Maxton Hall Season 2 review: A beautiful, brutal portrayal of grief and healing

Maxton Hall is an enigma. You don’t ask too many questions about the premise, least of all a German university set in rural England. You might politely question how organising an event in the school can guarantee you a seat at Oxford, but then as the series progresses, you just take it for granted like everyone else.

The sheer addictiveness about Maxton Hall is the conviction of complicated romances without ever veering into the dangerous ‘oh-so-toxic’ zone. It has all the ingredients of cliches and stereotypes; especially the rich and arrogant boy and the nerdy girl, yet it stews well with the actors, plot lines, bringing forth a story so watchable, entertaining and one that still twists the knife.

The story focuses on Ruby Bell, who is determined to get into Oxford. In a series of unpleasant circumstances, she is forced to be in James Beaufort’s company, and despite the raging issues within them and externally, they fall in love. The first season ended with a heartbreak: James’s mother dies.

And so, Season 2 plunges into the numb murkiness of grief. James loses control of himself and in his impulsivity breaks the heart of the girl who had healed him. It’s a series of distressing scenes as Damien Harding delves into the psyche of a man trying to pick up the pieces of a possible life that he shattered. It’s raw, visceral and his soundless screams are piercing. Ruby, despite being hurt so brutally, offers the little comfort that she can, but tells him the much needed statement: He needs help. She cannot fix him.

It's almost relief to see a show take this line of writing, instead of the female character losing herself in her lover’s raw grief. Ruby makes a firm decision, even if it tears her apart from inside to do so. It’s a much-needed lesson in a world that conditions you into become the therapist that you never wanted to become. And so, James begins his unsteady path to redemption, quietly regaining Ruby’s trust.

No doubt, the chemistry is electric. It rips through the show, keeping it alight. The passion, prejudice and hurt is all so visible even in the slightest of expressions: Quivering lips, tear-soaked countenances, and just the hollowness of it all. It’s not all morbid either: It has moments of fun, silly comedy and cheer, striking the much-needed balance between pain and peace.

It's a show that stands on its own, but yet, what’s most infuriating is that fandoms have now set a benchmark of comparisons and expectations especially to the previous Amazon Prime show, The Summer I turned Pretty. Folks, not everything needs to come down to TSIP. The show ended.

Conrad and Belly ended up together. Jeremiah cheated. Now stop comparing James to Jeremiah, who was grieving more and whether Conrad is your ’green flag’.

Grief lurked in TSIP and was handled differently; it doesn’t have to permeate into Maxton Hall.  And, the TV fandom is a lot more than being ‘team’ somebody. And there was a world before TSIP, and there’s definitely one after.