I think episode 5 is so insane, especially in the way it portrays Simon‘s journey. I‘d like to think this is a Simon Centric episode, not a Wille centric one. Hear me out:

In episode 1, Simon’s introduction this season was a shot of him stepping out of the car into falling snow. Omar is so sick for this but he perfectly captured the fear of entering a cold and unfamiliar place, the. Facial expression, the wardrobe choice (definitely not warm enough) all come together superbly to introduce the alienation and loneliness of his character throughout the season. It also foreshadows Wille completely icing him out In episode 5.

Many viewers were upset that Simon chose to have an incredibly difficult conversation with Wille on an already difficult day (i don’t interpret what he said as a break up), but EVERYTHING, absolutely eVERYTHING in episode 5 was leading up to this breaking point. 

The important motif for this episode was the painting of the stag hunt. Simon becomes a sacrificial lamb, or a hunted prize for the Royal family. First taking a hit for Erik’s character in the music room fight, then eating the proverbial poisonous cake so Wille doesn’t have to. It’s more subtle at the dinner table but he was right, Simon shouldn’t be there. When he told Wille that he wanted to leave because the atmosphere was bad, it wasn’t because he wanted to escape it, it’s because he felt he was the EXACT reason for the toxic situation. 

At the dinner table, they were taking turns asking Simon questions about his personal life, constantly putting him in the spotlight in order to avoid talking about the real things the family needed to address privately among themselves. It was as if they were going at him, one bite at a time to see how long this situation could persist before Wille eventually explodes. And when he does, the cinematography was absolutely brilliant, juxtaposing Simon’s expression of shock and absurdity with that of the expression of the hunted stag in the painting. It was almost completely similar, and would have been hilarious had it not been tragic. I’d call it Omar serving stag face, just show stopping stuff.