‘Rivals’ Season 2 Plays Hide the Sausage in a Comedy of Pantries
'Rivals' second episode of Season 2 is the series highlight so far, as muffins are buttered up in a single-take kitchen comedy of errors sequence.
I do love an old school 1980s political advert, so Rupert’s run for MP in the General Election in Rivals Season 2 definitely ticks all my boxes, even if (or perhaps especially because) it’s interspersed with the man himself taking care of his most important constituent. (I’m talking about the one in his pants; Cameron just happens to be on the receiving end of it.) It’s also a perfect framework for re-introducing Helen Gordon (Hayley Atwell, taking over the role from Anastasia Griffith) and Rupert’s children, Tabitha (Charlotte Rice-Foley) and Marcus (Leo Weston), none of whom are best pleased when Cameron introduces herself as their father’s girlfriend.
Thankfully, Rupert gets an opening before Cameron and his kids can get into a full-scale war. Declan’s Yeats documentary, which he pitched to the BBC in the premiere, has been put into development. Cameron, of course, doesn’t see why the company needs to film in Ireland; as far as she’s concerned, all these little islands look the same. (This is the same logic that causes most American cities in low-budget shows to look suspiciously like Toronto or Vancouver.) Rupert convinces Declan to do him a solid and take Cameron to Ireland to show her why filming on location is so important, even though Declan’s pretty sure Rupert just wants to bang someone else for a few days.
The Campbell-Black ads are relentless, at least for 1987; Taggie’s seen them and so has former MP Paul Stratton, whose jealousy is barely contained as he complains to Sarah about their pervasiveness. As she notes to Tony over lunch, she knows the baby isn’t her husband’s because he lost his sex drive when he lost his seat.
Unfortunately for Sarah, Monica’s ultimatum to Tony at the end of the last episode has done its work. Any thoughts of letting Sarah keep the child are back off the table, leaving her with the choice of termination from her job or... termination. Her more immediate concern is that Paul wants a dinner party, and her cooking is atrocious, so she hires Taggie for the evening. Taggie’s a good cook, but unfortunately, the salt shaker top pops off while she’s staring at Rupert in his latest TV appearance. Of course, that’s when the man himself calls, looking for Paul, and when Taggie bursts into tears, he’s off to ride to the rescue.
The dinner party is quite possibly the best sequence the series has ever done, a comedy of pantries with people overhearing things they shouldn’t and mixed-up pots. (You know that the second Rupert arrives with a new version of the dish straight from Luigi’s, in the exact same Dutch oven, there will be a mix-up.) Sarah is trying to hide Taggie from the guests, Taggie is trying to hide Rupert from Sarah, and Lizzie, drunk as you like, takes one look at the canapes – yes, the same ones Taggie made in the premiere – and knows what’s up, which means she’s told Monica, and everyone will know by tomorrow.
Meanwhile, James hears that Sarah is pregnant and worries it’s his. When she denies it, Rupert pops out to check he isn’t responsible either, which means all three of them (Rupert, Taggie, and Sarah) are all in the pantry when Tony and Beattie waltz in, talking in code in a way that either suggests his plan to punish Cameron is underway or fire Sarah from Uncensored.
Miraculously, the wrong beef dish does not get served; no one who would actually care sees Rupert, though Paul does find Taggie, who tells him she was mostly supervising Sarah to make sure the dish turned out. Paul and Tony even spend a moment together, hidden in the second pantry, which leads to Paul getting his TV appearance. But my personal favorite is the reveal that there was a third pantry all along, the wine pantry, in which Paul happens to be when Tony threatens Sarah’s job if the baby isn’t terminated by next week.
It’s unclear exactly why Paul uses his appearance on Corinium’s Coswold Roundup to announce that he and Sarah are expecting, beaming about his return to fatherhood, declaring that he’s heard men change nappies now. Sarah is devastated because this means she’ll actually have to have the damn thing, and her career is basically ruined. Perhaps Paul really does think it’s his and that Tony’s threats were more about Sarah’s career? It doesn’t matter; Sarah is so mad at losing her choice over the matter that this might be the end of their ill-advised marriage, no matter what.
The sequence has the necessary effect of ending the cold war between Taggie and Rupert, allowing her to befriend Tabitha and Marcus, who love her immediately. Tabitha clearly has decided this is Cameron’s replacement without consulting everyone, and the next thing you know, she’s gotten Rupert to invite Taggie to lunch at Bas’ pub and go with them to meet her horse back at Mummy’s.
Unfortunately, Bas serves everyone, even the enemy, as Tony strolls in and sneers that he had no idea Rupert had three beautiful children. He’s not the only one side-eying Taggie being with the Campbell-Black clan either, as Helen assumes this is just Rupert’s Newest Girl of the Day, despite Tabitha’s loyalty to Taggie, declaring her “the best babysitter.”
Rupert drives Taggie back to his estate in a bittersweet scene, as he realizes he may not be worthy of someone like her, especially given how his marriage to Helen went. She might object as the sun goes down, but they’re interrupted – not by the return of Cameron, even though she is back from Ireland. (Only for a second, since Declan has the full greenlight for production and has won the battle on where to film it.) It’s Sarah fleeing Paul, begging Rupert to protect her from whatever Tony and Beattie are planning to reveal on Uncensored that night, convinced she’s about to be dragged through the tabloids.
As if either of them sees Sarah and her sad little affairs as anywhere near important enough to give their precious airtime. Nor is Tony dropping the dime on Cameron – not directly anyway. No, tonight’s expose (which will open Episode 3) is all about that would-be MP, the Minister of Sport, Rupert Campbell-Black.
Dangly Bits & Bobs
- Micro-chips are the soggiest, grossest version of French fries you can possibly imagine, and having Sarah nuke them with a cigarette dangling from her lips made me queasier than the beef made her.
- Shelley Makepiece demanding to be called an executive assistant and forcing Freddie to make tea gives me life. Almost as good as weaponizing the cheese-and-jam sandwiches.
- Rupert’s worrying about Gerald agreeing to marry Muffy, even though he’s not a fan of “dogs and ponies,” is actually rather sweet.
- Nice callback to Sarah perfuming her privates in Season 1, with Paul doing the same in the pre-dinner party montage.
- “Unless that sprog pops out with a cigar in its mouth, you’ve no way to prove it’s mine.” Tony Baddingham, ladies and gentlemen.
- Best Outfit this week goes to Sarah’s hideous floral dinner-party get-up, complete with a spotless apron.
- The Comedy of Pantries scene was filmed in one take with as few edits as possible. While it’s not The Pitt levels of real-time scene creation, it’s a reminder of just what a high level of comedy this show can reach. If expanding to 12 episodes this season means more of this, I highly approve.
