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[ailidh08]

Thing is, she might have done lots of fanservice but at the same time she added too much angst that did not make their relationship develop and in fact it just served to make them fight and fight and fight and they completely forgot about the book scene from s2 that served the purpose of making the audience see that they finally understood each other’s point of view only for them to completely erase it and make the have useless fights instead of communicating. She used fanservice just to then justify the fact that she found a billion ways not to let them grow together and talk properly.

The fact that she thought it would be a good writing idea to make ANOTHER parallel with Henry interrupting them while they were having a honest conversation blows my mind fr. I’m so mad she chose to do that and then also to cut the lake scene.

Not to mention making Simon break up with Wille at the end of ep5, when if that was her plan all along, she could have made it happen in ep4 and have 2 episodes to make Wille actually grow a bit and then make wilmon get back together by mid episode 6 at best. She just copied and pasted s2 finale with the last minute endgame and it’s maddening. Also absurd to think a boy could have this massive growth in just 4 days be for real.

Yes to all these.

The Wille we know can send an SMS or whatever to Simon for apologizing, but cannot write what has been left hanging in the air when Henry interrupted them? He just did not do anything about it? Yeah, but NO NO NO. Before they were not properly boyfriends, but after at least sucking each others' faces off everywhere at Hillerska and not caring about if others can see them, Wille SHOULD HAVE SENT a message at the least.

S3 has many many many flaws, and I cannot even have the motive to write a LONG post about each scene that did not make sense, etc etc

[ailidh08]

saw a tiktok of a mother taking her very tiny daughter to an art museum and she’s just walking around going “whoooa” “woooaah” to everything but then they got to a marble statue of a nude woman lying on her back and the girl points and goes “mommy🫵” and i just immediately welled up with tears and all the comments are just laughing about it and of course it’s funny but how are you not insanely moved by the way art connects everyone on earth from a centuries-old sculptor to a toddler in 2023

[ailidh08]

Obsessed with the Young Royals finale.

Obsessed with Simon, Sara, Wilhelm and Felice driving away from a shutdown Hillerska, free from a system which was never going to accept them, happy and together.

Obsessed with how there’s still a chance Hillerska could reopen because that system is next to impossible to take down and the upper-class rarely face real consequences for their actions.

Obsessed with August’s face when he saw Wilhelm walking away, realising that he was trapped. Wilhelm said August was the heir they needed but he couldn’t have been more wrong - that man has bucket loads of trauma, an eating disorder he isn’t even close to ready to confront and no support system around him, he’s not gonna do much better with the role of Crown Prince than Wilhelm did.

Obsessed with Nils coming out to his friends and them easily accepting him, because their issue with Simon really was the fact that he was poor and a socialist, and Nils both still believes in the system he’s in and his queerness doesn’t destabilise the system the same way Wilhelm’s does.

Obsessed with Stella ending up with Fredrika, because although Rosh might have been fun to hang out with for a night Stella also still believes in and upholds the system she belongs to and Rosh was never going to fit in that system or uphold the traditional feminine values needed to survive in it.

Obsessed with how the monarchy is portrayed as unchangeable and impossible to modernise because it’s built on such outdated ideals.

Obsessed with the mix of both happy and open-ended endings.

I just adore it so much

[ailidh08]

If you think Wille giving up the crown and freeing himself means he will continue to have no interests or hobbies or goals outside of being with Simon then you missed the entire point of the ending.

Wille was never given the luxury of choosing his own hobbies or his own interests because he always did what was expected of him. He was forced to take music lessons as a kid. He joined the rowing team because that’s what his brother did. He partook in royal duties in season 3 because he felt like he had to. He has no idea what he likes or what he wants to do because his life was always planned out for him, even more so when he became the crown prince.

When he frees himself from the expectations of the crown and his family at the end, he’s now free to figure out what he likes, what he wants to do, where he wants to go. The world is finally his oyster. He’s fucking 17-years-old. He has all the time in the world to figure it out. I didn’t have the pressure of the monarchy and I had literally zero clue what I wanted to do. Wille has all the time in the world to figure it out. He doesn’t have any practical skills, but he’s also literally 17-years-old. In what world does even a regular, everyday 17-year-old have any or all that are needed? I personally didn’t even get a job until I was 19 and didn’t enter my current career until I was 26. He has time.

By choosing himself, Wille also chooses Simon, because Simon is and always will be a part of him, but that doesn’t mean Simon will continue to be the only thing in his life. The ending of the series is also the beginning of a new chapter in Wille’s life - where everything is unwritten and the possibilities are endless.

[ailidh08]

wille and simon both returning the ever-symbolic Crisis at the same time? sick. simon playing with the turf on the field? twisted. an edm remix of revolution playing at the party? vile.

[ailidh08]

In case y'all were wondering, every side character's first and last appearance is with the same people.

Henry and Walter's first and last are together.

Stella, Fredrika and Maddie's first and last are together.

Rosh and Ayub's first and last are together.

Nils and Vincent's first and last are together.

like it literally came full circle for them all I'm sobbing

[ailidh08]

One of my favourite things about Young Royals and its characters is how much it romanticizes being utterly ordinary.

Stories often focus on characters who are exceptionally good at something or who are more ambitious than the average person. Even in the teen shows I’ve watched, these young characters always seemed to have their dream career and dream university figured out at a young age and I could never relate to that because I had none of those things figured out as a teen. It always felt like pushing this narrative that teenagers need to have their entire lives figured out before their brains are even fully developed.

None of the characters in YR seem particularly ambitious and in fact, the main character’s journey is a story of anti-ambition. When he is introduced to Simon, it is precisely Simon’s ordinariness that draws Wille to him. Sure, Simon is a very talented singer, but it’s never indicated within the series that he has dreams of being a pop star. It’s just something he likes to do. Simon is motivated by very ordinary things - he wants to do well in school so he can have better opportunities for himself, he wants to take care of his family, he wants to hang out with his friends and play video games. He’s a dedicated student but not necessarily valedictorian. It’s not his ambition that Wille is drawn to but his integrity and kindness and warmth.

Wille had a chance to be extraordinary - to be Sweden’s first gay king - but being extraordinary has never been Wille’s ambition. Wille’s ultimate goal and dream within the series’ narrative is to be free to make his own decisions and live his life as he pleases. He just wants to kiss his boyfriend and get drunk at parties and live his life one day at a time instead of spending every moment of his life preparing for an inevitable future he doesn’t want. In the end Wille is extraordinary not for his ambition, but for his bravery to reject the expectations thrust upon him and throw himself into the unknown and see where it takes him. Wille had a whole future in front of him as crown prince and future king - he’d never have to work a day in his life and would have people advising his every move - and he rejects that. This lack of ambition is not portrayed as a moral failure, but a necessary step in Wille’s journey to personal self-discovery and fulfillment of his own desires. His desire right now is simple - be free with Simon, but that doesn’t mean his dreams end here forever. He deserves peace and tranquility after all the trauma he’s been through without having to worry about where or who he’s gonna be in a few years. He deserves time to just exist.

None of the characters know where they’re going when they drive away at the end. We as the audience don’t know what careers if any these characters will find themselves in, but that’s also not important to this story. The series is saying you don’t have to have everything figured out when you’re 17 and you don’t have to do something just because your parents think they know what’s best for you and even if you don’t know exactly what you want to do, that doesn’t mean you don’t have the agency to know what you don’t want.

It’s not a moral failing to want the simple things in life or to be ordinary, and I love that Young Royals celebrates that. It shows the beauty in simple moments that feel revolutionary to a person - touching the person you love, forgiving someone and making amends after a hardship, whooping with your friends in a car as you drive into the summer and celebrates them. Ultimately these are the moments that make life worth living.

[ailidh08]

fucking love when I'm on a call with someone and they start to do a little errand or go somewhere else and they say "and you're coming with me" like. absolutely I am let's go on an adventure I've been spirited away

[ailidh08]

Kristina is all like, I’ve been having a hard time so I’m just taking a mental health break and wille just goes, I totally get u mom I’m taking a mental health break too. Forever. Peace out, bye ✌️. Like he saw the only opening he’ll probably ever get and absolutely ran with it

[ailidh08]

call me your highness the way I'm bouta munch on this astro turf

[ailidh08]

5 times Simon sees that Wilhelm isn't free

And 1 time he did

[ailidh08]

Can someone please eat this poor woman’s pabellón 😭😭

[ailidh08]

One thing that’s really rubbing me the wrong way about some people’s 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 he’s gonna be in for a rude awakening after the ending when he realizes the attention on him isn’t gone just because he’s giving up the title of Crown Prince and life as a normal person isn’t going to be an easy or smooth road.

To me it seems like the message has completely gone over some people’s 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 again… 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 he’s never felt like he’s had a choice. He didn’t choose to be born into the royal family, and as he points out to his mother, neither did she. The public didn’t 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 it’s his birthright is exactly what Wille is actively fighting against.

Another common thread I’ve seen thrown around is that Wille has no personality outside of Simon and I think people need to realize that one’s hobbies and interests do not define their personality. Wille very much has a personality and he had one before he met Simon - he’s 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 doesn’t know and we see him telling Henry and Walter they’re 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 that’s always been there. We see how detrimental this is not just to his relationship with Simon, but with Wille’s relationship with himself. How exactly is Wille supposed to find what he’s passionate about when he’s 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 “everything is fixed now and Wille will have a totally adversity-free life with Simon.” Nothing is fixed and nothing is certain, but at least he made a choice. He’s going to stumble and he’s 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 doesn’t have to pick a hobby or interest that’s 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 family’s money. He’s not gonna be destitute and that is indeed a privilege that Wille is aware of. Should he stay in a role he doesn’t want simply and that makes him miserable because he’s privileged? For all we know, maybe his family will cut him off and he’ll literally be on his own, and that’s a risk he’s willing to take to be, in his mind, free.

The public is not suddenly going to lose interest in him, but at least he won’t 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. It’s 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 worker’s March - he smiles when he sees it - but that he’s 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 don’t think this is fair to say at all, because Wille was unhappy with his position even before he met Simon. He hated that he couldn’t 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 didn’t feel like he had a way out, and funnily enough, that’s for the exact same reason people are dunking on him for now - because it’s the only way of life he knew. He didn’t see a way out and it’s through being with Simon that his extremely narrow view of the world gets challenged and he’s 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 would’ve been happy in the role if not for Simon, which I don’t believe is true. He’d 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, doesn’t it?

I find it kinda funny how much the internet preaches that it’s 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 he’s a 17-year-old without any interests or hobbies. Wille’s entire struggle is with having his life completely mapped out for him and it’s like with him giving up his role people are now questioning the fact that he doesn’t have an entire life mapped out for himself. I spent my time when I was 17 blogging on tumblr and doing nothing else and didn’t go to college until I was 24. I’m 29 now and I’m still learning what I’m passionate about. To treat Wille’s 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 it’s 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, couldn’t find a job, and then went back to school for something else is endless. This is all part of the human experience and it’s 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 Wille’s 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 can’t choose who we are born as, but we can choose how we want to live, and that’s exactly what the ending is saying, and that’s what Edvin meant when he said the ending is open. Wille’s 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.

[ailidh08]

[ailidh08]

I love Felice so much! Her journey of finding her authentic self while also becoming aware of and finding words to express her experiences with the racist microagressions she's facing every day is so beautiful and validating.

Starting out as a sheltered upper class girl who do so much to fit in and be like the others, with friends who only care about her because of her status and how it improves their status, to the life changing friendship with Sara who makes her feel seen and valid and loved just as she is.

"I don't know what to do. I can't wear this. It just doesn't feel right."

The process continues in season 2 with her both embracing her natural hair, challenging her parents' social expectations by giving up riding because she doesn't enjoy it, and gradually realising that the way she's being othered is wrong, and rejecting that, instead embracing her blackness.

After losing the friendship with Sara she also stops wearing makeup, as a part of her mourning, but she also allowed herself to show her natural face at school, which is a huge thing. I think we see another version of that self-love when at the last party, she's put on white eyeliner, something that looks really good on brown and black skin.

Forgiving Sara is an act of self-love for Felice. Sara helped her love herself, and accepted her just the way she is. She gives up the friends who never saw her or cared about her as a person, instead choosing Sara because she realises that their friendship is genuine and allows her to be who she is, her authentic self.

[ailidh08]

honestly though what was the royal court thinking. you really decided to give the job of media training simon to wille?? who is notoriously hard to control with his behavior and what he says?? the kid who came out to the whole country and caused a domino effect of scandals with his first speech to the nation. that kid. was gonna give his boyfriend media training. farima girl come on

[ailidh08]

okay but imagine being Linda in this situation like: you got married a while ago but he turned out to be an alcoholic and just generally a bit of a loser so as soon as you aren't at risk of being homeless anymore you divorce him and it may be tough but at least you got your two wonderful children out of it and you decide you're going to raise them into good, responsible, polite and hard working people. They've always been a bit different, your daughter is neurodivergent and gets along with horses better than with people and your son is a really polictically active gay musician who probably wants to sing at some point in his life. Neither of those things are paying really well but you'll be damned if you don't support their dreams. So you make them work hard at school so you can get them into this really popular and renowned boarding school where they can follow their dreams. All of your good parenting and support pays off and they actually get into said school.

Within a year both of them get involved in a national sex-scandal involving the royal family, your daughter sets a building on fire and now owns a horse and a car apparently, while your son briefly dealt with drugs, fistfought a guy, changed the schools anthem and also made the current crown prince abdicate by being a bit too woke and cute at the same time. Also the school closed down due to all the shit your children were involved in and your son owns a lot of money now.

Like- Linda really just released two well raised children into the upper class and watched the system crumble. Queen behaviour nobody is doing it like her.