Netflix’s Young Royals Bids Farewell with a Climactic Final Season

The third and final season of Young Royals arrives as a bittersweet farewell, packed full of emotion, scandal, and unexpected twists. Although there are many painful goodbyes, it’s a refreshing change for a queer show to conclude on its own terms—no sudden cancellation or rushed conclusion. The past couple of years has seen a worrying trend of LGBTQ+ shows canceled, void of closure. But showrunner Lisa Ambjörn uses the opportunity to put Young Royals to rest with a season fans will devour. With all the twists and turns, the show comes to a close with a predictable, but nevertheless sweet, conclusion.

At the beginning of this final season, we return to the elite boarding school Hillersk with more questions than ever about Prince Wilhelm of Sweden (Edvin Ryding) and non-resident student Simon’s (Omar Rudberg) romance. How will fellow students, and the world, react to the fact Wilhelm outed his relationship with Simon in last season’s finale? Can Simon ever truly accept Wilhelm’s royal fate? And will the Crown Prince pick duty or love? 

The Swedish teen coming-of-age drama has charmed audiences for the past two seasons with the jubilant ups and painful downs of this royal relationship. But when August (Malte Gårdinger), Wilhelm’s cousin, released an intimate video of the two lovers, the Crown’s stifling chokehold on the prince tightened. That brings us to now, with graduation on the horizon, and a bittersweet dynamic now befalling our favorite couple: Wilhelm and Simon can now be public with unabashed PDA, but they’re wrapped up in legal proceedings, and August is still clinging to the royal family like a leech (Gårdinger continues to perfectly portray the most vile character in the show).

Young Royals’ final act is an exercise in balance, especially for its larger supporting cast. A new, intently strict headmistress is prowling the halls, enacting shutdowns and cancellations of graduation parties. For the Hillerska students, she might as well have just told them their lavish summer holidays are canceled. The school is under close inspection and Felice (Nikita Uggla) is picked to represent the school in student interviews. However, it becomes clear that she’s the “diversity token,” and her face falls at the realization. In a later scene, she recounts to her friends the systematic racism that has always plagued her time at the school. Her storyline is handled with real care by Uggla, but her screen time feels all too minimal.

The same can be said for Felice’s ex-bestie and Simon’s sister, Sara (Frida Argento). Her storyline of falling for an already-taken August and now moving in with her deadbeat dad to escape Simon’s judgment feels rather disconnected. In the throes of her independence, forgiveness for her character doesn’t come easy, but the repetitive nature of her attempts at redemption offers very little substance for viewers to latch onto amid a season already juggling so many auxiliary narratives.

Overall, however, the show nicely ties up its various loose ends. In particular, a lesbian subplot that has been simmering across seasons finally blooms, and fan favorites Ayub (Inti Zamora Sobrado) and Rosh (Beri Gerwise) are hilarious as always.

In the final season’s biggest development, Ambjörn finally invests in a confrontation of the underexplored reign of sovereignty. With the Queen’s health deteriorating, Wilhelm must prepare for succession. Suddenly, the Crown finds potential in Wilhelm’s queerness, puppeteering him as a chance to modernize the monarchy and raise a new generation of royalists in Sweden. Alongside Wilhelm’s new importance, duties and requests then also spread to Simon, but calls to restrict his online presence have him resenting Wilhelm’s family name.

Young Royals has always flirted with the oppositional stance of its prince and its anti-royalist protagonists. While socio-political commentary existed in past seasons, this final outing tackles the topic head-on. It’s a strong and much-needed move for the show as it enters its final chapter and conflict bleeds naturally into Simon and Wilhelm’s relationship (handled with much more nuance than Season 2’s straying plot of Simon and a new lover). While Wilhelm failed to push back against the Crown’s demands to keep his and Simon’s relationship in the shadows, much to Simon’s dismay, Wilhelm ultimately flouts royal rule and stands with the students’ protest against shutdowns. All the while, Wilhelm is still battling internalized homophobia, which Ambjörn writes with sensitivity and searing realism.

Ryding is phenomenal at orchestrating Wilhelm’s emotional beats, finding the nuance of quietly intimate scenes with the same power as his exploding rage of repressed anger. Wilhelm’s arc of privilege and self-imposed identity does make him unlikeable at times. However, Ryding’s sensitivity to Wilhelm’s isolation and insecurity is outstanding, the control of his physicality and micro-movements sees revelations—like dark truths about his brother’s misdeeds—crash down on the shoulders of a teenage boy with mammoth force. Wilhelm’s taut shoulders and tense jaw only relax in the presence of a smiley Simon.

Speaking of Simon, for his first acting role, Rudberg holds his own and truly shines. Rudberg imbues Simon with staunch morals, but also finds an acute nervousness as he navigates Wilhelm’s royal life. It’s no more apparent than when Simon is meeting his boyfriend’s parents, an already nerve wracking scenario made even more so with his boyfriend’s mother being the queen. The scene should evade any relatability for its young audience, but because Young Royals grounds itself in the tangible emotion behind the larger-than-life royal politics, it’s strikingly real. 

The final season’s heightened scenes allow Ryding and Rudberg to showcase their potent chemistry that has matured over their three seasons together. Whether it’s fervent kisses over the piano in the music room or getting steamy in the dormitories, the pair invest wholeheartedly in the swells of teenage love. “All I want is to be with you,” Wilhelm declares to Simon with the painful realization that desire may just not be enough to keep them together. In the penultimate episode, the camera holds close as tears fall down their faces as they talk about breaking up just before the credits roll. Ambjörn knows how to keep fans on their toes, and played into the forced break Netflix inserted into this final outing. 

A well-balanced last episode sees Wilhelm fight between his head and heart. Of course, it ends with him choosing his heart—and though it was predictable, his denouncement of his royal title and commitment to being with Simon is still a rousing moment. With Wilhelm chasing after Simon and the pair kissing through tears of happiness, the Young Royals grants these characters a royally good goodbye. Ambjörn concludes it all with the most perfect final shot: Wilhelm looks into the camera to conclude every season, it’s usually a stare of pure determination. For the final season, we see a relaxed Wilhelm, fingers interlocked with Simon’s as the breeze flows through his hair. Wilhelm breaks the fourth wall for the last time, a small smile on his lips, as he commits his ultimate act of regal rebellion: being true to himself.

The final season of Young Royals is now streaming on Netflix. 

Emily Maskell is a freelance culture and entertainment writer from the UK. You can keep up with her antics on Twitter: @EmMaskell

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