MAJOR spoilers for the Season 2 finale of Maxton Hall are ahead! If you haven’t watched it yet, go stream it with an Amazon Prime subscription.
Season 1 of Maxton Hall ended with devastation for James, and him not asking Ruby for help. Season 2 of Maxton Hall ended its run on the 2025 TV schedule with the two of them hugging, however, as he supported her through her own tragic situation. So, considering this juxtaposition and the bombshells dropped in the final minutes of the show’s sophomore season, I had to ask Damian Hardung, who plays James, about it, and he explained what this final moment says about the main couple going into Season 3.
Alright, here’s what went down. In the final moments of Season 2, Ruby and Mr. Sutton were both suspended from the school because it was believed that she was the one in a relationship with the teacher. In reality, Lydia is the one romantically involved with Mr. Sutton, she’s pregnant, and he’s the father. However, Ruby is taking the fall, which means she’s out of school and out of Oxford. It’s a true tragedy for everyone involved, and the last scene shows them all emotional over what’s going on.
The final frame of the season (which you can see below) shows James and Ruby hugging and crying as they fathom what’s going on. So, I asked Damian Hardung about its meaning, and he told me:
I think it's beautiful imagery, or like almost a metaphor, for the way I think going forward from this, because the third book is called Save Us, and they're there together, and they're fighting against the outside world.
Maxton Hall is a book-to-screen adaptation of Mona Kasten’s novels. The first one is called Save Me, and Season 1 followed that. The second novel is Save You, which aligned with Season 2. So, Season 3, as Hardung said, will be based on the third book, Save Us.
Ending the season with Ruby and James hugging implies, to me, that they’re a united front and they’re going to fight the challenges ahead together. Ruby and James have already been through heartbreak together, Hardung’s character redeemed himself this season, and they have really committed to each other by the end of Season 2.
So, despite how bad things seem at the end of the season, when it comes to them as a couple, it feels like they’re going to try not to let this situation break them. To that point, Damian Hardung said that conflict and their fight for each other will be something to look forward to in Season 3, explaining:
Because, I mean, to any viewer who hasn't gotten it yet, like [Ruby’s] dream is Oxford, and that is taken away suddenly. So there's this fight now about how to get her back into Oxford. And I think to see them together to fight for the ‘Us’ in there. That's something to look forward to.
Personally, I love this response! The last thing I want to see is Ruby and James break up. While the challenges that lie ahead feel insurmountable, as James’ father is clearly on a war parth to break them up, they truly believe in their relationship. So, I would love to see them fight for it and really support each other in Season 3.
They deserve the love and happiness they haven’t gotten to experience together yet. Hopefully, they get that in Season 3, and they are able to resolve the issues presented at the end of Season 2 in a way that saves them as a couple and saves everyone else negatively impacted by the events of that final moment.
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