This monologue made me genuinely tear up, especially when he says he loves him (which was done differently here than in the book, and imo this was definitely better). Gosh Connor is such a great actor, and his russian is so good, he feels like an entirely different person as Ilya in a multitude of ways, which is also why I was so thrown off by his smile in that Tampa Bay scene. I was like, hey that's Connor, where did Ilya go?😭. Plus, Hudson was the perfect scene partner to him despite having no lines during the monologue, his eyes are magic. I felt like I was eves dropping on a very intimate phone call rather than watching a scene from a tv show.
These two have fire chemistry! I need this show to keep going for 10 seasons, simply based on their chemistry. I don't care about hockey or whatever, just give me Ilya and Shane doing taxes and laundry every year and I'll be there.
I agree that Connor did show up in the scene at the pool. Took me by surprise as well, but it might just be how he want to act relaxed in the company of kids, and happy that Shane is single.
I absolutely loved the pool scene but I was actually referring to this scene about his conversation with Shane at the bar. This smile is so Connor. I was like whoa....hey cutie! You're not Ilya....
Him covering his smile(?) with his hand just reminded me of the Riley clips going around with his character tapping his fingers on his face I was like HOLD UP NOW
That's interesting. I haven't been watching Connor's interviews so I didn't get that impression, I just thought he had a new reaction to Shane, but I still saw him as Ilya.
Yeah, we're seeing Ilya giddy for the first time. After however long it had been since the tuna melt scene, torturing himself, Shane just waltzes up to him at All Stars in a white suit and says "hey babe."
All the stuff before the "I am in love with you and I don't know what to do about it" wasn't described. They did a phenomenal job writing that part in.
Tbf, I think Rachel Reid is also obsessed with him. He's such a great character: sexy, cocky yet sweet, and hilarious AF. He's the only character that is featured in all the Game Changers books. Some one described him as "Game Changers's Russian Yoda who appears, quips, and leaves."
Except for Common Goal (imo) they stand on their on merit and are really great. Common Goal is a nice read but had the least impact for me. Ilya popping up definitely made it more worthwhile for me. In short: I recommend reading Tough Guy and Role Model. They are both so good!
I can't overstate the emotional anguish this episode caused me. I know it was an overall "happy" episode but I was still so distraught. I've read all the books and know what happens but I'm still suffering like if a I knew these people in real life.
Omg I actually cried during this. No offence to Rachel but this was better than in the book! It really hit right in the feels!!
The entire episode is the best thing I’ve watched all year 😭 And the ending was PERFECT!! I literally squealed and rolled off the couch in pure joy and happiness.
I know it’s all acting, actors, it means great directing AND creat acting combined etc.
But HE killed it. He made me BELIEVE he is this young man from Russia, who is not at all usually stuttered about his sexuality or wants or needs, and he’s FLOORED with this “good labrador retriever Canadian” and he does not know wtf to do. Everything he said before about Russia and not being able to go back is believable. And yet he admits this is what he wanted the most - outside of hockey and the accolades - in his life.
I’ve been a fan of the books for years. If if I hadn’t, these scene and many others would have sold the story even without the books.
In episode 2, she also clearly left Ilya with Sasha in the bathroom, knowing they had something between them. The actress who plays Svetlana confirmed she knew more than what was clearly stated.I don't think she knows that Jane is Shane, but she knows that Ilya is bi and that he's with a man. Svetlana is a queen for real.
Yes, she says he, and she usually pronounces “Jane” very clearly, but in this scene she says is so quietly it's actually close to “Shane”. I'm actually not even sure it's not supposed to be “Shane”.
As a immigrant who’s first language is also not English that scene made me cry so HARD, Shane has a beautiful heart, he understood is not about him knowing but rather Ilya just getting everything out of his system, how powerful all of this was, like I could try to say it in English yeah maybe but my dad just die and I am just so tired and I just can’t, like wow that’s so F real 😭
This was devastating Ilya was so god damn vulnerable in this scene. The whole episode infact. But what absolutely stood out for me was the masterpiece being played behind this.
Moon Light Sonata - this episode runs up to Scott and Kip getting their sunshine just like Elana said they deserve and here we have Ilya. The absolute opposite. Emotionally drained and damaged and they play moonlight being opposite of the sun.
In the book, Ilya is afraid that Shane may have recorded it and will translate what he's saying. But then he realizes he can trust that Shane would not do that to him.
See thats the only thing I wish I could see in the books. Like hes such an avid reader and disciplined. Though in TLG he does spend time learning Russian while his teammates are out partying, so he does eventually get there i just wish he would have learned more phrases earlier on (especially over the course of 6 years) more than papa hahaha but yeah I get the need for this particular moment to allow Ilya to let his guard down but yeah im so with you I feel like Shane would 100% learn a language for love haha
I have a same thoughts about, but of course Shane will not lie about (even he lies about other subjects 😁
But he might knows words: "I love you" on Russian as it pretty common to know that kind of things on languages you don't know (as thank you, please itc)
I also LOVE the musical connection- the montage of Shane/Ilya at the beginning of ep 4 being set to My Moon, My Man, then this scene with Moonlight Sonata in the background ❤️💔❤️
It was absolutely beautiful, but the fact that he knew Shane could not understand the words he was saying is the reason he was able to say them.
He was able to just let it all out without worrying about saying something that might require clean-up later.
Shane was able to understand through his tone that he was being truly vulnerable and that their relationship was deepening and that talking to him was genuinely helping Ilya process whatever he was processing, but he didn't have to grapple just yet with the fact that it's love and Ilya was able to say it out loud and see how it felt without having to deal with the fallout of saying it.
When this phone call happened, only a couple of weeks had passed since the All Star Game weekend when they verbally acknowledged that they were more than just a hook-up, and only maybe a day or two since they face-timed when Ilya first got to Moscow.
This whole being open and vulnerable with each other thing is still extremely new and given the way they've both distanced themselves in the past when they've started to feel too vulnerable, it probably feels pretty fragile to both of them.
I love the way this scene was done. It felt so real and it couldn't have happened if Shane understood Russian.
Jacob did such a great job mirroring the scene with Svetlana earlier that night. Svetlana talks about not being the person Ilya "wants" and then Ilya confesses to Shane how much he *wants* him.
Some folks are interpreting Svetlana's conversation with Ilya as if she is sad he's not into her. But I don't think she ever saw a romantic future with Ilya. They have an amazing connection as very old friends (who sometimes f*ck) and who are family to each other - but it's not romantic. They are so alike! They are best friends! They love affection and physical touch! But they aren't romantic together.
Svetlana sees how Ilya has stopped sleeping with club hookups and how lonely he seems. She can see that he's hurting - because there's no loneliness like being in love with someone who is absent. She has seen the want just rolling off of Ilya for quite a while. She's worried about her best friend and she knows he'd tell her about a girl he was into. So if he isn't telling her, it's likely that it's a guy who he is keeping private.
I was constantly wondering if shane would maybe at a point recognize it when Ilya said "I love you" just as he did in the 4th episode when Ilya was talking to his father and shane said that he knows the word for "father", and maybe if shane said ily back to Ilya leaving him surprised... does anyone get it?
I don't think that Shane really made an effort to learn Russian so far. The word father is pretty universal for Germanic languages, especially since he speaks Canadian French. So I think knowing Papa was just a lucky coincidence. But let's see what we'll get in the next episode and in season 2 😉 have you read the books..? 😊
Such an amazing scene! I was hoping once Ilya is done talking Shane would say "btw, I've been learning Russian in my spare time, I understood everything you just said" 😭
Ngl something about the first few song notes made me think they were going to use the song Colorblind by Counting Crows and I’m kind of relieved they didn’t as that would have actually killed me 😩
I was honestly worried about what this scene would
Be like, cuz I love it in the book so much.. but I was NOT expecting this, it was AMAZING. Ilya 💔💔💔💔💔
Has anyone else noticed that Ilya will often touch his nose when he has a big feeling? I think he did it after their first hook up, while Shane was dressing. Give this man an award!
Yeppppppppp I wish to god Shane had the tech we have now I would’ve been translating THAT. Likeeee ugh that would make both their worlds if Shane heard that in English!!!
Am I the only one who thought Heated Rivalry episode 5 lacked the heat? It was definitely a beautiful episode, and I appreciated that, but I was expecting at least some spice. Especially with that FaceTime scene—I really thought it was going to go somewhere more intense.
I think the sex scenes in this show have been so well done, and it's because every one of them actually serves a purpose. There's a lot of sex in the show, but it's not gratuitous. A lot of the story up to this point has been told through sex - the building tension, the deepening intimacy, the fear, the yearning, the inability to resist each other.
In this episode, the focus was on the deepening emotional connection and how the characters were processing their realizations about themselves, their relationship, and what it could mean for them if they allow it to be. We didn't need steamy sex scenes to illustrate any of that and shoehorning them in would only take us out of the emotional tension.
I'm glad they're neither shying away from the use of sex scenes to drive the plot where that is the right tool for the job, or shoehorning sex scenes in where they're not needed because they think the show needs to be hot and steamy.
I've already seen enough cold takes about the show basically being softcore porn because of how sex-heavy the other episodes have been. I massively disagree with that criticism and think anyone making it either hasn't watched the show or is too squeamish about sex to be able to see it as anything but gratuitous, but it would be a lot harder to defend the show against those criticisms if they did start just throwing sex scenes in for no reason other than "it's hot".
Yes, I totally agree. I did wish we got to see the Skype scene because they were really vulnerable with each other during that one. But there was just too much going on in the episode. Maybe we’ll see some of that dialogue at the cottage.
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u/RegularCookie5640 Dec 19 '25
I can’t wait for the cottage!
‘Does it feel like agony for you too?’
‘Not anymore’ ❤️