Today is Epiphany Day!
Some of you might actually celebrate it as the religious holiday that it is, but to happy and gay art aficionados around the world, it is simply known as the day we cherish…
…cuddling Kings in mediaeval missals:
(Source: Wikimedia Commons; image is in the public domain.)
One more image to uplift your spirits? Okay, here you go:
(Source: Wikimedia Commons; image is in the public domain.)
Oh? You don’t want three of them snuggled up in bed together? You just want two Kings?
Okay, my bad. Sorry.
So, back to ‘Young Royals’ it is, then…
Wilhelm, too, is following the Star of Bethlehem, though, right? At least, symbolically. After all, that star is allegorically embodied by Simon on this show, so I wasn’t too far off, was I?
When you’re reading this, dear reader, I won’t be back from my travels yet even though they’re not by far as arduous or, in fact, dangerous as the journey the three Magi undertook. But I don’t want to leave you hanging for too long, so I’m sending you all a little something, a page torn not from a missal, but from my notebook, so to speak. I think this ink-covered page filled with my scribblings might be an interesting topic for discussion in your little ‘study group’ (prayer circle?) – or just a question to mull over in monastic solitude, if that’s more your thing. And perhaps you’ll even get a few epiphanies out of it, befitting the occasion…Let’s see how it goes.
(I’ll be back on Monday, January 8th, by the way, and I hope to resume my normal writing and posting schedule on this little blog that same week, which means that we can now tentatively schedule the next proper long post for the weekend of January 13th/14th. Just in case you’re waiting for something meatier to sink your teeth into.)
But what is it that I want to discuss with you today?
It has, in fact, something to do with a bedroom, but it’s admittedly not as cuddly and sweet as the Magi pictures I shared with you above.
I think some keen-eyed readers of this little blog have already realized that the fight scene in episode six of season two, in which Felice and Sara have a major row in their shared bedroom, constitutes a classic case of double mirroring. (You know which fight scene I’m talking about: the one where Felice absolutely loses it because Sara sailed around Cape Horn with nothing but a sextant in hand to guide her on her maiden voyage and managed to navigate herself into some morally murky waters.)
As is the case with practically all double-mirrored scenes, the mirroring in this ‘Felice-Sara fight scene’ targets different layers of the subtext, telling us two separate stories at the same time. (We will discuss this in a minute.)
But let’s first remind ourselves of a little tidbit my literature teacher friend threw into the conversation recently: The subtext of the show cleverly hints at the fact that Simon and Wilhelm might come to the brink of breaking up again in season three – most likely at a point when Simon will be Wilhelm’s roommate, i.e. when he’ll already be living in Wilhelm’s room (and please remember the ‘room’ metaphor here: The ‘room’ represents Wilhelm’s life. This means that Simon will be sharing Wilhelm’s life already; that’s the point where they might come close to breaking up again). The reason for this major row between Wilhelm and Simon will, of course, be the reveal of Simon’s secret past, as I’m sure you’ve all noticed by now.
But what has any of this got to do with the title of this post, you ask? And what about the symbolism of job titles?
Well, while Fredrika and Stella’s presence during that ‘Felice-Sara fight scene’ in episode six of season two is only logical from a subtextual point of view, we will now talk about a very curious little detail: It’s the presence of a certain somebody else in that scene in that room. The subtextual meaning of her presence during that row (which is obviously where the title of this post comes into play) leaves a lot of room for speculation and, I hope, will provide you with some food for thought and future discussions.
Follow me under the cut, and we’ll discuss this character in short order…