose that friend, and Sara goes and… does that…

- One of my favorite things about Simon is how he is proof that just because you’re gay doesn’t mean that you have flawless fashion sense. And i can’t help but wonder how fashion and style icon/ELLE’s Best Dressed Man/OMR Beauty founder Omar feels about Simon’s fashion choices. Never change, Simon, never change.

- Vincent was every bit of the tremendous asshole that I hoped he’d be this season. Did not disappoint. I wanted to punch him in the face every time he opened his mouth. Marvellous.

- I’m happy that we got more Madison, but still not enough. Still, iconic. Forever one of my favorite characters.

- I don’t know what to say about Sara and Micke. Just maybe that, when he played that song in the car, even before they started singing, i just knew “oh fuck, it’s all going to shit soon…” I guess Sara felt lost enough that she was suddenly willing to give him a second chance. And the whole “is that going to happen to me?” bit really made me sad. That she understands that mental health and mental illness is unfortunately many times hereditary, and worries that she might become just like him… But despite not being entirely like him, with addiction problems and such, she was still unreliable like him, she did bad things to her family like he did… I was rooting for you, Micke, we were all rooting for you.

- I feel that August’s love for status and for the monarchy might be starting to fray at the edges. First with the fact that he was reminded of his own traumatizing initiation, and reminded of how the crown prince, his cousin and friend and idol, himself was part of that. Second with the fact that Simon points out that he might have an eating disorder, how he would probably not fare any better than the queen if he were in such a stressful position as crown prince or king, how difficult it is for him to handle stress and anxiety. And third with seeing how it affects Wille and Simon and realizing that something similar might still happen to him and Sara. And the fact that he reveals to Sara why he is the way he is, that he lets his guard down with her, might point to even more growth (even though I hate that Sara sort of gave him a “second chance” again). Also I feel the reality of how they, the Royal Court, would control his life is finally sinking in. Hopefully he will also soon realize that they also use him as a manipulation tool. So maybe he won’t let himself be manipulated by them much longer.

- I loved Wille’s ultimate outburst at his mother and father, i love that he told them everything they needed to hear, about their emotional abuse, their neglect. Unfortunately they still refused to acknowledge how terrible parents they have been, and walked off, instead of trying to resolve it. So Wille throwing around the gifts, as impulsive and tantrum-ish it might come across, makes perfect sense. He tries to talk and gets nothing in return. If he’s repressed it’s bad, but if he expresses himself then nothing happens either.

- And I love that Simon got to see what Wille is really dealing with. As privileged as he might be, he’s still lacking the most important things: unconditional support and love. No amount of money or status can make it better, and Wille is broken. The only thing is that, Simon saw how broken Wille was over the death of his brother, whom he loved very much, but I don’t think he quite grasps the gravity of Wille learning that maybe that beloved brother wouldn’t have been so cool with him, because he has never had to deal with a parent or sibling rejecting him for his sexuality. It’s something very different to be rejected by society at large than it is to be rejected by your own family, and not everyone has the emotional strength to deal with that. So for Wille’s parents to still like his potentially homophobic dead brother more than him, is heart-wrenching. But I don’t think Simon really gets that because he’s probably not surprised that Erik might have been like that, because in his eyes those privileged kids in that school (except obviously Wille, and Felice and Madison, who is asking about the non-binaries) are probably all massive homophobes.

- Despite this, I love that Simon sets boundaries nonetheless. I mean, it hurt like fucking hell for him to tell Wille, on his fucking birthday, that maybe they shouldn’t be together. But just because Wille is hurting doesn’t mean that Simon has not also been hurting too. And if they can’t comfort each other, and try to support each other when they both obviously most need it, then maybe they’re just not going to work. And it took a lot of guts for Simon to bring it up in that moment, in Wille’s bed, in the palace, where he’s basically trapped, with nowhere to go, no way to get away (I doubt he called Linda in the middle of the night to come pick him up more than two hours away in Stockholm).

My hopes for the final episode (I don’t think I have any predictions other than, open ending or not, Wilmon will be endgame and there will be a revolution, I just don’t know how):

- Wilmon talk. An actual, healthy, heartfelt talk. A reconciliation for the ages.

- That the fucking school will close and August won’t be able to graduate, and he’ll realize that maybe he shouldn’t have “lived for that school”, as Erik once put it.

- That Wille will realize that, if Erik was not the person he thought he was, then maybe he no longer has to live up to his legacy anymore. @foreverunraveling pointed out how, now that the big Erik revelation is confirmed, then maybe the queen’s trump card to manipulate Wille into being the ideal crown prince is gone. Wille doesn’t care about the monarchy really, but he did care about not disappointing his brother, the “perfect crown prince”, and now we know that he was far from perfect. Erik lived a double life, as Wille points out, there was “public Erik” or crown prince Erik, and there was “private Erik”, or the real Erik (or so Wille thought, now we know there was a “secret Erik” which was the real Erik) and Wille struggles so much with the idea of having to split himself in two, . Wille cannot live a double life, he withers away when he has to hide himself, and now he gets the opportunity to leave that stifling life behind, and blossom.

- That Simon will get a fucking break. I hate that his whole life was turned upside down from the moment the video was leaked, and it’s just never going to be the same, whether he stays with Wille or not, he’ll always be the boy from the crown prince sex tape, he’ll always be the crown prince’s ex, or the crown prince’s boyfriend. But I want some positive feedback for him, someone bigger than the woman and the little boy wanting a selfie. I want him to have his own fanclub or something. Maybe that’s too idealistic…? (I may be imagining something like that scene in Red White and Royal Blue, when they realize that there’s a whole crowd outside the palace all excited to the the Prince and his First son boyfriend… one can dream).

- I want whatever Felice said during the interview to be taken seriously, and for her to stop doubting herself.

- I want a genuine apology from August.

- Also one from Kristina.

- I get the feeling that the fact that August leaked the video might still come out publicly, what with the whole school issue. And in that case, I would like for it to be Simon might to do it, tossing the money from the settlement in his face. It looks like Simon still feels guilty about accepting it, especially when he chided Wille about his privilege and Wille (figuratively) threw the money back in his face. What if Simon does it literally?

- I really wanna know what’s going to happen between Felice and Sara now. The outlook is not good.

- Is it too much to ask to know what’s going on between Stella and Fredrika?

- Most importantly, is the whole thing with Erik going to come out eventually? And how will people react? With support for the monarchy, or with support for Wille?

I have so many more thoughts, but I’m slightly burnt out, and I really should take a break. Also this is way too long. Might have more thoughts once I’ve rewatched the first five episodes, calmly over the weekend…

Also this is very long and I’m sorry.

[idreamofcrackinglocks]

me: experiences any sort of emotion

me: sigh guess it’s time to rewatch young royals

[andyouloveme]

I'm sure I there must be some symbolism behind it but why do Wilhelm and Simon always sleep in Wille's bed upside down? Is it showing they're subverting expectations? Doing things their own way rather than what people expect of them?

[misfithive]

I know people say that Micke’s absence in s2 is a plot hole but honestly i think its so fitting that when Simon is going through one of the worst things in his life Micke is completely absent. Like your son was the victim of a crime (which was also s*xual violence btw) his face is plastered all over the media, they live in a small town so there is no way he doesn’t know. Yet Micke is absent again. Which is the whole point.

[frogmanfae]

So Sara called in to report August. August is going to think Simon did it. Sara can testify against August in court as an eye witness, but that isn't super strong defense. Even if it does work, there are the drug bottles with Micke Erikson on them that will be brought up. Perhaps Sara takes the blame? As a way to apologize and show sacrifice to Simon? Just a little thought after rewatching.

[justfriendsbestthings]

You can not tell me Simon getting private lessons from him did not come up at all during their conversation also I don’t think we’ve ever seen Englund smile??

[heartstopperthoughts]

Just thinking about how like, when I was a teenager, the gayest show we had was Merlin, which was somehow super gay and also incredibly homophobic.

But now y’all teens have your pick of queer characters. Soft gay teenagers? Check. Gay royalty? Check. Gay pirates? Check. Gay vampires? Check. Gay angels and demons? Check.

It’s a damn LGBT smorgasbord out there.

[aledlastbestie]

-Interviewer: How did you make the prince fall in love with you?

-Simón: Not much, I just told him to his face that I hate his family and everything they represent and he was like "that's hot"

[retrieve-the-kraken]

Young Royals Season 2 play-by-play analysis

This is a much longer analysis because so much happens on this episode that sent me on a whirlwind of emotions and thoughts... I couldn't stop from writing a near essay worth about most crucial moments. Can't stop, won't stop.

EPISODE 5

Simon has been keeping Wille’s sweater under his pillow this whole time, probably sleeping with it. Does it still even smell like Wille? Is the scent fading? Is that why he needs to inhale harder, longer, deeper, wrap his whole face in it? He closes his eyes and licks his lips, like he’s trying to conjure the memory of the feeling of being with Wille, the taste of Wille’s lips. He’s still conflicted, just because he gave in at the ball and kissed Wille doesn’t mean that things have gotten any easier for them. He’s still technically with Marcus, he’s still aware that things with Wille are difficult, that Wille still hurt him, but he’s so drawn to him, he’s finally allowing himself to feel all the things again. He’s been fighting for so long and it’s exhausting.

Smelling Wille’s sweater is like a drug to him, he‘s conflicted, confused, and he needs a hit right now. It’s not going to help things become clearer, in fact they’re probably going to get more muddled. (Fun fact: smelling the person that you love can release the chemical oxytocin, a hormone and neurotransmitter that is also released when we hug and when we orgasm. That’s why it’s often referred to as the love hormone. Our brain chemistry combined with our feelings for a person can determine whether we think that person’s smell is the most fantastic thing in the world, even if they should smell stinky and unpleasant. Simon’s brain loves Wille’s scent. If his feelings for Wille had changed at all, Wille’s scent might not have had the same effect on him anymore. But he still has feelings for him, and so his smell is the most attractive and comforting thing in the world to him.)

Meanwhile Wille cannot contain his happiness, he’s full of hope again, and the shower intensifies that. He’s alone with his thoughts and he gets to mull over them. (Fun fact: did you know that showering lifts your mood because of negative oxygen ions? Sounds contradictory, but these are negatively charged atoms generated by the falling water, and they make you feel energized. That’s part of the reason why Wille is smiling like a madman here, the shower is boosting the way he already feels. Happy, elated, hopeful, invincible. Simon kissed him, he’s still majorly under the effects of oxytocin).

Wille making a sandwich for Simon… like a little callback to their first night together, and him making Simon a s… I love you, Wille, I love you with all my heart.

August being all smug about the fact that he’s gotten the speech, then looking over at Wille, knowing that he probably also got the speech, and he looks annoyed. Wille automatically bites his nail anxiously.

Simon desperately wanting to talk to someone about kissing Wille. He feels like a bad person because he “betrayed” Marcus. But baby, you had already told Marcus that you didn’t want anything serious, you were still getting over Wille, you weren’t ready to move on yet, and he’s the one who convinced you to stay in a “relationship” that you didn’t want. So maybe… it’s Marcus’s fault. (Not excusing kissing someone else when you’re in a thing, situationship with someone else, but… read the room, Marcus.)

“But does that make you a bad person just cause you do one bad thing?” Sara, are you comparing Simon barely cheating on Marcus with Wille to you betraying your brother or August causing a whole royal scandal? Or maybe she’s referring to her secret relationship with August, which is, in her mind, a direct betrayal of Felice. She doesn’t think she’s really doing anything terrible to Simon by being with August, and she thinks that August can still be redeemed. She’s giving him a second chance, which she often chastises Simon for doing to other people (Wille, Micke).

“You’re supposed to tell me to forget about Wille and be with Marcus.” Simon feeling so guilty, and conflicted. He feels like he’s betraying himself because he shouldn’t still have such strong feelings for Wille after everything that happened. He’s so conflicted and desperate for something certain, something easy.

“But you’re not in love with Marcus,” says Sara, leaving out the obvious which is “you’re in love with Wille instead.” But also talking about herself. “You can’t control your feelings. If you have feelings for the wrong person, it can still feel just right.” Poor Sara, you fell in love with the worst person. But she’s right, you can’t control your feelings. Simon has been trying to do that all season and failing fantastically.

Sara being all nervous about learning the protocol for meeting the royal family. August being a brown-noser with Jan-Olof. They both want it so bad.

Simon singing with all his heart, singing like he’s never sang before… and Jan-Olof with his frumpy face. I love that Simon stands up for himself, that he argues, that he states that they’ve been practicing. “It’s important to stick to tradition.” “But I thought the whole point was to prove that the school has been modernized.”

“We want this to be a group performance, not a solo.” And then when Simon storms out, Jan-Olof actually says to the teacher “Good.” THE GALL. All the other bullshit about tradition and continuity might be true, but at that moment it becomes evident that it was also about not giving Simon the spotlight, to make sure he doesn’t stand out. Fuck you, Jan-Olof.

I'm here for a Simon and Felice team-up. I want them to be hot curly-haired melanin-blessed fierce besties, especially after what happens in the next episode... Simon seems to be cool with her now, despite how she treated Sara at first, despite the whole kissing Wille in his room, despite everyone knowing that she used to be in love with Wille. And Felice is the supportive friend we all deserve.

Felice: “They don’t want new rumors about the two of you, you know?” (And then Wille goes and blows the lid off of that in the next episode. You don’t want rumors? No problem. Nothing but verified information straight from the source from now on.)

Again, they are sitting together, even when Simon is angry about Wille, if not directly at him. Simon, don’t reject the sandwich, please, Wille made it with so much love… don’t be like that, Simon, please, he wants to please you so bad…

One day they will have a nice encounter in the music room, from beginning to end…

“Everything I do becomes a problem when you enter the picture.” This was why Simon said that he couldn’t accept Wille’s role, because he still thinks that it’s somehow Wille’s fault, that it’s not something out of Wille’s control. “They don’t want you to be associated with me, as per usual.”

“How long do I have to be punished for that video?” It’s true, he’s constantly being victim-blamed for the video, as if him and Wille wanted to get caught, as if it was their fault that the video was recorded and leaked and became viral… It’s like when actresses have nude pictures and they get hacked, and the media reports it like they shouldn’t have had nude pictures of themselves, and how embarrassing for them and the negative impact it might have on their careers... Instead of condemning the hackers…

“You don’t get it because you haven’t felt the consequences.” Simon is so angry about his song that he says things without trying to see from Wilhelm’s perspective. Haven’t felt the consequences???? Have you not seen this sad boi puddle of anxiety mopey mess walking around the school this whole time, almost getting yanked out of his dorm by his bodyguard and dragged all the way back to Drottningholm??? Did you not see him seething every time August was in the vicinity???? Did you not spot his raw red eyes from crying in his ridiculous wig???

“Yesterday was a mistake.” Simon says it, not because he doesn’t have feelings for Wille, but because he’s jaded. It will never work between them, they are not equals, there’s a whole institution hellbent on making sure that they never get back together. And Wille decides to try to level the ground.

This whole argument. It hurts so much. Of course Simon is hurt, at being lied to, at feeling like he can’t trust Wille. But we know that he really doesn’t understand, that he really would not get anywhere by reporting August. The fact that he says to Wille that he is the royal family, that he’s just like them, just like his mum… But we’ve established that yes, Wille hid the truth to protect Simon, just like Kristina hid the truth to protect Wille, but their motivations were different. Wille really truly wants to protect Simon, whereas Kristina protects her son and by extension the royal family.

Wille trying to control his panic attack in the music room. He feels like he fucked everything right up again. My poor baby. (Also, he just told Simon that it was August, and Simon can do whatever he wants with that information, and he’s probably worried that the thing he was trying to protect Simon from will actually happen…)

“Okay, so it wasn’t because it’s him.” Jan-Olof doesn’t answer, instead changes the subject. Duh.

”What a fucking snake.” “We always knew that August was an asshole.” “Yeah, but I meant Wille.” Simon turns like he was about to say something, but doesn’t.

Rosh being as good a lawyer as August’s dad. Give me Lawyer Rosh walking into court with her cow-print coat, please.

“Wille is right, people like them never get convicted.” Depressing truth. Rosh has a good point too, but it’s still bad advice. “Don’t you want everyone to know what August did?” The thing is that the royal family can probably manage to cover it before it even gets out, even after he’s gone to the police…

“Erik never had to give any speeches before he was of age.” This points so hard to how different Kristina treats Wille. Erik was, for all we know, the perfect Crown Prince, he didn’t have to make up for anything. Wille has to make up for past “scandals”… he has to clean up his image a lot, become the perfect Crown Prince in no time. Kristina probably thinks of this as pushing Wille to power through into his role of Crown Prince. Fake it till you make it. She’s sizing him up for his role, for whether he will be committed to it.

Now she poses the possibility that Wille may be deemed unfit. Or wether he'll be able to produce heirs. He’s fucking sixteen… “We risk upsetting the entire system of government.” So much for modernizing. Kristina has proven again to be old-fashioned and homophobic.

“I can’t force you. And I shouldn’t have to either.” Bullshit, Krissy. You’ve just mindgamed/mindfucked him into doing it, by revealing strategically that August is his backup. That was your plan all along. This whole conversation is so manipulative. “You have to remember that your decisions not only affect you. I need you on my team, Wilhelm.” Fuck you, Krissy. What about being on Wilhelm’s team instead, for once?

Wilhelm touching the broken frog prince snow globe, like he’s consulting with Erik...? Or like he’s realizing that the frog prince is free from his snow globe prison. It was terrible at first, it felt horrible for the snow globe to smash, something precious broke, but… now the frog prince is free…

But I love that Wilhelm wants to think about himself for once. And not in a selfish way. He’s weighing his options.

Sara not understanding that it’s not Felice’s decision who purchases Rousseau, and storming out.

Wilhelm finally opening up completely during the session, trusting Boris, making the tea and being very expressive.

“There was the real Erik, and then there was Prince Erik.” Erik had more training for his role, he was the first born, Wille was the spare. As far as everyone knew, Wille was never expected to step into the role…

“I know that I should be grateful for everything that I get, the honor, the privileges and everything, but how hard can it be?” He is aware of his privilege and he is aware of what is being asked from him in return, and he hasn’t realized that he would give all those up in a second, if it weren’t because he feels bound by duty.

“I do owe them, I have to do all this.” “Do you really?” Good, Boris, good.

I’ve said it before and I’ve said it again. Wilhelm drinks hot tea like a Viking. Dear god boy, your tongue, your throat, the roof of your mouth... (@makingupachangingmind pointed out that water in psychologists’ offices is always lukewarm, but it’s not… Wilhelm just boiled the water himself, and as he pours both cups you can see the steam. That is freshly boiled water. Obviously poor Edvin was not made to drink boiling tea during the scene, but for all intents and purposes Wilhelm just drank really freaking hot tea because he doesn’t mind how hot it is. It’s like he’s trying to kill something inside of him.)

And then Boris gives him permission to think about himself. To be a bit selfish.

By possibly giving August everything he’s ever wanted, Wilhelm might gain something much more important and valuable: his freedom, and the freedom to be with Simon.

August is playing chess with the same third year boys that turned on him before (they’re even almost in the exact same places and positions as the day they voted for Vincent). Like there’s no longer bad blood between them for voting him out of his prefect position. But knowing August, it’s simply because he doesn’t have to be resentful about that anymore, because what he knows that they don’t is that he’s about to be the top dog, once it becomes obvious that he’s the next in line to the throne.

I like that Malin calls Wille by his first name, not Crown Prince. I know that most of the time, people don’t have to address him that way, but often they do, so for Malin to be so familiar with him it’s nice.

Sara seeking comfort in August, and August being sweet. Ugh, I hate him so much, stop making me like you.

“If I let him take over, I could be free. From all this, I could be free with you. But if you go to the police, then I won’t have a backup anymore. I won’t have a choice. I can’t be free. I’ll be betraying my whole family, betraying Erik. I don’t want that.” This whole speech, it’s so simple and beautiful. Wille is finally doing what Simon asked him to do last season, to figure out what he wanted, something that he had to do on his own. And Wille figured it out, but even when he did it on his own, he was thinking of what Simon wanted too. Wille wants to be free, but it’s only worth it if it’s to be with Simon… so he exposes his feelings, he tells him what he wants, and what he hopes, and then leaves the choice completely up to Simon.

“Did he just say that he’d give up the crown for you?” Is one of the most iconic lines from this season, along with “they don’t have names”. I need a t-shirt of each. The look on Simon’s face as he realizes that yes, the boy he loves would literally give up everything for him, he would give up being King of Sweden, if it means he gets to be with Simon... If Simon will have him...

Jesus Christ, August is also giving up a part of himself, something that he felt was so important… for love. AND He looks so freaking cute looking at Sara… Goddamn you August.

Him talking about being King August and Queen Sara… like it’s in the bag…

Sara being sour still about Rousseau and making Felice feel terrible… it’s not the people that are buying Rousseau that she’s angry about, it’s not entirely about Rousseau being sold either, Sara feels helpless because it’s just another way in which she’s acutely aware of how much she doesn’t fit in with her peers. If she had the money, she could buy Rousseau for herself… But instead she has to depend on Felice’s family making “the right choice” of new owners for Rousseau, which let’s face it, Sara wasn’t going to be happy about absolutely anyone who might be interested in buying him. “What does she expect, for you to keep Rousseau so she can keep riding him?”

Wille waving his pencil to catch Simon’s attention… And that whole conversation whilst talking about the book… ugh, my heart. Simon finally understanding the pressure that Wille has on his shoulders, and Wille apologizing for it, and Simon forgiving him and understanding that it's not so simple and that it's not his fault, and basically saying that the ending is unknown so there’s hope… And Sara in the background being like “what’s going on between these two”. And Henry being Henry, of course.

“I mean she killed herself.” Ugh, let’s hope this is not foreshadowing of anything. (Unless it could be something about Erik…?)

LINDAAAA MY LOVE. We didn’t get enough Linda this season and it’s really upsetting. What’s even more upsetting is that Linda is so excited that Simon is in a relationship again with someone “caring” as far as she knows, that she doesn’t realize that Simon is uncomfortable with the conversation. Linda, I love you, but read the room. And of course Simon won’t say anything because he technically IS still with Marcus.

“Tampoco los voy a abochornar si vemos a la Reina (I won’t embarrass you either if we see the Queen)”. Now please let THIS be foreshadowing of the first time Linda and Kristina meet, PLEAAAASE. Not the embarrassing part, the meeting part. Please let them meet, please let them interact, please let Wille and Linda be super sweet with each other and for Kristina to realize that they have a warmer relationship than she has with her own son. Please let Kristina watch how Linda and Simon interact and realize how different that is from her relationship with Wille.

Sara tells August that Simon knows, like a little snitch, but she truly hopes that August will do the right thing, because she doesn’t understand how August works. What August knows that Sara doesn’t is that he gains nothing by confessing to the crime, as his stepdad told him. So now he has to find a way to save his ass. And that means sinking Simon somehow. (The game of chess is foreshadowing, though, throughout the whole show. August needs to be several moves ahead of Wille and Simon somehow. And someone pointed out a while back that, in the first episode, when Wille and Alexander are playing chess, Alex checkmates Wille, which is also foreshadowing to the next episode, where he has a role in pinning Wille and Simon…)

Simon thinking about how to tell Wille that he’s still going to the police… But Sara and Henry interrupted… Simon added a “But…” and then they came in and Wille had to leave because he felt physically ill.

EDIT (2023/03/23): I just realized I was wrong as I was rewatching most of this scene yet again (for fic research purposes, strictly) and it’s Wille who says “but…” then trails off when Sara and Henry come up. I don’t even want to know what he was going to say, because it doesn’t matter anymore, because after he has a breakdown and Simon comes by his room, Simon clarifies that he’s not doing it to hurt him, that he needs to do the right thing, and Wille says he knows and that he’s not trying to stop him. So we know already that whatever he might have said before the interruption was best left unsaid , perhaps. Maybe he would have protested, bargained a little, tried to sway Simon’s decision, and that would have negated what he said before, about it being Simon’s decision. So he kept quiet. He could have easily asked Simon to talk in private, try to talk him out of it, try to stop him, but he kept quiet, letting the reality of Simon’s choice to sink in, accept his fate. He needed to accept Simon’s decision, whatever it was, for Simon to trust him fully again.

After he throws up and as he’s brushing his teeth, he sounds like he's wheezing, he’s having trouble breathing. He's feeling weak, getting into bed without even taking his shoes off and rolling himself into a blanket burrito of pain and sadness... Because he knows that he will never be free, he will never be with Simon… he’s trapped forever… my poor baby…

“Are you mad at me?” No, Simon, you know he’s not… it’s just a tiny little thing of his whole world crumbling down…

Wille understating how sick he felt, because he didn't want his own feelings to influence Simon's decision. He's putting Simon first, because he loves him, even if if it's at the cost of his own freedom and happiness.

Simon seeing the frog prince/frog king snow globe smashed and Wilhelm keeping it on a little plate in his room, with all the jagged broken pieces, he probably doesn’t know the story behind it, but he must deduce then that it held a lot of meaning to Wilhelm, that he wouldn’t simply throw it out just because it smashed.

“But it’s scary.” “It’s scary for me too.” They're both scared, of the consequences of their actions, Wille is scared of having to be Crown Prince, of disappointing people, and Simon is scared of fighting for nothing, of things staying the same, of pointlessly fighting the system and perhaps other consequences… but they’re also both scared of the same thing, of being without one another, of having to be apart, of losing each other… they were so close, and suddenly everything goes up in smoke…

Wille tentatively reaching for Simon’s hand, and Simon letting him take it, caressing his fingers. They're both so resigned. “What will happen to us?” “I don’t know…” Kind of like the ending of Kris by Karin Boye…

They hug, and they both get a hit of oxytocin. It’s like Wille’s dream at the beginning of the season, breathing in each other, feeling at home and safe in each other’s arms…

And then they give in, for one last kiss, perhaps… then they look at each other, silently asking each other “can we at least have one last time?” So much has been written about this scene already, about all the built-up desire and yearning and aching bubbling to the surface, about them thinking that this might be the last time that they get to be together, so they decide they will have one last night together, just in case, to cherish forever. To assure each other that it’s the circumstances that are keeping them apart, not themselves. They are in. They are it for each other. To know that they love each other, that this was real and intense and worth fighting for, even if they can’t be together in the end, might help them survive.

I just want to fixate on three instances: this moment when Simon’s aching and yearning come through in his face again, in that little frown, and then it disappears in an instant as he melts into the kiss, into Wille’s arms, and he breathes in and relaxes and lets himself enjoy this, enjoy the taste and the smell and the feeling of Wille again…

And the best kiss in my opinion is this moment, when Simon takes control, as he climbs onto Wille’s lap like he’s been aching to do for so long. Because it’s obvious that Wille has always been hung up on Simon, it’s obvious that his feelings for Simon never went away, that he was in it the entire time… But Simon tried to hide/push his feelings away so much, get over him, move on, he tried so hard, but now he’s done fighting it, and he lets his desire take over. Get on top, take control, ravish him. Hands on his hair and on his face, kissing him desperately, grinding against him, chests rubbing, heavy breaths, devouring his neck. It’s so intense and beautiful… the song choice is chef’s kiss. It is holy.

And of course, the moment where Wille manages to ignore his own pleasure, his own elation, long enough to have the presence of mind to close the fucking curtains. Simon looks momentarily conflicted, at the sudden darkness, but then Wille lets out a nervous little chuckle, as if he’s asking “is this okay?” And Simon smiles. Yes, it’s okay. With that simple move, Wille regains control of his own narrative, for him and for Simon. They regain their privacy. They are safe with each other. At this moment, the world outside disappears, shut out completely, and it's just them.

I don't know how many times I've rewatched this episode, but I never not lose my shit over every single beautiful Wilmon moment...

Next episode is just me screaming and yelling at the screen...

This episode is brought to you by OXYTOCIN™.

[idreamofcrackinglocks]

Watching Mama Mia and I just keep wondering what Simon and Wille’s opinions on Abba are.

[missezri]

It is an important moment for them both to figure out what they want. It is clumsy and awkward because, they are teenagers and that is the moment they are having.

Second to this, when we are both introduced to them in Season 1, there is a set up expectation of, Wilhelm and Felice being together is what the wider society expects of them. Felice is rich, popular, so of course Wilhelm should want to date her. For Felice, Wilhelm is a prince, cute, why shouldn’t she get off to photos of him?

But as they hug it out they next day, there is the realisation that while they care for each other, neither is who they really want. I think this is important especially for Wilhelm who is feeling forced into doing what is expected of him. It is another step towards him realising that ‘get over’ what he and Simon had isn’t something he can just rebound on (much like Simon tries to do with Marcus, again because that is what is expected of him).

Part of being a teen is messing up. Part of telling a story, is having moments of character growth and realisation.

Looking at people’s thoughts about 2.3 and I… don’t feel strongly negative about the Wille-Felice kiss? It seemed like a pretty realistic teenage moment. They resolve things pretty maturely. They stay friends afterward and don’t harbor awkward romantic feelings for one another. It wasn’t an example of cheating, even.

In an AU without Simon (admittedly the lack of Simon would be sad) I might be rooting for Wilhelm/Felice? In an AU where Simon was more bisexual I’d happily be rooting for a Felice/Wilhelm/Simon triad???

My multishipper heart feels a lot of things at once.

[misfithive]

YR S2 “I lied” thoughts (ramblings)

This is random and I’m sure been discussed but i think it was really important that Wille said “It was a moment I didn’t want to share so I lied about it”. He could have easily said he was told to do it or blamed someone else or just been more passive about what happened. But it was important for him to actually take accountability and take back control of the situation.

It’s esp important to Simon that Wille acknowledges he did have a choice. It was obviously a really messed up situation and it makes sense why he denied it. But owning the decision and giving a real reason is important in gaining Simon’s trust back bc he is taking responsibility and not just blaming his circumstances. Bc yeah his circumstances are not ideal but it’s always gonna be that way -Simon needs to be able to trust that Wille is going to be there for him, have integrity, and make his own decisions regardless of the circumstances. It is kinda a lot to ask given the extreme of being a prince but Simon has always treated Wille like a regular person. It also wouldn’t be an fair/healthy relationship if Simon was just always having to bend to Wille’s circumstances.

[alliwantistowearcomfypants]

I fucking love that young royals really highlights the fact that no one can fix you but you. They have Wille and Simon trying to work around the horrible things going on together, and it doesn't really work because the biggest problem is that Wille is suffering so much under what the are trying to push through. At the beginning of s3 they have the "as long as I have you" kind of mentality and we see how quickly that falls apart. Having each other is not enough, and it shouldn't be. Wille needs to leave the life that is destroying him. Having simon in that life made it better, but it still was not enough. Simon recognizes that at the end of s3e5. Wille thought that all he needed was Simon because he has been so horribly mistreated by every adult in his life that the moment he is shown some unconditional love, he clings to it. Because, let me remind you, this kid is 17 years old. The ending is so incredibly impactful because Wille is finally choosing himself and his happiness. Not Simon's, not his moms. His. And that is beautiful.

[retrieve-the-kraken]

“(It also could be that he’s not comfortable letting loose like that around his peers anymore, now that he knows his behaviour at Hillerska could get recorded by someone like August and have him plastered on the tabloids).”

Another very good point.

Also, this just gave me an AU idea: what if Wille had died or nearly died of hypothermia in the football pitch?

(Dammit, I haven’t finished my current WIP, please don’t give me new ideas…)

One thing I can't stop thinking about is how Wille canonically has not consumed alcohol or any substances since when Simon had to come and rescue him from the football field scene. He didn't consumed anything in the Hillerska parties and even denied booze offered by Vincent. Like, either he swore them off after he realised that how much trouble he caused to Simon and then all the Alexander debacle, or he didn't like it anyways and he took them only because he is "supposed" to and that incident was the last straw for Wille. Either way, it's just so fascinating to me because Wille isn't even aware about Simon's trauma associated with substances because of Micke, and yet he subconsciously did the exact thing Simon was expecting Micke to do since years. Like, we all know that this boy is ready to give up his position to be with Simon, but he is also unknowingly making choices for Simon's well-being. They are just so perfect for each other.

[noodlearg]

i love how wille went from telling simon the exact words his mother told him

“it’s a privilege not a punishment”

to telling his mom exactly what simon told him

“i’ve seen how it makes you feel”

[echo-and-dust]

from dawning realization to absolute fear in his eyes.. (props to malte he is such a good actor)

something something you made your bed now you gotta lie in it