Spoilers for the first three episodes of Heated Rivalry are ahead! You can stream the series with an HBO Max subscription.
Instantly, Heated Rivalry took the 2025 TV schedule by storm. Viewers quickly fell head over heels with Shane and Ilya’s love story, and the internet was buzzing about this smutty hockey romance. However, after the first two episodes, the show pivoted hard in Episode 3 as it took the focus off the leads and shifted the spotlight to another player named Scott and his love interest, Kip. Now, while it was jarring, it’s a great episode, and the actor who plays Scott has opened up about how it will impact the show going forward.
Now, while Heated Rivalry is a book-to-screen adaptation of Rachel Reid’s novel of the same name, the third episode adapts another book in her series called Game Changer. So, Shane and Ilya are barely in this installment, as it shows us the origin story of Scott and Kip’s romance. Speaking to TV Guide about this big shift, François Arnaud, who plays Scott, opened up about how it differs from the first two episodes and the importance of that. Specifically speaking about the juxtaposition between the couples and their intimate moments, he said:
I don't know. They're just shorter. The episode was too long and they had to cut into it, but we sure as hell shot them! And people can freeze frame too many things for my liking. But yeah, it's a completely different style of sex. We see just as much nudity as in the other ones. It's not built like this kind of titillating eroticism in the same way that their sex scenes in the first two episodes are. And that's not to say that they will remain like that.
He’s right, and I promise this plays into what could happen next. If you watched Episode 3 of Heated Rivalry, you know that it’s a stark contrast to what Shane and Ilya are going through. Episodes 1 and 2 are, as Arnaud more erotic, and the players’ relationship is built around repressed feelings and secrecy. While Kip and Scott’s relationship is also a secret to the public, they don’t suppress their feelings with each other, and they actually communicate about them. They’re a lot more open and free, and it’s very different from the show’s primary romance.
To that point, that juxtaposition will be important moving forward, as François Arnaud explained:
That's why I think Episode 3 is a really good segue for the next steps in Shane and Ilya's relationship, because as much as people liked the first two, I think if it's just that [explicit sex] for six episodes, then it stalls a bit. It really does go to other places.
I love this point. So far, Shane and Ilya’s relationship really hasn’t gone beyond sex. While their attraction to one another is obvious, they haven’t been able to communicate that directly, and it’s creating a tension that could quickly turn toxic. That became even clearer after watching Scott and Kip fall in love (even though they also have their fair share of problems, including Scott asking Kip to keep their relationship a secret since he feels like he can’t come out).
Speaking to that point, François Arnaud eloquently explained how Shane and Ilya’s sex scenes and Scott and Kip’s intimate moments illustrate the differences between them as well as what the main couple could maybe aspire to. He said:
But for sure, [Shane and Ilya's relationship] is built on tension and secretive, locker room machismo and all of that, whereas our sex scenes are about liberation and love. So it might not be as hot. I don't know. It depends who you are, I guess, but I think that the point of these sex scenes in our episode is to illustrate the joy of them and actually how freeing it is.
Now, all this has me very excited for what’s to come in this great LGBTQ+ show. First of all, I hope the next episodes give us more of Scott and Kip so we can see where their relationship goes as the player deals with his inner battle of whether he should come out or not. Secondly, and maybe more importantly, I cannot wait to see how their love impacts Shane and Ilya. In a lot of ways, this new couple could positively influence them and show them how important it is to express their feelings, and I want to see that happen.
I mean it, Shane and Ilya need to communicate with each other. I want to see them accept their love for one another, and I want them to have these moments of “liberation and love” that Scott and Kip have had.
Now, to see if that happens, you can watch new episodes of Heated Rivalry on Fridays.
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