It’s been just over a year since Netflix released the final episode of Young Royals; just over a year since we’ve said goodbye to Wille and Simon; just over a year since the show that brought many of us together ended. It’s a bittersweet moment for the fandom, knowing that our show is over and we’ll get no more new Wilmon moments, but that Wille and Simon are happy and free.

Episode six encapsulates these feelings perfectly. Following the earth-shattering breakup of episode five, teary-eyed fans enter the last episode, unsure of whether or not Wilmon will even be endgame. We feel many of the same emotions from the second season, watching Wille and Simon dance around one another, totally crushed without the other, while still grappling with the fact that they might not be good for each other, that everything they’ve fought against was for nothing, and that their worlds were just too different. 

I immediately think back to the St. Valentine’s Ball kiss where despite everything, Simon searches for Wille. While he chases after him, you can feel his desperation. You can feel that they both know that everything is telling them to stop and not do this, but in that moment, it all goes away. 

From there, we have the lake scene—and truthfully, no words can express just how beautifully cinematic that moment is. Edvin and Omar’s acting in that scene alone demonstrates just how well they know the two characters. It’s equally heart shattering— I still have yet to subject myself to a full rewatch of season three.

And of course, we continue into the last few minutes of the final episode, getting glimpses of the third years’ graduation and what life is like with Wille and Simon apart. The third years celebrate, and Wille watches on, sliding into the backseat of the car with his mother. The tension is painful, and for a brief moment, it feels like Wilmon is not endgame, and that the two will just be heartbroken forever—and that’s not even mentioning the “have a good summer” scene (a perfect parallel to the moment that Wille tells Simon he loves him for the first time while they were broken up in the first season). 

Perhaps the most beautiful scene of the show, Wille and Simon reunite, teary-eyed when Wille tells Simon his decision. After a tumultuous journey, after surviving the worst of scandals and several breakups, Wille and Simon can finally love each other, free of all the external stressors from Wille’s position. In the end, they choose each other, and we are left with a compilation of all the major moments of their relationship. 

Finally, Simon and Wille join Sara and Felice back in the car as they set off. Their futures may be unknown, but with the wide open road ahead of them, they are free, and they are together, and surprisingly, that’s all that matters.

Glancing into the camera one final time, Wille lets us know that he’ll be okay, no longer needing us to watch over him. And, then, the show is over.

Again, it’s just a whirlwind of emotions thinking about it all. What I can say though is that Young Royals has clearly had a major impact on so many people, including myself. It has forged together a community through its portrayal of young queer love and commitment to the characters and the final project. Every piece of the show feels handcrafted, and clearly thought out. It is overwhelmingly obvious that everyone put their everything into it. While it is sad to think about its end, the one year anniversary of its conclusion reminds us that it will never truly go away. The effect the show has had on people, the story of Wilmon, and the actors–such as Omar Rudberg, himself–the show introduced to many of us are all still here.

As long as we continue to talk about Wilmon and Young Royals, the show will never truly be over. 

“Thanks to all of us, together, we created history. Let’s keep fighting for our rights to love. Our rights to exist. And let’s keep being fucking loud about it.”- Omar Rudberg [via Instagram]

(Young Royals, Season 3 Episode 6)

(P.S. I just wanted to leave a sappy thank you here, on behalf of myself and those of us who found Young Royals in a dark place. This show means so much, and for that, I just wanted to say thank you–to Omar, and everyone else who made it as magical as it is.)

 ~ written by @readingrudberry