#yr comment

[emberc]

Yes to all of that!!! I didn’t know much about the series either- I’d just started learning Swedish and wanted to watch something to help me along. And I was caught off guard by how good it was. I was expecting the typical teenage drama with cringy dialogs and cliche plot twists. There’s no need to say that isn’t what I got at all. The characters have so much depth and layers to them. Like you said there isn’t a single character you never feel frustrated with- they all have moments where, as an outsider, you shake your head and say this is stupid, why are you acting like that, this is so clearly the wrong way to behave/ handle this situation! But at the same time you can always see why they do these things. Their behavior never feels like a plot device (though it obviously is) but a logical and natural consequence of their character. And of course this is not just the script but also the phenomenal actors that play their roles with such honesty. And I adore how well represented different groups are. People of different cultural backgrounds, people with different sexualities, people with different body shapes, imperfect skin. And unlike in other shows, it doesn’t feel performative either, but rather like a genuine representation of reality, not something to appease the more critical viewer. Which is still so so so rare!

These are my exact thoughts as well!! I feel so blessed to see this show on Netflix and give it a try. I do not usually watch Netflix, I am more of a MUBI person, but so so so glad that I clicked the button and started watching this very well-done show!

I just cannot stop thinking about the characters' arcs and circumstances. Wilhelm, for instance, grew up in a royal family under the constant public eye, has a mother who puts her Queenly duties above her motherly duties (Wilhelm in S2E2: "Can you be my mom once?"), and a brother he adored but he died in an accident. And he is under such tremendous pressure because he is in love with a boy deeply for the first time in his life, they made love, and their 'sex tape' got leaked by his second cousin. Thinking about Simon, having an addicted father, trying to succeed in life in a society full of classism, and trying to be the big brother for his autistic older sister. Thinking about Sara, an autistic person who was bullied and felt left out all the time, having no friends in her prev high school, who also wants to succeed in life. Thinking about Felice, whose mother is the one ignoring her daughter's wishes all the time, trying to find her voice against family expectations. Thinking about August, having a father who killed himself when August was a young teen boy, he inherited his family estate that needs money to keep going for the other generations because that is what is expected. Thinking about Nils, a gay boy who feels to stay closeted throughout his whole life because of the heteronormative society. And so on...

Btw, there are some edits I love so much, if you want to watch them, here are they:

[emberc]

I don’t want them to delve into Kristina’s unfortunate romance any further, maybe she made it up maybe not. A revelation that it was Jan-Olof or even worse August’s dad, this makes the show descend even more into B movie territory. It’s already a tacky soap opera with Felice-August and Sara. F and A date, F dumps A, S falls in love with her best friend’s former bf, also S decides to sleep with A who leaked a tape of none other than her own brother. Way to create cheap drama! No need to add up anymore of this with the Queen!

I do not think it is cheap drama, they actually handled some basic tropes well (yeah, they might have tried non-spicey plots, but a show like YR builds on spicy drama including betrayal, power games, and intense first love). There is only so much you can do with a teen drama that is not sci-fi or fantasy with many fictionalized elements, even those genres include some basic tropes. It kinda all goes back to Ancient Greece (e.g. Aristotle on storytelling, etc.). But you are right for not wanting them to spend so much time with those types of minor details because we only have 6 eps upcoming.

I was just thinking about a slight mention of it. Maybe Kristina would see how much W&S love each other, and understand that her own unfortunate romance is not the ultimate example that has to be taken into account for every royal's own destiny. Your child is not you or the older generations prior to you. People can be brave and demand change... there is another future for young people.

[emberc]

I’m glad you like the comments <3 However, if they start annoying you, please tell me! I never want to bother people with my thoughts but I happen to have no one in real life who’s watched the series and I have so many thoughts and there’s so much to be analyzed and tumblr is an excellent platform for that (and I really like your commentary- it’s so well thought out and aligns perfectly with my views although it is worded a lot better).

I 100% agree. Having them break up again would be boring and repetitious. It also wouldn’t add anything new to the story and would imo also make no sense with how Wille has developed. Season 2 was all about him working through his internalized ideas of who he should be and what his responsibilities entail and the speech was the climax of that. In season 3 they’ll most likely focus on the aftermath of that and his efforts to remain true to his newfound ideals and perspective of himself. It’s like you said- it’s much more interesting to see Wille and Simon go up against the world and see if they can actually sustain their relationship even through the hardships they’ll most definitely encounter.

And thank you for the edit!! It was brilliant as well. I can never quite fathom how good all the creators in this fandom are!

No, I like hearing people's thoughts. That is also why I watch reaction videos!

Simon trying to move on made some logic in itself because dating the crown prince of your country in secret is a huge deal! Put me in his shoes and I would do the same, I guess. Think about it, for two years you need to pretend like you are single-ish while in secret you are in love with and dating the future king. You cannot hold hands in public, you cannot go on dates in public, you cannot mention him as your lover in public, and so on... It would affect your mental health. Marcus was the opposite. A person out and proud, he can hang out publicly.

But he admitted that he was even willing to be Wille's boyfriend in secret -he loves Wille that much!- in the end, and now it is not an option for him to date another person, he wants to be with Wille! Just like Wille wants to be with Simon. He confessed his love for Simon to the entire world basically. Now this is the real deal: Are they a couple worth fighting for?

Thank you for your lovely words!

[emberc]

For sure. If he were to forgive Sara it would be for his own sake not hers. I think he’ll be even more alone in the next season- we’ve seen that more and more people turn away from him- so I could see him being more desperate to keep anyone close. I also think that while he’s obviously a huge jerk there is a difference between his relationship with Sara and the other characters. In his own very flawed way he does seem to genuinely care about her (although I wouldn’t take that as prove that he’ll forgive her).

Either way I think we’ll see him spiral with his body image issues (you’re right they did continue the plot line just not in the way I was expecting. I totally forgot about that) his addiction and whatever the fallout will be following Sara’s actions.

I think he’s a generally really interesting character because there is little that’s redeemable in his actions. He does “nice things” for Sara but he also uses those things to exert control. He tries to make things right but not because he sees his mistakes but because he wants to save his own skin. I love when books/movies aren’t afraid to include such complicated characters (which can be said about all the people in yr). And Malte plays him so fckn well!!!

Hard agree!

When I started watching this show, I had no idea about the plot, I had watched Operation Hyacinth back then (recommended), this show popped up, I was like "Okay, let's give it a chance, never watched any series from Sweden before, hmm, I think it is another cliche teen drama, but anyways, let's start" From the first moment, I was caught off guard! And I finished the whole S1 in one sitting, wanted to punch August but amazed by the actor! I also realized that throughout the season, I got angry with most of them from time to time, i.e. Felice, Sara, Simon, Wilhelm, August, rich boys & girls, Linda, Micke, and even Rosh & Ayub because they did not understand Simon. But I also understood them and their perspectives. And of course, I cannot compare a crime and a sister's betrayal to anything but the characters are so humanly, nuanced and real. It is amazing to know such a teen show exists, plus showing real skin and social issues (e.g. classism).