Hudson Williams has revealed the Heated Rivalry scene that left him “ruined.”
On 26 December, fans worldwide were treated to the season finale of the beloved gay hockey romance.
Titled ‘The Cottage,’ the episode follows Shane (Williams) and Ilya (Connor Storrie) as they travel to the former’s cottage for some much-needed R&R.
As you can imagine, the episode featured an array of heartwarming and emotional moments between our favourite fictional hockey players.
From Ilya opening up about his late mother to Shane revealing their romantic relationship to his parents, the finale kept viewers (including us) in their feelings from start to finish.
Following its release, Williams spoke with Variety about all things Heated Rivalry season one, including Shane and Yuna’s emotional conversation in the final episode.
During the exchange, Shane apologises to his mother for not coming out sooner, saying he tried but was unable to do it.
Fortunately, Yuna stopped Shane mid-speech to tell him he had nothing to apologise for, adding that she was sorry she made him feel he couldn’t tell her.
“That scene was the scene that ruined me the most when I read the script,” Williams revealed to Variety.
“It was the scene that I was like, ‘If I don’t get to play Shane Hollander.’ It’s also a scene that’s not in the book, but to me it is the quintessential wrap-up scene to that arc for him and his mom. Period.“
Williams went on to share behind-the-scenes details about the scene, revealing that it took two days to film.
“The first time, we couldn’t get through it because it started raining. And then we came back the next day to shoot it, Jacob goes, ‘I rewrote it,‘” he continued.
“So Christina and I are in the little makeup room of this little cottage, memorising the scene, and it was so beautiful. It made so much sense. It stands on the right side of what I think a parent should be because there are outdated notions.“
Elsewhere in his interview, Williams addressed the finale’s final moment, which saw Shane and Ilya drive back to the former’s cottage, all smiles and bathed in a picturesque sunset.
“It’s still bittersweet. A lot of people have said that’s a very happy ending, but I’m like, ‘This isn’t a straight story,‘” he explained.
“This is not a happy ending because they’re still in the closet. They’re not coming out to Reebok, they’re not coming out to anyone. They got caught. It lt looks more like forgiveness than pride. That’s where they’re at. Forgiveness implies there’s something that was wrongfully done.“
Fortunately, fans will be able to dive into the complexities of Shane and Ilya’s growing romantic relationship in Heated Rivalry’s second season, which received the green light at the start of December.
While we’re still a ways away from new episodes, we do know that it will adapt Shane and Ilya’s second book, the sixth entry in Rachel Reid’s Game Changer series, The Long Game.
Stay tuned for more Heated Rivalry updates.
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