When I first started watching Heated Rivalry, I didn’t fully understand the hype around it. I mean, we’ve seen other good queer shows in the last few years, but then I realized what was keeping us so hooked to this particular story. What Heated Rivalry does is take the dark and gritty of Young Royals and mix it with the happy and sweet of Heartstopper. This is a show that doesn’t randomly become toxic or force the boys to hate each other because society can’t handle their chemistry. It allows them to figure things out slowly and really enjoy each other’s company. Now, as someone who hasn’t read the books, I don’t know if things will get toxic as we progress in this show, but rather than a rivalry between the boys from different hockey teams, I think this is a story about the push and pull between love and ambition. That’s what makes this show so worth a watch (apart from the two handsome hunks to drool over, eh?). With that said, though, let’s jump into this recap of Heated Rivalry season 1.
Spoiler Alert
How Do Ilya and Shane Meet?
Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander are rivals who meet each other for the first time in December 2008. Ilya plays for the Boston Raiders, and Shane for the Montreal Metros. While Shane comes from a loving family that’s quite pushy about his achievements (and while it comes from a good place, it does feel a bit pushy too, the whole Asian-American side of things and Shane’s mother wanting him to be an inspiration for other kids), Ilya seems to have it much worse, with a strict father and a lot of pressure. Additionally, Ilya has an older brother named Alexie who keeps taking his money. Clearly, they’re different from each other, but they both need to relax by working out. At the beginning, Shane and Ilya’s attraction seems to be surface-level. It also feels somewhat one-sided, with Ilya being more upfront about it. This is proven further when Ilya tells Shane that he chose to do an ad with him, which surprises Shane. But finally, at the end of the day, Ilya visits Shane’s room, despite the hesitation from the latter.
Soon, the romance sparks, and 6 months later, when the duo meet for the competition, things get heated up again. This time, Shane helps Ilya at a combined press conference, and then they play a heated game before everything moves to Ilya’s bedroom. Ilya then decides they should put each other’s names down as Jane and Lily so that they can freely text each other without anyone noticing. But they’re not exclusive just yet. Ilya is seeing other people, like a girl named Svetlana, from time to time; casually, of course.
What Happens When Shane Wins Rookie of the Year?
The next time Shane and Ilya are meant to hang out, Shane decides to go to his teammate’s house for dinner instead. It seems he’s quite distant from his friends, because the guy says he’ll be the first person he dines with on the whole team. But Ilya gets upset for being cancelled on, and decides to sleep with Svetlana. Later, when Shane wins rookie of the year, they meet on the roof of the building. Now’s when we see a little conflict between the duo. Shane is eager to get a step ahead in his career, whereas Ilya is stuck thinking about his family issues. His father is sick, and his brother is basically useless, so Ilya has to be the breadwinner and the responsible one, but does he actually want to go back to Russia? Not really; he’d rather spend his time with Shane, of course. But when Ilya kisses Shane on the roof, he freaks out because he’s worried about being caught. Not only is he gay, but Ilya is meant to be his biggest rival.
What Happens Between 2013 and 2015?
Between 2013 and 2014, the sexting between Ilya and Shane intensifies, and so does the passionate lovemaking, but then in 2014, it’s time for the Winter Olympics in Russia, Ilya’s home ground. Unfortunately, the Russian team loses, and Ilya’s badly affected by this whole situation. Ilya’s dad is also progressively getting worse, so finally, he decides to work on his game and focus, leaving Shane behind for a whole year. This actually works in terms of Ilya’s game getting better, and his team eventually wins the cup. In 2015, Shane and Ilya were meant to present an award together, and Ilya acted as if nothing had happened. Shane can’t resist the man either, and though he was hurt because he was ghosted, he feels his attraction for Ilya taking over, so he caves in.
Who Is Scott Hunter?
In episode 3, things take a drastic turn when Ilya and Shane aren’t even the main focus of the show. Earlier, Shane asked Ilya not to go back to Russia and stay back for the summer so they could hang out together, but Ilya said he had to go back; it’s his home. This is a conversation that becomes significant after we learn about Scott Hunter. Now, this man is a closeted hockey player, but he falls in love with a man named Kip, working at a smoothie place he frequents on his runs. There is a moment in this episode when Shane and Scott interact, and Shane, who is normally calm as a cucumber, gets mad because Scott almost calls him out on being gay, but it’s glossed over. However, in his personal situation, Scott finally asks Kip out and tells him that he’s closeted but genuinely has feelings for him. Kip is okay with this situation for now. Scott also tells Kip that he needs him to be around when he comes back from a game, essentially domesticating the guy. While at first it’s all sweet, Kip feels like he’s being isolated from those he loves.
But the distance begins when Kip starts to feel neglected because Scott isn’t out. Even just hanging out on regular dates as two regular people makes Scott worry he’ll be caught, so he pushes himself away from Kip. When the latter invites him to his birthday party, Scott reaches the location but doesn’t go in. Finally, the rose-tinted glasses come off. But after Scott wins the MLH Cup, I suppose the ultimate win for him, he finally comes out to the world, very publicly, kissing Kip on live television. This makes a drastic impact on Ilya and Shane, too. At the same time, when Shane had a bad injury, and Ilya visited him in the hospital, the former asked him to visit his cottage in the summer so they could spend time together. While Ilya was skeptical at first, the whole Scott thing changed his perspective entirely.
What Happens In The Cottage?
In the final episode of Heated Rivalry, all eyes are on the perfect, simple life Shane and Ilya can spend together as a couple with no intervention from the outside world. It almost feels like a dream, but it’s not. It’s them being as free together as they can be, expressing their mutual love, and genuinely enjoying each other’s company. Shane even makes plans on how they can come out in the future. For one, Ilya would have to leave his team and join the Ottawa team, which would have him 2 hours away from Shane, who is in Montreal. Later, they’d start a charity together and talk about how that brought them close before coming out after retirement. A long wait, but they’re both willing to make the sacrifice so they can lead happy lives. However, all of this is shattered when Shane’s dad walks in on the boys kissing and doesn’t know how to react. Shane and Ilya then head to the former’s parents’ cottage to make amends.
Now, the reaction that Shane’s parents have is very unexpected because it seems they already thought their son was gay but also thought he hated Ilya. But Shane immediately corrects them by saying he loves Ilya, and that’s that. Also, it’s really adorable to see Ilya’s reaction to a regular family dinner. Everybody seems actually happy, and the only moment of tears in this episode is when Shane’s mom feels upset that he didn’t feel confident enough to tell her about this sooner. The show ends with the duo driving away blissfully, because it seems, for once, everything will be okay.
