Warning: This text contains spoilers for the middle ending. second season of the series "Rivals".
NEED TO KNOW
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The middle of the second season of the series «"Rivals »" ended with the death of one of the main, long-running characters.
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This death doesn't occur in Jilly Cooper's 1988 novel of the same name, but executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins revealed that they received the author's permission for the unexpected plot twist.
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One actress described the death and subsequent events as "the final blow" to her character.
In the finale of the second half of the second season TV series "Rivals"« completely departed from the book by the late Jilly Cooper.
The series is an adaptation of a 1988 novel by Cooper, who died in October, and in the sixth episode of the second season, which premiered on Hulu on June 5, one of the main characters was killed off, although in Cooper's book she remained alive.
At the end of the episode, Rupert (Alex Hassell) arrived at Tony's (David Tennant) house and told him that his wife, Monica (Claire Rushbrook), had died. "We found her," Rupert told Tony. "A tree fell and hit the car. Caitlin got out, but… Monica's dead.".
Tony, completely bewildered by the news from his long-time enemy, falls to the floor, breathing heavily, and the screen goes black.
«"It's a brilliant piece of writing: having the person Tony hates most in the world deliver this devastating news," Tennant told TV Insider of the scene with Hassel. "It's the final stab in the back.".
David Tennant as Tony Baddingham in Season 2 of The Rivals. Photo: Disney+
Monica was driving Caitlin (Catriona Chandler) home during a storm when a tree fell on the car. She was determined to drop Caitlin off, despite the weather, so she could talk to Maud (Victoria Smurfit) and tell Declan (Aidan Turner) about her affair with Tony.
She discovered the affair, despite her son Archie (Louis Landau) and Caitlin trying their best to hide it from her, after discovering nude photos of Maude with Tony taken on Tony's camera in the film.
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The affair surfaced during a tense dinner scene, with Archie yelling at his father for cheating on his mother and Monica storming off. She visited Lizzie (Katherine Parkinson) and questioned her about her affair with Freddie (Danny Dyer), after which both women decided to be more courageous.
Then Monica came home, told Tony she wanted a divorce, called Caitlin, got in the car to talk to Maude, and that was the end of her story.
Executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins told TV Insider that the decision to kill Monica was approved by Cooper before her death. The writer told Treadwell-Collins, "We have to do this," when he outlined his plan for the season.
«"Tony had to atone for what he did," Treadwell-Collins told the publication. "The show is a series of wonderful parties. There had to be some consequences. Otherwise, the show would have become superficial. He needed heaviness.".
Monica's death, on the contrary, will push Tony to even more serious consequences than ever before. "Tony lost a loved one in his own way. It's his own fault, and he lost his moral compass. He's completely lost all morality going forward," Treadwell-Collins hinted. "We already thought Tony was bad. Now he's even worse, and that raises the stakes of the show.".
Claire Rushbrook as Monica and David Tennant as Tony Baddingham in season 2 of The Rivals. Photo: Disney+
«"He can reflect on what happened with Monica and act like the good Tony, or he can go down a completely different path, and I think you can guess which path he chooses," Treadwell-Collins continued.
The fact that Rupert was the one who broke the news doesn't help either. "Tony's wife died in the arms of his worst enemy, which complicates things even more. Thus, Rupert and Tony's past and feud become even darker and deeper, and Tony becomes even more determined to destroy Rupert.".
The mid-season finale of the show's second season «Rivals» is now available to watch on Hulu.
Read the original article on People.