As an avid reader, I tend not to watch on-screen book adaptations unless I’ve read the source material. I stayed true to my word with “We Were Liars”, “People We Meet on Vacation”, and “The Housemaid”. That being said, when it came to the hit show “Heated Rivalry”, I couldn’t help but indulge in the adaptation before I dug my nose into the book series. To my surprise, it ended up being one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
It took me until midway through episode 2 to truly fall in love with Shane and Ilya’s story. I’ll admit, all the time jumps and fast paced scenes made me weary of the show’s capability. I stuck with it, partly because I’m a huge fan of sports romance novels, but also because I feel it’s important to support queer media. Once I saw Shane and Ilya run up the condo stairwell, I knew an obsession was brewing inside me.
When it came to episode 3, I was excited to be introduced to Scott and Kip. I loved knowing that there were other players in the league who were going through similar experiences as Shane and Ilya. When I saw Scott standing outside of the bar watching Kip from afar at the end of this episode, I felt overwhelmed with sorrow that they weren’t going to get their happy ending. Little did I know that their story would change the outcome of our favorite situationship’s lives.
Episode 4, while angering at times, was necessary to understand the intricate challenges of queer identifying individuals. Watching Shane struggle with his sexuality and experience compulsory heteronormativity made me feel so deeply with him. Especially being a professional athlete in a fictitious version of the NHL, which in the real world has no openly out LGBTQ+ players, it’s obvious that Shane was doing his best in a world where he felt so alone. By the time this episode dropped I was fully invested in the show, and that’s when my TikTok was filled with “Heated Rivalry” edits, predictions, and interviews.
Episode 5 is arguably one of the best pieces of televised media I have ever seen. From Shane’s coming-out scene, to Scott and Kip’s Stanley Cup kiss, the episode had me sobbing from start to finish. There was nothing quite like hearing Ilya say the words, “I’m coming to the cottage” and being filled with so much hope for the next episode. Jacob Tierney did such a great job with the timing of this episode, and I applaud his ability to fit so many plot points in just 55 minutes.
The cottage scenes in episode 6 made all of the sadness from earlier moments in the series wash away. Thanks to Scott and Kip, Shane and Ilya finally faced the reality of their 10 year long romance, admitting the hard truths about the things they want in their future together. Shane’s parents discovering the truth about the so-called rivalry they thought existed gave us one of the most emotionally raw moments, that being Shane coming-out to his mother, Yuna. When the episode ended, I was faced with the emptiness of knowing that we wouldn’t get to see these characters again for at least a few years, but I was grateful to have been a part of watching the story unfold in real time.
This show was truly lightning in a bottle. With a lack of funding and minimal time on their hands, the production team went above and beyond to portray Shane and Ilya’s story with care. Hudson and Connor were the perfect pair to play the main characters, and their off-screen friendship has been amazing to witness. Even a month later, I am still not over this show, and I can’t wait to read the book series in full!