Inside 'The Cottage': Heated Rivalry Stars and Creator Break Down That Intimate, Book-Altering Finale

The explosive sex scenes made it a global phenomenon, but its quiet, intimate finale may be what defines it. HBO Max's hit series Heated Rivalry has concluded its first season, and the team behind the show is pulling back the curtain. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, showrunner Jacob Tierney and stars Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie broke down the making of the finale, "The Cottage."

A Deliberate 'Pace Change'

Showrunner Jacob Tierney explained that the dramatic shift in tone for the finale was always the plan. He described the contrast between the massive scale of episode 5 and the small, intimate feel of episode 6 as "a pretty big swing — but the swing that had to be taken." The episode sees Russian hockey star Ilya Rozanov (Storrie) and Canadian rival Shane Hollander (Williams) escape to a private cottage, finally allowing them to profess their love away from public pressure.

For Connor Storrie, this "pace change" was the most intriguing part. "It's so cool to crescendo into something that's really different from that," he said, referring to the early episodes' explicit scenes. He added he was excited to finally have scenes with "very direct confessions of love that aren't hidden by a language barrier."

From Page to Screen: Why the Epilogue Was Cut

While largely faithful, the finale made one major deviation from Rachel Reid's novel: the ending. The book continues after the couple's coming out to Shane's parents, culminating in an epilogue set months later at a press conference. The show, however, ends with Shane and Ilya simply driving back to their cottage as the credits roll.

Tierney stated plainly that ending with what "amounts to exposition, did not interest me." He preferred to conclude on the private, intimate moment between the two leads. Hudson Williams called filming the episode "a joy on the horizon," as the emotional catharsis for his character mirrored the feeling of wrapping the season's production.