Heated Rivalry Episode 2 “Olympians” is a very big step forward for the story, and for the relationship between Shane and Ilya. It’s also a very important episode for what Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie are building with these characters. Because “Rookies” was mostly a lot of sex with glimpses of feelings, but “Olympians” starts to develop what’s really behind the masks these two characters wear, and the actors shine at making little things count.
From a small smile by Hudson as Shane when Ilya wins the cup, to Storrie’s playing Ilya as someone who is down bad for Shane, even when he tries to deny it—there’s a lot in this episode that feels like buildup, and yet there’s a lot that lands as certainty. No one should come out of “Olympians” doubting that this relationship is about more than sex. No one should come out of it without the understanding that yes, miscommunication is Shane and Ilya’s problem, but the miscommunication isn’t just about their relationship, but about who they are.
We talked about how Shane and Ilya come from different backgrounds in our Episode 1 review, but this episode gives us more of that by taking us to Russia—a Russia that only accepts one Ilya, and it’s not the one he is. Shane, in his infinite empathy, tries to understand how that feels for Ilya, what it means. But it’s very clear from this hour that he isn’t even close to grasping how it has shaped Ilya, and how it still, in many ways, defines him.
But he doesn’t have to figure it out right away. Neither does Ilya. That’s the beauty of the journey. There’s time.
ARE YOU OKAY?
A lot happens in this episode, but there’s nothing that struck me as deeply as Ilya’s constant checking in with Shane as the two are having penetrative sex for the first time. There’s a little bit of cockiness before, and there’s a lot of Ilya’s brash manner, but that all changes when it’s finally time. Because Ilya, when push comes to shove, is a tender and loving man who has come to care so much about Shane’s wants and needs. So, he checks in. And then he does it again, and again.
It’s not about taking what he wants; it’s about making sure that this experience is good for Shane, too. Not because Shane will talk, not because of his reputation. But because Ilya truly cares about Shane. That translates to a desire to give him pleasure, yes, but also a desire to make sure he is not in any way, shape or form making him uncomfortable.
Considering the state of their relationship when they’re not having sex, it’s a little ironic. Ilya lives for making Shane uncomfortable. Even the non-sexual interactions the two have are borderline edging, from Ilya certainly, and sometimes even from Shane. In a way, that’s what the two are best at when they’re not in the bedroom. Pushing each other. For better or worse. Sometimes that culminates in sex. Other times, though, it makes one or the other want to open up. And for both, that second option is much scarier.
But this episode makes it clear that Shane is one step ahead of Ilya in being able to accept that their relationship might be more than sex, at least in private. And that’ll come into play soon. Because as fuckbuddies, Shane has nothing to lose. If it’s something else, though… well, that’s too dangerous to be allowed.
RUSSIA
“Olympians” really puts into perspective what Ilya is facing. No support. A brother who uses him. No mother. A father who keeps trying to mold him into what he wants Ilya to be without ever taking the time to consider what Ilya wants. And yet, how could Ilya give that up? It’s home. The alternative is unthinkable. But then, there’s Shane. Trying to be friendly. Caring. And that gets to Ilya. It does.
That’s why he reacts the way he does, because Ilya doesn’t know how to want and let himself have someone like Shane. Ilya doesn’t know how to be kind to himself, and that means he can only have Shane and softness when no one’s watching. When no one will see through him and realize who Ilya really is.
Outside of Russia, there’s one Ilya. The one who’s playful and tender, in the bedroom and outside of it. The one who shares a little bit of himself with Shane. And the one who, perhaps, might even come to accept that they are something resembling friends, at this point. In Russia, however, that Ilya doesn’t exist. And when they return from Russia, mentally, Ilya is still there. He wants, but he can’t let himself have, so he compromises. Or tries to.
Except he really can’t resist Shane. He thinks he can. He thinks he can take control and, by doing so, make things about sex once again. Except you know what they say about the cat being out of the bag? It’s really, really hard to get him back in.
WHO THEY ARE (PT 2)
We are not the same people throughout the course of our lives. We change, we grow, sometimes we regress. But we never stay static. That’s not how life works. Things happen to us, and they shape us, for better or worse. And that’s exactly what we’re seeing out of Shane and Ilya in this episode.
Shane has always been the funny, kind, empathetic person he is in this episode. But this hour comes with a greater understanding not just of what Ilya is going through, but what his role in the relationship is and what he wants from it. Ilya remains the cocky, brash, mouthy character he was at the beginning, but he’s also sweet, considerate and truly incapable of resisting Shane.
The show has been very faithful to the books in general, but in this episode, there’s a big change in how much time passes between the time Shane and Ilya first hook up and when they actually have sex. In the book, where we get an internal monologue, it makes sense that they would just continue meeting up because the blanks can be filled in with their thoughts. The show, however, has to build a relationship that isn’t just sex, and it has to give us these two men yearning for each other, even if it’s only a little bit.
This doesn’t make Ilya and Shane different people from who they are in the book. It doesn’t even deviate all that much from the timeline of when the big moments happen. It just allows Heated Rivalry to be clear about the message it’s sending: this is a love story, first and foremost. And isn’t that what we wanted from it?
WE DIDN’T EVEN KISS
The episode ends on a scene that feels a lot about control, but that is mostly about Ilya’s issues. Their respective preferences have already been established two episodes in, but the Vegas scene goes a little further—not in a bad way. They’re both consenting adults doing something they want to do, but this moment is a definite break from the previous sex scene we get in that Ilya is trying to remove emotions from it. And since he is, Shane attempts to do so as well.
It’s not what Ilya wants. He probably doesn’t fully understand what he wants, not yet. But there is an inkling, somewhere. One he wants to bury deep. And since he can’t get the thing he wants but won’t admit he wants—for many reasons, among them that he won’t even let himself want it, Ilya resorts to making it all about sex. Because that’s worked for them before, and it’s made him feel good. When he’s with Shane, he can forget. And Ilya desperately wants to forget everything, even who he is.
Afterwards, when they’re sitting in bed talking, we can see how flimsy his excuses are and how close we are to the mask he wears cracking. Because all it takes is Shane’s curiosity and care for Ilya to spook. Whether that is because he realized that Shane actually cares, or because he finally owned up to the fact that he cares enough to want to tell Shane things, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that, at this point, this is clearly about more than sex. They both see it. And yet what can they do about it? Nothing. Or, at least, that’s what they think.
Agree? Disagree? What did you think of Heated Rivalry Episode 2 “Olympians”? Share with us in the comments below!
Episodes 1-2 of Heated Rivalry are now available to stream in the US on HBO Max.
