I finished The Long Game and I wanted to rant a bit about how people talk about/treat Shane in this book.
Before I started this book I had seen so many takes about how mean and awful Shane is in TLG and I would just like to say for starters - this book made me love Shane so much more than I already did. It actually made him my favourite character. I think it's so unfair how people treat him vs how they treat Ilya because Ilya kind of sucks in this book too. They both annoyed the hell out of me at different parts and I think that's a good thing. It makes them both more realistic as characters.
Ilya is suffering he's depressed and lonely but he's refusing to talk about it with Shane at all, even though Shane keeps asking if he's okay and even suggesting Ilya try therapy. Shane is autistic, and even though he can tell something is off with Ilya he doesn't know what and Ilya is blocking him out, so Shane can only do so much. I think a lot of fans (and even Ilya at one point) get mad that Shane isn't able to figure out what Ilya's going through but thats kind of a huge part of being autistic is needing direct communication.
Ilya is depressed, insecure, isolated and lost.
Shane is neurodivergent, clearly has some sort of eating disorder or OCD, and is basically on the verge of an anxiety attack at any moment.
They are both, to be completely honest, messes. Messes who cannot properly communicate. I think they are both in the wrong and both in the right in ways. It's complicated. It's a real relationship struggle that they have to work through and to push all the blame on one person is just stupid imo.
As for the "mean" things Shane says.
First of all the mom thing. Oh my god some of you are so insanely hypocritical or disingenuous or just can't read. Shane was complaining about HIS (Shane's) mom and made an insensitve comment while over tired and not thinking clearly. Ilya HIMSELF realizes that. Yes it hurts yes it was insensitive but no it was not out of mallice or to be cruel. And once again Ilya didn't say anything so Shane did not realize he had hurt Ilya's feelings in that moment.
The comment about Ilya smoking pot and losing all his games during their fight was actually iconic idc. Ilya says mean shit to Shane all the time about his ED but god forbid Shane say one mean thing in the heat of the moment.
AND FINALLY. Shane asking if Ilya would choose him over hockey ILYA ASKED SHANE FIRST. Not only did Ilya blow up at Shane on Christmas after repressing his emotions and not communicating with Shane at all for MONTHS he then gave Shane an ultimatum. Shane had no idea everything Ilya had been thinking about for this long and as Shane tends to do when Ilya suggests something, he thinks Ilya must be asking because this is how Ilya feels (i.e. the open relationship situation). He probably thinks Ilya must be asking because Ilya wouldn't choose him. So he turns it on Ilya.
(People also conveniently forget Ilya nearly gets physical with Shane in that moment, but that's neither here nor there because he doesn't. It's just I notice people seem more than okay to point out all of Shane's flaws but never Ilyas)
Do I think Shane was taking Ilya for granted? Yes.
Do I think Ilya was a horrible communicator and was unfair to blow up on Shane? Yes.
Do I think they both love each other and are flawed human beings working through an incredibly complicated and stressful situation and should both be given the benefit of the doubt instead of accusing one as some horrible person who doesn't love the other? YEAH NO SHIT.
Anyway, I do have some complaints about the book - I would have liked to see more of what Shane was thinking about Ilya, and I think the way Shane's ED was handled was abysmal - but overall I genuinely liked TLG more than HR. I think the show and Hudson will do an even better job at conveying Shane's side of this struggle so I'm not actually TOO worried about ppl hating on Shane in the future. Just some of the takes I've seen are so disingenuous and dumb as hell its annoyed the crap out of me.
Shane Hollander I will defend you with my life idc.
