Series offers up ‘royal’ character arcs filled with passion, potential
With bated breath, viewers tiptoe on unsteady waters as they celebrate the second season of Young Royals, praying that yet another LGBTQ+ show doesn’t get canceled. With Netflix and other platforms’ rocky history lately, the apprehension is natural. First Kill, The Wilds, Paper Girls, Batwoman, Gentleman Jack, Love, Victor, G-Force, and Work In Progress were all canceled this year after only one or two seasons, a bloodbath of epic proportions.
This season picks up at the start of the new semester and follows Wilhelm (Edvin Ryding, Love Me), as he adjusts to his new responsibilities as Crown Prince of Sweden, whilst struggling to balance them against his personal desires.
The first season left the audience on the edge of their seats, eager to know how the story would follow the numerous loose ends in its daunting and depressive end. Alternatively, this finale was a strong juxtaposition to the prior, retaining a strong optimistic tone and an open ending with enough overall closure to make a series wrap feasible.
The setting has an all-around immersive feel. There is a closer look at Hillerska’s classes, making it feel more like an actual school, along with the introduction of the school’s counselor Boris (Claes Hartelius, The Heart). More traditions and celebrations are shown, like the Valentine’s Ball and the Manor House initiation. Multiple background characters are promoted to recurring characters, such as Stella (Felicia Truedsson, Heartbeats), Vincent (Nils Wetterholm, The Congregation), and Nils (Samuel Astor, Desire), all of whom now have prominent storylines.
Wilhelm takes a long-awaited step in his mental health journey by attending therapy at the school. Ryding portrays his character’s struggle with anxiety wonderfully, showing it even through small, sometimes unnoticed, actions. His time in therapy opens his eyes to what he wants in life and what is important to him, allowing him to get to a place where he can do that.
One of the biggest highlights of the show is the consistently well-rounded characters. All are flawed with moments that are difficult to get behind, even with fan favorites, which can be uncommon in a lot of shows. If leads are flawed, they always seem to magically fix their mistakes by the end of the episode and don't face any consequences. The complete opposite often happens in Young Royals, with almost all of the characters facing long-term punishments for their actions.
Aiding the possibility of the story’s close, it seems to have come full circle, contributed to by the numerous parallels through the six episodes, showing how characters have changed, and the plot has progressed.
Wilhelm enters his revenge era after the events of last season, making it his goal to achieve justice for August’s (Malte Gårdigner, Skitsamma) actions in any manner he can. Because of August’s connection to the throne, favorable legal action likely won’t happen, so Wilhelm tries to take all power he has in the school away from him.
This is a completely different side of him, as he has gained a sense of confidence that is great to see. His character development leads him to start taking charge of his life and use his status for the better, pointing his future in a positive direction.
Strong character arcs occur for many of the characters, also notably with Simon (Omar Rudberg) who works towards standing up for himself, instead of letting others walk on him. While some head towards greener pastures, others take wrong turns.
In the first episode, Sara (Frida Argento) receives a grant to board at Manor House. Throughout the episodes she tries to find her place at the school, trying to fit in with her roommates who have a very different lifestyle than her as they come from rich families. This pushes her down some questionable paths but further feeds into the honesty of the characters.
With plenty of possible avenues, the show is heading in an interesting direction, if given the opportunity. The characters are compelling and realistic, contributing to a strong story with an emotional impact for the audience. Hopefully, the storybook of the Swedish prince hasn’t reached its close.
Rating: A
Season 2 of Young Royals further fleshes out an interesting and frequently complex story with well-done parallels and developed characters, allowing for various directional outcomes.
By Addi Isely
Oshkosh west index Volume 119 Issue III
November 28 2022