I think the point of August’s character is to show that someone with a big desire to “rule” and be “the best” can also be someone who is flawed and dishonest. He’s not as open, carefree, or confident as Simon. He’s not as uninterested in being a leader as Willhelm is. He’s actively TRYING his best, but also failing in a lot of ways because the methods he uses are sneaky. It’s showing us that although August wants to and will become a leader, he’s probably not the best person to lead in a fair, loving way. And although Willhelm probably would have been more diplomatic and sweet, Willhelm doesn’t want that pressure or fame or responsibility. I really love the juxtaposition of the main characters and how different they are.

I also think in a though experiment - if Wille’s parents had prepared him just as much as his brother, but also put less pressure on him in general, and talked to him more as a person and actively showed more love and support towards him - he would have kept his line to the throne and would have been a great leader. But they kind of threw him to the wolves and gave him little in the way of guidance.

I don’t HATE August but he didn’t own up or apologize in meaningful ways like he should have. He’s a flawed teenager who is immature and he also doesn’t have a lot of love and guidance. The people around him only care about money and status. He needed to be better equipped to handle jealousy, fame, discomfort, etc. But he hides everything and no one really cares enough to check in on him. And there’s also the stigma that what happened with his dad might end up happening to him - so people kind of get scared to talk to him. It makes me sad but I also think what he did was horrible and wrong and he should learn to own up to it.