Heated Rivalry Episode 1 “Rookies” is a pretty solid beginning to Shane and Ilya’s story. For some, it might be a story that moves a little fast at first for those not familiar with the source material. But it’s filled with so much chemistry and charisma you find yourself happy to just go along for the ride. Plus, is it hot in here or what?
The show delivers in both the emotional intimacy—even at a point in the story where these two characters don’t realize that their relationship is anything other than sex—and scorching hot sex scenes. Rarely has intimacy in queer stories been portrayed as realistically and in such a vulnerable manner as it is in Heated Rivalry. This isn’t just sex, though there is a fair bit of sex. It’s two people communicating through touch what they can’t say with words.
If you don’t know Shane and Ilya before this episode, you might find the time jumps a little hard to follow at first. And if you don’t know hockey, you’re bound to be confused by the schedule. But ultimately that doesn’t matter because the chemistry between Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams grabs you and doesn’t let you go. If you, however, are coming into this with knowledge of who these characters are and where they’re supposed to be, then this is just a treat, one that needs no explanation.
LUST AT FIRST SIGHT?
It isn’t love at first sight for Shane and Ilya, but there’s clear interest at first sight.
Storrie and Hudson play their characters perfectly. Shane is the overachieving good kid, the one who wants to be friends with everyone. And Ilya is the damaged sort-of-bad boy who can’t help but be intrigued by Shane. Their dynamic is very much established from the beginning. And as it grows through the ups and downs of their meetings, the draft and that first charged moment of competition at the gym, you can see what it is they both get out of the relationship.
The attraction is obvious even before the gym scene. But if you had any doubt that this was a romance, that scene sets the stage. For Shane’s issues with outside control. For Ilya’s issues with inside control. Because the thing is, Shane wants to control the environment. He wants to control life. Ilya, on the other hand, wants to control his relationships because that’s what he’s never had control over. Somewhere, in the middle, they meet. And the push and pull manages to be what each other needs, even without realizing it.
“Rookies” continues with this thread when it comes to their sexualities. Because Ilya already knows he likes men. Shane discovers it because of Ilya. Neither of them wants it to get out—on that they agree—but their reasons are vastly different. For Shane, being gay doesn’t fit with the image of himself he’s always believed in, with what he thinks people expect. He could challenge it; he has it easier. But he’s not ready to do that. To even think about that possibility would require giving up some of the control over who he is and how he’s perceived, which he’s always held on to.
For Ilya, however, it’s not about fitting in with other people’s expectations. Instead it’s about holding on to his family and his country by being who he has to be. Ilya knows what being himself is like, and he likes it. He just can’t afford to do so because making that decision would mean losing everything. And sure, from the outside, we can judge his decision because his family sucks. We see it. But that doesn’t make it any less hard to give them up, especially when the alternative is… having nothing.
It’s a sad struggle for both, that much is true. But it’s not a similar struggle at all.
RIVALRY
This isn’t enemies-to-lovers, let’s be clear on that. The “antagonism” between Shane and Ilya lasts 0.2 seconds. And it’s never real antagonism; it’s attraction neither of them knows how to process at first. This is, if anything, friends-with-benefits to lovers. And the first episode leans into both their rivalry on the ice and the friends-with-benefits part, with an emphasis on the benefits.
There are glimpses, though, of them becoming more. Ilya giving Shane his phone number. Shane covering up for Ilya in the press conference because he understands that some of the things that come naturally for him (particularly in English) might not be as easy for Ilya, despite his cocky demeanour. But that’s all it is for now. A possibility. They’re not in love yet, and they’re not even really friends. They are two people who are very drawn to each other, but that don’t know how to express that. So they have sex about it.
And the sex is good! They’re both enjoying it. And the way the scenes are framed, lit—and acted—gives us a real glimpse of not just what they like, but who they are. There’s a lot of sex in the book, and a part of me wondered how the show was going to translate all that sex to actual intimacy without an internal monologue. It turns out that when you have two actors with as much chemistry as Williams and Storrie and both an appreciation for the source material and an understanding that TV is a different medium, you can manage to do that while turning these characters’ thoughts into much-needed words.
DIFFERENT LIVES
Shane and Ilya are different people. That’s part of the appeal of not just this as a story, but of the dynamic between them. I’d hesitate to call them opposites. But they have been brought up in very different environments. And that means they don’t process things the same way. Ilya grew up in an emotionally distant family. And though he feels a level of affection for his father and his brother, it’s clear that the relationship they have isn’t warm and fuzzy.
That’s the complete opposite of Shane, who has two loving parents who are there for him, and who not just want the best for him, but will stand in front of him and help him fight tooth and nail for what he wants. Shane clearly doesn’t appreciate it as much as he could right now, but having that is the kind of cheat code not everyone gets, and that makes your life easier.
All we get in this episode are glimpses of how different things are and how their internal struggles are so dissimilar. Shane gets conversations about the kind of role model he can be, while Ilya gets a brother who asks for money and a father who isn’t quite there—but when he is, he’s holding Ilya to impossible standards. Of course, neither of them can change their circumstances, and Shane isn’t supposed to solve Ilya’s problems, just like Ilya isn’t meant to carry Shane’s doubts.
This isn’t about that. It’s about seeing, in the distance, a person who might be… not the one that completes you, as some romantic movies claim, but the one that can provide a safe port in a storm while you fight your own battles. But how do you reach for them? How do you let them mean what you want them to? That’s the journey.
WHO THEY ARE
Different backgrounds translate to different people. And Williams and Storrie play Shane and Ilya, respectively, in such perfect fashion that it’s like they stumbled out of the pages of the book and then, somehow, added their own touch to these already complex and wonderful characters. This is obvious in the hockey moments, in the instances we get of them interacting outside of the bedroom, and even in their sex scenes.
The dynamics going on in their sex scenes reinforce who these characters are outside of the bedroom. Ilya is cocky, but deep down, very sweet. Shane is a little shy, a tad apprehensive, but ultimately confident in what he wants. In private, Shane, the ultimate control freak, doesn’t mind giving up control. In private, Ilya, the cocky jock who cares about nothing, doesn’t worry about being a little gentler than people expect of him.
Shane’s control and confidence outside of the cocoon he’s created with Ilya doesn’t make him a less interesting character. Instead, the little glimpses we get of the other Shane, the more we want to see him put the two together. The same goes for Ilya’s softness when he’s with Shane. People can be two things, and even five things at once. And people can even be those things and still struggle with what parts of themselves they can show the world.
That’s where this episode ends, with Shane and Ilya both struggling in different ways. Finding comfort in each other, even for a second, and then pulling away. Well, Shane is pulling away. Ilya’s just being chaotic. But then again, isn’t that the dynamic they’ve established in public? In private, it’s very, very different.
Agree? Disagree? What did you think of Heated Rivalry Episode 1 “Rookies”? Please share with us in the comments below!
Episodes 1-2 of Heated Rivalry are now available to stream in the US on HBO Max.
