‘Maxton Hall’ Stars Reveal Season 2 Hopes & Status of Ruby & James’ Relationship After Finale Heartbreak
[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Maxton Hall – The World Between Us Season 1.]
It’s Ruby Bell (Harriet Herbig-Matten) and James Beaufort’s (Damian Hardung) world, and we’re just living in it. Maxton Hall – The World Between Us, Prime Video’s newest YA series, has stolen our hearts. James and Ruby start out as enemies at their fictional private school, but as they get to know each other, a powerful love blooms between them.
The first season of the German series, which dropped on May 9, ends with a tragedy. James’ mother dies suddenly, leaving James and his sister Lydia (Sonja Weißer) devastated. In the final moments of the finale, James shows up at Ruby’s house, but he doesn’t seek comfort inside. So, where does the show go from here? What does this heartbreak mean for Ruby and James? Hardung and Herbig-Matten break down the finale and the couple’s future with TV Insider.
“It really reminds me of all the traumas that he has and where that comes from within his family,” Hardung tells TV Insider about that final scene. “There’s that contrast there where he’s looking at Ruby’s happy family and just seeing the blood on his own hand [after a fight with his father] and the ring with his family name. It just pushes him over the edge of trying to really protect her from his mess. But I feel like that’s a setback for him and the relationship between those two characters.”
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James knows how Ruby feels about him, so why didn’t he go inside? For James, it’s not that simple.
“They were so happy, and all he can offer her is a complete mess,” Hardung admits. “That’s all he can offer to her in his own world. There’s just all that pain and hatred. He just loves her so much that he leaves. I feel like that’s such a beautiful message that if you truly love someone and you love them that much, you’re actually willing to leave for their own sake.”
During that last scene, Ruby looks to the window after James disappears. Herbig-Matten believes Ruby could sense James’ presence. “She’s looking out the window and feeling his mind, his body,” the actress says, prompting Hardung to ask, “Why didn’t you come out then?”
Herbig-Matten responds, “You weren’t standing there anymore! She’s feeling him and it shows their connection and shows their love that they feel for each other. That’s really beautiful and sad.”
Maxton Hall – The World Between Us, based on the bestselling novel Save Me by Mona Kasten, hasn’t been renewed for Season 2 yet, but Hardung and Herbig-Matten are hopeful that this is just the beginning for James and Ruby. But it’s not going to be an easy road for James.
“In the second book, it’s really dark for James,” Hardung reveals. “We’ve talked about his mom dying, and he’s really going through those dark places.” He adds, “As much as that is great stuff to reenact, I feel so much more fear than joy thinking about if we get lucky to get a second season to actually have to portray that because that would just entail so much pain to go through.”
In a second season, Herbig-Matten wants to see Ruby still “fighting for her dream” and “staying with this ambitious goal and fighting for Oxford and not changing for him [James] and helps herself and sets boundaries.”
No matter what challenges are thrown their way, Hardung is confident in the power of James and Ruby’s love for one another. “I hope that the message of the show really holds up,” the actor says regarding a potential next season. “When there’s love, there’s nothing in between that can stop them. They can overcome those obstacles that they have and the circumstances to actually be able to be together.”
Maxton Hall – The World Between Us, Streaming Now, Prime Video
