My Reheated S3 Take Is That August Not Getting A Scene To Apologize To Simon And Wilhelm Not Getting

feeling totally normal about their matching rings! (i am feeling insane)

WILHELM & SIMON in YOUNG ROYALS Season 3 (eps 1-5)

Anybody else sad and angry about the treatment of Wilhelm and Simon as characters and wilmon as a relationship in s3 and how much they were done dirty?

How Wille was such a shitty friend towards Felice and a shitty bf towards Simon, deliberately ignoring both of their troubling predicament and feelings about Sara in pursuit of his own happiness and was never there for them and put his own issues behind for once, no, it was always Simon and Felice who had to swallow down their own feelings and support him even when they weren't feeling good and he never even seemed to notice or care.

I hate how Wille was painted as extra selfish and self-centered this season and unaware of his privileges and not once truly acknowledging and recognising that and his own faults and taking responsibility for his actions. Or being interested in speaking up and inspiring change and not wanting to hold up the status quo. And stopped going to therapy and working on his anxiety and other problems. I hate how he regressed from S2 and any of his growth and parts of his character were ignored for the message they wanted to convey. I love him to bits but S3 Wille is not my Wille. Honestly it's character assassination and it makes me furious.

And there being such an emphasis on the negative and the narrative making Simon suffer so much and be so miserable for most of the season. It sucks. Also Simon reacting the way he did to online hate, him being uncharacteristically naive and clueless and putting so much weight on what people say on the internet about him. I understand it's something that affects you and they're both teenagers who don't always behave rationally and their situation is a lot to handle but I still expected from Simon to understand their circumstances better because I think of him as clever and smarter than to be against having a private insta and responding to trolls.

I want to put a huge disclaimer that this is not me hating on the characters! I love them both and that's why this behavior is so upsetting to me. I'm not so much judging them, I'm more judging the writer's decisions for these character developments.

If you have to twist your characters like that to make your plot work and bring across your message then maybe that plot is not working...

And how wilmon was never allowed to have good communication and growth but only had fanservicey makeout moments in between the fighting and always talked past each other and were not truly able to be there for each other and work with each other as a united front and have meaningful conversations about their lives and get to know each other better, which is all we wanted from s3. But instead they were torn apart and their relationship made worse and worse, only succeeding on proving how incompatible they are and what a terrible couple they actually make.

And no, it was not necessary to do all these things. I absolutely refuse to accept the argument that this is all the crown's fault and that's the excuse for Wille's behavior and they could've never been happy and Simon has to give himself up and lose himself. No. That is a choice. The writers decided this is the only way they can bring their message across and get to the outcome they wanted. I'm not saying there shouldn't be any conflict but we could've had problems and drama that built off of what has been established in s1 and s2, showcasing the growth they both went through and find a way for them to work it out and be genuinely happy boyfriends in the season. The writers just didn't want that.

It truly makes me upset that I can't even enjoy their "happy"/makeout scenes because they are only enjoyable out of context but I can't appreciate them for real because it doesn't actually feel earned and they were only little reprieves in midst the miscommunication and Wille and Simon were not really in a good place for almost all of it.

And now I'm supposed to be happy for them and believe that everything is fixed and better in the future without them having given me any indication about it in the show? Ignoring facts that will always be true for them. Being in the public eye. Having to deal with hate comments. Wilhelm always being a part of the royal family. That allegedly they don't have to deal with any of that in the future anymore?

They specifically made this arc and made their gap and differences so wide and severe in s3 to tell me they are not capable of working through and handling these things together that will realistically always be a part of their relationship no matter what but I'm supposed to be rooting for them?

Like any of their mistreatment is justified and worth it for the "happy" ending they got and makes it all okay. It is not, they were done dirty and they (and we) deserved better.

I really appreciate this take & interpretation. These lines from Wille in S1 & S2 ("you're the only one I can talk to") have always kinda bothered me even though they're really realistic so simultaneously I also appreciate them. I agree they're not intentionally manipulative, but to me they are evidence of some deeply problematic dynamics still at play (which Wille works through by the end of S2).

To me, these are examples of times Wille is trying to be vulnerable and reach out... but is not doing so in a particularly emotionally aware or empathetic way. It's all about him. He's still working on developing the important skill of mentalization, which makes sense both because he's a teen + because he was raised as royalty. These statements are all oriented around his needs (to not feel alone, to have someone to talk to) rather than about Simon or about something mutual between the two of them.

I know people love the St. Lucia hug & kiss, but tbh if I'd been Simon, I would have been pissed and would NOT have hugged him then. Like: You don't have anyone else to talk to? Honestly that's a you problem - sorry. You should stick up for me & have my back because you want what's best for me, not just because you want what's best for YOU (and don't want to lose your only confidante).

A more empathetic & emotionally intelligent communication approach would have been, for example, "I don't want to lose you because I care about you + *also* I don't want you to have to get kicked out of school. That would be messed up and I don't want you to experience messed up things. I want to show you that I care about you by putting you first and proving I'll advocate for you." If I'd been Simon, I would have preferred that statement a whole lot! But I think it's useful & very telling that that's *not* what he got. Yet.

But also Willie is manipulating Simon telling him that and it worked in season 1 but not in season 2 and i think that was Lisa’s intention. Re “you are the only I can talk to”

The post in question Your ask is so interesting that I had to go back and rewatch the scene. Is what he's doing emotional manipulation? I disagree, but not by much. Wille isn't consciously or subconsciously trying to make Simon feel guilty so he doesn't leave him. Instead, he's being vulnerable and open, sharing his own fear.

Neither does he use a "pity my poor feelings" strategy, which is another manipulative way of gaining sympathy. He knows what he did to Alexander is wrong. He admits to being selfish.

Even if it wasn't manipulative, what he did and said was not okay at all. That's underscored by the specific lyrics of Samurai Swords being played when Simon walks over to hug him, so crucial they're texted: "I am leaving, I'm unleashing, I unravel to the leeches, I'm unpleasant, I'm not loving, I'm not loving".

It's a genious song choice btw, because it both explains the characters' feelings about themselves, it's also massive foreshadowing.

What I love about that scene isn't that Simon is hugging a distressed Wille, it's that it so clearly shows that Wille is aware that his behaviour is very far from ok, and that the music drives this point home.

YOUNG ROYALS 3.06

Young Royals S2: A Summary

Wilhelm: “Wow. Can’t believe I’m going to burn the entire Swedish monarchy to the ground for this nerdy little choir boy I met six months ago.” Literally everyone else: “You don’t have t-” Wilhelm: “No, I’m gonna.”

These men just stole the personal information of everyone in America AND control the Treasury. Link to article.

Akash Bobba

Edward Coristine

Luke Farritor

Gautier Cole Killian

Gavin Kliger

Ethan Shaotran

Spread their names!

@tvmicroscope's latest post on the blog, if you wanna read:

tvmicroscope.substack.com

What’s wrong about Pizza? – The ‘Pizza’ metaphor (example: “Young Royals”)

Why I'm sceptical of a pizza date...

But what about this scene below?

Pizza & Kebab on a Bjärstad walk with Wilhelm!