Reacting To Young Royals - Episode 5
Added 2022-10-21 10:03:15 +0000 UTCHappy Friday, beautiful people! This episode REALLY got me. Hope you all enjoy <3
Comments
Hi Michael. The advantage of being retired from work is being able to binge watch a whole series on Netflix at 6am. I wanted you to know that I will not be holding you personally responsible (see previous) and I am probably going to be in a very good mood for the rest of 2022. 🫠❤️
Graham & Ruth May
2022-11-01 10:05:41 +0000 UTCFor anyone interested who hasn’t yet seen it, I have posted another link on the update page to a new interview with Edvin and Omar talking about their roles and how they each approach them. Some references to season 2, but only in a general way and no spoilers.
Graham & Ruth May
2022-10-24 20:26:10 +0000 UTCIt’s going to take a lot of willpower to resist peeking at the final scenes of the last episode. Posted a link just now on the update page, of Edvin and Omar on a photoshoot for Gay Times. Stunning images.
Graham & Ruth May
2022-10-23 21:13:39 +0000 UTCYes it would Ruth, but you could well get a situation, dare I say, similar to the Harry and Meghan case, where Harry is still a Royal, but not really but they continously get hounded by the press (particularly the UK press) on a daily basis and it's been like that with them for years now. It'll be interesting to see which route the writers of YR have decided to take on this. If this were real, then the press would constantly hound Wilhelm and his partner, maybe years into the future. Would Wilhelm take that risk if he did in fact decide to abdicate in an attempt to lead a happy gay life with a partner? Hmm - that's the conundrum here! It'll be fascinating to see how it all plays out. I might start with season 2 episode 6 and work backwards! (no - only kidding!)
Michael
2022-10-23 21:09:29 +0000 UTCI so hope you’re right about this, Michael and I will hold you personally responsible if you’re not. Only kidding. That would be a very satisfying conclusion, wouldn’t it…
Graham & Ruth May
2022-10-23 19:11:55 +0000 UTCHi Ruth - a third season would be great of course, but I have what I think is an overall concluding statement that sums up the whole of the ‘Young Royals’ story. Now remember this isn’t a spoiler but just my personal opinion of how it will all conclude. My conclusion to sum it all up is that you can either be a Royal or gay, but you can’t be both. Wilhelm, if he wishes to carry on a gay lifestyle, will have to abdicate his position as the Crown Prince. It’s as simple as that. He can choose either one or the other, but as the famous saying goes, you can’t have your cake and eat it too! My prediction is that he WILL abdicate at the end of the day and will have a relationship with some guy (maybe Simon) as a private citizen. There are many examples where a similar thing has happened in real life. For example, with the British Royal Family with Edward, Duke of Windsor who abdicated his position to marry an American called Wallis Simpson back in the day. It was a HUGE scandal at the time of course.
Michael
2022-10-23 18:53:30 +0000 UTCI also wonder if the writers have factored in the possibility of a third season and if so, whether we’ll have to endure a traumatic cliffhanger last episode to season 2. Hoping also not to have, in my view, a rather too predictable ‘Simon tries to move on from Wilhelm by getting involved with Marcus but can’t forget him and then they get back together only to have their chance of happiness snatched away in the final scenes of the season’ storyline. I bet we do get something like that, though.🥺
Graham & Ruth May
2022-10-23 16:08:28 +0000 UTCshine through. Sorry, that posted itself before I had finished.
Graham & Ruth May
2022-10-23 15:13:32 +0000 UTCOh stop! I can’t wait for season 2 but also feel anxious about it. This is no Nick and Charlie story, that’s for sure, but I am still hopeful for a slim chance of happiness for the boys. An uneasy mix of optimism and cowardice! 🤯 And yes, they are both charismatic guys whose individual personalities and also their friendship
Graham & Ruth May
2022-10-23 15:12:42 +0000 UTCHi Ruth - yes me too actually 😊 - but for me, both Omar and Edvin are very good looking with great personalities (if you've seen the number of interviews/video clips etc that I have, their real life personalities do come shining through). Now, the REAL worrying thing for me is a clue that is shown in the official season 2 trailer regarding Wilhelm's long term future. I won't say what it is here, but I will just point you to where it appears in the official Netflix trailer for season 2 which is at the 1:34 to the 1:37 mark - very disturbing! It's fairly obvious what is happening and it's not good!
Michael
2022-10-23 14:13:25 +0000 UTCActually, this would impede my view of Omar, so, no, I wouldn’t. 😏
Graham & Ruth May
2022-10-23 13:55:20 +0000 UTCI am just toooo invested in this show. Which kind of surprises me, because when I first watched a couple of episodes just after it came out, it didn’t really grab me that much. Around about the middle of episode 3, when I decided to go back to it, I became completely hooked. Hopeless case, now. 🙃
Graham & Ruth May
2022-10-22 21:48:03 +0000 UTCIt’s just Ruth (shared email address etc with my husband) and after watching the official trailer and hyperventilating, I fear you may be right! 😂🫣
Graham & Ruth May
2022-10-22 21:41:40 +0000 UTCWell - I've watched and very closely and carefully examined the season 2 trailer and there are clues in that that I believe tells us what will happen throughout the whole season. I've freeze framed loads of times to catch the translation and work out who is saying what and when. I won't publish my thoughts on this until after Jackie has finished watching season 1 and has seen the trailer himself. It's only my personal views and thoughts which I have concluded from what is actually shown in the trailer.
Michael
2022-10-22 21:07:17 +0000 UTCHi Graham & Ruth - I know, you're going to watch Season 2 with a newspaper in front of your face with a tiny hole in it and peep through the hole to watch the telly/monitor! 😂
Michael
2022-10-22 21:00:12 +0000 UTCMy favourite episode. So many wholesome and tender moments and then those last 5 minutes... I keep reading about August's possible redemption arc in Season 2, for me he is past the point of redemption, an annoying envious little turd who honestly belongs in jail for filming and distributing child pornography. How can he possibly be redeemed?
Ivalani
2022-10-22 16:52:19 +0000 UTCAnd actually, now I am thinking about it, how lax is night time security on the school campus! Booze, parties, clandestine meetings of The Society, you name it, it’s happening! 😂
Graham & Ruth May
2022-10-22 16:45:59 +0000 UTCExcellent word play, sir. 👏👏👏
The Homesick Brit
2022-10-22 16:45:11 +0000 UTCAhh, bless you! That just made my evening! ❤️
Graham & Ruth May
2022-10-22 16:38:57 +0000 UTCI agree on both counts. I love that we as audience members will reap the benefits of that. Personal note, I absolutely love your insights. They always make me smile and think. Thank you for that.🙏
The Homesick Brit
2022-10-22 15:12:36 +0000 UTCAgreed and I am sure that Edvin, Omar and all the cast will be even more compelling now that they have grown closer to each other through the experience of making the show and have so fully inhabited their characters and their relationships during season one. I am thinking the same of the Heartstopper cast too, when we eventually get to see season two.
Graham & Ruth May
2022-10-22 15:09:52 +0000 UTCOn my first watch of the episode, his rewatching of the video only registered as exposition for the audience, letting us know that he was mulling what to do with or about it. On this rewatch, I got the same impression as you, that there was something more emotional and envious there. He is definitely a complex character, and beautifully played by Malte Gårdinger, but I have yet to feel a drop of sympathy for him. It looks like S2 is going to have some fairly intense and wrathful moments between Wilhelm and August. Cannot wait to see how it plays out, especially as a counterpoint to the longing between Wilhelm and Simon. I’m sure Edvin will shine and that the storytelling will be expertly paced, as we have come to expect.
The Homesick Brit
2022-10-22 13:14:11 +0000 UTCI agree, Audrey and I do think August hates himself. That saying that you have to love yourself before you can really love others was never truer. All his self-loathing projected onto others and his sexual insecurity are jointly responsible for so much damage. I want to punch his lights out but I also want to help him!
Graham & Ruth May
2022-10-22 11:00:33 +0000 UTCThe only way I can persuade myself to watch the finale again is by watching Jackie’s reaction to share his thoughts and by reminding myself that it’s important especially for Simon. And that there’s a chance of happiness in season 2, a slim chance, but it’s there. Otherwise, I just couldn’t. 🥺
Graham & Ruth May
2022-10-22 08:09:59 +0000 UTCMaybe I should have said joyless coupling with Felice, as I don’t think sex necessarily has to be in the context of love. Either way, it just looks and feels empty.
Graham & Ruth May
2022-10-22 07:59:32 +0000 UTCReturning Wilhelm’s jacket and takes it herself. (Sorry, inadvertently pushed the button before ending the comment!)
Graham & Ruth May
2022-10-22 07:13:55 +0000 UTCAlexander’s room next door to Wilhelm’s seems to be the sneaky way in and out of the school via the window but also I wonder if they’re more concerned with who gets in rather than if Wilhelm gets out? I only say that because of how the female bodyguard stops August’s
Graham & Ruth May
2022-10-22 07:12:16 +0000 UTCYou’re scaring me! I don’t think I can cope with this unless within the context of an episode where there might be compensation for the stress! So thank you for the link and I have watched all of season one, but I am going to wait because I am a coward..🫣😏
Graham & Ruth May
2022-10-22 07:06:34 +0000 UTCIt’s taken me a while to work this out, but I think the reason that August keeps re-watching the video is that he’s sexually jealous of Wilhelm. At first I thought he was disgusted in a ‘but I can’t help looking’ kind of way, or even that it was part of his general disapproval and envy of Wilhelm but now when I recall the loveless coupling (if you could even call it coupling in any sense of the word) we see him engaging in with Felice, let alone the weird kissing of Sara, I think it’s just plain jealousy of a loving, tender, passionate and reciprocal sexual relationship.
Graham & Ruth May
2022-10-22 06:56:30 +0000 UTCThis will be the third time I've watched the series start to finish. One thing that always seemed strange to me was how Willem's body guards seemed so clingy, but Willem gets out without them so often.
Douglas Rayner
2022-10-22 00:52:29 +0000 UTCLucia is an old swedish tradition celebrated on dec 13th. She is supposed to bring light on the darkest day of the year. Its celebrated in all preschools, schools, workplaces, everywhere really.. every kid growing up in Sweden has stood freecing in countless lucia choirs with stearin running down their fingers in the early hours of dec 13.. I really miss that watching this scene 🥹
annanas
2022-10-21 23:13:11 +0000 UTCI'm starting to panic!!! I've just seen a new clip from Season 2 - oh dear, it's looking stressful - that's all I can say without giving away any spoilers. Link here, but probably best not to watch it if you haven't yet seen all of season 1 yet. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VwaKA0rmkg
Michael
2022-10-21 21:14:28 +0000 UTCSpeaking of goosebumps, did you notice the goosebumps on Simon’s arm in the first 4 minutes teaser for season two? I love, love, love the cinematography of this show, the contrast between the hazy, soft focus opening shots and the stark, mundane reality of the next moments. I love Heartstopper passionately but I don’t think I have ever felt so invested in an on-screen relationship as I do in Simon and Wilhelm’s relationship.
Graham & Ruth May
2022-10-21 19:05:59 +0000 UTCI agree with you that YR evoked a different emotion from me than HS and i think its because i have never seen a romance (straight or not) that made me get goosebumps, butterflies, or more warmth than wilhelm and simon. It made me crave intimacy like no other and their chemistry was so tangible.
Nikki Sivakumar
2022-10-21 18:09:27 +0000 UTCI don't know if anyone told you already but Saint Lucia is a Swedish holiday, to celebrate midwinter, before Christmas!
elisa
2022-10-21 17:11:13 +0000 UTCWilhelm is Crown Prince. The Queen would have okayed the deal but a suggestion from the Crown Prince is as good as an order,
Dennis Verner
2022-10-21 17:10:55 +0000 UTCthis episode makes me so emotional, I think it's the fact that we see the boys being happy together, knowing their happiness is gonna be destroyed. Wille and Simon just own my heart. I don't think I've ever seen a couple in a show that I love as much as them. As for August... what he did is just unforgivable to me. I don't care about the problems he may have, he literally filmed a sex tape of his cousin and another boy (both minors!!!) and posted it on the internet, outing them to the entire world. August can go to hell I don't care. Since the trailer came out a few days ago all I've been thinking about is season 2 so this was a fun break (even though I did cry, as always). Can't wait to see your reaction to the finale!
elisa
2022-10-21 16:57:55 +0000 UTCInteresting how fathers are represented in the show. Wilhelm’s father seems to be completely dominated by his wife and hardly says anything, Simon’s father is despised by his children and largely an absent father and August’s father killed himself and looms over his son’s life even though we never see him.
Graham & Ruth May
2022-10-21 15:45:22 +0000 UTCThis was the episode which put August into the ‘no matter what you do from now on you can never come back from this’ box for me. When talking about how to help Alexander he made this big speech about how they needed to protect the royal family and then he goes and releases the video he had taken of Wilhelm and Simon in bed together onto the internet. You can so tell the difference in him and Wille, Wille tells everyone in the group about August’s financial problems, humiliating him but then he goes and asks someone at the palace to look into these problems and that gets his school fees paid. I hope that August hates himself as much as we all do. Let’s not forget as well that Sara saw him in the library when he did this so that is something that could be explored in S2. The scene between the boys in Simon’s bedroom is just so emotional, you can see the love they have for each other just pulsating out of them and that’s what makes it so hard when you know what troubles are coming their way 🙁 I have more to say, I just can’t think of it at the moment!!
Audrey Gunn
2022-10-21 15:43:04 +0000 UTCBoth Bash and Malte (?) are fine actors and deserve credit for making us hate the characters while still allowing us to feel something more complex underlying their behaviour.
Graham & Ruth May
2022-10-21 15:34:40 +0000 UTCI mean that it’s also my favourite episode, Jackie.
Graham & Ruth May
2022-10-21 15:30:59 +0000 UTCAgreed. Mine too.
Graham & Ruth May
2022-10-21 15:30:20 +0000 UTCHa ha, yes, I would love to be able to see thought bubbles above the heads of Simon’s Mum and the body guards while Wilhelm and Simon were in the bedroom and again at the lake when Wilhelm shouts out that the water is cold. 😏😂
Graham & Ruth May
2022-10-21 15:18:26 +0000 UTCI also think that the intimate scenes between Simon and Wilhelm work so well in episode 4 and in this one and affect us as much as they do, because of the close friendship and trust between Edvin and Omar. They have both said in interviews that they had a very good intimacy co-ordinator on set, but that they clicked with each other almost straight away and grew closer in showing the developing emotional and physical relationship between the characters.
Graham & Ruth May
2022-10-21 15:07:23 +0000 UTCi completely agree. I said the same thing about Ben Hope - doesn’t make me hate the character any less but super intrigued to learn why these characters act the way they do. For august especially there’s definitely something deep below the surface which is very, very sad.
Jackie-Ross Lavender
2022-10-21 13:55:24 +0000 UTCAugust is so insecure and his self worth is so tied up to his standing and legacy that he can't see anything beyond that. It makes him cruel. I feel a bit bad for the child he was because no one seems to have taken any time to properly look after him after his father's suicide or teach him how not to be an asshole. (I work for an org that teaches healthy relationships so I might just be projecting). I still hate the character but I like that there is some complexity and you can see where some of his behaviour comes from.
Rosie Dickinson
2022-10-21 13:52:40 +0000 UTCI don't know why it amuses me so much but the teens underestimating the adults around them makes me laugh. You can't convince me that the bodyguards and Simon's mum don't know what is going on and the headmistress had the look of someone who is being fed a story.
Rosie Dickinson
2022-10-21 13:46:55 +0000 UTCOh, I certainly agree he initiated it, and deserves credit for that.
Hugh Campbell
2022-10-21 13:30:21 +0000 UTCit’s so important. After all your rave reviews i’m very excited to watch Skam!
Jackie-Ross Lavender
2022-10-21 13:23:27 +0000 UTCit’s so important. After all your rave reviews i’m very excited to watch Skam!
Jackie-Ross Lavender
2022-10-21 13:22:40 +0000 UTCI would probably say this is my favourite episode, Ruth. So many amazing moments that conjured so many emotions.
Jackie-Ross Lavender
2022-10-21 13:21:52 +0000 UTCI would probably say this is my favourite episode, Ruth. So many amazing moments that conjured so many emotions.
Jackie-Ross Lavender
2022-10-21 13:21:39 +0000 UTCI probably should’ve said I don’t like contrasting them, because I agree they do both bring up emotions and do a great job of showing LGBT love. I’m very glad both shows exist, as well as several others that also show positive representations of love between members of the same sex.
Lane Wright
2022-10-21 13:20:41 +0000 UTCI feel like I hated him instantly but this one sealed the deal.
Jackie-Ross Lavender
2022-10-21 13:20:00 +0000 UTCdoesn’t he just 😡
Jackie-Ross Lavender
2022-10-21 13:19:31 +0000 UTCLove that, Audrey. Friday will always be our main update now as it’s my day off :)
Jackie-Ross Lavender
2022-10-21 13:19:23 +0000 UTCI disagree. If he hadn’t have initiated Minou to look into it it would never have been solved. Whether inadvertently or not - he deserves credit.
Jackie-Ross Lavender
2022-10-21 13:18:56 +0000 UTCI love comparing them because of how they have both affected me and the emotions they bring up for me in my experiences and also because of how they both represent LGBT love in mainstream media.
Jackie-Ross Lavender
2022-10-21 13:17:52 +0000 UTCI really don’t even like comparing this show and “Heartstopper“ because they are so very different in what they are trying to do. I also like the fact that it appears that Omar and Edvin are fans of “Heartstopper” (and Kit and Joe are fans of “Young Royals”). I think both of them are great for very different reasons. One cute thing in this episode is that the names of Simon’s fish are the nicknames of the members of Omar‘s former band FO&O. The writers of this show certainly do know how to end an episode!
Lane Wright
2022-10-21 13:15:06 +0000 UTCDon’t know where to begin with this episode because there’s so much in it. Wilhelm unwittingly giving August the motive to get revenge by uploading the video after humiliating him and undermining his authority in front of the other boys while trying to protect Simon; Felice becoming a progressively more beautiful character in each episode, culminating in the lovely gesture to Sara of acting as St Lucia; all the gorgeous scenes between Simon and Wilhelm, so emotionally expressive. I think the fish tank scene is probably my favourite in the whole show. It is just so beautiful and so full of love. Omar looks stunning in this scene 😍 but also the acting of both Edvin and Omar is so sensitive. In the St Lucia scene when Wilhelm cries and says he didn’t want to lose Simon, you really feel the special, tender bond between them. Having said all that, I also hate how the whole episode is overshadowed by August’s actions at the end of the previous episode, so even as Simon and Wilhelm are connecting ever more closely, you feel a sense of impending doom. No-one is going to be ok by the end of episode 6 and there’s going to be so much unfinished business for season 2 to resolve. St Lucia celebrations are traditional at Christmas in Sweden, I think, but I am sure someone else will know more about it than I do.
Graham & Ruth May
2022-10-21 12:44:08 +0000 UTCNope, watching this ep for the nth time, I don't think Wilhelm can be credited with solving August's fees problem. We only hear him ask Minou "to look into it", and then later, Minou tells August the Queen has asked her to fix it.
Hugh Campbell
2022-10-21 12:26:40 +0000 UTCI love these Friday morning updates as I only work til 1.30 so can see it earlier than I would if I was doing a normal day and wouldn’t get in til after 5!
Audrey Gunn
2022-10-21 11:59:36 +0000 UTCAugust needs to be kicked into October!! :)
Michael
2022-10-21 11:34:42 +0000 UTCThis is the episode that launched the “Death to August” movement. 😡🤬
The Homesick Brit
2022-10-21 10:06:38 +0000 UTC
