Exclusive Interview
‘Rivals’: Alex Hassell on Rupert’s Heartbreaking Love Confession About Taggie
After a five-month wait, it’s finally time to go back to Rutshire. Rivals returned on November 11 with three all-new episodes, dropping us right into the middle of the Cotswolds drama. Rupert (Alex Hassell) and Taggie (Bella Maclean) are at the forefront of our minds here at Swooon — and the Rutag angst is real, people. (Warning: Spoilers for Rivals Season 2, Episodes 7-9, ahead.)
Episode 7 picked up in the wake of Monica’s (Claire Rushbrook) devastating death. Rupert, who was with Monica in her final moments during the hurricane, was left devastated and completely shaken by the tragedy. A flashback revealed that Monica and Rupert’s last conversation included Rupert confessing his love for Taggie for the first time. “I love her, Monica. I’ve never loved anyone more in my whole life,” Rupert said without hesitation. Monica replied, “Then just be careful you don’t destroy her,” which led to Rupert pushing Taggie even further away.
“I’m sure he wasn’t thinking about it in that moment, but the fact that I think he felt he could either, if [Monica] lived, he could trust her because they really were obviously sharing an incredibly deep and intimate moment there, but also because I guess he felt it was in some way safe, but he definitely wasn’t thinking. I think he just felt he has to be honest with her because it would be sort of the worst kind of dishonesty at that moment to not say how he really felt, and also, he needed to get it off his chest,” Hassell told Swooon.
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Despite Rupert keeping Taggie at arm’s length to protect her (in his eyes), she is unyielding in how open she is with her heart when it comes to Rupert. “I think she knows what she wants, and despite Rupert’s best efforts, she’s unrelentingly in love with him,” Maclean said. “But I do think this second half of the series, it chips away at her, and I don’t think she can really hack it as much as she thought she could. And I think she questions whether him pushing her away is out of love [or] actually out of annoyance and finding her a nuisance. And I think she looks elsewhere.”
Maclean is referring to none other than Bas (Luca Pasqualino), who begins to really make a play for Taggie’s heart. But is he really in it to win it, or is he playing games with Taggie? Bas has some explaining to do after he made that bet with the Carlyle brothers about sleeping with Taggie.
“I do think that bet was made out of purely because I think it was a bravado thing,” Pasqualino explained. “I think he’d had his nose out a joint when his advances and his invite to the Hunt Ball were rejected. But I do think he does genuinely care about her. I think he obviously sees something in her… the same thing that Rupert is. She’s sweet. She’s kind, gentle, honest, and there’s a purity to her that I don’t think Bas has probably had with any of his other sort of previous relationships. I don’t think I’m denying that there is a sort of another side to Bas that we have yet to see, but I do think, in this moment, he does have genuine feelings for her.”
Rivals, Season 2, Wednesdays, Hulu
