Heated Rivalry being 'explicit'
For those who don't know, Heated Rivalry is a show about two hockey players who play on rival teams in their rookie years and thus end up pitted directly against each other in the media and in the sport as a whole. Yet, they begin sleeping together in secret during their rookie seasons despite the common refrain being that they hate each other. Over the course of many hockey seasons (and 6 episodes), we see that relationship deepen and explore the calamity of being gay in a hypermasculine sport. It's an absolutely amazing show that's getting some credit but imo still not enough, partially because of the label it has of being very 'explicit.'
The show is well known for being 'explicit,' and yet, while I was watching, I didn't find it nearly as disconcerting as shows that people put into similar categories. Typically, sex scenes make me uncomfortable, and I won't lie, the scenes are very clear about the type of sex going on: who is doing what to whom and in what context, yet I was totally fine where shows like GoT and Euphoria had me white-knuckling it.
After reflection, I don't think this show feels nearly as explicit as it was made out to be for many reasons:
Many shows with explicit sex have odd dynamics around consent that don't get fully acknowledged or resolved, while HR was very clear that the main characters are consenting. It was refreshing to see honestly and showed a level of concern and communicaiton required with a new partner that was interesting character wise and realistic vs. most shows where characters just fall into bed without speaking. It was especially linteresting with the dynamic of one characters first time in a gay sexual relationship adding a new layer.
2. Often in other shows, the sex feels gratuitous; it's there purely for shock value or to further sexualize characters with the (usually) male gaze, while in HR the sex scenes each told us something about their dynamic. Every scene tells us something interesting about the characters and their relationship development, rather than just their physical relationship.
3. It's not constant. Once the acts are established and we know who is doing what, especially once we've seen the specific acts before, the show mostly moves on. It reserves sex scenes later in the episodes for changes in their sexual relationship in relation to their growing emotions for each other or to establish their relationship dynamic.
4. The show is very descriptive about what is happening, more so than others. If you've ever read fanfiction (yes- I'm a fangirl in my other life, please forgive me), you'll find it very familiar. It's a play-by-play of each interaction between the characters rather than just focusing on the sex. It uses this descriptiveness to show you the story surrounding these characters' sexual relationship and how that plays into their romantic feelings, rather than focusing on the acts themselves more directly.
Overall, yes, it's explicit. Yes, you'll see it all up close and personal (I was definitely not ready for the first sex scene). However, I actually found myself wishing I'd paid more attention to those scenes by the end, as they add so many layers and context to the characters in a show that has to adapt a book without any internal monologue. These scenes were a creative way to remedy that and didn't feel nearly as explicit as they're said to be, with how tastefully they were done.
It feels like people use this show being explicit as a potential reason it's less meaningful, as if the sex scenes are only there to cater to the audience, but they're all present for a reason and imo comparing it to shows who have the aforementioned problems both doesn't give HR enough credit and makes the show feel much more unapproachable than it really is.
