Maxton Hall season 2 ended on Friday, Nov. 28.The season finale delivers a devastating cliffhanger, leaving Ruby’s Oxford’s dreams hanging in the balance.Despite everything, Ruby and James are still together and remain fully committed to each other.

Based on Mona Kasten’s bestselling books, Maxton Hall has become a global hit for Prime Video.

The German teen drama follows high school students Ruby Bell (Harriet Herbig-Matten) and James Beaufort (Damian Hardung), whose enemies-to-lovers romance has captivated fans. But their love story comes with plenty of drama and heartbreak, especially because of the class differences between them.

Their relationship falls apart in the season 2 premiere. James, still reeling from his mothers death, spirals into drinking, partying, and reckless behavior. He ignores everyone around him, especially Ruby, and even kisses fellow student Elaine (Eli Riccardi) in front of her.

“He’s losing himself and he’s kind of acting like the old James,” Herbig-Matten told Entertainment Weekly ahead of season 2. “Ruby is going through her first heartbreak, and James is losing himself and who he is.”

For the rest of the six-episode season, James tries to turn his life around while also fighting to win back Ruby, who has thrown herself into her work. But will they manage to get back together? Or will James’ father, Mortimer Beaufort (Fedja van Huêt), tear them apart once again? We answer those questions and more below. Here’s the Maxton Hall season 2 ending, explained.

Do Ruby and James get back together?

Harriet Herbig-Matten as Ruby in ‘Maxton Hall’ season 2.

Gordon Muehle/Amazon MGM Studios

After everything they’ve been through, Ruby and James manage to find their way back to each other. The big moment comes at the charity event they help organize for human rights activist and philanthropist Alice Campbell (Proschat Madani) with the rest of the Maxton Hall planning committee.

When the scheduled speaker cancels at the last minute, James takes to the podium and opens up about his own struggles. It’s the most vulnerable audiences have ever seen him, proving to Ruby that he is trying to become a better version of himself.

By the time the season 2 finale arrives, Ruby and James are solid again and couldn’t care less what James’ father, Mortimer, thinks of their relationship. But sadly, that only pushes his retaliation into darker territory.

Why does Ruby’s mom lose her job?

It’s no surprise that Mortimer is allegedly behind Ruby’s mother, Helen (Gina Henkel), losing her job. He’s been against Ruby since season 1, and in season 2, he takes things even further.

After James skips a major investor meeting to play in the final lacrosse game, the family’s biggest investor pulls out. Mortimer immediately pins the blame on Ruby, calling her the Beauforts’ “ruin.” 

Within hours, Ruby returns home from the game to find her mom in tears after being suddenly fired from the bakery she’s loved for years. Though she hoped to buy it back someday, a new buyer made an offer that the boss couldn’t refuse — and it’s very clear that Mortimer had a hand in it.

Taking away Ruby’s scholarship to Oxford wasn’t enough for him. Now, he’s dragging her whole family into his schemes while trying to force her out of James’ life.

What happened with Cordelia Beaufort’s will?

Fedja van Huêt as Mortimer and Damian Hardung as James in ‘Maxton Hall’ season 2.

Stephan Rabold/Amazon MGM Studios

James walks into his mother’s will reading already shaken, having just learned what Mortimer did to Ruby’s mother. Things only get worse when it’s revealed that Cordelia left everything to Mortimer: the money, properties, the company shares, all of it. Not a single asset was left for James or his twin sister, Lydia (Sonja Weisser).

James, Lydia, and their Aunt Ophelia (Dagny Dewath) immediately suspect foul play, since Cordelia would never disinherit her children. Plus, the timing is way too convenient. 

Convinced that the will has been tampered with, the trio leaves the proceedings and vows to contest the will’s authenticity. Now, it’s crystal clear to James that his father is even more ruthless than he thought.

What happens at the end of Maxton Hall season 2?

Harriet Herbig-Matten as Ruby and Damian Hardung as James in ‘Maxton Hall’ season 2.

Gordon Muehle

In the final minutes of Maxton Hall season 2, James tries one last time to protect Ruby, begging Alice to stand up to Mortimer. James knows that Mortimer forcing Alice to revoke Ruby’s scholarship goes against everything she stands for, but Alice tells him that Mortimer’s influence is too powerful, and crossing him could destroy everything she’s worked so hard for.

The next day, Ruby heads into the scholarship exam, but before she can take her seat, she’s called to the headmaster’s office. There, she finds her mother and Lexington waiting with a photo that seemingly shows Ruby and professor Graham Sutton (Eidin Jalali) positioned as if they are about to kiss.

Heading into the finale, viewers are under the impression that Graham’s relationship with Lydia (who’s pregnant with his twins) is about to be exposed. Cyril took a photo of them together in episode 5, and Elaine had him send it to her.

But Elaine, jealous that James chose Ruby over her, sends around an old photo of Ruby and Graham that James took back in season 1. Now, it’s being used to make it look like Ruby had an affair.

Sonja Weisser as Lydia in ‘Maxton Hall’ season 2.

Stephan Rabold

Ruby denies the affair to Lexington, but he suspends her from Maxton Hall on the spot. “You can forget about Oxford,” he tells her, as her future prospects collapse in an instant.

When Ruby steps outside, she finds police cars waiting. James and Lydia rush to her side just in time to see Graham being led away by authorities. Ruby sobs in James’ arms, while Lydia breaks down, as the father of her twins is taken into custody.

Hardung recently told Us Weekly that season 2 was originally “going to end on a happy note, explaining, “It wasn’t going to be [super] happy but with foreshadowing. It was going to end with us happily walking across the front yard of the school.”

He continued, “Graham was going to be presented with that photo and that would have been it. Then we all saw it on the screen and everyone in the cast was like, ‘No. We want to have the emotional impact with the couples — including Lydia and Graham. So they put it back in and I’m really happy because I feel like that kind of reflects the cliffhanger at the end of season 1, which was — for me — still one of the best cliffhangers there is.”

The actor added, “You always have a low point but at the same time you have hope. So it’s [important] to have both of those layers.”

Where can I watch Maxton Hall?

The first two seasons of Maxton Hall are now streaming on Prime Video.

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