'Rivals' David Tennant Hints at an Ominous "Darkened" Future for the End of Season 2

Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for Rivals Season 2, Episode 5.It feels like just yesterday that Rivals was dropping its first three episodes for Season 2, and now the end of Part 1 is already on our doorsteps! With another six episodes still to come sometime later this year, the midseason finale will be the last time we get to spend time in the Cotswolds with the lovely and messy folk of Rutshire. As of Episode 5, Season 2 has been going full tilt into the television franchise war. After a rousingly successful "Golden Gauntlet" recording that saw Rupert (Alex Hassell) win back the approval of the Venturer board, including Declan (Aidan Turner), the tapes suspiciously went missing. The last shot of the episode sees the ultimate big bad, Tony Baddingham (David Tennant), tearing the tapes apart in his home while smoking a cigar with "I Think We're Alone Now" by Tiffany blasting overhead.

Catching up with Tennant and Rivals co-star Claire Rushbrook, who plays Tony's wife Monica, both actors broke down the complicated relationship they share in the series. Rushbrook discusses the potential burgeoning romance between Monica and Dame Enid (Selina Griffiths), while Tennant broke down the unlikely new affair bubbling between Tony and Maud O'Hara (Victoria Smurfit). With both of the actors hinting at contrasting tones for their characters by the end of Part 2, it feels like the drama is about to reach an all-time high.

David Tennant and Claire Rushbrook Breakdown Tony and Monica's Legacy in 'Rivals' Season 2

"She cares deeply what people, her family, and the community would think, so she's holding on for dear life."

COLLIDER: My first question for the two of you has to do with legacy, because obviously that's a big theme for Tony and Monica. How far are the two of them willing to go to protect and build on their combined legacy, especially with things like his affairs and the franchise war, it feels like there's a lot of risk there?

DAVID TENNANT: Well, it's a tension, isn't it? It's a tension between doing whatever he needs to do in whatever moment he finds himself, fairly ruthlessly, and not blowing up what he has. There's a sort of assumption between Monica and Tony that he can do whatever he likes as long as he doesn't bring it home and as long as he doesn't embarrass Monica, and that's a fine line that he treads, and sometimes I think he probably gets that wrong.

CLAIRE RUSHBROOK: And she's traditional through and through, and it's hard to reconcile our modern opinions about feelings and divorce. You know, she is definitely of the camp that you make your decision, and you stay loyal to that, and there is judgment all around if you break those vows. So, she cares deeply what people, her family, and the community would think, so she's holding on for dear life.

Rushbrook Discusses If a Romance Is Possible Between Monica and Enid

"I think Monica is deeply blinkered to her own feelings..."

When I spoke to you last fall, and I asked you about Monica and Enid, you were very coy about not knowing about their potential relationship, but then I watched these episodes, I'm so happy to see the show hinting at some connection between these two characters. Would you say that could be a romantic relationship, and is that something Monica would be open to, or is that something she's not even aware of yet?

RUSHBROOK: I think Monica is deeply blinkered to her own feelings, and I think she has senses, and she does feel things, but to acknowledge anything that's unconventional, that would rock the boat, that would be deemed dubious in any way in her mind, it's really hard for her to give oxygen to that, to her own feelings, let alone to share those with another person. So she can seem very moral and very steady and very stoic, but I think she's also a sort of prisoner to her own properness.

Tennant Reveals How Tony Really Feels About Maud

"Her anarchy, her freewheeling nature, I think takes his breath away a little..."

On the other end of that, and speaking of improperness, David, Maud and Tony have started up a relationship, and I'm curious, how do you think that relationship differs from his relationship with Cameron? Because it does feel like a completely sort of different dynamic between these two characters.

TENNANT: It's slightly more opportunistic. I don't know how thought-through it is. I think he discovers Maud through the auspices of Monica. He sees Maud's attributes and her talents, and he sees what she could mean, both as an artist in the work he's producing, but also as a pawn in his bigger game. I think he then gets rather surprised to find in Maud something of a kindred spirit. Her anarchy, her freewheeling nature, I think takes his breath away a little, and I think he tumbles into this relationship with her and finds himself far deeper in it, far quicker than he imagined would be possible. Not for a second, thinking that takes away from his marriage with Monica. The two are very separate, and he's very good at compartmentalizing.

Tennant and Rushbrook Discuss the Baddinghams' Rocky Marriage

"I think he knows there are things he can get away with, as long as he doesn't bring them home..."

Is it ever a thought in Tony's mind that he might lose Monica? Because I feel like she's not really taking it as much, she's pointing out that these are problems in our marriage right now.

TENNANT: I think he knows the rules. I think he knows there are things he can get away with, as long as he doesn't bring them home, as long as he doesn't embarrass her, as long as he doesn't threaten their public reputation. And I think he thinks he will always be in control of that, but inevitably he isn't always. And Monica's there to remind him of what the parameters are.

RUSHBROOK: Yeah, things become impossible to ignore, so she has to draw on some power, challenging him.

TENNANT: It gets rocky as the series progresses.

Tennant and Rushbrook Describe 'Rivals' Season 2 in One Word

If you could use one word to describe where your character is at the end of this season, at Episode 12, what word would you use?

RUSHBROOK: Oh, that's so difficult.

TENNANT: That is very, very difficult, because one doesn't want to give away anything, but neither does one want not to honor the question. Oh God...

RUSHBROOK: I think Monica is enlightened by the end

TENNANT: Right...

RUSHBROOK: ...by the end.

TENNANT: I'd say Tony is darkened by the end.