Young Royals season 3 part 1 ending spoilers follow.
Wilhelm and Simon have never had it easy. It's a wonder that the star-crossed lovers of Young Royals even met in the first place, what with Wil being the Crown Prince of Sweden and all. Yet their love still endured across the first two seasons despite their different social standing, and of course, that tape.
But in season three, at a time when the pair could finally be themselves out in the open, the relationship has become more strained than ever. Now that Wil and Simon are no longer forced to hide their love, pressures to conform as a royal couple are only making their differences more pronounced.
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While Simon is emboldened to inspire change in Sweden's attitudes to queerness, Wil's reluctance to support that in full speaks to his royal privilege. And if the pair aren't careful, these differences could tear them apart them completely.
"I can both like you and be against the system," argues Simon, but with only one episode left to go, that's no longer a sure thing. So with that in mind, let's take a closer look at the fifth and penultimate episode of Young Royals season three to explore how it sets up the end of the show, and maybe the end of #Wilmon too.
How Young Royals season 3 part 1 sets up the final episode
The last episode before the end begins with Wil speaking to his (often absent) father on the phone about Erik, the brother he lost. August cruelly revealed that the former Crown Prince had been involved in homophobic hazing rituals at Hillerska, which threw Wil into a tailspin.
Simon is scheduled to meet the King and Queen to celebrate Wil's birthday later that week, but will the couple even make it that far? When Wilhelm opens up to Simon about what Erik did, the Prince can't help but feel like Simon is judging his brother.
To be fair, Simon actually handles this really well, saying that Wil just has "to get used to the idea that maybe Erik wasn't perfect." The Prince is feeling very defensive though and ends up leaving, which doesn't exactly bode well for the impending birthday celebrations.
Simon's sister Sara is also in the show.
Anyway, Simon opens up to his mother about the fight, and she points out that maybe things shouldn't be this hard with Wil, "especially when you're this young."
But, undeterred, Simon wakes Wil up on his birthday anyway with a song and an adorable little cake too, because we all know Simon loves singing and he's just the sweetest.
Wil had apologised earlier in the week via text, it turns out, and Simon says they're okay now, but how long that might last remains to be seen.
The public-facing party kicks off first, and of course, August is there, because he lives for the drama and enjoys nothing more than worming his way into the royal circle. As photographers circle, he and Wil are forced to take smiling pictures together until the Prince can take it no more and arranges August's swift exit.
At one point, Simon notices that Wil can only eat food that's been checked by security in case it's been poisoned, which is absolutely wild and reminds him once again of the huge gulf between them.
A more private celebration takes place later where the King and Queen chat with Simon as Wil awkwardly looks on, getting more and more riled up. Erik's name comes up over and over again, and then when his mother doesn't eat any of Wil's cake, that's suddenly the last straw. All that pent-up anger Wilhelm's felt since the very start of this show explodes out of him in a torrent of rage.
"I was crushed and I needed you," says Wil, talking about Erik's death and the pain that followed. "I wasn't even allowed to mourn with you... Sweden's pain was more important."
That's not the only thing that's been weighing on Wilhelm's mind.
"When I don't want to lie about Simon, you have a breakdown," Wil tells his mother. "You're never here for me."
The King steps in to defend his wife, but Wil isn't done.
"And you! You let Mum do what she wants and don't give a damn about me. I am your only son, Dad. Do you see me?... I will talk as I f**king please!"
Kristina tries to defend herself, saying, "It’s not that easy to be your Mum and your boss," to which Wil replies, "I've noticed because you're useless at both!"
Those are the kind of words you can never really take back, so with everything said and done, Wil storms off, entirely spent. Simon joins him later, finding the birthday boy in tears on his bed.
"I'm sorry, Simon. I didn't mean for you to see that."
"I've really tried to be there for you," replies Simon, "but I see now how everything hurts you. This whole situation, and that hurts me."
There's so much love in those words that hang in the air, but there's also a great deal of pain as well, and it's not clear which one will come out on top when the conversation shifts suddenly in a direction that takes Wil by surprise.
"It's as if you've become someone else," says Simon. "I don't recognise you."
And then, echoing his mother, Simon says his own words that are tough to take back: "Love shouldn't be this hard..."
"What do you mean?" asks Wil as the meaning does in fact dawn on him.
"Maybe this just won't work," Simon replies. "I can't do this any more..."
And then the credits roll.
This would have been a cruel cliffhanger at the best times, but what makes it even crueller is that Netflix has split this season into two parts, which means that all of the fans who are deeply, obsessively invested in this relationship will have to wait a whole week now for answers.
Will Simon and Wilhelm make it? Can Simon actually like Wil while also being "against the system" he represents as his birthright? On the one hand, a happy ending seems inevitable. The joy of Young Royals is seeing a young royal and a young commoner fall in love, after all. It's what we've all been rooting for, and this romance is what drives the fandom too.
Even Simon actor Omar Rudberg wants it: "That's something that I'm looking forward to, to see them like a 'we against the world' kind of thing," Rudberg told us following season two's dramatic finale. But "It can't be like that all the time" either, Omar admitted. "It has to be interesting. It has to wake the feelings."
As much as it pains us to say this, perhaps the more "interesting" ending would be for Wil and Simon to go their separate ways at the end. Not many teen romances survive into adulthood, after all, and it would be natural for the show's preoccupation with royal privilege to eventually go in that direction, splitting the pair up as their ideologies shift in opposing directions.
One thing Young Royals has always done well is authentically channel real life in ways other YA shows can't hope to match. In that regard, the most fitting end might indeed be the end of Wilmon. Nothing lasts forever, and that's true of Young Royals itself, although we do of course hope that their ending does turn out to be a happy one, however it ends up looking. Those poor kids have been through enough.
Young Royals season 3 part 1 is now available to stream on Netflix. The series finale will arrive on Monday, March 18.
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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.
