Ron Does Stuff

In the previous episode, we saw Scott and Kip ~change the game~, and then we saw Ilya agree to go to Shane’s cottage. Let’s go to the cottage with them!

This episode opens with the game changer himself, Scott Hunter, accepting the MVP award for this season of hockey. And while what he’s achieved in the sport is monumental in-universe, he does note that him coming out got a lot more media attention. Is this going to be a good or a bad thing? We won’t know yet, but his speech is definitely challenging the hockey establishment in-universe and in the real world. As any Heated Rivalry and hockey fan knows by now, the real world NHL has been trying to ride the clout of the show, while at the same time being woefully lacking in representation or even support for LGBTQIA+ fans. and then he name checks Kip in his speech too! Take that!

We then…jump?…to July, where Shane is nervously waiting for Shane to get into his car. And the tension in the car? Not even sexual, just…tense. Because it really is a big thing that they’re doing in their relationship, even if Scott has made some progress. It’s also because they’ve only been communicating with each other via sex, and now comes the hard work of actually vocalizing their emotions in a language that isn’t their bodies. AND THEN THEY’RE HOLDING HANDS AND I START THINKING WHAT’S WRONG WITH BODY LANGUAGE ANYWAY.

There’s a bit more of their awkwardness while they’re inside the cottage, but soon enough their bodies know what to do. I mean, come on now. You can’t deny the physical chemistry the characters have with each other and the emotional chemistry Hudson and Connor have. It’s magic!

ADN THEN THEY HAVE THAT WHOLE CONVERSATION ABOUT NOT HAVING SEX WITH ANYONE ELSE SINCE THE LAST TIME THEY DID IT GOD KILL ME NOW STOP THIS MALICIOUS GAY FAGGOTRY.

OH I THINK I KNOW HOW THE STAFF LIKES TO BE TREATED OH ILYA ROZANOV. AND THEN THE BLOWJOB AGAINST THOSE HUGE ASS WINDOWS? LIKE MAYBE TMI ON MY PART BUT THAT IS SOMETHING I HAVE…THOUGHT OF.

After all of that, the guys have burgers outside and then we get to one of the things that Shane has to think about, now that he’s come out to himself. Is he going to tell his parents about it? Are they going to accept him? And I like how they show Shane uneasiness about coming out. Maybe I’m just speaking as someone who’s Asian and who’s from a different generation, but coming out is mostly a Western thing. Being gay is something that’s mostly left unsaid, at least for my generation. It’s also what we’re getting a lot of in this next sequence, with Shane and Ilya getting to know each other not by telling each other about their life, but through the things they leave unsaid and the glances they throw each other. I kinda wanna know what their internal dialogues are.

Not that they aren’t voicing out as well, as Ilya shares what happened to his mom. I just like that the revelations are not overblown, if that makes sense? However much some people might complain the show isn’t ~realistic~, revelations like that usually don’t come with an eloquent speech because that’s not something a lot of us can do.

Okay Ilya is trying to distract Shane while he’s on a phone call with Hayden, I gotta do my stretches for this. But again, something I have ~considered~! AND THE SLAPPING THE LAUGH I LET OUT???? We also get the inklings of Ilya maybe moving to Canada and ditching that Russian passport. And I know enough of the books to know what that could mean for the next two seasons.

Also, the very real thing about marrying Svetlana for her passport? AND HUDSON WILLIAM’S RESTRAINED PERFORMANCE HERE I LOVE IT. AGAIN, THAT SINGLE TEAR JUST IN HIS EYE AS HE TELLS ILYA NOT TO MARRY SVETLANA.

I also love that them getting together or even Scott Hunter coming out doesn’t magically solve what is toxic in hockey culture for LGBTQIA+ people. Shane still has to think about how the two of them can be seen together without having tongues wagging, and he’s also making the same choice as Scott initially when he told Kip that they can be together ~normally~ after hockey retirement. AND THEN THEY SAY THEIR I LOVE YOUS TO EACH OTHER IN A LANGUAGE BOTH OF THEM CAN UNDERSTAND I’M SCREAMING CRYING BREAKING DOWN.

AGAIN ANOTHER ROLLERCOASTER OF EMOTIONS BECAUSE AFTER THAT HEARTFELT MOMENT WE GET THE SEX. I NEED TO REGULATE MY EMOTIONS HEATED RIVALRY YOU’RE NOT HELPING. AND THEN SHANE COMING UP WITH THE HOCKEY SCHOOL IDEA AND ILYA SAYING SHE WOULD HAVE LOVED YOU LIKE I LOVE YOU. I CANNOT I AM IN A GLASS CASE OF EMOTION.

AND THEN SHANE’S DAD SEES THEM KISSING FUCK MEEE and then he drives away. Jesus fuck, the anxiety Shane must be feeling. But Ilya comforting him and telling him it’s time to “wake up” from the “nightmare”? STAB ME AND LET ME BLEED OUT.

Again, many other people have said this, but I love how the show has grounded a lot of the things that some media depictions have maybe overblown a little? That coming out scene was great and felt real. And also funny? As well as that moment when he apologizes to his mom and his mom apologizes to him back. And I love how once everything’s settled, Shane’s mom immediately is down to business. And that we get a happy ending that isn’t magical? There’s still the bigger world with its homophobia and its prejudice, but at least in this little pocket of it, we have two guys who have found love and now they have each other to lean on when facing all of that.

All in all, this is a spectacular show and I can’t wait for the next two seasons. Start writing Tierney, people are waiting!

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