‘Rivals’ Season 2 Episodes 7-9 Recap and Ending Explained: Funerals, Bonfires and a Hunt Ball Heartbreak
The second half of ‘Rivals‘ season two arrived on Nov. 11 with three episodes, streaming on Hulu in the US and Disney+ internationally. The adaptation of Jilly Cooper’s Rutshire Chronicles had left its mid-season finale on June 5 with a death that rewrote the rules of Rutshire.
That death was Monica Baddingham’s. Played by Claire Rushbrook, she was killed when a tree hit her car in a storm, moments after learning her husband Tony had been sleeping with Maud O’Hara. The new episodes spend their time on the fallout, and on a question that hangs over the rest of the 12-episode run: who can stop Tony now that he has nothing left to lose?
Episode Seven: A Funeral and a Fresh Start
Episode seven opens with Monica’s funeral. Her son Archie delivers a eulogy that, according to reviews, shifts the power balance between father and son, while Tony rejects the sentiment and only Caitlin comforts him. Monica’s younger sister Araminta, played by Rachael Stirling, arrives at the Falconry and quickly becomes a cat-and-mouse presence around Tony.
Rupert Campbell-Black has his own reckoning. He and his ex-wife Helen reach a sense of closure, and Rupert credits Monica for changing how he sees things, which also nudges him toward repairing his relationship with his son Marcus. Reviews say he then pushes Taggie away, fearing he will ruin her.
Tony, meanwhile, rebuffs Rupert’s overtures entirely and kills Monica’s peacocks. Gerald and Charles’s secret romance carries extra weight against the AIDS crisis, and the hour ends on a cliffhanger over how Muffy will react to Gerald’s honesty.
Rushbrook confirmed the character’s fate, with the headline quoting her describing it as “absolutely gutting.”
Episode Eight: Bonfire Night Burns Everything Down
Bonfire Night is where Rutshire’s buried secrets ignite. Maud ends her affair with Tony, which only makes him want her more. Venturer’s mole hunt narrows, and suspicion falls on Cameron, whose colleagues are quick to blame her. Cameron tells Rupert she will always be the scapegoat.
Elsewhere, Taggie and Bas share a first kiss, and Gerald and Charles’s wedding plans are pushed up after the fallout with Muffy.
The episode builds to a dialogue-heavy showdown between Declan and Maud. Maud admits she slept with Tony in their own home and runs from Declan, who tells everyone he never saw the truth in front of him. That is the hour’s real ending: the affair is no longer a secret.
Executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins had been teasing this blowup for months. He told TV Insider that if Declan ever found out, “there will be fireworks.”
Episode Nine: The Mole, the Pitch and the Ending Explained
Episode nine, written by Sorcha Kurien-Walsh and directed by Dee Koppang O’Leary, deals with the aftermath. Maud is absent, so the men mostly reflect on her betrayal without hearing her side. Tony’s side spins the story as Maud seducing him and leans on Monica’s death for sympathy, but neither Declan nor Rupert bites.
Declan accepts that his own hubris and obsession played a part. He and Rupert agree that Venturer needs Cameron back, but only if the men change. Venturer’s pitch closes with a speech from Declan about democracy, and Taggie’s idea of including Marcus in the pitch is accepted.
As for the mole, the episode suggests Maud is a traitor to Venturer but not necessarily the only one. No second name is confirmed.
So what does the ending mean? Taggie, under pressure to hold her family together, turns to Rupert at Penscombe, hoping he will win so she can stay. He regains his fight, but the closing exchange between them is heartbreaking: Rupert does not see himself as capable of making her happy. According to the reviewer, he is the one keeping them apart. The scene leads straight into the Hunt Ball, setting up the next batch of episodes.
Bas, stung after Taggie politely turns him down, bets on when he will sleep with her. Lizzie and Freddie’s affair is also exposed to James.
They’ve seen your edits.. all of them. #Rivals https://t.co/WlXQdW5tkI
— Disney+ UK (@DisneyPlusUK) November 11, 2026
What Comes Next
Tony has lost his wife, Venturer has lost its secrets, and Rupert and Taggie’s love is stuck on his self-doubt while Bas circles.
Rupert’s actor Alex Hassell hinted at the mood on set, with PA reporting him saying there’s “a lot of covering up emotions this season.”
Which 'Rivals' Season 2, Episodes 7–9 storyline had the biggest impact on you?
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