Heated Rivalry Episode 5: All the most romantic moments, including that shocking miracle on ice

  CAUTION: Spoilers ahead for Heated Rivalry Episode 5, “I’ll Believe In Anything” 

After last week’s Heated Rivalry saw Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie) & Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) get closer than ever before only to push each other even further away, this episode finds the duo knocking down many of the obstacles between them, one by one.

And it all leads to the most euphoric episode climax yet—and, quite possibly, the single most euphoric thing we’ve seen on TV all year—brilliantly threading in the story of Scott Hunter (François Arnaud) and Kip Grady (Robbie G.K.) to thrilling effect. Never before have the words, “I’m coming to the cottage” sounded so romantic!

But we’re getting ahead of ourselves here; there’s plenty more to discuss, from Rose Landry (Sophie Nélisse) being the ultimate ally, to the boys’ Tampa Bay team-up, to Ilya’s tearful Russian monologue, and Shane’s harrowing whoopsie on the ice.

Let’s get into it all as we unpack the most notable moments from the latest Heated Rivalry…

“I Kinda Prefer Being The Hole”

The episode begins with Shane waking up in bed next to Rose, apologizing for the night before—presumably because he had trouble performing. More perceptive than we realized, Rose asks him out to dinner where she peppers him with polite questions about her friend Miles’ (Devante Senior) attraction to him, and whether or not there are any out hockey players.

But when sweet, innocent baby Shane just isn’t getting it, Rose ditches the charade and rather directly asks if he’d prefer kissing Miles instead, which gets Shane a little choked up. “We’re more like a square peg in a round hole,” she says before catching how funny that sounds. Realizing she’s coming from a place of care and good intentions, Shane soon relents, admitting he has been with another guy before and that it was “better”—though he doesn’t mention Ilya—before adding “I kinda prefer being the hole rather than the peg.” Proud bottom representation!

They promise to remain really good friends, part ways, and that’s it! In a lesser show (or one required to spread its plot out over more than six episodes), you could’ve seen The Ballad Of Shane & Rose playing out much longer, with Shane continually lying to that poor girl’s face. Yet Heated Rivalry is too smart & cares too much about these characters to let them do that to themselves. Instead, we get a positive discussion between two lovely people, one that empowers Shane to speak on something he’s been too scared to and earns him a friend that really, truly knows him. It’s quite beautiful, really!

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Playing For The Same Team

For the first time since they ran into each other at that Montreal nightclub, Shane & Ilya are reunited in Tampa Bay, Florida, of all places—the most romantic city on earth! (Right?) They’re there for the 2017 all-star game, which will finally see these athletic rivals playing for the same team.

Of course, the game is mostly an afterthought; it’s essentially just an opportunity to get Shane & Ilya in the same room, again and again and again. No complaints here! That begins at the bar where Shane forgoes his usual ginger ale for an actual beer, gets ribbed for hiring a stylist, and tells Ilya that he and Rose weren’t compatible. After a cute scene of Ilya racing some kids in the pool (which goes to show that, really, he’s a big softie) the guys reconnect in private on the beach at sunset, and then later for some real privacy in the hotel room.

Turns out, Ilya’s been doing some Googling and understands what “compatible” means, while Shane’s been doing some thinking: Now accepting of his sexuality, he’s ready to admit he wants something more from their relationship. “We get together, we f*ck, it’s simple,” Ilya says. “Bullsh*t, Shane responds. “It’s not just being gay, it’s you. Being gay is one thing, but this, f*cking your arch-rival, is another thing.” In his view, they could be “something,” though Ilya knows that would mean he could never go home to Russia again. It’s only when his father’s dementia comes up that Ilya gets emotional, prompting Shane to straddle him for an honestly adorable embrace.

It’s here we’ll note that this episode is comparatively light on steamy intimate scenes, but that’s because, for once, these guys are actually talking about their feelings instead of just f*cking their way through them. In a rare move, the show actually cuts away from their hotel-room sex, only to catch up with them afterward as they say goodbye, using one another’s first names. For these two, it doesn’t get anymore intimate than that!

From Russia With Love

For their next face-off in Boston, the guys arrange plans for their usual post-game “celebrations,” but Ilya ghosts, which we soon find out is because he got word that his father passed and had to hop on the next flight to Moscow. When they’re finally able to connect over FaceTime, Ilya shares the news, though he’s so distracted/turned on by Shane’s reading glasses, they opt for a little phone sex instead.

At a dinner for his dad’s funeral, Ilya’s brother Alexei (Slavic Rogozine) confronts him, calling him a “rich f*ggot who abandoned his family,” though what really sets him off is when Alexei calls Svetlana (Ksenia Daniela Kharlamova) a “wh*re.” It’s then and there that Ilya decides to tell his brother off for good, warning that he never wants to hear from him again—while also mentioning he’s setting up a trust for his niece (again, he’s a softie). Svetlana comforts him, but knows she’ll always be competing for Ilya’s affection: “I just hope Jane knows how lucky he is.” He can’t hide it from her anymore.

When he calls Shane, Ilya’s too emotional for English, so Shane encourages to tell him in Russian—he won’t understand, but it might help. That’s when Ilya launches into a monologue divulging that he hates Russia, and that all of his relationships there feel empty, and he feels guilty for not being there to take care of his father, who’s now left him all alone, except for… “I’m so in love with you I don’t know what to do with myself,” he admits in his native tongue to Shane, none the wiser.

It’s been said before, but Connor Storrie’s mastery of the Russian language for the role is very impressive. That he’s able to sound so fluent while maintaining the pained & vulnerable emotions Ilya’s going through is nothing short of remarkable.

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Checked!

A mere week later, Ilya’s back in the States, and the Montreal Metros & Boston Raiders are going head-to-head in the playoffs. Seemingly distracted by how juicy Ilya’s backside looks even under all that hockey padding, Shane gets pretty severely body-checked and is thrown to the ice. It’s brutal, though Ilya can’t risk showing his full concern lest he blow their cover. As the medics wheel him away half out of it, Shane asks them to tell his man he’s okay.

At the hospital, Shane’s on the mend—we learn he suffered a concussion, a fractured collarbone, and will have to sit out for the play-offs—but he’s suddenly feeling much better when Ilya comes to visit (those drugs have him a little loopy though!). That’s when he pops the question: Will Ilya come stay with him at the cottage over the summer, instead of going to Russia, where the two can just be completely alone? “Maybe,” Ilya cautiously replies.

Miracle On Ice

Crashing with his parents while he heals, we learn Shane’s still besties with Rose & the two have plans to hang soon. We also learn his mother (Christina Chang) is warming up to Ilya since he visited her son in the hospital and that she has a hunch it’s Scott Hunter’s “year” to win the Stanley cup. (“She’s a witch!”)

Well, that witch was right! The guys separately watch as The New York Admirals become the league champions for the first time in over a decade, a deserved victory lap for veteran player Scott who Ilya keeps joking is “old”… but also hot. As he skates some celebratory laps around the ice, we catch a glimpse of an ecstatic Kip in the stands, who Scott begins to beckon to, much to everyone’s confusion.

And that’s when the banging drum of “I’ll Believe In Anything” comes in, a jangly ’05 anthem from Canadian indie rock band Wolf Parade, which also happens to be the title of the episode. Wait a minute, it’s happening isn’t it? That championship win under his belt, Scott realizes he has nothing to lose, so he guides Kip out onto the ice, tells him he loves him, and kisses him right there on the spot—on national television. Everyone watching is speechless, including us.

Suddenly, Shane gets a phone call, it’s Ilya: “I’m coming to the cottage.” End of episode. Holy sh*t.

In our opinion, that entire final sequence is nothing short of miraculous. Suddenly, it all clicks into place: Now we know why Heated Rivalry devoted it’s entire third episode to Scott & Kip—because it’d make this moment hit even harder. And, as Storrie & Williams teased in our interview last week, we’re already seeing how the culmination of their story is a “pivotal” moment, not just for Shane & Ilya’s relationship, but probably the entire National Hockey League, too. At least in the world of the show.

It really is a game-changer, and our heart flutters every time we think about it. Here, take a listen to that Wolf Parade track again, and let the euphoria wash over you. You know you want to:

What’ll be the after-math of this historic moment? And what’s about to go down at that cottage? Find out on Dec. 26 in the finale of Heated Rivalry Season1, streaming on HBO Max & Crave in Canada.

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