The online community is currently besotted with Maxton Hall — The World Between Us , an Amazon Original series which revolves around a scholarship student, Ruby Bell (Harriet Herbig-Matten), and an arrogant heir, James Beaufort (Damian Hardung). The series, which is currently the talk of the town, is based on Mona Kasten’s book Save Me. The show opens with James who reeks of old money and his family which is a potpourri of problems.
Fifteen minutes in and you step into a dimension with privileged elites who are up to no good, with a scholarship student who is the epitome of all that is good in the world. The first spark between the protagonists (however unsavoury a snob throwing a wad of cash at your face may be) is all thanks to James’ sister, Lydia Beaufort (Sonja Weißer), and her affair. A still from Amazon Prime Video’s ‘Maxton Hall’ Rivalry ensues.
Enmity flares. So much so that James sends strippers to an event that Ruby organises at Maxton Hall. James’ attitude and Ruby’s ambition to excel at Maxton and eventually enter Oxford drives the plot and pits them against one another.
In its execution of the ‘enemies to lovers’ and the ‘rich boy, poor girl’ tropes, this campus romance is comme il faut, making it a rather predictable series. However, this is not the end, as the writers decide to add even more cliches to the plot. An overbearing family, break-ups, jealousy and patch-ups follow.
Regardless, it has its moments as the lovers find themselves.