I didn’t expect one of the best Heated Rivalry reviews would come from the AVClub ❤️
“…while physical intimacy is the hook of Heated Rivalry, it’s a different quality that has turned the show into a full-on phenomenon in the month since its finale aired. Plenty of other romances have been this sexy (here’s looking at you, Bridgerton), but few have been this nuanced with their character work. And it’s that delicate exploration of emotional desire that has people watching the series over and over again.”
“The trouble is, that act of silent communication sets them up for nearly a decade of miscommunication too. Because their initial assumption about each other is correct, they both make the tragic mistake of extrapolating it out further—of assuming they know what the other is thinking and feeling even when they don’t.”
“What Shane misses, however, is that Ilya has none of the foundational stability that Shane takes for granted. Shane has two deeply supportive parents, endless brand deals, and close friends on his hockey team. Plus, he gets to live and work in his home country, where it’s safe to be openly gay. All of that feels a million miles away for Ilya, who grew up with a cruel father and brother, watched his mom die by suicide, and comes from a country where “promoting homosexuality” is illegal.
When he steps away at the awards night, it doesn’t have anything to do with Shane. He’s just upset at the thought of returning to Russia to be chastised by his dad for not winning Rookie Of The Year. But because Shane can’t grasp his own Canadian privilege, he misses that entirely. When Ilya tries to explain his bad mood by saying “I go home in three days,” Shane just responds, “Okay, must be nice.” Shane hears Ilya changing the subject, and Ilya hears Shane not understanding his life, which causes him to default to his survival mechanism of shoving all his unhappy emotions down even further.”
“It’s a beautifully subtextual exploration of the sort of real-life communication problems that actually keep people apart rather than the plot contrivances rom-coms so often reach for. And it goes both ways. For his part, Ilya doesn’t understand how much his self-acceptance is a privilege. Since sex, sexuality, and no-strings-attached relationships come easily to him, he dramatically underestimates just how much Shane is struggling internally with questions of who he is, what he wants, and what that means for his future. When Ilya randomly brings up his friend with benefits, Svetlana, after a hookup, he’s trying to be open about his life and invite Shane to do the same. But because he’s diving into one of the topics Shane is least comfortable with, Shane perceives it as Ilya pushing him away and bragging about his girlfriend.”
“Part of the reason people have gone so feral for the show’s last two episodes in particular is because they deliver the rare, beautiful rom-com magic of watching two people inspire each other to become better versions of themselves. Shane has to find his own form of Ilya’s internal confidence, while Ilya has to learn to open up and build a foundation of stability outside of his toxic dynamic with his family. And they both need to learn to actually understand each other rather than just project onto the other. They need to talk, which is why episode five forgoes the onscreen sex entirely for a different kind of intimacy.”
“The character work is the story engine in a way that’s singularly rewarding, whether on a first watch or a fifth. William Faulkner once said that the only thing worth writing about is “the human heart in conflict with itself.” And few shows have explored that as purely—or as carnally—as Heated Rivalry.”
