Secret Society of Second Born Royals

Secret Society of Second Born Royals is a movie about a rebellious royal teenager, Sam (Peyton Elizabeth Lee), and a group of teenage "second-born royals" who discover that they have secret superpowers. Anna Mastro directed the Disney Plus movie. In the film, the teens are made to stay in a top-secret training camp, and they are put into dangerous situations to train them on how to use their superpowers before they can save the world.
The film begins with James (Skylar Astin) narrating how the movie is not about a Princess waiting for a Prince to come and save her. He goes on to introduce us to Samantha, a second-born daughter of the royal family of Illyria, the smallest country in Europe. Sam has never been a typical Princess, unlike her elder sister Eleanor (Ashley Liao), who is about to become queen of Illyria in a few days. Instead of Sam being there for her sister and helping the family, she would rather miss school and hang out with her best friend Mike (Noah Lomax). They had a band that included just Sam and her best friend, Mike. Sam never cared about royalty; as she has always said, "Down with the monarchy!"

Credit: Disney+

Sam wanted change in the society, she wanted a more leveling ground, but she did not have any power to bring about change. Due to Sam missing out on a test and failing her grades, she was then sent to summer school alongside some other students; Tuma (Niles Fitch), whose crime was throwing a party in the chemistry lab, burning down half the school due to carelessness; Matteo (Faly Rakotohavana) whose fault was as a result of him lacking social skills; January (Isabella Blake Thomas) was in summer school for the extra credit, Roxana's (Olivia Deeble) crime was as a result of her fourteen days of unexcused absence in school.

Credit: Disney+

While these teenagers tried to make up for their shortcomings, they were greeted with a huge secret, which is that they all had superpowers. Apparently, all second-born royals have superpowers, and they have a Secret Society of Second-Born Royals. Sam's superpower is heightened senses which makes her feel, hear, and see things more sharply and clearly than any average person; Tuma can get people to do what he wants; January's ability is to absorb other people's power within a short period just by touching them; Roxana can turn invisible (an irony because she always loves to be seen); Matteo can control insects. Their teacher, James, can multiply. James made it known to them that they were there on a mission, not for their mistakes in school. While he was explaining to them about the Secret Society of Second Born Royals and its importance, Sam was met with another shock as her mom, who happens to be the leader of the society, came in and addressed them all.

Credit: Disney+

During training, there was an interruption when a highly dangerous criminal, inmate 34 (Greg Bryk), escapes prison, and the second-borns are wrapped up in his evil plot to end all monarchies by killing the first-born royals and taking the throne for himself. He was helped by one of the second-borns, January. She absorbed Tuma's powers and used it significantly on them, which led to the release of the dangerous criminal who happened to be Sam's uncle, who she believed was dead. The group of second-borns came together and overcame the dangerous criminal on time, successfully saving the world.

Sam is a super relatable character; her life experiences are universal, no matter who you are, where you come from, and how old you are (even if the movie is tailored for younger audiences). Being a second born is not that bad, but it is really bad when you constantly feel second place. This can be overturned by understanding the importance of having a level head, surrounding yourself with amazing friends, giving yourself self-love, continuous sacrifice, and great teamwork. They were taught that "The key to mastering powers is mastering yourself." which is really important. This movie teaches everyone how to find their place in the world, work with others, and love others for who they are. An important note and takeaway from this movie is that being the second born does not mean you are second best.

About the author: My name is Franklin Ifeanyi. I am someone who likes to help people; I hope to do that with writing.

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