REVIEW: ‘Young Royals’ Delivers Emotional Series Finale

Despite inconsistencies and a penchant for melodrama, the Young Royals series finale all but sticks the landing. In Season 3, Episode 5, the two star-crossed lovers seemed again torn apart by circumstances. Prince Wilhelm (Edvin Ryding) and Simon Eriksson (Omar Rudberg) encounter many stumbling blocks throughout the three seasons. Most prominent is Wilhelm’s status as royalty and the hardships of being born into a lineage he didn’t choose. The series finale neatly wraps this up in a swell of romanticism that, if not entirely earned, is nonetheless effective.

Young Royals operates in a fantasy. One part Skins with a dash of Skam and the soundtrack of Teen Wolf, the series fully commits itself to its soap opera theatrics. There’s the languid longing and moments of intimacy shot like a perfume ad. Everything is more extensive and grander because of the series’ mechanics and who is at its center. It’s emotionally heightened stakes because these are teenagers. They’re temperamental and volatile, unable to reckon with their own emotions, nevertheless those of others. It’s what makes it such an engaging watch, as much as it can be aggravating. As much as we want to see these characters find their peace, we also want to give them small, affectionate shoves in the right direction.

Their youth is on full display in the finale. From love declarations to students tumultuously mourning the shutting down of their school, there are a lot of tears and farewells. While the series finale doesn’t cover all its bases, it tries its best to touch upon every significant dynamic. Sara (Frida Argento) chooses herself and her relationships with Felice (Nikita Uggla) and Simon over a romance with August (Malte Gårdinger). August apologizes to Wilhelm about everything, and while Wilhelm doesn’t forgive him, he thanks him and acknowledges their shared experiences. Felice and Sara make up in one of the more low-key touching moments of the season. It’s a reminder that no matter the love stories of our youth, it’s platonic love that can best define our trajectories in becoming who we are.

But of course, the moment fans have been waiting for is the development between Wilhelm and Simon. The two flirt and dance around each other throughout the entire episode. Wilhelm declares Simon the love of his life. And while there’s room to doubt (he’s still just 16), Ryding makes us believe it. While the first five episodes of the season spent too much time buried underneath Wilhelm’s expectations, the finale gives the two room to breathe. They’re young and in love and desperately trying to gain a semblance of control of their lives.

When Wilhelm tells his mother he’s abdicating, he admits it’s for himself, not Simon. It makes his final declaration to Simon more potent. Yes, this benefits them as a couple. But it also assures that Wilhelm isn’t just doing this on a whim. Maybe the two will break up someday. But at the very least, they’re now allowed to chase love at their own speed.

However, the romance is still not the most significant part, despite the final moments. Instead, most interestingly, it is how Wilhelm and August mirror one another. Choosing to abdicate means that Wilhelm reaches his ending with the crown. However, it promises a new beginning of choices he can make for himself and a love story he’s free to follow. Meanwhile, August is getting everything he thought he once dreamed of as Wilhelm’s spare, but his face suggests that he, too, has realized that being in bed with the crown means wrapping a neat bow on what once was his freedom.

While all the actors bring their A game in the Young Royals Series Finale, Gårdinger continues to impress the most. He goes through the emotional ringer. August grapples with an uncertain future and the crumbling fantasy that was Hillerska as the boarding school must close following bad press. He commits a lot of wrongs throughout the series. There’s no denying that he has an extensive way to go. However, Gårdinger delivers such a wounded, emotionally vulnerable performance that it’s hard not to hope that he finds happiness with time and therapy, too.

Not everything is given the closure it deserves. Felice has been an extraordinary character who too often plays support to the other characters. Wilhelm’s anxiety and August’s suggested disordered eating needed more time to be fleshed out. Wilhelm’s mother is never as empathetic as the series clearly wants her to be. But for the most part, the series wraps itself up with little gaps as the characters seek their own happiness and youthful abandon. As Wilhelm, Simon, Sara, and Felice drive away from the toxicity of the boarding school, the direction captures the warmth of teenage camaraderie.

While the third season didn’t always live up to its predecessors, the Young Royals Series Finale proves why it has such an exuberant fan base. With a lot of heart and strong performances, the finale finds the necessary sweetness and longing of great coming-of-age stories.

Young Royals Seasons 1–3 are available now on Netflix.