Did you ever wonder why, during the piano scene in episode three (season one) of ‘Young Royals’, Wilhelm and Simon go so unexpectedly from sitting all lovey-dovey on a piano bench, talking about sheet music, to Wilhelm abruptly rejecting Simon and telling him to forget about their kiss?
I’m going back through all of your articles. It’s been a while for these older articles and I know some of your ideas have slipped my memory. Now that Season 3 debut is slotted for March, the more the reason to review all of the metaphors in the show to see if they are wrapped up nicely in S3.
All of that to say - this article does not have the function to listen to it like the others. The triangle button (just like Kateryna’s analysis of the painting above Simon’s bed!!! Amazing insight there!!!) exists but is not highlighted. Do you have control over that function? If so, would you be able to change that so we can listen to this article as well as read it?
I’m still thinking on the Ayub and Rosh article. It’s so beautiful how they work together for Simon and now I’ll never see them as anything other than your analysis (no spoilers here for future readers).
Oh, by the way, I did recommend your articles to someone on Reddit but with a massive warning. ‘Reading TVMicroscope is akin to the red versus blue pill 💊 in the Matrix. If you read their work, you’ll never watch YR, or any film, the same way again.’ I followed up with a ‘but, I love the show even more for having read their work.’ 👏🏼 👏🏼 👏🏼
Hey, just wanted to ask if the issue of the missing 'Play' function is resolved now? I had received a reply from a substack tech guy that he was able to replicate but not solve the problem on his end and that he intended to contact the substack's engineers for it (whatever that means). And ever since then, there's been absolute radio silence on their end (potentially owing to the holidays), so I just thought I'd ask if it's maybe resolved now?
Hi! Thanks so much for checking into this. As of writing this, it’s not fixed. However, I swear earlier this week it was an option. But, honestly, I’ve been going back through each of your articles and could be mistaken.
Ugh, I hate when that happens. They get back to you and then they just disappear into the ether. I will give it a couple of days and then complain again, okay?
I've contacted the support team for this after substack's AI-generated helpline basically just shrugged its shoulders and said it was a glitch. Let's see if they can help. I hope I'll get this resolved for you soon.
Thank you. I'll try to find out why the triangle button is missing. I have to admit that I'm a total idiot when it comes to technology. (A chimpanzee could probably do this better than I.) I'll see what I can do and what weird glitch this is.
And thank you again for your kind words. I'm currently rather ill, so every little smile is therapeutic, I suppose. Thank you for making me smile.
There's one painting in Simon's room that first caught my eye with its unapologetic simplicity but at the time I just left it at that without forming any kind of a coherent thought in its regard. I'm talking about the one with two vertical bars and nothing more (like this | |). Obviously, it's a universal sign that can be found in any audio or video player which means pause. After reading this post a month or so ago I made a connection between this painting and all the other "music stuff" in the room and thought something like "ok, so that's another pretty little reference to the show's most beautiful metafor, that's nice" but then again just left it at it without making a conclusion of any kind. And recently it hit me at long last. In most players, the pause sign can't be seen at all times. If the music (or other media) is not being played, there's a triangular play sign in its place. And only if there's music here and now, we can see a pause sign. So, symbolically ,in Simon's room music can always be heard by anyone with ears. Needless to say, now I'm in love with this painting.
I wonder if we could expand this metaphor a bit? Could this brief scene act as foreshadowing, especially since it occurs relatively early in the series?
There's a lot of speculation about whether Wilmon will end up staying a part of the monarchy or if they'll diverge completely. I don't care either way, but it's something to ponder while I wait for the character posts and Season 3.
This scene and Simon's song seem to suggest the Young Royals (ahem) don't want to entirely dispense with the old, traditional sheet music (i.e. old traditions like the monarchy). I read this as a hint to viewers that throughout the show we're going to see these two merge old and new and bring the monarchy into the 21st century. They'll keep the parts worth keeping but do it their own way. Simon's song also foreshadows this if I'm correct. He didn't write an entirely new song. Instead, he stuck to tradition where it made sense.
And in that piano scene, they merge badly. Or really not at all. Wilhelm is afraid and Simon doesn't understand the rules. Because they haven't grown enough as characters to have a clue of what to do. But they're both clumsily trying.
It doesn't entirely make sense because Wilhelm is actively rejecting Simon in the scene.
Dunning Kruger effect in full force. You read one person's mini film school series and suddenly you think you're an expert! :)
I'm so sorry for only replying to this now. I'd just taken one complete day off after posting those three insanely long character posts, and because I'm insane apparently, I then jumped right back into it and started writing again (i.e. I've been working on Part 4 of the character posts the last couple of days). I shall try to reply to each and every comment I got over the past few days, but it's going to take some time.
Anyway, thank you for your comment. And yes, absolutely. I think that's exactly what that means. (Nothing Dunning Kruger about it at all.) You can actually hear it when Simon composes the song (especially in episode 3 of season two): It's literally based on the same motif and the exact same notes. So that's exactly what the show is implying here: That Simon's music (i.e. love) is all about an outstretched hand. This song (outstretched hand) is telling the old system that it's high time they start to sort the good from the bad when it comes to traditions to arrive at something that's a mix of old and new that will be reformed and better for the people who are currently suffering under the old system.
What remains to be seen is if that's even possible with said old system. I would reserve judgement on that because I don't think we really have enough (subtextual) evidence on that front yet.
It's perfectly possible that the characters will manage to blow up the monarchy (and history is obviously full of people who tried to just reform and tweak something a little bit and brought the whole thing down in the process). We will have to see and wait if this system is even still 'reformable', so to speak, or has to be abolished in its entirety. After all, this very system did reject Simon's song, i.e. it rejected our main protagonist's outstretched hand, the updated and modernized version of an old tradition. The question the screenplay of season three has to answer from here on out is: Where do our heroes go from here? What will be their answer to this rejection? Wholesale decapitation? (I don't mean that literally, of course, but metaphorically, i.e. of the system.)
Let's wait and see.
P.S. I have a bit of a wild idea about that piano scene in episode three of season one, by the way. We will at some point have to talk about double-coding, i.e. the idea that a scene has a subtext...but then there's yet another layer of subtext underneath it. And that scene could be one of them. (This show definitely has several of those scenes.) I'm still mulling it all over, and it's really a bit out there, but maybe I'll write about it at some point.
Anyway, thank you again. And as I said, I'm convinced you're reading this absolutely right.
Unfortunately, I'm all science and no metaphor so I appreciate you laying all of this out. You write beautifully and I laugh often. One small part of your article mentions the scene in which Wilhem is waking up (Season 2, scene 1) and thinking about Simon. They are being intimate. There are three moments in that scene, two of which you speak on (Wilhem's mouth and nose to Simon's ear and their clasped hands over Wilhem's heart. ) But, you didn't mention (maybe due to the fact you can't dissect every moment) is that Wilhem touches Simon's neck right where Simon's vocal cords would be. Wilhelm makes another connection to his love for Simon and the music Simon creates for him.
Truth be told, I'm probably going to go back and watch this show for the umpteenth time again to see all of the connections you make. I don't think I'll even unsee them. And, I'm okay with that.
I cannot wait for Season 3 and your thoughts on them but I know that I will be better able to catch all of the subtilties due to your magnificent breakdowns.
Thank you for your lovely and thoughtful comment. What a delight to read.
And as far as the scene you mentioned is concerned: It is my understanding that that isn't Wilhelm's hand touching Simon's neck. What we see is: First, Simon touching Wilhelm's neck in the dream, and then Wilhelm touching his own neck (outside of the dream in reality), imitating what he's feeling in his dream.
But you're spot on with your observation nonetheless: This is, indeed, about someone's vocal cords. It's just not about Simon's. (You said you were bad at spotting metaphors, but as it turns out, you have a keen eye for them!)
I hope it's okay if I don't write more about this scene. I'm planning to write at least one really long post about the sexual subtext on this show (soon-ish), and obviously this scene will be a part of it. There's actually a lot more going on in that scene, so I'm sort of saving it for later.
Anyway...welcome to my little corner of the internet. I'm glad you're here.
I have been thinking about your comment for a few days and went back to look at the dream sequence again.
Taking a note from your blocking article, in every frame, Wilhelm is seen on the right side of the screen and Simone on the left side. The hand with the finger that touches the neck is on the right. So, I stand by my assessment it’s Wilhelm’s hand. BUT, I don’t really care either way. It’s such a beautiful moment. I’ll concede my stance easily if more evidence comes to light.
Please don’t take away from creating more amazing articles to respond. This is mostly for those others who are a little obsessed with this show like I am and want to get their hands on as much content as possible. And, maybe need one more excuse to watch it again. ;)
And, I can’t wait to read your article about sexual subtext. I am curious if my assessment of the scenes between Wilhelm and Simone will match up with yours. Each scene definitely has different goals and shows us more about their evolving relationship.
P.S. By the way, just wanted to say: Never apologize for leaving me a comment. You're not distracting me from writing. It's always such a joy to read a new comment. Thank you!
It's actually because of your comment that I just had a long conversation with someone about the topic, which is great.
And it's also because of your comment that I just realized that I need to write a separate post about this very scene. (Putting it into the Sexual Subtext post would eat up far too much space, and that one won't really be a very visual one, anyway.) So, thank you for putting that idea in my head. There'll be a separate post about this scene either this weekend or the next (depending on how quickly I manage to type it) because there's just so much more to be said about this scene.
There are actually quite a few posts on this blog that only exist because of something somebody asked or said in a comment, so...thank you again.
I'm not very deeply immersed in fandom spaces because I'm probably not what you'd really call a fan in the classical sense, but the hand thing has been discussed so thoroughly among fans that even I caught sight of the discussion scrolling around a bit, to be honest. So, it's probably better to seek the lovely fandom people (over on tumblr) out who first discovered it (full disclosure: it wasn't me; I'm not that eagle-eyed) and ask them about that scene. They will probably be able to answer this better than I am.
If were to guess, I'd say for them, this was a combination of the differences in skin colour between the two actors and people just knowing what Edvin Ryding's and Omar Rudberg's hands look like and recognizing them on sight. (The same probably goes for Ryding's neck and chin.)
As I said, I'm not that eagle-eyed, so I'm looking at this from a cinematography angle:
As far as the 180-degree rule is concerned, you have to keep in mind that you're not seeing one scene here, but two scenes (the 180-degree rule applies to spatial consistency in one scene), but this whole dream sequence is technically two very different scenes with different spatial continuity:
In one of them Simon and Wilhelm are caressing each other. In the other one, Wilhelm is asleep. One of them is a dream, the other one is Wilhelm lying in bed in reality. These two scenes are cross-cut, and to make it easier to realize that one of them is real and the other one is not, Wilhelm appears on opposite sides of the frame in those:
Throughout the dream scene Wilhelm appears on the right side of the frame and Simon on the left.
Whenever we're outside of the dream we see Wilhelm on the left side of the frame and...no Simon at all.
What's more, they are actually either sitting up or standing in the dream scene; they are both upright.
Whenever Wilhelm is on the left side of the frame (i.e. shown in reality), he is lying on his back because, in reality, he's lying in bed.
Consequently, whenever we're in the dream, the blocking emphasizes the vertical axis (they're upper bodies, necks etc. are vertical). Whenever we're seeing reality, we get an emphasis of the horizontal axis (i.e. the frame is composed in such a way, that we see Wilhelm's neck horizontally, lying down).
So, it IS true that that hand and that finger is Wilhelm's, as you say, but that neck and chin is his as well: It's him lying down (on the left side of the frame) with his own hand raised to his neck (in reality). (Then it cuts back to the dream and they're kissing; Wilhelm's mouth is coming from the right again.)
I hope this is helpful?
But again, this is just my cinematography eye talking. There are probably people who can answer this better than I can.
I'm not the one who first discovered whose body is whose in those scenes and there's apparently a bit of a fandom consensus when it comes to this, so it's probably better to ask the people who first spotted it. I think this lovely person here was the first one to bring it up:
And in any case, you are absolutely spot on about this being a vocal cords thing (Chapeau!). Very well spotted! It's just not about Simon's vocal cords. (That's also why there's nobody talking or singing in that scene; the silence is meaningful.)
Anyway, I hope to be done with the metaphor posts at some point in about two to three weeks and will then switch to the character-centred posts. The second of those should be the one about the sexual subtext. I should probably clarify that this will not be as much of a visual exploration (shot analysis) as a deep structure-analysis of the text because I've never seen anyone do that and there's actually a lot of stuff in there that hasn't really been addressed by anyone so far (as far as I can tell). Hopefully it'll be interesting and worth the wait.
In any case: Thank you again for your long and thoughtful comment. I'm so glad to hear that you're enjoying your time on my little blog.
Wow these blogs are absolutely amazing! You have a brilliant mind and I'm so thankful you've decided to share your insights. Any thoughts about the singing in the Lucia scene? I think it is curious that Wilhelm doesn't do the vocal warm ups with the other first years, but does sing during the actual event. Do you think it has to do with the conversation he has with Simon in the classroom? (Maybe he was reserved to the idea of showing his love (singing) until he knew Simon had forgiven him?)
Thank you. What an absolutely lovely thing to say. You have no idea how much these nice comments mean to me whenever I'm in a bit of a writing slump. It motivates me no end.
And great question!
Yes, I think it's exactly as you suppose: At the beginning of the Santa Lucia celebration Wilhelm and Simon are technically still fighting. I mean, Wilhelm has promised to fix things, but the last time they really spoke face-to-face (if my memory doesn't deceive me) was in the music (!) room when they argued with each other and Wilhelm collapsed on top of a whole stack of sheet music (!) after Simon stormed out. So, yeah, at the beginning of the Santa Lucia celebration, the two of them can't be seen to be singing together because that wouldn't make any metaphorical sense: They are not on the same page here.
It's only after they make up that they can be seen 'harmonizing' with each other again, so to speak.
Good catch! Thank you for pointing that out to me. I love it when people dig up even more evidence than I had in the original post.
Only one thing about the Simon/Wille singing in ep. 1 of season 1. That was actually improvised, Edvin mentioned that in some interview if I recall correctly. So I am not sure it is a part of any intended music metaphore. Nevertheless, this analysis is really cool, captivating and I need to read more of your insights because I love the way you put things together. Well done!
Thank you for letting me know you enjoyed reading my post. Your comment just absolutely made my day!:)
And thank you for telling me about the improvised singing scene in episode one. I had no idea. So that was very interesting to hear!
Authorial intent is a difficult topic when it comes to films and TV shows, and it’s, of course, absolutely possible for something unintentional to just happen on set that doesn’t support the broader subtextual narrative of the story.
The interesting question in this context, however, is always: Why was it kept in? If an actor improvises something, is he encouraged by the director to do so? If so, it’s probably because the director realizes that the improvised part fits whatever metaphor, motif or broader symbolism the show has got going on. Another question to consider is: What actually makes the final cut? What improvised ideas just end up on the cutting room floor? Which are kept in? Does the editor think an improvised line fits the broader narrative? Does the director? What about the showrunner? Or the headwriter?
In the end, an actor’s moods and sudden inspirational flashes have to be treated like the weather. Sometimes the weather will change unexpectedly during an outdoor shoot, and then it’s up to the higher-ups to make up their minds: Do we have to stop filming? Or does the change maybe support some other symbolic puzzle piece of our story so that we can adapt to it? In short, there is always a decision to be made because, in essence, filming is decision-making.
Another interesting thing to consider is the fact that actors often make intuitive decisions about their characters that turn out to be right, without even knowing anything about the metaphorical subtext of the script. This is especially true about very intuitive actors. Edvin Ryding (who I think is a stellar actor, by the way) is both: someone who clearly knows his craft, but also an actor who has amazing intuition and can improvise lines and scenes that turn out to be spot on – a rare combination, especially at that age.
So, at the end of the day, the question of authorial intent will always remain unanswered. There will definitely always be viewers who’d like to err on the side of caution and who won’t read intent into something that’s essentially ambiguous. I just tend to fall on the other end of the spectrum: I belong to the If-it’s-in-there-it-means-something crowd.:) In other words, it’s up to you, and you can answer that question whichever way you like.
Anyway, I feel that my reply has gotten too long already and it’s actually the middle of the night where I am. Thank you again for bringing this to my attention and thank you for your kind words of encouragement. This blogging thing is still very new to me, so every comment motivates me hugely to write more.
I’m currently on vacation, hence the recent lull in posting, but you can expect new content sometime over the weekend. At the moment, I expect there to be at least ten posts about this show alone because the layers and layers of subtext in it are absolutely astounding.
Meanwhile can I perhaps interest you in an older post on the visual metaphors on ‘Young Royals’ here?
Hi TVMicrscope!
I’m going back through all of your articles. It’s been a while for these older articles and I know some of your ideas have slipped my memory. Now that Season 3 debut is slotted for March, the more the reason to review all of the metaphors in the show to see if they are wrapped up nicely in S3.
All of that to say - this article does not have the function to listen to it like the others. The triangle button (just like Kateryna’s analysis of the painting above Simon’s bed!!! Amazing insight there!!!) exists but is not highlighted. Do you have control over that function? If so, would you be able to change that so we can listen to this article as well as read it?
I’m still thinking on the Ayub and Rosh article. It’s so beautiful how they work together for Simon and now I’ll never see them as anything other than your analysis (no spoilers here for future readers).
Oh, by the way, I did recommend your articles to someone on Reddit but with a massive warning. ‘Reading TVMicroscope is akin to the red versus blue pill 💊 in the Matrix. If you read their work, you’ll never watch YR, or any film, the same way again.’ I followed up with a ‘but, I love the show even more for having read their work.’ 👏🏼 👏🏼 👏🏼
Thanks for sharing your thought with us!!
Hey, just wanted to ask if the issue of the missing 'Play' function is resolved now? I had received a reply from a substack tech guy that he was able to replicate but not solve the problem on his end and that he intended to contact the substack's engineers for it (whatever that means). And ever since then, there's been absolute radio silence on their end (potentially owing to the holidays), so I just thought I'd ask if it's maybe resolved now?
Hi! Thanks so much for checking into this. As of writing this, it’s not fixed. However, I swear earlier this week it was an option. But, honestly, I’ve been going back through each of your articles and could be mistaken.
Ugh, I hate when that happens. They get back to you and then they just disappear into the ether. I will give it a couple of days and then complain again, okay?
Thank you again for pointing it out.
I've contacted the support team for this after substack's AI-generated helpline basically just shrugged its shoulders and said it was a glitch. Let's see if they can help. I hope I'll get this resolved for you soon.
Thank you. I'll try to find out why the triangle button is missing. I have to admit that I'm a total idiot when it comes to technology. (A chimpanzee could probably do this better than I.) I'll see what I can do and what weird glitch this is.
And thank you again for your kind words. I'm currently rather ill, so every little smile is therapeutic, I suppose. Thank you for making me smile.
There's one painting in Simon's room that first caught my eye with its unapologetic simplicity but at the time I just left it at that without forming any kind of a coherent thought in its regard. I'm talking about the one with two vertical bars and nothing more (like this | |). Obviously, it's a universal sign that can be found in any audio or video player which means pause. After reading this post a month or so ago I made a connection between this painting and all the other "music stuff" in the room and thought something like "ok, so that's another pretty little reference to the show's most beautiful metafor, that's nice" but then again just left it at it without making a conclusion of any kind. And recently it hit me at long last. In most players, the pause sign can't be seen at all times. If the music (or other media) is not being played, there's a triangular play sign in its place. And only if there's music here and now, we can see a pause sign. So, symbolically ,in Simon's room music can always be heard by anyone with ears. Needless to say, now I'm in love with this painting.
What an incredibly beautiful idea. I really love this! It's so poetic.
I did have a completely different take on that painting, but I like yours so much, I'm not even sure I like mine anymore.:)
Truly the romantic interpretation that this Capital-R Romantic show deserves. Thank you so much for sharing it.
I wonder if we could expand this metaphor a bit? Could this brief scene act as foreshadowing, especially since it occurs relatively early in the series?
There's a lot of speculation about whether Wilmon will end up staying a part of the monarchy or if they'll diverge completely. I don't care either way, but it's something to ponder while I wait for the character posts and Season 3.
This scene and Simon's song seem to suggest the Young Royals (ahem) don't want to entirely dispense with the old, traditional sheet music (i.e. old traditions like the monarchy). I read this as a hint to viewers that throughout the show we're going to see these two merge old and new and bring the monarchy into the 21st century. They'll keep the parts worth keeping but do it their own way. Simon's song also foreshadows this if I'm correct. He didn't write an entirely new song. Instead, he stuck to tradition where it made sense.
And in that piano scene, they merge badly. Or really not at all. Wilhelm is afraid and Simon doesn't understand the rules. Because they haven't grown enough as characters to have a clue of what to do. But they're both clumsily trying.
It doesn't entirely make sense because Wilhelm is actively rejecting Simon in the scene.
Dunning Kruger effect in full force. You read one person's mini film school series and suddenly you think you're an expert! :)
I'm so sorry for only replying to this now. I'd just taken one complete day off after posting those three insanely long character posts, and because I'm insane apparently, I then jumped right back into it and started writing again (i.e. I've been working on Part 4 of the character posts the last couple of days). I shall try to reply to each and every comment I got over the past few days, but it's going to take some time.
Anyway, thank you for your comment. And yes, absolutely. I think that's exactly what that means. (Nothing Dunning Kruger about it at all.) You can actually hear it when Simon composes the song (especially in episode 3 of season two): It's literally based on the same motif and the exact same notes. So that's exactly what the show is implying here: That Simon's music (i.e. love) is all about an outstretched hand. This song (outstretched hand) is telling the old system that it's high time they start to sort the good from the bad when it comes to traditions to arrive at something that's a mix of old and new that will be reformed and better for the people who are currently suffering under the old system.
What remains to be seen is if that's even possible with said old system. I would reserve judgement on that because I don't think we really have enough (subtextual) evidence on that front yet.
It's perfectly possible that the characters will manage to blow up the monarchy (and history is obviously full of people who tried to just reform and tweak something a little bit and brought the whole thing down in the process). We will have to see and wait if this system is even still 'reformable', so to speak, or has to be abolished in its entirety. After all, this very system did reject Simon's song, i.e. it rejected our main protagonist's outstretched hand, the updated and modernized version of an old tradition. The question the screenplay of season three has to answer from here on out is: Where do our heroes go from here? What will be their answer to this rejection? Wholesale decapitation? (I don't mean that literally, of course, but metaphorically, i.e. of the system.)
Let's wait and see.
P.S. I have a bit of a wild idea about that piano scene in episode three of season one, by the way. We will at some point have to talk about double-coding, i.e. the idea that a scene has a subtext...but then there's yet another layer of subtext underneath it. And that scene could be one of them. (This show definitely has several of those scenes.) I'm still mulling it all over, and it's really a bit out there, but maybe I'll write about it at some point.
Anyway, thank you again. And as I said, I'm convinced you're reading this absolutely right.
I just found your substack and am hooked!
Unfortunately, I'm all science and no metaphor so I appreciate you laying all of this out. You write beautifully and I laugh often. One small part of your article mentions the scene in which Wilhem is waking up (Season 2, scene 1) and thinking about Simon. They are being intimate. There are three moments in that scene, two of which you speak on (Wilhem's mouth and nose to Simon's ear and their clasped hands over Wilhem's heart. ) But, you didn't mention (maybe due to the fact you can't dissect every moment) is that Wilhem touches Simon's neck right where Simon's vocal cords would be. Wilhelm makes another connection to his love for Simon and the music Simon creates for him.
Truth be told, I'm probably going to go back and watch this show for the umpteenth time again to see all of the connections you make. I don't think I'll even unsee them. And, I'm okay with that.
I cannot wait for Season 3 and your thoughts on them but I know that I will be better able to catch all of the subtilties due to your magnificent breakdowns.
Thank you for your lovely and thoughtful comment. What a delight to read.
And as far as the scene you mentioned is concerned: It is my understanding that that isn't Wilhelm's hand touching Simon's neck. What we see is: First, Simon touching Wilhelm's neck in the dream, and then Wilhelm touching his own neck (outside of the dream in reality), imitating what he's feeling in his dream.
But you're spot on with your observation nonetheless: This is, indeed, about someone's vocal cords. It's just not about Simon's. (You said you were bad at spotting metaphors, but as it turns out, you have a keen eye for them!)
I hope it's okay if I don't write more about this scene. I'm planning to write at least one really long post about the sexual subtext on this show (soon-ish), and obviously this scene will be a part of it. There's actually a lot more going on in that scene, so I'm sort of saving it for later.
Anyway...welcome to my little corner of the internet. I'm glad you're here.
I have been thinking about your comment for a few days and went back to look at the dream sequence again.
Taking a note from your blocking article, in every frame, Wilhelm is seen on the right side of the screen and Simone on the left side. The hand with the finger that touches the neck is on the right. So, I stand by my assessment it’s Wilhelm’s hand. BUT, I don’t really care either way. It’s such a beautiful moment. I’ll concede my stance easily if more evidence comes to light.
Please don’t take away from creating more amazing articles to respond. This is mostly for those others who are a little obsessed with this show like I am and want to get their hands on as much content as possible. And, maybe need one more excuse to watch it again. ;)
And, I can’t wait to read your article about sexual subtext. I am curious if my assessment of the scenes between Wilhelm and Simone will match up with yours. Each scene definitely has different goals and shows us more about their evolving relationship.
P.S. By the way, just wanted to say: Never apologize for leaving me a comment. You're not distracting me from writing. It's always such a joy to read a new comment. Thank you!
It's actually because of your comment that I just had a long conversation with someone about the topic, which is great.
And it's also because of your comment that I just realized that I need to write a separate post about this very scene. (Putting it into the Sexual Subtext post would eat up far too much space, and that one won't really be a very visual one, anyway.) So, thank you for putting that idea in my head. There'll be a separate post about this scene either this weekend or the next (depending on how quickly I manage to type it) because there's just so much more to be said about this scene.
There are actually quite a few posts on this blog that only exist because of something somebody asked or said in a comment, so...thank you again.
Hey,
I'm not very deeply immersed in fandom spaces because I'm probably not what you'd really call a fan in the classical sense, but the hand thing has been discussed so thoroughly among fans that even I caught sight of the discussion scrolling around a bit, to be honest. So, it's probably better to seek the lovely fandom people (over on tumblr) out who first discovered it (full disclosure: it wasn't me; I'm not that eagle-eyed) and ask them about that scene. They will probably be able to answer this better than I am.
If were to guess, I'd say for them, this was a combination of the differences in skin colour between the two actors and people just knowing what Edvin Ryding's and Omar Rudberg's hands look like and recognizing them on sight. (The same probably goes for Ryding's neck and chin.)
As I said, I'm not that eagle-eyed, so I'm looking at this from a cinematography angle:
As far as the 180-degree rule is concerned, you have to keep in mind that you're not seeing one scene here, but two scenes (the 180-degree rule applies to spatial consistency in one scene), but this whole dream sequence is technically two very different scenes with different spatial continuity:
In one of them Simon and Wilhelm are caressing each other. In the other one, Wilhelm is asleep. One of them is a dream, the other one is Wilhelm lying in bed in reality. These two scenes are cross-cut, and to make it easier to realize that one of them is real and the other one is not, Wilhelm appears on opposite sides of the frame in those:
Throughout the dream scene Wilhelm appears on the right side of the frame and Simon on the left.
Whenever we're outside of the dream we see Wilhelm on the left side of the frame and...no Simon at all.
What's more, they are actually either sitting up or standing in the dream scene; they are both upright.
Whenever Wilhelm is on the left side of the frame (i.e. shown in reality), he is lying on his back because, in reality, he's lying in bed.
Consequently, whenever we're in the dream, the blocking emphasizes the vertical axis (they're upper bodies, necks etc. are vertical). Whenever we're seeing reality, we get an emphasis of the horizontal axis (i.e. the frame is composed in such a way, that we see Wilhelm's neck horizontally, lying down).
So, it IS true that that hand and that finger is Wilhelm's, as you say, but that neck and chin is his as well: It's him lying down (on the left side of the frame) with his own hand raised to his neck (in reality). (Then it cuts back to the dream and they're kissing; Wilhelm's mouth is coming from the right again.)
I hope this is helpful?
But again, this is just my cinematography eye talking. There are probably people who can answer this better than I can.
I'm not the one who first discovered whose body is whose in those scenes and there's apparently a bit of a fandom consensus when it comes to this, so it's probably better to ask the people who first spotted it. I think this lovely person here was the first one to bring it up:
https://books-books-smolderinglooks.tumblr.com/post/716971814159548416
And in any case, you are absolutely spot on about this being a vocal cords thing (Chapeau!). Very well spotted! It's just not about Simon's vocal cords. (That's also why there's nobody talking or singing in that scene; the silence is meaningful.)
Anyway, I hope to be done with the metaphor posts at some point in about two to three weeks and will then switch to the character-centred posts. The second of those should be the one about the sexual subtext. I should probably clarify that this will not be as much of a visual exploration (shot analysis) as a deep structure-analysis of the text because I've never seen anyone do that and there's actually a lot of stuff in there that hasn't really been addressed by anyone so far (as far as I can tell). Hopefully it'll be interesting and worth the wait.
In any case: Thank you again for your long and thoughtful comment. I'm so glad to hear that you're enjoying your time on my little blog.
Wow these blogs are absolutely amazing! You have a brilliant mind and I'm so thankful you've decided to share your insights. Any thoughts about the singing in the Lucia scene? I think it is curious that Wilhelm doesn't do the vocal warm ups with the other first years, but does sing during the actual event. Do you think it has to do with the conversation he has with Simon in the classroom? (Maybe he was reserved to the idea of showing his love (singing) until he knew Simon had forgiven him?)
Thank you. What an absolutely lovely thing to say. You have no idea how much these nice comments mean to me whenever I'm in a bit of a writing slump. It motivates me no end.
And great question!
Yes, I think it's exactly as you suppose: At the beginning of the Santa Lucia celebration Wilhelm and Simon are technically still fighting. I mean, Wilhelm has promised to fix things, but the last time they really spoke face-to-face (if my memory doesn't deceive me) was in the music (!) room when they argued with each other and Wilhelm collapsed on top of a whole stack of sheet music (!) after Simon stormed out. So, yeah, at the beginning of the Santa Lucia celebration, the two of them can't be seen to be singing together because that wouldn't make any metaphorical sense: They are not on the same page here.
It's only after they make up that they can be seen 'harmonizing' with each other again, so to speak.
Good catch! Thank you for pointing that out to me. I love it when people dig up even more evidence than I had in the original post.
Oh my god, this is so awesome! ❤️
Only one thing about the Simon/Wille singing in ep. 1 of season 1. That was actually improvised, Edvin mentioned that in some interview if I recall correctly. So I am not sure it is a part of any intended music metaphore. Nevertheless, this analysis is really cool, captivating and I need to read more of your insights because I love the way you put things together. Well done!
Thank you for letting me know you enjoyed reading my post. Your comment just absolutely made my day!:)
And thank you for telling me about the improvised singing scene in episode one. I had no idea. So that was very interesting to hear!
Authorial intent is a difficult topic when it comes to films and TV shows, and it’s, of course, absolutely possible for something unintentional to just happen on set that doesn’t support the broader subtextual narrative of the story.
The interesting question in this context, however, is always: Why was it kept in? If an actor improvises something, is he encouraged by the director to do so? If so, it’s probably because the director realizes that the improvised part fits whatever metaphor, motif or broader symbolism the show has got going on. Another question to consider is: What actually makes the final cut? What improvised ideas just end up on the cutting room floor? Which are kept in? Does the editor think an improvised line fits the broader narrative? Does the director? What about the showrunner? Or the headwriter?
In the end, an actor’s moods and sudden inspirational flashes have to be treated like the weather. Sometimes the weather will change unexpectedly during an outdoor shoot, and then it’s up to the higher-ups to make up their minds: Do we have to stop filming? Or does the change maybe support some other symbolic puzzle piece of our story so that we can adapt to it? In short, there is always a decision to be made because, in essence, filming is decision-making.
Another interesting thing to consider is the fact that actors often make intuitive decisions about their characters that turn out to be right, without even knowing anything about the metaphorical subtext of the script. This is especially true about very intuitive actors. Edvin Ryding (who I think is a stellar actor, by the way) is both: someone who clearly knows his craft, but also an actor who has amazing intuition and can improvise lines and scenes that turn out to be spot on – a rare combination, especially at that age.
So, at the end of the day, the question of authorial intent will always remain unanswered. There will definitely always be viewers who’d like to err on the side of caution and who won’t read intent into something that’s essentially ambiguous. I just tend to fall on the other end of the spectrum: I belong to the If-it’s-in-there-it-means-something crowd.:) In other words, it’s up to you, and you can answer that question whichever way you like.
Anyway, I feel that my reply has gotten too long already and it’s actually the middle of the night where I am. Thank you again for bringing this to my attention and thank you for your kind words of encouragement. This blogging thing is still very new to me, so every comment motivates me hugely to write more.
I’m currently on vacation, hence the recent lull in posting, but you can expect new content sometime over the weekend. At the moment, I expect there to be at least ten posts about this show alone because the layers and layers of subtext in it are absolutely astounding.
Meanwhile can I perhaps interest you in an older post on the visual metaphors on ‘Young Royals’ here?
https://tvmicroscope.substack.com/p/how-cinematography-works-visual-metaphors