Warning: spoilers for episodes 1-3 of Maxton Hall season 2 ahead.
It’s only been a few months since Belly (Lola Tung) and Conrad (Christopher Briney) finally got together in The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3, but Prime Video has shrewdly filled its star-crossed teens content gap with Maxton Hall season 2.
Season 1 followed Ruby (Harriet Herbig-Matten) as the joined the self-titled school on a scholarship, setting her sights on her dream of getting into Oxford University. However, arrogant hair and schoolmate James (Damian Hardung) quickly rubs her up the wrong way, sparking the enemies-to-lovers pipeline we see unfold by the season finale.
It seemed as though nothing would tear these two teen loves apart… until we start watching Maxton Hall season 2 episode 1, that is. I was engrossed from the moment we unexpectedly saw James’ bare butt in the opening scene (not in an unsavory way), but there’s a stark similarity to The Summer I Turned Pretty that’s already bothering me.
Maxton Hall season 2 episodes 1-3 sends James down the same path as Jeremiah
In a nutshell, we watch a boy deal with the fact his mother has died (something we discovered back in season 1), deal with it badly by partying, boozing, taking drugs and sleeping with girls that definitely aren’t his girlfriend. Instead of accepting that he needs help, he lashes out at everybody close to him, in turn pushing them away.
But which Prime Video show am I talking about?
In truth, the answer is both. Exactly the same overarching synopsis can be applied to Maxton Hall‘s James and The Summer I Turned Pretty‘s Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno), both in love with a girl they are pushing to the mental brink. They ruin their school lives and academic future in the process, and deep down, everybody hates them.
Given how closely Maxton Hall season 2 has been released after the end of The Summer I Turn Pretty season 3, I’m a little over following exactly the same tropes. Swap the school uniform for casual clothes and early episodes of both seasons are interchangeable, and it makes me wonder if Amazon can actually offer its Young Adult market anything different.
However, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel for Maxton Hall season 2. By the end of episode 3, James is actively working to change his behavioral patterns. He starts therapy, stops drinking, and vows to win back Ruby’s trust by doing anything possible to help her put on a gala at the school for a high-profile trust (especially when things start to go wrong).
He makes a touching admission of his troubles while on stage presenting, and Ruby – along with the rest of the crowd – melts. The two meet up afterward and share an almost-kiss before James is whisked away by his controlling dad… and old habits threaten to return to the surface.
James’ ability to keep away from his father’s controlling behavior will likely be a huge storyline for episodes 4-6, which will now release on a weekly basis. It’ll be essential for whether James and Ruby can happily be together, but also a huge deviant from the The Summer I Turned Pretty path that Maxton Hall has started following.
Personally speaking, I think James and Ruby will end up together, but perhaps in a third of fourth season (neither of which have been confirmed). For Maxton Hall season 2, I think we’re all in for a whole lot of hardship.
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