‘The Royals’ Season 4, Episode 1 ‘How Prodigal The Soul’ Recap: A Deadly Beginning [SPOILERS]

After a year and roughly a month of no drama, “The Royals” is finally back and more scandalous than ever. The fictional royal family of England returns with literally a bang. Eleanor’s (Alexandra Park) on tour with a hottie named Sebastian (Toby Sandeman). Liam (William Moseley) becomes Cyrus (Jake Maskall) prodigy. Jasper’s (Tom Austen) bloody and dying on the ground. Helena (Elizabeth Hurley) is left Lord Chamberlain-less. And of course, there’s a new King of England. But that’s only the beginning.

The Royals have a new ruler

The episode picked up right where last season left off: Robert’s (Max Brown) coronation. To the outside world, the royal family looks pristine, elegant, and glorious. But inside the walls of the palace, the queen is shoving the newly crowned king making him drop the crown. Helena was not happy about Robert firing Spencer as her Lord Chamberlain. The queen’s intimate relationship with the help needed to end. According to her son, Spencer was writing a tell-all book with the sample chapter about jiggy pudding.
Luckily, she taught Robert well. He handled things before the got out of hand. And since she showed him everything he knew, there’s no debate on whether or not people should expect the worst in him.
They then talk work and politics. Ironically, after firing Robert’s mother’s lover, he starts to pimp her out to Collin York, a married man rumored to run for prime minister. Robert’s logic: they could use someone in parliament to “do their bidding.” When his mother questions his idea, he replies with a simple, “I take issue with you sleeping with the help. I have no issue with you sleeping with someone who can help.” The queen seems to be proud of her son.

Sparrows unite

Absent during his brother’s crowning, Liam is determined to stop him from ruling England. He believes Robert isn’t as clean as the world thinks. So he seeks the help of his fellow Sparrow, his uncle, Cyrus.
Hopped up on cocaine with a gun in his hand, Cyrus narrowly misses his nephew’s head when he comes into the room, leaving a whole on his door. When things slightly cooled down, Liam gets straight to the point and says, “The king has a secret.” In a tortured interview with Brandon Boone, his major spilled that Robert was depositing several million pounds to Ted Pryce, his father’s killer. Cyrus isn’t convinced, saying Pryce also tried to kill Robert. Liam still tries to sway him, saying, “ What if Robert and Ted were working together, and my brother’s time on that island was simply the greatest alibi ever created?”

Finally, Cyrus agreed to what Liam was arguing. But he thinks Robert deserved to be king if he thought and did that kind of an elaborate plan. “No. My father deserved to be king. He doesn’t,” is all Liam says. In the time it took for Cyrus to decide if he wanted Liam as an apprentice, Liam went to see the Kathryn (Christina Wolfe) and kind of killed his friendship with Willow (Genevieve Gaunt).
Cyrus agrees to train Liam, recognizing something he also felt deeply: hatred towards an older brother. With a toast, Cyrus welcomes his nephew to the dark side, saying, “I’ll show you it’s much more fun down here.” After a long time of just getting wasted, The Spares continue the training. Note that three months have passed and the gunshot hole in the door is still there. Cyrus refused to have it fixed. He says it reminds them of their mission, “To blow a hole in this goddamn fake empire.”
They get more drinks, and the plan in Cyrus’s head finally comes out. After accusing Liam of swaying towards the men, he tells him that the waitress has been eyeing him for about two months. Apparently, she’s the daughter of one of Robert’s and Ted’s bankers. He wants Liam to get close to her to use her to get to her father.
After a month, Liam takes Greta, the waitress, to the opera. She gives him a full flask to celebrate their one month anniversary. Great also gifts Liam with the news that her parents want her to visit them. The Spares’ plan is in action when she invites him to meet her intense father and nosy mother. With a fading determination and a growing conscious, he accepts.

Eleanor takes on the world

Amidst the chaos of politics and royalty, Princess Eleanor took Sebastian’s advice. She packed her bags and traveled to the Amalfi Coast. Princess Eleanor put her drunken nights and drugged mornings in the past. Instead, she takes long walks to feel close to her father again. Her family sends her off. As she walks to the car, Jasper follows her out but never getting too close. He never takes his eyes off her, even when Sebastian eyes him.

With Sebastian by her side, she goes around the world and gives blank spaces her touch. While traveling, she’s had one interview where she opened her heart. Eleanor’s new venture was not only to feed her creative side but also to satisfy her curiosity about the real world. She talked about being alone and feeling lonely.
Unfortunately, on a quiet night stroll, Eleanor is followed by three men with wicked intentions. If it weren’t for Rosie, Eleanor would be sporting a long gash on her neck. When she gets back to the place she’s staying in, Sebastian greets her with a concerned and relieved hug. He also hands Eleanor a stack of letters–allegedly from Liam–but Eleanor refuses to touch them. She knows it’s Jasper’s words that fill those pages.
After Sebastian leaves her with a bottle of red wine, she takes one letter. Then another. And another. Soon, tears flood her eyes and then it’s morning. After reading the notes, Eleanor decided it was time to go home.

Something between Willow and Robert

When he gets back from his kingdom tour, Robert talks to Willow, their social media advisor. After talking about business and social media, he slid in smoothly with reminding her she was still on top of his list of potential brides.
While Willow’s sitting on the couch, Liam comes in looking for his brother. He starts to walk away, deciding to talk to him later when Willow stops him with news of her being on Robert’s list.
Their friendship takes a rocky turn when Liam tells her she’s only on the list because Robert wanted to tug on Liam’s strings. He digs a deeper hole when he adds that she’s “just a thing” he can take from him. With her feelings hurt, Willow storms off. Liam follows suit, flipping off the new king’s photo on his way out.
After a few months, the king and Willow talk about the list again. This time, he gives her a gift. An elephant necklace, because according to his team of skilled researchers, she loves elephants. But she declines the present and her spot on the list. Robert doesn’t back down and uses his smooth skills to ask her for a drink soon. He said he’d agree to keep things all business if she still decides to walk away.
When Liam gets home from the opera, he has another chat with Willow. First, he apologizes. Liam didn’t mean to imply that Willow was not good enough for Robert’s list. He isn’t good enough for her. Second, he tells her how horrible Robert was to Kathryn. How he lead her on, manipulated her, slept with her and then called her a “common whore.” Lastly, he tells her to use her good instincts about people. He says to her to ask him about the whole Kathryn situation.
With high hopes, Robert visits his mother in her room. She’s rewatching “Royal & Beautiful” and eating popcorn. She freezes for a bit when Robert asks her to plan a royal wedding. Nothing has happened yet; Robert thinks the royal wedding will be “good for the country, for the economy, and for this family.” As happy as she is, she’s sad that Robert is just fine on his own, not needing her anymore. She still agrees to plan it and watches Prince Hansel ride his new pony again.
A picture of Robert and Kathryn scrolls through the feed as Willow shows Robert how much love he’s getting online. This proof gives her the opportunity to ask him what happened between them. Robert opens up about how Willow was the one keeping him alive on the island. But Robert turned spiteful and jealous when he found out Willow replaced him with his brother. Robert regrets being that version of himself. Willow then asks why she is on the list in the first place. Robert’s short answer? “Your goodness is compelling and captivating and so worth protecting.” Putting her name was selfish of him. But it was also the “easiest and most exhilarating” things he did since he left the island. Instead of proving he was what Liam says he was, she just agreed to that one soon drink with him.

Is #JaspeNor dying?

Either Robert is hatching a devious plan, or he wants to connect with the people. In a month, Robert wants to make a speech in South London in, a place the head of security James Hill deemed too volatile. When asked if he could protect the King of England, Jasper answered he had to scout the area and get a team together. He added he worked for the king and his job is to keep him safe. This impressed Robert and ordered him to get a team together.
Come speech day in South London; extra security is scattered to protect the king. The people were rowdy, loud, and chaotic. The extra protection was a good idea. On their way their, Robert grilled Jasper about writing to his sister. Jasper snarkily answered that he was willing to resign if staying away from her was one of his job requirements. Robert declines his resignation, saying he needs him by his side that day.

After the speech that turned one of the dodgiest parts of the country into one that sided with the crown, a gunshot fired. Robert was quickly saved when Jasper swept him aside. Unfortunately, the episode ended with Jasper alone on the stage, bloody and gasped for air. Before the credits, he gets a text from Eleanor saying she home. Sadly, his bloody hand can’t reach for his phone.
“The Royals” continues next Sunday, March 18th, with “Confess Yourself To Heaven” at 10/9c on E!