For Everyone Going Through Everything We're All Going Through Right Now...

The beauty of cinematography in YR s1

The Federal Aviation Administration is reportedly looking to cancel a $2.4 billion contract recently awarded to Verizon to overhaul a communications system that serves as the backbone of the nation’s air traffic control system. Who will replace Verizon? Elon Musk's Starlink of course. The grift that keeps on grifting.

This also connects well to how, in season 1, Wille accuses Simon of committing an act that is "so fucking low" by supposedly dealing drugs -- while he never says anything similar to August for actually USING said drugs. Classism and poverty.... and double standards.

while attempting to Avoid Thinking, i landed on a conclusion somehow about how August and Micke both play similar rolls in showing how drug addiction can look when compared between upper and lower classes.

also how they both sort of show why Wille and Simon's understanding of the drug incident were so violently different.

because while Wille doesn't know that August is addicted, he does know that he regularly does drugs and even partakes in it himself. drugs are something that you do for fun sometimes, not a hug deal. besides, Erik did them too, so they can't be THAT bad. (but of course he does also know they're illegal and he can't be caught doing them, but he's the Prince so he really can't be caught doing much of ANYTHING so what's the harm, right?)

but Simon has Micke as an introduction to drugs and the effects they can have on not only your own life, but the lives of those around you. drugs ruined Micke's life, and they damaged Simon's family. they aren't some fun hobby that you do sometimes, they're addictive and destroying and dangerous.

and tbh I had always had kind of a hard time seeing either side of their argument or fully understanding why they were behaving as they were, but this actually... helped a lot. so cool :]

Hi. Hi, hello, hi. I did not see this in my ask box, I apologize.

BIG BRAIN ENERGY.

Yes. That is exactly what's going on. Simon and Wille see drugs in two completely different lights. And it also shows the stark contrast of a drug addicted rich person and a drug addicted lower class person. Micke is addicted and it ruined their lives. Simon even says "you couldn't even get sober for mine and Sara's sake." Micke gets addicted and neglects his responsibilities. He wastes money, he can't look after his children, he can't keep his marriage intact. Problems like that don't go away in Micke's world. If he wastes money, he doesn't have anything to fall back on. If he can't take care of his children, he loses them.

But August does not face consequences. Firstly, because he does not personally have many responsibilities. Not yet, at least. He has money at his disposal, so he isn't neglecting anything or anyone other than himself when he buys them. And in August's world, when trouble comes up, the problems conveniently go away. Even his money problems disappeared - the Crown payed for his school, which then allows him time to figure everything else out. If he were to get into trouble because of the drugs he does, it would stand to reason that those problems would also disappear.

Simon sees drugs and he sees destruction. Wille sees drugs and he sees a Friday night. They see the consequences of the drugs as two completely different things.

Simon knows what it does to a person, and Wille knows what it does to a system. And drugs hurt a person a hell of a lot more than they hurt a system.

I have so many thoughts about this.

The YR parallels are paralleling!

Thoughts and predictions based on the clip and on season 1 and 2, which I spent way too much time on writing.

Both in season 1 and 2 Wille isgazing longingly at Simon in Singing and/or playing piano. In season 3, he's also gazing longingly - but now they're together.

In season 1 and 2 we see Wille in front of mirrors so many times - but now it's Simon who's up for the scrutiny. And mirrors means parallels, parallels all the way down.

It's Simon who's standing in front of the mirror, and Wille is walking, moving, observing him.

This means that this season, Simon will parallel Wille's previous seasons, with media scrutiny. And boyfriend drama.

And what do we know about Simon? He's a boy with many secrets.

Lisa Ambjörn mentioned before, I think in an ask on insta, that all her main characters have a secret that they think will destroy them if it came out. And by now, we know all their secrets - or do we?

August: his family is broke, but even worse, that he posted the video.

Sara: she knew August posted the video, and that she was in love with him.

Felice: the sale of Rousseau. And the things she told Sara in the stables.

Wille: that it was him in the video, that he's in love with a boy.

Simon: that he sold drugs and booze. But is that all?

There are several parallels between Simon and August, such as their dads being addicts, having divorced parents, and having less money than their peers. The court asked for August's passwords to his socials. Nobody helped Simon lock down his accounts. He turned off his phone after the video, Rosh and Ayub came to his house to see him because he didn't answer them. So anything he posted would be there.

Nils is also a parallel character to Simon, they have a lot in common right? They're both gay, they're poc, neither Simon's nor Nils's family have generational wealth. And what does Nils do? He's on Grindr.

For those of you who've seen SKAM, you'll remember that Isak went on Grindr too. It's a common thing to explore. So it's likely - VERY likely - that Simon has or has had a Grindr account. He may have posted pictures there too. Imagine those pictures being spread online, that'd be both traumatic, a publicity nightmare - and potentially cause boyfriend drama; how would Wille react? I very much doubt "It's better not to tell unless someone asks" Simon has told Wille about his sexual history, if he has one. Despite his "No more secrets between us" from last season.

I couldn't find the right gif so you'll just have to suffer watching Wilmon kisses. How sad.

Jumping back to to happier parallels: Wille walks over to Simon and says hi. This is a reverse character parallel to when Simon walked down the closet corridor, where he kissed Wille for the first time. But now there's no closet! And again, this time, Wille and Simon are reversed. More hints that Simon's storyline will parallel Wille's from season 1.

Simon and Linda are there to make a joint statement statement. As a parallel to the first season - except this time, it's not Wille who lies, saying things it's obvious that he doesn't mean. It will be the queen who doesn't mean anything of what she's saying:

"In season 3 episode 1, the unresolved plot and the parallels dictates a statement supporting Wilhelm and Simon must come from the queen, possibly a joint statement with Linda. The queen will be forced to give it, it will be filled with lies, and she will not mean what she says. As a consequence,she is thrown into a new and scary situation where her position is under threat"

We don't know exactly why, only that it's not pleasant. The media must be going crazy. In season 1, the statement lead to Wille becoming a boarder at Hillerska. It's very likely that this statement will lead to Simon becoming a boarder at Hillerska. As we've seen, he's mirroring Wille now! That means there may be an initiation - a harmful tradition it's unlikely Wille would want Simon to go through.

On the other hand, I suspect he may very well parallel Sara and leave again. The interesting question is whether Wille moves in with the Erikssons in Bjärstad instead.

Wille says "I can't believe you're here, while he looks at the room he's in, and Simon mirrors him. That's a parallel to when Wille came to Bjärstad and said Simon's room was cozy. It's the wrong gif but I couldn't find the right one and that's one of my fav scenes, you'll just have to suffer it.

@books-books-smolderinglooks hit the nail on the head with these parallels - the first pair of gifs are from when Wille invited Simon to stay over at Hillerska after parents day, the last is when he says "I can show you" and Simon giddily hums in agreement. It's shot with the exact same angle on Simon's face, so we know what Wille wants - and we know exactly what he dreamt of. And again, this is a season 1 parallel.

And now we see the giddy smiles and playful behaviour from the lake date. Note that Simon invited Wille to Bjärstad, and Now Wille invites Simon to ...his room, probably. It also reminds us of when Wille invited himself to hang out with Simon in Bjärstad right before Erik died. This suggests that something will happen that may tear them apart. And it's probably related to some secret that Simon has, possibly related to his socials, to Grindr and whatever he did on there. Woops.

And here's the thing. Young Royals is heavily influenced by the Norwegian show SKAM. Even Wilhelm's name is the nickname Noora gave William in season 1, to mock his status. And Noora has a past that is revealed, and a plotline that is pretty traumatic, and I'm beginning to suspect that Simon have a similar past. I'm very happy about this though, because to me, their story was pretty problematic at times, in ways Young Royals is not.

Go watch SKAM if you haven't! [Head over to @skamenglishsubs on desktop to watch with English texts.]

To end on a happy note, Wille says, "They won't start without us." As long as they stick together, they have a lot of leverage now! And Wille isn't afraid to use it. This also reminds me of when Simon asked Wille to skip class - again, their roles are reversed.

Looks like we'll get them together for a Bjärstad repeat, but in the palace, to shore us up for the drama that is coming. With a huge potential for boyfriend drama too. BUT also with an equally huge potential for Wille and Simon challenging the toxic traditions at Hillerska - and the royal house itself.

happy boys 🥹❤️

Then vs now:

Gif by @youngroyalscentral

The important stuff hasn't changed :)

FIRST LOOK AT YOUNG ROYALS SEASON 3