Heated Rivalry Analysis and Discussion: Yuna Hollander
Let me start off by saying this is all just my opinion and I would love to hear other people’s. I think Yuna Hollander (from what little we get of her) is a fascinating character. And I would have loved to see more of her, but I understand why we don’t. At the same time, I think she haunts the narrative just as much as Irina does, and this post seeks to explore that.
During the first episode in the Draft Scene, we get soft confirmation of Yuna being an immigrant. “- I am the world’s biggest Metros fan. It’s part of how I came to feel Canadian. My dad would sit us down in the living room Saturday nights.” (I am not an immigrant myself, but I grew up around many, and my grandmother was one. If I get anything wrong, please let me know.)
I think a lot of her worldview and actions become more clear when kept in mind. On the surface level, we could view her as just a hockey-obsessed mother. But when you consider (if she wasn’t lying) a lot of who she is and how she views herself is rooted in hockey. One example would be when going to school (especially elementary), her foods and home life would differ from most other kids, but there was always hockey to bond over.
One of the first things that made Canada feel like home was bonding with her family by watching hockey games. And depending on both her and her parents’ (and any siblings’) level of English when they first moved to Canada, a lot of her early English vocabulary (and her parents’) would have been hockey-based. It would have been an easy conversation filler when talking to strangers if they spoke little English.
There is also the French aspect of this. Depending on where she grew up, the language barrier could have been even greater. (I did research into the language statistics of Montreal in this post in the 30.06 - 30.36 He Just Wanted to See His French Boy Speak section.) And since she grew up watching the Metros it wouldn’t be crazy to assume they lived in or around the Montreal area.
Many children of immigrants end up better at a country's official language than their parents, especially early on. They end up speaking their new language in schools and with their peers and use it for all their classes. The fact that Yuna has no accent likely means she would have been very young when she moved to Canada. Or that she worked hard to lose any accent she had to fit in better.
I bring up the last point because since the child usually knows the new language better; they end up being an interpreter for their parents. Asking for directions, help, or ordering food could all have fallen to her. (The last one is something to take into consideration, which I didn’t think about until now, with my opinions of her actions in the Rolex/Right up the Butt scene.) This could all be part of what led to much of her ‘take charge’ outlook.
There is no doubt in my mind that Yuna wouldn’t have faced some level of racism her whole life. Depending on her parent’s English/French ability, she could have been hearing slurs directed at her parents (subtle or obvious) when acting as their interpreter or just going around. She would have learned to bite her tongue at a very young age. Especially since an important aspect of Japanese culture is politeness and respecting one’s elders.
She was also likely born in the 1960s - 1970s, and racism was historically worse the further back you go. (If anyone knows what the Canadian view of Japanese immigrants at the time was, I would love to know. I only know what it would have been like for them in America, and it would have been…not good, to put it lightly.) Growing up, she would have faced more racism than Shane likely did on a day-to-day basis.
But in saying that hockey is a notoriously racist sport. (Here’s a breakdown of POC representation in hockey.) And I can’t begin to imagine the pain she would have felt knowing she was the “cause” of the racism Shane would have faced. She also likely faced it from the other hockey parents (both because of racism and jealousy at Shane’s talent). I can see a world where she faced some level of isolation from the other parents. IE them not inviting the Hollanders to team activities.
And beyond the general politeness found in Japanese culture comes the aspect that if she was to call anyone out, it would have isolated her/Shane further (no one enjoys being called out on their racism). And if done to the wrong person, it could have cost Shane his future in the sport and later on, his career.
Since we don’t see Shane interact with Japanese culture in any way (beyond his diet being macrobiotic), it could indicate she subconsciously did everything to give Shane the best chance and in doing so erased that part of herself. IE not sending him to school with Japanese food so he wasn’t picked on and other such things. Since we see Shane be uncomfortable at being considered a representative for other future Asian athletes (and what I think is also probably imposter syndrome), I think she might have “over-corrected” to ensure he didn’t face the problems she did.
Raising an Autistic Child
I won’t touch on this much because autism is a very large spectrum with many facets and presentations. And while we see Shane mask extremely well, the younger he was, the harder things would have been for him. Yuna, being the extremely involved parent she is, would have seen/handled all traits/behaviors he displayed. Since we don’t get any insight into what Shane was like as a child, we can’t say what things would have been like for any of the Hollanders or how the situation was handled.
We also don’t know if Shane was officially diagnosed and, if so, what kinds of treatment/therapy he went through. During the 1990-2000s less was known about ways to help autistic people navigate the world than we know today. Therefore, there were less well-known accommodations to make life easier (weighted blankets, sound-canceling headphones, ect.)
It also isn’t uncommon that the parents of children who were diagnosed around this time or earlier would elect to keep this from the child and essentially ignore it. If Shane's being autistic were common knowledge, he would have faced many more hurdles when it came to hockey. So either it was kept secret or not known at all. (Here is my post about Autism as it relates to this show.)
(Someone mentioned this, and I didn't realize people might not know this but the term does have racist undertones when used as "Tiger mom/mother". Which is why I stuck to using the colloquially used and understood term "Tiger Parent" instead for this style of parenting.)
Something many children of immigrants face on some level is so-called “Tiger Parenting”. Usually, this is driven by the desire to see your children take advantage of every opportunity that most non-immigrant children get without hesitation. They don’t want their children to face the struggles they did, but in doing so, they bring their own problems. And since parenting styles are usually passed down (more so the further back you go, since there were fewer studies into childhood development). So the pressure we see Yuna put on Shane is probably an echo of what she faced.
I grew up around many such families, so I’ll talk about my experience of it from an outsider’s perspective. Many of the children I grew up with had "Tiger Parents" (specifically Vietnamese), and it affected them deeply in a few similar ways.
Something common would be that a child would have a slight or true interest in something, and in trying to support that and see their children succeed, they would eventually drain out what joy the child found in that activity/topic. But because so much effort/money/time would be poured into that area of their lives, the children would often see it as ungrateful if they wished to stop.
Many described something they used to love as becoming soul-sucking.
It also puts the child in constant competition with their peers. If someone were better at their chosen subject/hobby/sport/instrument, then they were failing. Not just themselves, but all the work their parents put in.
One of the most devastating versions of this I saw in a friend was them developing first orthorexia and then anorexia from the pressures put on them as a swimmer. It wasn’t until after they fainted in the pool during a meet that they were finally encouraged/allowed to stop. And even now, over a decade later, they are still dealing with the trauma.
I believe Shane Hollander is genuinely obsessed with hockey but I don’t think it’s wild to say that part of why he is so enthralled with Ilya is that when playing against him, hockey is fun again. The conversation with Rose in episode 4 when they first meet, R: “Did it stop being fun?” S: “No. Well, I mean, kind of. I love it, but it got more intense, so I guess I kinda got more intense too, if that makes sense.”
Another thing I’ve seen in these situations is the child flattening anything that makes them stand out so they don’t risk failing any expectations. In Shane’s case, we see this in part by him staying in the closet even with his parents. I think a lot of why Shane doesn't come out is not wanting to disappoint his mother and her vision of his future.
Throughout the series, we see Yuna (never David) multiple times push Shane to be the very best. And I think this is a subtle hint at the “tiger parenting” he went through along with the next point.
A lot of this section is going to be colored by my experiences and view of the world, more so than most of the topics I write about.
I think Yuna Hollander being Shane’s manager is a monumental mistake.
Throughout the series, we only ever see her being mom first, one time, during the “I tried” scene in episode 6. Most of why that scene is so emotionally impactful is because it feels like for the first time in the show Yuna is seeing Shane and not Shane Hollander. They are just Shane and just Yuna at that moment. And moments after that, she was back to full-on manager mode.
We see little of their relationship, but the switch is so quick I can’t imagine most of their relationship isn’t this business overtaking familial time/responses. Because of this, Shane never has the chance to confide in his mother without anything he says or confesses being measured for PR reasons. It would make talking to her about anything stressful.
I honestly think if Yuna was just his mom and not his manager, most of his internal struggles would be lessened or gone altogether. If he can’t even come out to his parents, of course, he can’t come out to his friends. If anyone he might want to be serious with would be seen through a PR lens, he might as well just keep things casual so he doesn’t have to deal with it.
Yes, Shane is a grown man and his mistakes are his own, but I think Yuna’s biggest mistake is being her son’s manager. I acknowledge that early on this was probably the best thing she could do for Shane. From what we see, Yuna and David love Shane, and her taking on that role for him kept him from being taken advantage of as a child. But this also made their relationship muddy to the point where by the end of season one it almost feels like the bond they could have had as mother and son is almost entirely overshadowed by talent and manager.
There are three major problems with breaking such a relationship.
Yuna is genuinely amazing at her job. There is no denying this, and it is unlikely Shane would find someone better than her. Her drive is in part due to her wanting what is best for her son.
Yuna is a good parent in the sense that she would never take advantage of Shane’s fame or money. Something managers/agents too often do in real life.
There is no easy way for Shane to end this business relationship without hurting Yuna and damaging what little of a mother/son relationship they have left. The only chance they have of separating this is for Yuna to be the one to do it.
There are a few inherent problems with your management team being your parents.
There is no easy way to fire a family member. Unless you cut them off completely afterwards, they will continue to be part of your life, and after ending a business relationship, it will forever shadow your future interactions.
Depending on how young a person is when this crossing of boundaries starts, it becomes hard for the child (and later adult) to say no to their parent’s plans for their future. We see Shane being extremely uninterested in any of the partnerships/shoots Yuna sets up. We don’t know if he is really okay with doing them, and even if he isn’t, there is no good way for him to say no.
It seems to be extremely easy for the separation between parent and manager to disappear. Things like child stars going to late-night events. From a parent’s view, it’s a bad idea, but from a manager’s, it would be good. And because adults often forget what being a child was like, they are less likely to see such things as problems once they start crossing that barrier. The sexualization of child stars is a good example of this.
We constantly see Yuna protecting Shane Hollander the brand and not Shane Hollander her son. Constantly pushing him to work with more brands is good for his professional reputations but seems to be extremely taxing on him emotionally/mentally.
For her part, there are some very good reasons why Yuna is so intense.
The average hockey career is only 5-6 years long, and the top 12% of players average 12 years. And once your career is over, most athletes tend to fade into obscurity, and those who don’t are usually the ones who made the most of their time in the spotlight to build their brands.
Why is this important? Because most sports come with the risk of major injuries and lifelong medical problems. And hockey being as intense and violent as it is, ages a player's body way past its years and leaves lifelong care needs.
Hockey has one of the highest rates of concussions. Hell, Shane’s line of “We all get our bell rung eventually, right?” is a terrifyingly casual thing to say about a brain injury. That it is just expected in some sports that playing at a professional level comes with an expectation of at least some brain damage should alarm everyone. Too many or a single bad enough concussion can lead to lifelong disability. There is no getting around it. There is no medication or surgery to correct brain damage. The money he makes now needs to be able to cover all his future medical problems.
Another thing players as famous as Shane have to deal with, especially in a hockey-obsessed city like Montreal, is security. While not as bad as some other famous careers, athletes do still have stalkers and fans who push the boundaries. During the height of his fame, it would be necessary for Shane to be careful about where he lives and where he goes.
That security comes at a monetary cost. High-end security systems and living in a secure building aren’t cheap. Though being a brand ambassador would make this problem worse in some ways. And depending on how successful Yuna is, it dictates how long Shane is in the spotlight and has a need for such security.
Something else to consider is that Shane starts his MLH career at around 18-19. While other people his age are going to college and getting their first bits of job experience, Shane is missing that. By the time his hockey career ends, Shane’s only job experience will be linked to hockey. He has no other career prospects. If he does go to college, he will be older than most other students, which would isolate him.
All of this is important because…
Hockey players also have a 78% bankruptcy rate within 5 years of retirement.
That’s right, with all these problems hockey leaves a player with when they retire, most of them accidentally blow through their savings.
This all means the remainder of Shane’s life’s comfort level might rest entirely on what he earns/builds now. Yuna pushing him so hard is a way for her to ensure his future. The role Yuna Hollander plays for Shane is absolutely necessary.
But by being the best manager, Yuna is sacrificing her ability to be the best mother.
Here’s a Wikipedia article going further in depth on the topic of athlete bankruptcy.
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