The direction of this mini series feels awkward and unatural, and the plot is swooshing by in a hurry. Spoilers ahead: Already after their first meeting, Kurt and the King are getting intimate, later that very same day. Which of course we cannot know for real that the affair happened this quickly or if the actual affair itself happened at all. However it feels unatural for them to meet and instantly "get down to business", later that very same day. Of course the King could have felt l safe to do so, as he probably knew he wouldn't get charged or really any hard consequences for this and that he could trust his staff to keep this a "hush hush" but I doubt that Kurt would be so eager and confident right away, consider the timeperiod they are in. And because of this quick pace of the plot and also many wooden performances for example when Anna's daughter (Kurt's stepdaughter) doesn't really look any excited when her mother tells her that her stepdad is going to meet THE king of her country! His Majesty himself! Wow! But no? Her reaction is as if her stepdad just bought a new pair of shoes or got himself a fresh haircut. She even makes a lazy/half hearted joke about te upcoming meeting with His Majesty. Her reaction doesn't really match that of knowing someone who will soon have a meeting with THE King. Instead she looks and sounds as if meeting the King wasn't a big deal and you could meet him at every Café along the city of Stockholm! Odd! Oh and another thing that struck me as odd and unatural with the series was that: Kurt has an affair with the King and all of a sudden he is an "expert" in which man or boy who is gay/seems gay. That is a risky guess to take consider how strict the law against homosexuals was back then. But no..Kurt sees a feminine looking boy/young man, working in the garden at a Hotel in Stockholm, and immideatly assumes that the boy/young man is gay or at least has "homosexual tendencies/would be curious about this" and "wants to have a drink and maybe some more". And even if the boy didn't knew that Kurt wanted more than just a few drinks, it seems so forced when he accepts the invitation instead of...oh.. I don't know? Punch the man in the face or try to run away? Instead it's so easily laid out: "Yes! Hey I just met you! And of course I want to sleep you, you strange man that I just met a couple of hours ago, maybe, in the hotel where I work! Yeah I will totally sleep with you! How could you tell!?" The truth is: you can't tell! You can't assume someone's sexuality based upon someone's appearance or facial features alone/shyness/feminine attitude alone! That's baloney! This makes the show seems very pretentious in "knowing who is gay/into gay-action and thus placing homosexuals in a stereotype of being and/or looking "feminine", so of course the feminine looking/feminine acting man must be Gay! Right!? No! This is wrong! It makes a bit sick! It's like as soon as Kurt had gotten intimate with the King, he all of a sudden adapted this perfectly accurate "internal gaydar" or "sixth sense" in to knowing who he should flirt with next, without even looking for the right secret clubs or secret places where there were rumored to be "meetings" betwen men, as it would BE back then. Wildly assuming men to be gay/bi as you, without any solid evidence of this assumption, would be too risky for the time period where the plot is taking place! Like I already stated: this very convenient "side plot" makes the series overly pretentious and stupid, and that's not a good look for a show from 2021! Ok now back to the pacing... Which (even with the overly pretentious "know-it-all" attitude towards gays... I still consider the fast pacing to be the biggest "flaw" of the series. We don't really get to FEEL anything for the "affair" and the consequences that follows. Because there is no to feel at all! In my opnion, IF the series had more episodes, maybe 7 or 8 episodes instead of just 4, we COULD have gotten enough time to get emotionally involved with the relationship between Kurt and the King. With more or longer episodes we could get to know the characters better (even though if that would mean that the creators would have had to make up completely fictional back stories for the character and forced to have been more creative with the plot). In order to CARE about Kurt and the King's relationship we need to get to KNOW them and to CONNECT with them! Without any time for a true connection between the two or to really see their relationship unfold beyond just sexual activities, baths and footrubs, then I don't feel MOVED by their story! And so near the end, I didn't in fact feel ANYTHING for these characters! I didn't CARE about the King dying and the loss Kurt must have felt when his Royal lover passed away, without being able to be there for him in that last moment, to hold his hand. I didn't CARE because I hadn't gotten enough TIME to be ENGAGED enough in their love and tenderness, to the point of actually caring for them and their destiny! In fact: while watching the series I couldn't help but to feel as if the director and everyone involved was ASHAMED of what they had created and that they all wanted the filming to be "done and over with" as quickly as possible!! This is TERRIBLE to feel about a show that revolves heavily around the themes of a same sex relationship that was supposed to be based upon mutual love and tenderness. For the audience in the end to be left with the feeling that everyone involved in the series are ashamed creating something "gay-ish" that could have been beautiful and sweet...well, having your aduience feeling icky and to cringe, is not really what you want your adueince to feel when dealing with these topics! You should feel excited, moved, TOUCHED! And yet I feel icky and awkward about it all! Now don't get me wrong: I am bisexual myself and so seeing two men or two women kiss or even go all the way isn't what made me feel weird about this! Nope! It's how the DIRECTION went and the fact that the actors (especially the man who play's Kurt) looks uneasy and awkward themselves, when acting out the scenes.
My final verdict? Well I am sure that with a more elaborated plot (even if that would include adding more fictional back stories), and with more or longer episodes in general..and with some much stricter/ better direction, or better/more comfortable/better prepared actors/actresses in general, then yes I am sure this could have been a very decent show! But instead the creators went for a quick fix with fast pacing, wooden performances and a very awkward direction which included some highly unatural reactions. In other words: En kunglig affär/A Royal Secret was meh, and eeeh/iiish.. when it could have been decent or even good! What a Royal pity!
My final verdict? Well I am sure that with a more elaborated plot (even if that would include adding more fictional back stories), and with more or longer episodes in general..and with some much stricter/ better direction, or better/more comfortable/better prepared actors/actresses in general, then yes I am sure this could have been a very decent show! But instead the creators went for a quick fix with fast pacing, wooden performances and a very awkward direction which included some highly unatural reactions. In other words: En kunglig affär/A Royal Secret was meh, and eeeh/iiish.. when it could have been decent or even good! What a Royal pity!