Hey! I wanted to say I love your analysis on Shane, they are always a delight to read :)
I had a question though, if you don’t mind answering.
Do you think Shane had a lonely childhood? I know that both in the book and the show, he tells Rose about his scouting days and says that there was another Asian kid who had worse than him. But we don’t get much from his childhood otherwise. Heck, we don’t even know any childhood best friends of Shane. He only made close friends when he joined the Metros. What do you think?
Thanks anon! I do think that’s a show only convo, but yeah it’s the only (?) info we get about his earlier years.
This is just an off the cuff take, it’s not something I’ve thought through super carefully, so subject to change—but here’s my initial thoughts.
I think yes, he was lonely. Shane’s even kind of self aware about this, he notes that he’s “oddly lonely” early in HR and I think that’s basically how Shane feels/has felt his entire life before he comes out (post coming out he has not just Ilya but also Rose, and he deepens his friendships with JJ and Hayden, and eventually the Cens)
Shane had the experience of being othered just for his race but also for his skill level. He notes the distance between himself and his teammates in HR, and muses on the jealousy and awkwardness that characterizes those relationships. That would have started young, and the way Shane reflects on it at least suggests that he’s had bad experiences. The reality of Hockey Canada for young men is extremely bleak, and if we want to get realistic with it Shane was probably in haze or be hazed situations a lot. His skill might have allowed him to opt out of this to some degree. But we can also pull back on the realism (I like to) and just say that Shane’s experience was probably some degree of isolation.
I would bet childhood Shane had a series of Hayden-like friends, which is to say guys he stood next to in hockey or in school and let talk at him. Guys who didn’t notice that Shane doesn’t open too much up to them. I think those relationships faded immediately when removed from immediate proximity.
I do think Shane in high school was “popular” in the same way he’s popular on the Mets. I would bet he won whatever the Canadian version of prom king is and he’s dating the prettiest girl in school. People admire him, they respect him, they think he’s a good leader and want to follow him. Do they like him and want to hang out with him one on one all the time? Ehhhh…
But all this aside Shane had his parents, who are loving and supportive, and I think did have friends, and coaches, and I’m sure there were always girls around. He probably felt like this mathematically meant he couldn’t be lonely, but he was. That’s why he says it’s odd. But the main and most important reason he’s lonely is, as I’ve said before, he’s not an integrated person. Shane hides big parts of his life from literally every person in his life, including himself (hiding from his own feelings) and that’s just a lonely making activity.
This all said I think if you asked Shane he’d say he had a wonderful childhood and would not describe it or think of it as lonely unless prompted.
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