Young Royals season 2 spoilers follow.
All the sex, lies, and videotape, or leaked sex tapes, specifically, ensure that Young Royals remains one of the most dramatic, juicy shows Netflix has to offer — and that's more true than ever in season two.
By the time episode five comes to an end, all of those secrets are out in the open. Both Simon and Sara finally learn that it was August who leaked the tape back in season one. August, unaware of this, has made moves to show Sara how much he loves her by buying back the horse she lost.
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Most crucially of all, Simon and Wilhelm are now finally back together. Well, sort of. And yes, they did close the curtains this time around. Fool me once, shame on you. Film me having sex with the Crown Prince who still hasn't come out as gay, publicly, shame on me.
But not even that secret can stay hidden for long, not after what happens at the very end of Young Royals season two...
Young Royals season 2 ending explained
The final episode kicks off much like the second season began, with Wilhelm and Simon together. But here, we start with the morning after their reunion, where Simon reminds Wil he's off to call the police on August.
First though, Simon has to let Marcus down after leading him on all season. He didn't mean to, of course. He was just trying to get over Wil, but Marcus doesn't see it like that, which is more than understandable.
"It's my fault you’re treating me like crap?" he asks. "You think you’re a victim among these rich brats... You say you don’t want drama, but you love it."
Well, he got you there, Simon.
Meanwhile, August tells Wilhelm that if Simon goes to the police, he's asked someone else to take the blame for him. The Crown Prince reminds August that he has proof it was him, but his slimy second cousin has already thought of everything.
August's plan is to pretend that he was drunk that night, so left his phone behind. Alexander, in a bid to return it, knocked on all the windows to get back in the building, but then came across Wil and Simon banging, so he decided to film it.
Why would Alexander possibly do that though? Well, it turns out he hates Wil just as much as August, because of that time he pinned those drugs on him. August claims Alexander will only get a minor sentence, "plus gratitude from the court". And if that plan doesn't pan out, he'll report Simon to the police instead.
"I’m just trying to make you realise what’s best for you," August says in typically slimy fashion.
Things get pretty dramatic with Sara and Felice too when Sara admits to being in love with August. Felice gets up in her feelings about this, saying: "I don’t care that he’s my ex. He’s the worst person in the world. He can’t be trusted!"
She's not wrong.
With all this out in the open, Simon and Wilhelm go to the shooting range to confront August, and the two girls quickly follow.
Things quickly escalate, because Wil loves the drama too. Grabbing hold of August's rifle, our young royal turns the gun on him, demanding to know who gave him a heads-up on Simon's plan to tell the police everything.
"It was me," Sara suddenly admits. "I thought that if I gave him a chance, he would come clean. I was in love with him."
Choices, Sara. Choices.
Simon, her brother, is the most infuriated — "you know what he did to me" — so he quickly storms off. "You’re despicable," says Felice, turning against Sara too.
Sara's also mad, but at August, because he didn't confess like he told her he would.
"I have to protect the royal family," claims August. But as Sara rightly points out, the truth is, "You’re only protecting yourself."
With these new revelations, Simon decides not to go to the police in order to protect his own family. Wilhelm doesn't have it much better either, getting into a fight with his bigoted mum and clueless dad, the reigning King and Queen of Sweden.
August genuinely tries to make things work with Sara, sending her texts and even that horse she lost, but Simon's sister isn't having any of it. Finally.
Things start to look up though with Simon and Wil, because amidst all this passion and chaos, the pair realise that the kiss from last night wasn't just a one-off. They're still madly in love, and extremely horny for each other if all this hand-holding and intimate staring is anything to go by.
"I want to be with you," Simon says, so he’s willing to be kept a secret until they’re both 18 "if that’s the only way". But "no more secrets between us," Simon adds, before going on to whisper "I love you" in Wil's ear.
Yep! That just happened. For realsies. Wilhelm doesn't say it back, but it doesn't feel like he's jilting Simon. In fact, it looks like Wil has a plan to declare his love back in the most public way possible...
How Young Royals season 2 ending sets up season 3
As everyone prepares for Wilhelm to give the big Hillerska speech, Sara heads off to the bus stop with a plan to leave the school forever. But on her way out, Sara decides to bring — you guessed it — the drama by reporting a crime to the police on her phone.
While no confirmation is given by the end of the episode, it's safe to say that Sara has decided to do the right thing and report August's sex tape leak in a bid to stand by Simon and Wilhelm.
Speaking of the Crown Prince, he starts to feel a bit sick, overwhelmed by the pressure of his impending speech, so the royal advisor brings in August, his backup. August is understandably chuffed at this, seeing his plans to replace Wilhelm finally come to fruition.
But at the last minute, in the sassiest moment this show has ever given us, Wil stands up and walks ahead of August, dashing his dreams of doing his speech at the last possible second.
Wilhelm's speech starts off generic, at the behest of his family. One line in particular catches in his throat though, setting off a tumultuous chain reaction. "The motto is take responsibility for your legacy, be proud of your history, pass the traditions onto the next generation…" Insert dramatic pause here.
"No," says Wil suddenly. "There’s a problem with just passing the traditions on without pushing, to think about which ones are good and bad... How can we evolve?"
In his new version of the speech, the Crown Prince says it's time to put a stop to keeping secrets. "It was me in the video that was leaked last semester," he boldly declares. "The one with me and Simon."
The cameras start flashing way more rapidly as the world soaks in what Wilhem's just said. Not only was he the one in the sex tape all along, but this essentially outs him to the world as well.
And with that, Wil looks back with a smile at Simon, who appears more shocked than anyone. But he's happy too, because with this surprise comes the realisation that Wilhelm won't keep him a secret. Their love can finally be out and proud in the most beautiful way.
Of course, that doesn't mean season three won't bring the drama still. There will absolutely be consequences to all this. Wilhelm might even be replaced by August among the royal standing, although Sara's report to the police might hinder that too.
But whatever happens, it looks like all the longing and suppression is no more, between Simon and Wilhelm at least. After two years, they finally have each other, and it looks like they're going to need that support when the world comes for them in season three.
Young Royals seasons 1 and 2 are now available to watch on Netflix.
Netflix/Left Bank Pictures The Crown season 3 with Amazon exclusive box artwork
After teaching in England and South Korea, David turned to writing in Germany, where he covered everything from superhero movies to the Berlin Film Festival.
In 2019, David moved to London to join Digital Spy, where he could indulge his love of comics, horror and LGBTQ+ storytelling as Deputy TV Editor, and later, as Acting TV Editor.
David has spoken on numerous LGBTQ+ panels to discuss queer representation and in 2020, he created the Rainbow Crew interview series, which celebrates LGBTQ+ talent on both sides of the camera via video content and longform reads.
Beyond that, David has interviewed all your faves, including Henry Cavill, Pedro Pascal, Olivia Colman, Patrick Stewart, Ncuti Gatwa, Jamie Dornan, Regina King, and more — not to mention countless Drag Race legends.
As a freelance entertainment journalist, David has bylines across a range of publications including Empire Online, Radio Times, INTO, Highsnobiety, Den of Geek, The Digital Fix and Sight & Sound.
