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‘Rivals’: Should Rupert Be With Taggie or Cameron? (POLL)
No relationship on Rivals is (anywhere near) perfect. Let’s be honest: This is the show that has us rooting for infidelity. Everyone’s love life is very, very complicated on the juicy, can’t-stop-watching, scandalous Hulu series, based on Jilly Cooper’s novel of the same name,
The series began with Rupert Campbell-Black (Alex Hassell) having sex with gossip columnist Beattie Johnson (Annabel Scholey) on a plane, then new-to-the-Cotswolds Taggie O’Hara (Bella Maclean) caught him in the middle of a game of naked tennis with Sarah Stratton (Emily Atack). That began the slow burn and a season of (slow) growth for Rupert, who groped Taggie at a dinner, only to endear himself to her with the gift of a bracelet and by helping Charles (Gary Lamont) after he was photographed in the middle of a panic attack. It all leads up to the swoony “I can’t breathe without you” and kiss in the Season 1 finale. But there’s a major complication.
On the other side of the rivalry, Lord Tony Baddingham (David Tennant) and Corinium producer Cameron Cook (Nafessa Williams) were having an affair … which went very south in the Season 1 finale after he learned about her relationship with Rupert, which started during a trip to Spain that he wasn’t able to make. (To make matters worse, Rupert is on the other side of the professional rivalry between Corinium and Venturer for the franchise. Cameron secretly joined Venturer, too.) The fight that ensued ended with Cameron hitting Tony over the head with an award. The finale ended with him bleeding out. Tennant’s Season 2 return — and therefore Tony’s survival — has subsequently been revealed. But that leaves Cameron in a precarious position, and she might very well need help from Rupert, which therefore complicates his relationship with Taggie. Could he stay with Cameron to protect her from Tony? Or will he end things with Cameron to be with Taggie?
“We feel that Cameron has fallen for Rupert while in Spain. When he takes her to the ambassador’s reception, Cameron is seen. You see a different, lighter Cameron; she’s laughing at that dinner, he’s dancing with her in front of all these other guests. She goes, this is what a proper relationship should be like, not sneaking around. She comes back a lot stronger, but also feeling something for Rupert. They continue their romance after Spain. It’s not just a holiday romance. Taggie’s not on Cameron’s radar when it comes to Rupert. Cameron thinks, there could be something here. When Rupert at the studio says, I promise I will look after you, Cameron believes it. And Rupert believes that in that moment,” executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins told TV Insider after the Season 1 finale.
He continued, “What we’ve played is that Rupert’s trying very hard to keep away from Taggie. He’s made a promise to Declan [Aidan Turner]. There is an age difference. He’s still got a lot of growing to do. He knows he could mess up Taggie, so he’s trying to keep away from her, but there’s a magnetic pull. 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.”
But what do you think? Who should Rupert be with, Taggie or Cameron? Take the poll below, then let us know your thoughts in the comments section.
Rivals, Season 2, TBA, Hulu
