Also Wilhelm: *Simon's cartoon Garfield pencil box* I can't even open it 🥹 Simon can you help me 🥺

So they're "nice" guys, but they're not actually kind or generous?

Marcus in Young Royals is the gay version of that.

He seems great at first. Just the kind of guy that Simon needs around him. Someone who's easygoing, who likes him, who supports him, who's uncomplicated and open and doesn't require much work.

He seems perfect.

But Simon doesn't want to seriously date him, and he tells Marcus that, and what does Marcus do? Does he say, 'oh, that sucks, I really like you, but if that's how you feel, then that's how you feel; guess we'll be just friends'? Nope. He completely ignores what Simon is telling him, but he disguises that in sympathetic language and a veil of "nice" , manipulating Simon into acquiescing to the more serious phase of their relationship--beginning right at the moment Simon was making it very clear that he did not want to date Marcus!

And it's not lost on me that Marcus is at least 2 years older than Simon. Simon is 16 like Wille, who can't use the shooting range without the supervision of somebody older than 18, and that supervisor is Marcus.

If Marcus is supposed to be mature enough to supervise minors in handling firearms, he should be mature enough to know when he is manipulating one of those minors. And I think he does know. And it's gross.

So by the end of the season, Marcus just made my skin crawl. Which is maybe unfair, because he's young too and I can't expect him to be perfect at relationships at that age. But the whole scene where Simon is breaking up with him for good, Marcus is totally that "I did all the things that a person is supposed to do to make someone fall in love with them so you are supposed to be in love with me and the fact that you are not makes you an ungrateful selfish prig" guy.

Which means that Simon was wrong, when he told Wille that Marcus accepted him as he was. Because if that were true, Marcus would have respected Simon's desires.

Marcus seems perfect, but he's just better at hiding his flaws than Wille is. And he might be perfect for someone else, someday (when he realizes there is no formula that guarantees romance, and that someone not reciprocating his feelings isn't a character flaw they need to overcome--you know, the things Wille fully understands by the time the Valentine's dance comes around).

Marcus seems perfect, but these flaws are part of why he's not perfect for Simon (or maybe anyone, right now).

Season 1 conversation:

Wilhelm: It was August.

Queen: I know.

Wilhelm: how long have you known?

some more stuff.

Wilhelm: how can you protect him?

Queen: I'm protecting you.

Season 2:

Wilhelm: it was August.

Simon: how long have you known?

some more stuff.

This is what wille’s been feeling this entire time, this is what he was repeating to himself over and over again ever since Erik died (probably even before that), he thinks he has to be able to handle everything, the scrutiny, the pressure, the traditions. Up until this point he was aware there were other options, but he never fully thought about it, abdication was never an option for him, he kinda assumed this is how his life was supposed to be. His ideas and words in this scene are a reflection of what he’s been taught his entire life: “no matter what, you have to be able to handle this, this is your responsibility”, we even saw in s1 ep1 how Erik himself tells wille ‘he has to stop being selfish’.

the first time we saw wilhelm and simon kiss in this season was in ep 1, and it was in wille's dream. technically it won't count since it was inside the character's head right? but that's really not the point rn

the point is the season started off with wilhelm's dream about simon, and we're greeted at once by the boys breathing in sync. matti bye strikes again with an amazing track called "dreams", as it plays when wille is actually dreaming.

moving on to episode 4, during the masquerade ball, the two boys kiss. actually kiss. but then what do we notice?

heavy breathing. breathing together, taking each other in.

and the music.

"dreams" is playing in both the situations.

at first i didn't really think too much about it. but then again it's young royals and every damn thing has a reason.

then it struck me. wille initially dreamed about being with simon in ep 1. but it was in ep 4 that he actually got time alone with simon, kissed simon, for the first time in weeks (maybe months).

the reason it's the same breathing patterns as the one in his dream, the same dreamy music playing in the background could imply that wille is probably still in that dreamy state. it feels unreal for him, that he has the privilege of touching simon again.

but right after both the scenes the kiss stops abruptly in each case.

in ep 1 its when wille starts to wake up and hears the palace stuff engaged in their morning tasks. in ep 4, marcus interrupts them as he calls out for simon.

in ep 4, the parallel with ep1 shows how their kiss was so dream-like and unreal for both of them. but they're forced to stop when they wake up or when they have to face the reality of the situation they're in.

HELLO LGBTQ+ COMMUNITY

how it ended

[“I understand that what I did to you is unforgivable”]

— he doesn’t actually mean he knows what he did was morally wrong. He means that he knows what he did broke rules, defamed the Royal court, ruined his friendship with Wilhelm, the Crown Prince.

We see where August’s values lie when he shares exactly what he took out of the situation, which was,

[“I have accepted that you will hate me for the rest of your life”]

He understands ethically that what he did was illegal, and that there are serious consequences to it, but the extent of his shame and guilt only goes as far as its impacts on the Royal Court and his standing with the Royal Family. He thinks Wilhelm just hates him for posting the video, rather than hating him for all the flow on effects that it has caused, such as Wilhelm being forced to lie, his break up with Simon, his fallout with his parents, the lack of trust he has for everything August represents at the school, the loneliness of feeling completely abandoned by everything and everyone that was supposed to protect and support him.

He tries to speak for Simon here, as if he knows what Simon wants, when in reality it’s the complete opposite. He removes Simon’s agency from the relationship and the situation.

When Simon confesses his love to Wille in episode six, he says this:

To which Wille responds:

This is an open dialogue between them, one which Simon opens by subtextually asking Wille what he wants. Wille’s opened this dialogue in episode 5, when he tells Simon where he’s coming from, what he wants, and what he’s willing to do to get it. And Simon responds in kind here: this is what he wants and what he’s willing to do to get it. Unlike his relationship with Marcus, he doesn’t try to force his opinion or feelings onto Wille, and doesn’t assume how he feels.

I feel like after the roller coaster of events this season we kind of forget about it and it might not seem that significant compared to everything else (it certainly doesn’t to Wille, at least at first).

But for Simon who has to fight for every opportunity he gets, this was one in a million chance to get some recognition for his talent and to open some future possibilities. So I totally get his frustration when all of it was taken from him and not for some valid reason but because of something he has no control over.

I feel like during the music room fight Simon was so annoyed with Wille not only because it was their relationship that ruined this opportunity for him but once again because of the difference in their position (like in this scene ↓)

and in season 2, simon says "I want to be with you" and agrees to be in a secret relationship with wilhelm but then wille once again ends up taking the different route and admits that he's in the video and publicly acknowledges his involvement in the video with simon

just something about wilhelm gaining hold of his own narrative and reclaiming the freedom of speaking his mind that he very much did not have in s1, and standing out in the open to SPEAK it, is just so powerful.

his speech in the jubilee event was righting whatever went wrong or whatever he had no say over, by conveying it through something he conflicted over the whole season aka the speech.

Tucked away in the middle of nowhere in a boarding school where the press can’t catch a whiff of anything, and it can’t damage the image of the monarchy. What happens in Hillerska stays in Hillerska, and the Queen knows this very well, having attended there. She talks about going to wild parties at the Palace and being aware of the culture of drinking and drugs and sex and partying, because it’s encouraged. It is an environment that fosters secrecy, that enables bad behavior and keeping it under wraps, it is part of the code, both the Royal code and the Hillerska code.

So Wilhelm could do whatever he wanted over there, he could be as wild as he had been before, he could do anything, hook up with anyone, the important thing was that it would stay out of the news, out of the public eye.

Except that it didn’t.

(It was a particularly big deal that the video, “the truth”, was revealed by August, one of the strongest advocates for the secrecy code, the one that claims that they could kill someone and get away with it… so for him to break the code of secrecy is brutal… but it’s worth pointing out that he only did it after Wilhelm broke the code himself, when he revealed in front of the members of the secret Society that August had financial problems. An eye for an eye…)

So maybe the whole commotion regarding the video being public wasn’t so much about Wilhelm being queer, although it probably was in part, but mostly it was about him being queer on a video spread all over the internet. It was about how public it got, how very un-secret it became.

And the only way that the Royal Court resolves to fix this secret coming out is to cover it with more lies. The show itself opens with a lie, when Wilhelm has to give a statement saying that he’s willingly going to Hillerska, and the season ends with him lying about being in the video, hiding his own identity, having to pretend that August wasn’t behind everything, and having to hide his relationship with Simon. Then season 2 is about him dealing with the aftermath of all of that, with complying with the secrecy, being offered new ways to stay secret (Nils and his invitation to Verbier, to hook up with men that will be discreet, etc).

Wilhelm is never really okay with secrecy, he is an advocate for privacy. He doesn’t want to say anything but he doesn’t want to hide either. He is not ashamed of his sexuality, but he is worried about how it reflects on the monarchy, on his family, his brother, and he is stressed about having to maintain appearances, having to hide his anxiety, having to be a public figure, having to be basically perfect, or at least perceived as perfect.

Wilhelm is very aware and a victim of the toxic masculinity around him, and it makes me wonder where he gets it from: from little things like when he looks annoyed when August talks about getting with Felice before she develops self-esteem (to which, to my dismay, Erik did laugh) or being affectionate with his brother or being a perfect gentleman when Felice kissed him and when she apologized for kissing him, to bigger things like being close friends with Felice and refusing to participate in “on the table” and of course, revealing his relationship with Simon on national television.

(Wilhelm does, unfortunately, play into the toxic masculinity a lot this season, because that is what often happens in toxic environments, in masculine competitive culture. You have to “play the game” if you want to survive, and Wilhelm sees that the only way to get revenge on August is to play the same game: playing with power, taking away power, being dominant when he wants to get into the party and when he dismantles the seniority hierarchy in the dining hall, when he challenges August knowing that he has him “by the balls”, cheating during training, lying to Alexander… and ultimately pointing a gun at August. All of these things are enabled by the environment of Hillerska, and they work for a while, but they definitely don’t work with Simon. What ultimately helps Wilhelm get Simon back is showing all the non-toxic qualities that he already possessed: being kind, being honest, owning up to his mistakes, being patient, giving him space, letting him go, even if it hurts like hell… It’s obvious that Wilhelm is not perfect, but fortunately Wilhelm never aims for perfect, he aims for good.)

(It’s worth mentioning that, as a monarch and as a former student of Hillerska, Kristina was probably a victim and a perpetrator of the same toxic masculinity, competitive culture, because as a woman in a male dominated world, she probably also felt that she had to play the game. She continues to enable this culture by maintaining the secrecy code, to her own detriment and the detriment of her son, but she probably knows no other way. But we’ve already talked at length about this. EDIT: I forgot to add that I think that’s part of the reason why she looks so disconcerted and tense when Wilhelm says what he says during his speech, because she’s scared, because she’s aware that it’s a toxic man’s world out there, and it’s particularly harsh and toxic for anyone who doesn’t fit into the masculinity role, that means women like her, queers like Wilhelm, and minorities like Simon… )

Simon also likes his privacy, he doesn’t need to be public with Wilhelm, until the whole thing comes out, and Wilhelm is forced to lie. Then of course he feels awful, like he’s some dirty little secret. He doesn’t understand that that’s just how Hillerska works, how the monarchy works, that is the secrecy code, and he doesn’t understand the pressure that Wilhelm is under to continue to uphold that code. That is until he has a secret of his own to hide, the drugs he stole from his father, and that he has to protect himself and his family. When he finally understands that the secrecy is a monster that he will never defeat, he realizes that maybe it’s not worth fighting it anymore, the important thing is to be with Wilhelm, to be able to love him, no matter what, even if it has to be in secret. As long as there are no more secrets between them.

And that’s when it hits Wilhelm. The moment that Simon tells him that he’s okay with being a secret, is the moment that Wilhelm realizes that he is not okay with that, that he doesn’t want any more secrets at all. He realizes that he will always be trapped in one lie after the other, always be a victim of the secrecy code, unless he puts a stop to it.

So he tells the truth. The ultimate truth. “It was me in the video. Me and Simon. I lied because it was private. But it’s me.” In one single moment the video goes from a raunchy sex tape to a horrible violation of privacy, he condemns the “unknown” perpetrator of this violation, he makes it seem that it was his choice to lie and absolves the Monarchy from having forced him to lie, he advocates for privacy, he regains control of the narrative for himself and for Simon, he condemns secrecy, and he sets himself free.

The truth will always set you free.

Simon does not respond nor react, he just nods and lets Wilhelm walk past him.

The scene after, we see Simon almost dazed and unfocused, even the camera looks unsteady which I think shows how Simon's mind is running hundred miles an hour.

Here I would like to thank whoever was in charge of the music because the song that plays after (Never Let Me Go by Stephen William Cornish) and the lyrics say "never let me go, don't go"

Which I think is GENIUS of them to use during that particular scene.

During those few minutes, Simon faced the reality of Wilhelm letting him go and accepting that they won't be together. Simon thought that this was what he wanted all along. However, as soon as Wilhelm actually voiced that out, he realized that, no, this isn't what he wants.

He doesn't want Wilhelm to give up on them, doesn't want Wilhelm to be the nice guy who talks to his "new boyfriend", he doesn't want Wilhelm to just give up on him.

So at that moment, he decides to finally follow his heart that followed Wilhelm outside as he walked away.