Spoilers ahead for the season one finale of HBO Max’s Heated Rivalry:
That’s a wrap for the first season of Heated Rivalry, the come-from-nowhere Canadian romance that quickly leapfrogged to the top of HBO Max’s streaming series list. There is not yet a critical consensus on Rotten Tomatoes for episode six, but the ultra-romantic, (mostly) languid finale certainly captured hearts on social media, with plenty of meme-able moments between NHL lovebirds, Shane and Ilya.
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After their fellow player Scott Hunter (François Arnaud) very publicly came out, Ilya decides that he will accept Shane’s offer to spend a few weeks at the latter’s secluded Canadian cottage (this cottage is more like a mansion in the woods, but it’s good to be a professional athlete). Once at their private compound, some initial awkwardness between the besotted duo gives way to lovemaking, meal prep, barbecues, and numerous heartfelt confessions, delivered perfectly by Hudson Williams (Shane) and Connor Storrie (Ilya).
Some of the most affecting conversations include Ilya discussing his mother’s suicide — he found her body when he was 12 — and a wonderful moment where Shane expresses to Ilya that their relationship is no longer just about the thrill of the forbidden, or even just about lust, but something much more. Then, Ilya, discussing his residency issues, admits he may marry his best friend/occasional lover Svetlana in order to obtain a green card. This elicits a wounded response from Shane, who quietly pleads with his betrothed not to marry someone who’s not him (Williams’s eye acting here is beautiful).
It’s Shane’s solution to Ilya’s problem — his desire to never return to Russia — that serves as the impetus to what the whole season has built up to. Shane has stayed up all night, working on a solution, one that could keep them in each other’s proximity. Shane proposed that Ilya abandon the Boston team that drafted him and join Ottawa, only two hours from Shane’s home in Montreal. Shane also wants to start a charity with Ilya, giving them a reason to work together off the ice; a prelude to them being together, which Shane admits is what he wants so much it scares him. Shane’s devotion to building a future for them together is catnip to Ilya, who starts smothering Shane with kisses, whispering words to him in Russian. Those words: “I love you.”
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A moment later, crying and shaking, Ilya gathers to courage to tell Shane those words in English. Seeing this tougher-than-nails Russian hockey beast quivering over his love for Shane is a TV moment for the ages. Shane, gobsmacked, waits a beat to respond, which almost makes Ilya waver, until Shane responds in kind. “I love you so fucking much,” Shane says. The oceans parted and the skies wept.
Hours later, Ilya watches the sunrise as Shane brings him coffee and a blanket; they soon embrace and sit in profound silence. It’s a direct contrast to the previous episode, where the men watched the sun set over Tampa Bay, while barely scraping each other’s pinkie fingers.
There is also a sunrise, toe-touching, sex, cheeseburgers, and swimming before the episode’s biggest detour occurs — Shane’s father (Dylan Walsh) catches his son making out with Ilya when he stops by the cottage to pick up a phone charger. The men, now seemingly a couple, drive to Shane’s parents’ house for a coming-out discussion that is as harrowing (mostly for Shane) as it is cathartic. The “talk” features the guys reassuring each other by touching toes under the kitchen table, a call back to their flirty press conference from earlier in the season. After a beautiful moment between Shane and his mother (a lovely Christina Chang), the boyfriends (not “lovers!”) drive back to the cottage as the credits roll. Their intimacy, finally settling into something comfortable, is on display as they laugh, hold hands, admire each other, touch each other gently, and then in the last moment of the show, Shane playfully grabs Ilya’s cheek while making a loony face himself. It was a rare demonstration of levity for Shane.
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Some on X speculated that the final shot of the show was more Williams and Storrie than Shane and Ilya. In an interview with EW, Williams and Heated Rivalry show creator (the series is based on the books by author Rachel Reid) and writer Jacob Tierney explained the exchange in the car was intentional and about the characters, not the actors.
“[Tierney] left that sweet exchange in to show how Shane is capable of breaking his guarded facade. ‘I think Shane does have a playful side that is stifled…Under every scene in season 1, there’s not much room for super goofy play,’ Williams says. ‘There’s a tentative nature to episode 6. Although it’s calm, it’s still like, ‘Can this work, when we’re left alone to our own devices?'”
“It does feel like a puppy learning to play,” Tierney adds.
One of the many things Heated Rivalry does well is showcase thoughtful details like the face-holding and the sentiments of love in Russian. Other notable examples include Shane’s blood pressure dropping when Ilya enters his hospital room, Shane’s period-appropriate boat shoes from the finale, and all the accurate Russian dialogue delivered brilliantly by Storrie.
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