Young Royals – Season 3 Episode 1 Recap & Review

The Aftermath

Episode 1 of Young Royals Season 3 starts with a meeting between the royal family, August and his lawyer, and Simon and his mom to discuss the infamous sex tape. You remember that Sara reported August to the police in the Season 2 finale, and now repercussions must be issued—or so Simon’s mother thought. 

While the Queen barely says anything to Wilhelm, she is taking his side in this meeting and hopes the matter can be handled privately without the court’s interference. The Royal Court worries the case might further destroy the Royals’ reputation. August is willing to pay 1.2 million crowns as compensation, but Simon’s mom is angered when August’s lawyer downplays the serious damages the video has caused Simon and her family. Many people have been threatening her family since the video came out.

She thinks that August should answer to the Court instead of paying his way out of the problem. They all take a break from the meeting, and Simon’s lawyer explains that August’s offer is generous and it would be impossible for them to go against the Royal Court. Simon’s mother is unconvinced, but Simon says he is tired of fighting.

He excuses himself and runs into Wilhelm. They talk about how they pictured Simon’s first visit to the palace would be like. They are both bummed it is under these circumstances, but that doesn’t take them from taking advantage of this visit. Wilhelm shows Simon his room, and they start making out until they are summoned back to the meeting. Ahh, these two!

At the meeting, Simon’s mom announces they are done but changes her mind after August’s lawyer brings up the whole Simon sold his dad’s drugs to Hillerska’s students and Wilhelm threatening him at gunpoint. To keep these from going public, August asks for an official title as the next in line as the Crown Prince. This triggers Wilhelm, and they get into a shouting match, forcing the Queen to call them to order.

Ultimately, they all agree, and August and Wilhelm are decided to stay away from each other. The Queen is clear that August has yet to earn forgiveness, but she asks the boys not to get into any more scandals. The constant issues have gotten to her, and she misses Erik deeply. She reminds Wilhelm that he will turn 17 soon and is expected to take over. As a result, she starts having a panic attack. 

A few days later, we reunite with Felice and the other students at school. Felice is still hurting over what Sara did. Her friends worry that she is depressed and not handling the break-up well. They want Felice to join them in their excitement over the upcoming school activities. They are grateful when Felice brightens up after learning Wilhelm will be returning to school later that day. They start wondering what that means for Wilhem and Simon’s relationship. 

Meanwhile, Farima advises Wilhem to use his relationship with Simon to modernise the monarchy’s image. She argues that if they focus on Wilhelm’s training and work over the summer, he will be able to “create a whole new generation of royalists.”

First on the agenda is launching a charity foundation under Wilhelm’s name on his 17th birthday. It will be his first official task as a Crown Prince. The only potential risk is Simon, who is supposed to avoid journalists and maintain a low social media profile. Wilhelm promises Farima that he has it under control.

At the same time, Simon’s mom is not sure she can trust him anymore. She asks him to take a drug test and grounds him for the rest of the semester. Simon tries to defend himself, but his mom is having none of it. Out of anger, Simon argues with Sara, blaming her for everything. He asks her to leave, and she moves to their dad’s place. 

At Hillerska, most students are being harassed by the media, who are trying to learn more about Wilhelm’s relationship with Simon. For some odd reasons, the journalists are also asking about past initiations and trying to create more buzz following Wilhelm’s speech. Fortunately, the Hillerska students don’t want to be involved.

They, especially the third years, are more excited about their graduation and the remaining school activities they will partake in. Even August tries to get in the school spirit, but Victor keeps ruining his mood by bringing up his exes Sara and Felice. Judging by how defensive August got, it is safe to say he still has feelings for Sara. We also learn that there is more going on with August. He seems worried about his weight.

After Wilhelm returns, Simon welcomes him with a passionate kiss. They are no longer hiding their relationship. Seeing them openly dating and drawing love hearts on each other is great. Felice catches up with them and asks how Sara is doing. She is still angry at Sara but also misses her. Simon can relate and agrees to return Sara’s necklace.

After school, Simon is accosted by some journalists on his way home. Apparently, Marcus gave them a statement saying Simon and Wilhelm’s relationship is problematic. He later confides in Ayub and Rosh that he feels sidelined by Marcus’ interview and is having a hard time dealing with the hate comments. However, he feels he can’t talk to Wilhelm about his struggles. Simon thinks it would be better to reply to some comments and explain his side of the story. However, Wilhelm sees the comments and messages him to ignore them.

On the other hand, Wilhelm talks with Nils, who thinks it was brave but foolish of him to come out publicly. Wilhelm asks him about Erik and how his late brother handled his relationships in school. Nils says he should ask August since he was closer to Erik. Nils also adds that Erik believed in keeping private things private.

In the meantime, Felice’s friends hold an intervention to get her out of her sad state. They plan a New York trip when school closes and happily chat about all the shopping and partying they will do. 

The following morning, Wilhelm wakes up a slew of news articles about how his speech inspired former students to speak up about their experience in the school. In particular, the media is fixated on the gory details of an initiation ritual from a few years back. One of the former students talked about being forced to strip naked and watch a porn movie and getting mocked for having an erection.

The news surprises the school, and they hold an impromptu assembly to introduce the new headmistress, Vanessa Hamilton. Miss Anette is currently on leave as the accusations against the school are being investigated. Vanessa announces that following the complaints, the school will introduce new rules. The students will be allowed only one hour of access to their phones. All extracurricular activities will be cancelled indefinitely, and a curfew will be imposed from 7 in the evening.

Anyone who breaks the rules will be immediately suspended. Of course, the students are unhappy to hear this, especially in the third year, whose graduation ceremony is now cancelled. Vanessa explains that she means business and the school’s future lies in them, proving Hillerska is a safe environment. If they can’t prove this, Hillerska will be shut down immediately. 

The Episode Review

Once again, the season picks up where we left off in season 2. Right off the back, you can tell that things won’t be easy for our lovebirds. They still have to deal with August, their families, the media and the public. They have so much against them, and the latest Hillerska scandal won’t help them. If anything, it might give them new enemies who will blame Wilhelm even though it is not his fault. 

Taking the deal was best for everyone involved, but it came at a high price. With August officially becoming the next in line for the throne, one can’t help but wonder if he will change for the better. He seems to be reflecting more on his actions and willing to be accountable for his mistakes. While Wilhelm may never trust or forgive him, it doesn’t change that he has a chance to be the next king. 

As for Wilhelm, his speech had some big consequences. The Queen is evidently struggling to hold it all together after his latest scandal. It was probably too much for her to bear. Given how she broke down after bringing up Erik, she is still mourning. In a way, she uses Erik to guilt-trip Wilhelm to get in line. She has to understand that Wilhelm is not Erik and is overwhelmed with everything, too. At barely 17, he has so much on his shoulders and little to no help from them as parents. They need to see him more as their son and less as the heir to the throne. 

Lastly, we have Simon, who is feeling overwhelmed by the attention he is getting. Someone should tell him it is a bad idea to reply to trolls. While we are on it, what is wrong with Marcus? Did he have to give an interview to the press? Anyway, Simon needs to mentally prepare himself for the attention that comes with dating a public figure. It will also be interesting to see how he deals with Sara and gains his mom’s trust in the upcoming episodes.