Young Royals, a Netflix original Swedish teen drama, is back with its third season that revolves around the aftermath of the Crown Prince’s coming out as a homosexual man and the acknowledgement of his relationship with Simon in public. In the third season of Young Royals, Wilhelm and Simon finally get out of the closet and hold each other’s hands in front of everyone in the school, but their union is short-lived when the two of them realize how vastly different they are from each other in terms of their social status and ideologies. Let’s dive deep into the third season of Young Royals to see if this will be the end of their relationship or if they will still find a way to be with each other regardless of their differences.
The streaming giant has just released five of the episodes from this season, and the final episode of this series is set to be released on March 18. Based on these five episodes, let’s discuss the plotline of the third season and understand the dilemmas the characters have been going through.
Spoilers Ahead
Did Simon’s Family Sue August?
In the opening of the third season, we saw Simon’s mother trying her best to bring August to justice because of what he did and how badly he destroyed Simon’s peace by leaking that video. But in the Royal Court, where the discussion was set, the royal attorney told Simon’s mother that the lawsuit might bring significant damage to the royal family’s image, so August’s family would like to settle the matter with the payment of a substantial amount of money to Simon’s family, but Simon’s mother didn’t agree at all, as she wanted to give justice to her son and didn’t want to deal with a law that would back only the privileged. As Simon had still been seeing Wilhelm, his mother didn’t like it and grounded him for weeks.
However, Simon and Wilhelm continued their relationship and flaunted their relationship in public, making it evident that the crown prince wasn’t afraid at all regarding his sexuality and wanted to embrace it. However, Wilhelm, coming from an elite background, didn’t understand that, being a powerful person, he also had some responsibility towards the entire queer community, who were not as privileged as him to be vocal about their problems. But despite the fact that Simon wanted to think about them, Wilhelm often overlooked this serious matter because all he wanted to do was have a peaceful relationship with the love of his life.
What Was Erik’s Deep, Dark Secret?
The late crown prince of the royal family, Erik, was Wilhelm’s elder brother, whose passing had left a deep scar in his brother’s mind, causing him to get violent and isolated at times, as seen in the previous seasons of this series. Wilhelm had always compared himself to his brother, realizing that he could never be like Erik, who was the apple of his mother’s eyes. Wilhelm’s coming out as queer also caused the royal family a significant problem, which was the reason why Wilhelm continued blaming himself for being unable to live up to his mother’s expectations. However, in this season, Wilhelm finally came to know that his brother Erik wasn’t the saint everyone thought he was.
It was found out that when Erik was in the school, he was associated with the school bullies, who had forced the freshmen into watching adult videos and punished them once they were turned on. When it was revealed that Erik was actively in this group and took part in these activities, it crushed Wilhelm’s heart, making him realize that his brother had been a bully. For a long time, he struggled to deal with this information and contemplated discussing it with Simon, thinking that his boyfriend might judge his brother, but Simon wasn’t really a complicated man, as for him, Wilhelm’s happiness had always been the first priority. So he patiently listened to Wilhelm and told him that Erik might have been forced into joining this group and carrying out these activities. However, when Simon compared Erik with his own sister, Sara, as both of them did something unforgivable, it somehow deeply bothered Wilhelm. Simon realized that Wilhelm failed to open up to him, as somehow the comfort in their relationship was lost because of all the events unfolding around them, so it might be better for them to take some time away from each other and live their lives individually.
Meanwhile, Felice had been dealing with the absence of her best friend in her life as Sara was at home. The rift between Sara and Felice took a huge toll on Felice as she realized that losing a friend hurt more than losing a boyfriend.
Did August Try To Get Reformed?
In this season, it seemed like August had a desire to finally get reformed and be a better person, but the way he was associated with his group of bullies, it was hard for him to get out of it. It was revealed that August had previously been a subject of bullying when he was a fresher in the school, which deeply traumatized him, but he always had this tendency to mask his vulnerable self underneath a tough and twisted persona. That’s why he decided to be friends with the bullies so that he would never have to worry about getting bullied anymore. However, in the upcoming episode or in the next installment of the series, we might expect him to become a better person who will learn how to take responsibility for his actions.
What Happened On Wilhelm’s Birthday?
On Wilhelm’s birthday, Simon was also invited to the royal palace, where Wilhelm’s parents warmly welcomed him and celebrated the prince’s birthday. However, while Simon tried to get accustomed to these royal celebrations and the Swedish culture and traditions, a little problem appeared between Wilhelm and his mother. The Queen wanted to take some rest after the birthday celebration was over, but for Wilhelm, it seemed like her mother didn’t want to spend the special day with her son. It angered Wilhelm, who unleashed his fury upon his parents because, despite the fact that he had accepted his sexuality, deep down he was still insecure about his relationship with Simon. He always felt like his mother didn’t love him anymore because of the life he had chosen for himself. However, both Wilhelm’s father and mother tried to convince their son, but Wilhelm was deeply upset.
Why Did Simon Break Up With Wilhelm?
Finally, Simon realized that he was the root cause of Wilhelm’s problems and that he was unable to stay happy and at peace with his family. Moreover, Simon also realizes that there was actually nothing common between the two of them because not only were their social status and ethnicities different, but they had conflicting ideologies regarding society and politics as well. While Simon strongly believed in democracy and socialism, Wilhelm always supported the system of monarchy, which was the reason their ways of seeing their community were different. While Simon wanted to look out for the bigger picture when it came to homosexuality, Wilhelm’s problems were much more localized because he only cared about his own problems with his boyfriend. Witnessing these huge differences, Simon was almost determined that things were not working out between them, but when on Wilhelm’s birthday, he acted out on Simon, unleashing his anger upon him, Simon realized that he couldn’t continue compromising for his boyfriend because, in this pursuit, his individuality would be lost. Finally, Simon and Wilhelm sat close to each other, and while Wilhelm couldn’t control his tears, demanding some comfort from his boyfriend, Simon told him that he had decided to part ways because their relationship hadn’t been working out. It shocked Wilhelm, as it seemed like no matter what happened between them, Wilhelm had never imagined leaving Simon.
In the upcoming final episode of this season, let’s see if there is any chance for Wilhelm and Simon to get back to each other or if the couple will finally call it quits in the third season of Young Royals.
