One thing thatās really rubbing me the wrong way about some peopleās reaction to the ending is the way people are talking about Wille. I see comments that essentially imply he is nothing without his privilege backing him, that he has no personality outside of his relationship with Simon and heās gonna be in for a rude awakening after the ending when he realizes the attention on him isnāt gone just because heās giving up the title of Crown Prince and life as a normal person isnāt going to be an easy or smooth road.
To me it seems like the message has completely gone over some peopleās heads.
No part of me felt while watching the ending that everything is now resolved and Wille will live happily ever after without any adversity ever againā¦ No?
The point is he finally has a choice where he ends up.
Wille literally explains this to the Queen in the final scene - that heās never felt like heās had a choice. He didnāt choose to be born into the royal family, and as he points out to his mother, neither did she. The public didnāt choose who inherits the crown. None of them chose it. Wille wants a choice. By staying in this role and doing what is expected of him simply because itās his birthright is exactly what Wille is actively fighting against.
Another common thread Iāve seen thrown around is that Wille has no personality outside of Simon and I think people need to realize that oneās hobbies and interests do not define their personality. Wille very much has a personality and he had one before he met Simon - heās always been the type to question the status quo and why things are the way they are. In season 1 episode 1, before Wille meets Simon, we see Wille scoffing at being made to mingle and pose for photos with people he doesnāt know and we see him telling Henry and Walter theyāre allowed to have their own opinions when they mindlessly agree with everything he says. If anything, he starts losing this side of his personality because of the restrictions the crown puts on him. Wille falling in line with his expectations throughout the series takes him further away from this side of himself thatās always been there. We see how detrimental this is not just to his relationship with Simon, but with Willeās relationship with himself. How exactly is Wille supposed to find what heās passionate about when heās consistently being told that these are the things he should care about, this is how he needs to look to the public? This is all a very intentional narrative choice to demonstrate why Wille staying in his role is detrimental to his mental health and his ability to grow personally.
The ending is not saying āeverything is fixed now and Wille will have a totally adversity-free life with Simon.ā Nothing is fixed and nothing is certain, but at least he made a choice. Heās going to stumble and heās going to continue to make mistakes and a life path is not going to construct itself for him, but at least he now has a choice. He doesnāt have to pick a hobby or interest thatās considered suitable for him. He can get tattoos if he wants to. He can get married or not get married. He can have kids or not have kids. He can go to university and study whatever he wants, and yes, he will still have his familyās money. Heās not gonna be destitute and that is indeed a privilege that Wille is aware of. Should he stay in a role he doesnāt want simply and that makes him miserable because heās privileged? For all we know, maybe his family will cut him off and heāll literally be on his own, and thatās a risk heās willing to take to be, in his mind, free.
The public is not suddenly going to lose interest in him, but at least he wonāt have to concern himself with the royal court dictating how he and Simon act or appear. He will no longer feel like he needs to control how Simon conducts his social media presence. Itās very clear in s3 that Wille is not personally upset with Simon for posting the song or the picture with the little boy at the workerās March - he smiles when he sees it - but that heās worried what the royal court is going to think about it.
As far as the idea that Wille giving up the crown at the end was indeed for Simon because Wille has no identity without Simon, I really donāt think this is fair to say at all, because Wille was unhappy with his position even before he met Simon. He hated that he couldnāt even do something silly and reckless without issuing an apology. He hated that he had to uproot his entire life because he made a mistake and his family was trying to save his image in the eyes of the public. The thing is, before he met Simon, and before the events of the series, Wille didnāt feel like he had a way out, and funnily enough, thatās for the exact same reason people are dunking on him for now - because itās the only way of life he knew. He didnāt see a way out and itās through being with Simon that his extremely narrow view of the world gets challenged and heās finally able to see a way out. Did Simon inspire him to do what he did? Of course he did. This entire concept is materialized through the scene where Simon tells Wille that he never had a choice who he was born as and that he sees how the monarchy makes him feel. To say that Wille gave it up for Simon implies, to me, that Wille wouldāve been happy in the role if not for Simon, which I donāt believe is true. Heād still be miserable but perhaps feel less like he has the agency to do things about it. Getting to be with Simon at the end is certainly a big part of why he did it, but that also just kinda goes hand in hand with his own personal freedom, doesnāt it?
I find it kinda funny how much the internet preaches that itās never too late to figure out who you are or what you wanna do and I see people acting like Wille is somehow doomed because heās a 17-year-old without any interests or hobbies. Willeās entire struggle is with having his life completely mapped out for him and itās like with him giving up his role people are now questioning the fact that he doesnāt have an entire life mapped out for himself. I spent my time when I was 17 blogging on tumblr and doing nothing else and didnāt go to college until I was 24. Iām 29 now and Iām still learning what Iām passionate about. To treat Willeās lack of hobbies or interests as some kind of moral failure or indicative of a lack of personality really, really bothers me and to me his lack of interests and hobbies has always been a very intentional writing choice, and the ending, if anything, gives him all the time in the world to figure that out. He might even develop an interest and then realize itās not for him! The amount of people I know that went to college for what they thought they wanted to do then dropped out because they changed their mind, or graduated from school, couldnāt find a job, and then went back to school for something else is endless. This is all part of the human experience and itās going to be an entirely new journey for him, but that part of his journey did not a part of this particular story, and in that way, the ending is open. It also helps that regardless of Willeās wealth and privilege, education in Sweden is FREE.
In the end, the message of the ending is exactly what Boris said to Wille in season 2: we canāt choose who we are born as, but we can choose how we want to live, and thatās exactly what the ending is saying, and thatās what Edvin meant when he said the ending is open. Willeās road is not suddenly going to be perfect and easy, but at least all of his choices, including his mistakes and struggles, can be entirely his own.
germansingergirl
stormborns
andulkaphoto
yousharknotpass
jacobvanloon
theartofmadeline
2087
prguitarman
gummygunk
baratheonpilled
