Heated Rivalry Season 1 Episode 5 Review: I’ll Believe in Anything

Heated Rivalry Season 1 Episode 5, “I’ll Believe in Anything,” is for the book lovers specifically. The way that Jacob Tierney takes almost a third of the book and manages to make it logically work in a 55-minute runtime is something special.

Watching Shane go from being terrified of his feelings for Ilya to supporting Ilya through heartbreak and giving himself to the man wholeheartedly is a journey worth a thousand rewatches. The emotions every step of the way hit every single time.

And for a brief moment, we get to check back in with Scott Hunter and Kip Grady from Heated Rivalry Season 1 Episode 3, “Hunter.” All said and done, this episode is damn near perfect with all the emotional notes needed and performances worthy of awards.

Shane’s Realization

The great thing about “I’ll Believe in Anything” is that it picks up right where we left off. So we get to see Shane and Rose struggle to connect on a sexual front, while still being able to make it work socially. It’s something that Rose decides to discuss with Shane on their next date.

What is so great about these scenes is that we get to see Shane go through the emotions of denial, realization, and then acceptance all within one conversation. Rose’s gentle nudging allows him to really take stock of what he has with Rose and compare it to what he had with Ilya. 

The use of flashbacks as answers to each of Rose’s questions is a nice juxtaposition that fans appreciate seeing because it makes it very clear that Ilya is never far from his thoughts. Shane’s small little tear as he realizes that things were better with Ilya tugs at our hearts and really sets us up for Shane’s growth from that moment forward.

Heated Rivalry allowing Shane to say his infamous line, “Thing is…I kinda prefer being the hole rather than the peg,” is the type of fan service that makes a show stronger. It’s iconic for a reason, and it really highlights Shane’s autistic tendencies coming out with how blunt and matter-of-fact he is about it.

Also, for those fans paying attention, Shane wears the exact same outfit to his breakup with Rose that he wore to Ilya’s house on Heated Rivalry Season 1 Episode 4, “Rose.” Having him wear the same clothes to both major events in his life really show just how much Shane is growing and coming into his own sexuality after years of trying to ignore it.

In fact, this isn’t the first outfit repeat we see on this episode. Later on, when Shane is hanging out in a hotel right before his game against Boston — you know the one before Ilya’s father dies — he puts on a blue pullover sweater, which is the exact same sweater he wore in his publicity photos with Rose. 

It’s as if Shane is trying to rewrite the significance of that article of clothing in his life. It’s his first time having sex with Ilya since they laid themselves bare in Tampa. It’s as if he wants that sweater to only have ties to his love for Ilya from now on.

Ilya’s Vulnerability

Speaking of Tampa. The All-Star weekend is one of the most important sections of the book. So, I was hinging my entire opinion of this episode on how Tierney translated it to screen.

My goodness, did I love every second of it. When we say Tierney knows how to do fan service properly, we mean it. His attention to detail for that whole weekend is next level.

It allows Ilya to hope for something he hasn’t been able to for some time, not since Shane ran away from his tuna melts and domesticity. We see that in how easily he plays with the children in the pool, all while also teasing Shane, who’s sitting on the side. We see it in how they play together on the ice during the game.

Ilya is happy, but he’s also wary of what Shane really wants. We see this when he finds Shane on the beach and tells him he looked up the word “compatible.” We also saw it earlier in the day when he made a jab at Shane’s drink, clothes, and whether or not he brought anyone with him. 

Ilya wants to believe in the feelings he has for Shane, but he’s also scared. Not just of Shane leaving again, but of what could happen if his home country were to find out.

Ilya taking the time to spell that out for Shane, despite how much it hurts him, shows just how much he actually does love Shane. He might be telling Shane they can’t be anything, but his face and how he clings to Shane when his walls finally shatter say otherwise. Ilya needs Shane as much as Shane needs him, and it’s terrifying.

While the scene from the book is much longer and slightly different, the emotional depth of what Tierney wrote and Williams and Storrie deliver is still very much there. The way they end their night calling each other by their first names shows that there is no going back for them; they are in it.

That vulnerability they share in the Florida hotel room sets them on a course to being together. Actually putting a label on who and what they are to each other. Just in time for them both to need each other in big ways.

From One Tragedy…

The real meat of this episode is actually what happens after Shane and Ilya hook up at his house before their game and before the final moments. While the Florida hotel room scene is probably my favorite of the whole series, we can’t discount the impact of Connor Storrie’s scenes in Russia.

This is where his language skills really come into play. Up to this point, we’ve heard him say a few sentences here and there when speaking to his father or Svetlana, but Heated Rivalry hasn’t really let him exist in Ilya’s mother tongue for very long.

When Ilya’s father dies, he is forced to face the family drama that he’s been steadily avoiding as much as possible for years. We get a front row seat to just how much his brother and the rest of his family despise him. 

The anger that bubbles up in Ilya during his fight with Alexei is palpable, made all the more poignant by Storrie’s perfect Russian delivery of each emotional blow. The hurt in Ilya’s eyes is so clear to us, but ignored by his own flesh and blood.

Thankfully, Ilya isn’t completely alone in his grief; he has Svetlana there to remind him of who he really is. And, she gently reminds him that he is capable of love by bringing up Jane and making it abundantly clear that she knows Jane is just a cover for another man.

He also has Shane, even before he has the strength to reach out to Shane, his boyfriend is there with concern and love. Shane asks Ilya what he needs instead of offering up solutions or platitudes. It’s a moment of quiet surrender for Ilya before he has to face his father’s funeral.

And then, after his fight with Alexei, Ilya is once again able to turn to Shane and get exactly what he needs without having to ask for it. Shane tells him to vent his feelings in Russian, even if Shane can’t understand.

As we listen to Ilya break down all the things he’s kept inside for so long, we realize that it is easy to misjudge him. He’s been raised in a family that only sees him for what he can give them, not for who he is.

It must be so isolating for Ilya, and that rawness comes out in Storrie’s delivery of the last half of the phone call. We hear every little break in Ilya’s voice as he tells Shane that he loves Svetlan,a but not in the way he loves Shane.

Too bad Shane doesn’t know all these lovely things Ilya is saying about him.

To Another

What’s even more devastating is that the next time we see Shane and Ilya together is on the ice. We see just how happy they are to be back in each other’s orbit and ready to play the game they both love.

However, disaster strikes soon after, with Shane running into Marleau, resulting in a concussion. The way that Storrie displays the variety of emotions Ilya flashes through as he waits for news of Shane makes this scene hit ten times harder than it did in the book.

This is one of the major changes to the text that I appreciate. It’s actually best that Shane doesn’t clearly say Ilya’s name in a familiar way as he does in the book, because then it would be so much harder to suspend our disbelief that these two guys haven’t been discovered.

It’s that much more emotional that Shane utters Ilya’s name after they’ve taken him off the ice, and at a moment when the doctors are struggling to understand what he is saying. It allows Shane to worry about Ilya without exposing their relationship in such an obvious way as in the book.

Then, when Ilya comes to the hospital, we can see he’s been anxiously worrying about Shane since the injury happened. He’s back to being his stoic Russian self, but the emotion is still there. Especially when he gives in and strokes Shane’s freckles.

Regardless, this perfectly sets up the emotional end to the episode because Shane invites Ilya to the cottage. Heated Rivalry knows what it’s doing by having this scene be ten times more heart-wrenching based on Ilya’s body language alone.

It’s clear that it pains him to refuse Shane’s offer. So, when Shane continues to ask, he finally gives in with a “maybe.” This is a man who is deeply in love with his boyfriend but is still very scared of what being found out could mean. After all, Russia is still very much a threat.

THE Game Changer

Which brings us to THE moment of the episode. The one that changes the trajectory of the whole Game Changers universe created by Rachel Reid. 

The reason why Heated Rivalry Season 1 Episode 3, “Hunter,” was all about Hunter is finally realized. Without Scott Hunter, we would’ve never gotten Shane and Ilya to take that leap of faith together. 

Without Scott Hunter, the other books in the series wouldn’t exist because all the other players highlighted wouldn’t have ever come out. Without Scott Hunter, Ilya never would’ve called Shane and told him, “I’m coming to the cottage.”

Scott Hunter looking up after winning the cup and seeing Kip, despite them not being together, and realizing he was stupid for continuing to be in the closet, is probably the most beautiful coming out I have ever seen across TV and film.

There is a hope in Arnaud’s face that shows he’s ready to be the man that Robbie G.K.’s Kip needs him to be. He’s not afraid anymore. He’s ready to live his life in the light, not in the shadows.

Watching him burst with joy and declare his love for Kip there on the ice brought a few tears to my eyes. 

The editing of this scene between the TV broadcast and the in-person moment is so well done as well. It shows that this isn’t happening in a bubble; the whole world is watching. Including Shane and Ilya.

That kiss is the kiss seen round the world, and it holds so much significance to the series as a whole. Because he sees Scott Hunter, a player he’s always jokingly called old and insignificant, be open about his love, Ilya is able to put aside his own fears and do the same.

He immediately calls Shane and promises him the one thing Shane has always asked for, more time. It’s the perfect ending to a penultimate episode. And it gives viewers an idea of the excitement and pure joy to come in the finale next week.

Favorite Smaller Impact, but Still Fun, Quotes:

• “So, they out of ginger ale, Captain?”
• “I know what you wore.”
• “Hey Hollander! Hollander, make sure none of these cheaters cheat, ok?” “Ok.”
• “Great Pass” “Great Goal”
• “Boston Lily’s texting you. Have fun!” “It’s not…” “I don’t care!”
• “Oh, so YOU are an asshole?”
• “Montreal goes home crying. Please. Please.”
• “Hi, this is Ilya. I will not listen to your voicemail.”
• “Glasses back on.”
• “Front door. Brave.” “F*ck you.” “Later.”
• “My head is fine. I’m a fully grown adult!”

 

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Heated Rivalry airs Fridays on Crave and HBO Max.

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