If you're having a bad day, just know that us Ottawa hockey fans who love the Game Changers series have to live in a cruel reality of perpetual disappointment in which Ilya Rozanov isn't actually the captain of our hockey team and, instead, we're stuck with one of misogynistic assholes from team USA who hates our country. 🙃
One of my favorite moments in HR episode 5 is the hospital scene after Shane gives the cottage pitch. Ilya gives that unconvincing "maybe" to placate him, and the expression on Shane's face is like "Yes! Totally locked that down." 😆
Having reread Heated Rivalry recently, I was expecting the episode to go from the Rose breakup to the Skip kiss, while also feeling anxious about how they'd fit everything in while being loyal to the books.
Thankfully I thought they did a fantastic job. They gave time and space to the emotionally weighted scenes while giving a nod to the more light hearted and sexy ones. I love how they edited the all-star game with the pool scene because I was worried they'd cut both, but they recognized they were needed to show Shane being in love.
I also love that they added some scenes in Russia. They were needed to better understand Ilya without the book's inner monolgue.
I was also wondering how they were going to pull off the Skip kiss and if it was just going to be from the TV but I'm glad they brought us into the arena as well.
I also love how the camera spins aound Scott and Kip and then around Ilya and Shane to show that their worlds just shifted. ❤️
I've seen criticism of Heated Rivalry (both the book and tv show) for not showing enough of the rivalry between Ilya and Shane, especially since we get right to the heat.
I'd argue that it's not inconsistent or shallow writing, but an intentionally written conflict between how others perceive and talk about them vs how they actually are with each other.
When we see the media or the league play up the rivalry there's always a moment to counter it. The CCM commercial shoot tries to pose them in a stare down, but they break out laughing. The league tries pit them against each other at the all-star game and puts them in front of the press, but we get an endearing moment of Shane helping Ilya out with his language barrier. Even when they're competing against each for the first time in 2008, Shane takes the initiative to introduce himself outside the arena away from everyone else, despite the Canada vs Russia commentator starting to create the rivalry narrative.
Their friends and family also reinforce how much they hate each other and, in response, they cover up what they're actually feeling or experiencing. Hayden says "Shane hates Rozanov" just before we see Shane be happy for Rozanov's cup win.
Those around them also miss the fact that when they are competitive with each other, its not out of hate or anger, but joy and love. There is a mutual respect and understanding between them when it comes to winning and competing and they genuinely love playing against each other. It's not until they are on the outs in episode 4, that their performance goes down.
So, yes, they are not actually bitter rivals, despite their world claiming otherwise. That's the point.
I think it’s both fantasy and reality? Ilya is jerking of angrily to the thought of Shane in bed with Rose, and Shane is fantasizing about Ilya while trying to have (let’s be real) mid at best sex with Rose. I think the scene does a good job of showcasing how they’re both not where they want to be, which is with eachother. They’re both hurting and they’re both not getting what they want (”this is not enough 🎶 ”)
I don't mind this take because at least it acknowledges the dual point of view and that they're both thinking of the other.
I'm all for people having different interpretations of heated rivalry and I'm mostly entertained by the reactions of people who haven't read the books, even if they wrongly predict the plot or a character's motivations.
But this shit going aound that Ilya in the shower at the end of 4 was Shane's fantasy?
I cannot abide the erasure of Ilya's character development. Besides the fact the book says he returns to the hotel alone to jerk off in the shower, it's an important scene to show that he couldn't distract himself with someone else despite his attempt to get laid.
If he were imaginary, that scene would only be about Shane and his perspective. The power in those final shots is that both of them are equally tortured thinking about the other.
It's like people want to dismiss Ilya or make him the bad guy ( "if it's all in Shane's head, he is a jerk and slept with that girl!"), while fangirling over "poor" Shane.
They are equal MCs in this story.
As for the set, some folks have already shown the differences with the bathrooms, but even if it is the same bathroom, the show had a small Canadian budget. They definitely used the same sets for different locations.
The overt and subtle misogyny in epsiode 4 of Heated Rivarly is intentional.
Heteronormativity, toxic masculinity and misogyny are inextricable and part of the toxic culture they're showing. Even Shane who calls out Hayden, and Ilya who apologizes to the bartender for his teammates, are impacted.
Men aren't allowed to enjoy women as people, whether platonic or romantic, especially in hockey culture. The men in the episode struggle with openly appreciating the women around them. They're compelled to point to superficial elements that give them "value" to men: she is a good cook, a good mother, sells expensive cars, gives me casual sex, knows hockey, etc.
It's a notable contrast from the previous episode where Kip has a healthy and meaningful relationship with women because he's not part of that toxic culture.
For Ilya, Svetlana could be a great ally and be for him what Elena is for Kip. We see her try to reach out, but he pushes her away to his detriment.
While Shane is struggling with internalized homophobia and trying to be straight, his enjoyment of Rose is part of the reason he's able to convince himself that he's into her romantically because he's subconsciously interalized the idea that sexual attraction is the only thing that makes women interesting.
Episode 4 was amazing but I have to note two things:
1) Shane filmed a commercial in 2016 that aired on TV in the the Kingfisher in 2014. (Clearly a choice made later in editing. I'll go with space-time continuum glitch 🤷♀️)
2) The timeline means it's been 2 years since what went down with Scott and Kip, so a change from the book. It'ĺl be interesting to see how that plays into what's coming next. 🤔
I was also thrilled for the Ryan Price mention! I hope we get him if we get more seasons. He and Fabian are so underrated and they bring some important and underserved representation we need on our screens.
With the news of Max forcing Our Flag Means Death to walk the plank, I'm sharing my wish for how I would have loved to see it end.
First, both Stede and Ed use their fuckery skills to fake their deaths to line up with historical records (ideally Ricky's body in place Stede's, and perhaps thanks to some disenfranchised queer naval officers).
Once free, Ed and Stede combine the hospitality dream with the love of adventure and sailing to run an "inn on the water" with the rest of the crew. This ship/inn, obviously called the Unicorn, would essentially be a prototype of a gay cruise that showcases the crew's established interests and skills over the last 2 seasons---drag shows, music, poetry readings, cocktails, fine cuisine and maybe even sword fighting classes.
Of course, they may have to use their pirate skills every now and again to defend innocent people from bad guys just to keep things interesting, but otherwise, they would all live gayly ever after. 🏳️🌈🏴☠️🏳️⚧️
Ofmd 2 finale reactions need more positivity and less poison, so here's my "why I loved it" post.
I agree the pacing was off, but we know HBO cut the episodes, so there's no point in dwelling on that. Otherwise, I loved how they wrapped every storyline.
"I know that"
The reunion was so much more than a Han/Leia cliche. Ed's "I love you" was not a confession but an apology and a promise. Stede's "I know" wasn't a cocky retort or the inability to say it back. He reassured Ed that he trusts their relationship and that he knows Ed's panic was his self-doubt and not about their love. Stede lived that; he gets it. I would have taken an " I love you too," but Ed needed to know he was safe and understood, and Rhys's heartfelt delivery of "I know that" was spot on.
Izzy was ready to die
I admittedly didn't cry and was expecting his death. I'm ambivalent to whether his death was needed narratively, but I appreciate the fact that they didn't use his death as a catalyst to push another character forward. Izzy was already accepting of Stede and Ed's relationship and that Blackbeard was over. Ed and Stede would have stayed behind had he lived. Izzy's death was about him in the end and his growth. He got to redeem himself, experience happiness, and stood up for his family. That's more than most get in his life and line of work. They didn't pair him off or make him fight with someone to make a melodramtic end for one of the characters. He got to tell Ed to follow his heart and gave Stede his blessing. He got to give the "fuck off bad guy" speech. His death doesn't diminish the message that's it's never too late to change or to better yourself. He won in the end and was content with his fate.
I would have liked it better if he stepped in front of a bullet for Stede or one of the crew. It would have been more of an emotional payoff for me. However, I appreciate that his death was reality seeping into what is otherwise a romantic fantasy show. He died because of the cruel reality of being pirate in a fight with the British navy. I'm glad they've taken liberties with history and realism (if they didn't, half the crew would have been killed), but I like that we felt the true threat of the villain. The odds of everyone escaping alive was small, and we needed a death. Out of all the characters, Izzy made the most sense to die.
So many others lived.
To paraphrase Pete, people keep talking about how Izzy died, but I never hear about how everyone else lived. The queer women lived. The two gays set to get married lived. Our main couple was happy, alive, and together at the end. Maybe I'm jaded by white, het male showrunners, but so many other shows would have queerbaited, buried the gays or gone overboard with star-crossed queer couples, especially the queer women. I get being unhappy about Izzy dying because you loved the character, but it didn't do a disservice to the queer story they were telling.
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