Love in the crease: Heated Rivalry Part 2

Summary

Boozy Bookgasms – "Love in the Crease: Heated Rivalry Part 2" (April 22, 2026)

Episode Overview

In this lively, laughter-filled episode, Jen, Lynn, Kim, and returning superfan cousin Miranda recap episodes 4–6 of the "Heated Rivalry" limited series – the steamy, emotionally charged hockey romance adaptation. They dissect the show’s final arcs with signature irreverence, plenty of spoilers, shameless jokes, and heartfelt critique. Expect discussions of queer representation, delicious book-to-screen upgrades, and a deep-dive into character growth, relationship dynamics, and the art of the perfect boozy book club drink.

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Cocktail of the Night: "Rivalry Reunited" (01:09)

Kim’s Rec:

• Drink features smokey mezcal, sharp grapefruit, lime juice, agave, orange bitters, and a spicy Tajin rim.
• “This one doesn't even pretend to be nice. It's smoky mezcal, sharp grapefruit, and just enough spice to let you know things are escalating. So once a rivalry crosses that line, there is no going back.” (Kim, 01:09)

Classic Boozy Bookgasms moment:

• “We know how much Jenny likes a good rim job. Rimming. So. Yeah, rim jobs are always, always popular here.” (Kim, 01:41)

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Recap & Deep Dive: Episodes 4–6

Timeline & Relationship Evolution (02:14–06:07)

• Montage of years: Charting the on-again, off-again secret relationship between NHL rivals Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov from 2014 to 2016.
  • Shane: Reserved, focused, clean living.
  • Ilya: Partying, lots of women, reluctance about hooking up with men because of dangers and gossip.
• Their hookup history stretches eight years, showing deep familiarity, not instant love.
  • “It’s not insta love. It’s trying to show that they've been hooking up and are familiar with each other for a while.” (Mandy, 03:26)
• First deep glimpses into family backgrounds – notably Ilya’s ailing father and difficult family dynamics.

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"The Tuna Melt Scene" & Intimacy Beyond Sex (05:21–08:09)

• Shane stays the night after a hookup; the famous “tuna melt in the morning” moment.
  • Symbolizes move toward real domestic comfort and brewing intimacy.
• The Ginger Ale motif: Shane’s recurring favorite drink. Ilya’s thoughtful attention to stocking his fridge with ginger ale acts as a subtle love language.
  • "It's a symbol of being taken care of and understood... the only person that has it, and it's cold and it's, like, ready for him is Ilya.” (Mandy, 07:10)
• First vulnerable "date-like" conversation after years of only sex.
  • “It’s not a hookup, this is a date. We’re spending time together, we’re getting closer.” (Kim, 08:18)

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Coming Out, Identity, and Vulnerability (09:13–14:30)

• Discussion about orientation: Ilya openly bi, Shane still closeted and in denial.
  • “The closet is glass, girl. Like, you do not–” (Mandy, 09:43)
• The first use of first names during sex—pivotal emotional leap.
  • “They have a very intense first name sexual moment and it’s so pivotal, which is what freaks Shane the fuck up.” (Lynn, 11:57)
• Shane’s subsequent panic, flight, and increasing emotional struggle.
• Shane’s parents try to set him up with women/socialize him heterosexually, causing tension.
  • “He didn't want to go…doing all of this because that's what they wanted him to do.” (Kim, 14:30)

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The Rose Arc and Media Facade (15:16–18:19)

• Shane pseudo-dates actress Rose to "prove" his straightness (to himself/society).
• Media launches them as an A-list couple—rival Illya’s jealousy surges.
  • “He hits his foot on the thing and curses and I stub my toe because he's just so sad.” (Lynn, 17:12)
• Both unable to focus during rivalry game, overwhelmed by suppressed feelings.

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Club and Breakup Scenes (18:33–24:24)

• Tense dance club confrontation: Ilya and Shane both act out jealousy and heartbreak.
• Rose gently confronts Shane about his inability to perform sexually, prompting open conversation and his first real admission:
  • “Have you been with another man?” “Yes.” (Lynn & Mandy, 23:12)
  • “She was a class act…she handled it so beautifully.” (Kim, 23:25)
• Rose offers unwavering support (“Let’s be friends…you won’t get away from me now.” (Lynn, 24:49)), becoming Shane’s first real confidante.

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The All-Star Game and Growing Intimacy (25:01–28:20)

• Shane and Ilya team up for East v. West All-Star game, "practically kissing on the rink"—a pivotal, public connection.
• Intimacy deepens—less sex, more emotion and trust.
  • “The relationship becomes deeper... focus on the fact that this is happening.” (Mandy, 26:40)
  • “Now we're doing emotion without sex. Yeah, we flipped it.” (Jen, 26:59)

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Barriers: Russia, Family, and Loss (28:20–32:06)

• Ilya forced to hide relationship, tied to Russian family/culture and his fraught relationship with his father and brother.
• His father's death brings raw vulnerability:
  • “Ilya is like, my dad just died. He's not cold in the ground. Can you give me a minute?” (Lynn, 29:50)
  • Svetlana, his lifelong friend, acknowledges his love for Shane; gently releases him.
• Heartwrenching FaceTime from Russia:
  • Notable moment: Shane, despite not understanding Russian, offers to listen so Ilya can speak freely (31:09–32:45)
    • “Would it be better if you just spoke in Russian? I won’t understand you, but maybe it’ll make you feel better.”
    • Viewers get subtitles, delivering emotional closure for Ilya and viewers alike.

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Injury, Support, and Coming Clean (33:01–51:22)

• On-ice trauma: Shane is badly injured during a game. Ilya, ridden with guilt, contemplates breaking up to protect them both.
• Shane invites Ilya to "the cottage"—their future, potentially, together.
• Family support: Shane’s parents see them together accidentally; coming out scene is honest, awkward, and ultimately loving.
  • “You have nothing to apologize for…I feel bad that you didn't feel like you could tell me.” (Lynn, 49:30)
  • Mom more upset about the idea of leaving Boston than his being gay—a moment of affectionate comic relief.
• Dinner scene underscores family acceptance: “You’re with your family who loves you and your boyfriend...” (Lynn, 50:23)

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The Cottage & Hopeful Future (38:32–51:22)

• Summer together at the glass-walled lakeside cottage—metaphor for being finally seen and safe.

• Playfulness, vulnerability, and true domestic intimacy.

• Miranda’s “hair theory”: Changes in Ilya’s hair reflect his authenticity (relaxed curls = comfort & vulnerability).

  • “If you think of the emotional vulnerability that Ilia has, it directly correlates with how his hair is styled… I'm not wrong.” (Mandy, 42:10)

• Dreams for the future: Creating a charity for mental health and youth hockey in memory of Ilya’s mother.

  • “She would have loved you the way I love you.” (Jen, 46:27)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “I hope I don't even see you in the afterlife.” (Mandy, 00:06) – setting the episode’s irreverent tone
• “You want a ginger ale? Or, you know, whatever.” (Kim, 06:51) – the love language motif
• “Post nut clarity.” (Mandy, 12:14) – laughter erupts at this turn of phrase
• “The closet is glass, girl.” (Mandy, 09:43) – incisive truth about Shane’s denial
• “Don’t do it. Be with me.” (Jen & Mandy, 44:17) – Shane’s heartfelt plea as Ilya considers a beard marriage
• “I feel bad that you didn't feel like you could tell me.” (Lynn, 49:30) – a touching acceptance moment
• “How are your ribs?” “They hurt.” “She's a hockey psycho and she knows all of these things.” (34:56) – fun mom character beat

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Final Ratings & Spice Index (52:01–53:58)

Show Overall:

• Mandy: 4/5
• Kim: 4/5
• Lynn: 4/5
• Jen: "Four and a half because of the production value."

Spice Level:

• Mandy: 4/5
• Kim: 3/5 ("Dropped in the second half.")
• Lynn: 3–3.5/5
• Jen: 3.5/5

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Book vs. Show

• Near universal agreement that the series adaptation outshined the book, especially in its nuanced depiction of emotion, representation, and the addition of scenes like the Russian monologue and deeper context.
  • “Jacob Tierney respects the story and he builds upon it… Jacob understood the story.” (Mandy, 52:52)

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Looking Ahead

• Speculation and excitement for season two focusing on "the long game" – more about Illya’s trauma, homophobia in hockey, and (hopefully) deeper exploration of Shane’s backstory.

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Closing Thoughts

This episode is a vibrant, thoughtful, and deeply affectionate dissection of "Heated Rivalry’s" richest emotional beats, steamy highs, and narrative innovations. The Boozy Bookgasms crew and Miranda provide both irreverent commentary and critical appreciation, celebrating queer love, authentic relationships, and the power of a romantic sports drama done right.

Memorable Send-off:
"Happy reading!"
— Kim & Lynn (55:36)

Transcript

[Mandy]

Part of it too was me talking about dating the loser man who can't swim. No. And mind you, he's texting me, like, do you still want to see each other this weekend? Like, am I going to see you, brother? I hope I don't even see you in the afterlife. Like, oh, my God.

[Narrator]

Buckle up, literature fans. We're in for some boozy book gasms today. Join three cousins creating a titillating headspace where steamy romance novels collide with strong cocktails. So sit back, sip slow, and enjoy the ride.

[Lynn]

Welcome back for another episode of Boozy Bookgasms. I'm Lynn.

[Jen]

I'm Jen.

[Kim]

And I'm Kim.

[Lynn]

We still have our special guest Miranda here with us. Another cousin. We're so glad she's back. For the second episode of Heated Rivalry, we are recapping the show, the six episode series. Miranda is a super fan and has been keeping us up to speed. Feed on all of the lore. It's a lot of full long looks, rivalries, affairs, and a sweet ending or two or three or four.

[Kim]

A lot of ending.

[Lynn]

But before we get going, Kim, what are we drinking tonight?

[Kim]

Today's cocktail is called Rivalry Reunited. Unlike our last episode's drink, which was kind of sweet, little deceptive, this one doesn't even pretend to be nice. It's smoky mezcal, sharp grapefruit, and just enough spice to let you know things are escalating. So once a rivalry crosses that line, there is no going back. Mezcal, grapefruit, lime juice, agave, orange bitters. And then, you know, we've been using Tajin a lot lately in our drinks.

[Mandy]

I love it.

[Kim]

We know how much Jenny likes a good rim job. Rimming. So. Yeah, rim jobs are always, always popular Here. We'll rim this one with some Tajin for you. Yummy.

[Lynn]

Thank you.

[Mandy]

I love mezcal. Tasty.

[Lynn]

So we are recapping episodes four through six. We finished episodes one through three in the last one. So if you didn't listen to that episode, please go back because we will have tons of spoilers. So we open up episode four. The first little bit of this episode is a cascade of years.

[Mandy]

Like a montage.

[Lynn]

Yeah.

[Mandy]

And a good one at that.

[Lynn]

It's really good one. So they're playing in 2014 in between seasons, kind of running, texting each other. They're very different. In between season attitudes. Hollander is working out, he's doing promo deals, quiet nights at home. Rosanoff is partying in clubs with his friends Fetlana. And then we go into the next season where they're the whole time, then we move on. One of them wins the Stanley cup. Watching each other on TV. Now we're in the summer of 2015, both of them working out. Rosenoff still partying and fucking his life away.

[Jen]

And Miranda told us in the last book he was sleeping with a lot of women.

[Lynn]

He's a fuck boy.

[Mandy]

Yeah. I think they try to do the catch up of like he's partying. He's still doing that.

[Kim]

But he's not sleeping with men, he's only sleeping with women.

[Mandy]

He's. He dabbles. It's unclear in the book he dabbles but the men, it's less safe because it's like, oh, what if they blab

[Lynn]

because he can't be gay?

[Mandy]

So it's few and far between but like, yeah, he dabbles. He goes back and forth. Mostly women, though their lives are hyperspeed

[Lynn]

but they're still keeping track of each other. So then there's the next season, there's more sex. Just little snippets of them kind of getting together.

[Mandy]

Honestly, I feel like trying to build. They've been hooking up for years so it's like they're more familiar with each other and more comfortable.

[Kim]

It's not insta love.

[Mandy]

Yes. Like it's trying to show that they've been hooking up and are familiar with each other for a while.

[Lynn]

And I think that that's where I struggle with episode one and two was it just felt somewhat transactional and not really a relationship. So I guess this is meant to help us get to that, see how

[Mandy]

long term it's gone.

[Lynn]

So Hollander wins his second Stanley Cup. Rozanoff is still watching. Lots of banter via text and we get a glimpse of Rosenoff's dad. So during one of the summer breaks, Rosen off is back in Russia. He's with his dad. There's medicine bottles. He's like trying to take care of him. So we know that that's going to come back up. They hinted at the fact that the dad was a bit sick in the the series. We start the episode really in October 2016. So you'll remember these guys met in 2008. So it's been eight years of this sort of on again, off again romance between them. Hayden is one of Shane's friends and plays hockey with him. And what I didn't realize in the first half of the series was they share a room a lot, I guess when they're on the road.

[Mandy]

Yeah, that's his Best friend on the team.

[Jen]

That's very common for athletic teams.

[Mandy]

You have a room.

[Jen]

You're usually a rookie. Will room with a more senior member of the team.

[Mandy]

If you read the first book of Scott and Kip, Scott kind of touches on the only person who really gets their own room is, like, the team captain.

[Lynn]

Everybody else shares shares.

[Mandy]

Okay. When they're traveling.

[Lynn]

That was definitely interesting to me. But Hayden tries to set up Hollander

[Mandy]

on a date at the aquarium.

[Jen]

He had all these kids. How many kids did this guy have? They were hanging off him.

[Kim]

Four or five. Yeah.

[Lynn]

His, like, wife was pregnant with her. Four.

[Mandy]

Another running joke is that they have, like, a thousand kids.

[Lynn]

So he tries to set up Hollander on a. A date, and he kind of acquiesces just to sort of get him out of his hair. Back in Boston, Rosenoff is watching Hollander on tv, promoting his new cabin on the lake, or cottage. In Canada, they call them cottages. And he's doing some sort of like 2020 or something, like. And they're doing this B roll with him doing yoga in front of his cabin on the lake. And Hollander goes to Rosenoff's. They're there for a game.

[Mandy]

The tuna melt scene.

[Lynn]

Yes. Hollander walks into the house, and it's kind of like, wow. And he's like, should we talk? And Rosenhoff's like, no, after. And then they have a lot of sex after. After the sex.

[Mandy]

Right? Right.

[Lynn]

Rozanov asks Shane to stay the night. Do you have anywhere to be tomorrow? We don't play till the afternoon. And he says, no, I don't have anywhere to be. And he's like, great, Just stay here. So they do wake up. He is in the kitchen. He's like, hey, would you like a tuna melt? And he's like, a tuna melt? He's like, well, I'm making one for me. I can make two. And he's like, sure.

[Mandy]

He's trying to be all nonchalant, and he's. He just wants to cook his man, I guess.

[Lynn]

He goes to make the tuna melt, then we're on the couch.

[Mandy]

Don't skip over the ginger ale.

[Lynn]

Oh, he does ginger ale.

[Mandy]

The ginger ale of it all is huge.

[Lynn]

Is it? It became a thing, but I couldn't figure out why it was so huge.

[Mandy]

Clock this. Clock this. The whole series, every time that Shane is at a restaurant with his friends, he always asks for a ginger ale. In the last scene where he's at lunch with his family, he asks for a ginger ale. And the waiter says, no, we don't have that. We only have sparkling water. And he's like, okay, that's fine.

[Kim]

That's right. He's like, okay, fine.

[Mandy]

It's a symbol of being taken care of and understood. And I know people are gonna be like, you're reaching. I'm not. It's literally confident.

[Kim]

I'm not reaching.

[Mandy]

Hayden makes a comment about it too, because Hayden's like, oh, if you want my wife to keep stocking our fridge with ginger ale, that's Shane's thing. Because he doesn't drink. Because he's very, like, ocd the diet. Ilia having ginger ale. Knowing, like, he had to stock his fridge with ginger ale because he knows that that's what Shane drinks.

[Kim]

But he tried to play it off there. He's like, you want a ginger ale? Or, you know, whatever.

[Lynn]

Yes.

[Mandy]

Like, he was like, oh, like, I have it in my fridge. Like, it's whatever. And him being like, oh, is it cold enough? He's taking care of his man, but he's trying to be nonchalant.

[Jen]

I totally miss that. That is so sweet.

[Mandy]

It's very cute.

[Kim]

Believable, Jen.

[Mandy]

Unbelievable.

[Kim]

Pay attention.

[Mandy]

There are multiple times where Shane will ask for a ginger ale and people don't have it. And the only person that has it and it's cold and it's, like, ready for him is Ilya.

[Jen]

Oh, I just got chills.

[Kim]

Heart flutter. I know.

[Mandy]

Because he's taking care of his man well. And in the book, it's from Shane's pov. Ilia's favorite drink is a Coca Cola, and Shane has the recognition of Ilya knows my favorite drink. And then he was like, well, I guess I know Ilya's favorite drink. Ilya likes Coca Cola. I guess we know more about each other than I thought.

[Kim]

We're paying attention.

[Mandy]

Once again, it's kind of building that, like, this is more than sex. As a reader, like a viewer, you can start to clock. Oh, yeah, you're trying to be nonchalant about this, but it's very shalom.

[Kim]

Oh, thank. That's right. But yes.

[Lynn]

I'm still confused why they made tuna melts in the morning.

[Mandy]

It's in the book. Everyone is horrified by the tuna.

[Kim]

It's, like, so gross.

[Mandy]

Heavy breathing into each other's tuna breath. Yeah.

[Kim]

I just love the.

[Lynn]

No. They are on the couch. They start to talk about each other's lives. For me, this was like, first date

[Mandy]

talk, small talk, and they've never had this before in eight years.

[Jen]

It's a little awkward.

[Lynn]

It's Awkward because they are literally asking first date content.

[Kim]

This is not a hookup, this is a date. We're spending time together, we're getting to know each other, we're getting closer.

[Mandy]

It's taking sex out of the equation. And then it's like, okay, what is there now that there's no sex?

[Kim]

What do we talk about? Not tuna melt.

[Lynn]

Romanoff gets a call from his dad and so he excuses himself, is talking in Russian so Shane can't understand what he's saying, but he's obviously very frustrated. We get the closed captions, more insight

[Mandy]

into the dementia, like how far it's

[Lynn]

progressed and that no one's there taking care of him. Ilya feels badly that he's not there to help. And also, I'm paying all this money for you to be taken care of and, like, you're not being taken care of.

[Kim]

Guilt.

[Jen]

He sends the brother a lot of money and the brother has a coke

[Lynn]

habit and parties and is just generally awful. In the first part of the series too, we see some interactions between him and his brother where his brother father's out partying, asking for more money, throwing

[Jen]

the fact that he's got a kid in his face and you make all

[Mandy]

this money and, oh, you're so rich and famous, you can't share it with your family.

[Lynn]

It's a lot of that.

[Mandy]

Before the conversation with his dad, Ilya brings up, do you like girls? There's lots of pretty girls in the cities that we go to. And Shane's like, oh, yeah, I guess. And you can see in his face, he's like, why the fuck is he asking me about girls? I don't like girls. That's when you learn, oh, Ilya is bi. Ilia and Shane are not the same in the sense that Ilia does like both. And he admits to Shane and is very open of, yeah, I like both. Shane gets clammy of, oh, yeah, I like girls. And you're like, the closet is glass, girl. Like, you do not.

[Lynn]

I think he is still really struggling.

[Jen]

He's not super sure.

[Kim]

I got. I know I'm gay, but I can't be gay because it's not the right thing to be. He knows he's gay.

[Lynn]

I don't think he does yet.

[Mandy]

I think he knows he's gay and I think Ilia offers that olive branch of like, well, I like both.

[Lynn]

I think that he isn't very sure yet and maybe he's questioning, like, maybe I could go both ways. And maybe that's what opens him up to his Next relationship. Rosenoff comes back from his call with his dad and he's obviously feeling a bit vulnerable and Shane cuddles him. And this is a very vulnerable moment for them where they're finally getting past the fuck buddy relationship. You know, really cuddles him. But then Shane mounts him and great couch sex scene with some jacking off. I think at some point the tuna melts come out.

[Jen]

Tuna melts come out.

[Mandy]

There was a big discourse of like, what are they doing? Because in the book they are fucking. It's not like a jerking off situation. And then in the show people are like, I think it's frocking. Starts with an F. Frogging.

[Kim]

That's weird.

[Jen]

They put the penises together and then you jack them both off at the same time.

[Mandy]

Yes. You like touch tips, basically. And a lot of women were getting their eyes opened.

[Kim]

I have questions.

[Jen]

Raise your hand.

[Kim]

I don't understand. I need a visual.

[Lynn]

He was jacking both of their penises off at the same time.

[Mandy]

That's what it is. It's rocking.

[Lynn]

I think someone Google that.

[Mandy]

Someone's going to correct me and I'm fine with that.

[Jen]

What's your question, Kim?

[Kim]

Just trying to visually figure out how

[Mandy]

that works with the single ounce of spit.

[Lynn]

I bet there's some free cum in there somewhere.

[Kim]

And is there any safe sex in this story at all?

[Jen]

Yes, in the book there is.

[Mandy]

They always use condoms. In the first scene that they have sex, he pulls out the condoms from the drawer and that's when Ilya is like, oh, do you have enough?

[Kim]

I do remember that part.

[Mandy]

They fuck with condoms.

[Kim]

That's the only time though.

[Mandy]

Okay? Yes, But I feel like that's like them saying they use condoms.

[Lynn]

It's like implied.

[Mandy]

The only other sex is all like montage Y.

[Kim]

True.

[Jen]

Every scene in the book they use a condom. She's very specific about that.

[Kim]

Makes me feel better. Thank you.

[Mandy]

No disease spreading, guys. We're good.

[Kim]

I appreciate that.

[Jen]

Is that your only question?

[Kim]

That was my only question. Thank you for asking.

[Lynn]

The most interesting part about this scene on the couch with the dual dick jack off is they use each other's first names for the first time.

[Mandy]

Oh, yes, it is the first time.

[Lynn]

They have a very intense first name

[Mandy]

sexual moment and it's so pivotal, which

[Lynn]

is what freaks Shane the fuck up. He really starts freaking out after Ilya says it.

[Mandy]

You can see the bliss on Ilia's face being like, oh, I'm in love with him. This like post nut clarity.

[Kim]

Did you say post nut? I just want to Clarify.

[Mandy]

Yes, I did.

[Kim]

I'm stealing that post nut we'll suss that nug later.

[Mandy]

He's, like, blissed out.

[Lynn]

So intense.

[Mandy]

Him admitting Shane's name is him admitting, I'm in love with you. And then Shane says, ilya. And then immediately is the opposite reaction. Shane's immediate reaction is, oh, oh, no, no, no, no, no. This is too serious.

[Lynn]

Oh, my God, I might be in love with him and I have to leave.

[Mandy]

And us.

[Lynn]

When Shane starts freaking out, is rose off, becomes kind of a dick, Just, like, puts up a wall. He's so confused by the whole situation

[Mandy]

because he was vulnerable.

[Lynn]

He just says, okay, and, like, lets Shane walk out. And it was actually quite heartbreaking.

[Jen]

Oh, his face was like, what is happening?

[Lynn]

Miserable.

[Mandy]

It was the way he's like, Shane. He says it twice. And the second one is like, don't do this. The first one is like, hey, calm down. Don't go. And the second one is like, you know what's happening. Don't go. Oh, my God. It, like, literally was like.

[Lynn]

It was heartbreaking. Breaking.

[Mandy]

Oh, I had to pause.

[Lynn]

So Shane does rush out. Next scene, he's at lunch with his parents, talking about his promo deals and his career. And the mom is talking to him about Rolex, wants to have him in the Wimbledon box. There's going to be a Swedish princess there. And I kind of thought, they're probing. They're trying to figure out what's going on with their son.

[Kim]

Yeah, they're trying to figure it out. I also got the same vibe, Lyn,

[Lynn]

because he's not with anyone. Like, wouldn't you want to be excited about a Swedish princess? And he's like, like, no, I don't want to talk about this.

[Mandy]

I appreciate his mom and dad dynamic. Shane's mom is like, momager mode. His dad is always checking in on him.

[Lynn]

How you doing?

[Kim]

Always testing the waters. Yeah. What's going on?

[Lynn]

Shane finally just says, no, I only have so much time in the summer to take a break. I don't want to spend a week in Wimbledon. And the parents are like, but it'll be so great. And he's like, then you go. And they're like, well, we can't go without you.

[Jen]

That was a little icky.

[Kim]

I didn't like that. Was I the only one?

[Jen]

We need to force you to go because we want this vacation.

[Kim]

That's what it felt like.

[Mandy]

Oh, I didn't get that vibe at all.

[Jen]

Oh, I totally did.

[Lynn]

You could have gotten that vibe.

[Jen]

I would never do that to my Kid. I mean, we'll see.

[Mandy]

The dad obviously rounds out the conversation of if you want to go. I think it would be fun.

[Lynn]

Shane says, let's talk about it. It could be fun. And he acquiesces.

[Mandy]

Yeah, he just kind of concedes to me.

[Jen]

That was sad because, like, he didn't want to go.

[Kim]

You know what? I felt the same way. I felt like it was forced upon him and he was doing all of this because that's what they wanted him to do.

[Lynn]

Cut scene. He's at home at night by himself, which is par usual. Like he's a kind of a homebody. He gets called up by one of his player friends and says, hey, I'm at this cool party. Our chef friend at this restaurant throwing this after hours thing. All the actors and actresses from the show that's being filmed in Montreal are going to be here. Our squad, you must come. Yeah, Very X Men ish. He gets convinced to go and flirts with the bartender. He orders ginger ale and the bartender goes, we do have it it.

[Mandy]

But he makes him feel weird about it and Ilya would never.

[Lynn]

And he's like, fine, I'll take a beer. So he drinks a beer. Probably just because he's sad about the Ilia thing.

[Jen]

He also got peer pressured.

[Lynn]

He ends up in the booth with this actress named Rose.

[Mandy]

I think he's like trying to escape. He just kind of sits and then he's like, oh, someone else is sitting here. She was eating fries because she's so different and quirky. She's so quirky. She's eating fries.

[Kim]

I loved her.

[Lynn]

I liked her too.

[Kim]

Stop hating on her, Miranda.

[Mandy]

I'm not hating. I think she's like kind of cringe, but I think it's just the time.

[Jen]

It was refreshing to see an actress eating French fries.

[Lynn]

Right?

[Mandy]

See the. I think that's why it's like she's so different. I'm like, girl, it's not that whimsical.

[Jen]

I liked her.

[Kim]

I'm an actress eating fries in a public place by myself, enjoying the fudge out of these fries, but I can't eat them all. So why don't I share with this average Joe who's pretending to be straight average Joe. That's what happened.

[Mandy]

Why don't I share with this hot ass man that I want to. No one can blame her the entire

[Jen]

story arc with her. She was amazing.

[Mandy]

I like her a lot and I think she is the perfect friend. Like he, he needed her.

[Lynn]

Oh, 100%. So they end up playing poker with all the friends at the bar. And she puts her hand on his leg, and he puts his hand on her leg.

[Mandy]

He flirts with her first because he makes the comment when they're in the booth of like, oh, you know who I am?

[Lynn]

Oh, they have a total cute banter and they end up talking for hours.

[Mandy]

And then he makes the comment, are you gonna to be in town for a while? Wait, I kind of like her. This could be the girl. This could be the girl that I finally date.

[Lynn]

This is how I can prove that I'm not gay, is I could be with this woman. So now they're in a relationship, right? We're fast forwarding. The media catches it and the media picks up on it, right? And we're very much hockey player, actress, hard launch. And Rosenoff's in the locker room and his. All his teammates are like, oh, my gosh, have you seen it? Hollanders with this rose actress finding out that he is now dating a woman. He's fraught. He gets off the bike, butt hurt and jealous.

[Mandy]

That is his man.

[Lynn]

He hits his foot on the thing and curses and I stub my toe because he's just so sad. But it's all over the place and

[Mandy]

we've all been there, girl.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Lynn]

And then she goes to the games, gets tons of press, everybody's looking at her, wears this jersey and she is like a huge super fan.

[Mandy]

Don't piss me off.

[Jen]

The Taylor Swift of it all.

[Mandy]

Yeah, they are the A list list

[Lynn]

couple and they're everywhere.

[Mandy]

Everybody's obsessed with them. The fans, the media, all of it.

[Lynn]

Yeah, and he's a darling, right? I mean, he's been popular, won two cups already. The captain, he's the golden boy. So they're still dating, but Montreal and Boston, the two teams that Shane Ilia play for, play against each other. All you hear is the talking heads who are like, where the hell were they? They didn't show up to the game because each of them are so in their heads about each other that they can't show up on the. The actual ring.

[Kim]

It's like going to a dance and seeing your ex there now you're like, fuck him. I'm going to dance better. I'm going to look better, I'm going to do.

[Mandy]

Yeah, my girlfriend's in the stands with my jersey on.

[Lynn]

Well, I don't think that Shane felt that way.

[Mandy]

I think Shane was proving it to himself, not to Ilia.

[Lynn]

And Ilia was so hurt then he was like mad.

[Mandy]

He's jealous. That's his man.

[Lynn]

So Rose had texted Shane before the game and said, I can't be there, but come meet me after. So he goes, which he typically doesn't do. Shows up at this club, once again,

[Mandy]

not being himself, drinking, partying, that is not.

[Lynn]

Shane orders a beer and she says, I won't make you dance. But of course, as soon as he shows up, she's like, dance with me, dance with me. And he doesn't obviously want to do that, but he does. And Ilya shows up at the club and sees him with Rose.

[Mandy]

Oh, my God, girl.

[Jen]

He, like, is twitchy and he's in this room with his roommate, and he's like, I gotta get laid. Call the boys, we going out. And of course, they end at the same place.

[Mandy]

Place, of course, if y' all want to know some, like, background info, because we know I'm, like, actually crazy and not normal about this show at all. The actor who plays that roommate, he's also the one who showed Ilya, like, look who Shane's dating. It's the same person that's a trans actor. And so, like, inclusivity. Yeah, that's cool.

[Jen]

How do you find this stuff out?

[Mandy]

Because I'm crazy.

[Jen]

She has watched every single thing about this show ever.

[Kim]

That's funny.

[Lynn]

So they're at the club, he's dancing, and Ilya sees him there, grabs a blonde, starts dancing with Ilya, sees Rose's

[Mandy]

friend first, and that's how Ilya knows, because you see him clock the friend first, and you can tell in his brain, he's like, shane is here. If that friend is here, Rose is here. And if Rose is here, Shane is here. And then he starts scanning and then comes to Shane, because Shane sees Ilya's friend on his team, and he sees him. And then he goes, oh, fuck, Ilya's here. And he starts scanning. Oh, my God, girl. This scene is so. It's so important to me. Like, I cannot.

[Lynn]

Ilia's been the hard ass the whole time. Now he's the vulnerable one, and it's so hard to watch. But he grabs the blonde, very Ilia style. Starts basically making out with her on

[Mandy]

the dance floor, sucking on her ear. You slut.

[Jen]

I wouldn't turn that away. He's hot.

[Lynn]

But Shane's. He's dancing with Rose. And this is the weird part, right? Like, the gay best friend of Rose comes up and starts dancing behind her

[Kim]

because the gay best friend has already clocked. The fast fact that he's gay. And this is fascinating to me, does

[Mandy]

not happen in the book.

[Kim]

But I've always wondered about this.

[Jen]

It was interesting.

[Kim]

Is there a vibe? Is there some essence that you give off?

[Mandy]

I'm sure there's a vibe.

[Kim]

There's got to be something there where you spot your people, you know, your people. Yeah, I know that girl's a. We are gonna be friends. That kind of thing.

[Mandy]

In the book, when they're all sitting at that booth, the friend is flirting with Shane, and Shane clocks it. Shane is like. Like, oh, I'm getting uncomfortable because her friend is flirting with me. And they go dance to get away from him. It bothers me because I was like, that doesn't make sense for Shane's story. This is the only thing that I do not agree with in the show is Shane would never do that. If the friend was dancing on him, Shane would have freaked the fudge out.

[Kim]

And I thought that was so weird that he didn't even.

[Lynn]

Shane was uncomfortable and he walked away very quickly. But they didn't make as big a deal about that in the book.

[Mandy]

He's, like, panicking where he's like, oh, her friend is flirting with me. I don't know what to do about this. And then they go dance by themselves because he's like, I don't want to be around this friend.

[Kim]

Can we talk about what a shitty friend this is? That you're out on the dance floor with your date and he's all up on him, behind him.

[Mandy]

I would literally be like, you're trying to fuck my boyfriend. And he was obviously, yeah, I'd be pissed.

[Kim]

I didn't like it.

[Lynn]

So Ilya's dancing with the blonde. Shane sees him. He walks away from Rose and the friend and stares at Ilia dancing with this blonde. But then you get snapshots of later in the night with Shane with Rose in his apartment with her taking her clothes off and walking up the stairs, and him being very torn about following her up the stairs.

[Kim]

Do I go? Do I stay?

[Lynn]

And he finally goes up the stairs and starts fucking Rose. And you cut to Ilya on his own in the shower, jacking off, thinking about Shane did not go home with the blonde all by himself. Cut scene, end of episode four. And that was crazy. So we cut to episode five, and she's getting ready to leave his house. And he apologizes he couldn't perform. He couldn't perform. And she's like, it's totally fine, but maybe you just. You and me get together for dinner later this week, okay?

[Mandy]

He's like, yeah, I know what you are.

[Lynn]

You get the sense that this is not the first time that this has happened.

[Kim]

I have never been in this situation where a man cannot perform, but I felt like she handled it very well.

[Lynn]

Oh, so well.

[Mandy]

Subtle flex from Kim. She's like, every man always wants to fuck me.

[Kim]

What do you do? Are you like, okay, so this isn't happening. Let's watch a movie.

[Mandy]

It's awkward for everybody, but she's like, maybe it was just a weird night.

[Lynn]

Yeah. She's not ready to totally out him, but she wants to be sure.

[Mandy]

She's like, I think we have a great time together, but the sex is not clicking. Are you gay?

[Kim]

She was so beautiful about it with him.

[Lynn]

And she basically says, this is okay. And. And she asks, have you been with another man? And he says, yes. He outs himself.

[Mandy]

She says, is it better he not?

[Lynn]

Yes, it is better.

[Jen]

She was a class act. And this is why when Mandy. When you were trying to dog her a little, and I was like, I can't. She was too classy.

[Lynn]

She was awesome.

[Kim]

And then acted like his bestie.

[Lynn]

She said, we're gonna be best friends.

[Kim]

I want to hear all about it. You're gonna call me. You're gonna let me know. It's just like, oh, it was so sweet the way she handled it.

[Lynn]

She said, 70% of my boyfriends have been gay. And he's like, why?

[Mandy]

She's a theater girl.

[Jen]

It's 70%.

[Mandy]

He has flashbacks while she's having that conversation with him. She's like, oh, have you been with a man before?

[Lynn]

Only thinking about Ilia.

[Mandy]

Showing scenes to the viewer of him and Ilia. It's different footage. You feel like you're in his memory. It's the same scene, but it's a different cut of the scene.

[Lynn]

Like, his point of view.

[Mandy]

Now you're feeling like you're in his memories of these flashbacks. Oh, my God. Hudson Williams, the man that you are, the actor that you are, like, he is such a perfect Shane. Shane is so inside of himself.

[Lynn]

Yeah, he's very insular.

[Mandy]

He doesn't have a lot of dialogue. All of his stuff is so internal. And I feel like Hudson Williams does such a great job of showing that in Shane. And this scene is such an indicator of that. You can see all of it on his face. I'm like, where is his Oscar? Where is his Emmy? Like, oh, my God.

[Lynn]

So their dinner is. Is very supportive and obviously very pivotal for Shane.

[Mandy]

Love rose down.

[Lynn]

He realizes that he is probably just gay. They leave the restaurant, and she says, if you need somebody to talk to. I'm here for you. Let's be friends. And he's like, really? And she's like, yes, like best friends. You won't get away from me now.

[Jen]

She could not have done that better.

[Mandy]

And he needed that because Ilya has Svetlana and Shane had nobody.

[Lynn]

Very lonely. So now Shane's single again. They have the east versus the West. The All Star game because it's Montreal and Boston. And then Scott Hunter gets a little nod here. Who's in New York, are all on the east coast team playing the west coast team. So they get to play together for the very first time. So they meet in the bar. Poor Shane has hired a stylist. So he has different clothes on. Ilya's kind of making fun of him, but they sit there and kind of start to be friends.

[Jen]

He was so vulnerable.

[Mandy]

Ilya was so guarded. He didn't know that him and Rose had broken up yet. So he's probing. And poor Shane, who's awkward already, where Ilya's like, did you come with anyone?

[Lynn]

And he says, my family is not here. But he doesn't say Rose, because Ilya is probing.

[Mandy]

Did you bring your girlfriend? And he does it like three separate times alone.

[Kim]

Can we meet up?

[Mandy]

It's going right over his head.

[Kim]

Where's Rose?

[Jen]

Did you bring Rose?

[Kim]

Where's Rose?

[Lynn]

Finally gets there, there. So they're playing together and there's a couple of really cute hockey scenes where they're, like, on the same side. They're working really well together. Like, they practically kiss on the ring because, like, they made it goal. It was really, really adorable. They are at the pool at the same time. Shane watches Ilia play with these kids in the pool and, like, falling deeper in love. And they end up together on the beach.

[Mandy]

Oh, the beach.

[Lynn]

Their hands are right next to each other.

[Jen]

The sunset.

[Lynn]

There's a room number switch.

[Mandy]

Well, and mind you, in this episode, there has been little to no sex, right?

[Lynn]

This is just their relationship.

[Mandy]

And I remember watching it and being like. Like, okay, when are they gonna fuck? Not to, like, sound like a freak.

[Kim]

I mean, a little bit, but that's okay.

[Mandy]

The relationship becomes deeper, showing, like, okay, yes, they're having sex. That's not the focus as a viewer focus on the fact that this is happening.

[Lynn]

And I actually really love romance novels that we do that are like this, right? Where as a relation comes deeper, there's. There's still sex at the end, but it becomes more about their relationship versus just the hot sex.

[Jen]

Well, that's why the first few episodes, you didn't enjoy it because it was sex without emotion. And now we're. We're doing emotion without sex. Yeah, we flipped it. I think the series was done so well.

[Mandy]

It's so intentional.

[Lynn]

That's how a lot of relationships are. That's how they start.

[Mandy]

Especially the gay ones.

[Lynn]

Yeah, totally. They end up back in the hotel room. He went from this, like, very open relationship with Rose, and now they're back hiding again. And Shane's nervous again. He's awkward again. It's almost like they're starting to over.

[Mandy]

So cute.

[Lynn]

He asks Ilia, can you please sit down? And he says, I think I'm gay. And Rosnoff's like, no shit, dude.

[Kim]

Yeah.

[Mandy]

And he was like, oh, what made you think that?

[Lynn]

And he's like, no, no. But, like, completely gay.

[Mandy]

And he's like, great.

[Lynn]

Like, good for you.

[Kim]

Yes, we are tracking no shit.

[Lynn]

He's like, what is this thing between us? And I think Rosenoff really feels like he needs to talk Shane off a ledge a little bit and says like this, listen, this is just simple. Like, we don't have to over complicate this thing.

[Mandy]

This is where Shane is starting to be like, I'm gay. I like you. And Ilya like, oh, we can't. This is where. From Ilya's pov, he's like, this is getting serious. I have to stop. And this is Shane finally coming forward and being vulnerable. And Ilya is like, oh, I think I am in love with him. But we can't be in love because of the hockey, because of the rivalry,

[Lynn]

my family because of the Russia, because

[Mandy]

of Russia, like the whole fucking scene.

[Lynn]

Rosenoff is like, we can keep doing this thing in hiding. Let's keep this really simple. We obviously care for each other, but, like, we can't be out. And he talks about he has a dad and his brother who are police, his dad has dementia, his life is too hard.

[Mandy]

Yeah, you get more of his backstory, I feel.

[Lynn]

Yeah, you get more vulnerability from Ilya. Then Ilya goes and crawls on his lap and they have a very tender moment hugging each other. And to our point about how there's less sex in this episode, they cut

[Mandy]

scenes alluded that they have sex, but we don't see it.

[Jen]

It's not about that.

[Lynn]

The next scene is Ilya half naked on the bed as Shane's walking out. But you do notice that they're back to first scene names. Then Shane's back in the locker room after a game. One of his Friends say, hey, did you know that Rosenoff didn't make it to Nashville? He wasn't on the plane with his teammates, and no one knows where he is. And he's like, what's the media saying? Everybody's being really cagey about it. So he's texting, what's going on? Are you okay? And finally, we understand that his dad had passed away, and so he had to fly back to Russia for the funeral. So when he goes to Russia, they're at a big dinner.

[Mandy]

This is the first time that you. You see Ilya's backstory. This is the first time that you're like, okay, now I'm understanding.

[Kim]

It's a real vision of what's happening behind the scenes. You feel that pressure and stress when he's sitting at that family dinner. It's. It's ugly.

[Lynn]

And so he excuses himself from this very awkward dinner table. His brother follows him into the bathroom and says, so, what's the plan now?

[Mandy]

The scene was crazy.

[Lynn]

Ilya is like, my dad just died. He's not cold in the ground. Can you give me a minute?

[Mandy]

Our dad not even just Elisa. I'm like, this is his brother.

[Lynn]

Alexi's like, well, what the fuck, dude? I have a daughter. We've got things to do. What do you want? Pay me more. Luckily, Svetlana, who is totally in love with him, walks in. The brothers, of course, pissed that she's there, Ilya pushes his brother against a wall and says, fuck you. You can have my apartment in the city. I will set up a trust for your daughter until she is 18 years old. Then she can access it. Otherwise, stay out of my life. I never want to talk to you again. It was amazing.

[Kim]

I did, too.

[Lynn]

Alexi finally leaves. Svalana pushes him and says, I love you, and I know you love me, but I'm not the one you're in love with.

[Mandy]

She's known that all along.

[Jen]

I felt like it was a Rose Shane conversation.

[Lynn]

And she says, it's never going to be with us like it is with Jane.

[Mandy]

She changes the pronoun, too, in that scene.

[Jen]

He's a lucky guy.

[Mandy]

That's where she says he. And that's when you know, oh, she's clocked it all along.

[Lynn]

She's known the whole time. So he's walking the streets of Russia, and he FaceTimes so good.

[Mandy]

Somebody sedate me. I can't.

[Lynn]

Shane's in a hotel room. He has to, like, run out of the hotel room to go into the stairwell to talk. He needs to Hear Shane's voice. Shane's asking me, is he okay? And he finally says, I can't talk anymore. English is too hard right now. And Shane says, would it be better if you just spoke in Russian? Like, I won't understand you, but maybe it'll make you feel better. And he was like, yes, I think that would help. And so he speaks to him in Russian. Of course, Shane cannot understand a word of it, but we can because we get the closed captions in the book.

[Mandy]

You do not get any of Ilya's speech. Know, yeah, girl, clock that fucking T.

[Kim]

Do you get it in Russian?

[Mandy]

No, you get. It's from Shane's pov. I truly think the TV show is better than the book. Peace and love to Rachel. Peace and love.

[Kim]

Which also again, means no peace, no

[Lynn]

love in Miranda's language.

[Kim]

Doc. Because shots are about to be fired, but go ahead.

[Mandy]

And that was one of the things that the readers were so excited to see. Is he going to translate what Ilya says? Because that scene is from Shane's pov, and Shane is saying, like, how beautiful Ilya's voice sounds, how much she loves hearing him speak in Russian. Oh, my God, it's so good. I'm going to throw up.

[Kim]

Don't throw up. Hold that back.

[Jen]

But the things that are being shared are heartbreaking.

[Mandy]

Oh, heavy.

[Lynn]

I mean, he talks all about how awful his dad was and how much he misses his mom and how his brother's a hole for everything.

[Jen]

And I still don't feel like I do enough. I hate Russia.

[Mandy]

And then the inevitable admittance.

[Lynn]

I just want to be with you and I love you.

[Jen]

There was a part of me that was like, does he understand him because of the bliss look on his face?

[Kim]

I also, I was like, oh, wait till he says something in Russian back.

[Jen]

I was thinking the same thing, Kim. I was like, he's gonna say, I

[Kim]

like, do it, do it, do it. This was done so well and so sweet. Russian is not a beautiful language.

[Jen]

Hard Disagree.

[Kim]

It's like German. There's a lot of like.

[Mandy]

It's like Jenny's like, yeah, that Russian does it for me.

[Kim]

I was in this moment. It was beautiful. It was soft. It was just well articulated, very vulnerable.

[Lynn]

So we're back in regular season. They're playing each other. They're supposed to meet up afterwards and they're kind of flirting, like, looking at each other. Shane looks back at Ilya and smiles. And one of Ilya's team members clocks him and he goes out cold.

[Jen]

It's called a check in hockey, yeah,

[Mandy]

Jenny with the fact check.

[Lynn]

Jenny would know that. But Ilya is visibly distraught.

[Jen]

Oh, he's pacing on the ice.

[Lynn]

They are meant to be rivals.

[Jen]

Nobody can understand, understand why he cares so much.

[Lynn]

They tell him to go back to the sidelines. He can't take his eyes off of Shane. He's like barely speaking. Ilya is freaking the fuck out. Back in the hospital room, Ilya comes to visit him. He, you can tell he's a bit twitchy, like he probably shouldn't be there. And Shane is so obviously heavily medicated that he might say anything. Tells him, my teammate feels awful. He didn't obviously mean to do that. And he's like, yeah, it happens. We all get our bell rung every so often. Like he's so blissed out from like the drug.

[Kim]

He's on morphine or something.

[Lynn]

He goes to like whole hold Ilya's hand and he finally says, this summer, don't go to Russia, come to my cottage.

[Mandy]

Adding book context. Ilya's POV going into that is, I'm breaking up with him. Yeah, yeah.

[Lynn]

What?

[Kim]

Because it was so stressful on the

[Mandy]

ice because Ilya watching him get hurt is Ilya's feeling of like, this is too serious, I need to break it off.

[Kim]

He's got some angst, but you can

[Lynn]

tell he's not fully committed to the cottage or seeing him again. He's just like, I want to get out of here. Shane has broken a collarbone. Savir concuss he's out of the rest of the season. Shane goes home to his parents house to be taken care of. And there is a really kind of cute scene where the mom says to the dad, did you know Ilya came to visit Shane in the hospital? I guess I hate him a little bit less now.

[Jen]

She knows everything. She's momager.

[Kim]

She does.

[Jen]

The dad calls her a witch.

[Lynn]

Yeah, he's your witch. Like, how would you even know that? She predicts that Scott Hunter is going to win the Stanley cup. And he's like, how the fuck would you know that?

[Mandy]

She even makes that comment about Ilya being injured his ribs. And she's like, oh, he's favoring this side. She clocks everything.

[Lynn]

And then Shane's like, how would you even know that? And then says, how are your ribs? And he's like, they hurt. She's a hockey psycho and she knows all of these things we do. Cut to the Stanley Cup. Ilia is not in the Stanley cup and neither is Shane. But you see them both at their respective houses watching the game back to Scott Hunter and the smoothie man, Kip and their relationship.

[Jen]

This is the end of book one.

[Lynn]

It's so cute. I just love this couple so much. Scott Hunter wins the Stanley Cup. Cup. He has gotten a bad rap the whole series, really. Like, he's down and out. He's too old.

[Kim]

They were not nice to him.

[Jen]

He's like, 31.

[Mandy]

It's the same in the book. He's on a losing streak because when him and Kip start to fall out, his performance shows it. And so it's a redemption, his redemption story. When he finally, like, accepts himself, his game gets better. Where, like, when him and Kip were on the outs, he was laying like shit.

[Lynn]

So he went to Stanley cup. And he looks up into the the stadium and sees Kip with his friend Elena. Now they're broken up, we think, because, you know, he didn't come to the birthday party. Kip said, I don't want to be with you if you can't be with me. So he's won the Stanley Cup. He looks up, he brings Kip down to the ice.

[Jen]

Everybody's bringing their families on the ice, and he's alone.

[Lynn]

Kip's like, what are you doing? You don't have to do this. And he's like, yes, I do. I love you. And he's like, I love you, too. And he makes out with him.

[Mandy]

And they make out of the ring.

[Jen]

Right on camera.

[Lynn]

Right on the camera. And everybody's like, everybody knows that it's happening. And it's so crazy for first gay man in hockey. The next scene is Ilia calling Shane and says, I will meet you at your cabin this summer.

[Jen]

I'm coming to the cottage.

[Kim]

Yay.

[Lynn]

Cut scene. So Scott Hunter basically inspired Ilia to take the lead.

[Jen]

The way the show did it, and it was so much better than the book. But you feel that this is history making because everybody knows where they are when he does it. You see where everybody's sitting. You see the moment everybody's in when this happens. You know where the parents are sitting.

[Mandy]

I mean, yeah, because he's obviously ro recovering. And the family is like, oh, my God.

[Lynn]

They're like. Everyone is, like, shocked, right? They don't know what's going on.

[Mandy]

And you see Shane and Ilya's face.

[Lynn]

Both of them are texting. What's going on? I don't know. What the hell is he doing? I don't know. It's. Everyone's freaking out about this monumental moment in hockey.

[Mandy]

If you think of the real World parallel heater rivalry obviously is set in like early 2000s to mid 2010s. Even to this day, there was not an out NHL player until after heated rivalry.

[Lynn]

Oh, no, totally. I saw this.

[Mandy]

There is one.

[Lynn]

One guy came out because of he arrival just a few weeks ago.

[Mandy]

Yes. If you think of like the context of it to this day in 2026, like there is still one singular.

[Kim]

That just blows my mind though. It really does. Because in today's time, I think about all pro sports.

[Jen]

How many gay football players do we know?

[Lynn]

My mind.

[Kim]

I'm sure there's a lot we just don't know about it.

[Jen]

Basketball.

[Mandy]

What more than hockey?

[Jen]

I don't know any. They don't talk about it.

[Lynn]

You don't see it very often. So that's how we end up. Episode five. So episode six, the Cottage. This episode is my favorite. Everything culminates together. We start with Scott Hunter winning the MVP award for the year. Gay Scott Hunter, like, he was down and out for most of the series and he gives this really moving speech about where he came from and where he was at in his career. But then he found love and he says to Kip, I love you. And Kip's with his little friends at the gay bar that they all hang out at. And they're all like, sweet and it was very cute ending to their story.

[Jen]

That bar is a big character in

[Mandy]

the book Safe Space.

[Lynn]

Then we get to the summer at the cottage. Jane picks up Ilia from the Ottawa airport.

[Jen]

God, this is hilarious.

[Lynn]

Ilya's awkward getting into the car with the suitcase. Like there's. They're back to being awkward, which is sort of endearing and sort of just annoying at this point.

[Kim]

And then their little summer clothes in Canada.

[Lynn]

I'm like, yes, but Ilya is hot,

[Jen]

as in a tank top.

[Kim]

I did not think he was hot. Yeah, I don't think tank tops are hot.

[Mandy]

I was not loving the tank top. But also it's indicative of the top times.

[Lynn]

It's 2018.

[Mandy]

That's what they were wearing.

[Jen]

This was only 10 years ago.

[Lynn]

It's not that long ago.

[Jen]

It's not like he's in bell bottoms,

[Lynn]

you know, I know, it's like 1960s guys.

[Jen]

He gives him about his car too. What was he drove as that car?

[Kim]

Eco.

[Mandy]

Cuz it's a practical car. It's like an. It's a Jeep.

[Lynn]

It's a practical suv.

[Mandy]

Ilia is the sports car boy. So he's like, what the is this? Mom ass. Minivan ass.

[Jen]

What is this Thing, it was like a station wagon.

[Mandy]

And Shane's like, it's practical.

[Lynn]

They get to the cottage, and Shane says, I built it. And he says, I know. And then he realizes, like, he's watched

[Mandy]

Mr. Landlord, all of his things.

[Jen]

It's all windows. This place is just stunning.

[Lynn]

It's beautiful. With, like, all these views.

[Kim]

There's a reason it's all windows. Because this is.

[Mandy]

Because now they're out in the open.

[Kim]

This is the only place he can be himself. Surrounded by woods where no one else sees him.

[Mandy]

It's, like, finally safe.

[Lynn]

They start to make out they are finally coming back together.

[Mandy]

You can't treat bellboy like this.

[Lynn]

They're so cute. He pretends like he's, like, showing him around the hotel.

[Mandy]

I think this is how the bellboy likes to be treated.

[Lynn]

Shane asks for two weeks. Can we just have complete honesty and be vulnerable and just tell each other how we really feel? Rosenoff says, I'll try. So he wants to do it.

[Kim]

He's gunshine.

[Lynn]

So they end up in Shane's room. But Shane stops to close the blinds so that they would have complete privacy. And Ilya stops him, opens him back up and says, no, it is really cute. They wake up together, they spend time together. They just lounge on the couch. They talk. But Ilya doesn't know what to do in nature. So they're just out on the veranda with a fire when he hears the loon.

[Kim]

That is so funny.

[Mandy]

The bird.

[Lynn]

What the fuck was that?

[Kim]

He's freaking the fuck out every night in my backyard.

[Mandy]

Canadian wolf.

[Lynn]

And Shane's like, it's a loon. Shane does, like, a bird call. And he's.

[Jen]

He did a loon call. He knew how to do it with his mouth. He didn't even have, like, a special whistle.

[Mandy]

He did. Illy is a city boy.

[Jen]

Yeah. He's from the concrete jungle. Russia.

[Lynn]

Yeah. He does know what to do. But he realizes it's so peaceful. And you can see that he has his head on Shane's lap. They are very intimate without sex.

[Mandy]

I'm gonna be crazy for a second. I need some. Some peace and love here. And not my peace and love, which is crazy and evil. I need some genuine peace and love. If we look at. Everyone's gonna be like, you're reading too much into it. I'm not. Okay. Ilia's hair throughout the series. Series. Stay with me. Stay with me. Ilya's hair in every scene when he's with Shane, obviously, Ilya has like, that curly. It's really Connor's hair. Because in the story, Ilia doesn't really have curly hair. Ilya's hair as Connor. When you look at the scenes that Ilia is in Russia with his family, it is gelled down. It is very tamed. In other scenes where he's just with Shane, it's more curly. It's cutesy. It's honestly really hot.

[Jen]

So hot.

[Mandy]

It's nice by being honest and vulnerable. In that scene with the loon, his hair is, like, relaxed. It is crazy. Like, girl, his hair is curly, it's poofy. It's all of that.

[Lynn]

He doesn't have put in any ears.

[Mandy]

Nothing in the show is not intentional in the scene where, like, the loon and the campfire of it all, because he is the most vulnerable. It's where he first mentions his mom to Shane. He's not talked about his mom the entire scene series. And any scene where he's with his dad or in Russia, the hair is gelled. The hair is very tamed, very close crop, very styles. And some scenes with Shane, it's like, curly, but it's still, like, cutesy curly. If you go back and watch the series, you will literally see the difference in his hair in every scene. And if you think of the emotional vulnerability that Ilia has, it directly correlates with how his hair is styled. And I know that makes me sound crazy, but I'm not wrong.

[Kim]

I don't think you're crazy. You might be a little. Little obsessed with the show. Like, a little bit obsessed that you've watched it several times and, you know, like the hair gel content.

[Mandy]

But it's true. I could be crazy, but I'm not wrong.

[Kim]

That's fair.

[Jen]

Two things can be true.

[Lynn]

Their weeks here at the cottage, they're very domestic and they're kind of living their lives, and they're kind of getting to know each other really, for the first time. And this. With this length of time together. They play video games, and they play

[Kim]

their own video game where they're their own characters. Character, which cracks me up.

[Lynn]

Oh, yeah.

[Jen]

They play each other's. And then he's like, I'm on the fucking cover. So cute.

[Lynn]

That was adorable. One night, they're. They're on opposite sides of the couch, feet touching. And Ilya does say he wants to get rid of his Russian passport. And I think this is him saying, like, I want to be with you, but I cannot be with you if I have a Russian passport.

[Mandy]

He's breadcrumbing it too.

[Lynn]

And so then he Says, well, I could always marry Svetlana because she has a US Passport and she would do it for me because she loves me. She would basically be my beard. And Shane is having a hard time reconciling this and saying, you could marry any beautiful woman if it's just for a beard. Why don't just marry anyone?

[Mandy]

He's worried.

[Jen]

He has feelings for Svetlana.

[Lynn]

Well, and I think he's like, if you, like, women are going to get married, find one that you love. And he's like, well, that's not the point. The point is I just need to not be Russian anymore. Shane says, don't do it.

[Jen]

We'll figure it out.

[Mandy]

Don't do it.

[Lynn]

Be with me. And I do think he was breadcrumbing to see how Shane would react. But I don't think he thought Shane would react bad to the marriage part.

[Kim]

I don't think he realized that Shane was. Would be as jealous.

[Lynn]

But I think Shane got to the right thing.

[Kim]

That was the thing.

[Mandy]

Because you can see on Shane's face,

[Lynn]

he's like, please don't do that.

[Mandy]

Daggers at him. Like, why the fuck would you ever

[Lynn]

when he has a very traditional family? And he's like, why would you marry someone else if you want to be with me?

[Mandy]

Right?

[Lynn]

And Ilya's like, listen, this is a means to an end. So they were coming at it, I think, from different points of view. Shane wakes him up in the middle of the night after this conversation.

[Kim]

I've been working on it for days.

[Lynn]

I have a plan.

[Mandy]

And this is once again, people talking about his autism, where it's like, oh, you tell him we can't be together. And then he stays up the entire night thinking about plotting the ways that you could be together without sleeping.

[Kim]

I would do that.

[Lynn]

I feel like this is not autism. I'm like, welcome to my life.

[Mandy]

It's a fixation of it where he's like, oh, he said he's gonna marry Svetlana. How can I make this not happen?

[Lynn]

You better put me on the spectrum, baby.

[Kim]

We're all there.

[Lynn]

I would stay up all night long.

[Kim]

I have to know the point across the board. We're gonna make it work.

[Lynn]

And I would totally then be like, hey, I figured it out.

[Kim]

Are you awake?

[Mandy]

Yeah. Wait, in the middle of the. The night.

[Lynn]

So his plan is. And Ilya said this earlier in the day, right? Like, I'm free agent next season, so I could maybe move to Ottawa. He's already been breadcrumbing in. He's like, okay, here's the plan. You're going to play for Ottawa. So then we're only two hours apart. There's really no reason we need to be these heated rivals because, like, we're old now. There's all these new folks coming in. We can start a charity together. That would be totally normal. We can be start being seen together. We can have lunch together. We can be seen because it wouldn't be weird. And then when we retire, we can really, really be together. And Ilya, the whole time is like, I'm still sleeping. What?

[Kim]

Yeah, what do you want?

[Mandy]

Much English. I'm too tired.

[Lynn]

I'm confused, like, what's happening? But agrees. And they both tell each other they love each other and that they want to spend the rest of their lives together. And they're going to figure out together how they're going to do this because the mom had committed suicide when Ilya was 12. And so he says we should start a charity that does hockey clinics and we'll give all the money to suicide prevention.

[Kim]

So sweet.

[Lynn]

And illy is like so touched.

[Jen]

Oh, he says the sweetest thing. He says, she would have loved you the way I love you.

[Lynn]

She would have loved you. Oh, oh. The next scene is them hanging out on the lake. They're playing in the water. They're so sweet together. They're kissing and just adorable. And as they're walking back into the house, they're kissing. You see someone in the house, like in the kitchen, watching them make out. And the dad sees it because it's a house of glass. Then immediately leaves. Shane is freaking out, goes out to the front and the dad's already driven away and he's freaking the fuck out. This is my worst nightmare. These are my parents. I wasn't able to tell them myself. This is scary. Like, he's. He's basically been in the closet his whole life and he's finally admitted he loves this person, but he hasn't gotten the courage to tell the people he loves most. And he says, I need to go there. And finally Ilya says, do you want me to go with you? Would that help you? And he said, yes, I would like that. There's lots of hugging and I'm surprised because Ilya all of a sudden becomes the soft one. Supportive, very vulnerable soft guy because he's such a dick the entire time and scared himself. And all of a sudden he's like, yeah, let's go out ourselves to your parents. Like, can't wait. Totally here for it.

[Jen]

But he had already asked, do your Parents know about you and have you told them you're gay? They had had this conversation.

[Lynn]

So they finally drive over to the parents house, Shane says maybe you should wait in the car. And Ilya's look at him is like you fucked hard. And he's like sorry, nevermind, you're right. They just go up to the house. Ilya is finally like we're doing this man, nut it up. So they show up to the parents are just like sitting in the living room waiting. But you find out that the dad actually didn't tell the mom what happened.

[Kim]

He said nothing, she's like er, in

[Lynn]

walks in with Ilya and she's like what's happening? And Shane's like I'm really sorry. And she's like for what? And he says well I'm gay and no lead up nothing. And she's like okay. And then the dad's like I'm really sorry about this man. My charger was in your kitchen, it was the right charger and I didn't have any chargers here. And he's like trying to explain and Shane's like it's not your fault dad. And he's like man, this is crazy. And she's like what's he doing here? And Ilya goes well we're lovers. And Shane says please don't say that.

[Jen]

Well he like touches him on the shoulder very awkwardly.

[Lynn]

Shane's like oh stop saying that, don't

[Jen]

say that, that's disgusting.

[Lynn]

But the parents are obviously rock.

[Kim]

Well the mom is for sure. I don't know about the dad.

[Lynn]

The dad is very chill about it. Yeah, they handle it very well.

[Jen]

I will say I don't know any gay reveal where the parents are really that surprised, right?

[Lynn]

Like so surprised. And she says we thought you might have been and we weren't sure. Parents know, they're at the kitchen table, she served them all coffee and she finally says like how long has this been going on? And they're like well, since our rookie year. And Illy goes well before that she's like I need a cocktail. And just gets up and walks away.

[Kim]

We're done with coffee, we're moving into the hard stuff right now.

[Lynn]

I'm gonna get wine I think for her. And you find this out. It's one of the very touching scene where the mom goes outside to cry and Shane goes out and says mom, Mom, I'm just so sorry. And he can't look at her and she's like, you have nothing to apologize for. And she's like look at Me look at her, and he feels so bad. Bad. And she says, I feel bad that you didn't feel like you could tell me.

[Kim]

That was heartwarming.

[Lynn]

Can you forgive me? And he's like, I forgive you, Mom. Cuz they love each other. It's a beautiful family. It's so sweet.

[Jen]

It's a very healthy family dynamic.

[Kim]

It was touching.

[Lynn]

And I know that's not every gay person's experience. No, I think it's really touching for Ilia to be in this somewhat idyllic family situation, too. Mom makes pasta. They're kind of telling them their plan, this totally wacky plan where he's going to go to Ottawa, and then they're going to do this charity. And the mom's like, well, didn't you get drafted by Boston? Where's your loyalty to Boston? And Shane's like, he's loyal to me, Mom. Like. Like, what the fuck?

[Jen]

She is such a hockey fan. She's like, how very dare you even think about leaving that to you.

[Lynn]

How dare. I can't believe you would leave.

[Mandy]

Yeah. Her not even being mad about the.

[Lynn]

The relationship.

[Jen]

She's mostly mad that he would leave Boston.

[Mandy]

Oh, but you would leave Boston. Like, oh, he's not loyal. She's so me.

[Lynn]

But then starts to really freak out. Like, he's head down on the table, like he's panicking. And Ilia puts his hand on his neck and says, it's okay. You're okay here. You're with your family who loves you and your boyfriend. You're going to be okay here. And your boyfriend, you're just here with us. And Shane goes, my boyfriend? And he's like, well, yeah, probably, Maybe.

[Mandy]

I think, yes.

[Jen]

So cute.

[Lynn]

And he gives him. He gives him a little kiss. And then the mom's like, 10 years, you know, like, oh, my God, like since rookie year season.

[Jen]

She's like, really registering.

[Lynn]

So the mom and dad walk them out, then they start planning their next dinner, and they're like, we're gonna come over at 5. And they're like, please text us first. And she's like, no, no, but we'll be there at.

[Mandy]

Yeah. Because he obviously walked in on them making out. So they're like, text us.

[Lynn]

And she's like, well, why would I have to text you?

[Mandy]

So y' all aren't.

[Lynn]

And the dad's like, we'll text first call.

[Kim]

Good call.

[Jen]

Yes.

[Mandy]

He's traumatized.

[Lynn]

And they drive away in the end of this first season is them driving into a sunset.

[Jen]

God.

[Kim]

There was not an epilogue I appreciated that.

[Lynn]

No, no epilogue series.

[Jen]

No. We just ended the show.

[Lynn]

That is the end of heated rivalry. The series probably gonna be a pretty long one.

[Jen]

Supersized Miranda supersized us.

[Mandy]

I'm sorry. I know I have a lot to say.

[Jen]

It's all good stuff.

[Lynn]

It was a very cool way to do this. One book or two books? I guess with Scott and Kips in. In a series.

[Mandy]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was gonna say, nothing in the long game is touched on, and I'm so excited.

[Lynn]

It's gotta be season two for the next series.

[Mandy]

O.

[Lynn]

All right, exciting. So let's do a speed round of our ratings. And Spice. Mandy, what do we got on ratings?

[Mandy]

I'm going four out of five.

[Lynn]

Okay, four for the show.

[Mandy]

Not the book. The show.

[Lynn]

Yep. For the show.

[Mandy]

I'm going four out of five.

[Kim]

I'm also gonna give it a four, period.

[Lynn]

Cute.

[Kim]

But I thought the storyline was there.

[Mandy]

I feel validated.

[Kim]

I felt like I followed along well. There was depth in the characters. I watched them physically grow. I appreciated that.

[Lynn]

I'm also going to go with a four. If it had just been the back half, I would have maybe been higher. But on the average for the whole thing, I'm going to go four. I loved the story. I loved their story, and I love how it ended.

[Kim]

All right. It up. Jen.

[Jen]

I'm going to say it's a one.

[Mandy]

So upset.

[Jen]

Mandy would have started bawling.

[Mandy]

I would have logged off.

[Jen]

To me, it's a four and a half because of the production value.

[Mandy]

Oh, period.

[Jen]

I loved the way that they told the story in the show.

[Mandy]

It's so powerful.

[Jen]

It was so much better than the books.

[Mandy]

Jacob Tierney respects the story and he builds upon it. The things that he adds. Obviously, Rachel has an incredible book, but Jacob understood the story.

[Lynn]

He made it better and then made

[Mandy]

the TV series, like, so much better.

[Lynn]

And you don't see that often.

[Mandy]

You don't. Yeah.

[Jen]

Yeah. It was a perfect storm. Really good acting, really good production, really

[Mandy]

good directing, and so much respect for the story.

[Lynn]

Miranda Spice, whole series one through six of Spice.

[Mandy]

I'm rating it a four out of five.

[Kim]

Okay. I would say a three. You did get that super spicy in the beginning, but then you got the relationship at the end, so I didn't feel like they carried that through.

[Lynn]

I agree.

[Mandy]

The second half. The second half was less spicy, for sure.

[Lynn]

It brought down the average.

[Kim]

It did. It dropped the average a little bit. So, yeah. Yeah.

[Mandy]

Three.

[Lynn]

The sex for me is a three. Three and a half. Like, I think that it Obviously heavy on the front end, less on the back end. The story definitely picked up on the back end, which I really, really liked. All right, Jen Spice.

[Jen]

Same, same. I'm gonna go three and a half because it did start strong and then it did taper off. If you're here for spice and sex, it's a three and a half.

[Mandy]

So, like, obviously, teaser. If we're gonna do a follow up of the long game, girl, invite me back. I'm not kidding. I'll kill you.

[Jen]

Like, we'll see how the ratings are for this one.

[Mandy]

I need to talk about it.

[Lynn]

You better promote the shit.

[Kim]

I would like to point out that she just speaks like that. There is no real death intent.

[Mandy]

Obviously, heated rivalry is very much like Shane Ilia. I feel like the long game is Ilia. Ilia's backstory, Ilia's trauma. And I'm excited for. She's obviously writing a third one in their relationship. I'm hoping. I'm hoping that that will be more about Shane's trauma. The long game is more about Ilia's struggle with his childhood and his dealing with the homophobia of hockey and the NHL. And I'm so excited to see how they portray that in the TV show because again, I think Jacob tyranny is so, so intentional about all of the series. And so I just know that he's going to do it so well. So again, I'm so excited to see you, girl.

[Lynn]

See you in a couple years when.

[Mandy]

When everyone's caught up.

[Lynn]

All right, guys, this was so fun to do. Heated rivalry. Miranda, thank you so much for joining us. We so loved having you for both of these last episodes. This is the last episode before, which is crazy season four at the end. Please go back and listen to all of our epis episodes, season one through four, with I think a couple little mini musters in there. You can go to boozybookcasms.com you can follow us on Facebook, Instagram, tick tock and YouTube. Thanks so much.

[Jen]

Until we meet again.

[Kim]

Happy reading.

[Lynn]

Happy reading.

[Jen]

Bye.

[Lynn]

I'm sorry.

[Narrator]

Today's episode was the climax of your day, leaving you breathless and wanting more. Until next time.

[Lynn]

Time.

[Narrator]

Remember to indulge in the pleasures of life and to keep the passion alive. You can find more tantalizing [e-mail] Enjoy the ride and we'll see you soon, girl.

[Mandy]

Edit this into the podcast. My best friend Liz put me on. I owe her my life. Oh, my God.