Exclusive Interview

‘Maxton Hall’: Damian Hardung & Harriet Herbig-Matten on Season 2’s Devastating Finale (VIDEO)

[Warning: The following contains MAJOR spoilers from Maxton Hall — The World Between Us Season 2.]

True to form, Maxton Hall doesn’t let Ruby Bell (Harriet Herbig-Matten) and James Beaufort’s (Damian Hardung) happiness last long. The young couple’s romance is still going strong in Season 2’s finale, despite all of Mortimer’s (Fedja van Huêt) attempts to destroy Ruby’s life. She decides that staying with James is worth it — and then the Beaufort patriarch delivers his most devastating blow yet.

Mortimer’s scheme gets Ruby suspended from Maxton Hall, putting her dream of attending Oxford University in jeopardy. “I think in that moment she doesn’t know what’s happening at all,” Herbig-Matten told Swooon of that shocking ending. “I think there are a lot of questions in her head at that moment and a lot of emotions and feelings, and her losing everything she ever wanted is like the worst thing ever.”

When Mortimer goes through James’ phone in Episode 5, he finds the photo that his son took in Season 1, when James and Ruby were still enemies. It makes Ruby look like she’s in a compromising position with Mr. Sutton (Eidin Jalali), the teacher that Lydia (Sonja Weißer) is having an affair with. Sutton is ready to come clean about his relationship with Lydia, so he tells the school board in the finale, thinking they already know his lover’s identity. What he doesn’t know is that Mortimer has framed Ruby instead.

Gordon Muehle / Amazon MGM Studios

When the accusation is hurled at her, does Ruby even consider exposing Lydia’s secret? “I think that’s the positive thing about Ruby, that she would never do that, and she would never call her out,” Herbig-Matten said, before joking with Hardung that maybe Ruby should have. “Lydia should do that. But no, I really like that character trait of [Ruby], that she’s not doing that.”

Hardung noted that James never expected his father to go as far as he did, especially after Mortimer openly grieved his late wife in front of his kids. “I think, especially after Episode 5, with his father breaking down, he thought maybe there’s some human aspect to it, so I don’t think he expected any of it at all,” Hardung said. “And now with [Ruby’s] whole dream being burned down by his dad, it’s a good setup for another season, I’d say.”

When the Season 2 finale occurs, James and Ruby are ready to stop running, which is the reason they made their romance public to their classmates and Mortimer earlier in the season. In terms of the latter, “they feel comfortable facing the devil because it’s about them trying to build a future for themselves and together,” Hardung explained.

However, Ruby still doesn’t know that James took the photo, so will that revelation cause a rift between the couple, despite their relationship being in a good spot? “I think we’re in a beautiful position of like… Having had Save Me, Save You,” the actor said, referring to Mona Kasten’s Maxton Hall books, “they’ve really fought for each other and fought for the love that they deserve, so it’s a perfect spot for the third, Save Us. That’s the two of them then against the rest of the world.”

Gordon Muehle / Amazon MGM Studios

Though Hardung and Herbig-Matten couldn’t say much about Season 3, which is currently in production, the former did warn that it’s going to be intense. “I think it’s different than Season 2,” Herbig-Matten chimed in. “I feel like we have more like group scenes together, and I really enjoy that, and the focus is also on the other characters, and I think that’s really great, just to give them space.”

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“I think we have such great supporting actors and actresses and roles in the series that haven’t had the space,” Hardung echoed. “And I think if you read the third book, a lot of the narratives, a lot of the chapters, are told also through their perspectives. And I think that’s so valuable. I mean, from my perspective, having read those James chapters is really interesting because you have your own inner monologues, and I think having that from a number of perspectives, or Wren’s perspective or Cyril’s perspective, just adds so many layers to the stories.”

The actor kept his answer vague when it came to how far Season 3 strays from Save Us. “With the first book, we really stayed very close to the original text. I think then the second book deviates a bit from it, but just out of necessity because you need to enrich and plot here and there,” he said. “But overall, I think people have been really satisfied with the way it’s turned out, so I don’t know, I feel like we’re in a good spot for the third one.”

Maxton Hall — The World Between Us, Season 3, TBA, Prime Video