Stream It Or Skip It?

We are back in Germany, or maybe it’s the UK…still not sure which one. Regardless, we are here to see how the love story of James Beaufort and Ruby Bell will move forward in Season 2 of Prime Video’s Maxton Hall: The World Between Us, based on the popular novel Save Me. Season 1 gave viewers the perfect dose of heartbreak and enemies-to-lovers style romance. However, the second season quickly doubles down on the intensity of James and Ruby’s relationship, and let us tell you, you are in for a rollercoaster of emotions.

Opening Shot: A beautiful shot of Oxford University opens up the first episode, as Ruby Bell (Harriet Herbig-Matten)’s voice begins her narration, stating that the future belongs to “those who believe in their dreams,” and wondering why Oxford is known as “the city of the dreaming spires.” Afterwards, she is seen heatedly making out with James Beaufort (Damian Hardung), as they snap a selfie of them cuddling to remember this beautiful moment.

The Gist: At the end of the show’s first season, Ruby and James were left facing different kinds of emotions. Ruby was happy that James started dating her, but James had to face the tragedy of the sudden death of his mother, which filled him with rage and grief. As we open Season 2, Ruby is seen entering the Maxton Hall boarding school campus after spending the summer with James in London, where we see her meeting up with her best friend Lin Wang (Andrea Guo) and Kieran Rutherford (Frederic Balonier).

When they enter the building, Headmaster Lexington (Thomas Douglas) asks Ruby to come with him to his office, where he tells her that the head of the Campbell Foundation (Proshat Madani) gave Ruby a work opportunity in which she could be part of the event planning committee for Campbell’s gala, and she accepts to send in an application.

However, James is nowhere to be seen on campus; he’s too busy partying. Ruby and Lydia, the sister of James, crash the party uninvited, where they spot an inebriated James cheating on Ruby with another girl named Elaine. This upsets Ruby, of course, and sets the course of the second season’s drama in motion. 

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Adapted by Daphne Ferraro from Mona Kasten’s famous romance trilogy, this second season reminds us of Elite and Gossip Girl, but, now with the Euphoria-kind of mess.

Our Take: Second seasons of shows usually start light, slowly putting to focus on what the main characters will be going through during the episodes. Instead, this season jumps right into things and the plot starts unfolding all at once; if you like non-stop drama, you’ll have a blast.

There are many outstanding performances in this show, but Damian Hardung deserves his flowers first and foremost for his heartbreaking performance as James Beaufort. He is able to show how truly distressing his scenes are in this season, pouring everything he has into this role of this grieving and unstable teen.

Sex and Skin: The first scene of Ruby and Damian making out in Oxford showcases some brief nudity that only lasts for a few seconds. That’s pretty much it.

Parting Shot: James and Ruby’s emotional moment at the Beaufort mansion pulled our heartstrings. In this beautiful scene, James cries into Ruby’s arms, as he tells her he feels lost. That is because his mother’s death was too sudden for him, and he doesn’t know what to do. 

Sleeper Star: We definitely want to see more scenes of James’ sister Lydia, played by Sonja Weißer, because her performance was truly well done.

Our Call: STREAM IT.  Maxton Hall: The World Between Us enters its second season with a bang, having its main characters immediately go off the rails in the first episode. We can’t wait to see where the action takes us from here..