Even with six episodes’ worth of slow buildup, it feels like the ending of Young Royals Season 2 goes from zero to 100 in the last few minutes. Warning: Spoilers for Young Royals Season 2 follow. Wilhelm confirms it was him in the leaked video of him and Simon having sex, Sara calls the cops to report August, Wilhelm and Simon get back together… it was a lot, to the say the least. If you just stepped off the roller coaster and want a full breakdown of the ending, I’ve got you.
Fans were stoked to hear that Young Royals, the Swedish-language Netflix show about a young prince falling in love with his classmate, was getting a second season, especially after Season 1’s cliffhanger where Wilhelm left Simon alone to deal with the repercussions of their leaked sex tape. Wilhelm heads into Season 2 looking for revenge on his cousin August, who sent out the video to the press — and who happens to be next in the line of succession to the Swedish throne, BTW. That’s important context: After all, a lot of Season 2’s plot centers around the queen tapping August to step in as crown prince, should Wilhelm not be able to handle the pressure.
But when Simon learns of August’s role in outing his and Wilhelm’s relationship, things take a swift turn.
Will Wilhelm step down from the throne?
It seemed pretty likely as the season went on that Wilhelm might take the out provided to him by his parents, even if he despises August. After all, he tells Simon he doesn’t want him to report August to the police for filming and spreading the illicit video because that would oust him from being able to ascend to the throne, meaning Wilhelm has no backup if he wants to leave his royal duties behind. (OK, but can we talk about how it’s kind of romantic that Wilhelm would consider giving up the crown just to be with Simon?)
But I wouldn’t jump to conclusions so quickly that Prince Wilhelm is on his way out. At the end of the season finale, August is about to step up and give the jubilee speech on Wilhelm’s behalf when — surprise! — Wilhelm beats him to the podium to give his own speech. He doesn’t follow the carefully written script he’s been practicing, however, and instead comes clean about it being him in the video despite denying it at the end of Season 1. We don’t see anything past this speech, so it’s not clear just yet what the repercussions will be. Would the Royal Court have August swoop in for good? Speaking of August…
Will August get arrested?
August was certainly eager when the queen told him he was the royal family’s backup plan. Considering how much trouble he could’ve gotten in for filming that video, a chance to be king is certainly a light sentence — though it may have been all for naught anyway.
When Simon finds out that August leaked the video, he tells his sister Sara that he’s going to go to the police. What Simon doesn’t know is that Sara is, in a not-so-great display of judgment, secretly hooking up with August (who is also her best friend Felice’s ex. Yikes). So Sara tips off August, assuming that he’ll do the right thing and confess to the police himself first. August… does not do that. Of course.
Instead, he concocts a plan with classmate Alexander to pin the blame on him. He delivers a villainous monologue to Wilhelm, threatening him to tell Simon to back down — or else, not only will August get away scot-free thanks to Alexander and his excellent lawyers, but he’ll also turn Simon in for the drug-dealing he did back in Season 1. Simon and Wilhelm are, of course, furious: They corner August and demand to know who tipped him off, only for Sara and Felice to find them and for Sara to confess her part in all of this. I’m guessing we can consider the sibling trust between Simon and Sara officially broken, at least for the time being.
Simon eventually decides not to go to the police, leaving Wilhelm’s backup in place and choosing not to destroy any of their families any further. But just when you think this whole thing might be left in the past for good, one of the final clips shows Sara texting Simon that she will make things up to him and skipping the jubilee to make a call to the police station and, yep, report a crime.
Will August become the next king of Sweden?
We don’t hear the rest of that phone call, and the show ends before any consequences are revealed, but this could make things really messy. It’s not certain that August would face major legal repercussions — after all, Wilhelm was hesitant to go to the police in the first place because August’s wealth and access to strong legal representation could mean he’d get off pretty much scot-free. But I doubt the royal family wants a future king whose name is caught up in a child pornography scandal, especially with the extra side of family betrayal now that Wilhelm has confirmed that he’s in the video.
We’ll have to wait and see what comes of Sara’s phone call, but neither Wilhelm nor August are looking like the queen’s ideal successor at the moment. Maybe there’s a minor lord somewhere down the line who can step in for both of them? If only…
Will There Be A Season 3?
So far, there’s been no word on a Season 3 of Young Royals, unfortunately — which means it’s not guaranteed that we’ll get to know whether Wilhelm gets his freedom (or August his prison time). But I’ve got my fingers crossed for an announcement, because these cliffhangers are simply too much. At least Simon and Wilhelm ended the season together rather than apart this time.