Heated Rivalry Season 1 Episode 3 Review: Hunter

For Heated Rivalry Season 1 Episode 3, “Hunter,” things switch gears to focus more on another hockey player of note from Rachel Reid’s book series: Scott Hunter. The more senior hockey player popped up a few times during the first two episodes, but this time around he is in the spotlight.

Focusing on Scott Hunter gives the viewers more context for what he might’ve been thinking over the years as he watched Shane and Ilya interact with each other. I mean, there is the already famous scene from the All Stars tournament where he is sitting next to Shane when Ilya gives up his room number.

Scott Hunter is the silent observer type that we don’t know much about, until now. It might be something that throws people unfamiliar with the books off, but for the book fans it’s an exciting look at someone we all know is important to the Game Changer universe.

Scott Hunter, Hockey Star

The performance of Francois Arnaud as Scott Hunter is so nuanced and layered that the longer we spend time with him, the more we are able to peel away from his facade. Hunter is a top hockey star on the New York Admirals team which puts a lot on his shoulders from stress to expectations.

It’s interesting to see the episode flow from him and Carter Vaughn repping Team USA in Sochi 2014 back to four months before when commentators are saying he hasn’t scored any goals yet for the season despite a great season previously. We get to see him at the top of his game only to turn back the clock to see him at his lowest.

This allows the episode to naturally tell us what gets him from his worst to his best. We see all the steps forward and all his anxiety forcing him to take steps back.

He goes to get a smoothie and meets a cute young man who he flirts with like it’s as easy as breathing to him. In fact, as far as we know at this point it is, but we soon start to see the little twitches in his face and the ticks in mannerisms that indicate just how much flirting publicly with a guy makes him anxious.

Scott Hunter, much like Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, from previous episodes, lives and breathes hockey. So, it stands to reason he’s going to be nervous about people finding out he’s gay.

Unfortunately, unlike with Shane and Ilya the guy he falls for isn’t an athlete so he’s not as quick to understand certain hang ups.

Kip Grady’s Smoothies

When I read the corresponding book, Game Changer by Rachel Reid, I quickly fell in love with Kip because of how sweet, funny, and charming he is. Seeing him interact with Scott during this episode I am convinced Robbie G.K. lives and breathes this character.

If Robbie G.K. looks familiar that’s because he is for those of us who have seen Overcompensating on Prime Video. The actor is still fairly new to the scene which works in Heated Rivalry‘s favor considering how fresh, new, and unique it hopes to be. 

Robbie G.K. gives Kip this layer of vulnerability and likability that isn’t always present in the books, but is necessary to understand how much this new relationship with Scott Hunter both thrills and terrifies him. 

Kip wants to have a little excitement in his life besides working long hours at the smoothie shop and then going home to have dinner with his dad. Meeting Scott gives him that with a taste of a finer life, where money isn’t scarce.

At first we can see just how happy and excited Kip is to be present in Scott Hunter’s world. But over time, and the more Scott displays just how scared he is of being seen in public with Kip, the smaller Kip’s smiles start to be.

Amazingly, Robbie G.K. manages to convey just how miserable and lonely Kip is under the surface despite genuinely loving Scott. He is a loving and caring partner as demonstrated in how he makes food for Scott and gets him a pair of socks for away games.

However, sometimes that isn’t enough to sustain a relationship, especially one that is centered in fear and the proverbial glass closet.

Opposing Worlds — Creates Conflict

Heated Rivalry is taking a risk switching the narrative away from Shane and Ilya for an entire episode, but I feel it fundamentally still works. With Shane and Ilya we see how two people living in similar worlds still can’t make it work because of the toxic environment they work in.

When it comes to Scott Hunter and Kip Grady the divide is much more significant. Kip is a person who has always lived with more frugal means. He’s a college student trying to get into a grad school program and works multiple jobs to make ends meet.

Meanwhile, Scott Hunter can give extravagant tips when buying a simple smoothie and buy beautifully tailored tuxes without batting an eye. 

The difference is, Kip never has to worry about just being himself because nothing about his life is high stakes and the expectations he carries are given to him by no more that 4-5 people in his life. Whereas Scott Hunter is the captain of his team, a famously beloved hockey player, and carries the weight of his dead parents on his shoulders.

What seems exciting at first, quickly turns into conflict when their opposing life experiences don’t line up. They struggle to understand each other and instead of talking through it, they fail to communicate. 

So much so, that it takes Kip’s best friend Elena telling Scott that Kip is miserable because he’s a secret to get them to open up properly. It’s just unfortunate that talking things through didn’t result in a positive outcome.

Sometimes, Love Isn’t Enough

The devastation on both their faces as they go their separate ways, seemingly broken up, shatters our hearts. Because Arnaud and G.K. are such exquisitely expressive actors, this parallel moment of Scott alone in his apartment and Kip wandering the streets carries an emotional weight not able to be expressed in words.

In fact, it isn’t until Kip ends up at home and sobbing in his father’s arms that we feel the full ramifications of what Kip has done for himself. Sure, he loves Scott and it hurts him to do it, but for his own well-being he needed to allow himself to no longer be a dirty little secret.

What is starting to become apparent about Heated Rivalry is that these characters all love their respective partners, but it doesn’t prevent the heartbreak that comes when fear runs the game. Much like with Shane and Ilya, Scott and Kip seem destined to be together, but they lack the capabilities to pull themselves out of miscommunication central.

Therefore, when we see Kip celebrating his birthday with his friends at the Kingfisher in those final moments we can see he’s not entirely present. Chances are he misses Scott but he doesn’t know how to be with him and remain completely happy.

Meanwhile, Scott Hunter is seen standing outside the bar, in the shadows, watching. He’s now on the outside of Kip’s life and he’s completely heartbroken by that.

These final moments with Scott, outside the bar and putting on Kip’s socks before going into the Gold Medal game at Sochi, showcase just how much he felt like he’d finally found something and someone he could rely on only to lose it due to his overwhelming fear.

Here’s hoping he finds his way back to Kip soon.

Stray Thoughts

• It was nice to see Carter a bit more in this episode, considering he is Scott’s closest teammate.
• Scott interacting with Shane and Ilya…we love to see it.
• Switching the on ice altercation from Ilya to Shane is an inspired decision. It further showcases just how tightly wound Shane is about Ilya if one comment that could mean anything sets him off.
• I’m also not sure how I feel about them pushing Scott’s timeline up from the 2016-2017 season to the 2014 season. Because his story interlaces with Shane and Ilya’s it’ll be interesting to see how this effects things.

 

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Heated Rivalry airs Fridays on HBO Max and Crave.

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