Тред сериала и вселенной Heated Rivalry

Анон · 2025-10-10 20:56:55

Heated Rivalry/Жаркое соперничество — это вторая книги из серии Меняя правила игры/Game Changers канадской писательницы Рэйчел Рид/Rachel Reid и одноимённый сериал.
Это история противостояния и любви двух хоккейных звёзд, канадца Шейна Холландера и россиянина Ильи Розанова.

▼Вся серия выглядит так:⬍

▼Где можно почитать:⬍

Первый сезон вышел в ноябре 2025 на канадской платформе Crave. Сериал продлён на второй сезон. Предварительная дата выхода второго сезона — 2027 год.
Джейкоб Тирни/Jacob Tierney — сценарист, режиссёр и продюсёр сериала. Кто-то может знать его по проектам Леттеркенни и Шорси.

▼Трейлер (ру-сабы) | Crave | Жаркое соперничество. 1 сезон (2025) +18⬍

▼Где посмотреть:⬍

▼Фандом⬍

▼Матчасть⬍

▼хронология сериала, содержит спойлеры⬍

Если кому-то интересно, то я сделала тут хронологию их отношений на основе дат, которые показали в сериале 😊 их возраст указала как в книге, мне кажется в сериале он такой же
Декабрь 2008 — 1 встреча. По 17 лет
Матч Россия Канада спустя неделю — Россия выиграла. Увидимся на драфте
Июнь 2009 - 6 месяцев спустя. Драфт. Совместная тренировка и мокрый разговор. По 18 лет
Декабрь 2009 - 6 месяцев спустя. Новый год. Илье звонит брат требует денег.
Следующий матч Россия Канада через несколько дней. Канада выиграла. Увидимся в октябре
Июнь 2010 — 6 месяцев спустя. Съемка рекламы. Момент в душе. Первый оральный секс. По 19 лет
Сентябрь 2010 — 3 месяца спустя. Шейн смотрит видео с Ильей 50 голов. Обед с родителями.
Матч Бостон Монреаль. Монреаль выиграл. Илья смотрит интервью Шейна на французском. Брат просит денег.
Январь 2011 — 4 месяца спустя. Совместная пресконференция. Матч звезд. Второй раз вместе. Обмениваются телефонами.
2 недели спустя матч Монреаль бостон отменен, появляется Светлана. Шейн ужинаем с Хейдоном и его семьей.
Май 2011 — 4 месяца спустя. Премия в Вегасе. Шейн лучший новичок. Поцелуй на крыше. По 20 лет.
Лето 2011 — Весна 2013. Переписываются и секстятся. По 21-22 года
Осень 2013 — Матч Монреаль Бостон. Монреаль выиграл. Третий раз вместе и первый секс. По 22 года
Зима 2014 — 13 февраля. Олимпиада. Россия проиграла матчи. Разговор Ильи с отцом/Министром/Сашей. Встреча на стадионе и ссора.
Весна 2014 — Илья выиграл Кубок Стенли, Шейн с командой смотрели его игру вместе. Это для тебя мама
Лето 2014 — не общались 6 месяцев. Премия в Вегасе, совместное выступление. Илья игрок года. Секс в отеле после. По 23 года

▼хронология книги, содержит спойлеры⬍

Справка по хоккейной матчасти от хоккееанонов:

Тут уже пару раз мелькали аноны незнакомые с НХЛ, так что я решила немного вводных дать для общего понимания.
https://holywarsoo.net/viewtopic.php?pi … #p18871422

▼Интервью создателей и актёров⬍

Архив всех интервью, которые давали в рамках промо первого сезона сериала Хадсон, Коннор, Джейкоб и ко (англ.) https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ … id=0#gid=0

Ру-перевод всех интервью, которые давали в рамках промо первого сезона сериала Хадсон, Коннор, Джейкоб и ко (обновляется)
https://teletype.in/@heatedrivalryeveryday

Все говорят об откровенных сценах в фильме «Жаркое соперничество» — познакомьтесь с женщиной, которая их поставила — Чала Хантер.
Координаторка по интимным сценам Чала Хантер рассказывает о создании самых пикантных моментов шоу и о том, почему они революционны.
англ. — https://www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/ … interview/
ру — https://teletype.in/@heatedrivalryevery … lle_251206

Хадсон Уильямс обсуждает свою роль Шейна Холландера в сериале «Жаркое соперничество», включая подготовку к роли, важность своего происхождения как канадца азиатского происхождения и ход мыслей, лежащий в основе ключевых сцен экранизации книги в первых эпизодах. Он также рассказывает о восторженной реакции фанатов, работе с партнером по съемочной площадке Коннором Сторри, своих рекомендациях по Ванкуверу и создании проектов в качестве кинорежиссера https://youtu.be/pKpeGdbkzXw?si=LWrRqlQFGm7oC6yU

~ ложноножка треда Тред актёров сериала Heated rivalry

Анон · Сегодня 12:11:22

Анон пишет:

Прочитала на реддит мысль, что Илья взял в коттедж такой небольшой чемодан, чтобы в случае чего (ну, вдруг не заладится у них) он мог быстро свалить

Это же профессиональные спортсмены, которые привыкли путешествовать и знают, как им минимизировать багаж. Да и не так уж много ему с собой нужно. Во-первых, лето. Во-вторых, всякими полотенцами, гелями для душа и т.д. его Шейн обеспечит. Тонну косметики ему не надо. Так что вместимости такого чемодана для поездки на 2 недели хватит более чем.

Анон · Сегодня 12:12:41

+ Илья мог (и стал) воровать одежду у Шейна

Анон · Сегодня 12:12:42

Анон пишет:

я видела, как американцы (?) серьёзно обсуждали, есть ли у Шейна в коттедже стиральная машина и сушилка

Как её там может не быть? Стиралки как минимум. Но думаю, и сушилка есть.
В книге у него там каток, блин...

Анон · Сегодня 12:21:01

Анон пишет:

Илья с Шейном буквально живут на чемоданах, мотаясь туда-сюда. Уж научились паковаться за эти годы, вот и чемодан маленький

Я понимаю, да и у Шейна можно что-то стрельнуть, ту же клетчатую рубашку)
Или ходить все время голым
но сама мысль, что Илья вполне мог такое допускать - что придется сваливать раньше, чем через две недели.
Он в машине прямо озвучил, что в ужасе от всей этой поездки.

Отредактировано (Сегодня 12:21:38)

Анон · Сегодня 12:23:21

Анон пишет:

Как её там может не быть? Стиралки как минимум. Но думаю, и сушилка есть.
В книге у него там каток, блин...

Как я поняла из обсуждений американцев, они под словом коттедж понимают что-то очень маленькое и скромное, чуть ли не домик из одной комнаты и кухоньки. Вот им и кажется, что в таком доме может не быть никаких удобств.

Анон · Сегодня 12:25:21

Анон пишет:

+ Илья мог (и стал) воровать одежду у Шейна

Я хэдканоню, что Илья подумал, что раз лето, то ему не нужны тёплые вещи, а оказалась, что вечера в Канаде прохладные даже летом. Так что пришлось Шейну его утеплить из своего гардероба.

Анон · Сегодня 12:29:24

Анон пишет:

пришлось Шейну его утеплить

Он его кутал в пледик :love:

Анон · Сегодня 12:30:35

Анон пишет:

Как я поняла из обсуждений американцев, они под словом коттедж понимают что-то очень маленькое и скромное, чуть ли не домик из одной комнаты и кухоньки. Вот им и кажется, что в таком доме может не быть никаких удобств.

Это я слышала тоже, но в сериале же показывают дом Шейна, там явно всё есть.
Представляю, как Шейн говорит Илье "нам не надо будет выходить из дома, продукты я купил, всё есть, вот только стирать мы будем ездить к родителям" :lol: и привозят комплекты постельного

Анон · Сегодня 12:31:29

Анон пишет:

вот только стирать мы будем ездить к родителям

В озере ручками

Анон · Сегодня 12:33:20

Анон пишет:

Как я поняла из обсуждений американцев, они под словом коттедж понимают что-то очень маленькое и скромное, чуть ли не домик из одной комнаты и кухоньки

а ещё в америке у многих просто нет дома стиральной машины, там как будто больше распространены прачечные

Анон · Сегодня 12:34:18

Попалась ссылка на грант для сериала https://cmf-fmc.ca/funded-projects/?_pr … %20Rivalry
Канадскими чуть больше 3 млн (на американские это 2,25) долларов

Анон · Сегодня 12:34:35

Анон пишет:

а ещё в америке у многих просто нет дома стиральной машины, там как будто больше распространены прачечные

Ну это в квартирах, в отдельных домах как раз почти у всех есть.

Анон · Сегодня 12:37:43

Анон пишет:

стирать мы будем ездить к родителям

Угу, Илюхины труселя к маме возить :lol:
О, в раковине мыльцем стирать, как советские командировочные!

Анон · Сегодня 12:42:45

Анон пишет:

Как я поняла из обсуждений американцев, они под словом коттедж понимают что-то очень маленькое и скромное, чуть ли не домик из одной комнаты и кухоньки. Вот им и кажется, что в таком доме может не быть никаких удобств.

А.. то-то я смотрю что канадцы на реддитах речи толкают о нашем особенной канадской культуре с коттеджами, а оказывается их спонсор, кроме шестой серии ещё и подобные комменты от американцев. И всё это с колокольни ру-культуры с коттедж=/=летний домик, а скорее коттедж = загородный дом со всеми удобствами выглядит очень интересно, и чувствуешь себя почти канадцем :lol:

Анон · Сегодня 12:44:47

Анон пишет:

В озере ручками

А за мылом-то всё равно придётся к родителям ездить :drama:

Анон · Сегодня 12:46:14

наверное, уже вносили, но я нашла пост, подробно расписывающий, почему репрезентация Ильи такая классная вставлю целиком, потому что для просмотра нужен аккаунт на тамблере

Ilya Rozanov’s Impact As Representation of Queer Russians

▼простыня⬍

first of all, i need to establish that a lot of my points come directly from personal experience — i am a mixed race kid born in kazakhstan, half-russian and half-kazakh, raised primarily in russia. i am also queer myself, although i was raised as a woman (i am now agender). this analysis will heavily focus on cultural elements, because they are crucial for understanding the depth of ilya’s character and why he acts the way he does.
i was quite apprehensive about ilya initially — western film loves to portray russian people as a caricature and use them for tasteless gags without really examining anything in depth (I’m looking at you stranger things, yes, you). i was concerned heated rivalry would remain surface-level about ilya’s background and portray him as a stereotypical, cold-hearted russian dude. i was also concerned about his accent being too caricatural, concerned about the potential dialogue in russian (as a linguist, russian dialogue in western film is infamously stiff and unnatural. looking at you again, stranger things), so you can imagine my surprise and delight when all of those concerns ended up being unfounded.
to be completely fair here, ilya does sport some stereotypical character traits — he’s brash, confident, distant and unafraid to offend others. but in contrast to other russian characters in western film, ilya has a warm flirtatiousness that i haven’t really seen before. and most importantly, his characterisation doesn’t end there.
at first glance, it seems that ilya doesn’t face any struggles with his sexuality at all. he is experienced, confident, the leading man to shane’s anxious discovery of himself. in reality, ilya’s understanding of his sexuality is directly tied to his personal conflict with his family and his culture.
said conflict is introduced in the very first episode of the show. during the scene where he is being drafted as the new all-star player for the boston raiders, he is being watched over by his father, grigori rozanov. grigori is portrayed by an older actor, and sports a number of medals attached to his suit, which likely implies that he is a war veteran. it is also established later on that he is ‘police’, which, culturally, means that he’s very friendly with some big heads in the government, not that he is literally a police officer. it is a man with trauma, powerful and influential. even without external cultural context, you can already see the toxic and abusive power dynamic this creates between him and ilya.
in the scene, ilya’s facial expression is one of discomfort — he’s smiling very awkwardly, chewing at his lip, his eyes are darting around. this immediately stops as soon as his father speaks; he puts on a cold, serious mask. grigori dismisses his son’s achievements and insists that he needs a lot of discipline, otherwise he will become ‘lazy’ (he means this in a ‘he’ll start slacking off’ kind of way). afterwards, he addresses ilya directly, in russian, using a very condescending tone of voice, and instructs him to listen closely to what he’s being told. the exact phrasing he uses is best translated as ‘understood?’, which might sound more neutral in english but in russian has a slightly aggressive connotation. i’ve seen quite a few people expressing surprise when reacting to this scene and being confused as to why ilya’s father isn’t showing any pride. i regret to inform you that this dynamic is, unfortunately, very common for the culture, especially between a father and a son.
to explain it further, i’ll have to talk about the way i was raised a little bit. russian (or post-USSR region) parents are typically very strict, demanding and authoritative. they are often emotionally distant, neglectful or even outright abusive. i will require you to put your nuance caps on here, because this behaviour is not necessarily a product of malice, and more a product of cultural norms. showing emotion, whether positive or negative, is seen as a weakness. more so for men, but for women as well. you are taught very young that you have to keep your emotions to yourself — nobody wants to see it. i was scolded and punished very frequently for intense emotional displays as a child. Mother and Father would scold me for crying. Grandmother would scold me for laughing too loudly. looking too happy. your parents are your caretakers, perhaps, providing food and shelter, but you definitely aren’t expected to lean on them for more than that. in my experience, it wasn’t very common. what you are expected to do, however, is be productive. be successful. provide. this is your duty as a son or a daughter, and if you fail, you are no longer of any worth to these people. it is your duty to take care of your parents and siblings, not the other way around. because of that expectation, whether you are achieving something grand or not doesn’t matter — after all, you’re just fulfilling your duty as a human being. no matter how hard i worked, i don’t think my parents ever genuinely said they were proud of me. because there is nothing to be proud of, really. it’s what you have to do.
with this cultural context, grigori rozanov’s characterisation immediately lands as extremely accurate. all of those norms and expectations are expressed in a few sentences and we are immediately shown the way they impact ilya.
ilya is desperate for his father’s love and acceptance, but he knows he will never get it. because they do not exist.
i have more to say about grigori, but now, let’s focus a bit on ilya’s queerness.
ilya is initially portrayed to be very at ease with his sexuality — he leads shane during their encounters, he’s not afraid to flirt and come on strong. but there’s a lot of pain and repression lurking underneath, only it’s not as obvious to the naked eye.
despite what the russian government will have you believe, there are, of course, plenty of queer people in russia. how dangerous it is to be queer there has fluctuated over the years, but it has never been truly safe. it’s a part of yourself you’re forced to hide for years, if not forever. the physical aspects of queer sexuality are often discovered early on — boys fooling around with boys and girls fooling around with girls — (ik this is a little contrived but just for the sake of the point) but later on dismissed as one grows up. even if there is no shame, there’s an unspoken understanding that it can never become something more. you’d never be able to emotionally commit to each other, because it’s not simply dangerous, it’s life-threatening. it can only be this — heat and bodies and mouths clashing.
we learn in the first episode, first hand from ilya, that back in russia, he was regularly sleeping with his hockey coach’s son. he brushes it off as nothing serious when explaining to shane, but most likely, he treats most of his sexual encounters with other men as such. because how is he supposed to know that it could be something more? i find it really intriguing that he establishes this to shane, because it implies ilya is so drawn to him he almost unconsciously considers pursuing him more seriously. otherwise, he wouldn’t have said anything and proceeded with the hook-up regularly. there’s nothing to explain, because it can never be real, can it?
a lot of ilya’s emotional avoidance later on in the series is rooted in this unspoken belief. he runs from shane not because he doesn’t love him, but because he believes it can never be real. that they can never be a couple. this is something people do behind closed doors, in secluded corners, in secret. it’s not something to commit to, not a real, tangible possibility.
ilya is in the closet not because he’s necessarily afraid, but because he doesn’t expect to have other options. in russia, there weren’t any other options.
in addition to this, ilya is also emotionally repressed because of the way he was raised. there are many things on the table that he cannot knowingly treat as real possibilities, including expressing his true emotions, which makes it very difficult for him to be vulnerable with shane. the intimate and genuine side of him comes out mostly during sex, especially at the beginning, because it is the only time that it can.
this is why ilya only accepts shane’s invitation to the cottage after witnessing scott hunter kiss kip on national television — he is actively being shown that there are other options.
all of these feelings are incredibly familiar to me, as a queer person who grew up in russia. a lot of my own repression wasn’t always rooted in shame, but hopelessness. the knowledge that this was something you could never really have. it took years to deconstruct, the same way it took ilya years to be brave enough to chase after something he really wanted.
now, I’d like to talk about the concept of ‘duty’ that i introduced earlier some more. for this section, queerness and ilya’s personal trauma will overlap.
in russian culture, the concept of ‘duty’ doesn’t simply involve your family. it involves your entire being — your duty as a citizen of russia, your devotion to the country, to the collective entity. an example of it is the scene at the end of episode 1, where grigori tells ilya to ‘apologise to russia’ after losing his game. i’ve seen quite a lot of people say that this moment was exaggerated, but once again, i regret to inform you it is a very common phrase. because of the concept of duty that overlaps our entire lives, our personal failures are deemed as overarching disappointments to the country. we are not good enough to serve it, therefore we should apologise to it.
this abstract concept of duty affects multiple areas of ilya’s life. he feels obligated to keep giving money to alexei, because it is his duty to provide for his family. i’ve seen many reactors be confused as to why ilya was even entertaining him, but this is the piece of context they were missing. it is unthinkable to cut him off. you’d be betraying yourself, more than anything. ilya unquestioningly obeys his father (at least in his presence) because of the same sense of duty. he avoids his feelings for shane out of the same sense of duty — he couldn’t possibly leave russia to be with shane. he’d be betraying himself and his duty.
in episode 5, when shane attempts to have an open discussion about their feelings for each other, ilya is dismissive. he doesn’t want to be, but he sees no other way to go about it — duty, hopelessness and fear are all crushing him. shane, however, is able to reach through to him and ilya allows himself to be vulnerable. this marks the definite shift in their relationship, because shane’s love and gentleness overpower, if temporarily, every cultural bias poisoning ilya’s life and preventing him from reaching for his own happiness.
the scene of grigori’s funeral that comes later in the same episode cements that shift and is absolutely masterful. there is a lingering shot of grigori’s numerous medals, from ilya’s POV. the medals are a very clear representation of duty, and now, with the man supposed to be wearing them gone, the duty is as well. this allows ilya to consider never coming back to russia, because there is no longer any duty to uphold. alexei’s behaviour later on only drives him further to cut ties — the abstract duty has lost its meaning and no longer holds weight for ilya. he can pursue something he really wants, even if he’s terrified. svetlana’s reassurance also helps this a lot.
i don’t think ilya was genuinely considering committing to shane then and there. after all, you can’t just shed years of your upbringing in one day. but the seeds are all planted in that scene, and masterfully so.
ilya’s russian monologue to shane is my favourite scene in the whole show. I’ve written about it before on this blog, saying how the composition of the shot reminded me a lot of the subway station tunnels near my home in moscow. he’s encased by walls covered in graffiti, laying his heart out in what is essentially a box made of concrete. the overhead lights are reddish in tint (they’re usually bright clinical white), painting the scene with a sense of danger and tension. ilya can only confess his feelings to shane in a language he doesn’t understand because he is still scared and has little hope. he looks out at the scrap of city in the distance before gathering his courage to even say it in russian and we see a brief flare of a police car’s siren — doing this is still incredibly dangerous. but he goes through with it. other things ilya says in this monologue also directly correlate with my previous points — he talks about his duty for his family choking him, draining him. he gave them everything, like he was supposed to, but there was never any gratitude, never any warmth. because there wasn’t supposed to be. he feels guilt for betraying his duty by not being able to take care of his father on his deathbed. and it kills him. he wishes things were different. he wishes for genuine connection. but it was never going to be found there. that feeling, i know all too well…an incredible, character-defining scene for ilya. I cry every time I see it.
in the finale, ilya’s character development is incredibly cathartic and powerful. I cried (again) when I heard him confess first, whispering ‘ya tebya lyublyu’ into shane’s skin. for context, ‘i love you’ is not something we say very often. i don’t remember my parents saying it to me much, if at all. ‘i love you’ is reserved for extreme situations. it must have taken such strength of character for ilya to say it then and it hit me really hard. ultimately, what made him be able to express his genuine feelings was shane talking about plans for the future — together — something ilya previously thought impossible. hearing and seeing shane be willing to commit to him must have been so grand. did I already say i sobbed my eyes out for this?
in conclusion, i absolutely adore the way ilya’s character was portrayed in the show. his cultural background was respected and directly influenced his character’s choices. his conflict with his family was layered, complex and realistic. i really saw myself in him. he wasn’t at all a caricature. he had tangible growth and was able to leave behind the harmful biases of post-soviet culture. i’ve already seen a couple of people in the russian fandom express gratitude and satisfaction with ilya’s portrayal, and i couldn’t agree more. i didn’t expect it at all, but it was masterfully done.

сижу и удивляюсь, как хорошо всё показано — и как много деталей, которые люди не из России/СНГ не поймут...

Анон · Сегодня 12:52:41

Простите, надо немного побомбиться насчет сюжета

▼кому-то может показаться хейтерским по отношению к Шейну, так что TW⬍

Вот они в ситуации, когда раскрывать, что они в отношениях, они не могут. Шейн придумывает план по сближению и дружбе, Илья поддерживает, переезжает в Канаду (там его кукуха начинает свистеть, но это отдельная история).
А потом где-то за кадром происходит каминаут Шейна перед командой и слухи расползаются, потому что все друг с другом знакомы и все сплетничают.
И возникает вопрос, на который нет ответа - а Илья знал о планах каминаутнуться перед командой? Они это обсуждали? Согласовывали? Потому что если нет - Илья ставится в очень некрасивое положение, где он сам не может совершить каминаут не только потому что Россия, а еще и потому что все сразу начнут подозревать, что два друга не-гетеро явно не только друзья (как чуть не случилось с каминаутом перед Троем, если бы только тот не был так увлечен своим каминаутом и отношениями). То есть, получается, своим каминаутом Шейн обрубил Илье возможность каминаутиться на своих условиях, тк Илья вынужден охранять тайну их отношений за них двоих. Как-то оно все грустно, если честно. Понятно, что все взрослые люди, сами на это подписались, никто не телепат, а Шейн нейроотличный мальчик и вообще сразу старается все исправить, когда понимает, что все плохо, но, но, но.

Анон · Сегодня 12:54:13

Анон пишет:

▲
кому-то может показаться хейтерским по отношению к Шейну,

"Кому-то может показаться" написал анон, сам придумав повод на него высраться :lol:

Анон · Сегодня 12:56:49

Честно говоря, уже подзаебало немного, как всрато аноны тут говорят о нейроотличности :facepalm:

Анон · Сегодня 13:00:43

Анон пишет:

А потом где-то за кадром происходит каминаут Шейна перед командой и слухи расползаются, потому что все друг с другом знакомы и все сплетничают.

Меня дико злит, что всё это осталось за кадром :bubu:
По тому, как показаны их отношения в книге, я думаю, они всё обсудили и решили вместе. Скорее всего Илье просто легче было сохранять образ гетеросексуала. Про Шейна и до каминг-аута уже ходили слухи. Тот же Даллас Кент называет его педиком. В гетеросексуальности Ильи же никто не сомневается. Но в сочетании со всем остальным, да, получилось некрасиво по отношению к Илье. За него вообще всю книгу обидно. У Шейна и каминг-аут перед командой, и принимаются родители, и Хэйден, который его поддерживает, и остался он в своей команде. И рядом Илья, который бросил всё и умирает от одиночества :sadcat:

Анон · Сегодня 13:03:51

Анон пишет:

наверное, уже вносили, но я нашла пост, подробно расписывающий, почему репрезентация Ильи такая классная

Спасибо! Очень хороший пост. И действительно, я заметила, что англоязычным непонятно, зачем Илья вообще даёт Алексею деньги (кто-то даже думает, что он его шантажирует), и т.д. И у меня в целом хорошие родители, но я при просмотре поняла, что поведение отца не кажется мне чем-то из ряда вон выходящим... фразочки очень знакомые.

Анон · Сегодня 13:04:46

Анон пишет:

наверное, уже вносили, но я нашла пост, подробно расписывающий, почему репрезентация Ильи такая классная вставлю целиком, потому что для просмотра нужен аккаунт на тамблере
Ilya Rozanov’s Impact As Representation of Queer Russians
▼простыня⬍
first of all, i need to establish that a lot of my points come directly from personal experience — i am a mixed race kid born in kazakhstan, half-russian and half-kazakh, raised primarily in russia. i am also queer myself, although i was raised as a woman (i am now agender). this analysis will heavily focus on cultural elements, because they are crucial for understanding the depth of ilya’s character and why he acts the way he does.
i was quite apprehensive about ilya initially — western film loves to portray russian people as a caricature and use them for tasteless gags without really examining anything in depth (I’m looking at you stranger things, yes, you). i was concerned heated rivalry would remain surface-level about ilya’s background and portray him as a stereotypical, cold-hearted russian dude. i was also concerned about his accent being too caricatural, concerned about the potential dialogue in russian (as a linguist, russian dialogue in western film is infamously stiff and unnatural. looking at you again, stranger things), so you can imagine my surprise and delight when all of those concerns ended up being unfounded.
to be completely fair here, ilya does sport some stereotypical character traits — he’s brash, confident, distant and unafraid to offend others. but in contrast to other russian characters in western film, ilya has a warm flirtatiousness that i haven’t really seen before. and most importantly, his characterisation doesn’t end there.
at first glance, it seems that ilya doesn’t face any struggles with his sexuality at all. he is experienced, confident, the leading man to shane’s anxious discovery of himself. in reality, ilya’s understanding of his sexuality is directly tied to his personal conflict with his family and his culture.
said conflict is introduced in the very first episode of the show. during the scene where he is being drafted as the new all-star player for the boston raiders, he is being watched over by his father, grigori rozanov. grigori is portrayed by an older actor, and sports a number of medals attached to his suit, which likely implies that he is a war veteran. it is also established later on that he is ‘police’, which, culturally, means that he’s very friendly with some big heads in the government, not that he is literally a police officer. it is a man with trauma, powerful and influential. even without external cultural context, you can already see the toxic and abusive power dynamic this creates between him and ilya.
in the scene, ilya’s facial expression is one of discomfort — he’s smiling very awkwardly, chewing at his lip, his eyes are darting around. this immediately stops as soon as his father speaks; he puts on a cold, serious mask. grigori dismisses his son’s achievements and insists that he needs a lot of discipline, otherwise he will become ‘lazy’ (he means this in a ‘he’ll start slacking off’ kind of way). afterwards, he addresses ilya directly, in russian, using a very condescending tone of voice, and instructs him to listen closely to what he’s being told. the exact phrasing he uses is best translated as ‘understood?’, which might sound more neutral in english but in russian has a slightly aggressive connotation. i’ve seen quite a few people expressing surprise when reacting to this scene and being confused as to why ilya’s father isn’t showing any pride. i regret to inform you that this dynamic is, unfortunately, very common for the culture, especially between a father and a son.
to explain it further, i’ll have to talk about the way i was raised a little bit. russian (or post-USSR region) parents are typically very strict, demanding and authoritative. they are often emotionally distant, neglectful or even outright abusive. i will require you to put your nuance caps on here, because this behaviour is not necessarily a product of malice, and more a product of cultural norms. showing emotion, whether positive or negative, is seen as a weakness. more so for men, but for women as well. you are taught very young that you have to keep your emotions to yourself — nobody wants to see it. i was scolded and punished very frequently for intense emotional displays as a child. Mother and Father would scold me for crying. Grandmother would scold me for laughing too loudly. looking too happy. your parents are your caretakers, perhaps, providing food and shelter, but you definitely aren’t expected to lean on them for more than that. in my experience, it wasn’t very common. what you are expected to do, however, is be productive. be successful. provide. this is your duty as a son or a daughter, and if you fail, you are no longer of any worth to these people. it is your duty to take care of your parents and siblings, not the other way around. because of that expectation, whether you are achieving something grand or not doesn’t matter — after all, you’re just fulfilling your duty as a human being. no matter how hard i worked, i don’t think my parents ever genuinely said they were proud of me. because there is nothing to be proud of, really. it’s what you have to do.
with this cultural context, grigori rozanov’s characterisation immediately lands as extremely accurate. all of those norms and expectations are expressed in a few sentences and we are immediately shown the way they impact ilya.
ilya is desperate for his father’s love and acceptance, but he knows he will never get it. because they do not exist.
i have more to say about grigori, but now, let’s focus a bit on ilya’s queerness.
ilya is initially portrayed to be very at ease with his sexuality — he leads shane during their encounters, he’s not afraid to flirt and come on strong. but there’s a lot of pain and repression lurking underneath, only it’s not as obvious to the naked eye.
despite what the russian government will have you believe, there are, of course, plenty of queer people in russia. how dangerous it is to be queer there has fluctuated over the years, but it has never been truly safe. it’s a part of yourself you’re forced to hide for years, if not forever. the physical aspects of queer sexuality are often discovered early on — boys fooling around with boys and girls fooling around with girls — (ik this is a little contrived but just for the sake of the point) but later on dismissed as one grows up. even if there is no shame, there’s an unspoken understanding that it can never become something more. you’d never be able to emotionally commit to each other, because it’s not simply dangerous, it’s life-threatening. it can only be this — heat and bodies and mouths clashing.
we learn in the first episode, first hand from ilya, that back in russia, he was regularly sleeping with his hockey coach’s son. he brushes it off as nothing serious when explaining to shane, but most likely, he treats most of his sexual encounters with other men as such. because how is he supposed to know that it could be something more? i find it really intriguing that he establishes this to shane, because it implies ilya is so drawn to him he almost unconsciously considers pursuing him more seriously. otherwise, he wouldn’t have said anything and proceeded with the hook-up regularly. there’s nothing to explain, because it can never be real, can it?
a lot of ilya’s emotional avoidance later on in the series is rooted in this unspoken belief. he runs from shane not because he doesn’t love him, but because he believes it can never be real. that they can never be a couple. this is something people do behind closed doors, in secluded corners, in secret. it’s not something to commit to, not a real, tangible possibility.
ilya is in the closet not because he’s necessarily afraid, but because he doesn’t expect to have other options. in russia, there weren’t any other options.
in addition to this, ilya is also emotionally repressed because of the way he was raised. there are many things on the table that he cannot knowingly treat as real possibilities, including expressing his true emotions, which makes it very difficult for him to be vulnerable with shane. the intimate and genuine side of him comes out mostly during sex, especially at the beginning, because it is the only time that it can.
this is why ilya only accepts shane’s invitation to the cottage after witnessing scott hunter kiss kip on national television — he is actively being shown that there are other options.
all of these feelings are incredibly familiar to me, as a queer person who grew up in russia. a lot of my own repression wasn’t always rooted in shame, but hopelessness. the knowledge that this was something you could never really have. it took years to deconstruct, the same way it took ilya years to be brave enough to chase after something he really wanted.
now, I’d like to talk about the concept of ‘duty’ that i introduced earlier some more. for this section, queerness and ilya’s personal trauma will overlap.
in russian culture, the concept of ‘duty’ doesn’t simply involve your family. it involves your entire being — your duty as a citizen of russia, your devotion to the country, to the collective entity. an example of it is the scene at the end of episode 1, where grigori tells ilya to ‘apologise to russia’ after losing his game. i’ve seen quite a lot of people say that this moment was exaggerated, but once again, i regret to inform you it is a very common phrase. because of the concept of duty that overlaps our entire lives, our personal failures are deemed as overarching disappointments to the country. we are not good enough to serve it, therefore we should apologise to it.
this abstract concept of duty affects multiple areas of ilya’s life. he feels obligated to keep giving money to alexei, because it is his duty to provide for his family. i’ve seen many reactors be confused as to why ilya was even entertaining him, but this is the piece of context they were missing. it is unthinkable to cut him off. you’d be betraying yourself, more than anything. ilya unquestioningly obeys his father (at least in his presence) because of the same sense of duty. he avoids his feelings for shane out of the same sense of duty — he couldn’t possibly leave russia to be with shane. he’d be betraying himself and his duty.
in episode 5, when shane attempts to have an open discussion about their feelings for each other, ilya is dismissive. he doesn’t want to be, but he sees no other way to go about it — duty, hopelessness and fear are all crushing him. shane, however, is able to reach through to him and ilya allows himself to be vulnerable. this marks the definite shift in their relationship, because shane’s love and gentleness overpower, if temporarily, every cultural bias poisoning ilya’s life and preventing him from reaching for his own happiness.
the scene of grigori’s funeral that comes later in the same episode cements that shift and is absolutely masterful. there is a lingering shot of grigori’s numerous medals, from ilya’s POV. the medals are a very clear representation of duty, and now, with the man supposed to be wearing them gone, the duty is as well. this allows ilya to consider never coming back to russia, because there is no longer any duty to uphold. alexei’s behaviour later on only drives him further to cut ties — the abstract duty has lost its meaning and no longer holds weight for ilya. he can pursue something he really wants, even if he’s terrified. svetlana’s reassurance also helps this a lot.
i don’t think ilya was genuinely considering committing to shane then and there. after all, you can’t just shed years of your upbringing in one day. but the seeds are all planted in that scene, and masterfully so.
ilya’s russian monologue to shane is my favourite scene in the whole show. I’ve written about it before on this blog, saying how the composition of the shot reminded me a lot of the subway station tunnels near my home in moscow. he’s encased by walls covered in graffiti, laying his heart out in what is essentially a box made of concrete. the overhead lights are reddish in tint (they’re usually bright clinical white), painting the scene with a sense of danger and tension. ilya can only confess his feelings to shane in a language he doesn’t understand because he is still scared and has little hope. he looks out at the scrap of city in the distance before gathering his courage to even say it in russian and we see a brief flare of a police car’s siren — doing this is still incredibly dangerous. but he goes through with it. other things ilya says in this monologue also directly correlate with my previous points — he talks about his duty for his family choking him, draining him. he gave them everything, like he was supposed to, but there was never any gratitude, never any warmth. because there wasn’t supposed to be. he feels guilt for betraying his duty by not being able to take care of his father on his deathbed. and it kills him. he wishes things were different. he wishes for genuine connection. but it was never going to be found there. that feeling, i know all too well…an incredible, character-defining scene for ilya. I cry every time I see it.
in the finale, ilya’s character development is incredibly cathartic and powerful. I cried (again) when I heard him confess first, whispering ‘ya tebya lyublyu’ into shane’s skin. for context, ‘i love you’ is not something we say very often. i don’t remember my parents saying it to me much, if at all. ‘i love you’ is reserved for extreme situations. it must have taken such strength of character for ilya to say it then and it hit me really hard. ultimately, what made him be able to express his genuine feelings was shane talking about plans for the future — together — something ilya previously thought impossible. hearing and seeing shane be willing to commit to him must have been so grand. did I already say i sobbed my eyes out for this?
in conclusion, i absolutely adore the way ilya’s character was portrayed in the show. his cultural background was respected and directly influenced his character’s choices. his conflict with his family was layered, complex and realistic. i really saw myself in him. he wasn’t at all a caricature. he had tangible growth and was able to leave behind the harmful biases of post-soviet culture. i’ve already seen a couple of people in the russian fandom express gratitude and satisfaction with ilya’s portrayal, and i couldn’t agree more. i didn’t expect it at all, but it was masterfully done.
сижу и удивляюсь, как хорошо всё показано — и как много деталей, которые люди не из России/СНГ не поймут...

Да мне кажется это не универсальный снгшный опыт, у какого-нибудь китайского ребенка тоже наверняка что-то похожее. Авторитарная система ценностей, концепция долга перед семьей и тд

Анон · Сегодня 13:12:51

Анон пишет:

По тому, как показаны их отношения в книге, я думаю, они всё обсудили и решили вместе. Скорее всего Илье просто легче было сохранять образ гетеросексуала.

+1
Возможно, Шейн сказал, что ему тяжело нести этот груз, и он хочет признаться команде. Верю, что Илья легко согласился. Скорее всего он не думал, что ему будет настолько тяжело. И Шейн не думал. Но по факту оказалось, что они взвалили на Илью больше, чем тот реально мог вывезти. Мне кажется, довольно реалистичная ситуация. Хорошо, если они из неё чему-то научились.

На всякий случай дисклеймер:
я еще только читаю "Долгую игру"

Анон · Сегодня 13:19:28

Анон пишет:

Возможно, Шейн сказал, что ему тяжело нести этот груз, и он хочет признаться команде. Верю, что Илья легко согласился. Скорее всего он не думал, что ему будет настолько тяжело. И Шейн не думал. Но по факту оказалось, что они взвалили на Илью больше, чем тот реально мог вывезти. Мне кажется, довольно реалистичная ситуация. Хорошо, если они из неё чему-то научились.

Да, тоже так думаю. Я вообще ничего криминального в ДИ не увидела, обычное недопонимание двух людей в сложной ситуации. Учитывая, что Илья ничем не делится (что в целом тоже можно понять, учитывая, что они редко видятся и ему не хочется портить редкие моменты).

Анон · Сегодня 13:21:21

Автор/ка интересно пишет про восприятие русского квира, но тут, кмк, еще один момент, который идет вскольз, потому что для этого нужен личный опыт - это опыт жизни в семье силовика, когда авторитарные замашки умножаются на два.

▼Скрытый текст⬍

В каком-то смысле именно статус Григория Розанова и его деньги дали Илье возможность избежать последствий 90х, заниматься хоккеем, а потом сбежать в НХЛ (и тут надо все таки отметить, что если бы Григорий действительно считал, что в НХЛ Илье делать нечего и он должен играть за КХЛ - никуда бы Илья не поехал, даже будучи совершеннолетним. Первое, что ты выучиваешь ребенком в семье силовика - это то, что у тебя нет возможности сбежать. Найдут, остановят, задержат, взломают телефон, не дадут загранник - и тебе могут помочь только хорошие отношения с родителем или нежелание этого родителя позориться перед коллегами, просить об одолжении или выносить сор из избы).
Но одновременно этот же статус Григория сломал сначала его самого (то, как система ломает и форматирует людей, особенно в "лихое время" - это отдельная история), а потом сломал и сына. Потому что статус и принадлежность родителя - это частично и твоя собственная идентичность, ее часть, по крайней мере, и как бы клюквенно не выглядела бы запись в адресной книге - "полковник" вместо "отца', своя логика в этом есть. Вместе с этой идентичностью в тебя зашивают всякие грустные штуки типа повышенной ответственностью перед родиной (когда даже вопросов нет о том, права ли родина - когда этот вопрос ставится, человек обычно сам уходит из системы), традиционных ценностей и прочая. Силовики бывают разные (как и разные люди, безусловно), но Илье выпал практически худший вариант - папа-мент (хуже только фсиновец). Отца-прокурора тоже конечно мало кому пожелаешь, как и отца-фсбшника, но там как правило более жесткий отбор в плане образования/проф.качеств и так далее. Каким образом отец Ильи оказался в милиции/полиции - это вопрос, может быть, еще с советских времен, может, сначала служил в армии, потом как-то перешел в милицию. В общем, подводя итог, могу сказать только, что Илье только посочувствовать, там жопа в квадрате, но как бы парадоксально не звучало, именно этот пиздец в каком-то смысле помог ему ливнуть из страны, потому что как бы Григорий не бомбил на НХЛ, которая не торт и вообще сына распустила, сын-миллионер в НХЛ - это престижно.

Холиварофорум

Объявление

#1 2025-10-10 20:56:55

Тред сериала и вселенной Heated Rivalry

#11576 Сегодня 12:11:22

Re: Тред сериала и вселенной Heated Rivalry

#11577 Сегодня 12:12:41

Re: Тред сериала и вселенной Heated Rivalry

#11578 Сегодня 12:12:42

Re: Тред сериала и вселенной Heated Rivalry

#11579 Сегодня 12:21:01

Re: Тред сериала и вселенной Heated Rivalry

#11580 Сегодня 12:23:21

Re: Тред сериала и вселенной Heated Rivalry

#11581 Сегодня 12:25:21

Re: Тред сериала и вселенной Heated Rivalry

#11582 Сегодня 12:29:24

Re: Тред сериала и вселенной Heated Rivalry

#11583 Сегодня 12:30:35

Re: Тред сериала и вселенной Heated Rivalry

#11584 Сегодня 12:31:29

Re: Тред сериала и вселенной Heated Rivalry

#11585 Сегодня 12:33:20

Re: Тред сериала и вселенной Heated Rivalry

#11586 Сегодня 12:34:18

Re: Тред сериала и вселенной Heated Rivalry

#11587 Сегодня 12:34:35

Re: Тред сериала и вселенной Heated Rivalry

#11588 Сегодня 12:37:43

Re: Тред сериала и вселенной Heated Rivalry

#11589 Сегодня 12:42:45

Re: Тред сериала и вселенной Heated Rivalry

#11590 Сегодня 12:44:47

Re: Тред сериала и вселенной Heated Rivalry

#11591 Сегодня 12:46:14

Re: Тред сериала и вселенной Heated Rivalry

#11592 Сегодня 12:52:41

Re: Тред сериала и вселенной Heated Rivalry

#11593 Сегодня 12:54:13

Re: Тред сериала и вселенной Heated Rivalry

#11594 Сегодня 12:56:49

Re: Тред сериала и вселенной Heated Rivalry

#11595 Сегодня 13:00:43

Re: Тред сериала и вселенной Heated Rivalry

#11596 Сегодня 13:03:51

Re: Тред сериала и вселенной Heated Rivalry

#11597 Сегодня 13:04:46

Re: Тред сериала и вселенной Heated Rivalry

#11598 Сегодня 13:12:51

Re: Тред сериала и вселенной Heated Rivalry

#11599 Сегодня 13:19:28

Re: Тред сериала и вселенной Heated Rivalry

#11600 Сегодня 13:21:21

Re: Тред сериала и вселенной Heated Rivalry

Подвал форума