Listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts
Recommendations from This Episode
Books
- Game Misconduct by Ari Baran
- Unwritten Rules by KD Casey
- See You At the Finish Line by Zac Hammett
Shows
- North of North (CBC Gem / Netflix, Canadian comedy with rom com vibes, broadcast level spicy)
Transcript:
Kathleen (00:06.979)
Welcome back to Craving Rivalry, a limited run fan podcast from two Canadian sisters who just like you are obsessed with heated rivalry. You have come to the right place if you’re looking for a longer form breakdown of each episode and to collectively gush on the brilliance that is heated rivalry.
Zoe (00:28.632)
I’m Zoe, I’m a Canadian romance author and a voracious reader. And in every pod, I make book recommendations for what to read while we wait for season two.
Kathleen (00:38.435)
and I’m Zoe’s sister, Kathleen. I’m chronically online. Basically, if it’s trending, I care about it. So.
Zoe (00:45.774)
Amazing. Okay. So let’s dive into episode two, which immediately deviates from the book. wait, you haven’t read Heated Rivalry, the book, have you?
Kathleen (00:58.021)
I haven’t. And actually that’s gonna come up from watching some of the TikToks. I have some notes about episode two, because from my understanding, there are a bunch of deviations. Is that correct?
Zoe (01:09.737)
There are. So, and I actually think the deviations make total sense. Like, I understand basically Tierney wanted to move them going from blowjobs to more out of episode one chronologically in the books. That actually happens pretty quickly because that snowstorm doesn’t happen. But he wanted just
structurally for the way that he was envisioning these six episodes, he wanted to move it later in their relationship. So the two years of texting that we start with, which is seven minutes of texting, the grippiest seven minutes of texting that carries us over almost, I think, two years. That that is a different timeline than what happens in the book. So in the book,
over that period of time, they are quietly hooking up and at the same time as this rivalry is building. Whereas in the show, there’s this extended absence, right? That they aren’t together and they’re just texting. And I have so many questions, like re-watching it this time. Like one of the texts that jumped out at me or one of the moments when they were texting that jumps out at me.
is when Ilya’s teammate says, this Montreal girl has you all twisted up. And there’s another point in one of the episodes where Hayden says, Boston Jane. And I’m like, their teammates know so much. They know like a name and a location for this person in their phone over an extended period of time.
Kathleen (02:49.401)
Boston, Boston Jane, Boston Jane.
Zoe (03:04.234)
And I don’t know that that kind of scratches at me as a very interesting detail, a very interesting bit of specificity.
Kathleen (03:12.377)
So episode two was called the Olympians, or I think it was called the Olympians, really should just have been called so much sexting.
Zoe (03:20.027)
Yeah, fair.
Kathleen (03:22.713)
and you clocked it at seven minutes, I’m like, wow. Also so much heartbreak too, right?
Zoe (03:28.758)
So angsty. And at the end of this episode, I do have some very angsty book recommendations for people who like that. Yeah, just really rewatching it, the angst. I think, again, like the first time that I watched it, was like, you know, it’s propulsive. I was wanting more, wanting more of the romance arc. This time, I was very aware of
Kathleen (03:35.459)
Nice.
Zoe (03:58.252)
pain, of loneliness, of, yearning, which by the way is a huge word in book talk right now. People are like, I want more yearning. And I’m like, this show has it in spades.
Kathleen (04:13.689)
There’s been a lot of chatter online about the texting and how another brilliance masterclass that we’re seeing that they did texting so right on this TV show. What did you notice that they did differently and what’s catching people’s attention? Cause I thought it was brilliant, but I don’t, I’m like, isn’t it the same as how it is in other episodes, like other TV shows?
Zoe (04:24.201)
Yeah.
Zoe (04:36.786)
Yeah, I mean, that might be a little superlative. I actually feel like television shows do texting well because it’s a visual thing, right? In a book, I love putting texting in the books that I write. I love reading it, but sometimes too much texting in a book can start to feel like kind of shorthand. But on a TV show where it pops up on the screen, I don’t know.
Kathleen (04:46.351)
Yeah.
Zoe (05:06.508)
I like that personally. I thought they did it really well. I can’t think of any ways that it was particularly different other than, I mean, that extended seven minutes, we use it to see the passage of time, right? And covering such, like the way that Tierney, I think I mentioned this on the last episode, the way that Tierney uses vignette and tableau,
Kathleen (05:07.865)
Yeah.
Zoe (05:34.429)
really stands out, like that’s a core part of his visual filmmaking style. And it’s a little different than like a montage, right? So a montage, everything is kind of happening in like at the same pace. We see like a bunch of different clips. Whereas what Tierney does is you’ll see like a couple of clips and then like a pause or a freeze.
like a real like a zoom in where he gets, he pulls the characters, pulls the actors, and this is full credit to the actors, he gets them to display significant emotion in a very tightly framed shot. And that, maybe that’s why the texting feels more emotional, like we’re getting more of that story. It doesn’t feel like shorthand. That’s possibly what people are reacting to.
Kathleen (06:34.629)
I’ve been seeing people comment on how like where the characters faces are and then the text. So it’s like always on the left and then the right. then near the end of the episode when there’s they’re fighting, I guess, or it’s not going, you it’s not as lovey-dovey. The texts kind of go to the other side. I don’t know. The nuances that people are picking up on. Really dissecting it all.
Zoe (06:43.06)
Clever.
Zoe (06:57.156)
I didn’t notice that. Yeah, for sure. Yeah, for sure.
Kathleen (07:06.477)
And there wouldn’t be, it wouldn’t be a texting, sexting session if there wasn’t at least one dick pic. So we at least got that. Probably the only, the only full frontal in the whole show. The whole entire show. Yeah, exactly. All right. So in this episode number two, we also get the first visit to Shane’s apartment. And as I understand it, that is significantly different than in the book, because in the book he has like a private
Zoe (07:13.348)
Yeah.
You only dick in the entire episode, in the entire show. Yeah.
Yeah.
Kathleen (07:34.917)
that he has kind of acquired.
Zoe (07:36.806)
He buys an entire building so that nobody can hear them have sex. And it is years until Ilya sees his actual home. It’s not his apartment. Like in the TV show, he says, you know, like, this is my apartment and I bought the one next to it. So that’s kind of a nod to the characterization established in the book, but it’s very different. So in the books,
Kathleen (07:40.813)
Held in.
Kathleen (07:58.308)
Yeah.
Zoe (08:06.761)
The emotional unavailability, the thing that he’s holding back is he doesn’t let Ilya into his real home until years later. Whereas in the TV show, he lets Ilya into his home, but not into his body. So they flip the intimacy. Yeah.
Kathleen (08:32.069)
So, rivalry starts with the scene of them in the con, like, is it, what’s it called, an epilogue? What’s the first prologue? It starts with like, because I did, I’ve read just the prologue and it’s like them in the middle of their relationship or like after a hookup in the private building.
Zoe (08:42.386)
Prologue.
Kathleen (08:58.105)
sort of just setting the scene of what’s, guess, what is the point of that? Like just to set the scene of what’s to come and then backtrack and start at the beginning?
Zoe (09:05.786)
Yeah, so that and now you’ve put me on the spot and I cannot remember the name of it in Latin, but basically that is a narrative device where you put the you basically are promising the reader. This is what we’re going to come back to. So because the because their story chronologically takes place starts and the TV show started years before Scott and Kip’s book.
Kathleen (09:22.82)
Got it.
Zoe (09:34.505)
Game Changer. So chronologically, you back in 2019, if you started reading the series, book one, book two, when we, you want to start chronologically after or, you know, at the same time as Game Changer, but then she goes back and we’re going to go to the very beginning and it takes place over years. Yeah.
Kathleen (09:47.863)
Right.
Kathleen (09:54.947)
that makes sense. Is the cottage in Heated Rivalry or is it in the long game? Like them going to the cottage.
Zoe (10:04.501)
now you’re asking me a question. No, that’s I think in that’s in heated rivalry. You’re asking me, it’s so funny when you read a lot of books, you’re like, I don’t know, they all blur together. Yeah, yeah. No, but that’s that I’m pretty.
Kathleen (10:14.467)
they all blur together. And you’ve been, you know, devouring, you’ve been devouring this show, right? So it’s like, what is the book and what is the show and what is the second book? So, okay, but then sticking with Shane’s apartment in Montreal, that long staircase, that’s a nod to like, there is like nods to, you know, the private condo from the book, right?
Zoe (10:21.829)
Yeah.
Yeah, exactly.
Zoe (10:39.283)
Sure. And it actually does feel very private, right?
Kathleen (10:43.481)
Very private. That is a very long staircase. I’m sure for training, he like runs up and down it, you know, his own little stair master.
Zoe (10:45.864)
Hahaha!
Zoe (10:50.057)
And I love the way that they jostle on the way up, like that they have all this like extra testosterone that comes out as rivalry and tension and chasing each other. But then as soon as they’re alone, it turns into something else, which is very special. One of the things that I wanted to say about that sex scene in the apartment was like Tierney has talked a lot about
Kathleen (10:55.044)
Yeah.
Zoe (11:20.09)
respecting the source material and not caring about being too realistic, quote unquote, in the sex scenes. Like, yep, it’s gay sex, but there’s not gonna be a whole lot of prep time, that sort of thing. But that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t care about details, right? Like, the right details, the ones that matter for the characters, like for example,
Shane having condoms because he doesn’t like mess, Ilya prepping him because he’s secretly thoughtful. rewatching it, some of those details really jumped out at me. Like, this is here, not just because it’s sex, not just because it’s smut, but this is here because it tells you something about these characters. And so it is such a great example of how romance stories are told.
through sex scenes. Sex scenes are not superfluous to them. They are a part of the narrative arc because that is a very realistic way that human beings live their lives, right? And so it’s so funny in how Tierney was like defending the need to not be realistic. He actually creates something very realistic.
Kathleen (12:29.315)
Yes, yes.
Kathleen (12:43.513)
Well said. It is storytelling.
Zoe (12:47.298)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. So good. And then, like, I remember you texted me, but I think after you watched this the first time, you’re like, wow, there’s so much consent.
Kathleen (12:58.223)
So much consent. And I love that, especially in hockey. Now again, this especially in hockey, but as someone who, as a straight woman, it’s been interesting to watch. And…
Zoe (13:02.658)
Especially in hockey.
Zoe (13:13.946)
Yeah. But you know, like even in straight romance, consent matters to a romance reader. That’s something that is talked a lot about in that book community. Tierney is very aware of that audience and he values that audience and he respects that discussion because a lot of people outside of romance are like, I mean, that’s not realistic. They’re not going to have, they’re not going to, but those lines.
matter to a romance reader because they create security and safety and it’s little nod, it’s one of the beats along the way to an H.E.A. Happy Ever After Ending.
Kathleen (13:56.687)
So Shane’s apartment, first, not first major sex scene, no, just another, another, another sex, is it?
Zoe (14:04.036)
Well, no it is!
It is the first time that they have intercourse, right? It’s the first non-blowjob sex scene. that’s actually a really, you know what, that brings up a really good point of whether or not intercourse is necessary for it to be a sex scene. And Tierney very much proves that 100 % that is not true. There’s like, blowjobs are sex, touching each other is sex. You could have a solo scene later on.
Kathleen (14:14.265)
That’s right.
Zoe (14:36.743)
in another episode, we’re going to see a solo shower scene that is 100 % a sex scene, right? And so I love, love that. But yeah, this was the first time that they were fully, completely intimate in that way. And then, because like you can’t have in a romance, you don’t get to hold on to that joy, you know, forever. It, until the end of the book, when we finally get our H.E.A.
Kathleen (14:41.389)
Right. That’s right.
Zoe (15:06.93)
you give the characters what they want, you then immediately have to take it away from them. That’s the twisting piece.
Kathleen (15:11.333)
that’s so sad.
Zoe (15:14.727)
Well, it’s exciting to watch and to read, so we go to Sochi.
Kathleen (15:17.701)
That’s right. okay. You’ve had your fun in Shade’s apartment and now ready for the heartbreak.
Zoe (15:26.596)
Ready for the heartbreak in Sochi, yeah. And so we go to the couch, so we start to set the scene. In the last episode, we talked about shooting in volume, and this scene in the cafe in Russia was the first video clip that I saw where they explained they were not in a cafe. This wasn’t filmed in a real coffee shop. This was filmed in volume in front of that big screen.
And that rewatching it, knowing that was really interesting. And we once again see Francois Arnaud as Scott Hunter, who is going to become very important in episode three. knowing, rewatching this moment, knowing that it’s how episode three starts from Scott’s point of view was very interesting. And I just, again,
Kathleen (16:20.311)
Right.
Yeah.
Zoe (16:25.509)
I spent a lot of time in the last episode talking about Tierney being a genius, but his clever planning of these shots where we’re gonna use the same scene again and again to show different characters having different reactions to the same moment, very economical. And it establishes Scott as a closeted gay man in a really
just very simple way so that when we see that again in episode three, the reader viewer is fully, like there’s no confusion, right? We’re not like needing to catch up on whose story is what. He has very, he’s given us all the information we need to stay with the characters in the moment and like immediately get their feelings.
Zoe (17:22.669)
And then there’s the other thing that I noticed in that cafe scene was, and you mentioned this last time, Shane is on a Blackberry. I didn’t notice that until you mentioned it and you did the shout out to the Blackberry movie at the end of the last episode. So I noticed on this rewatch that yeah, he is on a Blackberry, very historically accurate.
Kathleen (17:31.255)
Yeah, I love it. love it. Of course. Yeah. Yeah.
Kathleen (17:49.445)
Correct. And you also noticed what Shane was wearing, that sweet white fleece that
Zoe (17:54.201)
The Sweet White Fleece, I am halfway through my fleece. So my, like a lot of people on the internet, I have sourced a white fleece. I have added maple leaf patches to the arms. I’ve added a white ribbon around the neck. And I’m about to, this weekend, put the Canada letters on the back. Okay, I just need to step away from the episode to ask you an important question about my fleece. So on the back.
His letters are serif letters. have those little tildes on them.
Kathleen (18:26.895)
Okay.
Are you asking me about font choices for your fleece? my goodness.
Zoe (18:31.736)
Yes. I know it doesn’t matter. Do you think when you’re making a fan version, you’re shaking your head, it doesn’t matter? I don’t know.
Kathleen (18:40.973)
It doesn’t matter at all. I think you do whatever feels right to you.
Zoe (18:47.192)
See, the sans serif font would be easier to stitch on. And so I’m leaning in that. Also, I prefer a sans serif font. Anyway, okay.
Kathleen (18:51.204)
then
Kathleen (18:55.831)
I mean, if you’re asking my recommendation, I’d say Comic Sans, but I think that would be hard to… I always go with Comic Sans. Makes you look like you’re running a lemonade stand.
Zoe (19:00.373)
Okay.
Another aside about Comic Sans, this is a little comment for the writers who listen to this podcast. Did you know that if you are stuck when you’re working on something, you switch your font to Comic Sans, it will unlock your writer’s block and it makes it… Yeah, and I don’t know why, but it’s true. Sometimes when I’m stuck, if I just change the font to Comic Sans, man, the words flow.
Kathleen (19:21.999)
that’s a fun hat.
Kathleen (19:32.965)
And so you are a writer, I work in corporate environment. I’m gonna use that if I’m stuck when working on something pretty serious, a strategy or some weekly reports, I’m gonna change this to Comic Sans because it’ll take the seriousness out of everything.
Zoe (19:50.999)
Seriously, give it a try, report back. Okay, let’s get back to the episode.
Kathleen (19:53.349)
Speaking of the white fleece, want to just speak, talk on that for just a little bit. So show created by Canadians, the costume team, Canadians, and they just nailed that piece of Olympic wear. And every time we have the Olympics, again, we’re going to have Olympics in a whenever the gear is announced, they get roasted. It’s like, who designed this stuff, right? Like the memes are always incredible. Whereas this piece, the costume team made that.
Zoe (20:02.658)
Yep.
Kathleen (20:22.949)
That’s obviously it’s a custom made piece and their goal was for something they wanted to create something that actually felt wearable and cozy the idea of approachability and comfort as well as showcasing the Canadian identity and They nailed it and I think that’s why everyone’s resonating with it. It’s something that allowed The show to sort of show this quiet confidence, but ultimately cozy a very Canadian thing and that’s what we’re seeing and that’s why I think everyone’s like can we please, because I would actually wear that. I love that sweater and you’re gonna have one just in time for the Olympics when you finally make it.
Zoe (20:59.348)
Yeah, and the costume designer shared a post on Instagram showing it among other costume choices. I reposted it to our Craving Rivalry Instagram account. So if you want to find that post, I’ll put it in the show notes too, but if you want to find that post, follow us on Instagram at Craving Rivalry. I’m also posting photos of my own fleece as I go along.
Kathleen (21:08.099)
Yeah. Yeah.
Kathleen (21:26.413)
Amazing. Okay, anything else on the Olympics or should we head over to the Russian party?
Zoe (21:29.57)
Well, I just want to do a quick shout out. We’ve talked a little bit about the Ontario filming locations. all of the skating was shot in an arena in Guelph, Ontario. Shout out to Guelph, Ontario. And also, I think that there’s an echo of the not here. Remember in last episode, you said not here. So when Shane goes up.
Kathleen (21:44.277)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Kathleen (21:54.031)
Yep.
Zoe (21:57.439)
into the rafters to find Ilya, he says, not here. And it’s like, Shane’s own words are being used against him. Again, a very clever echo, which Tierney is so good at. All right, let’s move on to the gala.
Kathleen (21:59.555)
Yes.
Kathleen (22:07.023)
Gotcha.
Kathleen (22:12.645)
So we’re off to the Russian party filmed in Vaughan at a mansion in Vaughan. And Vaughan is a city that’s like North of Toronto. So yeah, big opulent houses and yeah. But talk to me about the Russian party.
Zoe (22:20.992)
Yeah.
Zoe (22:26.851)
Something that I noticed here at the gala, Ilya’s father saying that the team was missing leadership. That’s an important contrast to the speech Ilya is going to give in two more scenes once he’s back in Boston. The filming, the cinematography, the lux lighting, I believe that we were in Russia, although I also, now that you say that, I believe that we were in Vaughn, so.
Kathleen (23:01.165)
the shirt that Sasha was wearing, so that scene at the end where Sasha comes on to Ilya, Sasha is who Ilya’s first sort of private fling.
Zoe (23:13.792)
Yeah, was, yeah, he was Ilya’s first gay lover. He is the son of Sasha’s former, Sasha is the son of Ilya’s former coach. And
Kathleen (23:26.795)
And so is Sasha and Svetlana.
Zoe (23:31.13)
No, they’re just friends. think Svetlana is a fascinating character played by Ksenia Daniela Kharlamova. She is a Canadian actress who was born in Russia. So her Russian is her native tongue. So when she’s speaking Russian, she knows what she’s saying, unlike Connor, who just learned those lines phonetically and slayed it.
And Svetlana is so much her own person. Like we see her come and rescue Ilya, take him to Sasha, who she assumes Ilya would rather spend time with Sasha than with his father and her father. But Svetlana doesn’t stay with them, right? She like basically deposits him there. She’s like, here you go, have fun. And then she leaves. She’s got more important things to do. Like that’s what that…
Kathleen (24:27.499)
Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
Zoe (24:30.89)
her leaving kind of signifies that, like that she is gonna come and go from Ilya’s life, but she lives her own life. And it seems like a full vibrant life that just kind of occasionally overlaps with these men in her life, but she has her own arc that she’s on that we just don’t get to see very much of. And man, would I like to see more of that. But anyway, that’s neither here nor there. Yeah. So no, Svetlana and Sasha, I don’t think that they…
although maybe like the three of them could have a three, maybe had a threesome at some point in the past, but it doesn’t matter because now in the present, Ilya, he doesn’t want anything to do with Sasha.
Kathleen (25:12.441)
Yeah, I thought that was really powerful because, know, earlier on you said that Sasha’s, earlier on you said that Ilya is such a slut and just looking for anyone. And here he has Sasha basically saying, hey, old time sake.
Zoe (25:15.508)
Mm-hmm.
Zoe (25:22.816)
I did, yeah.
Zoe (25:27.841)
And Sasha says, danger used to get you going if memory serves. And it is interesting that that immediately follows Ilya basically saying to Shane, no, not here, because he doesn’t want like that dangerous. Also, he doesn’t want to expose Shane to that dangerous thing. There’s like, there is this very quiet ribbon of Ilya taking care of Shane through the entire show. And
Kathleen (25:31.461)
Mm-hmm.
Kathleen (25:47.214)
Yeah.
Kathleen (25:54.426)
Yeah.
Zoe (25:56.682)
he’s changed. I mean, I think that that’s, this is one of those scenes that really shows that passage of time from the start of episode one, that Ilya is no longer this kid, right, who left Russia for America for the hockey draft.
Kathleen (26:14.189)
And just before we finish up with the party, the shirt that Sasha was wearing, according to the show’s costume designer, it might’ve been the most expensive piece they used in the show. Yeah.
Zoe (26:25.19)
that’s amazing. Is it designer? Is that why? Yeah.
Kathleen (26:29.037)
Yeah, it’s just a piece that they, and it’s just interesting because arguably a throwaway, not important character, is that a pivotal moment? But again, that’s the thing with.
Zoe (26:37.908)
Right.
But he needed to look expensive and that was the right piece of, and it also speaks to how affordable they outfitted everyone else. Yeah.
Kathleen (26:43.672)
You got it.
Kathleen (26:51.245)
and did the right, but picked the right items, right? If they needed an expensive shirt, they would have used it, but you
Zoe (26:59.325)
Yeah. speaking of costumes, we have not yet talked about the logos for the hockey teams. OK, so you kind of can picture, right? So that so Scott Hunter, he plays on the New York admirals, which is a tall building that has light radiating out the top of it, which is phallic. And then the Montreal metros are
Kathleen (27:06.136)
Okay, yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Kathleen (27:13.826)
New York Admirals, yeah.
Kathleen (27:26.854)
Oh my gosh, yeah, like.
Zoe (27:28.682)
two curving ends that look like Shane. He’s the bottom, bent over, arms and legs. And then Illya plays for
Kathleen (27:34.47)
Yes, all the way on the Montreal metros there’s a flower where the butthole is.
Zoe (27:43.295)
I forgot about the flower. That’s so specific.
Zoe (27:51.719)
Yeah. And then, yeah, and then the Boston team, what’s the Boston team called?
Raiders. And it’s a canon. And it’s so funny because the show is not campy, right? Like not like choresy. they, but Tierney looks for those moments to bring a little comic levity and does it really subtly. And it’s delightful, absolutely delightful.
Zoe (28:23.295)
Okay, so the Canadians win the Olympics. That is kind of glossed over. We move past that really quickly because now we’re back in North America for the playoff finals and Shane is out of the playoffs and Ilya is in the finals for the, I think it’s called the Piston Cup, not the Stanley Cup in the show. he…
Kathleen (28:55.482)
Mm-hmm.
Kathleen (29:09.114)
The prospect, prospect cup? No.
Zoe (29:10.693)
No, no, the prospect cup is the is what they play like World Juniors. That’s when this is the piston cup. Yeah. So he is giving a leadership speech in the dressing room. So this is that echo of his father saying that he doesn’t have leadership, but he actually does. And he’s about to immediately thereafter take his team and win this cup. But it’s not a prize that his father values because his father and Svetlana’s father
Kathleen (29:17.593)
Right.
Kathleen (29:28.56)
Yeah.
Zoe (29:39.635)
they just kind of reject it as American prizes, right? So that’s very emotional. It’s a little detail. There is one line, it’s, you the podcast people or the announcers talk, you know, how we talked about before, how they use those to very effectively. The Men in the Crase podcast, they use that in the show to set up some of the hockey details rather than showing any hockey. And so,
Kathleen (29:58.084)
Yeah, the man in the crease podcast. Yes.
Zoe (30:09.084)
They say a line and it’s funny, know, with everything that they get right, it’s funny the little details that they get slightly wrong. So they said that Ilya Rozenov leads his team in blocked shots. And I know that this is really weirdly specific and I don’t care. it’s funny, I didn’t notice it the first time, but it just so happens that I am a Toronto Maple Leafs fan.
And Austen Matthews, who is kind of a similar character to Ilya Rosanov, he is he was a number one draft pick. He is a power forward, strong defensively, similar to Ilya. Austen Matthews often does lead forwards in blocked shots, but he has never led his team in blocked shots. Defensemen always lead like by a significant margin on blocked shots.
So it’s just kind of funny, it’s one of those things, but like I talked earlier in this episode, reality doesn’t matter, right? Like we say, we use lines like that to create like a clear awareness for your reader that this character is special, exemplary. And that makes the viewer feel even more special too. Okay, and then again, another tableau, another vignette, right?
So the vignette is Shane arriving at his teammates house, Hayden Pike, I think his name is. Shane arrives at Hayden’s house to watch the final game that Ilya is playing in. And so there’s a vignette showing that the team is close. We see a little bit of WEG energy with Hayden’s wife having ginger ale for Shane. And then, like everyone around Shane,
Tierney loves a group shot, right? Kind of sets the stage, kind of like last supper-ish. And then the camera zooms in, everything else fades away, and we just see Shane’s emotional roller coaster play out on his face as he realizes that Ilya has won the cup, that Ilya is a better hockey player than him, at least in this moment. That’s the man that he’s falling in love with, but also fuck him, that’s his rival.
Kathleen (32:20.836)
Yep.
Zoe (32:35.375)
and he wanted to be there. He wanted to be in those skates and he wanted to be holding the cup over his head. Which then…
Kathleen (32:43.748)
But he’s so genuinely happy for him too. You see that little smirk of a smile.
Zoe (32:48.485)
You do see that little smirk of a smile. yeah, he has to, it’s not even grudging. It is, he is genuinely happy for Ilya. He shows both of those emotions so well, so well.
Kathleen (32:57.946)
Yeah.
Yeah, that’s such a powerful scene for sure.
Zoe (33:02.927)
Yeah. Which then sends us straight into the postseason annual awards with the most awkward onstage scripted lines. It’s so good.
Kathleen (33:14.48)
But I loved it so much, especially the first time watching it, quite knowing the characters as well, and just going, wow, because Shane was clearly acting in that scene, right? We don’t see him that animated, right? Except for when the cameras are rolling. And so it was good to see that personality, because naturally that’s not his personality, right? And so they played it up so well for when the cameras are…
Zoe (33:28.837)
Yes.
Kathleen (33:44.484)
were rolling for TV, they would never have a photo together. They would never be seen. You wish you could hang out with me. know, Shane was giving it back when usually it’s Ilya, obviously, who does the giving.
Zoe (33:51.324)
I had a little giggle at somebody from the league writing these lines. Maybe they’re PR people being involved, the team being involved. Can we, someone going, can we get Ilya to ask Shane for his number? Because of course he doesn’t have his number. And the reader or the viewer feels so smart in that moment. Cause you’re like, ha, they have each other’s numbers. Jane and Lily.
Kathleen (34:02.724)
Yeah.
Zoe (34:25.185)
in their phones, they have for years, the show starts with texting those numbers. And then it has this moment, very, very funny. But then comedy immediately pivots to serious angst with them storming into that bathroom, being alone. And I didn’t realize it, but that moment where they’re on the stage and they’re texting, at that point,
they hadn’t texted for six months, right? So, yeah, so ever since the Olympics, they haven’t exchanged. So actually that comedy moment is actually really painful, right? So it’s this like, you know, having to pretend and then the yearning, right? So comedy to aggression to yearning.
Kathleen (34:58.138)
Yeah, ever since the fight at the Olympics.
Zoe (35:24.952)
in the blink of an eye, we take us on that roller coaster of the story in the bathroom. Ilya making Shane beg for a blowjob, but then he says no to. He makes Shane, who is so, he’s so clean and orderly. He makes him beg for Ilya to get down on his floors on the dirty bathroom floor.
Kathleen (35:35.234)
No, too.
Zoe (35:54.955)
Only for Ilya to go, yeah, no, no, I’m not gonna do that. You’re gonna go back and sit in your chair and think about that.
Kathleen (36:01.617)
my gosh.
Zoe (36:03.131)
It’s a lot, right? It’s so deeply intimate and it is shocking, but also we don’t get to see that level of intimacy on TV very often. That’s the kind of scene that normally a network executive would like strike their red pen through. Like, we’re not gonna, that’s not gonna make it past the censors or whatever. But Tierney fought for it and…
Kathleen (36:04.749)
It is.
Kathleen (36:16.09)
Yes.
Zoe (36:30.263)
You know, I just at New Year’s, I tweeted something like, I hope whoever greenlit this at Crave had a really good Christmas, like an amazing Christmas, because they’re an angel. whoever was fighting for it on the TV side as well, like Tierney had a very clear vision. He wanted to respect the source material. And the thing about romance novels is that it is that kind of like
Kathleen (36:40.932)
Hahaha
Zoe (36:58.329)
raw intimacy that makes romance novels so special. You can go there with two characters who can be cruel to each other, who can be rough and raw and real and a little manipulative because you know you have a trust that at the end of the book it’s going to be so soft and so vulnerable and so kind in an HEA that we can go on this roller coaster. Tierney gets that and he advocated for a scene like this.
And you know, it was perfect. Absolutely love it. And then we go to the hotel room.
Kathleen (37:33.85)
Penthouse.
Zoe (37:35.566)
The Penthouse, and The Chair Drag, which I think that after the water bottle scene, The Chair Drag is the scene that was talked about the most when it debuted. And the scene that I rewatched more than once, like even though I only watched these episodes like once, quote unquote, fully.
When it happened, I rewound and watch that again. It was very good. My husband was watched episode two with me and he had very different reaction. He was like, he thought that the texting was great at the start, although it kind of went on a little long. And then the chair drag, went, the floors. I went, that is not the point. That is not the point of this. Focus, please. The chair drag is hot. Anyway, okay, what did you think about the bathroom scene or the penthouse scene.
Kathleen (38:35.792)
Well, Ilya really cranks up the sex appeal in this episode. Standing in the corner, shirt undone, drinking the Russian vodka in control, in control.
Zoe (38:48.171)
Yet he in control and mature. And again, I think that that’s a real difference between episode one and episode two. How much time has passed? They are more grown up now. And Ilya has gone from this young buck slut to no, he wants Shane and he wants Shane in very specific ways. And he likes how much Shane responds.
Kathleen (38:52.847)
Yep.
Zoe (39:17.773)
to that control, to that power in, and it’s like kind of low key. He doesn’t like identify like a power exchange or like BDSM or something like that, but just he’s starting to get really hone in on what really works for Shane and it’s beautiful.
Kathleen (39:38.01)
This was the, that penthouse scene was the first scene they filmed of the entire series. Yep.
Zoe (39:44.525)
Really? I didn’t know that. The chemistry.
Kathleen (39:50.414)
I wonder why they would have chosen to film that first.
Zoe (39:55.866)
Yeah, that’s a great question. mean, at some point I’d love to get like a behind the scenes on all of those details. It might’ve been about like, you know, location. It might’ve been about, it could’ve been about something like needing their hair a little longer, you know? like, you know, there’s so many factors that go into this. There’s so many factors.
Kathleen (40:04.005)
Yep.
Kathleen (40:09.679)
Right.
Kathleen (40:16.134)
Right. You’re right.
Kathleen (40:23.886)
And I will say it is the scene that probably has the least amount of love. It is the love scene that has the least amount of love in it, right?
Zoe (40:32.877)
Right, yeah, this whole episode is really about their rivalry and the fact that they are carrying on this emotional affair and physical affair, secretly underlying like a very strong competitive back and forth, which is underscored with the last beat of the whole episode, which is Shane, so awkwardly getting dressed.
Well, Ilya hides in the bedroom, Shane saying, well, I’m off. And he goes, you know, see you. And then in the elevator, when he texts him, but doesn’t text him, right? Like deletes his texts. He almost sends him, see you next season. And then deletes that as if he isn’t even sure that he’s welcome to say that. And then he writes for himself,
Kathleen (41:02.448)
Yeah. Yeah.
Kathleen (41:27.887)
Right.
Zoe (41:31.35)
because he definitely is going to delete this too. We didn’t even kiss. my God. It was like, Shane is so damn bad for this guy and is so twisted up about it. And it’s so watching it again. It’s like, okay, okay, I need more, but next episode isn’t even about them. That’s okay. Next episode is amazing. But we really are in for some yearning.
for quite some time now.
Kathleen (42:03.716)
And that is how it wraps up. That’s exactly it. And the line we didn’t even kiss, like it wasn’t a text in the book, it was an internal thought. you know, back to the book, it was an internal thought. So it was, and I’ve seen the author, Rachel Reed comment on how she loved how it came across in episode two and how smart that was to show it in that way. Cause it was such a powerful line in her book, but it was an internal thought. So to have it appear like that.
Zoe (42:29.432)
And that is one important consideration when you’re adapting a romance novel to the screen. Romance novels, that kind of internal thought, we call that interiority. And interiority is very hard to make compelling on the screen. And it is like 20 % of a romance novel. So how do you do that? Tierney picked…
the most important parts and found a way to make them visual, which I think is so clever. So clever.
Kathleen (43:02.672)
So we get two episodes and we’re left with so much yearning. And if someone else is just starting to watch, if you’re in the UK and you just got your first two episodes, because I’m sure they’ll release just the first two episodes and then weekly after that, you have a delicious surprise coming with episode three. But in the meantime.
Zoe (43:06.571)
Yeah.
Zoe (43:24.319)
So three. In the meantime, if you want to read some books that have similar kinds of yearning, I have three recommendations for you. They’re all sports romance. The first one is a hockey, another hockey romance, Game Misconduct, Game Misconduct by, I get really excited when I talk about this book, by Aerie Baron. It is also a rivalry book. is two players on
opposing teams in Pennsylvania. So I don’t know if you know how the Philly Philadelphia Flyers and the Pittsburgh Penguins have a real life rivalry. So Baron took that made fictional teams, of course, and put a older enforcer and a young, a young player who is also not an enforcer, but
aggressive on the ice and they literally fight on the ice and it turns into foreplay. I’m not explaining it well. It’s just a really, really, really good book. And again, it takes place not over quite as much time as Heated Rivalry, but it stretches out over, I think, two seasons. It might only be one season. It’s been a little bit of time since I read it, but it was one of my, it was my top book of the year that I read it a few years ago.
and I highly recommend. It’s also very good in audio. The audiobook’s narrator name is Cooper North, I think, and very good narration. Game Misconduct by Ari Baran, A-R-I B-A-R-A-N, that’s how you spell that name.
Okay, the second book that I’m gonna recommend is Unwritten Rules by KD Casey, K-D, two letters, K-D. Casey. This is male-male baseball romance. both of those authors have multiple books written in their series, by the same publisher, by the way, Carina Press, as Heated Rivalry. So similar editorial direction, a very similar reading experience across all three series. And what I like about all of them is that
Zoe (45:51.22)
they take place on different teams. So my own hockey romance book, the first hockey romance series that I wrote, they’re the same players who are on the same team. That’s because I write straight romance for the most part. That is harder to do, not impossible, but harder to do when you are writing a gay romance series, right? Not that it’s unrealistic for a team to have multiple gay players, but
Kathleen (46:13.604)
Right.
Zoe (46:21.461)
it would be, I mean, it would be a different world if every single player on a team was gay. Although there are gay hockey leagues and that’s cool too. So what, generally speaking, what these books do is they, each book is on a different team, which is neat because they get to make an entire universe, right? And something that I think that’s fun about how KD Casey writes her baseball romances is they are,
It is, she does this world building thing and I talked about it in the last episode where it’s like this balance of very familiar. So it’s a recognizable world, but also better than reality and makes sense for the story. Like her world building in that baseball series hits all three of those notes perfectly. And it’s very accessible, but also you learn a lot about baseball. So.
I know this is a big tangent, but just bear with me. So again, I mentioned being a Toronto sports fan, the Blue Jays just went to the World Series recently and all the way to game seven, God, all the way to extra innings, God. And one of the things that Alejandro Kirk, who’s the Toronto Blue Jays catcher, is very good at is pitch framing. He is in fact the best pitch framer in the league. And everything I know about pitch framing,
Zoe (47:48.817)
I learned from a KD Casey romance novel. So I know that was a long walk to that anecdote, but KD Casey’s baseball books are not to be slept on. And then the last book, this is not a recommendation get because I literally just picked it up the other day from a post that I saw on Instagram. So there are a lot of gay romance book stores that are making similar, like if you read Heated Rivalry, read this.
I grabbed this book, See You at the Finish Line by Zach Hammett from one of those recs. It is his debut book. It is a rowing romance and rowers are hot. So hot. like, you know, powerful shoulders, powerful thighs. I’m in, you have me, Zach. So that is what I’m gonna be reading this week and next week.
Kathleen (48:36.112)
So hot.
Zoe (48:46.036)
See You at the Finish Line by Zach Hammett. So that’s my third recommendation book rec for this pod. Do we have any TV show recommendations for rivalry? you know what would be a good, okay, it’s not really rivalry. I don’t know. But I think that anybody who has watched Teetive Rivalry who really appreciates Canadian content should watch North of North.
Have you watched? my, you need to watch. It is so good. It is so good. It has a slow burn romance. It has a couple of slow burn romances, but it also has a secondary, I’m sorry. It has a second chance romance for two secondary characters. I stumbled over that. The main character’s mom.
Kathleen (49:16.614)
Okay, I haven’t watched it yet. I know. I know.
Zoe (49:45.736)
has a second chance romance. And I don’t wanna spoil any more than that. You have to watch it. It is so good. It is also amazing Canadian television. It is on CBC Gem in Canada. And I believe Netflix has picked it up in the States, maybe globally. And just really funny. And it is also a great example of storytelling, world building, that sometimes intentionally does something that is unrealistic because it is best for the story and also chooses options that are better than reality. So that kind of trifecta of world building, North of North, like absolutely nails it, spectacular.
Kathleen (50:35.8)
Awesome, okay, great recommendation. I do need to pick up another television show. I do need to stop watching Heated Rivalry on repeat.
Zoe (50:42.1)
Well, the nice thing about North of North is that it’s not super long. I can’t remember how many episodes are, like maybe eight, but it is definitely a good little, just a palette cleanser, very funny, wholesome, small town Canadian, but it is a little spicy, so be aware of that.
Kathleen (50:46.79)
Yeah.
Kathleen (50:59.664)
Okay. But CBC spicy, but like are still our Canadian broadcasters spicy.
Zoe (51:05.32)
Yeah, yes, yeah
Kathleen (51:07.43)
because it did run on broadcast television.
Zoe (51:10.157)
Yeah, there’s no dick pics, but you do see, like there is making out and there is like two people tumbling into a hotel room. It’s, you know, yeah, it’s just broadcast spicy.
Kathleen (51:13.028)
Okay.
Kathleen (51:21.574)
Okay.
Okay. Broadcast spicy. Fair enough. Got it. Cause I am still holding out to watch Shorzy until, until you want me to. Yeah. Happy to. Happy to. Happy to. Okay. Let’s leave it at that on episode two because we have to go make our smoothies in preparation for episode three.
Zoe (51:31.62)
Yeah, no, shorty, you need to wait until the end of this. Yeah, run. Yeah.
Zoe (51:41.554)
The blueberry smoothie. All right, we’ll see you back here after we watch episode three.
Kathleen (51:44.89)
With extra banana.