#young royals s2 spoilers

[suledins]

YOUNG ROYALS | 01.06 & 02.02

I cannot be your secret again. And I think that we... we can talk in school. We kinda have to, at rowing and stuff. So you mean like friends? Mm-hmm.

[allweleftunspoken]

wille during that one sad scene in s2:

[retrieve-the-kraken]

I don’t know if someone has already said this, but to me sending Wilhelm to Hillerska was never about him adopting the right routines or learning responsibilities. And it wasn’t, like the Queen said, about keeping him from scandalous situations or making sure that they don’t arise. Sure, maybe it was a part of it, but not the only reason. Ultimately, it was about keeping Wilhelm a secret.

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.

Or at least we hope.

[wilhelmsimxn]

the therapist and also a couple of random students during the final speech scene:

[mandycantdecide]

okay but Wille keeping the snow globe even though it broke was so sad

[hehehereliesmysanity]

S3 first scene leaked

(x)

[littlebabywille]

🚨 SOS 🚨

[fanaticallyfleeky]

Cute domestic shit

[allthefakepeople]

wait ok ok

everybody come with me on this

i don’t have the physical evidence of this BUT i noticed something about certain simon/wilmon scenes this season that added a different meaning regarding costuming (also i have no idea if someone else has already noticed/mentioned this, but if you have i am sorry)

i wish i could provide the evidence but for now you’ll just have to trust me and go back and rewatch s2 hahah and it’ll probably get a bit long so i’m sorry about that

as we know, the costume department had simon wearing purple in scenes where simon’s feelings for wille were growing, while orange kind of represented when they felt further away but but but

there were multiple scenes this season where simon was wearing orange OVER something purple (and there were a few scenes where he was noticeably wearing purple) which was super interesting for me

the most notable one was when simon goes to marcus’ to hook up with him that first time. he’s wearing orange but you can see a hint of a purple shirt under it which could represent how even though simon is trying to move on with marcus (the orange) his love for wille will always be an undercurrent in their relationship/scenes together (the purple)

another one i can think of is when first assigned they’re book and wille is talking to simon about marcus and simon admits that they’re hanging out but not together. yet again he’s wearing a hint of purple underneath something orange which hints at the fact that he’s feeling conflicted because he still loves wille but he feels super far away from him

another scene is when wille is thought to be leaving hillerska. the scene where they come to take wille, simon is wearing a purple shirt over his yellow/orange one

follow this scene by when he goes to train with rosh, where he’s wearing the Purple Hoodie™️ for the first time all season and he literally says to rosh “i don’t know why i can’t fall in love with [marcus]”. the purple hoodie being a focal point in this scene is almost declaring the reason why he can’t fall in love with marcus is his love for wille

another important Purple Hoodie™️ moment this season (let it be known that i’m pretty sure he only wears that hoodie like 2 times this season) was during the iconic book project scene where they’re essentially confessing to each other through it.

ALSO the fact that maroon is shade of purple and simon was wearing his school uniform (which is kind of a redish purple) when him and wille kiss for the first time

i’m sure there’s more scenes but these were just the initial ones i noticed on my rewatch (if someone wants to somehow provide the evidence that would be so wonderful but i promise i’m not going insane) 

ANYWAYS this post was just thought up to prove that despite how fractured and far away wilmon seemed at some points throughout this season, simon was still feeling that love for wille throughout even if it wasn’t outwardly showing at times

thanks for coming to my tedtalk

[pipedreams13]

There’s this-

And then there was this (upon which i am stil losing my shit over)-

[suledins]

every wilmon kiss: [21/?] - season 2 episode 6

[missmeganlee]

I FUCKING CANT WITH THIS

[jay-wasstuff]

I know Wilhelm was flabbergasted by that turn of events

[barrowsteeth]

Are you official now? At least he's open about liking me. He wants me to meet all of his friends and he likes it when I sing. And you mean I don’t?

[alltoowille]

i can’t believe they made Wilhelm hug himself while wearing Erik’s jacket and have a sex dream about Simon and light a picture of August on fire and shut the door on his mom and break the fourth wall again all within the first two minutes of the show. i will not be surviving november 1st

[hehehereliesmysanity]

Wille saying Simon's name in his speech... "It was me in that video that leaked last term." At this point everybody knows what video he is talking about but that's not enough. He says "the one with me and Simon." Wille and Simon... That means they are a we now. Well, I am pretty sure that means Simon is definitely not a nobody. He is not some boy from Bjärstad. He is not some dirty secret of the prince. He is a person and he has a name.

Wille not only admitted in his speech that he is queer but also he was/is involved in an emotional relationship with someone which he also denied in his previous statement. And that says a lot. That means Wille saying Simon is not going anywhere and I think that's very beautiful.