Heated Rivalry Episode 3 moves its focus from Shane and Ilya to Scott Hunter, and as much as we really want to know what’s next for our favorite clueless lovers, the detour is not just charming, it’s also necessary for the story this show is telling with Shane and Ilya. Trust me, we need Scott to get to the end. And well, Scott is also so charming that it’s not a bad thing to spend a little time with him.
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The thing about Scott Hunter is that he’s basically Captain America, and François Arnaud plays that to a “t.” But Scott is also just a man, one who wants and who fears and who loves, so, so deeply. He makes the first move with Kip, and the second and the third, and he’s even afraid that he’s too intense because he’s just feeling so much and can’t keep it in.
Of course, that’s also the problem with Scott, that he’s keeping so much in. He’s keeping himself hidden by keeping his sexuality hidden. And though he’s doing so in a misguided attempt to protect the family he has found in hockey, the truth is that the family he thinks he has exists on a shaky foundation. That’s hard to swallow, but it’s true. Until you show people your true self and they accept you and love you because of it, then… can you really say they love you?
MEET CUTE
The meet-cute between Scott and Kip works so well that I was getting second-hand embarrassment from how cute they were. It hits absolutely every rom-com beat, and Robbie G.K.’s energy as Kip perfectly complements François Arnaud as Scott. These two are believable as two people who are just very attracted to each other right away, and are very awkward about the fact.
It was almost torture, of the good kind, to see Scott coming back and pretending it was all casual. Just as it was torture seeing Kip trying to tell himself Scott wasn’t flirting with him (he very much was), over and over. In fact, Scott was flirting so much it was making him reckless, considering he’s still very much in the closet. Meanwhile, Kip was just nice if a little interested at first, then… well, then he fell. Quickly.
Their energies match, and perhaps most importantly, they don’t match Shane or Ilya, together or apart. This is important for the show, as it needs to establish them as their own characters, and even for representation as a whole. Not all queer stories are the same, and we can enjoy different kinds of queer stories! In fact, we don’t need less—we need more. Way more.
YOU’RE STARTING TO SOUND LIKE HIM
We hadn’t even seen that much of Scott, and we already had a feeling his senses were tingling when it came to Shane and Ilya. There was the “your boy” comment. Then there was the fact that Scott was there as Ilya told Shane his room number during the All-Stars Skills competition. Maybe he didn’t exactly overhear, but he seemed to catch on that something was going on. Or, at least, suspect it.
This is proven in this episode when Scott tells Shane, “You’re starting to sound like him” in reference to Ilya after Shane does what we should all agree is a pretty basic job of trash-talking Scott during a game. But Scott’s frustration has nothing to do with Shane, and Shane’s reaction has very little to do with Scott. The important part here is that Scott likely knows.
What does that change? Very little. Scott’s decisions—or lack thereof, because we don’t get to the end of Game Changer in this episode—are about Scott, and a little bit about Kip and the relationship he wants to have. They’re not about Shane and Ilya, even if his decisions, his openness, his bravery, will (book spoiler!) be the thing that cracks the door open for those two to even consider that their relationship can be more than it is right now.
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I’M ASKING FOR WHAT I WANT
Scott is unapologetic about wanting Kip, and that part is very refreshing—particularly when we consider he’s not an out gay man. But the Scott we see meet Kip is a man who has been depriving himself of what he wants for so long. And he’s doing it for what he thinks are good reasons. He’s found community in hockey, a community that lifted him up and supported him after he tragically lost his parents. He can’t risk that.
But he does, for Kip. Let’s be clear on that. He is very clear about the fact that he can’t come out, at least “not right now,” but considering he’s a famous athlete, he still takes quite a few risks to sneak around with Kip. He might think he’s being careful, but careful is what he was being before. Kip makes him want to risk everything.
However, a decision like coming out cannot, should not, be made for someone else. Scott has to decide that he wants to have his relationship in public; he wants to show the world and those closest to him who he really is, and know that they accept him and love him because of it, not in spite of it. Right now, he doesn’t know any of those things. And though a part of him wants to believe it’s all about Kip, it really isn’t.
HE DESERVES SUNSHINE. AND SO DO YOU.
Elena lays it out for Scott at the gala, all while doing her best to protect her friend Kip. He deserves better, but so does Scott. This isn’t a story about Scott being a bad boyfriend, not really. Scott deserves understanding, even if his decisions are hurting Kip. Because he’s not coming from a bad place. He’s just afraid. And that fear is something most queer people will understand and relate to.
We live in a better world than queer people lived in twenty, forty years ago. That doesn’t mean it’s easy. That doesn’t mean that, in an environment like professional sports, and hockey in particular, Scott has no reason to worry that he will lose support, friendships, and even sponsorships if he comes out as gay. It’s just that it also doesn’t mean Kip can’t feel like he deserves more than being a secret.
For now, this is all in Scott’s hands. Kip won’t out him. But he also can’t wait for him forever. Scott is protecting Scott, so Kip has to protect Kip, as hard as that is sometimes.
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WHAT’S THE PLAN?
Well, those of us who have read this series know where the story is going, and I’m going to basically spoil it for everyone right now, because I need to in order to analyze what comes next. The episode doesn’t take us to the end of Game Changers, because chronologically and for the purpose of the show, Scott’s decision needs to come at a point where it will most affect Shane and Ilya. We’re not there yet. We’ll go back to those two next episode and are likely to see how Scott and Kip’s story plays out in Episode 5, if I had to guess.
But Scott does come out. In fact, in the book, he doesn’t just do that; he is the game changer. The one who changes things and makes it so it’s a possibility for Shane and Ilya. And he, of course, doesn’t do it for them. He doesn’t even do it for Kip. He does it for himself because Scott Hunter realizes that’s what he deserves. To be the captain, the hero, and to be gay and in a loving relationship. Out loud.
It’s not the same story as Shane and Ilya’s. For some, it might not be as engaging because it’s way cuter and softer. But it is, without a doubt, as important. Let’s give Scott his due. Not just for others, but for himself.
Agree? Disagree? What did you think of Heated Rivalry Episode 3? Please share with us in the comments below!
Episodes 1-3 of Heated Rivalry are now available to stream in the US on HBO Max.
