#nils poltjerna

[abagofspoons]

Me and the bad bitch that I pulled by being a twink

[schelluminium]

S1 E1 Rewatch of

The first thing I'm only noticing now that I'm rewaching the show, is how Wille's talent for holding speeches is being introduced as he has to address the scandal he caused publically. And yes, I really think Wille has a talent for speeches. He is anxious and uncomfortable with having to do them, to stand in front of expectant people and seem like the confident and responsible prince he is expected to be. But despite this, he manages to do it. And as he does it, he refuses to recite the words that the royal court is trying to put in his mouth. He goes off script and talks freely, spontaneously and while he does, he finds just the right words to convey what he needs to. Of course in this scene he is still going along the lines of what the royal court wants from him but as the show progresses, he learns to apply his talent for finding the right words to convey what he himself wants. It's part of Wille's journey to learning to stand up for himself.

The next thing I am only just now realising is the foreshadowing of Wille becoming the Crown Prince. Just before he has to talk to the press about transferring to Hillerska, he and his family are asked to sit down onto the royal sofa. At first, on the left sits Ludvig, then comes Wille, then Erik and then Kristina. This could very well display the succession to the throne. On the right the current Queen, next in line the Crown Prince Erik, then his younger brother Prince Wilhelm, and lastly Duke Ludvig. But then Wille and Erik are asked to switch places. Now Wille sits right next to his mother, the Queen, as the next King himself.

Wille's famous look into the camera... it now seems to me like an "I see you (the audience). I know you are there." He was just talking to the whole nation who is going to see his statement on tv, and we, the viewers, saw him do it. We belong to the people. Wille is a public figure and gets constantly watched and we are watching his every move too.

The way August touches Wille's cheek looks so condescending, oh my god. I remember watching that for the first time and thinking "I fucking hate this guy"... it's such an interesting introduction of August's character considering how his story progressed.

Somewhere I saw someone theorise that this scene is foreshadowing the fight for the crown between Wille and August throughout the show, until in the end Wille gives up his title as Crown Prince and August has to take over.

This moment is so fleeting but so important to me. We see Wille be annoyed and uncomfortable at being paraded around in front of the school staff and then he is told to take a picture with the headmistress. That is when he turns to Erik. His gaze seems to say "Seriously? Do I really have to do this?" and Erik answers with an expectant look like "What's the matter? Just take the picture". It's the first look into their dynamic as brothers and their different view on things, even if it's just such a short moment.

Another great shot. In front we have Wille who is obviously uncomfortable in this situation, at being in the spotlight and having all eyes on him. He is unable to hide that. And in the back we have Erik and August who are smiling and seem relaxed and happy to be here. Another tiny glimpse into how these characters feel about and handle the role they have within the Royal Family.

The meaning of August's words got lost in the German dub. Weirdly enough, the German sub is right.

In the German dub August says: "Solange man sich noch nicht zu 100% sicher ist, sollte man weiter üben", which translates to "As long as you aren't 100% sure, you should keep practising". Which is not as nasty as what August actually said. I was really shocked when I found this out.

I really don't know why Erik laughed at that...

Oh my god, I still remember watching this scene for the first time and being mesmerized by Simon. I'm sure I'm far from the only one but thinking back on it now, I must have fallen in love with him right then and there, just from that beautiful face and the equally beautiful voice alone.

Knew right from that moment that I hated Vincent.

Remember these two? No? Don't worry, no one does... when Simon sings, all eyes are on him and only him. You could show me pictures of Hillerska students and I wouldn't be able to tell which of them were in the choir. Obviously they were just background characters but still. I feel a bit sorry for them not getting even an ounce of a moment to shine, because Simon is the star of the show.

I love how Simon straightened up, squared his shoulders and sang loud and proud after Vincent was being a dick.

This one, on the other hand, still doesn't seem too happy to be here. Maybe he should look for another hobby.

The wonder in Wille's eyes...

…and the transition to a smile. The first genuine, happy smile we see of his character, actually. And it is because of a boy with an amazing voice.

I always wondered about what these two were thinking. I think the guy says "Simon?" in answer to the girl but I can't really tell from his expression whether they are enjoying his singing or making fun of him. What was everyone else's impression?

Also when I first heard this song, that part really stuck with me:

of becoming like the others who become unhappy mothers and the fathers of unhappy kids

I don't know, it might be my own experiences and fears but this line gave me chills. But in the context of the show it's also so important, since family is a huge topic and both Simon and Wille have a difficult family life in different ways. You can apply this line of the song very well to the both of them, which is very interesting.

Of course the whole song, its lyrics and meaning are important and perfectly fitting for the show anyway.

It's just generally an amazing scene with Wille hearing Simon sing these words and hold his head high as he does, sticking out from the masses and that captivates Wille.

This scene was so wholesome and really made me feel as if they were kids again, misbehaving and having fun. Also Farima looks so done with them, it's funny.

[scottishgremlin]

A young royals ask for you: how do you imagine that August, Nils, and Vincent cure their hangovers the day after that disastrous third-year dinner?

ooh this is a fun one!

i think august would be very strategic with it - he’s drinking lots of water, taking painkillers, replenishing his electrolytes, doing everything you’re generally instructed to do to combat a hangover. he minimises his symptoms to his peers and pretends he just doesn’t get hangovers because he’s annoying like that (affectionate and derogatory).

nils would just try to sleep it off. i think he’s just that sort of guy.

vincent, on the other hand, i believe has an insane alcohol tolerance, but when he does have hangovers he consumes copious amounts of paracetamol and plain toast (don’t you even DARE suggest drinking water to him).

[waltybrainrot]

first and last appearances

(i am so sorry madison but getting a flattering ss of the last scene was impossible)

(thanks for this idea @zee-has-commitment-issues)

[grapehyasynth]

[astronomyanti]

i love the third years an unhealthy amount. i hate august but hes awesome ok?

[gothicrepetitions]

Young Royals genuinely did class criticism so fucking well. Many types I see media fall into the ‘both the upper class and lower class are just victims of a system that pits them against each other… the upper class have it just as bad just in different ways’ troupe, and I was afraid that Young Royals would do the same. But instead it ended tackling the subject very well.

Through characters like Stella, Fredrika, Nils and Vincent, we see the students of Hillerska humanised. The audience come to understand these characters as real people who are neither inherently good nor bad. We see how they are the same system that protects them and keeps them on top also hurts them. And both the audience and the show sympathises them.

But the show still holds them accountable. It shows us that by choosing the remain in the system as they are and perpetuate its values, without reexamination or revolution, they will harm not only others (as their privilege exists on the basis of others not having that privilege, on the rights of others), but also themselves.

Unless they breaks out of it, the cycle will continue. They all keep making the same mistakes as those before them for the sake of tradition. They’ll idolise tradition despite how it has hurt and continues to hurt them and how it makes them hurt others. They perpetuate suffering.

Wille and Felice can grow and change, because they question tradition and the system upheld by it, and decide to reject it. They decide on revolution. And as a result both of them end the show happy and free.

[bluedalahorse]

Hi Blue! If you're still doing YR asks, here's one: do you have any thoughts on/hcs about how August, Vincent and Nils became friends?

(From August's letter, it's a bit unclear if he's listing things that already happened over his first year when he says "you've made some friends" or if he's hoping to achieve that in his next two years; I lean towards the former based on his reference to hanging with Erik and the third-years, but I would love to hear your thoughts whether our ideas of the timepoint align or not!)

Hi friend! I love this ask so much, thank you for sending it.

Apologies for this taking a while. I was letting all my thoughts cook together into a nice stew.

I don’t know if I have a definitive origin story for the August-Nils-Vincent friendship, but I also don’t know if it’s the sort of friendship that has a distinct origin story or a moment that can be pointed to as the moment they all became friends. Instead I can see a series of scenarios that bring them together in their first year. I also have some thoughts on the mindsets behind that and how dynamics in the group shift over time.

So the first thing I’m thinking about is the forced proximity of dorm life. We know based on how everyone responds to Wille’s single room that first years rarely get singles, so they all would have had roommates, and it’s possible two of them end up rooming together first year.

For the purposes of me picking something specific, let’s say August and Vincent are assigned to one another as roommates first year. Nils is the odd one out. He has a different roommate—an international student with a long distance girlfriend, and they’re always on the phone being incredibly lovey-dovey with one another without any care that Nils is trying to study one desk over. This Blatant Display Of Heterosexual Privilege annoys Nils, so he never really bonds with that roommate and starts spending all his time at August and Vincent’s across the hall, even sleeping over time to time.

Initially Nils sleeps on the floor in someone’s sleeping bag, because he’s pretty in the closet after initiation and Vincent’s joke of “sharing a bed isn’t gay if we’re lying in opposite directions” is well-meaning but… very unhelpful, to say the least. Eventually August and Vincent feel bad for Nils sleeping on the floor all the time, and August volunteers to swap so he’s sleeping on the floor and Nils is sleeping in his bed. He clumsily explains this by being like, “Erik has been telling me about his upcoming year of military service and maybe I’ll do that too because my father would have wanted me to, and in the military you have to sleep in uncomfortable conditions and on the ground and stuff so this is training.” And Nils and Vincent are like “o…kay then, weirdo” but they let August sleep on the floor. The next time Vincent adds himself to the rotation and sleeps on the floor, saying he’s not going to let August out-Sparta him and develop more abs than everyone else. And so they fall into a rhythm of rotating who gets a bed, and their double room becomes an unofficial triple. Nils still worries from time to time that the bed thing is gonna become weird though.

They notice a lot of things about one another during that time then but don’t really talk about it. Nils and Vincent notice that August really struggles with sleeping and occasional nightmares in the middle of the night, and will often sneak out to go for a run when it’s dark. When August starts to notice that they’re noticing, and they notice that he notices, they diffuse the tension by teasing him about having a secret girlfriend he’s sneaking off to at Manor House, and then a whole roster of secret girls, some of whom live in Bjärstad. Erik catches wind of this and the third year boys get in on the teasing too, and this is what starts to cement August’s reputation as a bit of a slutty bad boy. He’ll lean into that reputation more his second year, because he starts to internalize it more at that point and because the guys respond to him positively for it. But first year he’s in more of a fumbling “what are girls even???” state and is mostly managing a clumsy hookup here or there, while also being very earnest (off-puttingly earnest, even) about the idea that he has to find the girl who will help him run Årnäs someday. (I actually think the clash between what people say about August’s relationship reputation at Hillerska, versus how he actually behaves in a relationship, are something we’re meant to notice.)

Vincent, meanwhile, is really struggling with his studies and his recent ADHD diagnosis and his self-image around school. I imagine August and Nils are focused on getting good grades, and can probably study in the same room without annoying one another. (August is a bit more likely to pull an anxiety all-nighter, though—more on that in a bit.) Maybe he and Nils have a little bit of a friendly competition going about their test grades.

Vincent, however, really struggles. His meds help him up to a point—mostly so he isn’t bouncing around his classroom and chattering nonstop while the teacher tries to teach, which is how he went through his pre-Hillerska school years. Since he’s diagnosed relatively late for a boy, he’s way behind on developing study skills or habits that would help him succeed, and he’s afraid to use accommodations or strategies like notepad planners or the pomodoro method or similar. Nils and August sometimes try to help him out, and sometimes help him through unintentional body doubling for certain academic tasks. But sometimes they also get frustrated with him for distracting them while they work, or for constantly cracking jokes when they try to focus, and end up snapping at him. At that point Vincent will pull away and say he doesn’t care because his family can pay for what he needs in life, and being good at school is stupid. Inwardly he’s dealing with a lot of shame and negative self-image, which comes out as anger and snark. He’s especially jealous of August’s academic abilities—August and Nils get about the same grades, but Nils seems to be more calmly organized whereas August runs on a little more messy anxiety and Vincent thinks he should be doing worse at school than he is. (If that makes sense?)

Outside of dorm room life, they have shared activities first year. They all make the rowing team and take it pretty seriously. August takes it the most seriously, and spends too much time in the gym, leading Vincent and Nils to have some time to hang out when he’s not there. I imagine Forest Ridge has a seriously significant rowing victory their first year that August plays some role in, and that’s where the famous photo of August and Erik comes from. Maybe that’s what leads to third years finally adopting August a bit. Nils and Vincent are excited about the victory too, but they’re a little envious that August gets pulled into the third year circle whereas they don’t as much.

In addition to rowing, there’s also chess. August, Nils, and Vincent have a chess board in the common room they like to play with. The third years claim the nice chess boards, so they’re stuck with one that’s missing a few pieces. They’ll usually replace these missing pieces with coins (or at one point, an unopened condom.) Chess leads to a lot of subtextual drama between the three boys, because only two of them can play at a time, and the other one has to watch. It’s just, a bit of a platonic love triangle situation. August, due to the eternal curse that is rejection sensitivity, sometimes worries that Nils and Vincent prefer to play chess with just each other, and that they’re just tolerating him. One day he comes back after hanging out with the third years, they joke that he’s not allowed to play with them that night… so he never plays with them again. Nils and Vincent are honestly pretty baffled, but they never ask August about it because it’s weird to talk to the guys about emotions.

This kind of leads to my final idea… I think August would go through a lot of this stuff, not just chess, and assume he’s just being tolerated. I read him as having a pretty negative self-image, and he just doesn’t think of himself as likable at all. (Yes, he’s arrogant when we meet him, but that arrogance is so obviously a front and a defense mechanism.) He does like Vincent and Nils and think they’d be good friends, but he can’t possibly imagine that they like him as much as he likes them. And he takes little moments like the chess moment above as confirmation of that, and holds people at arms’ length. I think this is part of what’s behind what he says in the letter. I do think there were moments where August was overtly bullied and rejected. I also think there were moments where people were reaching out to him on good faith, and really did enjoy his company, and he couldn’t accept the truth of it because bullying and trauma make you more prone to rejection sensitivity, and you doubt that people really do like you.

I also like to imagine that there was a significant moment of August-Nils-Vincent fracturing that happened in between first and second year. August and Vincent were sort of beginning to get on one another’s nerves at that point, and they both secretly asked Nils to be their second year roommate, leaving Nils caught in the middle of them. Nils ultimately went with Vincent. (Secret reason: he was starting to feel some attraction to August at that time, which he got over sometime in second year but you know, he was having a Moment. Nils was not in the mood to put himself through an “oh my god they were roommates” type situation.) August’s rejection sensitivity brain went into overdrive at that point like, SEE NILS AND VINCENT LIKE ONE ANOTHER BETTER THAN THEY LIKE ME. He acted cold and closed off to them a lot of second year, even if they still all did stuff together. This is also about when August leaned a little bit more into the serial dating of multiple Hillerska girls, because at this point his brain has swallowed the toxic masculinity poison of “you don’t reach out to your bros for emotional support, only your wife.” And at that point he was looking for a wife, trying to earnestly convince girls he was Serious About Relationships while trying to play it off to the guys like he was a total player sleeping around and hooking up. One of the unfortunate girls who had to deal with August at this stage in his life was likely Unnamed Manor House Prefect, who he mentions briefly to Sara in 1.6. He’s like “oh yeah I’m close with her, I’ll talk to her about getting you a dorm room” and like. What a weird line. What happened? Did he write her an incredibly shitty Valentine’s ball poem? Did they date and did it go disastrously? Did she refuse to date him, but he ended up respecting her anyway, because her spreadsheet-making game was stronger than his when they organized a movie night for their dorms? Was there a weird fake dating situation that never panned out into real dating? Fanfics for all scenarios including Unnamed Manor House Prefect are due on my desk at the end of the weekend.

Anyway. Tangent! My point is that August was very very sad when Nils and Vincent decided to room together and leave him out, and he pulled away. And it wasn’t until season 3 that he started to realize they might actually like him for real, especially the part where they hug him after he’s sad school is closing. That didn’t erase every issue they’ve ever had, and they’ll obviously all have to work on friendship more and learn how to grow up and communicate honestly and such. But I do think it’s an interesting trio dynamic with a lot of excellent teenage messiness, and I love it.