It’s party time at Castle O’Hara in the 80s drama’s third episode. Here’s our Rivals episode 3 review.
Order a truckload of mistletoe and baste up the turkey, it’s a Christmas episode! This being Rivals, of course, that means opening with a bit of Rupert roleplay in a Santa suit and immediately skipping forward to New Year’s Eve – a celebration much more conducive to snogging strangers and quaffing absurd amounts of champagne. Maud O’Hara is hosting a party and, much to Declan’s irritation, she’s invited everyone even tangentially related to the plot so far (and a camel). Oops!
In what’s quickly becoming a habit, poor Taggie has been put on chef/serving staff/cloakroom attendant duty. Quite how she’s made the step up from last episode’s twelve-person dinner party to a star-studded knees-up big enough to attract a member of the paparazzi isn’t entirely clear, but she seems to be doing a rather good job, all things considered. Well done, Taggie.
She needs the support, because Rupert (boo, hiss, etc) is back, and has developed something of a crush on the younger O’Hara. Though his larger offstage projects in recent years have tended towards lovable dad roles (Violent Night, Everything Now) it’s good to see Alex Hassell finally given the screen role to catapult him properly into the mainstream. After two episodes of solid skulduggery, Rupert even gets a bit of humanising this time around. His ex-wife won’t let him talk to the kids at Christmas! He’s sorry that he groped Taggie at episode two’s dinner party. Aww, he’s an alright sort really.
Intent on giving our sympathies a good old flip, it’s Tony’s turn to take over the role of the episode’s chief bastard. With Cameron quickly hooking up (I’m really starting to run out of innuendos now) with Declan and Maud’s insufferably posh son, the mogul’s pettier, crueller side reveals itself.
Read more: Rivals episode 4 review | This isn’t how journalism works
Despite a record nine separate flirtatious couplings (I counted), episode three is really all about character. Gary Lamont’s Charles is having a perfectly horrible time navigating the homophobic world of 80s Britain, and Maud’s tear-stricken cry of “I used to be fucking beautiful” is appropriately heartbreaking. One dancefloor sequence set to The Lady In Red is pure cinematic serotonin.
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After two episodes of stereotypes and broad strokes, this is just the story we needed to get a bit of depth. Exquisitely crafted, story-focused, and still a bloody good time, this feels like the show hitting its cheesy, sexy stride. If you’re not on the hype train by now, it seems unlikely you ever will be.
All episodes of Rivals are streaming on Disney+ now.
