Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie) are back front and center in another time-spanning episode of Heated Rivalry.
Episode 4, “Rose” sees the boys make a lot romantic progress. In a nearly two year montage set to Feist’s “My Moon, My Man” we’re treated to the new status quo between Shane and Ilya. Checking the schedule for when Montreal and Boston meet up, sexts and/or passive aggressive texts about losing on the ice before the game, fucking after the game, and sending each other an end of season kiss-off.
In this time, Shane wins two Stanley Cups (to Ilya’s joy, then frustration) and the Canadian shoots a variety of different brand promos (usually shirtless, wet, or in boxer briefs). By the end of the song, friends and teammates of both men have also begun to notice that they’re increasingly absorbed (to the point of distraction) in their texts with “Lily” and “Jane.”
The musicality of the pop song, with its repetitive lyrics as the cycle begins anew for Ilya and Shane, works really well. Does it go on a smidge too long? Yes (no song should ever play in its entirety, even one that clocks in under four minutes), but the overall effect is net positive.
The tone of the episode shifts when Shane goes to Ilya’s Boston home. We’ve seen this space before, when Svetlana (Ksenia Daniela Kharlamova) invited herself over, so we know this is Ilya’s *actual* house, which immediately ups the level of intimacy compared to Shane’s “bought exclusively for sex” bachelor pad or the hotel room hook-ups we’ve previously seen.
It calls to mind Scott’s domestic situation with Kip last episode. Where that relationship imploded when Scott realized he wasn’t ready to go public, here it’s the comfort level that causes the issue. Or rather it does for Shane; he’s the one who panics and bails as soon as Ilya refers to him by his first name (for perhaps the first time?) post-coitus.
In truth, the whole encounter is about far more than sex. Ilya “cooks” for them after their first round of sex; they nap together; and Shane rests his head on Ilya’s chest and lap before initiating round two. Considering the “Previously On…” moment made a point of including Shane’s disappointed (but never sent) “We didn’t even kiss” text, it’s clear how close these two have grown over the last two years.
This isn’t fuck buddy hook-ups; it’s turning into something vulnerable and real. Shane barely seems to realize he’s contributing to this when he enquires about Ilya’s father and they discuss their sexuality on the couch. Careful boys, you’re starting to catch feelings!
Naturally after Shane bails, each man retreats and their interactions shift into a period of silence. This is when “Rose” introduces its title character: actress Rose Landry (Sophie Nelisse) who is in Montreal to shoot a Marvel-coded sequel and almost immediately forms a close bond with Shane when they hide out in a restaurant booth after hours.
The episode spends plenty of time on this initial meet-cute before launching them publicly as a couple. At this point, Ilya re-enters the picture, just in time to watch the media salivating over the hockey star and the movie star. Despite knowing that Shane doesn’t share Ilya’s romantic preference for women, we’ve also seen Shane battle heteronormative expectations from both his teammate Hayden (Calan Potter) and mom Yuna (Christina Chang) who tries to lure him to Wimbledon for a set-up with a Swedish princess.
After coming dangerously close to experiencing comfort and intimacy with his homosexuality, closeted Shane retreats into something far more socially acceptable: a beautiful woman who gets him and is easy to joke with. The hand on the knee under the table; the late night conversation that goes into the early morning; and the jokes about dancing while clubbing – it all paints Rose as the next best thing for Shane.
At least until the two hockey players show up at the same Montreal club and see each other from across the dance floor. The transition from T.A.T.U’s “All The Things She Said” (a queer club anthem that remains an absolute bop) to Harrison’s masculine cover of the same song is executed flawlessly. It’s two different takes on the exact same material, which perfectly embodies Ilya and Shane’s experience as they occupy the same space and grapple with their respective lust and jealousy for the other.
The fact that the episode ends with another mirrored experience only proves how perfectly series showrunner Jacob Tierney executed both his roles as writer and director of “Rose.”
We think Ilya went home with the hot Blonde, but he’s seen masturbating solo in the shower. This is intercut with Shane and Rose, but the not-so-subtle editing and subsequent push in on both men’s O faces makes it clear who they’re thinking about. While they’re not “together” like episode 2, they’re still cumming together.
Other Observations:
- When Shane gets prickly over lunch with Yuna and dad David (a wasted Dylan Walsh), Shane offers to lie to get them free Wimbledon tickets. Mom protests: “We don’t want you to lie. That’s not who you are.” Oof. To anyone who has ever been in the closet, innocuous lines like this will weirdly eat away at you, even if you know it wasn’t intended that way. The reality is that Shane has been lying – to everyone (maybe even himself) – for a very long time.
- Not everyone who could pull off a partially see-through tiger button-up shirt, so credit to Storrie for rocking Ilya’s clubbing shirt. He looks incredible.
- Speaking of transparent, what’s up with Shane’s wet white t-shirt photo session for <checks notes> a soft drink? It seems like an odd choice (though all of this does a good job of reinforcing how much of a sex symbol Shane has become in the intervening years)
- New game unlocked: rate the thirsty supporting gays in the episode! On one hand, we have Rose’s gay bestie Miles who is actively grinding with Shane on the dance floor like it’s a throuple. On the other hand, we have the hot bartender who recognizes the hockey player and immediately tells him: “You can have whatever you want”. I’ll bet…
- While I love Nelisse, I’ll confess she’s quite different from what I anticipated in author Rachel Reid‘s book. Nelisse definitely reads much younger than expected, though I can’t tell how much of that is carried over from watching her for so many years on Yellowjackets where she plays young Shauna.
- Love the mix of real and fake media coverage of Shane and Rose’s relationship. Ilya’s teammate discovers the news on a tabloid website called Hot Take, after which we see the real co-hosts of eTalk discussing them. Gotta love the Canadian synergy!
- No sign of Scott or Kip this episode. Did you miss them?
Heated Rivalry airs Fridays on Crave and HBO
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