I also saw a post that said, “I honestly feel bad for Stranger Things because unless the Demogorgon comes to the cottage, I don’t care anymore.”
Yeah, Stranger Things can wait.
Heated Rivalry cannot. Speaking of the cottage, you mentioned in a previous interview that you cried while reading the script for episode six. There’s multiple emotional beats in this episode but what, in particular, hit you the hardest?
Yeah, well, that was the only time I had the benefit of being surprised, because I read the scripts before the book, before I knew anything. I wasn’t told there is a happy ending. I was going in blind. I don’t know what’s gonna happen at the end of this cottage! I remember the last romance show I watched was Normal People, so I’m not exactly like, ‘This is gonna be great.’
So, I remember the first time Ilya brings up Svetlana, that upset me because I’m already reading through the eyes and POV of Hollander. So just hearing, “I could marry Svetlana,” is horrifying. That means regression. That means, ‘Oh, we’re living fairytale right now, and that’s reality.’ And it’s also a reality I can’t understand because, you know, Ilya is bisexual. Shane is…God, get the women away from Shane! So it is horrifying for him.
And then also the scene where, it’s very sweet, when Shane mentions that they can start a mental health organization. I don’t think Shane knows how sweet that is to Ilya. I think it kind of comes from Shane’s pragmatism and he’s sort of [thinking], ‘Well, this was good and Ilya will appreciate this,’ but I don’t think he knows to the extent. And then, Ilya’s line, of course, “She would have loved you. Like I love you.” Ugh!