Just as quickly as Maxton Hall brought James and Ruby back together, the show is threatening to break them apart following that cheating story line.
During the Thursday, November 13, episode of the hit Prime Video show, James (Damian Hardung) visited Ruby (Harriet Herbig-Matten) at her home, which paved the way for a reconciliation after James’ infidelity. They initially decided to keep their relationship a secret until a party where they chose to finally go public.
James even surprised Ruby with a very romantic date that led to a heated makeout session. He then invited Ruby back to his home because he assumed his dad — who didn’t approve of her — wasn’t there. But bad weather led to James’ father canceling his traveling plans and returning home, leaving the episode on a cliffhanger.
The chances of James’ dad interfering in his relationship with Ruby is quite high after the first three episodes this season threw multiple obstacles their way. The season 2 premiere, which aired earlier this month, saw James struggling with his mother’s sudden death and cheating on Ruby in front of her.
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Based on the second part of Mona Kasten‘s Save You novel, season 2 of Maxton Hall picks up after James and Ruby’s “passionate night together in Oxford and her greatest life goal within reach, everything seems to be going perfectly for Ruby.”
Things take a turn, however, when “a stroke of fate in James’ family changes everything and James himself, of all people, brings her back from cloud nine to a harsh reality. Ruby is devastated. She has never had such strong feelings for anyone as she does for James — and never before has anyone hurt her so deeply.”
The logline continues: “She wants her old life back, where no one at Maxton Hall knew her yet and she wasn’t part of the elitist world of her classmates. But she can’t forget James — especially since he’s doing everything he can to win her back.”
Before they returned to film season 2, Herbig-Matten, 22, and Hardung, 27, discussed what they would like to see for their characters.
“[I would like Ruby] to stay true to herself and to set boundaries. She’s already doing this, but to keep doing this. And not changing for him,” Herbig-Matten exclusively told Us Weekly in June 2024. “And I would like to focus on female friendships. That is really important too. And don’t let a man destroy your life.”
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The actress told Us she learned some important lessons from filming the first season that she planned to take with her into season 2.
“What I’ve learned from Damian is he worked out a lot after shooting. That’s what I learned from him. And I think there’s really to get out of your head and to just process the day,” she added. “I’ve learned that from him and that has really worked for me.”
Hardung, meanwhile, wanted to see James work on himself more.
“I’ve been saying this a lot. I truly wish for him that he and his family ideally go to family therapy and figure out what’s been going on,” he told Us. “They could have better communication of their wants and their needs together and kind of figure out how they can fulfill that. And they can learn how to go forward and not make life so hard for each other.”
Maxton Hall airs on Prime Video Thursdays.
