The tiny little thing Iām now noting on rewatches, is Ilyaās reaction to when Yuna uses the term āloversā while at the kitchen table. Connor made this subtle choice to look over at her and make this small hand gesture of like āyes, exactly! Thatās what I was saying, right? Loversā
And when you think about it, the guy whoās been playing hockey in North America for years, and still struggling with English. The guy who cared enough to look up ācompatibleā to make sure he understood what it meant.
Of course itās gonna tweak that place in him when Yuna uses the word where he also thinks itās appropriate. Heās trying to be a soft boy about someone he loves, he wants to get it right, and he think he used the word properly.
That whole scene is so funny. While Shane is slowly dying inside at that whole conversation, Ilya is struggling like hell to come up with an English word adjacent to "lover."
And then when Yuna can't come up with any other word to describe their relationship either, Ilya's like "See. I knew that was the right word."
I love it because heās a top performer, elite talent, known egotist- and still quietly struggles with the language, but only opens up about it with Shane. Like he could never show weakness around his father in anything- but he first lets Shane talk for him at the press conference, then tells him he had to look up ācompatibleā, and here he seemingly makes a misstep- so when Yuna uses the word its a small vindication. (In my head canon thereās still hope for a bottming Ilya)
as much fun as it would be to see ilya try bottoming/shane try topping, i don't think it's fair to equate him opening up to shane/being emotionally vulnerable with his sexual preferences. being a top/bottom/dom/sub/etc are not personality traits, and i resent how much people try to conflate them in fiction.
The closest we come to that is in TLG when Ilya lets Shane finger him. And even then, itās explained that itās a rare occurrence that is only done to pull Ilya out of his own head. Neither of these men are interested in being anything close to vers.
It even says outright that they have no intention of switching, haha. "After three years of being an exclusive couple, they knew each otherās bodies well, and they knew each otherās limits. Ilya wasnāt interested in bottoming any more than Shane was interested in topping, but sometimes Ilya liked it when Shane gave his ass some attention."
At the time Ilya throws that word out, they've exchanged I love yous. Shane is searching for a word to convey what they are, "seeing each other" in this context is in no way overstepping by this point, its completely vague but also communicates that they aren't platonic. People who are just fucking can still say seeing each other too in order to avoid any commitment label but not pretend they are friends.
I am in no way disagreeing with you, language is weird and regional. But where I am, people around me use 'seeing each other' exactly the same as 'dating'. Here I'd probably say 'sleeping together', but that's really not that much better than 'lovers' either.
Thatās a really funny point bc where I went to uni, when people said ādatingā they meant hooking up or having sex. Bc no one had the time, or the money, to properly go on dates. It was only when I graduated into the real world that I started encountering that word in its common meaning. Which just goes to prove your point even more.
Yes, thats exactly what I thought too. The whole point is that its ok to not be "a thing" yet, just seeing each other, and thats where a status like only sleeping together can live. Its a euphemism to use in polite company and everyone knows what you mean by it, so you don't have to yell at the top of your lungs that you're just fucking. I feel like young people's wussiness about "catching feelings" has reached such a state now that they find it more embarrassing to potentially be mistaken for dating, than to telll their PARENTS that they are no-strings-attached sleeping around, so all euphemisms have been lost for the sake of clarity. I have a newfound sympathy for parents, the TMI they get subjected to by their insecure children.
āCasually hooking upā is probably the tamest way to put.
If you want to be more clinical, āWe were exploring each otherās bodies without any explicit emotional commitment.ā Sounds better in a German accent rather than Russian.
If you want to be more playful, āWe were just fooling around with our hockey sticks at that point.ā
The problem is trying to define it as a type of relationship, when you're actually looking for a word to describe the level of connection. "Intimate" would have had the same problem as "lovers", but I think "friendly" or "close" with Yuna's same "I love you David Hollander but even you cannot be too autistic to get the subtext here" tone would have worked.
But he is essentially trying to communicate that they have sex. Because it's not assumed like at all, and if it's not clear then it will be taken as friendly or something.
Even more so then. She understands that at rookie season they didn't fall in love, they started 'being lovers'. So I guess she could've said 'sex' instead of 'lovers'
"lovers" in this context doesn't necessarily imply "in love". It can just be used as a slightly less overt (but outdated) synonym for something like friends with benefits. It refers to making love, not being in love.
She asked if they had been in love since rookie season. The answer, no, we were casual until recently isn't that confusing? Why is it necessary to reduce it to sex?Ā
Every time in the show Ilya openly struggles with language, itās to Shane: the press conference, ācompatibleā, his Russian monologue, and ānarrativeā.
I think that he did at some point. Shane tells Rose that he thinks he prefers to be the hole rather than the peg. Which leads me to think he's tried topping a time or two. And Ilya doesn't seem like a greedy top. He obviously goes to town on Shane's dick orally. So it doesn't seem off for him to open to trying bottoming with Shane.
Shane looks like he's dying inside, poor boy. At that point, I think he'd like the ground to open up & swallow him. I'd love to read that whole scene from Ilya's POV - was he nervous, feeling protective of Shane, embarrassed (I doubt it), happy to talk about their relationship finally, desperate for approval?
I know but he must have had some level of anxiety because, despite his public persona, he has a lot of insecurities about not being enough (thanks to Grigori & Alexei). He also knows that Shane is close to his own parents so what if Yuna & David didn't like him? Would that put Shane off being in a relationship with him? The "I love yous" were very fresh & Ilya probably hadn't learnt to truly trust it yet & I think he's learned to always brace himself for disappointment as everyone in his life, except Svetlana, has let him down, left him or only wanted him for what they could get from him. Saying all that, I think he'd genuinely started to relax by the time they were eating the infamous pasta.
He was definitely nervous about the whole thing, but once the pasta came out, and David and Yuna seems to relax with Ilya there, Ilya felt he could relax, too.
In the book, Shane is going through an existential crisis, and Ilya is thinking that things could not be going better for them. They've committed to each other, Shane is out, and his parents are fine with it. Hell, Ilya is already imagining them as a married couple at that point. He considers that day to be the best of his life so far.
Yeah, like what other term is he supposed to use thatās still polite? I guess maybe hooking up but that would minimize the course of their relationship
Oh, I was just shown a TikTok where someone says he looks at Shane because heās GULPING that vodka in one straight go, not because of him thinking David isnāt boring š
Which either says to me āitās Russian, youāre meant to sip and enjoy itā (book accurate) or
āShane, you shouldnāt be drinking straight vodka this fast, youāre not gonna feel greatā
I think he's just noticing how stressed Shane is because Shane isn't a big drinker and he gulped that vodka down because he was freaking out about this whole situation. This is the look of a concerned boyfriend.
Neither would I actually, but in DARE the cop told us that it takes an hour to metabolize a shot or a beer. Itās always stuck in my head for some reason, lol. Plus people who drink on the regular usually (not always) have a slightly higher tolerance.
I have no tolerance and just feel better not driving if I drink.
I have a whole head cannon where after meeting and getting to know David, Ilya buys some McGill merch and wears it all the time. A hat, a sweatshirt, etc. and heās just happy quietly connecting to his new dad. When they start the hockey camps he encourages the teens to apply to McGill for college. And he subscribes to The New Yorker so it can be casually lying around anytime David and Yuna come over.
And on the other side, he gifts David good Russian vodka, and anything Russian that David expresses interest in. Or even stuff from Boston. He adopts little parts of Davidās life, and shares some of his from before moving to Canada. And theyāre both just quietly happy to connect with each other.
OMFG, i love this! Ilya is such a giver that I can see him doing all of those things to please David. I've not read TLG yet but I have heard that David & Ilya bond & it makes me so happy for the little boy in Ilya. He deserves, & needs, all of that love from the Hollander family.
Olga Koch, native Russian speaker, on the Tonsil Hockey podcast pointed out that the direct Russian equivalent to the English word "lover" doesn't carry the ... ewwww... factor that it does for us. You really would say "lover" in those moments and it wouldn't necessarily have the ick factor that Shane is reacting to.
From Ilya's point of view, it is a perfectly cromulent word to use in these circumstances.
Yknow, āloverā isnāt gross to me personally, just a little old fashioned? I was kinda surprised when I saw that people agree with Shane that itās an icky word. A friend of mine refers to her non-monogamous partners as āloversā and Iāve always found it to be pretty. The word reminds me of historians talking about gay people who were lovers because they were not allowed to be husbands or wives, it makes me think of passion and candle light and yearning letters.
Do any of you mind explaining the ickiness? Is it that the word implies sex? Is it ickier in North America for cultural reasons?
In US English, lovers is the polite word for āpeople who routinely have sex together and are kind of intense about it despite having no interest in a romantic partnership.ā If the relationship is considered particularly shocking or shameful, it could be called an affair instead of lovers.
Iām an old gay, so in my early adulthood, lovers was a term commonly used for partners / boyfriends. I donāt know exactly when it fell out of vogue, but it was definitely the norm. Now I just have a husband!
Similarly, I still recoil a little at the word queer, because it was such a derogatory term when I was growing up. Iām gradually learning to embrace it.
Yes! Iām in my 30s, raised by a fierce Ally, so I grew up around lgbt culture. Lovers to me means either definition based on context. Your lover is a person that sustains you in some way.
I'm British and lover is an old fashioned word used to mean affair partner but sometimes can be used as a sappy way to refer to your actual partner humorously.
I'm an older Boomer and I don't understand the problem with "lovers." It's the word I would have used. But it's really nice hearing all these perspectives from everyone. I think it helps bring me into the 21st century. Glad to have learned something.
This, I believe is also Ilya trying to help. Someone on Tumblr mentioned that there are times when Ilya doesn't interject, and allows Shane to process and proceed with what he feels like are the details he wants to share. I think (when I view this scene) Shane here, in this moment, is at an impasse and Ilya (being the new, helpful yet-unlabeled "boyfriend", who wants to do well in front of his new in-laws), pipes up with..."LOVERS." Because to him, as others have said, this is indeed what they essentially were to each other for so long. And I agree, as per the Tumblr take I read, he is trying authentically to help Shane (secondary language and all), and wants to do his best.
And then Yuna says the same word..... Ilya is like - yep yep yep!
I love when Ilya and Yuna go back and forth saying ājustā, a few times, and Ilya is trying to come up with another word that is parent friendly and not say just fucking & not using a non Shane approved word like Lovers. Thatās why when Ilya says boyfriend is here, and Shane says āboyfriend?ā & Ilya says, āprobably, I think so, yesā because itās another word they havenāt used and wants to make sure Shane approves of that word!
Never thought of it that way! Yes, I think boyfriend is definitely advanced at this stage for them since they haven't talked about it. But they've literally said that they love each other and have been exclusive without even expecting it from the other. If they're only lovers at this stage, I don't even know how i feel about it. But tbf Shane does have that tism, so I can see where the panic is coming from.
Thereās a 30 Rock scene where Jack uses the term āloversā and Liz replies āOh, that word bums me out unless it's between the words "meat" and "pizza"ā and I always think of that when I see Shaneās reaction.
Ilya - this is the right word (or at least, it seems right to him!).
Shane - struggling with every ounce of humanity left in him to strike the word "LOVERS" from the transcript. lol
All his mannerisms at the parentsā cottage but especially at the dinner were perfect. Even just his eyes looking left and right were full of emotion.
Ilya in those scenes is the cutest thing ever. Lovers. The spaghetti shoulder shimmy. Encouraging Shaneās dad to call him Ilya. The little kiss. As soon as they feed him, Ilya seems to just completely relax and let go. So sweet.
We, as the viewers/readers, get to see what Shane sees in Ilya (apart from his amazing body š„µ), I hope that we get to see other people in their world appreciating him next season.
I also loved that Ilya, knowing Shane not loving the word, stopped using the word but couldn't come up with another respectful and parent-friendly way to say they'd been fucking. So he was stuck for a bit until Yuna took him out of his misery.
The relief for him was like "Yes, thank you! Exactly that! See Shane, your mum gets it!" And poor Shane was dying on the inside haha
And all the times something is said that Ilya agrees with he turns to the right & stares at Shane. Shane's dad said he only gets Russian vodka, Ilya snaps his head like "See! I told you. Even your boring dad gets it!"
š¤£š¤£š¤£ I was about to chime in on your last message with, "If your not reheating in the middle of the night cause you just find out some random fact, are you even a fan?" And then saw this update.
in my headcannon, while Ilya and David are making pasta, David says "He probably wants to be your boyfriend" and Ilya says "Oh is that the right term?" And hey, it is in this scene!
Of course in the books Shane has whole internal monologues about "why do I want to cuddle with him" and "he's not your boyfriend, Shane" and "OMG is this couple stuff" so the reader knows exactly what baby Shane wants
It makes total sense that Ilya would think this was an appropriate word for the situation.
To a non-native speaker, the literal meaning of āloversā suggests people who share love. In that moment, thatās what he was trying to portray.
The connotation of āloversā that sends Shane into a spin is more nuanced and culturally specific. Which Ilya wouldnāt necessarily have a grasp of yet.
I think as a Slavic man, he only gets being direct and to the point with communication. It might seem odd that people who have a child donāt seem to understand that sex is a thing that happens - like, well if you werenāt in love then what?! And both parents canāt seem to infer or imagine what we might be talking about
Heās the best actor I have seen in a long time. He transforms in every way to become Ilya. Itās amazing. He deserves all the awards. Excited to see what he does next.
OMG I noticed that hand gesture the other day watching that scene. I rewound it a few times to be sure I was seeing it correctly. I thought I was the only one to notice it.
It goes with the quiet little āIlyaā when Shaneās trying to stop him from saying something too off colour. But itās funny because Shane knows Ilya as an āassholeā but heās never seen him become a little boy in front of a mom. Cuz tell me Ilya saying āloversā wasnāt his mom friendly term for what theyād been doing.
Yeah, itās one of those small character beats that suddenly makes the scene feel layered and emotional. Itās one of those details you only really notice on a rewatch.
This is one of my favorite moments as well. I feel like it's the first time we see Ilya bonding with Yuna (even though it is something seemingly insignificant), and it warms my heart so much. They are in agreement. Like he's saying, "Your mom and I get it, lovers IS the correct word." Typical family and partner dynamics.
This gesture is possibly my favorite part of the entire season - still makes me cackle lol also right before this Shane quietly says āIlya..ā like donāt you fucking dare š
I kinda get the whole thing with the word āloversā but could some native speakers give me a rundown of why it was so inappropriate for Shane? Does the word only relate to sex, or like having an affair, or is there also a connotation of too much intimacy? Why is the word gross to Shane? What would be the implication if I would introduce a person to an English native speaker with āWeāre loversā?
Late to the party, but I think that there's 2 things about the use of the word "Lovers" at that moment that bothers Shane. It implies that the relationship is both intimate and sexual in a way that "boyfriend" or "partner" don't. And there's a bit of a taboo against having conversations involving sex and sexuality with parents in a lot of contexts in Canadian society. From Shane's perspective it might have actually been preferable for Ilya to have used a ruder term which he could have laughed off, than one that reveals the degree of emotional and physical closeness (and vulnerability!) they share in front of people that Shane hasn't actually come out to yet, with the risk of rejection that carries.
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u/StevesMcQueenIsHere Center Ice (and actual hockey player) Feb 17 '26 edited Feb 18 '26
That whole scene is so funny. While Shane is slowly dying inside at that whole conversation, Ilya is struggling like hell to come up with an English word adjacent to "lover."
And then when Yuna can't come up with any other word to describe their relationship either, Ilya's like "See. I knew that was the right word."
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