I've Finally Watched Young Royals and Here's What I Thought

lapetitepritt

Jun 13

Hello, bookworms!

Happy Monday, I want to go back to sleep and not get up until next Saturday. Yesterday, my friends and I went to see the auditions of the new edition of X-Factor Italia. I am not the biggest fan of XF, but it was free, it was an opportunity to hang out with my friends and it was super fun. I had a really great time and I got to see Francesca Michielin from up close.

Life updates aside, today I am here to talk about one of the latest queer TV shows I have watched, Young Royals. I wasn't sure if I wanted to "review" it, but since it's Pride Month, I want to share queer contents as much as I can and I didn't want them to be only books. As always, please excuse my complete ignorance in reviewing TV shows and movies; I am still finding my own way with this new kind of reviews, I hope you'll stick around.

Now, let's start. When Young Royals came out around this time last year, I kept seeing it literally everywhere. Twitter was a minefield of edits, spoilers and whatnot, but for some reason, it didn't intrigue me enough to start watching it. I am always hesitant when it comes to queer TV shows (especially if the main couple is MLM and they are both young and pretty) that are so widely loved by heterosexual audiences, because it usually means that they are written for a straight public and not a queer one. Not always, but it has happened a lot through the years, so I think my hesitation can be understood.

However, when Hearstopper came out in April, everyone was either comparing the two shows or saying that people should stop comparing them, because the only thing they had in common was that the main couple was MLM, and being the nosy bitch I am, I had to watch it for myself. And I agree with the people saying everyone should stop comparing every piece of queer media to ever exist. The fact that it's queer doesn't mean it's comparable; LGBT+ is not a genre, so just stop behaving like it is, please.

The two things you could compare Young Royals to are definitely SKAM (the original Norwegian version) and Red, White and Royal Blue. It actually is a perfect mix of the two and if you liked either of them, I think you could enjoy this one. I really like media centering royalty, so it was just a matter of time before I finally started watching Young Royals and, even if it isn't perfect, I am actually glad to be caught up with it.

Personally, I am a big fan os Scandinavian media and narration style, so I enjoyed the pacing of the show, but I can understand the people saying that this is a super slow TV show and that basically nothing happens for how long the episodes are. I didn't mind and I was entertained the whole time, to be honest, but that might be because I am used to it and I started it fully expecting it to be slow paced and more relying on characters and setting.

Talking about the characters, I think they are quite well done, even if I would have loved for them to be more explored. Some of them, for now, have not been "exploited" to their full potential, in my opinion, and I am really curious to see if and how they will grow in season two. I liked the representation we got, even if I am not sure it is accurate, and for that you should check for own voices reviews.

My favourites are definitely Sara and Simon, but I also liked all the other characters. I hope they do not try to redeem the villain during next season. I need them to be explored as a bad character, but I am really worried, because I don't know if the writers are brave enough to show how their actions have consequences. Now, they is super rich and well connected, so I am not saying like jail (even if, seeing as he wronged literal royalty…), but I want him to be seen as a bad character for the rest of the series. I know I will be disappointed, but a person can hope. If you've watched the series, please let me know what you think about you-know-who and what will happen in the upcoming season.

Plotwise, as I said, nothing really happens. Or, some things happen, but not as many as you could expect if you are used to US style media. What happens, tho, is quite interesting, at least for me, especially two specific plot points. I am not going to tell which ones, but I am not talking about the big drama. My two favourite things were actually smaller plotlines, that I think were handled quite well, seeing as they were not the main focus.

But what I liked the most about this series is definitely the setting. Give me all the boarding school medias and I'll be happy. You could write the most basic story, if it's set in a boarding school I'll eat it up. I don't know what it is about them, probably the isolation and closeness of the atmosphere, but I really love them (especially in mystery-thrillers, but also in contemporaries like this one). I appreciated how the set was designed and I liked the juxtaposition of the élite school and the homes of the less whealty characters. I also think the color correction and color schemes were perfect for the plot and setting.

As far as the acting is concerned, I have watched the series in Swedish — which I do not understand — so I don't know if I can actually judge, but I definitely think some of the actors were better than others, based on their mimic and facial expression. I liked that they casted young actors and I think next season they will get better, but we will see.

So, all in all, I think this was an nice cute TV show, and I am interested to watch season two when it comes out. It's definitely not perfect, but it's nice to watch when you just want to be entertained. Do not expect a masterpiece, but it's not bad either.

That is all for now. I'll talk to you tomorrow with the NelyaPritt's Middle Grade Chronicles article of the month. It is about Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor by Xiran Jay Zhao. Do you think I loved it, hated it or felt meh about it? Let me know!

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