Rivals season 2 episode 6 is a masterclass in dramatic TV and is quintessentially British.
The episode acts as a mid-season finale for Rivals season 2, considering we won't get the next six episodes for a while, although it is rumored they're coming out in the autumn. Still, we are biting our nails thinking of that episode and every reason why Disney+ has decided to keep us waiting. But first, let's dive into the delicious details of why this episode was one of the best on TV in a long time.
1. The affairs are hot, and we root for them
Rivals is a show where most of the time, we want to see affairs. In this episode, the heat ramped up as a storm hit Rutshire, causing power outages and strong winds. Firstly, Taggie gets caught in a storm as she decides to play savior to Rupert's white steed, which somehow ends up in the fields of The Priory.
Ever the animal lover, Taggie brings the animal back and is driven home by Rupert. We catch glimpses of knowing from Cameron, who is finally starting to piece together Taggie's affection for him. The question is, does she know he returns her feelings?
Then there are Freddie and Lizzie. After a heartbreaking conversation with Monica, Lizzie starts her new book, Stormy Weather, feeling emboldened by the storm. She turns up in the early morning and tells Freddie she doesn't want to be without him. *Insert steamy kiss*.
There is a brilliant setup for the fallout of Tony and Maud's short but steamy affair. Finally, Tony's wife finds out and announces plans to divorce him. We think there's going to be a big confrontation, a bust-up between Maud and Monica, but then it never comes, but we'll get to that.
Episode 5 set up the premise for Rutshire's affairs to continue, with Tony and Maud shagging all over the place and Declan and Cameron almost getting lost in the Irish sauce. But the dramatic flair in this episode gives us everything with the affairs: sex, shock, and scandal. And not to mention a huge cliffhanger regarding Declan finding out about Maud's affair with his sworn enemy and TV network rival Tony.
2. Pathetic fallacy
This show loves good dramatics, and the style, tone, and techniques enhance the drama. Slow-motion shots, muted moments, and weather set the mood.
With a storm hitting Rutshire, the characters are feeling the weather. Lizzie feels bold, Taggie feels scared, Monica feels angry, and Maud is terrified. The weather in this case is more than just a plot device to get characters together.
The weather is its own character, as it leads storylines and brings tragedy. Using a storm to keep the characters stationary or to keep them moving. The pathetic fallacy in this episode makes the weather feel more important, more than something fleeting that lasts one night in the countryside.
3. The fact that it feels like real TV again
Watching this episode of Rivals felt like watching great network TV again. It felt like watching a CW episode live, or David Tennant's Dr. Who.
The acting and range of the cast are there. There's softness between characters hiding their affection (particularly Rupert and Taggie in a fleeting kitchen scene). There's relief when Freddie and Lizzie decide to do something for themselves again and devastation when Monica finally realizes Tony has no intention to honor his agreement with Monica to be a better man.
Watching Monica finally snap and unravel is a generational moment. It may be a typical story in this kind of TV show, a posh woman with a title finally unravels from her pristine and pressured image.
Monica, however, isn't one-dimensional. She's not just a colorful bird living in a glass cage. She's in a gilded cage, yes, but she's bound by her children and honor, suppressing her real identity to keep her family name in check, but when it's the final straw, we are cheering at our TV with her. Claire Rushbrook as Monica is sensational and made me even shed a tear at her scene with Lizzie when she asks, "Why do we stay with men who aren't nice to us?"
Raw TV makes things messy. Rivals and this episode do exactly that and show how flawed every character is. Everyone is lying, cheating, or fraternizing with the enemy. And it's great.
4. Tony getting read to filth
As much as Tony is a villian we love to hate, seeing him read for filth in this episode is one of the best TV moments of the year. Because Tony is evil, and he stooped even lower when he began to have an affair with Maud in episode 5. Knowing she's vulnerable and seducing her without a care for his wife and hearing her express her regret at marrying him were everything.
After all of that, Tony is still not sorry. He's not sorry for cheating; he's sorry that his pristine image has almost been torn to shreds. Even before the tragedy, it was nice to see Monica unmask him for who he is and be one of the first and only women to stand up against his evil, aside from Cameron. With another few months to wait, the unmasking of Tony in this episode leaves us with many possibilities of how Tony could face his permanent downfall or how he's going to crawl his way back to the top of the TV food chain.
5. There's a heartbreaking cliffhanger
In the last five minutes of the episode, we learn there's been an accident. It's a classic play from the dramatic television playbook, and it's an accident. Think of Marissa's death in season 3 of The OC, or Keith being shot in One Tree Hill.
It may be predictable, but the formula works. Driven by anger, Monica sets out on the road during the storm to take Caitlin, Declan's daughter, home. Just to recap, Cailtin, who is an O'Hara, is sleeping with Tony Baddingham's son Archie. Still, when Rupert, Tony's enemy and fellow Venturer member, turns up at his door, we're confused. That is, until Rupert, in a plot twist of all plot twists, reveals to Tony that his wife had died as a tree had hit her car while she was driving.
It's not a cliffhanger that Monica died, but rather whether she's really dead or not. Rivals is waiting a few months to reveal her fate is controversial but works for the show's dramatic storytelling. She was only just coming into her arc, partially admitting she had a lesbian relationship and starting to stand up for herself; it was great to witness, but her end (as far as we know) is a beautiful tragedy.
Not to mention the aftermath of her death and how it'll affect Rutshire. Will it prompt Tony to change, or will it fuel anger around his affair? Will Maud feel guilted into telling the truth? Will Lizzie feel guilty for her death since Monica was visiting her before driving away? And most importantly, is Declan going to find out?
It's a waiting game for now. Stay tuned for more news about Rivals season 2!
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