When it comes to the angst and teen drama, Maxton Hall always does a bit too much for my liking. But when it comes to vulnerability, it always makes up for the drama with incredibly rare moments we need more of in our romances. In Season 1, James comforting Ruby in “Exposed” was the sole reason I came aboard, so the scene where Ruby comforts James through his grief in Episode 1, “Devastated,” is everything to me.
Putting aside the cheating and her justifiable anger, the darkness and depiction of grief are so accurate throughout Maxton Hall’s “Devastated” that it’s hard to watch at times. No two people will ever grieve the same way, and that’s one of the most important things to understand. There’s probably no human emotion that looks so drastically different on people, even when it’s familiar, and there’s often a lot of shame when it doesn’t look a certain way.
More than anything, the scene is a showcase of both their characters in different ways, and a sign that the love between them is still burning strong through the pain. It’s telling that the second Ruby hears about Mrs. Beaufort’s death, she goes to James immediately. No hesitation. No questions asked. As human beings, we may not all grieve the same way, but we have to show up when people do. Whether that’s a simple message or literally running to them, extending our sympathy is the most human way we can acknowledge that we care. And Ruby cares. She cares with everything in her.
She cares about James, and simultaneously, she’s the only person he feels safe to crumble around. There are no walls with Ruby. No bridges. And credit where it’s due, the performances in Maxton Hall’s “Devastated” are unreal. It feels so believable and so raw that it’s impossible to watch James break the way he does. Damian Hardung brings such palpable agony throughout that entire scene, making James feel so small that it shattered me. TV shows are getting better about actually letting characters grieve, and the fact that we’re seeing this matters. It’s also an incredible way to give actors strong material to work with that shows how much they’re capable of in a genre that people don’t take as seriously as they should.
And generally, women get this opportunity more than men, which then feeds into the toxic narrative that men have to suppress their emotions, making everything twice as hard during a time that’s already tumultuous. So a big kudos to Maxton Hall for its realistic and honest depiction.
That said, giving James this moment to really feel every sharp ache puncturing him instead of numbing it with drugs and alcohol is also what’s important to show us his intentions. He never meant to hurt Ruby, but grief can sometimes be so overwhelming that instead of feeling it, people would rather push it aside.
And that’s what he also does when he tells her to leave, because so much of what he knows is what he’s seen from his own father’s toxic behavior. He continues to push because the emotions swelling inside him are too much to bear, and he can’t handle it all at once, which is also so human that it makes his pain that much more evocative.
But there’s another crucial detail to point out here, and it’s the reminder that grief never goes away fully. Once we get through all five stages, it comes and goes in waves afterward. Some days, you’re okay, and the next, it feels like you’re losing your loved one for the very first time again. Birthdays, holidays, and anniversaries are always hard, and we do our best to grow around the ever-present pain. James isn’t there yet, not even close. And if the series is giving us a chance to see Ruby comforting him through the initial stage, then I hope the rest of the season will continue to give us an organic depiction of what the lasting pain is like.
Maxton Hall’s “Devastated” does an accurate job of portraying how wobbly our emotions can be amid the pain, so it’s an admirable feat regardless, and one that’s necessary for people to understand that romances are often the very genre that does the best job of exhibiting all the hard emotions amid the sweet and tender moments. It’s an accurate showcase of how human beings contain multitudes, and for this reason, Maxton Hall can bring all the drama as long as it continues to deliver moments of vulnerability this beautifully.
Now streaming on Prime Video: What are your thoughts on Ruby comforting James in Maxton Hall’s “Devastated?” Let us know in the comments below.
First Featured Image Credit: ©Prime Video