Young Royals – Season 3 Episode 4 Recap & Review

The Greater Loss

Episode 4 of Young Royals Season 3 starts with Simon’s mom talking on the phone to someone. She mentions that she thinks they should relocate, and Simon is concerned after hearing this. He heads to school, where Wilhelm is anxiously waiting for him. Wilhelm promises to ask the Royal Court for help since the police have not been so helpful. Simon doesn’t want to relocate and is open to any ideas.

In the meantime, the third-year students take their national exams. Vincent feels it is helpless to work so hard if they don’t get to enjoy their graduation. He starts thinking about what they should do to get their graduation ceremony on track. During lunch, he attacks Simon for going to the demonstration while he is dating Wilhelm. He says he hates Simon for being a communist and ridicules him for joining the demonstration.

Wilhelm and Simon don’t take this attack lightly, but Wilhelm worries if Simon is really against the monarchy. Simon explains he can love Wilhelm but is against the monarchy. He asks what Wilhelm loves about being a royal since he has seen how complex the situation is for him. Wilhelm responds that he thinks of it as a privilege.

In class, first-year students are asked to write letters to their future selves, while Third-year students receive the letters they wrote to themselves. Wilhelm seems conflicted after his talk with Simon, while August doesn’t want anyone to see his letter. At the moment, he is focused on getting close to Sara again. She keeps pushing him away, but he is not giving up. She is more concerned about her dad, who keeps failing to keep his promises.

Later, Wilhelm calls Farima to ask her to work something out to ensure Simon’s safety. She is agreeable but with a few conditions. First, Farima urges Wilhelm to get back to her about his charity foundation. She insists that Wilhelm will have to handle the opening of the event alone since the Queen is too sick. August will have to attend, and Wilhelm says he would also like Simon to attend.

Farima and Jan Olof visit Simon’s house and discuss getting the family a safe place to stay. The police are unsure what the motives of the attack are, and Simon is unwilling to move. Jan Olof thinks it is tricky given their house structure but agrees to give Simon transportation to and from school and give them a direct number to security services. In turn, Simon has to delete his social media and maintain a low profile. Simon agrees to these conditions and takes down all his accounts.

Later, he meets with Wilhelm, and they discuss his birthday in detail. Simon is happy to accompany him and tries to help him decide what to focus his charity campaign on. Wilhelm couldn’t be bothered to choose something he cares about. Simon suggests mental health or LGBTQ+ issues.

However, Wilhelm says he can’t be seen making a political statement. He asks if being in love with Simon qualifies him to be an advocate for all queers! Damn! He argues it should already be enough for them to know he loves Simon. Simon drops the topic, and Wilhelm picks Sports and Health.

At the cafeteria, Sara tries to avoid Felice and accidentally drops her future letter. Felice picks it up and later gives it back to Sara. She finds it sad that Sara only wants to feel less lonely and okay. Sara apologises for her mistakes and thanks Felice for being her first true friend.

At the same time, Vincent has an idea to hold a silent demonstration to get the school to budge and allow third-year students to hold their graduation. He coordinates to have all the students meet in the big all and convinces them to join in his protest. Simon finds it ironic and refuses to participate, while Wilhelm says he will participate because it will cost him nothing. It is not a political statement, and they can get the rules revoked.

Simon heads to the class and finds Sara there. She has no idea about the protest. She asks why Simon looks sad, and he tells her everything that has been going on and how hurt he is that she is living with their dad. The teachers are surprised to find only two students in class. The headmistress refuses to budge and cancels dinner and access to the dorm rooms. This doesn’t deter the students; they insist they want to have their issues addressed. Their only demand is the rules be loosened up a bit.

They stay in the big hall, and Vincent and Nils exchange their future letters and make jokes. Nils asks to read August’s letter, and the latter gets sensitive when Nils insists. Vincent calls August out for being too serious and no longer fun. It is also revealed that August might be suffering from an eating disorder. That explains why he has been watching his weight and exercising too much.

After thinking about his fight with Wilhelm, Simon joins the protest. He and Wilhelm make up and agree that their differences are good. It allows them to complement each other and learn from one another. They share some snacks and end up falling asleep in the hallway.

At the same time, the other students hold an auction sale for the little snacks they have and enjoy their night in the hall. At some point, it gets out of hand. Felice points this out and accidentally reveals that she talked about the initiations and how things can get in the school. Her friends feel betrayed but figure she didn’t mess up since nothing has happened.

The following morning, Vanessa loses the battle and is forced to listen to the students’ concerns. She agrees to let the seniors have a graduation ceremony. The students get access to their phones after school hours, but the score hunt is indefinitely cancelled. Most students are happy, but August and Felice look conflicted.

Away from school, Simon shares his concerns with Ayub and Rosh about what to get Wilhelm for his birthday. They advise him to write Wilhelm a song, but Simon hesitates since it might upset the Royal Court. His friends confess they are worried that Simon is changing too much to accommodate his new relationship. They admit they were hurt when he deleted all his apps and subsequently deleted all their photos.

At Hillerska, Wilhelm and August talk about who knew Erik well. August drops a bombshell and reveals Erik was present during the infamous initiation. Wilhelm hesitates to believe him since he put his late brother on a pedestal.

The Episode Review

Watching Simon struggle to be with Wilhem but also remain true to who he is is exhausting and scary. Given how things are going, we are gearing up for a heartbreak, and the iceberg that breaks the Titanic is just below the surface. As we get closer to episode 5, I am afraid our WilMon ship won’t be able to avoid a deadly collision.

After August dropped that bombshell on Wilhelm, it was evident that he would start tripping. We know that Wilhelm doesn’t take most things well. He may start feeling more anxious and sabotage his birthday celebration.

On the other hand, Ayub and Rosh are amazing friends because they don’t sugar-coat things. They are the realest ride-and-die, and Simon is lucky to have them. We hate to admit it, but this relationship has been hard on each party. Simon and Wilhelm have so many fundamental differences in their relationship.

Even in the future, they will still be fighting about these issues as they affect their day-to-day lives. Ernest Hemingway once said, “The most painful thing is losing yourself in the process of loving someone too much and forgetting that you are special too.” At this point, we have to ask if it is worth it. Should love be this hard?