The Video
Episode 4 of Young Royals season 1 begins on a sombre note. Wilhelm attends Eric’s funeral, slipping into a depressive state in the process. The whole school are watching too, with this broadcast across the news. That evening, Wilhelm’s parents discuss their son’s future and just where he should go next. Tellingly he’s not actually consulted about this but it does mean that Eric’s death makes him the crown prince. Simon watches the news too but despite getting paid a little amount by August, it’s still not enough to cover his expenses. Simon’s Mother is certainly not happy though when she finds out about the tuition. She berates him over his thoughtlessness of paying to get ahead. Back at school, Wilhelm addresses the school and goes off-script. He speaks from the heart and admits he’s going to honour the family tradition and become the crown prince. Unfortunately with that comes Wilhelm’s decision to turn away from Simon. He tells him to delete all of their texts together too. However, Wilhelm can’t bring himself to delete his number given their good times together. Simon heads over to visit his Father but finds him drunk and snoring on the sofa. Cursing his luck, he snatches up all the pills and takes off. A the same time, Felice continues her empty romance with August. She puts on a façade in front of everyone but behind closed doors there’s definitely trouble in paradise. If there’s one consolation here though, Felice and Sara patch up their differences. Simon hands his pills over to August and tells him he needs to sell them. That way he’ll have enough to pay for Simon’s private tuition. When Simon’s father finds out though, he’s certainly not happy. Simon eventually lashes out at him and walks away. That night, August and the rest of the posh cronies bring Wilhelm to ‘The Society’. They want him to take the same seat that Alex once held before he passed away. Apparently all these kids are loyal to the crown. As they get talking, Wilhelm is brought to play cards where they end up drinking and popping pills. In his intoxicated state, Wilhelm staggers outside to the football field. There, he rings Simon and admits that he really likes him. Simon inevitably rushes out to help bring him back. As night turns to day, Wilhelm asks Simon to hold him. He wants Simon to stay until he falls asleep, encouraging the boy to lie down as they start to kiss and look set to make love. Of course, things inevitably go awry when August ends up outside at the window. He begins recording a video of Wilhelm and Simon together kissing and in bed. Oh no…
The Episode Review
Well, this was always going to end up in tears. The show has been teasing something dramatic like this for quite some time now and unfortunately it’s August who ends up seeing the pair together. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with two people loving each other but in this hierarchical world of royalty I can imagine it’s something that’s quite taboo. This also means August holds all the cards when it comes to the blackmail we’ve been seeing in the past episodes too. Quite what the repercussions will be from this video remains to be seen but it’s not going to be pretty. One thing’s for sure – the conflict is far from over and it seems like these two are in for quite the rollercoaster ride in the episodes to come.
