Book to Screen
What’s Next for Rupert & Taggie in ‘Rivals’ Season 2, According to the Book
[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Season 1 of Rivals and Jilly Cooper’s book.]
Missing all the drama in the Cotswolds? Same. Rivals captured the hearts of viewers around the globe, and we’re all on the edge of our seats waiting for Season 2.
The season finale left us with so many questions, particularly about how that kitchen kiss changes things for Rupert and Taggie. To hold us over until Season 2 filming gets underway — it has to be soon! — Swooon is looking at Jilly Cooper’s book, the inspiration behind the series, to figure out what’s likely on the horizon for Rupert (Alex Hassell) and Taggie (Bella Maclean).
What happened between Rupert and Taggie in Rivals Season 1?
As with many enemies-to-lovers stories, Rupert and Taggie do not start on the best note. They first meet when Taggie notices smoke in the distance and thinks Rupert’s place is on fire. She calls the fire brigade and runs over to see if anyone needs help. She stumbles upon a very naked Rupert and Sarah Stratton (Emily Atack) playing tennis together and learns Rupert’s just burning some brush.
Later, Taggie gets a catering job for a dinner party at Freddie (Danny Dyer) and Valerie’s (Lisa McGrillis) place and accidentally catches Rupert and Sarah hooking up. Rupert and Taggie lock eyes in the middle of the party — and let’s not forget that knuckle bite — but Rupert is the worst version of himself here. He inappropriately touches Taggie without her consent, causing her to spill the dessert all over Cameron Cook’s (Nafessa Williams) very expensive suit.
After that, it’s all about Rupert’s redemption arc. He feels badly for what he did to Taggie and gifts her with a gorgeous necklace for Christmas. However, because he signed his note with just “R,” she thinks it’s from her former fling, Rafe. At the O’Hara’s New Year’s Eve party, which serves as Patrick’s (Gabriel Tierney) birthday bash, Rupert can’t take his eyes off Taggie. When he notices her working throughout the night, he pulls her out onto the dance floor. This moment changes everything for Rupert and Taggie. For the first time, Rupert admits that he doesn’t like the person he’s been and wants to change. He helps an overwhelmed Taggie clean up after the party, and their feelings for each other begin to bloom.
Rupert takes a step back when Taggie’s dad, Declan (Aidan Turner), orders him to stay away from her. (Let’s all remember that Rupert is a lot older than Taggie!) When Taggie cries that she doesn’t want to leave her home after Declan is fired from Corinium, Rupert goes out and starts a production company to keep Declan employed! He goes off to Spain and hooks up with Cameron, but he tells his close friend that there’s another woman he’s got deeper feelings for (i.e. Taggie), but she’s “out of bounds.” He then proceeds to buy Taggie a Fabergé egg, and she sweetly accepts his gift — and has no idea how much it’s worth.
Rupert angers everyone when he reveals that he gave Cameron all of Venturer’s plans in a plot to get her to work for them. While out pitching Venturer, Taggie gets into a minor car accident when Rupert’s driver doesn’t see her in time. Rupert races to make sure Taggie is okay and drives her home. Rupert and Cameron still have a fling going on, but he can’t get Taggie out of his mind. In a rare moment, Rupert gets jealous when Taggie goes out with Sebastian (Milo Callaghan).
After Corinium and Venturer go face-to-face for the franchise, there’s a party at the O’Hara house. Taggie and Rupert can’t stop looking at each other, and Taggie finally admits her feelings for him. Rupert tries to let her go by acknowledging that Seb’s a nice boy, but Taggie’s confession changes everything. “Only he’s not you,” she says. Rupert turns around and says he’s trapped by Cameron and the franchise. “But she’s not you. I can’t breathe without you,” he tells Taggie before they kiss for the first time.
What will happen between Rupert and Taggie in Season 2?
The show has only covered about half of the book so far. Season 1 ends with Cameron and Tony’s horrible fight at Corinium, which leaves Tony’s life in the balance. Here’s what happens next, according to the book: Cameron moves in with Rupert after this incident. Declan and Maud forget about Taggie’s birthday, and Rupert is horrified that Taggie was left all alone. He gets her a puppy as a gift.
Cameron doesn’t make the best first impression when she meets Rupert’s kids, Tabitha and Marcus, but they end up loving Taggie. In a scene that must make it into Season 2, Bas asks Taggie to the Hunt Ball. When Rupert sees them on the dance floor, he literally shatters a glass in his hand. Given that Taggie and Rupert have already acknowledged their feelings for each other in the show (which they don’t do until the very end of the book), it’s likely Rupert and Taggie will get together by the end of the second season.
We could definitely see the Season 2 finale taking a page out of the book with Taggie showing up at the airport to meet Rupert after he arrives back from America. Rupert’s going to try one last time to push Taggie away because he doesn’t believe he’s worthy of her, and she’ll reply, “I don’t care about your past. All I want is to be your future.” Rupert could propose right then and there like he does in the book.
However, the show could easily extend this slow burn into a potential Season 3. The series has already dropped a hint about Perdita (more on that below), so that could be another obstacle for Rupert and Taggie to get over before they can be together.
Executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins told TV Insider that Rupert’s “still got a lot of growing to do” in Season 2. “He knows he could mess up Taggie, so he’s trying to keep away from her, but there’s a magnetic pull,” he continued. “In the kitchen, when he says, I can’t breathe without you, that’s true. She makes him a better man and he knows it. And he’s not thinking in that moment. What I love about Rupert is he does change in our Series 1 because of Taggie. He wants to be a better man for her. And that’s why he’s also saying to Cameron, I will look after you. But it also leaves you with hope and confusion about after this, what will happen if Cameron, as per the book, runs to Rupert and says, you promised to protect me. It’s deliciously messy, which is always the best television.”
Do Rupert and Taggie get together in the books?
Yes, Rupert and Taggie prove to be endgame in Rivals, the second book on Cooper’s book series. The show has made some notable changes, mainly upping Taggie’s age from 17 to 20.
They finally get together at the end of Rivals and marry in the next book, Polo. Rupert is absolutely smitten with Taggie, and they weather plenty of storms together, including Taggie’s miscarriage. Polo also reveals that Rupert has a secret daughter named Perdita, who was conceived during an orgy when Rupert was in his 20s.
In Appassionata, Rupert and Taggie adopt two children from Colombia, Xavier and Bianca. Rupert does cheat on Taggie in Mount, which infuriated readers. Thankfully, this indiscretion doesn’t ruin their relationship. Taggie is diagnosed with breast cancer in Tackle, and Rupert is by her side every step of the way.
What do you think will happen in Rivals Season 2? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Rivals, Season 2, TBA, Hulu
