I cannot overstress how compelling Maxton Hall: The World Between Us is for a young adult series.
It’s precisely the type of programming I expect and wish for from the genre, where the stakes of everyone’s lives are high, albeit dramatic, but the series grounds all of it in very human things.
And Maxton Hall Season 2 is already doing an incredible job of exploring the profoundness of grief, self-identity, growth, and evolution, as well as toxic masculinity, mental health, shifting familial and friendship dynamics, socioeconomic issues, and, of course, highlighting one of the most endearing young love stories.
Maxton Hall is a Young Adult Drama that Respects and Understands Its Audience
I hate to keep drawing parallels to Prime Video’s other blockbuster hit young adult series, The Summer I Turned Pretty.
But as someone who spent an extensive period covering that show through its ups, downs, and strong opinions, Maxton Hall scratches an itch that I desperately wanted and needed from the former.
Maxton Hall is quieter, richer, more refined, and poised, demonstrating a necessary restraint in its storytelling, despite its dramatic nature. It keeps viewers deeply rooted in the story, locked in with the characters, and serves as a grounding force.
The series has a compelling way of keeping things real, which makes the love story at its center one in which you root for and understand why you’re rooting for it.
Much of Maxton Hall’s greatness lies in its dynamic leads. Harriet Herbig-Matten was a beacon of light throughout Maxton Hall Season 1, and that hasn’t changed in the slightest in the first three installments of this sophomore season.
Her performance as Ruby Bell feels richer as she’s settled further into the role, understands every nuance of the character she’s portraying, and brings her to life in new ways.
Harriet Herbig-Matten Brings Depth to Flawed Heroine
On any other show, Ruby, on the edge of “weepy” in every scene, would read as off-putting. Still, for Ruby, you feel the weight of the world as it falls on this young woman at every conceivable turn, yet, through the tears, she never allows anything to break her spirit permanently.
Her ambition and determination are traits she wears on her sleeve. Her vulnerability adds the softness that makes her the sympathetic underdog you root for, and her self-absorption brings that layer of flawed humanity that keeps her from being too perfect.
The first three episodes frequently play with this. Ruby frustrated me to no end, particularly during “Devastated” and “Wish to the Universe.” On the surface, she appears to be a young girl who seems too self-absorbed to notice what others are going through around her.
However, it’s also realistic for a young girl of her age. Everything during that time is bigger and more catastrophic, including real-life events that are, in fact, big and catastrophic.
You’re still young enough not to have the tools even to navigate some situations, and that’s essentially what we see with both Ruby and James.
At the conclusion of Maxton Hall Season 1, we had the high of their steamy, romantic night together in Oxford, and as most girls would be, Ruby is riding high.
James is, too, until he gets home and learns that his mother died. And that’s the state we find him in at the start of the season, and what a profoundly devastating place that is.
This Is Damian Hardung’s Season, and We’re Not Worthy
It feels like the season of James Beaufort, and if Damian Hardung was great during Maxton Hall’s first season, this second has proven what an incredible talent he is.
The premiere gives Hardung some very heavy material to work with immediately, and what he does with it is nothing short of remarkable.
It’s how James’ journey with grief unfolds that is so riveting to watch, as it begins in a more traditional manner in its depiction.
James’ moments of shock and grief with Mortimer and Lydia are to be expected, and then his throwing himself into vices as a distraction are about what you’d come to expect from a young man like James.
His grief is destructive, and he has no qualms about imploding because the emotions are too much for him to handle, especially as someone who was never taught how to regulate said emotions in the first place.
My heart broke watching his partying and drunken antics. It also broke seeing Ruby watch the man she loves seemingly disrespect and disregard her so publicly.
Of course, she had no idea what was happening at the time. On any other show, secrecy or miscommunication issues can feel like contrivances to further a plot.
Maxton Hall Handles Heavy Themes with Emotional Intelligence and Care
But Maxton Hall roots these issues in something comprehensive — Mortimer is obsessed with the Beaufort family image. These individuals cannot make a move or express an ounce of emotion without running through the proper channels to present a certain public image in the process.
Mortimer’s need to workshop how to announce Cordelia’s death ultimately leaves his children unable to process it publicly or even lean on their respective support networks.
And with no support or outlet, what’s to become but for James to bury himself in booze, women, and partying — becoming the social creature that he’s expected to be rather than the devastated son that he actually is?
James’ safe space, the only place in which he can quite literally lay his weary head and spill it all, is Ruby, and his father constantly attempts to strip that dynamic from him.
However, because James never had the tools to regulate his emotions on his own, pouring all of his vulnerability into one person, Ruby, a young woman not much more equipped than he, presents a whole other set of issues.
What I loved about these episodes is that Maxton Hall knows this, and as painful as it is to see either James or Ruby hurting, the series has no interest in making these two codependent on each other.
Grief is HARD. When you love someone, and they’re deep in the throes of it and spiraling in the way that James was, it’s not only difficult, but it’s terrifying.
Ruby Doesn’t Fall into Troubling Pitfalls with Female Romantic Leads, Thus Flipping the Script
On the surface, it would look as if Ruby abandoned James at a time when he needed her the most. And, to a degree, she has. It’s absolutely devastating to witness.
Because we almost expect her to be willing to push aside her own hurt of seeing him with another woman, aside, because we can understand the pain behind his actions.
And, to put it bluntly, her hurt seems inconsequential to his overpowering grief that drove his behavior. You almost want Ruby to be able to set it aside, as it’s evident that James is really hurting over something heart-shattering.
Maxton Hall challenges us in this regard, though, in a manner that I appreciate. Because, to a degree, Ruby is being too self-absorbed amid all of this — she does prioritize her hurt over James’ and seems to put distance between them the moment it becomes too much.
But that’s also painfully realistic. Not everyone is equipped to be the keeper of another person’s emotions, and it’s all very overwhelming for Ruby, a young girl who is also juggling her own life and obstacles.
The reality is that you can’t completely set aside your own issues to help someone through theirs, and what’s fascinating is that society often conditions young girls to do so. It becomes an expectation and obligation rather than a courtesy.
And Ruby and James’ conversation upon her Oxford acceptance celebration adds the context that hits her position home, and the series handles it beautifully.
She cannot be the sole reason that James gets help, the only person he turns to, and, no, it really isn’t her job to be his everything in that regard. It would diminish her light, her goals, and her plans, reducing her to just this crutch for him.
Maxton Hall Allows Its Leads to Evolve and Exist Outside of One Another
It’s not what she wants, nor James, nor the viewers. Their dynamic should be one of equal standing, even as they both stand in two totally different economic worlds.
And, ironically, it is the push that James needs to actually get the help that he deserves.
The series is really dismantling this notion of toxic masculinity to show what it means to be healthy. James actively choosing to go to therapy for himself destigmatizes it and the concept of actually caring about and working on one’s mental health.
It’s vital to both his and Ruby’s characters and individual growth (and the series is intent on allowing both characters to thrive beyond their romance with each other) that he takes these steps for himself.
He’s not doing it for Ruby; he’s doing it to become the best, healthiest person for himself. And to his credit, he’s also not using this as a reason to “win” Ruby back.
His involvement with the Fragile Hearts gala stems from his love for her, his desire to be there for her, and his wish to be the best person he can be when he’s around her.
However, it’s not an active attempt to win her over again, and the series plays with this a bit, having Ruby skeptical at times, even resistant, but ultimately seeing his efforts for what they are.
It all culminates nicely in the third installment, which leaves us hanging. James was deeply moved by listening to the janitor speak about how Alice Campbell’s Foundation had enabled him to access the therapy he needed to get his life together.
And he had to face some hard truths he was struggling with internally about how growth and evolution may result in losing friends who may have liked you at your worst.
Dismantling Toxic Masculinity and Destigmatizing Mental Health — We Love to See It
It all leads him to the microphone and the room, where he publicly stands in the spotlight his father wants him to be in, but deconstructs everything that Mortimer wants to uphold.
James’ raw vulnerability is the antithesis of the old guard’s hyper-masculine backdoor business dealings, which the Beautfort family has navigated due to Mortimer’s influence.
By James’ public proclamations, he has shifted everything; it potentially sparks the dawn of a new era. And I appreciated his bravery in that. Mortimer thought shuffling James out of the gala would stop that train.
But there’s no stopping it. James has stepped into his own, and there’s no going back now. The Beaufort family and Young Beaufort have undergone fundamental changes, and there’s no going back.
Mortimer may still prove to be an obstacle, but he’s fighting a losing battle, and James knows it. There’s a fascinating element of James serving as the successor that makes me smile.
Mortimer hoped and expected that as his son, he’d be able to mold James into his image, and it’s his own deeply rooted sexism and misguided championing of traditional, no, toxic masculine ideals that will be his downfall — and he ushered it in himself.
Something tells me Aunt Ophelia, whom I already adore with my whole heart, will help the Beaufort siblings carve out their own space and rise from the ashes of their grief to become what Cordelia wanted them to be.
Mortimer can get with the problem or move out of the way.
Maxton Hall Is for the Girlies — Female Friendship Takes Precedence, Too
And for Ruby, we have this young woman with such an indomitable spirit. She tried to be a great support to James without it necessarily being at her own expense.
She has also become exactly the supportive friend that Lydia needs. One of the strongest elements of the season thus far is how much it also centers on strong female friendships.
Whatever happens between James and Ruby doesn’t interfere with the beautiful friendship that has blossomed between Ruby and Lydia, and it makes me smile.
Lydia has never had a genuine friendship like the one she has with Ruby, and now it extends to Lin and Ember as well. It’s beautiful to see, and it’s what she deserves.
Especially as she heads down this path as a young mother, her inappropriate relationship with Graham has always been one of Maxton Hall’s more troubling arcs that didn’t work quite as well for the obvious reasons.
However, centering on Lydia more, and following this vulnerable young girl trying to navigate grief, keeping her family together, and the terrors of teenage pregnancy has been compelling to watch.
Lydia has become such a dynamic character, and the sophomore season leans into that, allowing Sonja Weißer to bring out many more layers and depths to this character.
Supporting Characters Get to Shine, Rather Than Be Sidelined
Maxton Hall doesn’t treat its supporting characters like they’re unworthy of strong story arcs on their own. And it doesn’t treat its romance like it’s the only vital dynamic worth exploring.
I haven’t been as enthralled by a sibling dynamic like that of the Beauforts in quite some time. It’s shocking how many series have come to neglect a sibling dynamic and explore it in depth — with the profound love as well as contention.
Every single scene with James and Lydia practically moved me to tears because you feel the love between these two and how they’d do anything for each other.
And James finding out about her pregnancy? James would go to war and fight his father if necessary to protect his sister and her child. Through their grief and under the weight of the family name and expectations, these two cling to one another.
They’re each other’s best friends and person, and that bond can only grow stronger.
Similarly, the sophomore season delves deeper into Ruby’s dynamic with Ember, and this wonderfully quirky, sweet, and endlessly supportive character now has the space to develop real depth.
The Sibling Dynamics Remain Elite
I wondered at what point Maxton Hall would explore how much Ruby relies on her sister, only to cast her aside unwittingly, and they dove right into that.
Ember is the emotional backbone of the family. Still, so often that comes at the expense of her own feelings, and I’m grateful the series delves into that and has Ruby recognizing how much she takes her sister for granted.
And Ember is finally getting her due at that gala, as well as being treated like the absolute queen that she is? I love this for her.
It’s safe to say that after the long wait, Maxton Hall has truly delivered. They’ve elevated the series, and the sophomore season is already on track to exceed the quality, charm, and gripping storytelling of the first.
I’m eager to see what awaits us for the remainder of the season. How about you?
Class Notes:
- Ember Bell better have her own boutique by the end of the season. Ruby’s ensemble was fabulous!
- Mortimer and James’ dynamic has more depth this season. He can be the worst, but the moments where we genuinely see how much he loves his son — his worry after the accident, and his concern when James was spiraling? There’s a decent man in there, and I hope we see more of him.
- The headmaster is the absolute worst. I was gobsmacked at how he ruined that event and then expected Ruby to work a miracle.
- More Percy, please!! Percy’s love for James warms the cockles of my heart. That boy means the world to him.
- Maxton Hall still has one of the best soundtracks ever. Kudos to the music director.
- My goodness, Damian Hardung is fabulous this season. I cannot emphasize this enough.
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If you enjoy Maxton Hall or our coverage of it, then you may love (or hate, depending on your shipping preferences) our The Summer I Turned Pretty coverage by yours truly. Also, My Life With the Walter Boys, powerful stories about grief can be found in our NCIS: Origins coverage as well. And subscribe to our newsletter for more fun and variety!
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The post Maxton Hall Season 2 Is a YA Drama Masterclass — Powerhouse Performances, Riveting Themes & an Unmatched Love Story appeared first on TV Fanatic.