The Prestige TV Podcast - ‘Heated Rivalry’ Season 1 Finale: Cottage Core | Prestige TV | The Ringer

Episode Date: December 26, 2025

Joanna Robinson and Mallory Rubin team up to discuss and dissect the Season 1 finale of Canadian hockey romance ‘Heated Rivalry.’ (00:00) Intro(4:10) Heated Rivalry’s placement on the list of best shows of 2025(9:00) How the cottage changed Shane and Ilya’s relationship(22:09) The delight of a happy ending(29:10) Shane’s questionable choices for cottage meals(37:00) Shane’s glistening eyeballs(48:35) Mal’s horny questions for Jo about Season 1 Email us! [e-mail] Subscribe to the Ringer TV YouTube channel for full episodes of The Prestige TV Podcast and so much more! Hosts: Joanna Robinson and Mallory RubinProducer: Devon BaroldiAdditional Production Support: Justin Sayles Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Get savings with yellow sale signs. store-wide and everyday low prices on 365 brand items. Enjoy the fresh flavors of spring. Save at Whole Foods Market. Hello, welcome back to the PrestiH TV podcast, me. I'm Joanna Robinson. Joining me today back again, the beautiful Mallory Rubin. Hello, Mallory. How are you doing? Once again, I'd like to say it is the honor, privilege, and thrill of my life to be here with

you today to talk about this wonderful television program. Thank you for the invitation. We got some incredible feedback from the listeners. They were thrilled to have you here to talk about episode five. we are here, of course, talk about episode six. The finale of season one, The Cottage, written and directed as every episode is by Jacob Tierney. I want to start here, Mallory.

Yeah. Tell me. With my deepest apologies to Una Hollander, Shane's mom, who last week I was like, I don't know if she'll be cool with it, and she'll be all worried about this, that and the other thing. I apologize. You know, I did not know your game. I did not know who were your character.

And I wasn't aware. So my apologies. I also want to flag. This is the, I don't know why it took me this long, but this is the first episode where I realized that Dylan Walsh, who plays Shane's dad. NipTuck. I don't know why I just like did not register with me until I was a little distracted

by other things going on, I guess, on the show. But here we are. Naturally, yeah, naturally. In NipTuck verse. And then last one at least, sort of as a preamble, I want to mention a friend of the pod, Katie, Rich. wrote a really great piece over on the inkler about Heardrivalries Emmy's chances and why it actually is not eligible for an Emmy because it's a Canadian production and it doesn't

have a U.S. copro. Anyway, Katie's agenda, and I would just like to invite everyone to join her, is to basically pressure the television academy to change the eligibility rules and or encourage HBO to figure out a worker. She's like, Surely campaigners as savvy as HBO can figure out a work around around this. I'm glad we're starting here because this is, I mean, I can't wait to talk about everything

in the finale in the season, obviously, but this is also top of my list because this led me to gasp aloud in horror at the prospect that this wonderful television show that is beautifully written, filmed, and performed might not be recognized at the Emmys.

Part of my thought because it's late December is just like, listen, the content game on the internet, we all know how it works. You're planning, you're scheduling. Everyone gets ahead on their year enlist, fine. I'm like, with respect to everybody's holiday plans, I would like all of the internet to collectively agree to redo our best of the year lists, to get heated rivalry where it needs to be.

And then spend a day or two on that. Yeah. And then to the Emmy campaign, the Television Academy. Okay, all right. Well, here's my question. And so I should say programming-wise, Yeah, this episode is heated rivalry finale episode coming out this week, this holiday week. Rob and I also have our pluribus finale, uh, pa this week. And we also have like a mailbag component to that. So, we will be talking about sort of like some of our best shows of the year. And I will preview that.

This is why you're the best. Heated rivalry is on my list. And if I am wearing the same shirt in both of those podcasts, none of your business, don't worry about it. Remember like the one day that we had? I want to say something like 11 hours of House of the Dragon podcast in a row or something like that. And maybe like a rings of power pot on the same day. One day we did outfit changes at the office. Since then we haven't bothered. It's like, you know what? Sometimes we have multiple recordings in a row and that's just how it goes.

So I support you and no outfit change. I did wear my Shoresy jersey today. It's not a hockey. It's not a hockey sweater. It's a baseball jersey, but it is Shoresy. The tierie verse, and so we support it. Where would you put Heidavirrily on your list of top shows of the year? Oh, boy.

Classic me to introduce this into the conversation and be unprepared to follow it through. It would be in my top ten shows of the year, no question. Yeah. No question. Is it in like one through five or do you think it's more in like five through, I put it in like the five through ten range personally, though I really love it, obviously. Maybe by the end of the pot, I'll have a formal ranking set. Certainly and or is my favorite show at the year.

That's not locked. Great. No question. I would probably have this somewhere in the like five to seven range if I, if I'm going off the dome here. But I think like no question, it's one of the shows that I've loved watching the most this year and have like enjoyed and appreciated the most. No question.

It's one of the shows that people, as we talked about last pod in our lives and the world have been celebrating and sharing with each other. just sparked something so undeniable that I think it's like an inextricable part of thinking about television and pop culture this year. So it would just have to be there. Last night, last night I was rewatch, you know, I watched the finale in the afternoon and then I rewatch it last night after making Diana, who I live with, binge all of one through five, like over the last couple nights so that she could watch the finale with me. So we're like, we did that. And while I was the finale, both Justin Sales, who does incredible production work on this feed, and

a palomime as a publicist for another TV network, were both sort of like sending us texts about catching up with heated rivalry. And it really felt, I was just like, I haven't felt this eye of the storm sort of catching a real-time excitement about a show in a long time. So it made me, and you know, this is a great year for television, honestly, like really, really great year for television, but like this moment. And part of it is like, it's the end of the year. There's, you know, stranger things is happening, but there's not like a ton of competition. Pluribus, of course, is like happening. And like, and like, it's just one of those, like, it feels like one of those like squid game surprise end of year. Nobody saw this coming.

Everyone gets excited about it. There's something about like not planning for it, but being hit by it at the end of the year when you're winding down and you just want to get like absorbed into something that feels, I mean, squid game is pretty murdery. But, like, like, you know, something who feels kind of like cozy or absorbing or, you know, that sort of stuff. So, yeah, I'm loving this moment in the culture. And I'm sad that it's over, you know? Me too. I mean, that was one of the first things that we text about.

I was a few hours behind you watching the finale last night because I had to see Monday night football through and ensure that I knocked our colleague, Dye Hifitz out of the fucking playoffs, beat Hifitz in the real fantasy football league semi-finals, got him out of there. I'm in the finals against fellow Shoresy head, CR, Chris Ryan himself. What a time. CRMR, outlasting all the football bros into the finals. Chris knocked out Danny Kelly and I knocked out Danny Hyphitz.

Really, really, really, I watch is so wonderful. It's really good. I have been like a one agenda voter on this whole draft that you guys been doing, which is like I'm Team Rubin the whole way. And so I feel like really, really good about myself right now. It's been really fun. So I was just like watching every.

Christian McCaffrey and Jonathan Taylor, Carrie, chip away at my lead in terror, really intense emotional turmoil for a few hours, the euphoric high of confirming that I had beaten high fits and made it to the final. And then, 51 minutes of just pure bliss watching this finale. And one of the first things that we texted each other about was like the abject despair that it was over. Something that I thought was really, I didn't, as I told you, when I watched it, before you watched it is I didn't want to like tell you anything about it, not even like a single not in any direction because you're so good at reading the tea leaves of my reaction to thing. And so like I didn't want to say like, oh my God, I was such a good time because like I think

the tension of this episode of like, will everything go wrong is important. So I didn't want to be like, I feel great like sunshine and puppies or whatever. So I wanted to try to preserve that for you. But the one thing I think I did say was like I didn't want to leave it. And the gift that Jacob Tierty gives us at the end of this episode. is like the closing credits just getting to like sit in the backseat of the car with them. And I just let it the whole thing roll, obviously,

because I was like, I'm just going to clock every gesture, every glance until there's none left for me to clock. And I just thought it was like a perfect ending for a world that we all of us, I think, want to linger longer in. And yeah, I just. I agree too. Like obviously just witnessing the little gestures, the touching of the cheek,

the reaching across to put a hand on a leg, all of that. but like what it captures on the, spoilers, obviously, from the episode, you know, on the heels of this massive, seminal moment in their relationship and in Shane's life, there was something about

the routine nature on the heels of something life altering. That's like you're just driving home now, right? And to be with them for multiple minutes and just the rhythm of the day and the rhythm of a new life was, I really thought the perfect final note.

And the golden future that they're driving towards. And also like, and this is something that, you know, Shane brought up at the beginning of the episode of just like, I do just want to relax with you for the first time. And so this opportunity to just be. Yes. Not like a furtive assignation or like we only have, you know, this, this night or this 24 hours or whatever it is. It's just like we can just be. You can just sit and watch the sunrise and I can bring you a blanket and a cup of coffee. Like we can just be here.

And my my secondhand anxiety. because I don't know if Shane felt this way, but, like, I have a lot of anxiety when I, like, host people and stuff like that. I have a lot of anxiety of being, like, one-on-one with people. I get, like, social anxiety about it. Barring, you know, there's some, like, few exceptions. You're certainly an exception. But, like, in general, that gives me anxiety. Yeah, sure. And then there's always the question of, like, is this a person I can just hang out with? Or am I going to forever be in the, like, stressful, like, hosting space? So Shane and the initial, like, car ride and, like, very initial, like, tour of the house. This sort of, like, I got food. There's Coke for you.

The water's good here. I have my own well. You know, like all this or something like that. Until sort of like the first kiss and the and the I haven't slept with anyone's. The last time we slept together sort of moment. And then they're into the sort of like bell hop play acting sex, sex, sex, like whatever from there. But like that initial tension of like. Is this a relationship?

Like, we've been texting for years. We've been having sex for years. But is this, like, can I just be? Yeah. This person, can I just sit and look at a fire? He's going to tell me it's boring, but, like, then he's not going to want to leave. You know, like, it's, it's, uh, that, all of that being captured here, that anxiety about it and then the comfort and ease and joy of it was really important to me.

I really agree. I thought this episode was, and it's a whole thing. hard thing to do, period, and to capture well, but it's a very hard thing to do inside of a relationship that has spanned in its evolution a decade inside of these six episodes. Like the, obviously when you are about to be intimate with somebody physically, that's scary, that's vulnerable, that's taking a step in your relationship. But to your point, capturing the different type of intimacy of like, this is just what it's like to spend a day with me. Yeah. Okay, I'm like going to go use the bathroom.

now. And like, one of the little moments that I loved well before we get to the I love you, which just had me in fucking tears. I cried multiple times in this episode. I was weeping like a baby, like in three distinct parts of this episode. And I thought it was just so lovely and so beautiful. But just the waking up together that first morning. And it's just like, you think of the rhythm of their relationship where it's so often like, are we in the same city as each other? Are we at an all-star game together? Right. Are we at an event together? Is it an award? Do we have practiced? Is there meeting that? Yeah.

Can we see something in? Or like even if there's more time, like, okay, I am going to go now. And that's just like newfound intimacy of we woke up together and the good morning, just exchanging a good morning and the I like you before I love you. Like all of that just felt so great. And I, you know, I think that the show, while obviously being across this six episode run, extremely sexy and also deeply moving. I don't want to downplay

how funny the show has been and the way throughout this episode that that classic humor was stitched in you know you mentioned already the like boring car and okay is that what we're gonna do relax

or like oh my God Canada it's so Canada's so fun at the fire we're just sitting here and look at the fire like all of that humor but also like Wolfburg like you know like the Loon reaction

oh you speak bird now Like, okay. Yeah. I loved the like, you know, is that where you get your looks from your mom, half of them? And like, how about your dad? Like, is that where you get your boring from? Right. But like remembering, remembering from years ago, like, oh, your dad reads the New Yorker.

You know what I mean? Like, this is a conversation they had literally years ago. So I did want to ask you, you've already mentioned like a few highlights for yourself, but like I have like only three pointed questions for you that I sent over to prepare you for this episode. otherwise we're going to have a fairly free-form conversation. I do have a couple emails

that I want to get to, but I wanted to ask you, was there like a small detail from this episode that particularly stuck out to you? There were, yes. And I think there were big, bold, gripping moments across the episode,

but there were one of the reasons that I think this will be an episode that I think about a lot and that really lasts in its impact is actually because of those little tender, quiet moments. I mean, I do think that Ilya, the tears leading to the quiet Russian whispers into the I love you, that's not a minor moment, but that was like just a breathtakingly beautiful sequence to me. On the minor, quieter, smaller, subtler moments front, I think my number one pick here is the evening shot where they're both on the couch and they're looking at their phones and then we see like their toes are touching.

It's just one of those perfect details that captures people who have moved into a different phase of like a shared experience with each other. I thought that was so wonderful. And then there was like kind of a maybe like a sister moment to that was on the drive over to after Shane's dad has seen them. And then Shane is very anxious. And they're driving over. And he's, you know, he's got his hand on the. on the gear shift on the print of the... By the way, a land rover. Nothing to mock about a land rover, but, you know, I'll be I'm going to respect it.

And Shane is so anxious and his fingers are just like tapping. He's restless and he's scared. He says, like, this is my fucking nightmare. And just the way Ilya reaches over and just like quiets his fear with that little gesture of comfort and support, just that way with his hand to say, like,

I'm here. And no matter what, I will be here. And then the toe touch under the table. which calls back to the press conference. So those little, like, foot and head touch. Those little touches, I just loved. There is a moment. I don't know if your parents ever, like, shared this with you, observing you and Adam.

But I definitely remember, like, a time that my parents, like, observed me with a guy that I was dating and, like, you know, they were like, oh, he, like, kissed you on the top of your head. And we just, like, and I didn't even notice it happened. But they were just, like, to them, that mattered. So watching Elya comfort Shane at the kitchen table and more importantly, watching his parents watch him do that. That was great. Really got to me. That was just like such a beautiful moment.

My little moment actually comes from that same toe-touching scene. So the first time I watched it, Elia is, you know, Elia is lying on the couch there. Shane is sitting up on the other side. And I was like, I was like, this is so interesting. I've been like sort of observing their wardrobe. And I was like, you know, Elia has been in these like black tank tops that I've talked about. We've talked about Shane hiring a stylist, like all that sort of stuff like that. But he was wearing something.

I was like, this is so like soft and cozy for him. Like this is just not a look that we've seen him in. Now when I rewatch the episode, I realize he's wearing Shane's shirt. Shane wears it in the burger eating scene. And like when I rewatch the episode and we got to the burger scene, I like gas because I was like, that's the shirt. He's wearing later that I was like, that doesn't look like an Ely's shirt because he's wearing. Shane's shirt. And that's just like a beautiful little like, you know, we're here.

We're sharing clothes. We're like, you know, being cozy together moment. So that really stuck out. I love that. Okay. So let's let us. One thing I wanted to mention that I didn't before just as sort of like a reaction to episode five table center that I wanted to say is we did get an email from listeners

that let us know that in the books, Scott Hunter is. actually in his 20s. And so this premise that we talked about last week of like Scott Hunter towards the end of his career, the stakes are different, is not really the case in the book that Scott is like a little older than them, like in his late 20s or something like that, sort of when they start, but not, you know, Francois Arnault is in his 40s. So that's like a different, you know, and the whole conversation about how washed Scott Hunter is and all this sort of stuff like that. And so I thought that was an interesting sort of tweak of that. premise. But what did you think about starting this episode with Scott's press conference?

I thought, first of all, it was a pleasant surprise because I wasn't sure. I wasn't totally sure we would see Scott and Kip again, just knowing that the episode was called the cottage and like, you know, Jacobs here today talking about how this was really going to be like a two-hand of an episode, really fully like rooted around and centered around Shane and Ilya. So I just liked the connected tissue across the episodes. I mean, obviously we're going to get in the conversation at the end with Ilya and Shane and Shane's parents. We get that. that Shane's dad, David, asking, like, have you guys talked to Scott? Yeah.

And I, you know, I liked that that was actively invoked and that Shane's like, no. And then Elia says he has. And he's like, not about us, but, you know, that moment. And he says it changed things for me, at least, and maybe for us. And so it felt really appropriate to open with that speech at the award ceremony, not only because it's like emotionally rewarding for us as viewers of the show to get to see Scott say what he says and see Kip, receive it. and hear him say, I love you. And to hear that he was like, you know,

both the acknowledgement of like growing up, I love hockey, but growing up in hockey culture where you hear these insults and these slurs thrown around and like the way that he talked about how, when you have a secret like that for so long, it's exhausting, but also just so lonely. Like it was just a perfect, I thought, opening note for the episode to remind us of that context and where we are.

And then it's, it's, we get to have that kind of closure of Scott and Kip, that beautiful I love you with them and all of that is in the backdrop as we watch Ilya and Shane take the next step in their relationship. And we talked last week how it would feel appropriate for the progression,

for the next step in Shane's life to most likely be coming out to his parents before something like more public and for the entire world with their teams or something like that. So that all felt right. The show did a great job of dropping the crumbs of like parents house nearby, parents house nearby.

Like this is the, this is just the only nearby threat to this little, you know, bubble that they've created themselves. The great, like, I told them I won like a silent retreat. Yeah, it's like for anyone else, that would seem like a lie. But for you, like maybe people believe it. That was great. So on the Scott Hunter front, I will say that, you know, something that Richard and I had talked about was like how um how how we weren't constantly confronted with like seeing deeply homophobic

culture in the locker room that that wasn't something that the show was just like really driving home for us that that was something that like Dan Levy talked about in Schitt's Creek that he didn't want like the the town the town of the town of Schitt's Creek to be like deeply homophobic and stuff like that like that's just like there's plenty of that out there this is not what the show is yeah no question you know and we got like a little pushback from listeners on that where they were like, well, here are some like sort of hallmarks of that without having people drop like horrifying slurs inside of a scene or something like that. But I think Scott talking about his experience, rather than having to see it, hearing Scott talk about his experience of coming

up in the world, you know, Elyas's brother calls him the F slurs. Yes, he does. You know, like that happens. But like, you know, Scott saying like, like, I'm that bad word, you know, I'm that insult that people throw around and we know exactly like what that is. And so I thought that was a really good way to underline, you know, the environment that they are coming up in, which we've gotten like sort of little signposts of, but I thought that was a really good moment. Okay. As I mentioned, part of the listeners wrote in, listeners have been pretty good about not dropping book spoilers as we've made it really clear

we haven't read the books. I will say one person wrote in being like Joanna, you read romance novels, you know how this book is going to end. And I was like, okay, well,

I guess that's a halfway of her actor. I do know. That's a romance novel. This is not a season one of television. We need to end on a dramatic, sad cliffhanger and figure out how to resolve it in season two. This was a contained book

even inside of a series. So yes, it ends with us driving into a golden future, even though they were all surely be obstacles awaiting for us in season two. So I was like, okay, that took a little bit of the tension of me, but it was still watching this episode, the tension of like, is Elya going to freak out?

Is Shane going to freak out? Is Shane going to freak out so badly when his parent, you know, when his dad shows up, that shot almost like a horror movie when they're like, you're inside the house watching them come up the walk and the camera's panning slowly over. And you know that someone's there just based on like where the camera is. And so, you know, and like, you. could tell it's his dad probably from the like silhouette. And so, um, is that going to freak out Shane so badly that he's going to blow this up? But it's, but, but it's not. And when I was watching

it, um, with Diana last night, she turned to me, she's like, did Jacob Turney just decide that we all needed just a nice show where people are happy at the end here at the end of the year? And I was like, well, I mean, I think that's the text of the book. But, um, yeah, this is just, You have this just slow, for me, relaxation, realizing that everyone is actually on pretty much their best behavior. And everyone is, you know, when Shane's like, we should just be honest with each other. You're like, ah, but then like, okay, we go from I like you, I like you, to as you say, whispered, I love you in Russian to professed, I love you.

I love you from Elia and the holy shit from Shane. So that pause, that moment of a moment of a moment of. I mean, and then Shane coming through with like, I love you too. And then it's just sort of like, everything's okay. Everything's okay, you know? It was so perfect. I, in that I love you moment, the pause that you're noting. And then also what I really loved was like, does it fucking kill you too?

Yeah. That's what Shane says. And Alia's response is not anymore. And I was like, that's when I, even though we do then get the tension with this dad's spotting which I had the same. like, oh, no, because it's the fact that they've been discovered in, like, you know, as Shane says many times, this isn't how I would have wanted you to find out. Like, this isn't how I thought this was going to go. The fact that his dad just, like, leaves, right? He walks out, and you're like,

maybe he'll be standing on the porch. You hear the car turn on. And I'm like, oh, oh, no, my heart was racing and pounding. And, yeah, I think the gratitude that it doesn't mean, like you said, that there aren't going to be challenges and difficult circumstances in the future in season two and beyond. It doesn't mean that there won't be other people in their lives inside of hockey,

their families, anything else that doesn't go this way. But the fact that the conversation they had at that table was ultimately one of like embrace and love. And again, with the human,

we're stitched in of like, no loyalty to Boston? No loyalty to Boston. I'm surprised. You have such a reputation as a ladies man. You know, I really loved the, when Shane followed his mom outside.

And he, I mean, it was so heartbreaking because he, she's out there, she's tearing up. And, you know, he,

he opens with an apology, basically for being who he is. You know, he says, I tried really hard, but I just can't help it. And of course, for,

like we talked about last pod, there's this moment that you have, that Shane certainly has, that readers or viewers would have of, like, not only the fear of what will the response be, how will Shane be received by the people closest to him in his life? But almost, like, regardless of what the answer is, the understanding of, like, what his life has been like where his parents obviously love him, they adore him. He's clearly the most important thing in their worlds. They say to him, like, you know, we thought it was possible that you might be. You might be gay. It's not like it had never occurred. It's not like it had never occurred. heard to them or anything, but, you know, that he is like the pressure.

But that's followed up with his dad being like, we know you pretty well. We know you pretty well. Like, yeah, you're our son. You're our boy. But that he wasn't sure. Like, will that stand? And then, you know, so his mother responding instantly to that, like, you have nothing to, why are you apologizing to me?

I'm the one who should be apologizing to you for making you feel like you couldn't tell me who you were. And that was just lovely. What I loved about that is it's actually quite similar to the conversation that happens between Connor's character and Olivia Coleman in Heartstopper. It's a very similar, her tearfully apologizing to say, I'm sorry if I made you feel like you couldn't tell me. Almost identical language from both of these mothers.

And like, I love that as a, like, as a messaging. Of not like, it's a, it feels like steps forward of not like, I accept you or I need a beat and I'll figure out how to tolerate this or whatever, you know, whatever the sort of like earlier versions of these coming out scenes have been. And now we're in a space of just sort of like, I'm sorry that I made you feel like you couldn't tell me this earlier. Yeah. Yeah. such a beautiful idea to see represented across these multiple shows, queer shows in the 2020s. I really agree. And I think, like, you know, the moment where she and parents ask, like, so are you guys just going to keep this quiet until you retire?

And they're both like, probably. And what's their response to that? Not like, okay, great, good. We're on the same page. That's so sad. And not only, once again, my apologies to you to Hollander. Like, not only, like, my fear was that she would be afraid of the brand. And she's like, actually, let's market this.

I'm going to reach out to some of the premium brands. They're going to be thrilled. They're going to see the app. I was like, wow. Oh, what the fuck do I know? She didn't miss a beat. She's like, we need a statement prepared against something leagues. I'm going to check in with Rolex.

While Elia is shoveling linguine into his face. He's the best. The wearing the Boston Raider shirt, Shane's like, really? And he's like, they don't know I play for Boston. They don't know I play for Boston. And then the pasta, all of it is just, you know. Also, when Shane's like, baby, she's saying. in the car, and Ilya's like,

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Obsession is in session. And this summer, Prime Originals have everything you want. Steamy romances, irresistible love stories, and the book-to-screen favorites you've already read twice. Off-campus, L, every year after, The Love Hypothesis, Sterling Point, and more. Slow burns, second chances,

chemistry you can feel through the screen. Your next obsession is waiting. Watch only on Prime. On the food front, I want to go back to something, which is the burger scene. I have a thought on this as well. Two things. I will lay this out to you three things, actually. This is my three-pronged conversation starter.

Number one, friend of the pod, Katie Rich reached out to me to say, on the product place of front, she's like generic condoment bottles, not even product placement, And I was like, actually, I thought that was like a rich person thing that he had like decanted his relish into like bottles that matched the other. But she thinks it's like they didn't have money to pay Heinz or whoever. That being said, there was a pickle. We did get an email when we were talking about the Tuna-Mil thing about there was like a- The Boston Pickle's a pickle that made a appearance known. Katie and I both agree that the burgers looked terrible.

And I was thinking about it. I was like, you know what? Shane, who's been eating microbiotic for a decade, I don't think he knows how to cook. And I think he's trying. He needs a burger recipe. He's trying because Elia made him a tuna melt and, like, making food for someone is, like, a way that you show love and affection and comfort and hosting and all sort of stuff like that. And my third point on the subject is to say when they're coming up the walk later and talking about what to have for dinner.

And he's like, do you want hot tongues? have to defrost them as like frozen hot dogs. Yeah, sure. What are we doing? Well, in Shane's defense on the frozen hot talk front, I will just offer up this. So this is early in the two weeks. They've only been there a couple of days. I retract the comment before he was sharing because it's early enough in the week. But I wonder if, so he says one of the very sweet things he says when they're when he, because he picks up I from the airport, which was so cute, first of all. So like, I went grocery shopping. So like, we don't. have to go out. There's a practical element to all of this, but also, as you said,

like, I'm preparing to host you and make sure you have what you need. And so I wonder if he was just like, I've kind of, I've strategized, I've sketched out the flow of meals for two weeks and, like, fresh meat's not going to last how long. I've got to put at least some stuff in the freezer. But then I'll just like, I don't want the leftover pasta. I want the hot dogs. If he had said, oh, I got to thaw the chicken. Oh, I got to thaw the steaks. Oh, I got to thaw the pork chops, whatever. This is fair. This is all fair.

This is all fair. Hot dogs can last in this free. Yeah, this is totally fair. I think you're right that Shane is not a master chef. I think Elia is the chef and Shane is not. That's what I think. Shane, I think, certainly as, you know, he's entered this phase of his career. Obviously, they're both loaded.

This was the other thing. I had been wondering earlier in the, I'll come back to the burgers in a second. And the product placement actually is a great shoutouts from you. Because I had another thought about the product placement elsewhere. Earlier in the season, I actually had, like, I did have a moment on the hockey sports, like, celebrity front where I thought it was, I thought that the absence of a,

their free agents and they have, like, moved into another tier of wealth was, was a, I was surprised, actually, even if it was just a quick, quick beat, you know, Rosenoff re-signs with Boston and Hollander, of course, re-inks with his mom's favorite team, a Metro for Life, et cetera. So when we got the discussion of free agency,

There's no way they're still on their rookie contracts. Just simply too much time has passed. Obviously with the original contract at this point, right? The endorsement deals. I mean, they've won the Cups. They've both won MVP. Like, we're, you know, we're a decade in here. But to get to the point where this is, you know,

Ilya's deal is about to be up again. That, just the math of that. I loved the callback to the your real estate fetish really paid off because we've seen the kind of progression of their dwellings. All of that was great. Shane has gotten a stylist. He, I would assume, I would have a personal chef. I'm just throwing that out there.

He would have long since had a personal chef. Now, that guy wouldn't, I would say from- That person wouldn't be invited to this private retreat. No, I would say from rookie season, he's had someone making him macrobiotic things in glass Tupperware that sit in his, he's meal prep. It's meal prepped. Yes. It's refreshed every couple days.

He doesn't even talk to this person. It just shows up at his fridge. 100% I believe that. But you can be that person, that meal prep person and still have like a cooking hobby. But Shane who just sits home alone and reads with his little glasses in bed, you know, and drinks ginger ale is not that guy. So he doesn't know how to store hot dogs in the fridge. He doesn't know how to cut the recipe in half to do math. Exactly.

It says, great moment. That was very funny. Here's my note on the burgers. In addition to that, there's not, I think this show is. just an absolute jewel, a gem of a show. There's not a World War II professional hockey players can't eat eight burgers. There's not. There's no way that burgers were not, like, massive.

There's no way they can't polish off those burgers. There's just no way. I think that's a great point. Here was Katie's note. She's like, does Canada only have bad burger buns? So, you know, listen. Yeah. These are all, it's all fair feedback.

I, you know, I love a good burger. I love a grilled burger at home. I just want to say that Shane Hollander is living. my real estate dreams. We are, but two of us, we've long since bonded over. We love an ocean vista. My main source of crying this episode

was like all of the wood inlay and in the very glass, like lakefront cottage dream. That was this house. I think my only note on the home and then I do, I will come back to the product placement. My only note on the home.

My only note on the home. Primary bedroom tad small. That's it though. Other than that, absolutely perfect. Well, this is Lakehouse Dreams. This is one of my absolute dream. A bizarrely misnamed cottage. So, you know, maybe he's like, keep the footprint small to preserve cottage vines.

Yeah, the charm and the intimacy. I actually like that because, you know, as we know, it's canon. He had it built. He did. I love that progression, too, when he, like, says he has it built. We already know that Elia knows that, right? He's like, I know. But then later he, like, brings up the yoga to be like, yeah, I watched your cribs.

My guy. I needed help falling asleep. Another year's so boring shot. Just one of the great through lines of the season. Is it, is it EA sports? What's your... It is, correct. Thank you.

Thank you for knowing that that would be it. Now, obviously, as we talked about last pod, this is in the show, not the NHL. The league has a different acronym. However, the fact that this was not just overtly EAs, and it wouldn't be NHL, they could have photoshopped the other league day, but the fact that they didn't have the EA sports on the video game. And I was really trying,

I like tapped in Adam for the video game controller, because the EA NHL line, it's PlayStation or Xbox. We didn't get to see the controller in full from the front. They looked like a more generic. I don't think they had either the game or the console. So that was the product placement that caught my eye. Season two. Get on that stranger things level of like we're so in bugles, baby, product placement.

You deserve it. All right, I want to talk about this scene that was the source of both. of our sort of minor details, the toe-to-to-to sort of moment. And I just want to use it as a as a moment to really underline something that I've been trying to champion, which is Conner's story is getting a lot of the like attention in this. But I want to talk about Hudson Williams and his glistening to your eyeball action. It's next level. It's astonishing. Yeah. Paul Meskell in normal people is some of the best cry acting I've ever seen in my life.

But Connor Waldron is like a weeper, right? Shane Hollander is a, I'm not showing you my emotion except I have a tell, which is that my eyeballs are gleaming, right? And I talked about this with Richard. This was like one of my favorite moments in the scene in the bathroom when they're both at the award ceremony and they have this exchange. And Ilya walks out and Shane just like gently wipes the tears from under his eyes. But they're not like streaming down his face.

And so I think Shane thinks that he is playing it very cool when Ilya says, I could marry Svetlata, you know, for the passport. And, you know, and he's like, oh, interesting. You know, and rewatching the episodes as I just did in the last like 48 hours to get Diana caught up. There's just like so many moments of that for both of them where it's just sort of like, Rose Landry. Is that why you've got a personal stylist? Like what's going on? Yeah, you're jealous.

Yeah. Burning jealousy that they're both trying to play off is not something that they're like entitled to. But inside of that scene, because that scene ends with the toe touch, as you mentioned, but also the like, don't marry Svetlana will figure something out. Like, finally he feels entitled to say something in episode four when Ely is like, you know, I like girls. They're beautiful. And they like me. I fuck all of them. You know, and Shane's like, yeah, I know.

Great. Great. Yeah, I also like girls. Like, whatever. And now he can just be like, don't marry Svetlaana. Like, we'll figure it out. And then he will sit up all night to figure out an elaborate plan that I've all. Ottawa and a charity and like all these other things.

But that just like, I really think Hudson is getting overlooked a little bit for the subtler work that he's doing. I think they're both extraordinary. But I just want to make sure that Hudson is not going unnoticed for the work that he's doing here. Co-sign. I think they're both sensational. And, you know, again, I think the fact that we started with them in very different

places and have watched their respective. share journeys has just been one of the more rewarding parts of the show, you know? Even like, we talked about this a lot last week, but it felt so present in this episode too. Shane, obviously, we saw this in episodes four and five. He has, Ilya was the one who, like, started this all, right? And if not four, as we talked about last, last pod, the, the, where he's from, Russia, the fact that he has that hanging over him, he says to Shane last episode, like, I could never go home, he, from the start of the show, the start of the story was more ready to say,

this is who I am and this is what I want than Shane was. Shane's journey is the journey of discovery. And Shane is the one, though, inside of the evolution of their relationship, who gets to the point a little sooner where he's like, what are we going to do about this? And so then the balance of that across the episodes and the season, and it felt really perfect to me then because that's where we were with Shane, that Ilya was the one who said, I love you first, and it's just this, like, beautiful choreography and rhythm and dance.

Like, that feels true life to me, you know? Who's, like, who's the one step in front of the other person in any given scene? And that they've sort of just been doing this, like, two steps forward, two steps forward movement over, as you said, a decade. Yeah, and like, you know, summer before. And, like, you know, summer before. Exactly.

But then Ilya is the one who says, boyfriend first and in front of Shane's parents. It's like, it's all perfect. I really agree. I think that the, that Hudson's performance and the, the, what he is conveying with a look or an eyeglisten is very, very powerful and gripping. And like, there's a magnetism for us as viewers and certainly obviously also for, for Ilya, the scenes, you know, that same scene that you're identifying where he's saying don't marry, don't marry Svetlana. I love that what is paired with that performance from Hudson Williams and what we're seeing from Shane in the scene, which is, as you just beautifully articulated this like, what can, what am I showing and what is someone else able

to like clock about how I feel? But what is Ilya saying to him in that moment? It's like, yeah, like, you know, here's the problem with all of these other women that I could marry. It's not just they're not you. You could just say they're not you, but that's not what he does, right? I'm always thinking about this slow fucking hockey player with beautiful freckles and a weak backhand. Like the let's just these little boring car, right? He's like, but beautiful freckles? Beautiful freckles. Like, you

that's a thing you say about a person you were deeply, deeply, deeply in love with. So that's all, that's just all great. One other thing I want to mention is upon rewatch is, you know, we get

these two conversations about Ilya's mom inside of this episode, the sort of telling him about her, about how her mental health issues, about, I don't want to think she was weak. She was so beautiful. She was so funny. Like, you know, this is just someone who was so important to him that was taken from him when he was 12. And then, like, we've seen his brother.

We've seen his father. Like, he was just left without that source of, like, warmth and love and kindness, like, since then. and then later when Shane is like basically like we can have a share our charity be like sort of basically in her honor Connor story's delivery of like she would have loved you just absolutely destroyed me but rewatching it there's an early in I think it's episode four or five I think it's five actually when when Shane asks about his mom and he just says, like, she died. I was young. Like, keeping it really, like, this is the amount of information you have access to. And also inside of those episodes, the, like, you asked too many

questions shut down from Ilya to Shane. So that progression of, like, ask your questions, I will tell you. The, these, you are now allowed inside of this boundary that I had drawn around myself and, like, basically Svetlana, you know, like inside of my life. And so, um, I just, I thought that was like a really beautiful, again, like deepening of intimacy between two people. So, yeah. Sam, that was one of my favorite parts of the finale. I've already mentioned the I love you moment a few times. And I think the way that that I initially turned away, you know, because he's like, is that what you want?

Right. Right. That we could, oh, is that what you want? And I was like, I was like, is he going to reject this? Like, is that what you want? Is he like, and then it was the other. It was the opposite. And, like, turning away because he doesn't want it.

He's not even right then for just another microsecond. Like, can he see the tears? And then when Shane grabs his face and turns to, it turns his face toward him again and they kiss and the way he kind of chokes out that I love you. That was breathtaking to me. This, the quiet whisper of she would have loved you. Like, that was when I was like, I wish he should win an Emmy. Like, he really should.

So I agree. I think both performances are incredible. I thought that some of the deliveries from ConnerStory in this episode were just like really, really, really powerful. And I love what you're saying. And I agree, it's like, you know, again, they've known each other for so long, but that's part of how we understand. And I love the, we as viewers are learning something new about Ilya, too, that is helping

to inform and shape our understanding, like, of his experience and his loss. Why he's an asshole. who he is and why he is the way he is. And like, you know, for Shane to be able to understand him more deeply and for Ilya, as you know, to be ready to share that with him. It's just, and I liked that, like, Ilya's family and his mother then is like, but she's present in this experience with them because so much of the episode obviously orientes around Shane and his parents and his family.

But also, like, yeah, watching Ilya at the table within Shane's parents and, like, being able to talk to Shane's dad about the vodka or whatever. You know, you can just like see the future. And then they're going to like have chicken and salad and beer together. And you can just like see a future where Elia is welcomed into this family and has like that family that was that warmth and comfort and intimacy that had been denied, you know, by his shitty brother and his father. I'm going to wrap up pretty soon. I just want to hit a couple of things before we go. First of all, I want to say.

Window blowjob, phone call blowjob. No, that's not where you're going. Okay, carry on. Both incredible stuff. I mean, the window being like, no, we're not pulling the shades. Yeah, we're not pulling the shades. This is not what we're doing. Perfect. But I just want to, we got a ton of emails in and the most popular subject, actually, was the needle drop in episode five. Was like something that people were really, really struck by. And I thought that was really interesting. It was like a reason Justin Sales told us he was like watching. heated rivalry was the Wolf Parade needle drop that plays for Scott and Kip, which upon rewatch is the song that Scott is listening to in his earbuds when he runs into the smoothie shop for the first time. Like when episode three started on my rewatch, I was like, oh, it's the song. It's Scott and Kipp's song here at the beginning. That Elena in episode three says to Scott, quote, he deserves sunshine and so do you, which is like, you know, the refrain of that needle drop.

And I agree with all the people who are writing in about that song, which Jacob Tierney has talked about as a song that, like, has been very important to him and his life. This is a very, like, Canadian. I think Canadian sleaze is the genre of music that I've seen it identified as. Anyway, we did a musical moments episode on out in the House of Our Feed recently, and that wasn't about needle drops. That was about sort of like more dietic music. But if we were to do a needle drop, maybe not of the cortisone. But I would say of this TV needle drops of this decade, I would be tempted to put this on there because this is such a perfect selection of a song that now forever I will hear and think about this TV moment. You know, with love in respect to the tattoo needle drop, I already had my associations with tattoo. So like that's taken. But this I'll believe in anything by Wolf Parade Needle Drop, I just think is, I loved how. many emails we got about it. I thought that was pretty extraordinary. We also got an email from a listener who just wanted to enumerate, nitpick all the things, in lovingly, nitpick all the things that's wrong with the hockey. And I'm not going to go into it because I have some pressing

horny questions for you. But I just want to say this is exactly the kind of email that I love to get press to use TV at Spotify.com when I get like expertise from someone. And they're like, well, actually those helmets, well actually those sticks, well actually this with love, with like a loving celebration of the show. It was great email. Thank you, Christian. Okay. So here's my question for you, Mallory Rubin. These are two, actually sneaky three questions here for you at the end of all things. The two that we prepare it is number one. What is your favorite moment of yearning of the season? Other than us for the lake front cabin? You know, certainly Scott looking up in the stands after winning the cup and seeing Kip and

deciding to call them down, it's tough to top. But for me, the answer is, you know, is also from episode five. It's the phone call. It's the yearning in both directions, the emotion in Ilya's voice, as he speaks in Russian and shares all of his deepest thoughts and desires in Russian,

but not yet in English, and Shane, his face, his closed eyes, the concentration, the fact that in that moment it is so clear that the thing they both want more than anything in the world

is each other, and they're not quite, quite, quite yet able to say that out loud. That is just this beautiful portrait of the yearning tendrils, that desire, the longing to be with someone else. Mine is, I think yours is the right choice. I will say on rewatch, Ilya's complete crash out over the Roselandry shame, like tabloid stuff. And when he gets off the exercise bike and like stubs his toe and just like screams about it because he's like, so ups and he's like stub my

stub my fucking toe, right? But he's just like so mad about this thing about you're rooting for someone who's in the public spotlight so you have to like see all of this. I just thought that was really good. I love that.

And then Mallory Rubin. Professional horny person. Favorite sex scene or hornyest moment of the season. Boy, crowded field. What a gift this show was on the spice front. This is what, I mean,

here are your no you have like a whole I was going to say your twin sort of pillars of strength but you have like a whole mountain range of strength so it's hard for me to narrow it down to two

but I will say access to emotion and horniness are like among your many many many skills and so this show is just sort of like built for you and this is why people demanded your presence here on the feed

so yeah sex scene of the season hornyest moment Mallory oh god thank you for saying that I'm going to update my business cards or I would if I would if I had them professional horny person. Okay, so I

I'll take the prompts separately in two parts. The hornyness and the sex scenes, obviously, horniest moments and sex scenes are certainly entwined, but I'll actually take them separately. Oh, a smuggle. For a reason, I'll explain.

For a horniest moment, I'm going to just go with the first two episodes, like the early stretch. You know, that first, like, legs open wide, sweaty water bottle sharing scene into the shower sequence. I think it's summer before rookie season, sweaty neck. Like the camera just like lingering on the sweat on Ilya's neck essentially. Like the pulsing, your pulse in the neck as it glistened.

I would say that's like one of Jacob Tierney's horny's moments. Like real horny camera work from Jacob Tierney, really good stuff. The show doesn't cease being horny from there, but I think that's tough to top as the pick for a more nice woman. Okay. For like favorite sex scene, I'd like to thank you for what you just said about the twin pillars or mountain range. It's apt because my selections for sex scenes will track that progression. I am going both early and late here for that very reason. The thing that I love so much about this show, but I think the way it's obviously just again very like erotic and sexy and thrilling to watch the sex scenes across the season.

I think the way that we evolved from lust into love, not that lust ceased to being present when love entered the chat, but that organic evolution inside of the relationship that you could then feel in the intimate moments was really, really, really expertly deployed. So on the sex scene front, episode two had a couple all-timers. had many Alzheimer's. But the journey of discovery...

If people are unfamiliar with Mallory's work on House of Art, this is classic, where she's just like, I'm just going to run through them. Smuggle City. I won't chronicle them all, actually, believe it or not. But in episode two, we have a lot of sexy time in episode one, but then in episode two, we take the next step, right? And Shane's first time, that scene was just really, really,

memorable and really, really, really great. Then, of course, in that same episode at the end of the episode, we get the post-award show, Ilya in the chair drinking, chain in bed across from him and Ilya saying, touch yourself, show off for me, I want to watch you. That stretch at the beginning of the season on just the lust, and like, we need to fuck,

and we need to tear each other's clothes off, and we need to touch. I saw a social media post of a fan who had had a t-shirt made of that scene and then had met Hudson Williams and showed him the shirt that was just like Elia in the chair and Shane on the bed

and I think Hudson Williams said something like oh I'm touching my asshole or like something like I'm psyched on it the best so that obviously has to be here and I think this journey

across the episodes from I need to touch you I want to explore you but also I want to help you understand and discover like who you bar and what you want into, I know you. And you know yourself, which is where we are in episodes four, five, and six.

The episode for a couch scene, the post-tunamelt scene, where Shane leaves immediately after, what that represented for like where they were with each other and where their relationship had gotten to and what it meant for Shane and what he was like, how he was processing that. just very memorable. I would like to identify that couch scene as a real moment in my rewatch this last couple days with Diana because I like paused it and I was like I would like you to tell me what you believe is going on here. And then we were both like we're just sort of like trying to with our hands figure out exactly. I understand that this is the thing. I knew that.

but like to, I've never seen it done personally. And so to like, even though this very Canadian, it's on HBO, but it's a Canadian show, has not shown us full frontal on anyone. That's okay. I don't need it. But like, so it's all out of frame. So then we're just getting like implications in that particular moment. But it was just like a really funny, like, pause. Let's have a conversation about the mechanics of what's happening right now that I would like to identify.

as one of the hornyer moments of the show, but a very emotionally intimate moment as well. The first use, the first trading of the first name sort of moment. Yeah, that was great. What are your picks? I mean, I think it's the, you know,

the scene that sent me to Urban Dictionary.com to figure out what the phrase that I should be using here is. Yeah, yeah. So, yeah, I mean, what a great fucking show. I will also say I really, really enjoyed the artistry of the

Eelia is jacking off in the shower. Shane is trying to have sex with Rose, but they're like staring down the camera. That's the end of episode four. That was great. Cut across that they're really like fucking each other, even though they're not fucking each other. I thought that was like a really good moment. Any like briefly, again, we're running a little long,

but briefly, any season two thoughts, feelings, wishes, desires that you want to share? Just that it start tomorrow. Okay. Like I know that's not possible. I know that's not what will happen and that we will likely definitely be waiting until 2027 to resume our time. I will say this. They turn out, they have churned out seasons of letter Kenny and seasons of Shorzie.

So there is a non-zero chance. Late 2026. That we could get, especially since it's like six episodes made, you know, I mean, the budget will increase, but made rather cheaply. Like, I think Jacob Tierney could give us. this for Christmas, 2026, if you wanted to. What a gift that would be. So yeah, I just can't wait to be back. You want the Ottawa, Ottawa, Montreal sort of like. Yeah, I guess I'll have to decide if I'm going to read the books in between, which I think we should. I think we probably, I think

probably we should. Not only should we, we will. I think I will. Maybe we'll start tonight. So that'll be a different experience, which will be fun. And I feel like the, you know, the Hudson and Connor are just going to be in our lives every minute until until them, which is great. You know, they're both so famous, so quickly, which is really fun and really well-deserved. They're on the cover of The Hollywood Reporter. They have a GQ hype issue. Like, it's all happening, and it's amazing to watch. So I hope not only that season two is with us soon, I can't wait to be back with them and continue their story, but I'm also like, you know, you and Richard started talking about this in your mid-season check-in, like the casting directors are paying

attention. What else are they going to be in? How quickly are they going to be in our lives and other things? Like, it's just been wonderful. And, you know, then we get one on the tyranny, front we get another season of Shoresy soon. Like, it's great. We're living. It's the best. I want to say, I want to flag when Shane was, no bad ideas in a brainstorm, brainstorming what their charity should be.

And he was like a summer camp for kids, essentially. Yep. And then thinking about that scene with Elia with the kids in the pool and like how like actually very charming that was and thinking about Ilya, Ilya's, you know, relationship with his niece. I'm going to have a trust for my niece when Svetlaan when he's packing Svetlaan is like remember the things for your niece. So like Elya and kids is like a thing

that I'm excited to see more of this this like really sweet like side of him that was like oddly touching in the pool but like while teasing Shane at the same time like when when that pool scene happened. And so just like that being something that they do every year together as a possibility is very exciting for me.

More Scott and Kip other characters from the series being introduced. I was talking to Katie and she was saying like because earlier she's like I don't see how they do a season two and then she saw the finale she's like okay I see how they do with season two she was like

but how do you recapture the like will they won't they the yearning the like first sexy like you know all that sort of stuff like that and it's like it's true that that kind of tension is out of the story, but can you capture it with another, like, new couple from the series as, like, part of it while we continue to get, be emotionally invested in, uh, in Shane and Ilya. Yeah, but also, like, what is it like for them to take that next step in their relationship?

No, all of that is, like, good and interesting, but if he didn't rivalry has a reputation of, like, here's the horny yearning show, that's a little different than, Perhaps. But maybe all the book readers are sitting at home being like, you don't know what the fuck you're talking about. I've read the second Ely and Shane book and I know it's great. And I'm sure it is. Okay. Thank you.

Happy holidays. If you want more from us, we've been covering stranger things over on House of R. We also got some end of year stuff that we did on that feed. So we spend hours and hours and hours every week talking to each other. So my understanding from Justin is that these, he's the first. My understanding from Justin is that these heated rivalry episodes have been perhaps an exposure to a new audience that have not been listening to the prestige TV feed is possible. So if you've never, this is a thing we do. We talk to each other a lot.

It's called House of Ravar. It's a great podcast. You should go listen to it. Thank you to Devin for working on these heated rivalry episodes. Legend. Absolute legend. experiencing heated rivalry by listening to us talk about it rather than watching it. My apologies for that.

Thank you to Justin Sales. Always. You know, for catching up with heated rivalry and all the rest. And as I mentioned, Rob and I are wrapping up pluribus. We might have like an extra pluribus episode for the end of the year. We'll see. And we'll see you all in this feed in the new year for the pit and industry and everything else that's coming in January. All right.

Bye.