Discover Top Posts Tagged with #hr 1.02

"you can see the soul through that little light" x

#and here i thought their eyes just naturally sparkled when they look at each other #heated rivalry #hr 1.02 #ilya rozanov #shane hollander #jackson parrell #hr interview #hr cinematography #vulture #mp

SHANE HOLLANDER in every episode of Heated Rivalry - 1.02 Olympians

#hredit #heated rivalry #heatedrivalryedit #hr #hrgifs #shane hollander #shanehollanderedit #tvshowedit #tvedit #dailytvfilmgifs #heatedrivalrysource #shaneeps #hr s1 #hr 1.02 #*#*gif

I rewatched the Sochi scenes from 1.02, and I was thinking about the differences between Shane and Sasha.

We see very little of Sasha and he’s coked up the whole time. He may be nicer when he’s sober. At any rate, Svetlana is still talking to him in 2016, so clearly she sees something in her old friend. But from everything we see of Sasha in 2014, he’s a charismatic asshole with poor sexual boundaries.

At 15 or 16 Ilya probably thought bad boy Sasha was hot as hell. I’m sure they partied and drank and did drugs together, as well as the sex. But by 22, Ilya has adult responsibilities. His father’s dementia is becoming very obvious, his only sibling is an active addict, and his stepmother seems barely present. He also has financial responsibilities towards his family (even though they’re assholes), and he has to worry about contracts, endorsements, and other grownup things.

He’s captain of Russia’s failing national team and also a young captain of the emerging Boston team. And he has to worry about the league’s drug testing policy. They’re probably looking more for performance enhancers like steroids, but I’m sure their tests will also pick up party drugs. Plus, there’s Alexei, as a warning of what can happen to people who use drugs too often.

Sasha is probably still in university in Paris, studying and partying on his daddy’s money. He is also presumably 22 going on 23, but he’s at a radically different stage in life from Ilya. And they don’t seem to have very much in common any longer beyond a shared sexual interest in men.

Sasha is interested in rekindling that old flame, and it probably would be safe for Ilya. Svetlana presumably booked the hotel suite, so neither of their names would be involved. As long as they’re not seen leaving the suite too close together, they’re probably fine. I’m sure teenage Ilya and Sasha had riskier hookups back in the day.

But Ilya isn’t currently interested in drowning his sorrows in drugs and hedonistic sex with an old flame. His public profile is also much higher than it was when he was in high school. Sasha is a fairly anonymous rich kid, but for Ilya as a public figure, getting caught would have significant consequences.

Especially in the wake of the humiliating Olympic defeat, for which Putin and Co would likely be delighted to have a “deviant” scapegoat. Ilya is gradually learning adult restraint. At least when it comes to risks he doesn’t desperately want to take. He’s turning down an easy opportunity to get laid with someone he doesn’t like much anymore, getting pickier as well as more careful.

And then there’s the Shane factor (speaking of risks Ilya actually wants to take). Yeah, Ilya blew him off at the figure skating, for both their safety. But he must be remembering shane’s clear concern for his well-being as well as his obliviousness about how to survive as a public figure in a totalitarian surveillance state. Well, Shane’s Canadian. He doesn’t get it.

Ilya looks at Shane’s last text like a lifeline as Sasha feels him up. I don’t think Sasha measures up to those words on a screen. He’s probably a good lay, but he doesn’t really care about Ilya or Ilya’s problems. If he did, he wouldn’t be groping him when Ilya is so clearly not in the mood. I mean, granted, Sasha does take the hint and leave eventually, so he’s not evil. But he leaves with a parting shot at how boring Ilya is compared to the old days. Presumably Sasha’s ego is stung.

Shane is a genuinely nice person. He cares about Ilya’s well-being in Sochi even though Ilya is a national rival, and Russia crashing out makes Canada’s route to gold easier. And even though Ilya is just a casual hookup at this point, not someone he’s SUPPOSED to be worrying about.

Sending that text when Russia crashed out was stupid, in a surveillance state. But it was a kind gesture all the same. Shane is a generally kind, caring person, and Ilya hasn’t had a whole lot of experience with people who worry about him. Apparently it’s attractive.

When Ilya rejected him on the rooftop in Vegas in 2011, Shane was drunk, similar to Sasha. And yeah, he originally shouted, when he thought Ilya was hiding on the rooftop because he was humiliated over losing Rookie of the Year to Shane. But he got over that, even drunk, once Ilya told him that wasn’t what he was upset about. Even though Ilya yelled as he told him.

And Shane didn’t react the way Sasha did to rejection. He was disappointed they weren’t going to hook up, probably after chasing Ilya all over the hotel much of the night. But he still tried to end the season and conversation on a positive note, offering Ilya good luck and a handshake. In comparison to coked-up Sasha, drunk Shane is positively gracious.

I’m sure Sasha was good in bed. But in Shane, Ilya has someone who is good in bed, AND makes him laugh, AND is a fundamentally decent human being who cares about other people. Even his casual hookups. Ilya is running from the feelings he’s developing for Shane, but he still re-reads their old texts like a lifeline. At probably the lowest point in Ilya’s adult life so far, Shane is a comfort to him (without knowing it).

So no, he doesn’t want Sasha. He could forget his troubles for a little while with an easy orgasm helped along with alcohol an maybe drugs. But Ilya chooses a more difficult route. He’s getting pickier about his hookups, the people he chooses to hang out with, and the risks he chooses to take.

The Heated Rivalry Graphic Archive

Have you ever needed a gif or image from that scene that comes across your dashboard all the time but of course the one time you need it you can’t find it? Have you ever wished you could effortlessly find different gifs of the same scene, because what’s better than one gif of Shane spreading his legs on the bed? Dozens of them! Have you ever wanted to find a bunch of new gif and image edit makers to follow?

Welcome to The Heated Rivalry Graphic Archive! A place for you to find gifs, image edits or good quality screencaps of this beautiful show.

All posts are tagged by episode, scene and characters. When applicable, posts are also tagged according to ships and certain "themes" of content. See under the cut for full tag list with links. If there's no link on a tag, it's because no posts are tagged with it yet.

Feel free to send any asks with questions, suggestions or corrections for anything you might notice is incorrectly tagged or linked.

As you scroll this archive, remember to reblog to support this fandom’s awesome visual content creators!

when the screen fades to black during shane and ilya’s first time. and then it fades back in and they’re Still Fucking. and then it happens again and they’re STILL. FUCKING. and then it happens one more time and shane is COMING HANDS-FREE??????? brother i saw god that day

#hit like crack for me fr #vanilla mace pointing up dot gif #ep2 really has everything man #hr #hr 1.02 #ott.txt

it's funny that hudcon are surprised by fans loving this scene and line delivery. look at that boy's eyes. how can you not love this

it's so hilarious, the things that are important or sexy or interesting. there's so many things that they pick online that when i watch it, it goes over my head 'cause it doesn't even feel like a choice. another thing that everyone's going crazy about online is hudson's, "wow, genetic." that line. when i read that and i think of it, it's just a moment of banter or whatever. it's these little things that we're not even aware of that people grab onto, and it's really cool. — connor [entertainment weekly interview]

the "wow genetic" [line]. i just remember everyone saying "oh, how he says [the line]," and i was like "oh... it's just how i did it. i just do that naturally i guess." — hudson on what moment during filming didn't feel significant but was perceived differently by fans [radio andy interview]