SPOILERS Rivals Season 2 🥳

[Blossombunnyy]

On Disney in May 15th 2026

Who's excited?

I can't wait the trailer looks so good.

It's been awhile since I read them but I thought it was Georgie Maguire & Lysander's father, and Helen ends up with Rannaldini?

Georgia has an affair with Lysander's father but they don't marry. Helen does marry Rannaldini but when that marriage ends (won't say why, in case it eventually gets included in the series and it would be a big spoiler) she goes on to marry David Hawkley.
They don't feature hugely as a couple but are definitely mentioned as "David and Helen Hawkley" in one of the books - "Wicked", possibly.

I though Helen married malise Gordon?

I have just started on s2-e1. Shocked to see Pam St Clements, I thought she was dead 🤣. Could have sworn she died so they had to kill of her eastenders character. Must be thinking of someone else…

She does but he dies, then she marries Rannaldini, then David Hawkley

I still have a few bits of M&S Harvest 😂

We had M&S Autumn leaves and I stencilled a flowery border around my kitchen walls to match. That was the ultimate in 80s home decor!

Wow, just finished Ep 6 and read through the thread. That was a cracking piece of TV drama, now what I was expecting at all. Incredible acting from, well, everyone, but particularly Monica, Lizzie and Tony. Also Rupert in the final scene.

I also wondered whether it would have been the police visiting Tony but agree that this was different times, an unprecedented emergency across half the country and very limited technology to assist in the response. I also wondered about the time elapsed, it was probably around midnight when Monica drove off then broad daylight when Rupert got to Tony, but maybe Caitlin had walked a long way from the scene, roads were blocked.

I do think it's a shame about Monica, not only should her romantic interest in Enid have been developed I would have like to see her rip Tony to pieces in the divorce but it probably wouldn't have happened.

I also agree about Maud's make-up, why is she always so shiny now. On the other hand Rupert with slightly longer hair is a very good look.

Boring as fuck, tick.
I haven’t read the books, are Rupert and Taggie supposed to be the main couple? They are my least favourite characters in this whole thing.

Looking forward to seeing Paul getting punched. He is the definition of wanker.

My auntie did that :)

I think Rupert’s the only character in all the Rutshire novels, he’s only the main character in Riders and Rivals however.

I was surprised Hayley Atwell abd Rupert Everett didn't appear in the new trailer, they were big names to bring in I assumed they'd feature more but maybe they're laying the groundwork for future seasons or they're holding them back?

I think people are unfair to Taggie, this is a young woman who probably had no encouragement from her self absorbed parents because she would never excel academically and they were happy for her to take on a surrogate mother/housekeeper role. It's Lizzie who suggests she starts her catering business, not Maud or Declan.

I think the saddest thing for me was Monica thinking Maud was "her friend" 😕

I sense I'm supposed to like Declan, but I don't.
They forgot taggies 21st!
Awful parents 😡

Yes they’re the anchor couple for the whole series. I’ve listened to 6 books so far on audiobook and Rupert and Taggie are always there in the background even if they’re not the main characters.

She’s supposed to be the woman who reforms him (snore) but I’ve heard SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER she gets a cancer diagnosis and he cheats on her in the later books. To be honest Rupert in the books is not a great guy but he’s forgiven as he’s attractive eyeroll they’ve had to change a few things about him in the series or there’s no way people would be rooting for him if they followed the book character.

Declan is made to look like a half decent parent only in comparison with Maud because book Maud attitude towards Taggie is far, far more combative. Declan by contrast is a figure of benign neglect rather than deliberately undermining Taggie as Maud does.

Book Taggie is a drippy but also very capable in a way her family are not. She financially props up the whole family for periods of time which hasn't been shown on screen.

It’s lost me a bit too - which is a shame as I watched the first series 3 times all the way through and loved it. I feel like this series is much less coherent across the episodes, there’s some bits I’ve really enjoyed, and the acting in episode 6 was great, but it hasn’t made me want to watch the next drop of episodes tbh. I don’t feel like much has actually developed across 6 episodes, and some of the better characters have been underused.

I think Monica dying was unnecessary, but also quite an odd plot point to include, as it’s going to complicate the rest of the story. Maud’s affair with Tony is now extremely fraught, rather than a fairly standard ‘get back at my neglectful husband’ ploy. Caitlin randomly knows and has been involved in an extremely traumatic incident that also complicates the emotional landscape of the story, and rather overshadows the franchise battle by introducing some very real emotional stakes that we either now heave to dwell on, which isn’t fun, or move past very quickly, in which case why do it? It seems like a plot device to have one emotional episode, which was good as a stand-alone, but wont necessarily pay off longer term.

I feel like Rivals is not that deep as a concept, but now it’s like ‘how does a teenage girl navigate her parents extremely messy and adult relationship after being in a near death experience where her sort of boyfriends mother was killed and support him to grieve whilst also recognising how toxic his father is’. Like, that’s not fun to watch.

I don’t mind Taggie, I find their relationship quite believable as some young women are good with kids, good at cooking, domestic by inclination, and hapless older men looking for someone who adores them and will look after their kids are bound to want to marry them!

I think killing off Monica will add a new dimension to a whole host of characters. She was the only possible break to Tony's behaviour. And he'll blame everyone but himself.
Cameron now knows Rupert has the hots for Taggie and now has the option of reuniting with Tony in the open.
It leaves Archie conflicted between his family and Caitlin. He's the only person able to prove Tony and Maud's affair.
Caitlin will blame her mother.
And they are introducing Monica's sister who they have alluded to being financially driven and who will almost certainly want the family home under her control. They've hinted at how much she dislikes Tony.
And then there is how Enid will react to her loss.

The problem is that by splitting the episodes they've lost the story telling arc.
That makes it all the more confusing and less satisfying.

But as said Rivals isnt all that deep!

I think they made a big mistake splitting the episodes (and doing a drip release rather than releasing all at once).

Netflix split the Bridgerton series in to mini series and in so doing lost the momentum of the stories.
I think it's a mistake although I can see why they do it.

X post - yes, I agree its a mistake.

They do it to keep people subscribed for longer. Otherwise some people would subscribe just for a month then cancel.

I’ve taken out a 3 month subscription with Disney+ which finishes in August. In November I’ll have to sign up again which is what they want.

Are there any signs of Hermione being brought into it?

Didn’t Monica have a friend in S1 called Hermione?

I think I said earlier that Disney + dropped all episodes of the first series on one date, and it’s been annoying they’ve changed this for the second season but I get they want to profit more from the show which was a big hit. I’m waiting until they’re all on there in November to sign up again.