Young Royals S3 EP1: The Best Parts of the First Episode

The bittersweet moment we’ve all been waiting for is here! The third and final season of Young Royals has dropped on Netflix and it’s now available to stream globally. Starring Edvin Ryding and Omar Rudberg, this season does not disappoint. The two young men deliver stellar performances as Wille (Edvin Ryding) and Simon (Omar Rudberg) for one final time. As Young Royals S3 Ep1 opens, it places the audience right in the thick of it, as Simon arrives at the palace to work out a deal with August (Malte Gardinger) and his lawyers.

In true Young Royals fashion, the tension is high from the get-go. There’s a lot to love about this first episode and we just know you’re all streaming like mad, so instead of us simply narrating the plot points to you in the form of a review, we’ve decided to share with you the things we love the most about this episode instead. 

We love everything about this episode, of course (duh), but we’ve managed to boil it down to four big-time fave things that stand out for us in Young Royals S3 Ep1!

Felice’s Mental Health Issues

Don’t get us wrong, we are Team Felice (Nikita Uggla) in this house and we’re not thrilled that she isn’t doing well, but we do love that the show focuses on the struggles she’s enduring over losing her friendship with Sara (Frida Argento). Young Royals S3 Ep1 does a great job of showcasing the turmoil one faces when a trusted friendship blows up in your face. 

Felice is withdrawn, disconnected from her other friends, and exhibits all the telltale signs of depression. It’s normal for a television show to depict women in this state after a romantic breakup but it’s almost unheard of for a show to depict a female character in this way after a platonic friendship breakup. 

There’s even a moment in Young Royals S3 Ep1 where Felice’s friends are talking about how worried they are about her behavior and Stella (Felicia Maxime) says that Felice didn’t get dumped [romantically] and therefore she needs to just get over it already, implying that losing friends isn’t as hard as losing a lover. But we all know that the pain of losing a friend can be just as intense as losing a romantic love and we’re so jazzed to see a television show finally representing that aspect of sisterhood. 

Wille and Simon’s Public Love

Look we know that Wille and Simon haven’t exactly tried to hide their relationship in previous seasons, but they’ve never really been as comfortable and open about it as they are in this season. And we don’t know about y’all, but we hollered with absolute delight and glee when Wilhelm walks right up to Simon when he returns to Hillerska and kisses him right on the mouth, in front of absolutely everyone. 

As Young Royals S3 Ep1 charges forward, it really does appear like Wilhelm got everything he wanted. He tells Simon that his family is supportive, that he is going to be both the Crown Prince and Simon’s boyfriend. That’s what they’ve been fighting for all along right? Right. It looks like Prince Wille is finally going to have his cake and eat it too!

When Wille and Simon hiding in the book stacks in the library attempting to have a private conversation about their Big Love, it’s impossible not to swoon over the way they’re making moon eyes at each other. Wilhelm and Simon are in love, and the entire world now knows it. After all they’ve been through, this is everything they deserve, and we love this for them. 

August’s Pain

We don’t consider ourselves vengeful in nature, but is it so wrong if we’re taking a little delight in the fact that August isn’t doing so well? Even though he broke the law and did a really awful thing, he didn’t face criminal responsibility for his actions. And man, that was a hard pill for us to swallow. 

But in Young Royals S3 Ep1, August is unhappy and that makes us, well, happy! His friends call him a “fuckboy” over the Sara and Felice issue, and he doesn’t like that at all. But if the shoe fits, yaknow?

He seems genuinely cut up about the fact that he and Sara aren’t together and if this is the only way that he’ll face consequences for his actions, then we’ll take it. We hope he learns to think about his actions a little in the future now before intentionally causing others harm. 

Hillerska Enters the Chat

Although it doesn’t happen till right at the end of the episode, Young Royals S3 Ep1 introduces a brand new conflict that will drive the season home in the form of the boarding school, Hillerska! She’s become a character all of her own in this episode, and honestly, we are here for this drama! This was not on our Young Royals 2024 bingo card, but we think it’s the perfect direction for the show to go in!

There are a lot of archaic things that go on at Hillerska that feel disconnected from reality and it’s high time that someone holds the institution accountable. A former student squealed to the media about some of the things they were forced to endure while enrolled at the school, and Hillerska finds itself under investigation. An acting principal is brought in to run the school during this time as the threat of closure suddenly looms over them all. 

We love this new conflict for so many reasons, but one of the biggest reasons is that it’s a real, honest, and juicy conflict that has nothing to do with Wille and Simon. The investigation into the school isn’t coming for Simon and Wille’s relationship and no one involved in trying to take down the school is also trying to take down Wilmon. We are definitely here for any plot tensions that aren’t positioned to disrupt Simon and Wille’s big season 3 love!

That’s all we’ve got for you today folks. Please excuse us while we go back to the couch and stream Young Royals S3 E2.

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Stay tuned for our fave moments of Young Royals S3 E2 coming soon! Young Royals is available to stream on Netflix now. Follow us on X and Instagram for all queer stuff!

Featured Image: Image Courtesy of Netflix.