I can’t help but wonder if what happened at the end of episode 5 triggered Simon’s trauma with his dad.

It seemed like they were trying to tone down Micke this season - make him a disappointing alcoholic rather than the abusive drug addict they implied he was in season 1 - but the fact of the matter was Micke didn’t blink an eye at slamming his son against walls and grabbing his face violently. Suggesting that Micke had been violent with Simon before.

Then we have Wille who bottles everything up until he bursts into a violent rage. He bottles up his pain at his parents until he is yelling at them and smashing presents in front of his shell shocked boyfriend. He escalated to the point he threatened someone with a gun. Frankly it makes me wonder if the nightclub fight that started everything was the result of Wille bottling his stress until someone harassing him at a club made him explode.

In some ways both Simon and Sara have partnered up with people like their father.

Sara has found herself with an addict.

Simon has found himself with someone who explodes violently.

I hope it gets resolved it just makes me sad

Speaking as of March 17, the day before 3.06 drops, I don't see August's arc in 3.01 to 3.05 as a redemption arc. Yeah, he's done one more genuinely nice thing in his life than before S3: for his third years, walking back from the homophobic sexual degradation that he experienced in his own initiation as a first year. Go him.

That's a good thing he's done, no question. But he still organized terrifying initiations (even if they weren't quite as bad as his own), he still got booze from Simon for the initiation party that he'd never had any intention of paying for.

August also allowed his lawyer to make that outrageous statement in 3.01 denying that the video was defamatory. The only reason he's not in jail awaiting trial on CP charges is because he has money and connections to make his criminal act disappear. That's not original, about the money and connections, but I forget who said it first. @unfortunate17 or @billfarrah , maybe... He was also smug rather than penitent while everybody was signing the paperwork.

Also, August persists in walking all over Sara's boundaries. He visits her at Micke's without warning, and doesn't apologize for the position he put her in. He uses that Conversation to remind her that she and he have similar dads, except Micke is alive and Carl Johan is dead. He's trying to play on Sara's sympathy. Even though the whole reason she feels she has to live with Micke is because of august's past bad actions.

And he repeatedly defies her wishes about not wanting to read his first year letter. He follows her out to the dumpster and insists on reading it to her to tug on her heartstrings. Even after she was clear she didn't want to read it and gave it back to him.

Now, was August being manipulative in S3 on purpose? No. But he and Sara aren't an example of a healthy relationship just because in S3 Wilhelm and Simon have an unhealthy relationship. I know I shouldn't use the word healthy, but at the moment I can't think of a suitable synonym.

So yeah, now he's done exactly two nice things in his life that we know of:

Buying Sara for Rousseau

Dialling back the sexual intimidation on the Forest Ridge initiations when he was a third year. Although the initiations August presided over were no walk in the park, so let's not give him too much credit.

I'm not saying he's a soulless monster. He's only 18 going on 19, he has time to improve before we write him off altogether. But he has STILL never apologized to Simon and Wilhelm for the sexual violation he inflicted on them. As soon as the NDA was safely signed, his own bad actions regarding the video were in August's rear view mirror.

So yeah, he listened to Boris and he tried to do a nice thing or two. But he’s still August.

I don’t think Micke was actually an abusive parent, I think he was just useless. The fact that Simon still wanted a relationship with him and only didn’t because of Sara doesn’t really make it seem like he was violent towards his children

Why Micke might be important in Season 3

After my last theory, i'm back with another one...

We all know that Micke is a piece of shit, but what does everyone know?

That he's the one you want to know if you want alcohol.

Honestly, if Auguts wants to frame Simon as the one that sold him the drugs he needs good evidence.

And so far what he has are bottles of pills with the name "Micke Eriksson" and bank details from when he sent Simon his money back but let's forget about that detail

So he has no proof that Simon was the one that actually sold it to him, because August could have gone directly to Micke to get the stuff.

We know that he must have a role in the new season, like Sara living with him.

So, back to my original theory.

Micke will take the blame for the drugs, and it might happen late on the season.

Everyone says Sara is talking with either Micke, August or Wille on that one scene; but she's actually talking with Simon.

Look at the clothes; the same sweatshirt colour and skin colour, and the car in the back might be similar. Also, Sweden is cold as fuck, and they're not dressed very warmly so it might be episode 4-5

Linda us hugging Simon that, let's be honest, looks like shit.

Why?

Cue to my original theory, something happened that forced the siblings back together.

Either Micke goes to jail because of the drugs or he might die, and he's used as an scapegoat on the whole situation. That way Simon is "free" from a drug scandal.

I was so hurt seeing this parallel..

The fact that Simon immediately recognized that Wille was high when he looked him in the eye and we see him flinch the same way he did when his dad touch him.

There's so much that we can still discuss in this series but we only have one season left. And I really need them to address this one but will we ever get the chance when they even missed showing Simon's side on S2 😭

I think what my problem with the 'bad parent Kristina' trope is, especially in fics, that it basically becomes synonym with evil Kristina which just isn't accurate. She is a bad parent, yes but she isn't this evil witch set on manipulating and destroying her son's life. You can actually be a good person and be a bad parent, those two things are not mutually exclusive. And you can do a shitty job at parenting but still love your child, there can even be affection and good moments, it's just not enough.

Another example is Micke - he's also not actually an abusive asshole but can be really sweet and he obviously loves and cares about his children very much. He wants them in his life and be there for them but that doesn't stop him from having his own problems and letting his kids down. You can love them but still fail your children. And even though you want what's best for them doesn't mean that you can provide it (in Micke's case) or actually act in their best interests (in Kristina's case).

Micke and Kristina are both very good examples on being good people with their own set of baggage who are bad parents that are trying in their own way but in the end simply can't be there for their children the way they should and sadly only hurt them instead of being the emotionally supporting guide they should be.

And it's okay to accept their complexities without erasing either all of their good or their bad qualities.

My favorite scenes in Young Royals that showed me Omar's huge acting talent are those with Micke.

it's also the details filmed like this one - for example his nervous fingers wiggling:

Him making faces in the kitchen, bc he doesn't want to make any noise and get caught.

But also it's his voice that Simon tries to keep steady while looking for his fathers medicaments.

The struggle is real and you can feel it. I was so mindblown hearing it's his first role ever, bc he made Simon a person made of flesh and blood and multidimentional. And he looks like he really knew what to do. But I think it's also thanks to the people on set - Rojda and Lisa who led him. I'm very impressed.

What I think is interesting about Simon getting angry at August in season 1 and shoving him + kinda beating him up is how there are several different factors that lead to that breaking point.

1. His family not having the money to pay for the tutoring is obviously a big part. He messed up, his mom and Sara both found out at the same time and now it’s on him to fix his mistakes. (Also, did he ever fully pay off the tutoring fee? I haven’t been counting it specifically but I don’t think August ever gave him enough money enough to cover the tutoring payment as well as the booze).

2. Whether it be bigotry or being a crappy person in general August had been an asshole to Simon for so long and the incident with him earlier that day had been his final straw. There’s one part of that scene, before Simon shoves August, where we get a close up of his face and see just how angry he is. It actually reminds me of the close up of him during Parents Day when he’s angry for, once again, being treated badly because he’s not a resident.

3. The final piece here is Micke. I think a large part of why Simon is so upset is because he’s in debt to Micke. We hear this when he says something like “now I owe both the school and my dad”. The extent of Mickes abuse is never fully shown, though we can make inferences, but I can only imagine how it must feel to know he owes Micke something. He’s in a vulnerable situation there and he’s trying to get out of it.

Anyways, these are just my thoughts and if you have anything else to add please do!! I’m interested in hearing what other people think!

Simon and Micke: S1 - E1

Discomfort is the first word that comes to my mind when thinking about this scene. it's our first time getting to see simon's dad and give him a face, but it takes so little to read the room and understand where ayub's previous words of concern come from.

The difference of approach is the most noticebale thing: simon's caution and distance - physical by sitting on the opposite side of the couch and emotional by directly asking him the favor he's there for - versus the excitement of micke in cleaning up the messy table, bringing him coffee and starting a random dad-son conversation, just like any father would welcome his child home after a 'long time no see' period.

The point is, no matter how much micke's good intentions are in caring enough to create a cozy space and show interest in simon's life, the tension is much stronger than whatever attempt to overcome it. he really tries to make it right, but it all seems so out of place anyway.

Simon feels that too, right when he steps into his father's apartment: he acts politely while every. little. thing in his body language speaks for the discomfort he's in, from his eyes costantly wandering around the room to keeping the hands busy to relieve his anxious state.

side note: simon's flustered reaction at the "a cute guy then" is the one and only sign of relief throughout the scene, he's able to let his guard down for an instant and it's, in fact, the most adorable shot of him.

There's also the stiff posture in reciprocating micke's hugs to prove simon's conflict of acting son-like but not really feeling ready or in the position to do so. he's well aware of the way his father's presence and physical contact affect him, yet still allows him to step closer.

It's simon and his attitude, manifested more than once, of worrying about people he loves, hoping for them to change, putting aside his emotions to be there for them and showing he cares. breaking boundaries to let be hugged by micke and hug back, even if it's clearly not something he's comfortable with, shows a very vulnerable side of him, the first one we audience get to know of simon's character actually.

One thing I’ll say about Sara and August- I am happy they didn’t end up together. But they definitely have impacted each other positively and yes- that includes August for Sara. Not only has she learned more about herself and what’s important to her, I think part of her still wanting Micke in her life after he messed up is because of what August said to her. That sometimes it’s better to have someone in your life for periods at a time than not at all. As well as her having a relationship with August and loving him when he’s by far not a great person. Micke is an alcoholic/addict and that may never change. But we see that he still continues to try and is actually a good dad when he’s sober. I think that Sara acknowledging that someone might not be “all good” but that it doesn’t mean you want to completely cut them off is at least in part because of what August said to her. I think it’s also because of herself and her own mistakes and recognizing them, combined with Simon’s willingness to forgive. I love that we see the impact that all of these characters have on each each other. This show is just so amazing.

I’ve seen some people theorize that micke dies or that sara gets in a car accident and thats how sara and simon will reconcile but ngl I will be soooo disappointed if they do that. she fucked up so majorly she needs to earn his forgiveness through her actions not just bc tragedy strikes

One scene that made me cry a lot was the scene in which Micke and Sara sing together in the car.

It's such a beautiful moment and so heartbreaking at the same time. You can see that Micke loves his kids so much. He really loves them, but he doesn't know how to properly deal with his addiction and that's what ruins his relationship with his kids.

But it also reminded me of all the roadtrips I took my dad, where we would just sing for hours. Those moments are the best and the way they filmed it, the song choice, everyone's acting, made it so real.

no bc I just realized sara's relationship with august is becoming linda's marriage with micke. from what we know of linda and micke, they were together while micke's alcoholism and addiction spiralled downhill, and they eventually divorced, although sara thinks her mother should have divorced micke sooner, because "he's a bad person who can't take care of himself, while everyone around him suffers for it." simon argues that she stayed with him to protect them and ensure they'd still have a home.

everything that we know about linda and micke's relationship and subsequent seperation is literally a direct parallel to sara and august. august might mean well when they first started properly dating, but he' s a bad person who relies on pills to cope with having to take care of himself alone, and starts bringing down everyone close to him during season one and two. sara originally thinks he's a good person, despite everything she knows he's done, and keeps his secrets to protect him, herself, and in her eyes, simon. even in their breakup, she should have left august sooner to avoid hurting her brother and her friends, but she thought she could protect all of them. she's becoming everything she hated about her parents' relationship, which is interesting considering she applied to be a boarder to escape the life she supposedly couldn't stand.

Deep dive wondering about Sara's backstory (CW: drug / alcohol abuse) (Part 2)

CW Drug & Alcohol abuse by a parent

This is part 2 of a post about trying to figure out Sara's motivations and actions and how they are influenced by being raised in a home with a drug/alcohol dependent parent. Feedback / thoughts very much welcome.

Watching: Frida Argento is an incredible actor, and people often talk about how expressive she is with her eyes. This is partly her, and partly her character: Sara sees EVERYTHING. There are numerous points in the story line where it is literally only us, the viewer, and Sara, who know everything. She sees August upload the video, she sees Stella’s crush on Fredrika, she sees Wille hold Simon’s little finger in the movie theatre, she sees through Simon’s smile the morning after when they’re waiting for class to start. The only thing she doesn’t know in the gun scene at the end of S2 is that Simon gave August the drugs to sell. I could go on. She is -literally- the eyes on this world. And she says almost nothing, until she decides to confront someone (i.e. asking Stella about her crush / asking Simon why he didn’t sleep at home). This is a kind of vigilance you learn when your home is unstable and unpredictable. You learn to watch everyone for clues as to What Is Really Going On Here, so that you might have some hope of anticipating when all hell will break loose. People with drug and alcohol problems are sober a lot of the time, and they might even have various modes of being drunk or high. You learn to put a lot of store in feeling you might be able to predict when the mood will change. If you’re a kid, trying to read these signs gives you a feeling of power in a situation where you are utterly powerless. Everything - the way someone’s lips narrow, a clench of the jaw, the music they’re playing, anything - it becomes a possible sign of the atmosphere being about the change for the worse. Vigilance becomes a way of trying to experience safety. And for Sara, the fact that she does see so much ends up giving her a trump card - the ability to turn August in - in other words, the power she never had at home to finally do something about the bad actor.

Attachment: Sara was bullied at Marieberg. She knows she’s different, and she believes people don’t like her. When Felice does allow her into this secret garden called friendship, she is elated, but also insecure. For example, she gets worried when Felice and Wille become closer in S2, and asks Felice to reassure her about whether they are ‘besties’ still, and Felice says, oh you silly goose, a person can have more than one bestie. But for Sara, the love she shares with others feels intrinsically insecure and conditional: as in, people love her because of a certain tacit deal they’ve struck. This is why she is not just angry when Felice condones selling Rousseau - she is far deeply hurt, it is a betrayal of the highest order, she says she doesn’t even know who Felice is really. It all suggests a world where Sara didn’t experience love as unconditional - instead it was transactional. It’s the kind of backwards-emotional-math that kids can do to try to explain a situation that hurts but is the only thing you know — Dad is drunk again today, it must be something I did wrong; Dad is not drunk today, it must be something I did right; if Dad is drunk he’s not really him and he can’t love me as a parent; ergo, my behavior is the token that gets exchanged back and forth between us that can turn love on or off. Love is never there all the time, it can be withheld based on conduct, and people can be so radically not themselves that it makes the love they profess fake.

Her relationship with August: I think Sara unconsciously falls for August because he is a copy of her father, and she is using him to work out the trauma and disempowerment of growing up with Micke. August is a better version of Micke and, even better, one Sara believes she can control and help. As an additional extra-credit, it turns out he really loves her - in his fucked up way - which is more than Sara believes about her own father. Like Micke, August is drug-dependent. But unlike Micke, he seems to be successful and, until she gets to know him, he seems to have his shit together. It seems like he is powerful: after all, he gets her what she wants - a place at Manor House. Sara is initially uncomfortable about the pills - she confronts August about it. But then August assures her that it’s “only when he needs to perform” and that’s probably all she dreamt of hearing from her father when she was a child. August is the fairy tale prince: an addict who in fact has it under control, an addict who can actually love her. And unlike her father, he is an addict she can help (overcoming a lifetime of powerlessness for her). In fact, the thing that actually kickstarts their relationship is her getting off (literally) on the high of being able to help August when he was having a panic attack. Then, when everything goes overboard, she explains her actions in the way she learned at home: she says she was in love, and she didn’t really know what she was doing, she was not in her right mind �� she was, in other words, … drunk / high … but on love. And this explanation is somehow a mitigation for her actions. She can’t be blamed for something she can’t control - which most addicts believe at some point.

They are not evil

They just cannot CHOOSE to change

And that's what makes them EVIL

If she's not the queen. If he's not alcoholic and drug addict. Maybe things would've been different.

GIF: @/books–books–smolderinglooks & @/sharingreminiscing