I don’t even like sports of any kind. At all. But I’m on the HABS Reddit. And these guys are trying to explain hockey basics to me. And I am totally clueless. They suggested a couple of podcasts who do hockey 101 YouTube videos that I’m going to check out after the playoffs because apparently the playoffs are a big thing in hockey every year.
Anybody else trying to learn hockey? Because of this darn show?
Ilya and Shane were only 17 when they met. I think they were 19 when they first hooked up. And by the end of the series, they are just 26. Most of what they experienced and had difficulty with was when they were 19 to their very early 20s.
I’ve listened to and read a lot of people commenting about this series and none of them, I repeat none of them, that I have listened to and read have brought up that these characters were really young when they first got together. This would’ve influenced much of what they struggled with.
So that’s one thing. The other thing is, I’m wondering if the focus on physical fitness and hockey from usually preschool onwards, would have reflected on our guys abilities to really think about and deal with not only their sexuality as they entered their teens, but also, and I would say almost as important, if not more so given that I am a romance person, their ability to deal with love.
So what do you think?
What struck me about Heated Rivalry was how completely believable the intimacy felt. Watching it, I didn’t feel like I was observing actors performing romance scenes — I felt like I was in the room with two people who genuinely wanted each other. The chemistry felt natural, emotional, and deeply lived-in.
Now when I watch other shows with kissing or near-love scenes, I notice the difference immediately. A lot of the time, the actors don’t even seem emotionally connected to each other, maybe not even particularly comfortable together. Instead of feeling swept into the moment, it feels staged — like someone off camera simply said, “Okay, now kiss.”
Am I going crazy, or is this a thing other people are experiencing too?
It’s a Midsize City. It Makes the News Every Six Years. You’d Never Guess the Reason. - Slate
There are very good arguments to be had on both sides of the issue.
At the All-Star game, sitting on the bench next to Shane and Ilya skates by saying, “1221“. Then Scott turns to Shane and says that he is in the hotel room next to Ilya’s. He actually had no reason to say that, if he didn’t know.
On the other hand, Scott has been closeted all his life. He even goes out of the country for sex on his time off in the summers. He doesn’t have sex in the United States. According to the books. So would Scott even notice or care about Shane’s involvement with the Russian superstar? Would he be so self-absorbed in trying to protect himself that he would even notice?
Those generally are the two arguments
I read that Rachel Reid said at an event in the UK that Scott did know. So there’s that. That’s her book. But, we can look at the television series and see something different. Right?
So, let’s discuss.