TPS325: Heated Rivalry S1E2: Olympians

The Produce Stand continues its coverage of Jacob Tierney’s Heated Rivalry with Season 1, Episode 2, “The Olympians.”

Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov’s secret relationship stretches across seasons, cities and plenty of increasingly flirtatious texts before the two finally reconnect. As their rivalry grows on the ice, their relationship begins to become something much more complicated off it.

Then the story moves to the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, where the pressure on Ilya intensifies and Shane gets a firsthand look at just how different their worlds really are. From Ilya’s struggles with his family and the Russian media to Shane trying to understand exactly what the two of them mean to each other, “The Olympians” adds new layers to both characters and their relationship.

The TPS panel breaks down the episode, including the time-jumping opening montage, Shane and Ilya’s chemistry, the Sochi storyline, the changing dynamic between them and that heartbreaking final message.

Chapters:

• 00:00:00 – Introduction
• 00:07:05 – How Was Your Week?
• 00:17:15 – Don’t Bore Us Get To The Chorus (Episode Recap)
• 01:17:25 – Initial Thoughts
• 01:31:10 – Ratings
• 01:36:13 – MVPs
• 01:39:19 – Listener Comments
• 01:40:11 – Questionable Call
• 01:42:37 – Patreon Rollcall
• 01:44:31 – Final Comments
• 01:49:09 – Outro

Episode Rating:

• Tanya: Fresh
• Victor: Compost
• Al: Clearance
• Mat: Fresh
• Michèle: Fresh

Episode MVP:

• Tanya: Shane
• Victor: The Ending Horn
• Al: Shane
• Mat: Sexting
• Michèle: Svetlana

Links:

• Opening Theme: Rightfully Mine by Poised For The Worm
• Closing Theme: Inebriation by Poised For The Worm
• TPS on Facebook | Instagram | Bluesky | YouTube
• Join Our Patreon

Clip: [00:00:00] That fresh produce stand there, that’s a beauty.

Tanya: What do yous listen to?

Clip: My Favorite Murder podcast. Taggart and

Torrance Podcast. The Produce Stand.

Tanya: Uh, fucking sexy.

Al: It’s thirsty Thursday, and that means… No, it isn’t, it’s Monday. It’s martini Monday, and that means we are once again hanging with The Produce Stand, a podcast covering everything in the universe

I know what you’re thinking. There are a lot of other Letterkenny podcasts out there, but this one will not sext you before a big game. I’m Al, your host, and joining me in the room as always is the lovely Tanya. Online we have Squirrely Matt and the very heated Victor. And joining us this week, she’s a professor at Laurentian University, which makes her way too smart to be on our podcast, and she actually lives in Sudbury.

She’s a member of our Discord, a patron, and a great gal. She’s a really great gal. Please join me in making some noise for Michelle.

Clip: Wondrous. Oh my Gawd. Oh my God. Oh my God. Yeah. [00:01:00] Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.

Take it. Take it. Take it easy Oh my God. I regret nothing!

Al: Welcome back to The Produce Stand, Michelle. How are you?

Michèle: Good, and you?

Al: Not so bad. How have you been?

Michèle: Uh, just great

Al: Yeah?

Michèle: Just great.

Al: Now, uh, you’re a professor, but you’re on sabbatical right now, but are you back in Sudbury right now?

Michèle: I am in Sudbury downtown right now.

Al: Very cool. Very cool. And how’s the weather up there?

Michèle: Uh, it’s a bit cool. It’s getting cool. It’s, uh, turning into fall, I think, but, uh, beautiful day, a little bit of rain.

Al: Oh, yeah. Have you seen any members of the Shoresy cast milling about by any chance? I, I know that they’re starting production soon.

Michèle: I have not.

Al: No?

Michèle: No, I haven’t really looked, but, uh, my, my eagle eyes haven’t caught anything yet.

Al: Is, is the Sudbury arena still open?

Michèle: Oh, yeah.

Al: Yeah.

Michèle: Definitely. Yep.

Al: It, it… Is it being replaced or are they just… What, what are they doing downt- … ‘Cause I know there’s a big- Uh … like re- re- rejuvenation downtown, right?

Michèle: [00:02:00] The latest plan is, so the city bought up most of downtown- Mm

a big, huge piece, and, uh, tore down a bunch of buildings and is, uh, um, um… They’ve just drilled hundreds of big pylon thingies, uh, into, uh, the bedrock or whatever. Um, they are building a new arena right close to the existing arena.

Al: Right.

Michèle: Uh, we still don’t know if the existing arena is gonna stick around or whether it will get demolished.

That’s still in question. Oh, wow.

Al: So I’m wondering if, uh, in the last season of Shoresy, there was, like, zero… I mean, they, they played hockey outdoors. I wonder if it’s because the arena wasn’t accessible to them to shoot that season.

Michèle: Possibly. Mm. But, uh, it’s kind of business as usual, uh, so far.

Al: Yeah.

Michèle: Wolves are playing and, uh-

Al: Apparently they just traded for, like, they tra- traded all their assets for, like, one big shot player.

Yeah.

Michèle: Yeah, I don’t know much about that, but I’m curious to see what’s gonna f- uh, result from all of that, so we’ll see.

Al: That’s great. Well, I mentioned you’re on [00:03:00] sabbatical. You’ve been traveling all over the place. T- t- give us in a nutshell what you’ve been doing.

Michèle: Um, so I’m doing scholarly work for, uh, my sabbatical, whatever that means.

And, um, so I’ve been to Ireland and England. I did a short stint at Trinity College. I’m, uh, I’ve taken some courses. I’m, I’m just doing all kinds of stuff that, uh, you just don’t get around to when you’re teaching full time. Right.

Al: Yeah. So

Michèle: you get caught up on stuff and learn a bunch of new stuff and visit some friends.

Um-

Al: Yeah, you ran into some degens in, in the UK.

Michèle: I did. I spent a day in Birmingham- Mm-hmm … mostly downtown with, uh, Dennis and Trolley, and had a great time. We did a portion of the Tolkien trail. Didn’t know such a thing existed, and, uh, now I’m watching Peaky Blinders to – There you go … try to relive some of those moments and see the old- Yeah, that’s a good one

Birmingham downtown- Amazing … with the canal and anything. Birmingham’s beautiful. They’ve done a really neat job of, uh, [00:04:00] modernizing. Up the downtown, big fancy train station, and it’s quite something, but there’s a lot of the old stuff still there, which is what I really like, so it’s great.

Tanya: That’s

Michèle: awesome.

Highly recommend. Lots to see and do. I need to go back. I only spent- You know, a small portion of a day

Al: Yeah

Michèle: And there, it was- V- Victor,

Al: did, did, did

Michèle: you visit- … walking and walking and walking all over …

Al: did you visit Birmingham when you were there?

Victor: No, I didn’t get a chance to get to Birmingham. I just went to York to, that’s where they have the, uh, uh, the train museum, uh, and the rest of the time in London.

But, uh, uh, and, uh, I had a buddy that came up from Manchester, and of course, uh, Trolley came up, came… I don’t know where… I don’t think he was in Birmingham, so I guess he made his way out to meet with you, Michelle. I think that’s, that was pretty cool. Yeah.

Michèle: Yeah, he’s about an hour and a bit away.

Victor: Yeah, yeah.

Nice. So, um, anyway, um, i- I mean, uh, L- London and, I mean, York is like a medieval kind of a place. Mm. They had, like, cobblestones everywhere, and ev- there’s dungeons. [00:05:00] Every church had a dungeon, uh, which most of them were turned into pubs, of course. Um, it was very cool, and London’s very cool. I, I’m guessing, Michelle, you’ve been to London, right?

Michèle: Uh, I have actually. Yeah. Lived there for a while-

Victor: Oh, there you go …

Michèle: during my undergrad. But, um-

Victor: Yeah …

Michèle: yeah, and I spent a couple days at a conference there. H- um, really good time, and saw a bunch of other stuff as well, so.

Victor: Nice.

Al: So

Michèle: w- Took advantage of, of the opportunity …

Al: w- when we decided we were going to cover Heated Rivalry, I put the message out to, to the Discord degens, and we got a bunch of people with their hands up going, “I need to be part of this.”

Uh, Aaron joined us last week to kick this s- this off. Not j- last week, last Friday to kick this off. And Michelle, you were another one. So t- just talk a little bit about your fandom for this, uh, this IP. Where, where did it start?

Michèle: Well, because of Jacob Tierney, of course, I was curious about the show. I knew it would be good because he’s a genius.

Um, and I’ve, I’ve s- yeah, seen a bunch of his movies in addition to [00:06:00] Letterkenny and Shoresy. Yeah. Um, uh, but this is a kinda new domain for me. I, I don’t read romance novels. My mom’s a big fan, but I’m pretty sure she hasn’t read any of the Heated Rivalry novels. Mm-hmm. And maybe not quite her thing, but who knows?

Um, uh, and I have not read the books, so I’m coming into this from, from the perspective of, of the TV show-

Gord: Okay …

Michèle: uh, only. And, um, and yeah, wow. You know? It’s pretty graphic. Yes. Sort of.

Gord: Yeah.

Michèle: Uh, what was that, what was that show? It was a British show, and they did an American version about- Uh, young men, what was it called?

Al: Oh. I can’t

Michèle: re- but anyway, I haven’t- Yeah … seen anything like this since watching that show.

Al: Okay. So you would say that even though they’re not graphic novels, they’re very graphic novels probably.

Michèle: That’s the idea. All right. Anyway. But anyway, maybe they should make them into actual graphic novels. That would be an interesting-

uh, new dimension [00:07:00]

Al: to this. Yeah, that’ll be the next, uh, uh, merchandising, uh, effort. Very good. All right, let’s get this started. How are you now? Tonight’s lineup is gonna be Tanya- Oh … Victor, myself, Matt, and our guest Michelle has, will have the last word. Tanya, I mean, we, last time we recorded was Friday. How was your weekend?

Tanya: My weekend, uh, it was busy. We were very productive. Yes. Like re- like I love a productive weekend. I, I prefer them over the do nothing and then feel guilty about doing nothing.

Al: No, see, I don’t mind the do nothings, and I never feel guilty.

Tanya: I, I, I’ve noticed- That, yeah, I was gonna say that right

Mat: there. That’s your problem-

Al: Yeah

Mat: is the guilt.

Al: Yeah, exactly.

Tanya: I, I, I’ve noticed that about you, and I’ve tried to- … I’ve tried to adopt it because y- everyone needs a do nothing day, but it’s just like one of those things is like I could be doing, I could have done-

Mat: Mm …

Tanya: and all these things now are- And you could

Mat: be doing nothing.

Tanya: I know. I don’t do that very well.

No. And you

Mat: could have done nothing.

Tanya: I know, but it was productive. It was super productive. We got jazz shoes ready. We got, uh, [00:08:00] house was reorganized. We’ve got, um, um, a project on the go, um-

Al: As you can

Tanya: see, we’re

Al: not in our usual studio. Uh, we’re out in the rec room ’cause behind that-

Tanya: Studio …

Al: behind that door over there-

Tanya: There’s a big reveal.

Al: Yeah. There’s no reveal yet. No. There’s a bunch of work that needs to be done in the room behind that door that we haven’t started yet, but we’re-

Tanya: There’s a lot of work …

Al: we, I needed to move my, my work

Tanya: out here first. Yeah. We have not done that room since we moved into this house. Uh, so it’s, it’s been a long time.

It was pre-children, so, um, yeah, it needs a, it, it needs a good, uh, makeover. Um, so yeah, that project’s on the go. And, um, yeah, just, uh, September, we’re already like halfway through, so it’s, uh, yeah, it’s going.

Al: Victor, how was your weekend?

Victor: I was busy. It was a busy weekend. I, I, it was, uh, Linda’s birthday, so- Oh, nice … so, you know, that was fun. We spent the day at that Benesaage Park, or however you pronounce it. Benesaage. Uh, you know, that new [00:09:00] park that, uh, they created instead of the, uh, swamp lands that we had. Um- Oh, is

Al: that all done? You mean out in the docks area- Yeah

and, and like the-

Victor: Yeah … yeah? It, it… Yeah, it’s all done, and it’s- Oh, nice … beautiful. Uh, they did such a fantastic job. Uh, it’s like a gem right now, like, uh, the… ’cause most people don’t even know about it. They don’t go. Mm-hmm. So it’s, when we go, it’s just beautiful. There’s not that many people. It’s just a great space to hang out, so I definitely, uh, recommend, uh, to check it out.

Um, what, what else? Uh, we just did this a couple days ago. Yeah,

Al: so- … this, this could be, this… It’s okay if this is a short, uh-

Victor: Yeah, yeah … as- Oh, by, uh, by the way, I, I, I forgot to tell you. Uh, we got, uh, Magic Windows on a, on the front of our house. I don’t know, you know that Canadian company? They’re called Magic Windows.

I’ve heard of them, yeah. And if you’re on Instagram, they advertise they’re all the time. Th- they… It’s incredible. We… The best choice we could have made. Um- What makes them

Tanya: magical?

Al: Yeah, what’s magic about them?

Victor: Um, [00:10:00] it’s the way they open. Mm. Like, they’re not on traditional cranks. Oh, okay. You just kinda push them open and it opens to 90 degrees in the middle, and then y- it’s easy to wash them on both sides.

But then the great part is the screen. Oh, they, they,

Al: they pivot. Right, oh, okay.

Victor: Yeah, and

Mat: then

Victor: this- That’s… Love it … when they’re open, you have a s- roll-up screen- Mm … that opens and closes, so there’s never a, a, a permanent mesh that’s, like, on typical windows. And then when you’re done with the screen and the window and it’s nighttime, there’s a roll-up, uh, shade as well that you d- you don’t see.

It’s magic. Yeah, the whole thing is really, really cool. So, uh, we got them custom in our, on, on the front of the house, not on the back, but, uh, on both floors, and it’s fantastic. Just- Hmm … just, I couldn’t recommend them more. Yes. It’s worth paying a few extra, uh, pennies to- Well, we, we just- … to get it done …

Al: did our win- well, not just did, but we’ve recent done

Tanya: the windows.

So without the- So- I, um, I have a, a security question. Oh. Um, without the crank, though, uh, is it, is it as secure as-

Victor: It’s, uh, it’s, it’s more secure ’cause- More s- … [00:11:00] when the window’s closed, you actually have two locks, uh, whereas a traditional window just typically has one.

Tanya: The one lock. Hmm, interesting. Yeah.

I’ll have to look into it.

Victor: Yeah, yeah. No, they’re th- th- they’re, they’re better in every possible way. Yes. Mm. Right?

Tanya: So- I would think if it has the screen and it has the… You’re saying it has the sha- Is the shade built into- Yeah … the pane?

Victor: Yeah, yeah. There are two kind of… Yeah, yeah. You need to, you need…

Depend if you’re getting those things- Yeah, yeah … they, they, uh, build a f- up the proper frame for it, but it, they’re separate units. So if e- if ever anything breaks, they’re easily replaceable. But they look like they’re part of the window. They don’t look like they’re even removable or anything like that.

It’s just- Interesting … it’s, it’s really, really well done.

Tanya: Very cool.

Victor: Uh, yeah. I’ll look into them. You can check it out anytime- Awesome … you’re driving through the neighborhood.

Tanya: Absolutely. Yeah.

Al: Yeah. Uh, Tanya’s covered my weekend for the most part. Uh, the only thing, the only thing I’ll add is I finished, uh, the re- se- most recent season of Chad Powers, and, uh, it was fun.

Um, Matt, I think you’ll enjoy it. I know that you’re watching or you, you were watching. Yeah, I’m, I’m, I’m

Mat: a couple episodes [00:12:00] in.

Al: Yeah.

Mat: Yeah.

Al: Uh, it’s a, it’s a fun time. That guy, uh, uh, the actor, I forget his name-

Mat: Glen Powell …

Al: is, yeah, Glen Powell. So many angles he looks so much like a younger Tom Cruise, it’s crazy, like how Ooh

how much he looks like Tom Cruise in, in some of the, the shots. But anyway, uh, good actor, but also good with the comedic stuff, so that’s… It’s, it’s, it’s, it’s a fun show. Like, uh, nothing too deep, nothing- Yeah … groundbreaking about it, but, uh, I, I’ve enjoyed it. How about you, Matt? What was… How was your weekend?

Mat: Yeah. Yeah, quick on that one. Um, w- my, my issue… Like, I liked the first season Chad Powers. I’m into the second one. I found it went a little too goofy.

Al: Hmm.

Mat: That’s my issue. Like, it feels a little too hokey. Even though I get- Sure … the concept is kinda hokey-

Al: Yeah …

Mat: they could’ve g- gone comedic and kept it a little more serious, if you know what I mean.

Um, but whatever, it’s, it’s a fun watch. Um- Yeah,

Al: when he’s as the Chad Powers character, he’s pretty clueless. Like, he’s pretty dumb.

Mat: Yeah, yeah. Um- He puts on this kind of voice- Yeah … and it’s, it’s, it’s goofy. It’s, it’s fun though. Yeah. Whatever. Um, yeah, my [00:13:00] weekend was fine. Um, had all the kids here. I will say the one thing, a bit of a vented moment, um, I took…

We, we went for our f- I will say this is our first official bike ride as a family, the five of us, because my youngest can now officially ride his bike.

Al: Cool.

Mat: Right? So we’ve gone before and he used to ride on the back, but now he can officially ride his bike. Now, what I vented the moment is about the fucking never-ending battle between cyclists and non-cyclists- Mm

especially in the city, and I fucking hate it. Like, I get it. Don’t get me wrong. As a grown-ass adult, if I’m out cycling by myself, I’m on the road, I’m, I’m following the traffic, I’m doing, I’m trying, doing my best. I don’t do it a lot, but I understand. In this situation, it’s myself, my 13-year-old, my six-year-old, my 15-year-old, and then my wife lined up riding down the street.

And we only had to go on the road or on the, on the residential area for one simple stretch. We have this thing called the Beltline through the north end of Toronto, which is a massive [00:14:00] path. Yeah. Um, you can ride your bike along and walk. It’s really nice, actually. But there’s one stretch where it disconnects, so you have to go over a couple blocks to then reconnect.

Mm-hmm. And again, I’ve got my six-year-old who just fucking learned how to ride his bike. I’m not taking him on the goddamn road- Yeah … on a major street. So as I’m riding along, I see this old gentleman sitting off to… And the, the context is I thought I was kinda quick on this one and it made me laugh, and my 13-year-old’s like, he laughed as well, which probably a bad teaching moment.

But anyways, he, uh, he’s sitting on this, like, concrete curb off to the side a bit. And as we’re approaching, he’s having a smoke. He start, he looks at me with this glare-

Clip: Mm …

Mat: and then starts pointing at the road. And I didn’t understand what he was doing at first. He’s just, like, aggressively pointing and I look over, I’m like, “He’s looking at me?”

And then he does it again. He points, like, really aggressively at the road. Get off the sidewalk kind of thing. I’m like, “Huh?”

Al: Yeah,

Michèle: yeah.

Mat: And, and he goes, all he says is, and I’m gonna do my best impression of it, “Road.” And I looked at him and I’m like, “Seat.” [00:15:00] ‘Cause he was sitting on something that wasn’t a chair.

So I said- … “Seat.” Yeah. And he goes, “Sidewalks are for pedestrians and roads are for bikes.” Uh-huh. And I just gave a big thumbs up and a smile and kept riding. And I’m like- … “What the fuck was that?” And so we go on, and my son’s like, “What was that?” I’m like, “Apparently he doesn’t like that we’re on the sidewalk, but we’re gonna do it anyways ’cause my six-year-old’s not driving on the fucking road.”

Michèle: Yeah, yeah.

Mat: Um, but that happened once, and then before we got to our destination, there was another moment. The guy didn’t say anything this time, but we were on the sidewalk again. It was like a, one little stretch before we got to the restaurant we were going to, and I saw him point. So I got onto the road, but I left my kids- Mm-hmm

on the sidewalk. I was not gonna make an… He didn’t say anything this one at all.

Victor: They’re allowed to be on a sidewalk up until 13.

Al: Yeah.

Mat: Yeah, and that’s why I’m like this guy, uh, the first guy, I just like… I, I laughed it off. I’m like, “What a fucking idiot.” But, um, it drives me crazy. I’m like, I’m not forcing my little kids- No

to go on the goddamn road- No … in the city of Toronto. Mm-hmm. And if you can’t recognize that situation, well, go fuck yourself.

Gord: Yeah.

Mat: Yeah. Straight up. Yeah. So [00:16:00] anyways, other than that, we had a great weekend, and we actually… I was really impressed. My six-year-old, we did a 15-kilometer bike ride with him.

Tanya: Wow.

Mat: It was seven and a half kilometers to the restaurant.

We stopped and ate lunch, and then we rode back. We made a couple little stops at parks and stuff. He didn’t- Still, that’s a long

Al: way for a, for a little kid, yeah …

Mat: he didn’t complain once. Amazing. He was loving it, man. Awesome. Yeah, very proud of him, and, uh, it was a great afternoon.

Al: Nice.

Mat: Aside from the prick.

Tanya: And then he had a good sleep, I’m sure.

Mat: No, he didn’t. He didn’t sleep. Oh. He did.

Al: Oh. Michelle, how was your weekend?

Michèle: Uh, just great. Very quiet. Mm-hmm. Uh, not on a bicycle. Uh, I’ve been kind of, uh, holing up, trying to, uh, take advantage of the local produce and make a big pot of borscht and just, uh, while I’m kind of staying put for a little bit, I’m trying to cook some- Is

Mat: borscht the cold soup?

Michèle: It’s not cold when I make it

Victor: No, it’s not

Michèle: cold It’s like a beet vegetable soup

Victor: Yeah

Mat: Oh, beet. Okay. Mm.

Victor: Okay It’s a Russian soup. You should know-

Michèle: Are you coming for me, Igor? Why,

Victor: why

Mat: should I know? [00:17:00]

Victor: Because you like this sh- show with Ilya in it

Michèle: Yeah, so in honor in honor of our show- … made a

Al: borscht Very nice

Mat: Fucking guy

Al: All right.

Well, why don’t we get this thing started, shall we? Here we go

Michèle: Previously-

Al: Last week we- … on Letterkenny Last week we recapped and reviewed the first episode of season one of Heated Rivalry, Rookies. That episode got a mixed bag of rating, ratings. Freshes from Tanya and Aaron, clearances from Matt and myself, and a compost from Victor.

I wish I had my sound- Oh … sad, uh, trombone sound effect Oh Thank you, Tanya. This week we tackle episode two called The Olympians with our buddy Michelle. Uh, V- uh, Tanya, have you done your homework?

Tanya: I am heated up and ready

Al: Victor, have you done your homework? I’ve done… I have no idea what you said there, but I’ve done my homework.

Matt, have you done your homework?

Mat: Uh, y- yes

Al: Yes? Oh, wow. And Michelle, have you done your homework?

Mat: Absolutely No, Victor threw me

Al: off with his Oh … just doing But he al- but he always does it. Um-

Tanya: That didn’t sound

Al: that bad … Matt, I hope you, I hope the [00:18:00] kids aren’t in the room with you when you’re doing your homework.

Mat: No, they are not

Al: Is Jen in the room with you when you do your homework?

Mat: No, I don’t think she’s opposed to it. I did ask her. She just doesn’t watch a lot of TV. Oh, okay. Yeah Um, so I’ve been watching on my own. She did ask me, like she’s asked me more questions about this show than anything we’ve covered up to this point.

Sure, sure So I think she has general curiosity- Yeah … but has not watched it, no

Al: Very nice. Well- Well, don’t bore us, get to the chorus … let, you know what, before I start my recap, I’m going to share my screen Woo-hoo Yeah, ’cause, uh, I learned my lesson after 100 times not doing it. Share sound. Mm. Share screen.

And- And

Mat: typically I just sit around and watch it ca- by candlelight ’cause it’s just the way, right? Set the

Al: mood Well, it’s, it’s very romantic. Yeah

Victor: Yeah Very nice

Mat: Yeah

Victor: Brought to you by Camtasia.

Al: Yes. Here we go.

Mat: How do you get rid of that?

Al: Uh, you pay for the license. Previously on Heated Rivalry, Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov began their professional hockey careers as [00:19:00] the league’s hottest young rivals, and by rivals, I mean they occasionally play hockey between hooking up with each other.

Uh, s- episode two kicks off with an oh-so-familiar m- musical montage, familiar to us Letterkenny and Shoresy fans anyway. But this time, and this time the song is called, uh, Mange Tout by Wet Leg. Uh, we pick things up in the summer of 2011 with Shane and Ilya back in their respective corners of the world, but still very much in each other’s heads.

They communicate by text, with Ilya asking Shane if he’s still pissed about what happened in Las Vegas. Shane seems to be over it. Uh, then we jump to the fall of 2011 and the next hockey season. Boston is playing Montreal, and despite Ilya’s flirtatious post-game texts, the two don’t get together. Then in the winter of 2012, Shane is in Boston with his, with his team.

More flirting over text, another missed opportunity. Then spring of 20- 2012, Boston is in the playoffs, Montreal isn’t. Shane watches from home while Ilya playfully, uh, rubs it in over, over text that [00:20:00] he’s not in the playoffs. Uh, production note: It’s important here to point out that a full hockey season has now passed without these two getting together once, uh, despite multiple opportunities in each o- in, in each other’s cities The montage continues.

We jump to the beginning of 2013. Uh, both, uh, the season of 2013. Both players are now established stars, and both are still flirting with each, with each other over text. We get this funny scene where Hollander is sharing a hotel room with his teammate Hayden. Both are lying in their respective beds on their phones.

Shane is flirting with Ilya as usual. Ro- Rozanov sends him a dick pic, uh, causing Shane, uh, to immediately blush and overreact, and Hayden notices this, but Shane just smiles sheepishly and goes back to his phone. Then in winter 2013, still no contact, still lots of flirting. Spring of 2013, Montreal and Boston are facing each other in the playoffs.

Rozanov proposes a bet. If Boston wins the series, he gets to have sex with Hollander. If Montreal wins, the exact thing happens. Uh, [00:21:00] and then we finally get the title card. So all of that happened a full year and a half basically happened before we get the title card. Montage still going, but before we move on, is there anything anyone wants to talk about in that montage?

Tan?

Tanya: Holy hell.

Al: Right?

Tanya: So that was a year and a half that passed? Yeah,

Al: so far. From- So far … just in that beginning before the to- the title even comes on screen.

Tanya: All the flirting was, uh, super cute. Yeah. Um, I, I, I loved the reactions. I loved um, Shane, um, texts like I do. It’s, it’s like what I, uh, uh, what I want to say, and then I delete it all, and then I-

I come back with like, “Thank you.” Not,

Al: yeah.

Tanya: S- and I back out because I can’t, I can’t bring myself to

Al: say it. Sometimes you’ll read your texts a million times to me- Yeah … before you delete them and not send

Tanya: them at all. And then not send them. Yeah. Yeah, so I, I kinda, I kinda s- see where Shane’s coming from- Mm-hmm, mm-hmm

with his with his, um, i- [00:22:00] inability to, to send his messages.

Al: Victor,

Mat: what- Was that essentially what’s happening every time you see someone… You know when you send someone a text and you see those three dots blipping for like 30 minutes and nothing comes, and finally you get like a, “Cool. See you there.”

Al: Yeah.

Mat: And you’re like, “The fuck?”

Al: If you’re texting somebody with high anxiety, that’s likely what’s happening. Eh. Yes.

Mat: That’s must be stressful on the other side. Yeah. I just don’t think.

Al: No.

Mat: It’s much easier.

Tanya: I don’t think.

Al: Right? Yeah.

Tanya: Words have so many, um, that it just w- yeah. I d- I don’t know how you don’t think

Al: You send it and then you worry about the consequence after.

Victor- Yeah … what did you think of that cold open, if you wanna call it that?

Victor: Um, my goodness. W- it was just way too long. I mean, I felt like 10 minutes in- They did a

Al: year and a half time in, like, a half a, half a song … but

Victor: I, see, yeah, yeah …

Al: the song’s

Victor: not over yet. No, it was, it was, to me I was frustrated watching it because it was just too much, too much, uh, text without any dialogue or anything like that.

[00:23:00] It’s fine, I get it, I, it’s, it’s a trope that’s used, but this was, it went on forever. I felt like it just went on forever. And then through it all, Ilya’s just being a jackass again because hockey’s a serious thing for these guys. It’s their profession, it’s their career, and he’s trying to kind of fuck with his mind before the game.

Oh, we’re

Al: not at that point yet, but yeah, I know what you’re getting at.

Victor: Oh, I kind of felt like that was part of the m- montage.

Al: Not yet. Like, it, ’cause- Well, it, the montage continues after the title credits and we do get some of that, so yeah. So,

Victor: so when he’s in the locker room- Yeah … and he’s getting those texts, “Are you hard?”

Or whatever, that’s after the credits?

Al: That’s after the credits. Yes. Or the, after the title sequence.

Victor: Oh, okay. So it’s still continuing. Yes. So that’s my whole point. Yeah. Yeah. You get, you get to the title screen and then it’s still going after that. Yeah, it’s

Al: storytelling.

Victor: I was angry. It’s, there’s- By that point I was angry.

Oh, my

Al: God. Victor.

Victor: I was visceral at that point. I was like- Oh … get the, put your fucking phones away and start dialogue. I mean-

Al: But that’s not how kids today are. I

Victor: don’t give a shit … that’s how they communicate. It was, I don’t care.

Al: Mm-hmm.

Victor: I don’t care. Mm-hmm. It, it went on for too long. Mm-hmm. That’s it. For, A, it went on for too long, and B, he’s not being, he’s [00:24:00] not being cool.

Ilya is j- again, continues to be a jackass- Mm … and is fucking with his mind. Mm-hmm. And it’s okay to do when it’s not in Moscow, but it’s not okay, b- uh, o- but it’s, it’s okay to do when you’re, you know, playing North America, but it’s not okay when you’re in Moscow. So it’s kinda a double standard as well.

Al: Mm.

Victor: So I, I didn’t like it.

Al: Okay. Uh, I thought it was cute. Uh, that was, uh, storytelling. It’s basically storytelling through a montage, which we’ve seen Tierney do a million times in both Letterkenny and Shoresy. We see it here, too. There is a challenge when all the communication’s happening over text. There’s a lot of reading and stuff and, uh, it’s okay when it’s presented on screen, but there were a few scenes later on where y- you’re having to read the screen on, on the phone, which I don’t know why they wouldn’t have shown…

Yeah. It was weird. They went kind of one way or the other and when I, I can’t read it off the, the, the phone screen, um, especially when you’re trying to watch it- Mm … and not, not wake the girl up and have her come out and like-

Mat: And go, “What are you watching?” … “

Al: What, what are you guys watching?” Anyway, [00:25:00] um, but it was fine.

And a- again, this is just showing, though- How much time goes, is between each time they meet. Uh, which I think underlines when they do meet, the, the, the intensity of- Buildup … of e- the buildup and the intensity of each meetup, right? So I think it, it, it explains those, uh, really, really well. It’s,

Tanya: it’s, it’s the buildup of a, their relationship.

Al: Yeah. But it’s happening over years, as opposed to normally you go on a few dates, right? Mm. But the fact that this c- relationship has to be kept a secret-

Tanya: Well, not only that, but they’re focused on their career. Yeah. They, that, that is their main, you know- You would

Victor: think.

Al: Yeah. Matt?

Tanya: Everybody’s got a place sometimes Wow.

Mat: No, wow, that was, that was a lot, Victor. Yeah. Um, I, I actually really liked it. Mm-hmm. I, I like this new aspect. I mean, so episode, episode one they were kinda getting to know each other a bit, and these interactions as they are, um, occurred in person and, and very awkward at first, and they kind of found their footing.

The moment they’ve changed phone [00:26:00] numbers to, what is it, Jane and Lily or whatever- Mm-hmm. Yeah … um, that’s kinda cute.

Gord: Mm-hmm.

Mat: And now this. I mean, I get it. In their world they don’t see each other a lot. This is really their only means of communication. Mm-hmm. Why they didn’t… I, I wish there was a little more context of why they never met up.

I mean, the text sort of, you know, say, like don’t really hint at it. It kinda seems like they’re both willing but never get there. Um, but it’s a crazy world that they’re in. And, um, I actually… I- I- In the normal setting, you tell me to watch something where I have to read a lot, I’m fucking annoyed.

Gord: Mm-hmm.

Mat: Um, this time I actually quite enjoyed.

I like the way they displayed it, and I agree, there’s a couple scenes where they cut away and it wasn’t the digital, um, superim- s- didn’t superimpose it on the screen like they would do through most of the episode. You had to kind of read

Al: off- When they’re in Sochi- … the- … y- you have to read it off the little BlackBerrys or something.

Mat: Yeah. I, I didn’t, I didn’t like- Yeah … I agree. I didn’t like that. Um, that’s later. But whatever. It’s here nor there. I, I actually enjoyed their conversation. It was, it was really cute. It was fun to watch. Um, their, their back and forth banter was kinda joked. Yeah, Ilya’s a, a bit of a [00:27:00] jackass, but he’s just poking.

And maybe this is… I don’t know. I don’t, I don’t know what a guy-guy relationship looks like. Sure. I, I don’t know if you know me, I’m a bit of a smartass. I’m an asshole at times. Yeah. I’m probably gonna be that guy who’s poking and making jokes constantly, but I mean it well intended. Mm-hmm. Um, so I don’t know.

It’s-

Tanya: But if you think about it- But I

Mat: j-

Tanya: Yeah. Sorry, go ahead.

Mat: I enjoyed it. No, I’m just saying, like, I actually quite enjoyed it, and I like the, the pacing of this episode that, that set the tone. Um, and, and just that all aside, the production value of this whole sequence I thought was really well done. I think we’re seeing some really…

You know, I’ve commented before on other… and I, and I’ll bring this I’m sure up again later, um, where things feel very Canadian content. Mm-hmm. Right? They’ve got that look, right? I see something like that, of course that was made in low-budget Canada f- whatever. I’m not getting that vibe as much in this one.

I- The fir- the first episode I got a little bit of this, but, um, this second one already right out of the gr- uh, gate, the production value’s very high. Um, a- and, and it’s the pacing and the music and all that pulled together, I think it’s a really good [00:28:00] piece that he’s done here in this intro, so, um, I actually completely disagree with Victor on this one.

Al: All right. Michelle?

Michèle: Yeah, a whole lot happens in a short period of time. I clocked it. It’s, it’s like two, three minutes-

Al: Mm-hmm …

Michèle: maybe, and it’s, it’s pacing with, with the song in the background, and, uh, highly recommend everybody check out Wet Nap. They’re a new band for me, and that’s a pretty new song. Wet-

Al: Wet Leg, Wet Leg.

Mat: Wet Leg.

Michèle: Or Wet Leg. Wet Leg. Sorry.

Mat: I like Wet Nap,

Al: though. No. Um, but, uh, yeah.

Michèle: Maybe.

Mat: Hey, girl, hey.

Al: I think, uh, didn’t they… And I think they recently played in Toronto or something like that, ’cause I remember see- like, after hearing about them on, actually Shoresy, I think, ’cause there’s a Wet Leg, uh, track on Shoresy.

I looked them up, and I think they played in Toronto recently. So yeah, they’re, they’re an ongoing concern right now. They’re, they’re… Yeah, they’re, they’re getting a lot of exposure through both, uh, Kiso and Tierney on these shows.

Michèle: Definitely.

Al: Yeah.

Michèle: And the great thing about, uh, if you watch it, uh, with the subtitles, sometimes you get the lyrics to the song-

Al: Mm-hmm,

Clip: mm-hmm

Michèle: and see how that [00:29:00] matches the evolution of, of the conversations-

Clip: Yeah …

Michèle: between them and how they’re teasing each other, and yeah, Yuliy is… I mean, he’s always a bit of a jerk. He’s kind of a narcissist- Mm … that way. But, um, anyway, but… And the teasing back and forth about grammar and, you know, so it kind of sets that stage for how their conversations are gonna go for- Yeah

the rest of the series.

Al: Yeah, I love when Shane’s like, “How did… Where did you learn that word, sexting?” He’s like, “I learned it from your mother.” Yeah. I mean, come on, it’s chirping. They’re hockey players. They’re hockey- They’re

Tanya: chirping … that’s what I was gonna say. That’s it. They’re hockey players.

Al: Yeah.

Tanya: That’s-

Michèle: Yeah … they know how to speak to each other.

Al: Yeah, exactly.

Michèle: Um, I just, before I forget- Mm-hmm … just because I was, uh, reading the lyrics to the song. At one point, kind of around the dick pic moment, there’s, uh, uh, lyrics- So I just, I’m gonna read them here. You say you’re lost at sea, call the RNLI. Um, I wanted to point that out ’cause the RNLI, which is the Royal National Lifeboat Initiative- Oh

um, in, uh, um, the, the UK and other countries around there as [00:30:00] well. Um, uh, they’ve been getting some flack lately- Oh … in social media, um, for a number of things. But, uh, anyway, I met some of the volunteers. It’s an entirely volunteer-run organization. They take lifeboats out, and they save people, and they save animals, and- Yeah

um, they do nothing but good 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. So, um, great organization. Um, I just wanted to shout that out- Yeah, cool … um, for, ’cause I met some of them real live in person.

Al: Nice.

Michèle: Um, just the best organization ever. Um, and, uh, they’re also, uh, helping out my niece with a memorial for her partner, uh, who died recently.

And, um, just I can’t say enough good about them. Oh. So, um, just wanted to shout that out ’cause I caught that in the lyrics.

Al: Amazing.

Michèle: Nice.

Al: Yeah. Cool. Well, my, Er- Aaron on the live stream s- uh, confirms Wet Leg played Toronto in June, June 7th. So there you go. Nice. Thank you, Aaron. Aaron’s gonna be our fact checker for tonight.[00:31:00]

And, and Charlie apparently is counting every time O- uh, Victor says trash, so we’ll see how, how many times that comes up. All right, we move on. Coming out of the title card, Boston is in Montreal for a playoff game. The players mentally prepare for their opponents. Hey. Hey. Big

Clip: game tonight. If Rozanov fucks you tonight, I’m gonna fuck him back.

I think you mean fucks with, buddy. I fucking mean what I mean.

Mat: They’re burning a fake Rozanov outside

Clip: right

Mat: now.

Clip: The fuck does that mean?

They do it to you all the time in Boston. You wanna see? Uh, no, thanks. Honestly, guys, it doesn’t help me focus. Yeah,

maybe go be weird somewhere else. I’m not even that weird.

Gord: Whatever you need, captain. Hey, Hollander. What?

Clip: Can you talk to

Gord: NBC and some radio outlets in like

Clip: 10? Sure. Now, Mr. Hollander, what does Montreal have to do to win tonight?

Well, hockey is a complicated, nuanced game. Mm-hmm. But it would be helpful if we scored more fucking goals than the other team.

And how [00:32:00] about that other team?

Ilya Rozanov has been on a tear lately. He had a hat trick last week, and he’s almost caught up to you in the scoring list.

Wanna

know what he had to say about that this morning? Nah, I’ll listen if he actually catches up to me.

Al: See, there’s com- there’s competition going between the two of them. They’re competitive guys. They’re, they’re chirping at each other through the media, through text. That’s what they’re doing. Anyway, next.

Yeah. Before the game, Ilya texts Shane with more flirting. He wants to see Shane afterward, but Shane thinks he’s deliberately trying to distract him and turns him down. In the Boston dressing room, one of Ilya’s teammates wonders what Montreal girl has their star player so worked up.

Clip: Wow, this Montreal girl works you out, brother.

Shut your idiot face, Marlei. You’re straight up blushing, Roz. Well, no. Never in life have I blushed. Russians do not do this.

Al: I had to clip that because that’s one of the-

Mat: Uh, V- Victor, can you confirm or deny that fact? I’m Georgian.

Al: Okay, well- Do Georgians blush?

Victor: No, we’re-

Al: No …

Victor: we have usually a [00:33:00] dark complexion.

Al: Uh-huh. Have you ever seen a, a, a Russian blush? I almost said a blushing Russ.

Victor: Only a Russian bear.

Al: There we go. The game ends with Montreal winning 4-3. Later, we see Rozanov walking down an alley on his phone.

Clip: Maybe. Get in

Why the fuck did you think it was okay to sex me before the game? What the fuck?

You were hard, weren’t you? For how long? The whole game.

You’re such a fucking ass.

Well, you missed me, didn’t you?

I fucking didn’t, and I still beat your ass. Oh, barely

Oh, nice place

Thanks. I [00:34:00] bought it a couple years ago, but then this year I bought, uh, another one right next door. I eventually might turn it into one place, but for now I’m renting the next door one out.

Mr. Businessman.

Sure.

Mr., uh, Landlord.

You asked.

No, I didn’t

So what do you want me? In the kitchen, on the floor? Fuck you.

Did your mom buy all these pillows?

No. I hired someone, a designer.

You think that is enough?

Such an asshole.

I think maybe you like it

I can smell the cigarettes from here Ugh. [00:35:00]

I had one

You shouldn’t be smoking

You shouldn’t be talking

Al: I love all the competition, even up the stairs and stuff. Th- th- it’s just, yeah, th- they’re competitive guys.

Uh, after almost two years apart, the two players are finally alone and able to deliver on all the pent-up sexting of the past two hockey seasons. Uh, during their comprehensive lovemaking, they take t- things to the next level. That’s right, for the first time in his entire life, Hollander calls Ilya something other than Rozinov, calls him Rosie.

Uh, during this intense scene, we see a different side of Ilya. Instead of being the brash, cocky asshole we’re used to, Rozinov is surprisingly tender with Hollander, constantly checking to make sure he’s okay. Afterward, they actually stay together for a while. Shane holds Ilya. There’s genuine affection between them, and for a few minutes, this starts to look less like two hockey players blowing off steam and more like an actual relationship.

Before Ilya leaves, the two talk about the upcoming 2014 Olympics in Sochi, uh, where [00:36:00] Shane will represent Canada and Ilya will represent Russia

Clip: So, uh, obviously we won’t see each other during the Olympics, right? Well, right. Your family must be happy they’re in Russia. Mm, yes. My parents are pretty psyched for me.

They’re pissed they can’t come, but my mom’s threatening to wake up at 4:00 AM to watch every game.

I bet, uh, your parents will be there, right?

Mm, my father, yes. Maybe my brother, but who knows? Cool.

Anyways, I’m excited. I’ve been dreaming about it my whole life.

Dreaming of what? Ron’s medal? You

fucking wish, dude.

Al: All right, we’re gonna stop there and- … chat about the last few scenes we’ve seen. Michelle, I’ll start with you.

What did you, uh… what do you think so far?

Michèle: Oh, really well done. Um, you’re just… y- you know, you can’t wait to see what happens [00:37:00] next. Mm-hmm. And there’s some surprises from both of them, and, um, it’s very satisfying-

Al: Yeah …

Michèle: I guess.

Al: Did you clock the change in kind of relationship during that last scene? Like, they went from the physical thing to actually seem- seeming to be caring about each other, especially Rosinoff.

His, his whole attitude changes there.

Michèle: Yeah, but, you know, there’s… he- he, he flips on and off. Mm-hmm. It’s, it’s really tough. You can tell it’s tough for him to let go.

Al: Yeah.

Michèle: And, uh, and obviously his personal situation is pretty complicated maybe compared to Shane’s.

Al: Yeah, for sure.

Michèle: Not really a fair comparison, but, um, you know, there’s things that he’s sensitive about and really probably doesn’t wanna talk about, so.

Al: Mm-hmm. Yeah, we’ll learn more about those later too.

Michèle: There, there’s that tension there that keeps us- Mm … interested as well.

Al: Matt, what did you think?

Mat: Yeah, it’s, uh, it’s great. There’s, um, a lot going on here. I, I wanna comment on the, on the actual sex scene itself. So, um, it’s an interesting one. So it doesn’t…

like, let’s be transparent. Does it bother me? No. Um, [00:38:00] fuck, it’s, it’s, it’s interesting. What I find interesting about it though is, um, the fact that I feel that these kind of long drawn out sex scenes… ‘Cause it, it is long, right? Mm-hmm. And, and every one of them seems very intense and- Yeah … and Tierney, you do an amazing job.

You know, from a heterosexual guy, they’re pretty hot, let me just tell you. You’ve done a great job of capturing that. Um, but I feel like these long sexual moments are very outdated in film and television. That said, I, my gut says a big part is, A, it’s probably a part of the books. I, I don’t know the books.

It’s romance novels. They probably get quite graphic, so they’re capturing a lot of that, A. B, I imagine not since… and, and I’m happy to be corrected at any point, not since like Brokeback Mountain or anything has the, has, uh, queer affection been showcased to this degree or any real degree in film and television- In

Al: mainstream,

Mat: yeah, yeah

um, in, in a main, in a main… I was gonna say [00:39:00] that’s my- Yeah … that was where I was gonna finish. In a mainstream setting. So, uh, my, my part, big part of it says that’s probably a big part of his intention is we wanna put it in front of everyone, um, show that this is norm… like, it is normal. Make it feel normal.

This is just two guys, um, having a relationship and doing their thing. Um, so I found it very interesting to see that. ‘Cause they, they do feel much longer than you ever see. Like, like, think of the last movie or TV in a mainstream setting that you’ve seen go more than like 10 seconds or 25 seconds- Sure

and it’s usually this moment. The moment the moment happens, it cuts away to the next scene, and then you- Yeah … then everything’s hunky dory again. So were they well done? Absolutely. Yeah. Um, Tierney’s really directed, um- Uh, sort of some fantastic sexual activity going on here in Scream. Um, but it, it’s, it’s a lot from, from a, from a mainstream production perspective.

Al: Love str- Comments … love scenes have definitely had their heyday, you know, in the ’80s and ’90s. I feel like- Yeah … every movie had one, right? And, and it’s funny, ’cause watching a few [00:40:00] movie, older movies with, with Veronica, you, you, you, you become acutely aware, um, the, you know, these scenes that didn’t mean anything.

You, you just shrugged them off when, when you were watching them as a kid. But now it’s like, oh, you don’t see that a lot in movies anymore. Um- No … now, now you s- Now, like now they’re really short or not at all, or it’s just alluded to and then you cut away. But I mean, it’s the genre of, of this storytelling- Yeah

is that, right? Uh, and I had another point, but I’ve… it slipped my mind. So Victor, what did, what did you think so far of these scenes?

Victor: Uh, so regarding the sex scene, uh, so M- Matt got it right, but then he got it wrong. Um- Okay … so it is, it is long and drawn out and, and just because y- there was a time where there, there wasn’t kind of representation in mainstream, you don’t course-correct by making…

by trying to catch up for all those years. You know what I mean? You make a good sex scene and you time it for what it [00:41:00] should be and whatnot. I just felt like it was long and drawn out. It’s like, get on with it already. So, so it’s… Y- y- you know what I mean? Like, so yes, but just make a good show that is representing what you wanna represent without overdoing it on any one scene.

Like, uh- Okay. It,

Al: it’s a genre, it’s a genre show, though.

Victor: Well, yeah. Sure. I mean, from that perspective, I guess, and I- and, uh, just for the f- f- for the fans out there, um, I don’t… I can’t even think of another trashy show, right? You know, r- tr- a trashy romance novel show- Oh, that’s two … out there, to be honest.

Three, actually. I, I, I know, I know there’s another one on, on, uh, Prime, like the… I think it’s called Off Campus. I’m… I imagine it’s the same idea. I… Like, from a… just, like, in terms of the romance novel, not j- type of show, right? Um, but… And, and I’m guessing maybe they have sex scenes in that one as well, but, um, I, I don’t know.

All I’m saying is that these were o- unnecessarily long. That’s all. The stair scene was absolutely [00:42:00] fantastic. It’s one of the first few dialogue scenes that are really great, actually. Um, because then, uh, it’s like Michelle said, you’re kind of looking forward to see what’s gonna happen next and, you know, how are they gonna, uh…

And Hollander, Shane, uh, obviously knows that, okay, it’s… we, we’re not gonna act like this when we’re in Sochi and stuff like that, so he even says it. Um, but, uh, so it’ll be interesting when we discuss what happens next. But yeah, so that scene was, uh, was fine. Uh, but, uh, yeah, tho- those are my thoughts.

Mat: Yeah.

Matt, you brought- One, one, one last- Yeah … one… Sorry, one last little thing that we… Can we just applaud the boys on their, um, ability to last- … from the first time they were together versus now? It seemed to go much longer. Oh, okay. Um, so you know, they’ve matured as well. Sure. So let’s, let’s call that out.

Al: Yeah, these are 20-year-olds.

Uh, before I get to Tanya, you brought up the, the parallel between this and Brokeback, and I, I’m thinking those two stories, the, the parallels there also, two, you know, two people who, who are having a relationship but can’t, you know, be, [00:43:00] uh, can’t, can’t let people know about it, and ha- but… And they go long periods of time without seeing each other, right?

They, they look forward to the next, uh, um, season of cattle drives or whatever. I forget now. It’s been a long time since I watched the movie. But they have their own… They go back to their own lives with wives and stuff like that before getting together, and they look so forward to those few moments they have with each other when they do get together, kind of like this, uh, which I find really interesting

Tanya: I, I, I, I love it.

Mm. Like, I love the relationship. I love, um, you know, that they… It’s hard for Ilya to, um, separate hockey chirping, um, from his relationship. But because they’re both hockey players and used to the chirping, um, you know, uh, Shane takes it, um, w- you know, with, with, uh, a grain of salt sort of thing. Mm-hmm. Like, he, um, he, he, he acce- Like, they, they banter back and forth.

I… The, the chemistry between [00:44:00] them, the, the, uh, the, um… It’s, it’s always something that we’ve called out in the universe, right? Um, you know, Wayne and, um, um… Oh, my gosh, now I’m gonna blank on everybody’s name. Mm. Uh, Tanis, um, a- and their banter with each other. Like, it’s, it’s always that, that chemistry and that, um, that electricity between two characters, and when they bounce off of each other in that way in, in, in, in talking with each other.

And then I, I thought that the sex scene was fantastic. Uh, the, the… That showed us, like, the inner r- feelings of- Inner? No, no, no. The inner feelings of- Easy there … that they have for each other- Mm … and how gentle they truly are, um, w- deep inside. Like, with the, um, you know, that- No, come- Sorry. That he-

Victor: Sorry, I’m

Tanya: a child still Gentle deep inside.

That, that [00:45:00] Ilya’s… You know, he was checking in with Shane and, you know- Yeah … and making sure that he was feeling safe and that he was, um, was, was… Everything was working- Yeah … and, and, and feeling all right and stuff. And I thought that that was really well done. And, um, yeah, I, I, I thought it was very hot.

And, uh, for w- what the genre is, I thought that they portrayed it amazingly. Like, absolutely. It was, it was hot.

Al: Cool.

Tanya: Mm-hmm.

Al: Before I, I continue, um, another parallel to Brokeback, I think Rosanov looks a lot like Heath Ledger. Like a young Heath Ledger. So anyway, we move on. We are now in Sochi 2014. We jump to the Olympics, uh, only four days into the games, and the big story is Russia’s shocking loss to Latvia.

Uh, Hollander watches as the media eviscerates the Russian team and its young captain, Ilya Rosanov. Shane tries reaching out to see how he’s doing, but gets no response. His texting is [00:46:00] interrupted by a couple of US players, Cardova- Carter Vaughn and, of course, Scott Hunter. Production note, we’ve already met s- uh, Scott Hunter.

Uh, Carter Vaughn is played by Colton Stewart. He’s a Canadian actor, musician, and dancer known for, uh, Some Assembly Required, where he acted alongside D- Dylan Playfair, and Disenchanted. Now, the three, uh, talk about Russia’s surprising loss and other things

Clip: Oh, hey there. What’s up, motherfucker? Boys. Hey. Holy fuck, can you believe Russia? Be nice, Vonny. Be

nice? They fucking lost to Latvia. Did you see that game?

Yeah, it was a straight up shish show. A

debacle. Hey, what did Ro say about it? Uh, I don’t know. Nothing to me,

that’s for sure. I think he knows Canada has this in the bag.

Uh-uh. USA this year, baby. We’re fucking coming for you. Okay. Trust me.

You’ll look great in silver, Vonny, don’t even stress.

Oh, good one.

Does your room have that smell? Yes. Yes, it does. Is it black mold? ‘Cause [00:47:00] that’s what JJ thinks it is. He’s probably right. Well, the good news is we’re not gonna be here long.

All right, so tonight we can do the men’s short form figure skating, or?

My buddy Joe is in that program. Oh. We train together. Would you guys, uh, be cool to do that?

I’d love to show up for him.

Hell yeah, man. I’d show up for any dude who’s that brave. What do

you

mean? Well, I’m assuming your buddy might be gay. I mean- Fucking brave for a dude to show up to a place like this and be like, “Hey, here’s me.” Russia is not safe for folks like that. Fucking balls of steel, man

Al: Uh, the conversation clearly lands with Shane. He checks his phone again for any news from Rosanov. And later at the figure skating event, Shane spots Ilya sitting alone in the arena and goes over to check on him

Clip: No, I’m not. [00:48:00] I saw you up here. I wanted to see how you’re doing.

Fine. Go sit down

We are not anything. Go away, Hollander

You okay?

Please go.

You didn’t answer my texts.

No, I did not answer your boring text. Now will you go?

Al: And just like that, the walls go straight back up. A production note: the Team Canada polar fleece Hollander was wearing, uh, became a huge- such a huge sensation, just to give you an idea of how big this show got. Despite not actually existing outside the show, uh, they designed it specifically for the show.

So Toronto-based brand Province of Canada eventually teamed up with the [00:49:00] production to make a real version. It sold out despite costing, like, $356 Canadian each.

Victor: Ridiculous.

Al: And we even saw, uh, uh, Canadian, uh, Prime Minister Mark Carney wearing one, and, uh, it’s crazy. And, and now, like, there’s, like, a movement to try to get that to become, like, the Team Canada official apparel, but because Lululemon’s, uh, in charge of that, uh, I don’t know if that’s gonna happen.

But anyway, uh, let’s, uh, let’s talk about this. Let’s start with you, Victor, first. Ridiculous. What, what did you

Victor: think? What did I think? I’m, I… So the conversation in, in the sh- in a, I guess coffee shop or wherever they were at, was basically just to remind people that aren’t familiar with maybe, uh, the setting, right?

So I guess, um, they felt they needed to, to kind of use that scene to explain that, so that’s fine. Um, but then, uh, y- I s- so, s- so obviously Shane understands [00:50:00] not to say anything stupid in that situation, but at the same time, at the end, I felt like, okay, Ilya doesn’t wanna talk, he doesn’t wanna be seen with him, that’s fine.

Uh, but then at the end where he basically says, “Your texts are boring,” he’s not chirping anymore at that point. He’s just being mean. Um, and I, and again, there’s that kind of- He’s not

Al: being mean. He just got beat by Latvia. He’s depressed. He’s semi-

Victor: Yeah. Hey, I don’t need you- He’s pissed … he doesn’t need you, he doesn’t need you to defend him.

I’m telling you what, I’m telling you that he was in that situation. If they just had… Not just, right? If they, if he’s in this kind of weird relationship with, with Shane where finally they, uh, he showed that kind of softer side and, you know, Tanya’s melting all over how their relationship is getting all emotional and whatnot.

All of a sudden, here he is. Yeah, okay, fine, you got beat by Latvia. It doesn’t mean you have to be, you have to turn into an asshole to the person that is supposed to- On, on his

Al: home country- … you’re supposed to be having this emotion … where every expectation’s on him- Yeah, yeah. It’s fine … to the point where he meets the [00:51:00] minister.

Come on. Like-

Victor: Yeah, yeah. Like, I get it. That’s your… And that’s fine. That’s your opinion. All I’m saying, when the shit hits the fan- Uh-huh … the people that you’re closest with are not the ones you throw under the bus, is all I’m saying. So anyway, grow up, grow a pair, don’t be an asshole. That’s what I think about that scene.

Al: All right. Matt?

Mat: Yeah, I mean, I tend to agree with Victor on this one. Um, I get it. Like, that’s fucked up, it sucks. Everything about that is shit, but it’s someone that you even remotely care about. I don’t like wh- I don’t like pe- and people in general that become these kind of people when they’re down on their luck.

It, it shows a lot. And I know people get pissed, and their emotions run high and all that, but it can be as simple as just, “Not now. Give me some space. Back

Al: off.” That’s what he said, though. Shane backed off. No, no, no, no. He said not now. He

Mat: said not now. No. He said, he, when we s- He literally said not now. No, he said not here Which implied something different based on all his previous interactions In

Al: Russia.

It means n- n- not here in Russia. Uh, uh, Austin makes a good point in the live stream. Ilja’s pushing Shane away for [00:52:00] both their safety. Russia is a surveilled state. Like, they could’ve been bugged. There could’ve been all sort- Th- that’s why they’re using BlackBerrys and not smartphones in Russia- Yeah, I know

because of the security. I- You gotta be careful … regardless,

Mat: agree, uh, regardless, I think the, the, like he wouldn’t have even mentioned it if he was that worried about surveillance even to that argument. He wouldn’t be out loud making references to y- your boring texts, right? Like, he would just say, deny that altogether.

Mm. So fuck that argument. I think he could have just told him to, like he could have just walked away. And I think he was being a little harsh, but whatever. Here or there, my point is- Mm … I’m kind of with Vic on this one. The other conversation on the, on the other hand, uh, with the guys sitting around, what I took from that, aside from the conversation, it was kinda refreshing, and I hope to…

I, I always like to hope that conversations, not on that s- specific subject or anything, but in general happen amongst world-class athletes, right? Sure. Where they’re, where they’re joking around with each other, around her. They’re gonna like, they’ll like, they’re [00:53:00] chirping, the banter. They’re sitting down having a drink together like it’s, like they’re friends, ’cause they are friends.

Um, yeah, I guess in my head I’ve always been so naive that I’m like, “All right, when they go there, they just keep to themselves,” and they’re like, “Oh, no, fuck that team,” or like. No, it’s not true at all. Um, it’s ridiculous to think that, but it was kind of a nice little scene to see the, the, the banter between two nations just joking about who’s gonna win, and to see that- Mm

and, and all this stuff. So I, I liked that moment as well, but yeah.

Al: Michelle.

Michèle: Yeah, especially with the current, uh, relations between our two countries. Yeah. It’s nice to see- Yeah … some friendly banter back and forth. Um, I, uh, yeah, you know, uh, with respect to Ilja’s statements and how he says it. I’ve dated that guy.

I, you know, those barbs still hurt-

Clip: Mm-hmm …

Michèle: uh, like that, so I can only imagine what Shane is feeling. But he seems to bounce back from that-

Clip: Mm …

Michèle: time and time again. [00:54:00] I don’t know, um, whether that’s a good or a bad thing about his personality, but it doesn’t seem to really hurt him. But, uh, you know, I, I recognize those, that attitude when you’re just trying to be nice, you’re just trying to help out.

But there’s something else going on entirely- Sure … that really has nothing to do with you, and you’re just being- Yeah … you’re annoying. And so you know, it’s, it’s- These are

Al: also 23-year-olds

Michèle: that were- You’re the last person Yeah … that they want to talk to at that moment. Yeah. But, you know, you’re so naive, you have no idea.

But anyway, um, I’m… I just… Also, I wanna point out the color scheme of this whole show.

Al: Hmm.

Michèle: If you look closely, you know, the, those bright icy blues and whites and beiges and black, but, you know, there’s some colors missing in there, and obviously it’s very deliberate. But it’s really interesting if you pay attention.

Al: I’d love to know where they shot that scene in, in that supposed Russian arena. ‘Cause as far as I know, they didn’t go to Russia to shoot-

Victor: So, so, so, um- So? Uh, our, our, our mutual [00:55:00] friend, uh, Lauren, uh, plays in the beer league-

Al: Yeah …

Victor: uh, out in Grimsby? Brimsby? I forget what the- Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Al: Out there, yeah.

Victor: And, um, apparently, uh, they came and rented out their arena for this show.

Oh. Um, they all got, like, 250 bucks for it. Uh, so they did some filming in their arena in Grimsby. Interesting. So, so, uh, it might be that.

Al: Oh, cool. Tam?

Tanya: Um, you know, the scene where they’re at the cafe and, um, when, uh, the one guy, um, you know, says, um, that it’s, it’s dangerous, um, or not safe or whatever, um, to be queer in, uh, Russia, it, it, it appeared as though Shane was surprised by that and that, um, the other guy…

Who was with him?

Al: Uh, it was, uh, Hunter and-

Tanya: Hunter …

Al: two, two American players.

Tanya: They both looked sur-

Victor: I don’t-

Tanya: They both looked [00:56:00] surprised …

Victor: I don’t think he looked surprised. I think he looked like be- like, “Oh, shoot, they’re saying something- About- … that I am” … gay players. Yeah … and am I gonna…” Like, I think he felt self-conscious more than surprised.

Al: Yeah, you’re, you’re probably always on the alert that you’re gonna be found out, right? So whenever you hear talk like that, you, you, you perk up may- I’m, I’m guessing, you know?

Victor: Because remember, he already told, he already told Ilya, like, “We’re not gonna see each other.” Yeah. Right? And you r- a- and just ’cause he knew.

Yeah. Yeah. Right? That-

Tanya: And, and, and Ilya is, is not much of a talker. Um, like, he could have explained that a little bit better, I think, to Shane to say like, “Look, when we’re there, you do not come up to me.” Like-

Michèle: Yeah …

Tanya: th- this is this-

Victor: Yeah, and that’s why I don’t buy Al’s argument. Like, if he really cared, if he, that was so important to him, he could have texted him and say, “Hey,

Tanya: just

Victor: FYI.”

But I agree

Tanya: with Michelle, like, w- what, what- I’m not

Al: excusing the behavior. I’m just explaining it. Like, that’s why he’s doing it,

Victor: you know? I don’t need you to mansplain it. I get it. Yes. I just don’t agree with it.

Tanya: Jesus. But, but I agree with [00:57:00] Michelle. We, we know that there’s an underlying issue, like a- I know

an underlying thing. Maybe he got scared of the emotions that he had, and the walls go back up, right? Um, like, w- again, we, we can analyze the reasons, but it still doesn’t excuse the act

Al: itself. No, it doesn’t excuse. But- But it’s, it explains it …

Tanya: he did-

Al: And these, these are young kids, too. These are 20-year-olds who are- Yeah

don’t n- n- they don’t have personalities yet.

Tanya: But the thing is-

Al: They’re working them out still …

Tanya: there, there would’ve been no, um- I, I don’t know. Maybe I’m naive, probably I am, but, um, I, I would think just like they were- there were three hockey guys sitting at the cafe having a conversation, Shane going up to Ilyich to say, you know, uh, “Hey, are you okay?”

Or whatever, as a hockey player to a hockey player. Like, where, why would that have been uncalled for or called out as- He

Victor: was already angry about being in, being roasted for losing to Latvia, right? There’s that. So there was, that anger, that, the reason he was [00:58:00] up there so angry was because he probably just finished getting lambasted, right?

Tanya: Yeah. That’s- I think they could have called that out a little bit more then, because I really was focused in on, okay, the cafe conversation. They’re now at the, you know, figure skating, uh, competition. And so I was just like, one plus one, you know?

Victor: Well, yeah, but the- This is- … it was one plus one, ’cause at the cafe they were saying, “Boy, those guys got demolished,” and it was a shit show.

And then they, and then, then the next thing you see is- Yeah, okay … Ilya standing there. And so I think they kind of set that up to say, “By the way, Ilya’s gonna be really angry, so-” Mm … “uh, just watch out.” But, but, you know, you still shouldn’t be, uh, throwing your own people- Yeah … under the bus when you’re angry, so.

Yeah,

Clip: yeah. Sure.

Al: All right. Uh, we’ve, well, Michelle dropped off. Hopefully she rejoins us, but, um, we’re gonna continue here with the recap. Back to the story. We cut to… Oh, oh, Michelle’s back. Okay. All right, good. You’re back. All right. Uh, we cut to Ilya and his father getting ready to meet a Russian government minister who still [00:59:00] wants to see Rosanov, despite the embarrassing loss to Latvia.

His father’s words, not mine. Uh, rather than comforting his son, Rosanov’s father piles on the criticism. Ilya admits he feels ashamed. According to his father, not nearly ashamed enough. He blames the American League for teaching Ilya no discipline, and when Ilya tries to defend himself and his tea- teammates, he’s accused of making excuses.

Then his father notices Ilya’s bow tie is crooked and asks h- who helped him tie it. Was it his mother? Rosanov reminds him that his mother is dead. His father pauses, confused, then tries to recover by saying he meant Ilya’s stepmother. Ilya sees his father struggling and helps him save face by reminding him they need to leave to meet the minister.

At the gala, a very bored-looking Ilya stands with his father and minister as they make small talk about hockey. Then a female voice interrupts. It’s Svetlana. Co- uh, come to the re- came to rescue Ilya. Turns out she’s the minister’s daughter, and she and Ilya have known each other since childhood. Instead of making him, uh, taking him to the bar, Svetlana leads [01:00:00] Ilya downstairs to a bathroom where a man named Sasha is waiting, snorting coke off the counter.

Uh, we click, quickly learn that Sasha is the coach’s son, which likely makes him the other hookup Ilya referred to when he told Sheen he’d been with an, a man before. Production note: Sasha is played by Canadian actor Kaiden Connors from Vancouver, known for, uh, Adults and Skymed. Uh, the three share champagne and talk hockey.

Svetlana, as it turns out, kn- knows her major league hockey. She predicts San Francisco will come out of the West and Boston out of the East, and thinks this is Boston’s year to win the Cup. Uh, Sasha couldn’t, couldn’t care less about hockey, in fact. Uh, so eventually, uh, Svetlana leaves to the old, the two old acquain- acquaintances alone to catch up.

Uh, Sasha makes his intentions pretty obvious with Ilya, but, uh, Ilya turns him down. We now jump forward to spring of 2014. Hollander arrives at his teammate Hayden’s house to join him, his family, and some teammates for game six of the playoff finals. Montreal obviously isn’t in it, but [01:01:00] as Svetlana predicted, it’s San Francisco versus Boston for the Cup.

Since, uh, his devastating loss at the Olympics, Ilya has returned to North America and gone on a tear, leading his team all the way to the finals. He’s even developed into a pretty impressive leader in the dressing room.

Clip: Okay, listen the fuck up. Look, I don’t give a fuck how many goals I’ve scored. I don’t give a fuck how I played two fucking nights ago.

I don’t need to think about that. That was yesterday. That was before. Now, I only need one thing. I need to win, here, at home, tonight. As much fun as it would be to go to California and humiliate them there, but I want to hear our fans. I want to hear them scream. I want to fuck San Francisco. I know you can do it.

I’ve seen you fucking [01:02:00] do it. I’ve seen every one of you do it. So leave it all the fuck out there tonight. Because this is our fucking night. This is our fucking cup. Fucking fuck, let’s let this go!

Christ,

fuck this. Go

fuck yourself.

Can’t believe that asshole’s about to win the cup. Shane hates him the most.

What?

You hate Rozanov? Of course. But he’s very good at hockey.

The best probably, right?

Uh, no. You’re the fucking best, all-time dude. Yeah. Okay? Not that animal, shit show, cock sucking Russian. And that is that. The Boston Raiders are your MLH

champions. What a comeback story this year for Ilya Rozanov. The captain did absolutely everything in these playoffs, [01:03:00] leading his team in block shots, points shots against, and obviously the playoffs.

Al: The, uh, zoom in on his face goes for a little longer than that. I love the, the piece of acting that he did there, ’cause he went from…

Like, his eyes are almost tearing up, his, his, his bottle lip, bottom lip trembling because he’s probably upset that he’s not there, uh, playing, not, not, not there for Rozanov, but actually playing himself. And he’s probably a little jealous. But, uh, at, right at the end, he get, his lip curls up into a bit of a smile, so he’s also really happy for Rozanov.

So in, in that one moment, um, you get a little bit of both, which is really, really well done by, by the actor. Before I move on, though, I, I, I, I keyed into this and, and it was mentioned in the live stream. The actor who plays Marlowe, which is, uh, uh, Rozanov’s teammate who comes up to him and, and says, “Great fucking speech,” he was on Letterkenny.

He [01:04:00] was one of the two modeling dudes that came home with, um, with, uh, uh, Katie from the city. I forget their names. But the ones who kept on saying, “I’m so fat,” blah, blah, blah. Yeah. He’s one of those guys, which I had no- That’s dope … I, I didn’t even key in on that until, uh, somebody mentioned it in the live stream.

So thank you for doing that. Anyway, uh, love that scene. Talk about that scene, Matt.

Mat: Yeah. The, the speech from Ilya was fan- fucking fantastic. Yeah, it was great. Um, the ca- the camera work pushing in on him, the handheld approach is the only way the locker room works. I mean, we even talked about it in Shoresy when, uh, Shoresy went off on one of those episodes.

I can’t remember what season it was, but you know, he was just going off with the g- get one for us speech, whatever.

Gord: Mm-hmm.

Mat: Um, that’s how that shit works. And, and they pulled this off beautifully. The… I think, Michelle, you called it, some of the colors and lighting and everything, it- it just looks so fantastic.

Um, and, and I loved everything. Yeah, I just loved everything about this, this whole sequence. And, um, definitely applaud, [01:05:00] um, Shane’s sort of reaction towards the end, ’cause I caught that as well. You watched him go through every emotion you- Hmm … could possibly imagine as that scene carried out. Um, and I think you, you highlighted everything that he went through, uh, perfectly.

So no, um, one of the best sequences in, in this episode was that whole stretch that you just played.

Al: Michelle?

Michèle: Um, going back to the scene with Ilya and his father-

Al: Hmm …

Michèle: and just how tender he is when he- Yes … realizes his dad is possibly showing some signs of memory loss. And, and we also get a bit of, a bit more of Sh- uh, Ilya’s background as well-

Clip: Mm-hmm

Michèle: with respect to his mom, his stepmom, et cetera. So just in those tiny little moments, a, a whole world is revealed to us that puts Ilya into con- a better context for us, I think. So we, we start to feel more for him if, you know, we maybe lost a little bit of that-

Al: Hmm …

Michèle: in some of the previous scenes.

Al: [01:06:00] Uh, Victor?

Victor: Uh, yeah, so if we go kind of in order, um, uh, that scene was good with, with his father. We get to s- you know, get to see that his father is not just an asshole, but he’s also, uh, maybe- Dementia … starting to get dementia or whatever. Yeah. Um, but, uh, so that was, that was good. We get to learn a little more. Then the, the scene that fo- uh, that follows, uh, once Svetlana comes and takes him to where Sasha’s in the bathtub and wh- That whole scene was so boring.

Um, uh, it was, it was… It, it… I just, I, you know, thinking back to that scene- Hockey … like what did we learn? We learned that Svetlana knows about hockey and that she’s the one that had to teach, uh, Ilya that he’s on a team that’s gonna make it to the finals. So I don’t know. It’s like whatever. Uh, that whole scene

Al: was- But we also saw Rosanov turn Sasha down because-

Victor: Yeah.

Oh, big whoop-dee-doo. Who cares? It’s fine. Like, uh, that whole scene, that was just at the end of the scene. That was very… There was, [01:07:00] the, it… That was kind of, I guess, the only meaningful part of that scene- Hmm … but that took a second, and it was right at the end. It’s

Al: not the only meaningful part. I’m talking- We, we, we’ve learned about Svetlana, why she was in his house the, the previous episode.

Okay. Their, their relationship, how well they know each other, the fact she’s the minister’s daughter and, and so on. Yeah. Like w- we learn a lot about his background. Like, it’s a, it’s a character breaking- But, but, but- … uh, building scene.

Victor: If you enjoyed it, that’s fine. I found, I felt the scene was boring and, and long.

Oh, Victor, you are dead inside. Um, so then-

Michèle: Well, you didn’t follow the hockey banter there at all. Yeah.

Victor: Yeah. Yeah, I don’t know. It, it was- It rejoiced

Michèle: at Svetlana’s- Yeah … immense knowledge and understanding.

Al: Exactly. From all the way across the pond.

Michèle: Nuances.

Victor: Y- yeah, I just feel like the best player, the, you know, the, the best player in the league probably already knew what she’s telling him.

That’s all. Hmm. Like, it was It w- it w- it was fine. Um, and, and then, y- at the end, w- like, did, did Hollander’s team even make the playoffs? Like, there was- No, they didn’t … you know, you

Al: could- That’s why they were watching game [01:08:00] six from, from their house.

Victor: No, but they could have made it in the playoffs and gotten out or whatever- Yeah

in the first round or something like that, but-

Al: Well, they, they, they must have, uh, just finished because- They’re, they’re not there … Hayden or his teammate has, like, a shiner. Like, his face is, like, all red from- Oh, yeah.

Victor: I mean, that’s, that’s- Was he in a

Al: wheelchair, too? … from a broken nose. No, that’s the other guy- Yeah

who they were talking about shaving his playoff beard. He was in a wheelchair. Uh, uh, the other guy, uh, the, um, um, Bonnie McMurray’s husband, his face is all red from a broken nose or whatever. So yeah, it looks like they just finished the playoff series.

Victor: Yeah, poss- possibly. It, and, like, none of them seem to care that they’re not

Like, they’re just, like, they’re, they’re, like, they’ve moved on. They’re good.

Al: Yeah.

Victor: Um, and, and here, i- it’s, uh, I don’t know, though. And then the speech, the speech was great- Yeah … but it’s also comes from a guy that couldn’t put four words together prior to that. So it’s like, wait a second. Where’d you learn how to talk?

Um, uh-

Mat: W- are you referring to his, his, his, uh, uh, episode at the press conference? That was several years prior?

Al: Yeah.

Victor: No, just in gen- no, no, [01:09:00] no, not, not that. Just in general. Like, he, like, he, we don’t get a lot of words out of Ilya, period, in, in so far as we’ve known him. He’s a man of few words, but, uh- He’s a man of few words except in that speech-

Al: Yes

Victor: which was delivered, it was delivered well, but also- Because his father said

Al: he needed to be a leader when he went back-

Victor: I get- … so that’s what he did … yeah, yeah. Yeah, I get it. So he couldn’t get the best Russians in the world to come together and beat Latvia, but he got together a bunch of, uh, American Canadians- They had an injured goalie

to, to follow him. Yeah, I know. Um, and, and the thing is, the minister obviously is

Al: gonna

Victor: care- Just poking holes in all of his

Al: arguments, and he’s not even,

Victor: he’s… The, the min- He’s- The minister obviously is gonna care that the national team is losing to, uh, Latvia. Mm. He’s not gonna care if some Nor- North American team wins the cup or doesn’t.

Also, they make it seem like Ilya’s the only Russian player that exists, right? So, um, I, I don’t know. Like, again, I’m picking at these things. All I’m saying is that

Al: it is- He’s the best player, one of the two best players in the league. He’s one of the two- [01:10:00] Yeah … top scorers in the league. He is Ovechkin. Yeah.

So yes- Yes, yes … he’s gonna get lots of attention- Yeah … just like Ovechkin is. Yes,

Victor: yes. There’s other Russian players, is all I’m

Al: saying. Yes, but when Ovechkin was at his prime, no one cared about anyone else except Ovechkin. Yeah.

Mat: I can tell you I can’t name any others.

Al: Yeah. Tam, what did you think of those scenes?

Tanya: Um, I wanna know, um, the, the Russian, um, uh, how was it this- See? … this time?

Victor: No, the Russian was gr- the Russian was fine. Oh. Uh, just the dialogue itself was uninteresting. That’s all.

Al: Who’s, who’s accent or whose Russian is better? Svetlana, uh, Rozanov, or Sasha?

Victor: Svetlana was probably better Yeah But-

Tanya: I,

Victor: I- She also spoke more

Tanya: Yeah.

I, I liked it. I, I, I… We got to figure out who, um, what’s her name? Sve- Svetlana Svetlana Yeah Who she is

Mat: What am I gonna say? Is this your Massachusetts?

Al: Yeah.

Tanya: It might be. Um, [01:11:00] we got to figure out who she is. Like him, uh, her, when she grabbed his hand and then, uh, whoever said to the other guy-

Al: The minister

Tanya: The minister said to the dad- This is going well, Dan

they’ve been, they’ve been like that since they were kids.

Al: Yeah, yeah.

Tanya: Like, the fact that we f- like, we, again, that’s a, that’s something- The

Al: storytelling, yeah

Tanya: Yeah. That’s something that-

Al: Victor’s allergic to that-

Tanya: Yeah … apparently We, that we wouldn’t have known that without that- I wasn’t

Victor: referring to that scene.

I was referring to the scene where his Sasha’s in the bathtub.

Al: Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Tanya: But then that also puts, like, we get to figure out then why she was at his apartment and that that is a longstanding relationship. Um, and I, and I… it took me a minute to figure out who, um, Sasha was, but that’s the coach’s- Son … son.

Al: The one, yeah, that he… Yeah.

Tanya: Excuse me. And I did like that setup.

Al: Mm-hmm.

Tanya: Maybe not so much with the [01:12:00] drugs, but I did like the setup that, um, Sasha was, you know, coming on to, to Ilya and, and him turning him down- Yeah … to show, “No, I’ve got

Al: somebody.” He’s serious, he’s serious about Hollander.

Tanya: Yeah. But he doesn’t really show it very well.

Al: No.

Tanya: Not yet.

Al: Not yet.

Tanya: There you go.

Al: All right, moving on. Next up is the Major League Hockey Awards in Las Vegas. We see Hollander waiting nervously offstage for Rozanov. They haven’t been alone together since Sochi. Uh, Rozanov finally arrives with a snarky comment about Hollander’s Rolex. Shane isn’t impressed.

They’re supposed to be on stage in sec- in, in seconds to present the Lord Talon Award.

Clip: But the most important thing- Is the friends we make along the way. Hey, before we give out next award, can I get a selfie with you?

What?

Come on. When will this ever happen again, buddy?

Okay, fine, but hurry up.[01:13:00]

Great. Give me your number, I’ll text them to you.

No chance. And the Lord Talon Award for most sportsmanlike player goes to-

Al: Oh, they capture that so well. Uh, after the presentation, Shane heads for the bathroom, Ilya follows. There, all the frustration they’ve been carrying finally comes out. Shane wants to know what Ilya actually wants from him.

Ilya hasn’t answered one of his texts in six months. He won’t acknowledge Shane’s existence unless there’s a camera pointed at them. So what does Rosenov finally want, actually want from H- uh, Hollander? Rosenov says he wants Hollander to suck his dick. Uh, this does not land particularly well. Hollander tells Ro- Rosenov to suck his dick.

Uh, Ilya agrees, as long as, uh, Shane asks nicely. So Shane does ask nicely, but Ilya refuses

Clip: go back to our seats, watch the rest of this boring show, and then go [01:14:00] to boring party after. And then, the woman I’ve been waiting all night, you’ll come back to my hotel room, and I will maybe, maybe do more than just suck your dick

When did your English get so good? I, uh, I read The New Yorker now. Really? No. The New Yorker is boring.

My dad loves it. Ah. So being boring is, is genetic. Wow. It’s genetic.

Al: Oh man, I love that. Uh, they make a- Give me the line … they make a bet. If Hollander wins MVP, Rozanov will do whatever Hollander wants. If Rozanov wins, well, we don’t find out until later because Rozanov does win the MVP. After the awards show, Hollander goes to Rozanov’s room and congratulates him.

Now it’s time for Ilya to collect on the bet. Rozanov tells Hollander to take off his clothes, [01:15:00] leads him into the bedroom, and pulls up a chair. He sits opposite the bed and tells Hollander to touch himself. Ilya wants to watch. Hollander starts reluctantly, but eventually gives in. Uh, during the sh- the show, Rozanov starts describing how amazing it was to win the cup.

Uh, this almost kills the mood, but instead, Hollander becomes uncharacteristically playful and manages to get things back on track. Afterward, they lie in bed together, Shane en- enjoying a drink and Ilya enjoying a cigarette. Uh, Shane decides now might be finally a good time to talk things out.

Clip: So Russia this year was something else.

There’s some tents there

So are you heading back soon? Back? To Russia for the summer?

Oh, yes.[01:16:00]

Why? What do you mean why? Do you have to? There is no have to. It’s, it’s home.

Yeah, but I don’t know. Is it safe? What do you mean safe? I don’t know Do you, do you even like it there?

What difference does it make? A pretty big one, I think

I need to sleep. Oh.

Yeah, me too, I should, um…

Al: So Shane leaves. Ilya doesn’t even get out of, out of bed to see him off. He just [01:17:00] says goodbye from the bedroom. On the elevator ride down, Shane types out the n- uh, one text after another to Ilya, erasing each one before sending. Uh, did he push Ilya too far, uh, by questioning his home?

Shane is afraid he may have, and we fade to black

All right. That is The end of that. Go on to, uh, initial comments, initial impressions, please. Tanya, what did you think of that?

Tanya: Oh my. Um, that was a lot, and it was, it was hard to see the end scene there, and, uh, and it was on purpose I’m sure. Um, but you know, h- you know, finally sh- Shane’s feeling like, you know, they’re, they’re, they’re back, they’re together, and like, let’s discuss [01:18:00] what, what was that, what happened, so that he can try to understand.

And again, just Ilya just shuts him down and like there’s no explanation, there’s no conversation. It’s one word answers again, and you know, s- sending him on his way. Um, it was a, it was a tough scene to see at the end.

Victor: Mm-hmm.

Tanya: Um, up to that point though, you know, um, I was worried about them. I- I’m constantly feeling like I’m worried about them.

Like no one’s… They, they want to keep this secret, um, but at the same time, they’re in a public bathroom and there’s no lock on the door. I’m constantly concerned about there’s no lock on the, on these doors, or the deadbolts aren’t being closed. Mm. Um, and the windows are, are not covered, and I’m like, “Okay, guys, um, like anyone can walk in at any point.”

Um, and I thought he was gonna get mad over the hand going down his [01:19:00] back. Mm. I thought that there was gonna be like a backlash with that, that action being done, ’cause that was public TV. Not that I… I’m sure anyone could see it, but maybe, you know, just the fact that it happened, um, that Shane would be pissed off.

Um, or that he was showing affection, affection on TV, ’cause again, the whole thing in Russia was that he didn’t wanna be seen with him, and now he’s on public TV being seen with him. So I don’t know why there was

Al: the, the double- Yeah, but that’s a different, that’s a different, uh, context, right? That’s them as, as hockey players presenting on a, a, badly on a, on a sports, uh, awards show, right?

Mm-hmm. Like that doesn’t mean- Yeah … anything other than the they, they captured that moment really well. Yeah. I’ve seen so many of those award ceremonies and, and that’s the way, that’s the kind of acting you get from, from athletes, right? Is, uh, the s- the stiff kind of-

Tanya: Yeah, yeah, yeah …

Al: yeah.

Tanya: Yeah. Yep.

Al: Victor, what did you, uh, your first impressions?

Victor: Oh my God. Um, [01:20:00] I, I-

Al: We’re just dragging you through this, aren’t we?

Victor: I, I mean, like I, I’ll just talk about the, the kind of these last couple of scenes. I mean, that was the worst part of the episode so far, and I, it was meant to be, but because we don’t know what comes next. But- Mm-hmm … so go to the bathroom scene first, right?

So we, so we learn that- You know, he’s been ghosting him for six months, right? And the first thing, uh… And then the first thing he does is just kind of, uh, starts toying with him again. Yeah. And, and Hollander just presents himself as such a mat. Sorry Matt, not you. Uh, .

Mat: I take, uh, personal offense to

Victor: that.

Like, just let him walk all over him, right? Mm-hmm. Like, and, and, like, what are you doing? Are you really… Like, to Tanya’s point, you’re really gonna, you know, uh, let him get down on his knees when this bathroom door is gonna fly open and he’s gonna be sucking your dick. Like, what are you… And he was, he was willing to do it.

[01:21:00] He was willing to, he was willing to do it until Ilya said, “No, we’re gonna do it later.” Yeah. Um, so that whole bathroom scene doesn’t make any sense. It’s like you felt like shit, you felt like he’s been ghosting you, and now as soon as you see each other, you’re willing to kinda throw your, throw all your, you know, throw all that to the curb and just do whatever Ilya says.

I mean, like, it’s, it’s almost like an abusive relationship. Mm-hmm. So I hated that. And then, then they go and have that sex scene, and then at the end, um, you know, where he, he’s leaving and he’s going down in the elevator and realizes that we didn’t even kiss, right? He says, “We didn’t even kiss.” Mm. Then he realizes that, you know, we just had another meaningless sexual encounter.

I feel like shit. This guy’s been treating me like shit, and he’s still treating me like shit. So Shane was asking really dumb questions that were… Like, they were just super, super dumb. Like, it’s like, uh, Shane, are you like… Uh, is that, is that ’cause you have a low IQ or you don’t know how to speak around this guy?

Like, he’s just asking really dumb questions [01:22:00] that really got on Ilya’s nerve. And Ilya, instead of, like, being, uh, oh, uh, s- uh, you, you know, compassionate, like, like their first sexual encounter and saying, “Is that okay? Is that too hard?” Whatever, whatever. In this case, he’s basically letting him crash and burn, and he’s not saving him.

He’s like, it’s like, “You know, I don’t wanna talk about this. You’re being an asshole by asking me bad, stupid questions, and I’m not gonna explain to you why they’re stupid questions. I’m just gonna let you crash and burn, and I’m gonna be an asshole and like a tropey guy that can’t talk about his feelings, ’cause I’m an asshole as well.”

And, and, and then, and that’s how the scene ends. I just felt like the whole thing is just s- it’s, it’s counter… It’s contradictory at every c- co- uh, at a, at every point so far. I don’t like Ilya’s character so far. I don’t, I don’t feel sorry for him in terms of all the stuff that he has to go through, because he’s not letting, uh, Shane in.

He’s not letting him in. He’s letting him suffer, and he’s abusing him. And just because he has a shitty life, he’s dragging [01:23:00] Shane down. So I don’t like it. I don’t like it at all. And m- And, and again, so at the end of episode two, I still don’t get it. I don’t, I don’t get why people think this is a good show.

So far it’s been a terrible show, and I can only hope that it improves from here. And I imagine it will, but so far it’s not good.

Al: Okay. Uh, I didn’t care much for that, that bathroom scene either. Um, but I think… Uh, see, I, I took that ending scene differently from, from you, Victor. And, uh, like, I think Shane was asking him ques- I think Shane is coming from a, a, a position of, uh, a privilege, right?

His parents are so loving and supportive that he can’t fathom somebody going somewhere out of obligation to something other than his own happiness and wellbeing, right? Uh, when he’s asking, “Are you going home for, to Russia? Well, why? Why wouldn’t you just stay here?” Because in… His life is full of, uh, if, if it’s not good for you, if you don’t enjoy it, you don’t have to do it.

Like, his parents are, are that [01:24:00] supportive. But he doesn’t understand the, the, the obligation that Ilya feels to go home, and the fact that his, he’s still got the ailing father there and a, and a deadbeat brother who, who s- you know, wants all of his money and stuff like that. I get why Shane doesn’t understand why he should go back, but I also get why he feels he’s gotta go back, right?

And, uh, he never says, “I go, I’m going back ’cause I, I love it there.” He says it’s because it’s home. Mm-hmm. And he doesn’t… When, when Shane, when Shane asks him, “Is it safe?” He doesn’t even answer that question ’cause it’s not, it doesn’t compute. It’s not part of the equation. It’s home. It’s just, you don’t… It’s it.

So Shane leaving, he’s w- he’s wondering, “Did I just fuck that up?” Right? And yes, Shane is sub- is the submissive in this relationship, and yes, he takes a lot of abuse and, and, and takes it. I get it. Um, but that… So I took that… That’s how I took that ending. Matt?

Mat: Um, yeah, this one’s… I mean, [01:25:00] just on the top that you guys are on, it’s…

I, I’m kind of torn. Like, I, I, I, I, I definitely heavily feel what Victor’s throwing down here. Um, the abuse, the, the lack of sympathy or empathy f- like, that I have for Ilia through all this. You know, I get this guy’s coming from a shitty situation. Um, again, doesn’t excuse the, the way he treats Shane, but Shane is a real pushover as well in all this.

So it’s, it’s, it’s, it’s hard to wa- A fucking mat

Victor: is the word.

Mat: Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I, I caught that. I- … try not to use that one again. A little, little too close to home. Um- … but it’s, it’s a hard one to watch, right? Like, I, I feel for Shane. Um, but at the same time, there’s moments I feel for Ilia, so I’m, I’m fucked up on it.

And, and, and I don’t think I’ve got enough yet to make a conclusive, uh, opinion one way or the other. I do agree. I do feel Ilia’s being an asshole-

Gord: Mm-hmm …

Mat: and he’s [01:26:00] walking all over him like a mat. Um, but I don’t know. There’s still more to come. Um, and, and since we’re doing thoughts on this, I mean, the one thing I definitely took from this episode is, and, and it was present in the first one, this is kinda going off the story a bit, was the chemistry between the two guys, right?

Um, keep fucking forgetting their names. Hudson Williams, who plays Shane, and, uh- Connor Story … Connor Story, who plays, uh, Ilia. The chemistry for them and their depiction of these are, are brilliant. Off the charts. Like, it’s so, it’s so believable. And- Mm-hmm … you know, like a lot of shows I do, I, I like to quickly dip in and see what’s what and, and just out of curiosity.

So I, I asked the question that I’m sure many asked watching this was, “Are these two gay in real life? Are they… Is this how they-

Gord: Mm-hmm …

Mat: identify and whatever?” And what I found out was quite interesting. So I don’t know if you’ve done this yourself, but apparently there’s no confirmed one way or the other on their sexuality in the public.

Like, I’m happy to be [01:27:00] wrong- Mm-hmm … um, but just based on the research, um, that I, that I quickly did, uh, while watching the episode earlier today, um- And then what was more interesting, and, and I, and I applaud him for this, I guess there was an interview that they did, um, the two of them with Jacob Tierney with, uh, Extra Magazine or something like that.

Um, and when the guys were asked about how they identify, Tierney’s the one who jumped in right away and basically said, you know, “It’s irrelevant.” Like, what, what is here… And, and, and I’ll kind of read some of his response that was quoted, um, on his interview, and I thought it was interesting. He says, “I don’t think there’s any reason to get into this stuff, right?

‘Cause it’s a b- it’s a debate of whether they’re, you know, what they are. I’ll tell you something about the casting of both these roles. You can’t ask questions like that when you’re casting, right? It’s actually against the law. So what you have to gauge is somebody’s enthusiasm and willingness to do the work.”

That’s what’s, what, that’s what’s so impressive about both of these guys is they came into this being like, “Yeah, [01:28:00] we’re here to do this, and we are here to make this story feel authentic and be as real as possible.” And they fucking hit it, and they fucking hit it out of the park, right? And that was it. So it’s like he makes a good point.

It doesn’t matter what they are in real life. Mm-hmm. And apparently there is still no public, uh, knowledge one way or the other. They, they keep their sexuality, uh, very private, which is totally fine. Um, but I thought it was interesting, especially seeing how well, and then whether they are or aren’t, their depiction of these characters is very believable.

Um, to the, like, look at the, the level that Victor’s going and his hatred or dislike for Ilya at this point because he’s selling that hook, line and sinker, and our, and our feelings for Shane and how he’s coming across as this sort of vulnerable doormat, right? It’s, it’s all there. All the elements are there for a very fantastic delivery of interesting characters.

But all that to say back to [01:29:00] the initial point is have I made a, a conclusive opinion one way or the other yet on how I feel about this? No. But I’m looking forward to it.

Al: Okay. Michelle?

Michèle: Um, back to some of the scenes, um, Aaron mentioned in the live stream, um, that the chair drag broke the internet. Well, that final text, “We didn’t even kiss,” that broke the internet.

I remember that- Yeah … quite distinctly. Um, just there so many people related to that and felt the tragedy Mm-hmm … I guess, of that particular statement. And, um, uh, Victor, romance- if you’ve ever read a romance novel, this is how they all play out. The guy is always, you know, the- Right … the romantic interest is always an asshole and a complete jerk, and yet she falls for him anyway.

How could she? And then miraculously they find out that they’re each other’s soulmates. Mm-hmm. These have been-

Victor: I, I, I agree. I may not be the target audience, as I don’t

Michèle: read romance. Well, this is… You know, [01:30:00] a lot of it is deliberate. But I think if you watch it really closely, and I felt very similarly the first time I watched this through, but, um, maybe I have a more nuanced…

I don’t know. Anyway, m- or maybe I’m seeing something different that I wanna see in it. But, uh, yeah, Shane is a bit of a mat, but, um, he gives back though, you know? And he starts to get more and more confident, and like people are pointing out, they’re still really young.

Gord: Mm-hmm.

Michèle: This is Shane’s first real relationship of any sort.

He doesn’t really know how to behave. And Ilya’s treating Shane how he wants to be treated. I mean, y- you have to admit, he picks up on that and treats Shane the way that he responds to. So sometimes that’s the dynamic that two people have. Sure. I may not like watching it- … this particular show, but I don’t think it’s entirely unrealistic, despite the fact that this is a, a, you know, a, [01:31:00] a romance novel come to life, so.

Yeah.

Victor: Sa- said every abusive husband.

Michèle: Yeah, exactly.

Al: All right. Let’s,

Michèle: let’s move on. Well, it is part of the reason why I don’t read romance

Al: novels. Yeah. Let’s move quickly through our ratings now. Uh, Tanya, what do you give this one? Fresh, clearance, or compost?

Tanya: Oh, this is hard actually. With all the chatter that we’ve had, um, um, it, it’s, it’s kinda swayed me ’cause, um, yeah.

I, I… See, if I just… I was coming in and it was gonna be a fresh ’cause I love… And, and you know what? I’m just gonna give it a fresh. Okay. ‘Cause I, I, I, I’m not gonna talk myself out of it. That’s what I was coming in at. Tanya

Al: loves love.

Tanya: I, I do. I love love. I, I didn’t like how it ended, but I, I loved all the…

And I, I… You know, I, I- I know you guys see it as, as abuse, and maybe it is abuse [01:32:00] or, or that he is being, um, and treating him like a mat, but I just look at it as it’s the hockey world, and in the hockey world, they chirp, and this is how that banter w- plays out and that… Is it, is it abusive or is it just that playing in- into a relationship?

Um-

Al: And also understanding that hurt people hurt people, right? Um-

Tanya: Yeah. That’s

Victor: bullshit.

Tanya: Like, I, I,

Al: I- Is it?

Victor: That… Yeah, that’s bullshit.

Al: Oh.

Victor: That’s letting hurt- that’s letting abusers off the hook.

Al: No, I’m not letting him off the hook. I’m not excusing the behavior. I’m just explaining the behavior.

Victor: Yeah, yeah. I, I, I hear you.

I don’t agree with it.

Tanya: I feel that Ilyas still should have communicated better, but that is who he is. Like, he was never a good communicator at the beginning- Mm … of the relationship. Um, I know that that’s what Shane’s kind of hoping for. But at the same time, you know, they, they have those… he has those playful moments, like, “Fuck you,” and stuff.[01:33:00]

Like, “Th- that’s a lot of pillows. Did your mom do that?” “No, fuck you.” Or, um, you know, “This is my apartment,” or whatever, and, “I bought the one next door.” “Well, you asked.” “Well, no, actually, I didn’t.” He, he just, he starts filling in these- Yeah … things. Um, I don’t know. I, I’m, um, it’s a fresh-

Al: All right. Victor, your rating.

Victor: Probably easiest compost of- Mm … any show we’ve ever watched. Just, just a terrible, terrible episode. I hope it improves from here. Wow. Um, and there’s really w- not much redeeming for me out of this episode.

Al: All right. Um, I’m staying at a clearance. Um, I, I don’t think it’s any better or worse than last episode.

I think there’s still a lot of story development happening, but no real kind of wow moments yet, although I did enjoy, uh, the, um… Well, uh, there were, there were small moments that, that were, were enjoyable in this one here, but, uh, yeah, still developing the story, so, uh, we’re building here. Uh, Matt?

Mat: Um, see I’m actually [01:34:00] gonna step this one up.

I think this was a fresh. Um- Yeah … so, you know, it’s funny. One of the things that I had an issue with in the first one around the constant timeline shifts, I actually learned to welcome into this one. So it’s like that’s become the cadence of their storyline, their interactions, or their whole s- relationship sort of pacing through interactions and all these things.

And I found it interesting. Um, I think their banter was amazing. I really enjoyed the sort of cell- again, I think it’s a lot of things that we’re, we’re, we’re going opposites on, but like the cellphone conversations I thought was a… became a tool all itself, a character all itself in this episode, which I really enjoyed.

Um, yeah, no, I, I, I, I enjoyed it. I, I… from… and as I mentioned earlier, I think the, the sex scenes, they are what they are. I think they’re long and drawn out, but I understand it’s the genre, whatever, so I’ll deal with those. But I think the story surrounding it is quite intriguing. Um, and, and the way they’re building it up, we’re getting new layers of these characters.

I’d [01:35:00] like to learn more about Shane. I know his… as you point out, he comes from a place of privilege. Uh, but there’s gotta be something there that they haven’t touched on yet, which I’m sure they will. Um, he, he didn’t just turn over one day and go, “This is who I am.” Um, s- something… events have happened, um, and I’d like to see more of that as well, and I hope that’s where we go.

But I mean, I’m enjoying the story as a whole, and, uh, I think this one did a good job for me.

Al: All right, Michelle.

Michèle: Uh, definitely a fresh. Um, ooh, I forgot to count how many times Shane calls Ilya an asshole. I did have a, a, a running tab at one point.

Clip: Yeah.

Michèle: Um, a, just a, a key m- event happens that, that deepens their relationship literally and figuratively.

And, um, if you listen to any int- interviews that Tierney gives on that- Mm-hmm … particular, um, sequence of scenes, um, all of that is so deliberate, and he [01:36:00] explains it very, very well. And I’m not gonna paraphrase him at all, but you can all look it up. Um, yeah, just, just a lot happens in this episode- Yeah … and, um, it, it’s a lot to take in.

Al: All right. Tan, let’s move on to MVPs real quick. Tan? Oh.

Tanya: Um, oh gosh.

Al: Who would you give the MVP to?

Tanya: Um, ba ba ba, I wasn’t thinking that, and so, um, uh, let’s give it to Shane.

Al: Shane. Just, just ’cause.

Tanya: Just um- That moment of honesty and, and, and him being in the… He, he did s- he brought the emotion so well when he was in the, um, elevator and sending the text, um, “We didn’t even kiss.”

Like, it was such… And the, um- You can really relate to Shane’s

Al: anxiety- … his fun, his- … can’t you? …

Tanya: fate, his [01:37:00] fate. No, it was just the emotion.

Al: Game recognizes game

Tanya: here. It’s, it’s just- It was the look on his face, though. He portrayed it so well. Mm-hmm. Sure. And it was just, yeah. All

Al: right. So Shane, uh, Victor, your MVP?

Victor: Ah, you rescued me. ‘Cause I did, I didn’t really have one, and then you really helped me out. Uh, I, I give it to the, uh, end of, end of game, uh, horn sound. Jesus. That, that really helped us out today, and I really appreciate it, and I definitely give it the MVP.

Al: You are something else, Victor. You, you deserve every word written about you on our YouTube channel right now.

Um, I’m giving it to Shane, um, because of that, especially, especially that one scene where they’re at, uh, the, the, the house watching the, the game six final, and, uh- Mm … watching, watching, uh, Rozanov win the cup. The range of emotion that happens in that one push, uh, masterfully done. Like, he did such a great job in that.

Like, he, [01:38:00] he’s been really good throughout, but that there, uh, I really, really… That scene there stands out to me as, as a- Mm … as a good, as a great scene. Matt?

Mat: I’m giving it to sexting.

Tanya: To

Mat: the dick pic. Basically all the di- well, just all the dial. Not just- That’s a very Victor MVP for you … not just the sexy parts.

Al: Yeah.

Mat: But I, I’m pulling a, a, one out of his playbook. But just, just the whole text conversations throughout. I, I think they really carried a big chunk of this episode. Um, and they were a lot of fun to, to follow along.

So yeah. All

Tanya: right. I missed the opportunity to give it to the dick pic.

Al: Oh, you could’ve given

Tanya: it to the dick pic. I should’ve given it to the dick pic. You

Al: made me rewind.

Mat: It hasn’t been about the D with you in s- since like season

Tanya: three of Letterkenny. I did have you rewind, and I was almost- Yeah. I was like, “I didn’t

Al: see that.

What did we see?” Yeah. I’m like, “It was a dick pic.” “Really? Rewind.”

Tanya: Go back. I did. Because how often do we get to see dick? Not very often, right? It’s always the tits are out or the- Al, suck it up. No, you just, you don’t get to see-

Al: On TV. She means on TV …

Tanya: you don’t get to see dick very often. Well, you didn’t say that, Al.

And then when you do, you should really zoom [01:39:00] in and pause.

Al: All right. Oh, man. Michelle. Your MVP. Uh,

Michèle: Svetlana is my MVP. Oh. Yeah. Nice. She’s the queen. She reminded me of me in junior high when hockey was everything- Oh, there you go … and I knew everything, all the stats, all the intrigue, everything. I

Tanya: love it.

Michèle: So, and yeah.

I love it. Love it.

Al: All right. Uh, all right, we have some listener comments I wanna get to real quick here. Uh, the You- Oh, dear. … the YouTube recording of th- of this, of our w- episode last week only went up yesterday. It’s already gotten like a couple of thousand views, which is, uh, uh, am- amazing. For, for our videos, that’s, that’s really w- good.

And so many comments, and, uh, I’m just gonna read one here as, as a, a sample, but I, I highly r- urge you f- uh, folks, if you’re listening or watching, to, to comment in the YouTube section. This one here is from Mariah Daly on YouTube. Uh, “Victor is wrong. In a show like this, you absolutely are supposed to dissect things that closely.

I feel like he thinks he knows what this show [01:40:00] is, but if you look closely, it becomes clear that this is not just a smutty sports show.” So that’s just one of the many comments so far on YouTube. Check it out I never,

Victor: I never thought it was a sports show.

Al: Yeah. Anyway, uh, we’re gonna move on. I got a couple of, uh, uh…

Well, let’s listen to quest- Oh, I don’t have my question, questionable call, uh, thing here. Hold on. I gotta go back to this

Victor: Wh- while you’re looking for it- Yeah … by the way, I want, one of the comments on YouTube, I think it was on YouTube, said that Victor’s not gonna like it until episode three.

Al: Mm.

Victor: So they knew that I wasn’t gonna like episode two, so they, so that, that’s- We all

Al: kind of- I find that quite interesting

we all kind of knew that, yes.

Victor: Is that your get out of jail

Tanya: free pass for episode two? I’m not supposed to, so I won’t.

Al: Oh. Uh, you know, fuck it. I can’t find my questionable call intro, so I’ll just play- Questionable call. Thank you. Uh, here we go. This first one is from Gord.

Gord: Long time listener, first time caller.

My name is Gord here with my questionable call. Firstly, I’d like to commend [01:41:00] Al for carefully navigating the graphic details of heated rivalry during the scene recap, and successfully yada-yadaing his way through the best parts. I’d also like to give a big thumbs up to Matt for going, I can only say, balls deep on the double entendre in the last episode.

Bravo. However, Victor’s compost rating for episode one is beyond a questionable call. He said he wasn’t going ahead and judging on the episode alone, but then penalized the episode for not being as good as he heard the entire series will be. You can’t have it both ways, Victor. That’s true. Agreed it’s not, agreed it’s not the best episode, but it’s necessary composition for the entire series.

Maybe it’s not fresh for everyone, but it is nowhere near compost. Give your balls a tug, Victor. In not a good way. In

Victor: not a good way. Doing it right now.

Al: Thank you, Gord. I think that’s the

Mat: angriest thing I’ve ever heard Gord say.

Al: Well said,

Mat: Gord. Well

Al: said. All right. And here’s one from our, our, our guest panelist from last week, Erin.

Erin: Hey, everyone. This is Erin. I have some questionable calls on myself from last week. First, when Matt asked what year- Oh, here we go … the show was at when they were talking about YouTube, Michelle correctly [01:42:00] identified the year of 2010 and not the 2019 that my brain added 10 years to. Second of all, the late night show that Matt quoted was made by Hudson, not Connor, while he was on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.

Also, I didn’t mention this last week, but Shane is autistic. It’s not outright stated in the show, but it has been confirmed by the author Rachel Reid and Hudson Williams. All right. Wishing you the best of luck for these episodes, and have fun, Victor.

Mat: Good job, Erin. That sounded like she had fear for you.

Al: Mm. I think she’s, she’s a little afraid right now, yes. Uh- … uh, before we get to final comments, Matt, uh, would, would you like to mention our patrons?

Mat: Of course, of course. And, uh, nothing fancy. I promise, team, I will pull some fun together before the end of the season, but as always, we have nothing but love for our patrons who have been supporting us for a long time, many since almost day one.

Um, so here we go. Big shout-out to Jack from Melbourne, Josh in Pennsylvania, who actually just had a [01:43:00] birthday this week, so happy birthday, Josh. Happy birthday,

Al: Josh.

Mat: Uh, Chad in, Josh, or Chad in Minnesota, Adrian in Maine, Austin in California, Liz down in Michigan, Jason from Indianapolis. Oh, Ichard, I haven’t heard, haven’t heard from him in a while.

No. You still out there listening, bud? Nothing but love. Come say hello. Uh, Justin in the UK, Ryan in Maryland, myself in Toronto. That’s right, I’m my own Patreon. That’s my ego. Uh, Danielle in Ontario, hey. Welcome, and still enjoying that, that sauce or that jam you left me, so thank you. No entendre there.

Straight up, she left me jam. Uh, Michelle, welcome. Love to see you, from Sudbury. Robbie in Idaho, Mike in New Jersey, Joey in Colorado, Casey in Virginia, Jeff in Maine, Miriam, and of course Juan from Toronto, Nick down in Vegas, Aaron in Chicago, love from last week. Uh, Gord, YYZ Gord, thank you, buddy. Dan here in Toronto, Dennis in the UK, Jen in Virginia, Noah from upstate New York.

Scott, where the fuck are you, Scott? We’re gonna find out [01:44:00] one day on Parts Unknown. Where in this world is

Al: Scott?

Mat: Cas- Ca- Cassie from Simcoe, Dennis down in Michigan, the voice of God, Sarah in Wisconsin, Casey in North Carolina, Jay in Edmonton, Jeremy from Perth, Australia, Catherine from Texas, Tobias in Missouri, PJ from Pennsylvania, Paddle from Rhode Island, Dave from Michigan, Charlie from Massachusetts, and Teresa from Texas.

From all of us here at the Produce Stand, we love and appreciate your continued support.

Al: All right. And, uh, last but not least, final comments, and we start with you, Tanya.

Tanya: Um, I wanna do a produce stand T-shirt with a map, and then on the legend it will have parts unknown.

Al: Mm-hmm.

Tanya: And then it’s like a pin the tail on the place that you think-

Al: Scott, yeah

Tanya: Scott’s from.

Al: Yeah.

Tanya: I, I, I, I see it. I, it’s a, it’s a- I’d ask

Al: him for his address to send him the shirt, but then we would know. We would-

Tanya: That would be no fun anymore. No. But

Al: that’s,

Mat: that’s, that’s [01:45:00] the point.

Tanya: Yeah, no, exactly. Michelle, it was absolutely great seeing you. Thank you so much. I love that you brought, um, some of those, uh, special facts that y- none of us did the, the work on.

So thank you for bringing the, that information- Some of us did work … and the work. Uh, okay. Okay. Um, Victor, um- Acting

Mat: like you have more than one job, L.

Tanya: Victor, I’m scared for you, bud. Um, so- … I, I, uh, I hope everybody just, you remember that, uh, this is just, you know, we’re talking. We’re talking.

Al: Allegedly Victor has feelings too.

Tanya: And, and Victor- Allegedly … has feelings. Um, yeah, looking forward to, um, um, continuing on. Again, because I’ve seen everything, maybe I’m clouded in, on how I feel about, uh, the show and their relationship, ’cause I know where it’s going. Um, but, uh, yeah. Say less. Look forward to it. I, um, uh, I didn’t say anything.

Al: Victor, final [01:46:00] comments.

Tanya: It’s a romance novel. Yeah, they, they don’t work out. Yeah. Yeah.

Victor: Yes.

Tanya: Yeah.

Victor: Yes. I, I, again, I, I may or may not be the target audience for this, for this show, uh, uh, due to the genre, but, um, so even though the episode was a stinker, Michelle, you’re a delight. Uh, and, uh, you’re welcome here anytime, uh, and- Oh

it’s, it’s always a pleasure hanging out with you and getting your points of views. Um, uh, just absolutely fantastic, so I just wanted to thank you so much.

Al: Yeah. I echo Vic- Victor’s sentiments, only in this case here. Uh, Michelle, awesome to have you here. Thank you so much for coming out. Uh, when I, when I said we were doing a heated rivalry, you put your hand up, and we appreciate you.

Uh, enjoy the sabbatical, and, uh, you killed it tonight. Uh, yeah. And, uh, the rest of our co-hosts, uh, y- homework is episode three, so, uh, hopefully, hopefully Victor will start, uh, seeing what we all already see [01:47:00] f- in this show. But, uh, who knows? Maybe, maybe he won’t. Anyway. Uh, Matt?

Mat: Yeah. Um, again, Michelle, amazing to see you.

You’ve been around since almost day one with us, if I recall. And, uh, I actually think… And please correct me. I think you might’ve been the first listener we ever had a meetup with. Does that sound right? In

Al: person?

Michèle: So, yeah, the- Oh, probably … yeah, the first time you went… you were-

Mat: We came up to Sudbury

Michèle: preparing to meet at Peppi’s.

Mat: That’s right. Yes, I still remember that. And, uh, that, that, that started what… I mean- It’d be weird

Michèle: if it wasn’t,

Mat: so. Yeah, it was amazing. It was amazing. That’s- But go on. On that

Al: day we all met- … Jay Burton, uh, AKA Tyson. Yeah. That was, that was quite the day.

Mat: Yeah. Yeah. That was one day, and we were- Michelle was like…

Al: Well, Michelle was all, all, all fluttered when she met us, but then when he showed up, we were like… We became invisible, and she was like, “Oh, Jay.”

Mat: Yeah. And now we’re all besties, and the rest- Yes … is history. And, and I couldn’t have it any other way, so great to see you again. It’s been a while. Um, yeah, always, always bring the heat and the opinions, and I love it.

Um, one other [01:48:00] quick comment I wanna make, um, just more of a request. Maybe going forward we stop referring to Shane as a Matt? Um- You know, I have some alternatives, like walkover. He’s spi- spineless. I don’t think that one works. No. Um, a pushover. A yes-man maybe. Mm-hmm. There’s alternatives than doormat. Mm-hmm.

Um, you know, I just… Throwing it out there, guys. We can come up with… Let’s get original here. Mm-hmm. I think that one’s been overdone. Um, so cool. Whatever. Take it to heart. You know, put a pin in it. We’ll, we’ll, we’ll, we’ll circle back on it. We’ll circle

Al: back. But thanks, guys. All right. And Michelle?

Michèle: It’s great to be back.

This is so much fun. Uh, Victor, suspend your disbelief. You don’t have to be the scientist all the time. Just go with it. It’s a love story. And it’s timely. I mean, social media today, yesterday, is full of people harping on romance novels and arguing about whether a happy ever after ending is required. So, um, anyway, that kinda goes [01:49:00] along with what we’re all feeling today.

Victor: I’m expecting Fabio to show up in, uh, the final episode.

Al: Oh, careful. Yes. All right. Let’s, uh, let’s head over to the after party, right? But first we must get inebriated. That’s not right. Where the hell is my inebriation? There it is.

I gotta reorganize my soundboard. Missing all my cues

And that’s all we have for this episode. Next week, we recap and review episode three of Heated Rivalry, Hunter, and that’s with our very special guest, Awesome. Until then, if you’d like to support the podcast, become a patron. You’ll get a shout-out on the show, exclusive bonus content, early access to interviews, and your own ad-free podcast feed.

That’s why Matt pays for it. He wants the ad-free feed. Another great way to support us is by telling a friend about the podcast- Yeah, how do I get that? … or leaving us a review. And don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and BlueSky @protosdanpod. [01:50:00] Uh, shout-outs always to our buddy, Ian Service, for the live stream, and our friends at the Sonar Network.

Our intro and outro themes are brought by Poised for the Worm. Find their music on all major streaming platforms. Thank you for joining us. We’re headed to the after party. On behalf of Michelle, Tanya, Victor, Matt, and myself, thank you for listening. Have a great week.