Young Royals: The Kind of Teen Drama Everyone Wants
Netflix has done it again with the second season of Young Royals. The show many believed would be about out-of-touch rich teens getting away with rich teen things ended up having much more depth. The first season was able to craft a beautiful storyline centered around Wilhelm, the eventual Crown Prince of Sweden, and Simon, a fellow student at his boarding school. When a second season was confirmed, many of its fans were worried about the show’s ability to follow up the masterpiece that is the first season. Despite this, I think that they do a beautiful job of following up the arcs that they set up in the first season and expand beautifully on what it is like to feel like a teen.
In the first season, the plot focuses heavily on a budding love between Wilhelm and Simon. The chemistry that the actors have just can’t be denied, and their acting chops really help to sell the emotions that their respective characters are going through. While Wilhelm is grappling with the death of his older brother and his new title of Crown Prince, Simon works to fit in with the boarding school kids despite being poorer than the vast majority of his classmates. The two are able to find comfort in each other and eventually start a relationship. All goes awry when an intimate video of the two is leaked by August, Wilhelm’s cousin. Wilhelm promises Simon that he won’t deny the video, but his mother makes him go back on his word effectively destroying the relationship that the two had worked hard on creating.
Throughout the entirety of season two, it seems that August is attempting to be on a redemption arc after his deplorable actions. Malte Gårdinger, who plays August, does an amazing job of making August seem at least somewhat more likable. Throughout the season, we see him trying to gain forgiveness from Wilhelm, allowing him to walk all over him. Despite all of this, we know as an audience that all August cares about is himself. The writing of August’s character is just so spot on for a rich kid who has had everything handed to him in life. This includes the fact that despite the royal family knowing of August’s actions in season one, he is the backup for Wilhelm for Crown Prince. When August discovers this fact, we see him go back to the more emotionless and controlling person that he really is. Gårdinger does an amazing job of showing this duality of his character throughout, his soft side only really coming out with Sara.
Sara, Simon’s sister, decides she would like to play with fire after discovering her feelings for August. The two begin a secret relationship, and Sara really has hopes that August will own up to his mistakes. As much as I loved Sara in the first season, this time around I just could not get behind her, and yet I still felt for her. Frida Argento, who plays Sara, does a great job of showing her character’s ineptitude when it comes to social situations due to her being on the spectrum. What makes it even better is that Argento is on the spectrum herself. Through her relationship with August, we see this in full force. She believes that he can change, and allows herself to be played because she is blinded by her feelings. I think this is a great representation of what it feels like for any teen to be in their first relationship. Often blinded by love, they think they can change the other person, but often times this is far from the truth.
When it comes to the core relationship between Wilhelm and Simon, it’s clear from the start that they still have feelings for each other. Edvin Ryding and Omar Rudberg, who play Wilhelm and Simon respectively, do a spectacular job of capturing the lingering tension between the two of them, especially when it comes to Simon’s attempts to move on with his new love interest, Marcus. As Simon attempts to shift his focus on Marcus, we get to see more of Wilhelm grappling with his new title and all of the anxiety that goes with it. While most teens can’t relate to being a future leader of an entire country, many can understand the anxiety that comes with having responsibility. Ryding does an amazing job of capturing the emotions that his character is going through. Everything from minor facial expressions to full-on emotional breakdowns, he creates great representation for those dealing with grief and anxiety.
Rudberg, on the other hand, portrays a different kind of teen, one who is attempting to move on from his mess of a relationship with someone new. Despite his attempts to move on with Marcus, Simon knows that he doesn’t feel what he feels for Wilhelm with Marcus. This whole storyline is perfectly written as I feel it depicts what so many people do in an attempt to get over an ex, and Rudberg encapsulates it perfectly. You can see how he keeps Marcus at arm's length and doesn’t want to fall into the same traps that he has in the past.
The show's second season is a beautiful story about grief, revenge, and hope, and all of the actors do an incredible job pouring their emotions into the character they are playing. Not to mention, the representation that the show gives to queer people, people of color, and neurodivergent people are unmatched by most of the shows in the genre. This is the kind of show young people crave, and I can only hope that we see more of these characters in the future.
Writer: Olivia Madrid
Artist: Sophia Jusino
