‘Rivals’: David Tennant Teases a ‘Dangerous’ Tony After Monica’s Death

If you thought Lord Tony Baddingham was evil before… well, when Rivals returns for the second half of its second season this November, he’s going to be without his wife, Monica (Claire Rushbrook), who was tragically killed in the storm in the midseason finale and who served as his “moral touchstone,” as David Tennant told TV Insider. “Having that removed is probably quite dangerous for his wellbeing actually, for his sense of self.”

In Season 2 Episode 6, after learning of Tony’s affair with Maud (Victoria Smurfit), Monica decided it was time to divorce him and not keep quiet about why; she’d had enough of his affairs especially now that latest one was him using another woman to get back at Declan (Aidan Turner). But when she drove off in the storm, it cost her her life, with a tree falling on her car, as Tony’s rival Rupert (Alex Hassell) informed him.

“There had to be consequences of Tony’s actions. Tony had to pay some penance for what he has done,” executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins told us. Because of that, Tony is now someone who has “lost all his morality. We thought Tony was bad before. He gets even worse. … He’s actually a man unhinged and that Tony is more dangerous than ever.”

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To say that Tony has done some evil things already is an understatement. That list includes (but is in no way limited to): sweeping Reverend Penney’s (David Calder) rape of Daysee (Lara Peake) under the rug; lashing out when he learned of Cameron’s (Nafessa Williams) relationship with Rupert; destroying rival company Venturer’s tapes; and his cruel words to Monica in what ended up being their last conversation.

In fact, Tony and Cameron’s confrontation about Rupert in the Season 1 finale ended with her hitting him over the head with an award. And a result, “the guardrails [have been] off really for Tony,” Tennant pointed out. “There was a carelessness actually to him that he was not going to play safe anymore if he ever did. I think now it feels like there are no limitations left for him.”

He’s also already gone after Rupert this season, but it does sound like he’ll target him once again, simply because he was there when Monica died. “It makes Rupert and Tony’s past and feud darker, deeper, and it makes Tony want to destroy Rupert even more,” teased Treadwell-Collins.

It also sounds like Tony and Maud’s affair might continue — or at least that he’ll want it to. In the midseason finale, she was visibly worried about Monica telling Declan after Tony phoned to inform her that his wife knew. Monica died before she reached the O’Haras’ home, but Tony’s son Archie (Louis Landau) and the O’Haras’ youngest Caitlin (Catriona Chandler) both know as well.

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“Tony’s going to think, ‘That affair ended with my wife’s death, so maybe it must continue. Otherwise, it was all for nothing,'” Treadwell-Collins explained. “How does Maud feel about that as she gets closer to Declan? And if Declan ever finds out, there will be fireworks.”

Rivals will also delve more into Tony’s relationship with his half-brother, Bas (Luca Pasqualino), who’s on the other side of the Corinium vs. Venturer fight. “Tony’s lost his wife and Bas is human and Bas is wonderful in dealing with his brother, which makes him more appealing to Taggie [Bella Maclean],” the EP noted.

All in all, this sounds like it’s building up to what Treadwell-Collins calls “Tony’s own style of breakdown, which is not conventional.” And what that means for those around him, well, we’re worried.

What do you think Tony will do next? Let us know in the comments section below.

Rivals, Season Part 2, November, Hulu