Ophelia's 'Royals' Fate Might Not Be So Tragic

It's pretty clear that, while creator Mark Schwann may not have wanted to make an exact modern interpretation of Hamlet with his hit E! Network scripted series The Royals, there are more similarities than expected. For one, it's pretty clear that the central storyline involving Liam mourning the loss of his father King Simon — who was murdered in Season 1 — is pretty damn similar to Hamlet mourning the loss of his father at the beginning of Shakespeare's play. While the possibilities for adaptation are endless at this point, I can't help but wonder about the other characters in the series. For one, will Ophelia die on The Royals like she does in Hamlet?

The short answer — I sincerely doubt it. I can't see a world where Mark Schwann and his writers would kill off Ophelia, even if it is in keeping of Hamlet. He's already made it clear on numerous occasions that The Royals will not follow the exact trajectory of Hamlet and for that we should be eternally grateful. Because how are we supposed to root for some of these characters (and hate others) if everyone is just going to die in the end as they do in the iconic Shakespeare play?

Here's the thing about The Royals, as much as I enjoy watching it, it's much more about excitement and intrigue than it is about actually killing people off. King Simon's death served a purpose. It moved the story along in Hamlet-ian ways, but that's the extent of it. The Royals Season 2 trailer makes it seem like the kids are back to their old partying ways, but Liam is ready to play his own game to take the now-King Cyrus down and find justice for his father. This all sounds very Hamlet-ian, but I can't believe that at any point Liam will kill Ophelia's father, leading her to commit suicide.

For one, Ophelia's father Ted, the royal family's head of security, has already proven that he is not suspect at all and, unlike his possible Hamlet counterpart Polonius, he is neither faithful to Claudius nor an idiot. My guess is that, if the show does decide to take a darker turn, Liam and Ted will team up in secret to find Simon's killer and from there, Ted could be in danger of dying. If Ted dies, Ophelia wouldn't commit suicide, instead she would either mourn her father and join the cause, or she would blame Liam for his death and leave him for good.

It's unclear at the moment exactly how Ophelia will fit back into the monarchy with its changes once The Royals returns for Season 2, especially since Liam seems to be womanizing in the trailer and Ophelia is supposed to be performing in NYC. But if her father needs her, she'll come running, and that could throw her back in the action. But will it kill her? Let's be honest, that just doesn't seem likely in any Royals universe.

Images: screengrab/E!