On the latest The Produce Stand, the gang continues its Heated Rivalry coverage with Episode 3, “Hunter.” After two episodes following Shane and Ilya, the spotlight shifts to New York Admirals captain Scott Hunter and Kip, the smoothie shop employee who catches his eye.
Al, Tanya, Mat and Victor recap Scott and Kip’s story, discuss the change of pace, and ask what this new relationship adds to the series. Then it’s time for initial thoughts, ratings and MVPs.
Ratings:
- Mat: Fresh
- Tanya: Fresh
- Victor: Fresh
- Al: Fresh
- Awesome: Fresh
Links:
- Mat: Elena
- Tanya: Kitchen Scene
- Victor: Kyle
- Al: Elena
- Awesome: François Arnaud
Episode MVP:
- Opening Theme: Rightfully Mine by Poised For The Worm
- Closing Theme: Inebriation by Poised For The Worm
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Clip: [00:00:00] That fresh produce stand there, that’s a beauty.
What do youse listen to?
My Favorite Murder podcast. Taggart and Torrance Podcast. The Produce Stand.
Uh, fucking sexy.
Al: It’s Tequila Tuesday, and that means we are once again hanging at The Produce Stand, the podcast covering everything in the universe.
Now I know what you’re thinking. There are a lot of other Letterkenny podcasts out there, but this one deserves sunshine, and so do you. I’m Al, your host, and joining me in the room, as always, is the lovely Tanya. And online we’ve got Squirrely Matt and the very heated Victor. And joining us tonight, she’s the moderator on the Letterkenny subreddit and Discord.
She’s a member of the Blue Bl- Blueberry crew and takeover team, uh, one of four TPS trivia masters, a Discord degen, and a real mensch. Please join me in making some noise for awesome-
Clip: [00:01:00] Wondrous.
Oh, my Gawd. Oh,
my God.
Oh, my God. Yeah, we-
Take it.
Take,
take it easy I regret nothing
Al: Welcome back to the Produce Stand. Awesome. How are you now?
Awesome: Good, and you?
Al: Not so bad. How have you been?
Awesome: Oh, so Saturday-
Al: Mm-hmm …
Awesome: my brother and sister-in-law were supposed to come over to keep my in-laws company, and they flaked out at the last minute ’cause they’re useless.
And so my husband ended up staying home so I could go out to a family picnic with my family that we had put off for three times already. And then at the end of the night my cousin goes, “I have a great idea. Let’s go to this dive bar I know.” So we go out to the dive bar. We end up doing karaoke. I don’t think any one of us paid for a single shot that night.
Al: Nice. [00:02:00]
Awesome: And then we ended up going, ’cause some dudes would not stop being fucking creepy to her and my sister- Uh-huh … so we left. But the next day I was hurting. I cannot drink like I’m still in my 20s. Fuck.
Mat: Right. But what did you sing? What was your tune?
Awesome: Very Busy People by The Limousines, and Roll Away Your Stone by Mumford & Sons.
Al: Nice choice. No Morissette? What the hell?
She’s not even gonna dignify that with a response.
Awesome: No. Dude, I’m from the Bay Area. Of course I did The Limousines. Get real.
Al: All right. All right. Well, let’s get this thing started, shall we? How are you now? Tonight’s lineup is gonna be Matt, Tanya- Ooh … Victor, Al, and our guest. Awesome gets last word. Matt, how have you been?
Mat: Good. Yeah. Uh, nothing crazy. Just, uh, chilling. I did watch… Yeah, there’s really nothing, uh, on the day-to-day to tell. I did watch a really, really fantastic fucking movie the other day, though.
Clip: Which one?
Mat: Um- Ooh … this, I, I’ll be honest, as I was watching it the f- so it’s [00:03:00] weird. It’s called The Rivals- Cannonball Run.
No. The, the Ri- The Rivals of Amzia King, um- Okay … is a new J- M- Matthew McConaughey film. Uh, it might still be- Okay … in theaters. I just gained a, I gained a feed on it, but I fucking loved it. Mm. It’s like two stories. So Matthew McConaughey is a, uh, beekeeper, honey producer somewhere in the s- in the South. Um- Mm-hmm.
All right,
Al: all right, all right …
Mat: and, right? So it, it fits McConaughey perfectly. Sure. And he is, like, the, the community guy. Like, I, I, like, you know we always talk about Lasso being that positive energy, that g- like, he competes as one of the most likable people I’ve ever seen on screen- Really? … in this character he plays in this role.
Like, there was a couple scenes where I literally was, like, grinning ear to ear. Um, very music-forward in this movie. Um, a lot of, like, just [00:04:00] joyous community moments, and then there’s a whole dark side to it as well. So the movie is- Mm-hmm … kinda like two halves. The first half is, like, a big build-up, and then an event happens.
And then the second half is all about the comeuppance, which I’ve never wanted comeuppance more- Yes … in a movie either- Wow … than in this one. So- Um, just throwing that out there. Watched it. I was compl- I like McConaughey, but it- Mm-hmm … completely caught me off guard. There’s a, and I don’t know her name, a young indigenous girl who plays one of the leads- Mm-hmm
who was fucking fantastic, and she, she carried a big part of this movie on, on her shoulders. And, um, but yeah, when it comes out in, in regular streaming or if it’s somewhere, the, uh, The Rivals of Amzia King, I highly recommend it, so.
Al: All right.
Mat: Excellent. Uh, so yeah, there was, there was that. I’ve just… Aside from that, not, not a whole lot going on.
Um, had a little proud dad moment today with my youngest. He came home, and he handed me a piece of paper, and I and I can’t remember exactly. It said, it said something like, [00:05:00] um, “When- When Terry was 18 years old, he started feeling pain in his leg. Terry makes me feel brave today, or something like that.
Clip: Wow.
Aw.
Mat: Talking about Terry Fox. Of
Clip: course.
Mat: Mm-hmm. And I said, “What’s this?” He goes, “I’m reading this at the assembly this week.” And I said, “No fucking way.” So I was so excited- That’s awesome … because- Aw … he’s, he, he’s like, “My teacher asked…” He’s only six, right? Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. “My teacher asked if anyone wanted to s- to speak” and he put it…
He’s like, “I vol…” He was so proud. He’s like, “I volunteered, and this is my lines, and I gotta memorize them.” And, uh, we’re so excited for him because that’s a big thing, to stand in front of a gymnasium- Yeah … of your peers at six years old. Yeah. And it’s only a couple lines, but yeah, we’ve been, we’ve been practicing all night.
And I’m like, “You gotta be louder, be confident, be excited about it.” And you can hear his energy and, uh, I’m just, I’m so excited for him. Um, because I would have never had the [00:06:00] fucking cojones at six years old to stand in front of a… Yeah, that didn’t happen till later in life where I got any kind of confidence in front of people, so.
That’s amazing. Very proud of him and very excited that he’s doing that.
Al: Well done.
Mat: Yeah.
Al: All right.
Mat: That’s it.
Al: Tan, how about you? All right. How have you been?
Tanya: Um, I’ve been good. Busy. Oh, my gosh. I feel… You know what? Remember when I complained that I, I didn’t know how to relax and take a day? I understand after having back to back…
Like, I’ve just, I’ve not been able to say no lately to anyone. And so my list- Mm … is completely and utterly, like, I’m just, I’m, I’m jam-packed now. Um, and I’ve been go, go, go for a bit. So, um, I, I would like to, um, um- Take some weekends off now? I would, I would, I would like to take a day off, I think. Yeah. Yeah.
I, I think I’d like to give that a try again and- Yeah,
Al: except for now we’re, we’re, we’re approaching a busy time of year with the girls’ birthday- Oh, yes. It’s so- … Canadian Thanksgiving, Halloween. Yeah, yeah …
Tanya: we’re so busy. No breaks. No breaks. And then we’ve taken on a, um, [00:07:00] a, a redecorating project and-
Al: That’s right.
We’re still not in our studio because behind that door- … it’s, uh, it’s all cleared out. You, what you don’t see behind these screens- Oh … is our rec room is a wreck right now. It’s got piles and piles of crap that used to be in that room. Mm. Uh, and, uh, yeah.
Tanya: Yeah. So it’s, uh, it’s been a bit of a whirlwind, but, um, yeah, we’re managing.
Um, we, you had a show this weekend- Don’t take my stuff … which I’m sure you’ll talk about. Um, which I’m sure you’ll talk about. I only have two things to
Al: talk about and she’s talking about one of
Tanya: them. What the hell? And, um, so the girl and I watched, uh, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again. Mm-hmm. So that was the second one.
Mm-hmm. So we watched the first one. Uh, we went and saw the, uh, live show, um, in Toronto.
Clip: Yeah.
Tanya: And then we watched the Here We Go Again, um, because my friends had told me that it’s phenomenal, and it was really good. I was, uh, I was, I was excited that they, uh, finally got the song Fernando in there. Yeah. So, um, and [00:08:00] it was a surprise that Cher was, uh, in the movie.
Um, so yeah, that was our, our fun little moment. Um, other than that, yeah, just busy, busy.
Al: All right. Victor?
Victor: I have Mamma Mia and Fernando in my, uh, Rocksmith, uh, playlist.
Tanya: Nice.
Victor: So Rocksmith is, uh, for those unfamiliar, it’s like a Guitar Hero but for a real guitar.
Al: Mm-hmm.
Victor: Oh. So the notes come flying at you on a highway like the same way in those, those games, but you’re playing a real guitar, so.
Isn’t
Al: it like a lute or something being… or lute being played in Fernando?
Victor: Uh, they transcr- transposed it for guitar- Hmm … so it’s, it’s, it’s fun.
Tanya: We’re gonna have to talk more about whatever it is that you’re talking about, because I’d like to know-
Victor: Oh, oh, you can come, come over and you can sing while I play.
So it’s just like Guitar Hero and where you have different instruments. Mm-hmm. But it’s really just guitar and microphone. Uh, but, uh-
Tanya: Do they have it for
Victor: drums? The PC version has a keyboard as well, but…
Tanya: Do they have it for drums or just guitar?
Victor: No, no, just g- it’s, it’s meant for guitar only. Interesting. Uh, [00:09:00] but as a throw in they give you a mic and they give you l- uh, like a karaoke style.
‘Cause every
Al: guitarist thinks they can sing.
Victor: Yeah, right. It’s really meant for the guitarist’s partner. Um-
Al: And, and conversely, every g- every singer thinks they can play guitar, except for this
Victor: one. There you go. Um, so let’s see what happened. Um, so last week was, uh, Linda’s birthday, so- Yeah … one of her, one of her presents was a surprise, uh, tickets to see the Australia Pink Floyd band playing at the Danforth, uh, Music Hall, so.
Oh, yeah? How was it? Uh, it was incredible. Yeah. I mean, they were… They sounded better than Pink Floyd, to be honest. Whoa. Uh I mean, they were- Ooh. Uh, e- e- they were… I mean, David Gilmour in his later years, uh, he’s still incredible. Mm-hmm. Uh, but you know, he, uh, he, he, he… There he takes a lot more liberties, uh, in, in terms of, uh, playing ver- playing songs as they sound on the album.
These guys are, you know, the whole, their whole shtick is to s- s- to make it sound [00:10:00] as if you’re listening to the album. Mm-hmm. Uh, they’re such great musicians and there’s s- the backup, the s- not, they’re not backup singers. They, they had three, um, uh, girls singing the, uh, singing for, you know, uh, one of the s- I think it’s, uh, Dark Side of the Moon, uh, you know, the, uh, the gig, Great Gig in the Sky.
Awesome: Mm.
Victor: Yeah. You know? Yeah. So that- The
Awesome: blue singer.
Victor: Yeah. They did su- They killed it. Like, that was one of the greatest performances that night, was just them, uh, doing that one. Uh, what a great show, though. Um, so if you have a chance to s- they, they tour all over the world and, uh, if you have a chance to see them, uh, don’t pass it up.
They’re incredible. Cool. Um- Now,
Awesome: what are they actually called? Not just the Australian Pink Floyd band.
Victor: Yeah, yeah. The, uh, they’re, it’s called the Australian, the Australia Pink Floyd Show or something like that. I think that’s- Okay … that, that’s the act- They, they basically com- there’s basically two world-renowned bands.
It’s them and, uh, I think it’s called, uh, Brit Floyd. Mm. They, they kind of [00:11:00] compete with each other, uh, in a playful way. Uh, but they’re, they’re incredible. Like, again, if you, if you enjoyed that music, uh, then… But an- And then the other thing is the light show that they have synced to the music is absolutely incredible.
Uh, they have the regular lights, lasers. It, it’s just incredible. Yeah, re- really, really nice show Uh, so, so that was fun. Um, let’s see. Uh, we, uh, you know, I’m watching Lanterns of course. Um, it’s, it’s, it’s pretty good if you like, you know, if you like DC and stuff like that. Is it
Mat: worth diving into?
Victor: Um, I, I mean, if you’re not into, if you’re not into the hero part of it, like, you know, people say it’s like, uh, True Detectives but with superheroes.
It’s not. Mm-hmm. True Detectives season one is like a million times better written show. Yeah. Um, but, uh, I’m enjoying it ’cause I love DC and I love Green Lantern and, uh, so I’m, you know, I’ve got that [00:12:00] angle. Linda started watching with me, but she tapered off and she said, “Nah, m- you, you do this on your own.”
Mat: This one’s on you, bud. Um,
Victor: yeah. Which… And so I’m enjoying it, but we just finished the first season of Fargo again, uh, and we’re just gonna re-watch the other seasons. What a great show, and that, that is a really well-written show as well and, uh, uh, th- a really good season. Um-
Al: Mark Forward, uh, makes an appearance in, in one of those seasons too.
Victor: Yeah, that’s I think season two or three- Mm … but not, not the first one. Um, uh, but anyway, really good. Really good. Uh, what else happened? I had my performance review today.
Al: Um- Oh, and? Your
Victor: rating? Um, often exceeds, um, often exceeds performance expectations is, uh- Oh … what they said.
Al: Very good. Do they know what you do yet?
Congratulations. Congratulations. We do. That’s awesome. I know a few YouTube
commenters who might disagree, but we’ll, we’ll, we’ll get to that later.
Victor: Yeah, well, you know, that, that’s, that’s why I thought it was important to, uh, say that out loud, you know. Usually I keep that stuff to myself, but, you know. Uh, it was important to share that today.
Al: [00:13:00] All right.
Victor: Anyway, that’s, that’s it for me.
He works
Mat: for an evil organization.
Victor: That’s right.
Al: Uh, yeah, see, the, my, my, uh, week was, uh, was busy as well obviously. Um, I had a show Saturday night. Great show, a lot of fun. Uh, five encore night. I mean, uh, I love playing Up and Berry and at Donnelly’s. The crowd is, was amazing. They would not let us stop, so they just kept on chanting, so- Did
Mat: you say five encores?
Al: Yeah, yeah, we just kept on playing. Like,
Mat: at s- some point you just gotta go home, Al.
Al: Right. Well, we did. We finally said, “We can’t do this anymore. Thank you very much, but we gotta go.” But, uh, that was a lot of fun. Uh, in terms of, uh, movie watching, I did watch one movie. It was in my queue. I don’t know why it made it into my queue, but then I looked at the, the cast.
I’m like, all right, this can’t be that bad. Sheep Detectives. Uh Oh.
Awesome: Oh.
Al: And, uh- What
Awesome: did you think?
Al: It was cute. It was… I mean- Yeah Yeah … the, the cast w- was, was massive, but it was-
Awesome: Oh …
Al: just- Insane … a- animated sheep. I don’t know. It was fun. It was fun. It was- It’s a
Mat: kids movie.
Al: Yeah, it’s a… I guess, yeah. It’s like Babe or whatever, but with sheep.
Uh, and, uh, but [00:14:00] yeah. A, a lot of fun. And a
Awesome: murder.
Al: And a murder, yeah. And a
Mat: murder. That’s right.
Al: Yeah. But, uh, yeah, it was, it was, it was cute. Um, yeah, that’s all I have, so, so awesome. What about you? How was your week? You kind of already mentioned it off the top, but-
Awesome: Yeah … yeah … the partying bit- Yeah … that was fun.
Um- Yeah, no, just a lot of healthcare worker stuff, you know.
Al: Yeah. All right,
Awesome: well-
Al: Well, why don’t we get moving then, and, uh, we can, uh, you know, get the fun going. We have on the live stream Casey, Charlie, Michelle, and Gord. So, let’s not leave them hanging.
Clip: Previously on Letterkenny.
Al: Last week we recapped and reviewed the second episode of season one of Heated Rivalry: Olympians.
That episode got a fresh rating from Tanya, Matt, and our guest Michelle, a clearance from yours truly, and once again, a compost from Victor. Victor, have you been reading anything on YouTube?
Victor: Uh, you know what? I haven’t. I- Okay, good … I forgot to- It’s probably best [00:15:00] you don’t … look, I forgot to look at the comments today.
Stay away. Yeah, it’s
Mat: probably in the best- Forgot in air quotes …
Al: you know, and your best interests. Just stay away. This week we- Let’s
Mat: just say you have a fan base.
Al: Yeah, yeah. You
Mat: know, seem the kind of-
Victor: That’s all right. That’s… It’s a free country- Yeah … people, or world, I guess. Yeah. You know, people can say whatever they want.
Al: All right, this week we tackle episode three, called Hunter. Uh, Matt, have you done your homework?
Awesome: I have, sir.
Al: Tanya, have you done your homework?
Awesome: Yes, sir.
Al: Victor, have you done your homework?
Victor: Nu konichno.
Al: I’ve done my homework. Awesome. Have you done your homework?
Awesome: Like four or five times now.
Al: All right. Well, then- Well, don’t bore us, get to the chorus
and before we begin, I’m gonna share my screen and my s- my sound. One moment please.
Mat: Uno momento.
Al: Por favor.
All right. We are sharing Uh, by the way, folks, you, you don’t see Austin because no one sees Austin. She, she’s just, uh, with us by, by voice. So you’re gonna just see the four of us on screen here.
Mat: She’s a regular [00:16:00] Cena.
Al: Yeah.
Mat: She’s allegedly AI.
Al: Yeah, there we go. Here we go. Episode- I think so much, Matt … episode three rewinds to the 2014- It’s so easy
Sochi Olympics. It’s funny, when we started watching this episode, Tanya’s like, “Oh, we’re watching the wrong one. We’ve already seen this.” I’m like, “Nope, we haven’t.” I think I
Tanya: did that the first time too, didn’t I? I had,
Mat: I had the same moment, Tanya. Yeah. Don’t worry. I’m like… I had to stop and pause and go, “Wait.
All right, okay.” Oh. I had the
Victor: same thought-
Al: Yeah … just that
Victor: way, I may.
Al: So they’re at the cafe. Uh, it’s a scene with Hollander, Scott Hunter, and Carter Vaughn discussing the dangers of gay athletes f- uh, that gay athletes face in Russia. But this time, however, we see the conversation more from Hunter’s perspective.
And then we jump back four months to Manhattan. Uh, Scott Hunter is out for a run while listening to a hockey podcast called Man in the Crease. Now, was that one of the, the, the, um, gay themes from Shoresy? I’m, I’m trying to remember. Like, you know how they, they kept on, uh, coming up-
Awesome: Oh, for the, uh, the party.
Al: Yeah, like [00:17:00] was Man in the Crease- And that was, um- … one of them? ‘Cause, uh, it feels like it could have been. It
Awesome: might have been. Or
Al: at least it could be, like, an allusion to or, or a, a reference to that. But anyway, the, the hockey podcast is called Man in the Crease. The hosts are discussing his, uh, s- Hunter’s team, the New York Admirals, and, uh, Scott’s terrible start to the season.
After scoring 70 points the previous year, he hasn’t registered one through six games this year. Uh, they say he’s in a fog even though he’s been, uh, named the captain of the American Olympic team. As the commentary, uh, com- becomes more and more negative, Scott runs faster and faster until he finally stops and rips out his earbuds in frustration, and we get the title card.
Uh, so we’ll just keep going because not a lot happens there- Yeah … and, and we’ll just keep going. So a- after the title cards, uh, Scott t- stops outside a smoothie shop called Straw Plus Berry, not very, uh- Mm-hmm … creative, and decides to go in. Uh, behind the counter is Kip Grady, an aspiring art history graduate student who is more interested in napping than serving customers.
[00:18:00] Scott clears his throat to wake him up. Uh, Kip is embarrassed and a- apologetic, uh, but Scott doesn’t mind. When Scott asks for, uh, what’s good, Kip skips over the menu of decent smoothies with stupid names and recommends the Blue Moon Over Brooklyn, a blueberry smoothie to which he adds banana. A kind of, uh, low-hanging fruit there literally.
Uh, Scott jokes about Kip being wild, and there’s an immediate spark between them. Uh, they steal glance at, uh, glances at each other as Kip makes the drink. Scott enjoys the smoothie and leaves Kip a generous tip. Another… Anyway, uh, Kip’s coworker witnesses the entire exchange and notices the chemistry between the two of them.
As Scott leaves- Carl … uh, another customer enters and immediately recognizes him as New York Admirables, Admirals player. Uh, and, but this was news to Skip. So- So, it’s Kip, not Skip. Anyway, production note: Kip, played by Canadian actor and, uh, Ryan Reynolds lookalike, uh, Robbie Graham Kunz. Mm-mm. Unsurprisingly- What
Mat: do you mean Ryan Reynolds [00:19:00] lookalike?
Al: In certain angles, he c- he’s got- I
Mat: don’t see that. All right. Oh, fuck off.
Awesome: But I, I, I think I see what Al is getting at, but also, Al, no. Not lookalike. ‘
Mat: Cause he’s a
Awesome: white dude from Canada?
Al: Passing resemblance, maybe. So his name is Robbie Graham Kunz or Kunz, and he- … uns- u- unsurprisingly, he goes by Robbie GK.
He’s from Port- Port Credit, Ontario. Uh, he’s a native, uh, known for, uh, Utopia Falls and The Next Step, so he, he’s, he’s a dancer, too. Uh, later that evening, Kip drags his friends to a bar to watch Scott’s hockey game, much to their dismay. Winding
Clip: down in the second period, 2-1 for Anaheim.
The Admirals with the puck.
And this is what we’re watching? We barely get to see you ’cause you’re always working, but at least when we do, we get to watch, uh… What, what is this on? Let me check my notes. Hockey? Shut up, Sean. We should turn it off. No, no, no, no, please keep it on. Huh?
Thank you, Kyle.
Thank you, Kyle. Thank [00:20:00] you, Kyle. You’re welcome.
Twice he said Kip. Like, he used your actual name twice.
Maria, that is setting the bar so low.
And it didn’t even sound stupid when he said it. It almost sounded hot. Okay, that’s not fair, not hot. Just
normal.
Okay,
I’ll listen to it. Fuck both of you, okay? Kip is short for Christopher. It’s not that weird.
It’s short bus for Christopher, and please don’t tell me you use that name on your grad school applications. Oh, my God. Why are we talking about my dumb name?
He said it. He said it.
Another round? Thank you, Kyle. Thank you,
Kyle.
Hunter the ball.
And you.
Font sends it back to Hunter.
Thank you. Hunter’s looking.
Oh, look, look, look. He’s on the TV right now. Sean, look, right there.
I’m not okay. Font to Hunter. Hunter’s in front of the net, and he scores! Rare goal for
Scott. Oh,
wow. Right?
He knows your name. Yeah.
I
mean, he’s definitely not gay, but- Shut the fuck up. You literally- Then make him gay … watched him say your name.
Jesus Christ.
Al: All right, [00:21:00] production note here. Kip’s friends are Maria, played by Canadian actor Bianca Nu- Nogueira, who’s known for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, and Shawn, played by Canadian comedian, writer, and performer Brandon Ash-Mohammed, known for Canada’s Drag Race and, uh, Last One Laughing Canada, which we watched, and, uh- Yeah
yes, he was definitely on that show. Uh, the next day, Kip is at work reading a newspaper with Scott’s picture on the front page. Scott scored a hat trick the night before. Right on cue, Scott walks into the shop. Kip congratulates him, and Scott explains that when something goes right, he tries to repeat it.
Professional athletes are nothing if not superstitious. Scott orders another Kip special and once again leaves a generous tip. This time, Kip thinks Scott may be flirting with him. Later, Kip has dinner with his friend Elena and tells her that, about Scott. She asks if he’s imagining things. Uh, Elena is no help, but she convinces him to schedule his next shift around Scott’s next home game.
Production note here. Elena is played by Canadian actor and writer Nadine [00:22:00] Baba, known for Children Ruin Everything as a writer and for playing Bianca, Bianca Dunk, on Letterkenny. So she looked familiar to folks here. That’s who she was. The following Saturday, Kip is working when Scott walks in. Visibly relieved to see him, Scott orders a Kip special, but Kip tells him it’s on the house this time, his manager’s orders, and refuses to accept another tip.
Uh, Scott stays in the shop to drink his smoothie and answers e- answer emails, distracting Kip throughout his shift.
Clip: You’re not worried about breaking your routine? Uh, no. I’m not actually that obsessive. Turns out I’m too lazy to be a serial killer. I took a quiz. Mm. I don’t even think I could be a spree killer.
What’s a
spree killer?
Someone who kills multiple people at the same time. But isn’t- A serial killer is someone who kills multiple people, minimum of three, but over a, a period of time, not all at once.
Mm-hmm.
How do you know that? [00:23:00] I, I read a lot of murder books. And, uh, yeah, serial killers make me feel not obsessive-
Mm … which, which is a relief. Well, I’ve read some things about athletes-
Okay. Before you say anything else, yes, I agree, and yes, there are at least two guys on my team that, possibly off the record, yes, maybe, but no, not me. No, I swear. Barely had two concussions.
Okay. So, what, no left sock, right sock, stop shaving, no sex, all that stuff?
Oh,
no, yeah, yeah, yeah, all of that, but that’s, that’s not CTE stuff. That’s just science. Mm. And science only really matters during the playoffs.
Oh, okay. So yes. That’s super comforting.
Listen, I know you’re more of a art guy, so it’s not like I expect you to get the ins and outs of science.
And just to be clear, I’m not complaining about the whole stop shaving thing.
I mean, you all look like hot lumberjacks by the end of May[00:24:00]
Al: Kip immediately regrets his hot lumberjack comment, but after an awkward silence, Scott unexpectedly invites him to th- to that night’s game. Kip accepts and attends with Elena. Uh, we’ll stop there and, and chat about what we’ve seen so far, but first I wanna s- welcome Aaron into the live stream who brings a fun fact.
In the book, Kyle has a huge crush on Kip, Kyle being the w- uh, the bartender in the, in the bar.
Clip: Mm-hmm.
Al: So, um, we don’t see that obviously in this, but, uh, it’s fun to, to… It, it’s interesting to see some of these details that we missed from the book. Anyway, Matt, what do you think so far of what we’ve seen?
Mat: So first, I did through this episode kind of catch that Kyle…
There was a couple moments where just based on that comment that Aaron just said-
Al: Mm …
Mat: um, I kind of picked up on that. They didn’t focus on it, but it, it, it was there. It felt his act- Neither
Al: did I. I didn’t even get the actor’s name that played Kyle ’cause I didn’t think he was that important-
Mat: No- … but apparently I messed that up
but I, but I did pick up on there was some body language that felt like he was kind of crushing on him, but there were a couple comments [00:25:00] later. But anyways, uh, secondly, how the fuck does Kip turn into Christopher or how does Christopher turn into Kip?
Al: Uh, you know what? Someone please- I was like, am I the only one who didn’t know Kip was short for Christopher?
Apparently, uh- Is that a
Awesome: known thing?
Al: I guess so. I don’t know.
Awesome: Yeah. That’s a known thing. And also, um- Oh, since when? … it, it’s the- That’s complete nonsense … since like… No, no, since like the 1700s. This is like Richard and Dick. Like- Because it used to be Kit. Like Kit Marlowe is Christopher Marlowe, the playwright.
Okay. And then it became- But still, how does Christopher- It comes from Kit
Mat: become Kit?
Victor: There’s only one Kip, and that’s Nick Kyprios from his last name, not his first name.
Mat: I’ve only ever known one Kip, and his name was Kipling, so Kip made obvious sense. But anyways- Also, I think
Victor: there’s a, a cartoon dog named Kip.
Al: That’s right. Actually, we worked with a Kip, didn’t we? Uh, at, uh-
Mat: Yeah
Al: at our little place. But there is
Tanya: no Kip in Christopher.
Al: Yeah, there’s no Dick in Richard e- well, anyway. There is, but you know. Well, not,
Mat: not all the time.
Al: All right. I’m clipping that one for [00:26:00] the, uh, for the reel. Yeah. Oh.
Mat: So-
Al: I fell right into that, didn’t I? Fuck.
Mat: Yeah, absolutely. So yeah, I don’t know. I’m, I’m, I’m really liking the, the tone change on this one- Mm-hmm
right out of the gate. Um, new story, new char- well, not entirely new characters, but I’m, I’m also feeling slightly validated because I remember at… Was it the… When did they have that associate scene? Was it the end of last episode before it picked up? I don’t recall when it was. Um, but whatever it was, and they had the conversation about, um, about all, all that, a- and, and Hunter’s…
Hunter gave some looks- Mm-hmm … where I had a, “Hmm.”
Al: Yeah. Maybe. Oh, so you noticed, you noticed before that? Yeah.
Mat: Oh, 100%- Mm-hmm … I noticed it, but I didn’t really give it too much thought because we were so focused on-
Al: Mm-hmm …
Mat: on, uh, Ilya and, um, Shane. So I’m like, “Okay, whatever.” But I d- absolutely picked up on the actor and the body language and his reaction.
I got a couple comments about it not being a safe place for those people in Russia. Mm-hmm. He had sort of a thrown back, which they [00:27:00] then redisplayed in this at the beginning of this. So I ki- I felt kind of validated that I, that I picked up on that. Um, but I’m loving the intro of these two. It’s super cute, man.
Mm-hmm. Um, it, it’s very obvious everything about it, the banter with his, with his friend there behind the counter as well, and, and, and just everything going on. It’s like it’s… It feels so natural and how it should be. Yeah. And very, um, just nice to watch on screen. And I know this episode- continues, but, um, I really enjoyed this first interaction, these first couple interactions.
And, like, it’s such an easy fallback, whether he’s superstitious or not, to, to use that whole routine thing. Yeah. It’s an easy, um, scapegoat in that scenario to say, “Oh, yeah, no, I have to now because I, I played well.” Uh, but of course he played well. He came out of there on a high.
Clip: Mm-hmm.
Mat: I remember having butterflies and, and crushes on people and- Yeah
those are some of my best days ever, man. So fucking right. Uh, good [00:28:00] for him for embracing that and coming back and getting another fucking smoothie. Also, blueberry smoothies are disgusting. I love blueberries. But fuck ’em. Uh, maybe the banana, I’m okay with that. I’m open and I understand why this would work, but as a blueberry smoothie standalone, fuck it.
Al: Jen?
Tanya: I-
Mat: All over the place.
Tanya: I, I, I, I don’t disagree. I like blueberries on their own. Don’t, don’t blend them up. You just get blueberry bits all in your teeth. Anyways. Mm. Um- That’s the
Al: best part,
Mat: the pulp. Oh, God.
Al: Um- You would be the one person who prefers the pulp.
Victor: Oh my God. Yeah. Can some- I, I-
Mat: I hope, I hope you get a YouTube comment
Victor: just on that.
Pe- people that buy orange juice, uh, when, when you have the option of g- getting the orange juice with and without pulp, and you get without pulp, you’re just an asshole.
Al: No. Jesus Christ.
Tanya: Oh, uh, uh, uh, okay. Nick just coming
Al: out
Awesome: swinging
Al: off the hop. Okay.
Awesome: Oh,
Al: yeah.
Tanya: He’s,
Al: he’s energized
Tanya: tonight. Anyways, I agree with you, Matt.
I love the butterflies- … all the warm, fuzzy feelings [00:29:00] on, on first, um, meets. Um, I, I, I l- I love h- the setup for it, and I love, um, that the, that the girl, um, uh, that Kip is working with, um, you know, I love the little- She’s watching all the
Al: commentary.
Tanya: Yeah … I love all the little comments that she- Girl … ’cause she sees it right away.
Yeah. And she’s like- Yeah,
Awesome: girl.
Tanya: Yeah. When he’s making the s- Like, you
Awesome: two are not subtle.
Tanya: No. Yeah.
Clip: No.
Tanya: Like, it, as, as… Because I’m sure she was watching the whole interaction, and when his eyes were, you know, m- making the smoothie, you know, um, Hunter was just looking him up and down and vice versa, and she was like, “Girl.”
And I love- I loved it. I thought it was amazing. Um, and, uh, yeah, uh, it, it, it, it r- really kind of escalated quickly, you know? Third, uh, visit and it’s like, come on out to the game. Yeah,
Al: that could be over a couple of weeks, right? ‘Cause he, he has home, h- home and away games. But yeah, and on, in the episode it’s shown kind of [00:30:00] sequentially, but that could’ve- Okay
been a few weeks. Yeah.
Tanya: I have a question. What is a CTE stuff?
Al: Concussion
Tanya: CTE is concussion
Al: Yeah, it’s uh- The short
Tanya: form for
Al: concussion … I, I forget what CTE stands for, but it’s, it’s, it’s short for concussion Uh,
Awesome: cranial traumatic encephalopathy.
Al: Yeah. Poof.
Victor: Yeah. You get it, you get it from constantly getting hit in the head.
Yeah. And it- Yeah … it’s a, it’s a big deal in football. Yeah. It’s a big deal in hockey. So there was a key joke- It’s a big deal in boxing It’s,
Al: it’s another- … when he said he’s had a couple of concussions, and he held up the
Awesome: number three. It… Yeah. Um- It, it’s the technical term for, like, post-concussion syndrome.
Al: Yeah.
Tanya: Oh, okay. Um, ’cause I was like, are they talking about superstition? Yeah. I’m like, I’ve never heard of- Well, yeah … superstitions- No, no … referenced as a CTE. Yeah. So okay, cool. Thank you.
Mat: Yeah. On, on that one really quick, if you ever wanna, if you ever wanna learn more about it, there’s… Like, I mean, there’s lots of knowledge, but there’s that movie Concussion with Will Smith- Mm-hmm
where he’s the doctor who really- Yeah … dialed in on CTE in the NFL- That- … where there was like, the NFL was completely remaining oblivious to the fact that players were basically killing themselves because [00:31:00] of these constant hits. Oh, they were
Awesome: deliberately covering it up.
Mat: Yeah, they were covering… It was a whole thing.
Mm-hmm. And he was the doctor who brought it all to the forefront and made it a known and, and, and led down to changing all kinds of concussion protocols across all sports and things like that. Yeah. Mm-hmm. So it,
Victor: it,
Mat: it- Gary, Gary Bettman
Victor: still hasn’t admitted to it. No.
Mat: Yeah. No. It’s a big- Yeah … it’s a big… It was a big deal, and a, and a really good movie that, uh, that dials in on that.
Victor: Yeah, I know. It’s one
Awesome: I haven’t watched yet. Oh, the movie is fucking phenomenal. Yeah. If you have not seen it- I’ll have to check it out … please watch it. What
Tanya: are the- Yeah, hard watch, but- … behavioral changes? Uh, what’s in the-
Victor: Like aggression.
Awesome: Mood swings- If, if you- … irritability Mood swings are I mean, a lot… I mean- Paranoia, vertical.
It was- Suicide …
Victor: yeah, there’s been a lot of- Suicide is a big one … a lot of, a
Awesome: lot of NHL players-
Victor: Yeah, of
Awesome: players. Yeah. Yeah.
Tanya: Wow.
Awesome: Uh, the NH- the NFL was so committed to covering it up that players would commit suicide by shooting themselves through the chest rather than through the head so their brains could be preserved and studied-
Victor: Yeah.
Yeah … yeah. In order to prove- There’s a, there’s, there’s a big, big- … that CTE
Awesome: exists.
Victor: Yeah, big percentage of, uh, retired hockey players who are fighters have [00:32:00] unfortunately, uh- Mm-hmm … succumbed to that.
Al: Yeah. Yeah. Wow.
Awesome: Mm-hmm.
Al: So. Yeah. Wow. It’s a thing. Wow. Victor, what did you think so far?
Tanya: Wow.
Victor: Um, wow. Uh, I feel like it…
I’m watching an br- uh, se- uh, episode one of a new show.
Al: Mm-hmm.
Victor: Uh, so it’s like, uh, let’s do a spinoff- good this time.
Al: Mm-hmm.
Victor: And, uh-
Al: You, you, you cracked up there. Spinoff… What did you say after the spinoff?
Victor: Uh, d- but do it good.
Al: Oh, okay.
Victor: Uh. Continue.
Al: Yeah,
Victor: continue. And, and, uh, it’s just a completely different… Uh, I ha- I was waiting to the end to see if it maybe had a different writer or anything like that.
No. Yeah.
Al: No,
Victor: Tierney wrote all this. Yeah. It’s, it’s, it’s just, it’s just… Y- you know what? I’m… So, like, you know I mentioned I’m watching Lanterns- Mm-hmm … the other, you know, the show. Um, and one of the things that people that love Green Lantern kind of don’t like about the show, and we know there’s gonna be a pay- payoff at the end, but we’re now, [00:33:00] we’re on episode six of eight episodes.
Mm-hmm. And to this point, Hal Jordan has been presented as the world’s douchiest asshole. Um, right? So parallels with- … this show so far, right? So we’re, we’re now through- Of course he is. We, we’re, we’re- Have you read the
Awesome: comics?
Victor: We’re, we’re… I’ve, I h- I have read the comics, and he has some controversies, but generally he’s not an asshole.
Um, an- anyway, uh, so, so we’re now halfway through s- this season, right? Episode three, uh, six episodes. And even though this episode had nothing to do with Illya, um, we are now halfway through, and there’s d- been no redemption so far, right? We’re… He’s still, to th- to this point, we’re, we, we… he’s been presented as an asshole.
So, um, so for me that’s a problem. And it’s a problem in the other show as well, is like, yes, I know there’s gonna be a payoff, but it doesn’t change the fact that I’m not enjoying the episodes. Uh, of, uh… So this episode, [00:34:00] however, so far, what a refreshing, uh, bit of writing. We actually have interesting dialogue.
Not complete, uh, m- brain-numbing dialogue that you have between Illya and Shane. Here you actually have genuine dialogue. You have a build-up. You have flirting that you can actually relate to. There’s, um, there’s interesting things going on around, ’cause there’s other people. There’s other people in the scene that make little comments, like Girl, and the bar scene-
and other friends. And like, like a normal, real show. Not like some cr- w- weird vignette that we’ve had for the first two episodes. This is a completely different style, and I’m here for it. It’s, so far, perfect.
Al: Okay. Wow.
Clip: All
Mat: right, there we go.
Al: We’re, we’re making inroads here. Uh, I l- yeah, I mean, it’s funny.
The first time, uh, we’re… Shane and I have watched the series before, right? So the first time [00:35:00] we went through this, uh, watching this episode here, I’m like, “What happened?” Where’s Lilly and Shane? We kinda missed Lilly and Shane and, and for a while, like, it was, for a while I’m like, this seems like a complete, like Victor said, a completely different show.
They finally made like some, uh, small appearances, which we’ll talk about. Um, but it was a different take on, uh, uh, on, uh, you know, on this love story between two hockey players, right? So everyone’s different. We have different personalities. What, what, what this episode, um, made me look back at when we watched it again this time are the little hints of Hunter understanding what’s going on maybe between Shane and Ilya before everyone else does, right?
Because he kind of, he… And, and we’ll see later that he suspects something. But, uh, going back now and watching those first two episodes, watching Hunter’s reaction to certain things- Yeah … and also the hilarity of that one love scene [00:36:00] between I- Ilya and Shane in the same, in the room right next to Hunter’s and how they’re- Yeah
they’re joking about how Hunter’s hot and all that stuff, uh, it, it, it, it, you know, it, there’s a payoff there, uh, w- for a rewatch. So yeah, I really enjoyed this. Awesome.
Awesome: Great joke. Uh, yeah, no, it’s, um, so I tore through all of these as quickly as I could get them, obviously. Um, and then I went and read the books on which they are based.
Clip: Mm.
Awesome: Um, but when I was watching this with my husband, he had more or less, like concerningly exactly the same criticisms that Victor has had. Right. Yeah. He’s like, “These two dudes, these guys have chemistry. You can actually buy the flirtation between them other, rather than whatever the fuck Shane and Ilya have going on.”
Um, which is viscerally upsetting to me for a number of reasons. But, um, [00:37:00] no, I, it… This book is in th- Yeah, so okay, episode three is based on the first book, which is called Game Changers. It’s the, becomes the name of the whole, you know-
Clip: Mm …
Awesome: series of books. Um, and it’s interesting that Tierney chose to put it in as episode three-
Al: Right
Awesome: rather than, I don’t know, two.
Al: Uh, yeah, I think, uh, we had that conversation in the Discord where you made- Yeah … the good point that, yeah- Like- … this would’ve m- make a, made a good episode two to break up the, the Shane and Ilya stuff. Um, and-
Awesome: I mean-
Al: Yeah …
Awesome: it, it, it, it would throw the whole Sochi interaction in episode two into a different light, and I guess that’s why he chose to put it afterwards to kind of be able to go back and highlight that.
Al: Right.
Awesome: You know? Yeah. Well, yeah. Like, a- and I don’t think Scott has suspicions. I think Scott knows for sure- Sure … and [00:38:00] is going to read the both of them to filth.
Al: Yeah.
Awesome: Like-
Al: Yeah Yeah. I mean, uh, I think, and we’ll, we’ll- it’s gonna become apparent, I think, in this, so I’m gonna continue here. Yeah. Uh, so now we have Kip and Elena at, uh, at, uh, Scott Hunter’s for, uh, ni- uh, that game that night as they sit in the stands discussing how strange the situation is.
Scott skates past during warmup and nods at Kip, and then as, as if to make Kip understand, he circles back and salutes him because, uh, be- before that he was doubting whether that nod was even for him. Give him a wave. Yeah. Uh, two days later, the Admiral- Admirals lose in Boston. Ilya chirps Scott, saying it’s too bad he can’t play every game at home because he only seems to play well in New York.
Uh, the, and then the following night, New York plays in Montreal, where Scott has another poor game. This time it’s Hollander’s turn to chirp him.
Clip: Hope next time we play you decide to show up
Keep. [00:39:00] True
Starting to sound like him. I’m sorry, what? You fucking heard me, Hollander. What the fuck is that supposed to mean? Well, there’s something you
really don’t expect to see, especially after the final whistle, and especially from Hollander and Hunter. A fittingly brutal end to yet another brutal road trip to the Atlas.
Has Shane Hollander ever fought anybody? Things have some grievances to air, I
think. I’m gonna hit the sack. Yeah, there you go, handsome. All right, have a good day off.
It’s not a day off. I’m doing that, uh, that catering thing tomorrow.
Yeah, yeah. I just… You know, you get to sleep in for once, so I’m just happy for you, is all.
I’m just… You know. I, uh, I’m proud of your hustle, kiddo. You know? Yes. You can get that, uh, scholarship anyway, so. Dad,
please, please no jinxing me. No way, no way. Good night. Night, Dad. Love you. Love you back.[00:40:00]
Al: All right, the next day-
Awesome: But Hunter said, “Take Rosanov’s dick out of your mouth before you speak to
Al: me.” All right, the next day, Kip is running late for a catering job he can’t afford to lose. He’s frantically searching for his suit until his father tells him where it is and sends him off with plenty of encouragement.
Production note: Kip’s father, George, is played by Canadian actor Matt Gordon, known for Rent-a-Goalie and Rookie Blue. Uh, Kip arrives at the event where Sean appears to be… His buddy Sean appears to also be the catering manager. Sean gives him a tray of hors d’oeuvres and sends him into the room. Kip walks through the kitchen doors, immediately collides with a guest, dropping the entire tray.
He looks up to discover that the guest is, of course, Scott Hunter. Back in the kitchen, Kip be- begs Sean not to fire him. Sean helps him calm down and sends him back out with a tray of quiche. Uh, later, uh, Kip approaches Scott to apologize again, but Scott beats him to it, apologizing for the rude comments made by the woman accompanying him.
Scott then asks if Kip would like to get Mexican food after the event. [00:41:00] Kip accepts. Uh, after Kip’s shift, Scott waits nervously in the alley in his tuxedo. They head to the restaurant, but it’s packed and has a long lineup, so Scott suggests ordering in instead. They end up at Scott’s condo. Kip admires the a- the apartment and its view before realizing that Scott has already taking off, taken off his shirt.
Scott offers to, uh, offers him a full tour, or… Kip chooses or. They proceed to give each other full tours. After Kip quietly gets dressed, but s- uh, but Scott wakes and asks him, uh, what he’s doing. Kip didn’t want to disturb him because he assumes Scott has a big game the next day, and instead Scott asks him to stay.
So Kip does. The next morning, Scott wakes up to an em- empty bed and looks disappointed until he hears a blender in the kitchen. He finds Kip making him a smoothie and is so grateful that he picks him up and carries him back to the bedroom to thank him properly. Uh, later, over smoothies, Kip says he should leave.
Uh, Scott asks, “What if you didn’t?” Scott admits he can be [00:42:00] intense, but he has a few things he needs to say. Uh, he asks Kip’s permission to get a little intense. Kip agrees.
Clip: I never do this Never brought anyone back here, like ever. Um, yeah, my life is, uh, is complicated. Yeah. I, I get that
And I can’t, um,
come out, like, not, not right now Too many people depend on me for too much, and it would just, it would fuck everything up. A- and so I just thought I would, um, I don’t know, wait, I guess. Yeah, wait till hockey was over, and then maybe I could fade away better[00:43:00]
But I, um
You, it’s just, um I want you so bad. So bad. And I know that you barely know me, so why would you even consider something this, this probably fucked up? Like I, I know I’m fucked up. I get it. I’m, I’m not pretending I’m not, but I really, really like you. And I want you to stay. So I’m, I’m asking for what I want
I want you to be here when I get back from practice later, and I, uh, want you to be here when I come home from my game tonight I, um, I want you more than I’ve wanted anything in a long time
Is, uh, is that too [00:44:00] much?
You can say if it is, um Do say something though?
to be here when you get back
And I don’t think you’re too lazy to be a serial killer. Really? Yeah, really. Yeah, you’re definitely not lazy.
Al: All right. Let’s, uh, let’s talk about this awesome… We’ll start with you this time. What do you think?
Awesome: It’s [00:45:00] interesting to see how this has been streamlined from the book, ’cause Scott does a lot more, um, self-justification in the book, and at the same time, though, he’s a lot less self-aware about how fucked up his situation is.
Clip: Mm.
Awesome: Um, but at the same time, because we do get things from Scott’s perspective, we realize no, no, no, this man is genuinely mentally ill. Um, a- and all the kudos to François Arnaud’s performance. God bless that man. Uh, but I don’t know. I, I, I do feel like some of that unhingedness could have come through a little better.
Like, it did come through when he started talking about serial killers and shit. It’s like, boy, you are not making the case that you think you are making.
Clip: Mm-hmm.
Awesome: And like, I liked that. I [00:46:00] enjoyed that. Please keep doing more of that. Yeah. Because that is really the vibe that the character is supposed to be giving off.
Um- Yeah. So there you go.
Mat: It’s interesting. You, you say clearly has some, some mental issues, and it’s a hard one. Like, I hear what you’re saying, but I, I interpret it all as less around a mental… Well, I’m sure it’s all one in the same in the end, but, um, it’s confusion, it’s struggle. It’s just, like, he’s fighting his, what he wants versus what he expects of himself or what- Or what others
the world expects of him. Yeah. What the world- Oh, yeah. He is
Awesome: genuinely conflicted …
Mat: Right? It, it, it’s just, it’s just he’s stuck in this- Yeah … holy fuck, what do I do? Um, opposed to it being… And, and that’s fucking him up in itself, but it’s- Yeah … it’s hard to
Awesome: watch. Yeah. That, that’s what I mean. Mm-hmm. That, that internal conflict-
Mat: Yeah
Awesome: is, is giving him depression and anxiety and paranoia- Yeah,
Al: sure …
Awesome: and [00:47:00] panic attacks. Like, legitimate,
Al: full-on- Yeah. Well, I was gonna say … panic attacks. So I didn’t read the book, so I never… I n- I don’t read him as being mentally ill, but I do read him as, as being high, like, anx- anxiety, and his- Yeah … and his need for control, it has everything to do with all the pressure that’s put on him to be that role model and, and whatever, right?
Um, so but, uh, yeah, just going back to the previous scene, love Kip’s relationship with his father. I, I think that, that’s a lot of fun to watch. Uh, and, and-
Awesome: Yeah, that was actually a surprise. Oh, yeah? A pleasant one, to be sure. ‘
Al: Cause it’s not like that in the book, or…?
Awesome: No. No, no. Uh, just… It, it is like that in the book- Oh, okay
but it’s just, um- Usually in this kind of genre, a, a, a, a disapproving father figure- Sure … is pretty standard fare. You know what I mean?
Al: Yeah. Well, that’s probably what makes this a bit of a different story, right? Um- Yeah … because it, it does subvert- Yeah … a few, uh, expectations anyway. But yeah, loved that [00:48:00] w- Well,
Victor: we have a w- w- Yeah
to be fair, we ha- we do have a disapproving father- To be fair … in this, in this show. To be fair.
Al: We do. You’re right, yeah. A- at least one. Yeah, you’re right. The Russian, uh- Yeah … uh, uh, Rozanov’s father, for sure. Um, and then this scene here, it was great. I, I, you know, it was… I know it was a long scene, but I didn’t wanna clip it anywhere ’cause I, I just wanted it to play out.
I thought it was a, a, a really amazing scene. Like, that, that… Th- this is the kind of scene you’d see, like, at the end of a rom-com, and it’s, like, smack dab in the middle of this episode. So, like, what else… Where else can we go with this, right? Oh. So.
Awesome: That was one other thing I wanted to note down. Hm. They move in quicker than U-Haul lesbians.
What the fuck?
Victor: I moved in with Linda on our second date.
Al: That’s right. So. Victor has a little bit of experience there. You are a U-Haul
Awesome: lesbian.
Al: Yes. Yeah. So Victor, what did you think of th- these couple of scenes?
Victor: Yeah. Uh, y- again, very refreshing. Mm-hmm. Uh, l- uh, you know, lots of authenticity, lots of layers. Um, uh, a- and you know, it kind of…
Uh, I, I didn’t get the me- mental illness, uh, at all. Mm-hmm. I, I, [00:49:00] uh, uh… In- very intense obviously, uh, but from, from w- how we’re kind of presented the character in the show versus the book, um, he actually first couple episodes comes across as very measured and- Yeah … kind of a mentor kind of a figure and stuff like that, and, uh, experienced, um, and, and whatnot.
So in this, in this one he’s just… He looks like a guy who knows what he wants and he wants to go after it.
Al: Yeah.
Victor: But he’s doing it in a semi-respectful way, right? Like, he’s not, uh, uh, um, b- browbeating, uh, um-
Al: Kip …
Victor: uh, Kip a- in any way, right? Like he’s saying, “Hey, this is what I want. Mm, you know, what say you?”
Al: Yeah.
Victor: Uh, so, so it’s interesting. And, and he, you know, he said it out loud. He says, “I’m not ready to come out.” Uh, and, and, and that’s wh- as soon as he says that, that’s when you realize, holy crap, we have a problem here because this is not sustainable.
Clip: Yeah.
Victor: Right? Where is this gonna go? Uh, because if it’s so intense and he wants to have this relationship with him, how are they gonna do that if he [00:50:00] doesn’t wanna come out?
Yeah. And then you kind of relate back to real life and, and kinda r- realize that, uh, in hockey- There hasn’t been a single player ever, active player or retired player- Mm … that has come out.
Clip: Yeah.
Victor: H- the NHL. When I say hockey, I mean the NHL. Yeah. Um, there’s obviously players in the collegiate and whatnot, but in the NHL, active or retired, not a single player.
The other three, the other… It’s the only of the, one of the four sports that has never had that type of rep- representation. Uh, in the other sports, people who have, uh, re- uh, you know, after retirement, they’ve come out and whatnot, and I think in football a couple years ago, there was a player that actually- Yeah
active, was first time ever, uh, uh, played- Yeah … active. Yeah. So, um, yeah. So hockey’s just, it’s just, it, it just not done. It’s not safe. It, it, it, at least it’s not thought to be, and um, so you really get the dilemma, and you, and it’s… And this one is like a real, like the, the thing with Shane and Ilya, they’re both hockey players, right?[00:51:00]
So the stakes are completely different here, ’cause you’ve got one hockey player, and the other one is a civilian.
Al: Yeah.
Victor: And, and now, you know, what is gonna happen? Are you, are, are you, is, does, uh, Scott expect, uh, Kip to like live with this lie until- Yeah … until Scott is ready?
Al: For, you know- Yeah, it’s a good point.
Shane and Ilya- Right … are both trapped in this life of theirs, whereas in this case, Kip’s the only one kinda trapped because- Yeah … ’cause, uh, Hunter gets to m- uh, continue with his career- Yeah … and his life like nothing’s really changed, except now he gets the benefit of coming home to Kip. Yeah.
Victor: Yep. I- So anyway, uh, again, just it continues to…
And, and then, uh, I th- I th- who, who said it? I think, uh, Awesome said it. The rom-com? Or maybe, Al, you said it. Mm-hmm. So, um, that’s the other thing that’s different about this episode. Mm. This doesn’t feel like a kind of a trashy romance novel. This f- actually feels- … like a love story. Mm. This feels like a rom-com.
Mm-hmm. And even the sex scene was, it’s just like a normal sex scene. It wasn’t just, “Let’s, let’s [00:52:00] do it for the purpose of trying to- Right … shock you,” or whatever. It’s just like, no, it’s, it’s just, it, the timing was perfect, and then, uh, the, and then there’s, uh, you know, uh, Kip making the shake in the morning- Oh
or, uh, soy smoothie in the morning. Yeah. Like, it was just… And then they have real dialogue. Yeah. It’s real dialogue. It’s so refreshing. So yeah, ra- great scene, and, and, uh, and love George as well.
Al: All right. Ten?
Tanya: Um, yeah, just same as what, what you guys are saying. The, the, Don and Kip’s relationship I thought was amazing.
Um, I, I, a- and, uh, it continues on, and I’m sure we’ll, we’ll talk about, um, their relationship as we move forward. Um, yeah, I thought that that was, uh, great. Um, you know, him bumping into Scott of all people, you know? Yeah. Again, another meet cute of, of, uh, them bumping into each other. Um, and those glances across the room.
And a- again, it’s a, it’s a romance, um, as you guys are saying, the rom-com. [00:53:00] Um, um, I, I like how they were building into, uh, or the lead-up into that conversation that Scott wanted to have in the kitchen, you know? Um, Scott wanting to invite him to the hockey game, giving him the glances, and then, um, meeting and bumping in- into each other at the event.
Um, you know, Scott inviting him out for Mexican food. But then that moment where Scott realizes, “No, I can’t do this. I can’t. We, we can’t go into the Mexican restaurant. Um, there’s a lot of people. Let’s just go back to, to, to my p- my place.” Um, you know, again, the, the, the whole scene that we’ve already discussed.
But that m- that conversation in the kitchen and how raw and how emotional and that conflict and that, um… It wa- it was a very powerful conversation. Mm-hmm. And I… It brought [00:54:00] me right into- W- what Scott was feeling- Yeah … and, and, and, and what that situation must be like for someone, um, experiencing something like…
And, and, and Victor, you, you saying that no one in the NHL has come out, whether they’re, um, current or, or retired, um, is shocking, ’cause there has to be people that are, are part of the, the, the queer commun-
Al: Well, statistically, there’s probably at least one in every team, right? Like
Victor: Well, there’s, there’s no question that there are.
Yeah, yeah. My, my point is they have not felt safe to come out. Yeah. Even in retirement.
Al: Yeah.
Tanya: I, I, I wonder, and, and I, I don’t know if this is naive of me to, to y- m- think, but I wonder, like, this show, um, uh, Heated Rivalry, it got such a huge, um, draw from everyone. Like, this was late night show, like, everyone was talking [00:55:00] about this show.
Al: Well, a- not only late night show, but N- NHL players were, were lauding it. Um, even, like, hockey bro podcasts were watching. Like, I, once we’re done this season, I, I encourage you guys to watch reaction videos from all these, like, hockey bro podcasters watching th- there’s some scenes coming up, and their reaction to those scenes, and it’s, it’s amazing.
It’s, it makes you believe that a show like this could maybe actually change things- That’s what
Tanya: I was just gonna ask …
Al: to the point where maybe we will finally see an NHL
Awesome: or a-
Al: There was one semi-professional player- Semi, yeah … who, after Heated Rivalry- Did c- yeah …
Awesome: m- came out. He watched it. He actually, he put off watching it for quite a while because he knew, “I’m not ready to deal with the emotional fallout-
Al: Yeah …
Awesome: of watching this.” Um, but i- a couple of months later he did, he watched it, and then he had
He went viral on Instagram- Yeah … [00:56:00] for his stories talking about his experience being a semi-pro player-
Al: Yeah …
Awesome: and being gay, and not feeling safe to come out, and eventually being forced to retire because he just couldn’t … It was taking a mental and emotional toll on him- Yeah … and he couldn’t keep it up.
Al: So, I mean, we’ll see.
Um- But that was one story, and that was already a few months ago now. Right. But there hasn’t been anything else, so who, who knows? Uh, Matt, you already had kind of s- had some words to say, but did, did you have anything else or- Yeah.
Mat: Yeah. I just, well, I just wanted to bank on the end of that. So I was looking at some stats on this, and again, some of this from Stats Canada and, um, something called Gallup in the US.
But- Mm … basically what it’s suggesting is, and this is only based on self-identified- Yeah … that approximately about 10% of the population identifies within the LGBTQ+ as, uh, community. Um, and that’s just the ones that have actually said-
Al: Mm-hmm … “
Mat: That’s me.” Um, so what I’m taking, and all this saying, and I, and I, and I love with this conversation here, it’s why I [00:57:00] brought this up now, is because one of the things I wrote about this episode when I got into it, I thought it was just gonna be, “Okay, here’s Hunter,” and then we’re gonna jump back to the guys.
But it’s clearly a more focused episode on these two individual and their story. There is symmetry between the two, the two stories as well to some degree. You know, in this case, i- in a normal case, we have Ilya and Shane. Shane comes from very privileged, supportive family. You know, there’s still- Yeah … the pressures there, and he hasn’t come out officially either.
Um, and then Ilya obviously having the pressures and the much harder life that he grew up with. And of course, in our situation here- Uh, we have Kip and, uh, Hunter who Kip has nothing but support around him, right? He has from, from every aspect of his life is just open and honest and, and that’s the way it feels- His friends, his father
and I love that. His friends, his, his dad is fantastic. Yeah. It’s how it should be. Yeah. Um, and then of course, Hunter is showing this vulnerability through these scenes, uh, that we’re seeing already. Like, it’s like he’s [00:58:00] dying to get out, where he’s like- Mm-hmm … “Hey, let’s go for dinner. Let’s, you know, let’s… I know it hasn’t come up yet, but let’s go to the art gallery-” Yeah
which doesn’t feel so well. But you know, all these little things, “Come to my game.”
Al: Yeah.
Mat: But in the end, he’s still like-
Al: He wants to and he thinks he’s ready … shit. Until it, it gets to the point where-
Mat: Yeah … the,
Al: the anxiety kicks in. Yeah.
Mat: Exactly. Yeah. And what, what I wrote and, and what that loops bound to is the thing, biggest thing I wrote and underlined is that this story is just showing Ili and Shane are not alone.
Al: Mm-hmm.
Mat: Right? That, that, that’s my biggest takeaway from this story in this episode was they’re not alone. You know, we focus on this, wow, these two superstars are gay and, and they’re falling in love with each other. But let’s, why are we being oblivious to the fact that they would be the only ones? Right.
There’s more out there that are living their own challenges, their own struggles, their own hidden, hidden lives, and this is just a version of that, um, in a very loving way. And I, and I’m loving the story between the two of these guys. But, um, that, that’s kind of my big takeaway on all that.
Al: All right, cool.
Mm-hmm. Let’s move on. Uh, after the [00:59:00] kitchen scene, a montage set to Lumi- Lumière by Alpha Roc- Rococo, uh, shows Kip essentially moving into Scott’s condo, just as Scott wanted. Kip is there when he returns from practices and games. Kip tells his father that he’s staying with Elena because she lives closer to work.
Uh, and when Marie and Shawn tease him for disappearing into a relationship, Kip insists Scott is only a customer, not his boyfriend. Uh, behind closed doors, however, Scott and Kip are living a fairly typical domestic life. Uh, after Scott notices Kip admiring a friend’s art collection, he dis- he suggests buying some art for the condo.
The two, uh, make their first public outing together to one of Kip’s, uh, friend’s galleries. Kip discusses how different pieces would look throughout Scott’s home, speaking a little too freely for Scott’s comfort. Scott, wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap indoors, becomes increasingly anxious. When a cur- curator approaches and asks, uh, whether they’re browsing or looking to buy, it becomes too much and Scott has to leave.
Back at the condo, Scott is on the verge of a panic attack. He [01:00:00] apologizes, explaining that he thought he could handle it. He wanted to, but he panicked. Uh, Kip says it’s okay. Scott knows it isn’t. Uh, before Scott’s next, uh, road trip, Kip gives him, gives him a present. No, not that kind of present. Get your heads out of the gutter.
It’s a pair of blue socks covered in bananas so Scott can take the luck of Kip’s smoothies on the road. Scott loves them. Uh, then Kip gives him that other kind of going away present. So before Scott’s next game in Montreal, he puts the smoothie socks on beneath his hockey socks and sends Kip a picture.
Uh, Kip watches the game from the bar with Elena. New York leads four-two when Scott scores again
Clip: And the fucking Diefenbunker. What the fuck? Fuck yes!
Tyson an away game since last season
What?
Say it out [01:01:00] loud.
Say what? Oh, okay. It, it’s not…
It- It’s what? Okay. Here’s what I know.
Elena.
Shut up. You’re in love with him.
I’m not in love with him.
You are. Have you at least told your dad?
For how long now?
A little over two months.
Oh, baby. Elena,
okay, you, you can’t tell. If anyone finds out,
then it’s- That it’s Scott? Obviously, I’m not gonna tell anyone, but Kip- He, he can’t
come out right now, okay? He really wants to. It’s amazing. He’s amazing, and I’ve never been happier. Honestly.
What’s the plan, babe?
I don’t, I don’t know.
What does your dad think? [01:02:00]
That I’m fucking some married guy probably.
I kinda wish you were.
Ugh. Don’t say that, please. Just please be happy for me.
I can’t wait to see you in a tux tomorrow night.
I am gonna be super well-behaved for you.
I only care that you’re handsome.
You bitch.
Scott’s gonna be there tomorrow night, too
Oh, I know. And he better be ready for me
Al: Later, Kip arrives at Scott’s condo and receives a call from his father. We learn that they haven’t seen each other in a while, and that Kip is still waiting to hear from graduate school. After the call, Kip checks Scott’s closet for a surprise and finds that Scott has bought him a tuxedo. Uh, at the next fundraiser, Kip…
Or, at the fundraiser, Kip attends as Elena’s date. Scott approaches and pretends not to remember Kip’s name. Elena introduces herself and Scott compliments them both. Uh, Kip remind- re- remains [01:03:00] awkwardly silent, so Elena excuses herself to get drinks. Alone, Kip admits that Elena knows about the relationship and apologizes.
Scott had already figured that out, and he isn’t upset, provided she’s discreet. Kip assures him she is. Elena returns, uh, with the drinks and then demands a, a dance with Scott.
Clip: So what are your intentions with my Kip? I’m serious. He’s crazy about you.
I’m crazy about him, too. I really am.
He’s also miserable. Are you miserable, too?
No
Wait, what do you mean?
Nobody wants to be kept a secret.
He’s not.
He is. Eyes on me, handsome.
I’m doing my best. I, I love him. I just can’t do better right now. I, I’ve been honest.
I know. [01:04:00] And he’s so in love with you that he’ll put up with it
But it’s killing him
I’m not saying any of this to be mean. I’m really not, and you seem great. But he’s great, too
He deserves the best He deserves sunshine
And so do you
Al: Tanya, what do you think about what-
Tanya: Ugh. Oh my gosh. Elena is like… Yeah. The m- sh- she couldn’t have worded it any better, and was so thoughtful in [01:05:00] how she was saying what she needed to say, and it was the truth, and, you know, doing what was needed for her friend and for, and for Scott. Like, it’s, it’s… Like, this is not sustainable, like Victor said, you know?
He, he said what he said in the kitchen, but they were so caught up in the emotions and the feelings that they had for each other that they were willing to not even give it a second thought of what that really means. Um, I, it, it was, it was so perfect, the, the whole thing.
Al: It was a great scene, and I, I, I liked it y- before even she says that line, ’cause it’s, it’s an amazing line, probably, uh, the, one of the highlights of, of the episode and maybe the series so far.
It’s clear to Scott, or it’s clear to us that Scott isn’t willingly or knowingly taking advantage of Kip- Yeah … ’cause he’s just as, he’s just as surprised when she says Kip’s miserable, [01:06:00] uh, as… You know, he, he acts surprised c- ’cause how can he be? “‘Cause I’m so happy. He must be…” So he’s s- starting to realize it, too, and I just…
It’s a, a brilliant, well-acted scene and, and really well-written. Victor, what did you think?
Victor: Yeah. Um, so I, I agree. I have thoughts though. So let’s go back to the bar scene first- Sure … uh, where they’re having the conversation. Um, so again, you know, it’s written really well, but I feel like it’s also written in a way where you have to kinda question, uh, what’s happening here because- I, I, I, y- we, we understand why Kip is keeping this a secret from his friends, even his closest friend, even though she obviously, uh, knew what was going on.
Mm. But they presented his father as someone that he can, that he’s got a, an incredible relationship with. And the fact that he didn’t feel comfortable going to his dad, that is like [01:07:00] basically Ted Lasso except the dad. Yeah,
Al: except he can’t. Like, it’s not his story to tell, right? He can’t out Scott. Yeah, he, he can’t- He can’t out-
Victor: tell,
Awesome: yeah.
Victor: That’s… I’m not talking about telling a story. I’m talking about, “Hey, Dad, I n- I fell, I’m fell in love with someone and it’s a difficult situation. Can I confide in you?”
Al: Sure.
Victor: Um, and so it’s not about telling a story. It’s more about having somebody to speak to about a very difficult- Sure
situation. Yeah. And his, he and his dad seem to have a relationship where it’s a safe space. Mm-hmm.
Clip: Mm-hmm.
Victor: Um, so, so I’m… So for me, that was kind of… I felt, I felt like it didn’t completely play with me that they would’ve written him in a way where he didn’t feel comfortable talking to his dad about it. Now, you need, you need this y- Or-
for the drama.
Al: Or- Well, I mean, he’s also not spending any time at home, right? But- So maybe he hasn’t had the time to talk to his dad.
Tanya: Or, or he’s not saying it or he’s not telling his dad because he knows what his dad’s gonna say. He knows- Yeah … d- [01:08:00] deep down that his dad’s gonna be like, “You can’t… This is not…”
Well-
Al: He’d rather his dad think that he’s having an affair- “You deserve better” … with a married man than, than, than the truth.
Victor: Um, I, uh, so, so- Yeah … maybe. Yeah. Maybe. I’m just giving you my perspective. Sure, sure. Right? Yeah, yeah. And, and I think at the end of the day, he, it could be as simple as, “I need to keep this secret because…”
Mm-hmm. Period. Without, without even more layers to it, right? Yeah. Like, he just feeling like, “Oh, I’m gonna keep this secret regardless for, whether it’s my best friend, my dad, whatever.” Yeah. Uh, but, uh, I, all I’m saying is that he seems to be in a very healthy place in his life, and that’s, that’s the other difference we get, right?
Betw- in terms of being queer and a civilian and being queer and an, and an athlete, right? Yeah. Uh, Kip can live a free life in North America. If he was living in Russia, then he would be living a life just like an athlete. Right. Right? ‘Cause there you’re not allowed to come out, whether you’re an athlete or a civilian.
Clip: Yeah.
Victor: Um, uh, whereas, whereas, whereas in North America, uh, y- you can, you can live a normal, [01:09:00] free, uh, outed life with your friends, with your family, and everything should be fine, uh, right? Uh, it, it’s not always, unfortunately, for, for everybody, but, um, uh, but in this c- in this situation, Kip has that type of life- Yeah
where he’s living open and free, and he’s got support from everybody. Um, so anyway, so- Yeah … it’s fine. It’s fine. Um, so now we go to this scene in, at, at the, uh, charity event, and, um, I- E- Elena was fantastic. Mm. However, however, and this is the part kind of I’m conflicted, conf- conflicted with, um, you know, it’s when your friend’s kind of…
Like, Kip is not disabled. He’s not mentally challenged. He’s a grown man. Um, he’s not a kid, right? And she felt she needed to s- kind of step in for her friend and go and have this hard conversation with, um-
Al: Yeah, she’s looking after him …
Victor: uh, with, with Scott. Yeah. [01:10:00] Right? And, and it’s fine. That’s what she decided to do, but then she also went, like…
She, she went hard, like, telling him that it’s killing him- Mm … is, is e- that’s her interpretation.
Clip: Mm-hmm.
Victor: Uh, uh, like, maybe it’s not killing him. Maybe it’s difficult. Maybe he’s conflicted as well, but Kip is choosing to be in this relationship. Mm. And I think she’s basically saying, “I don’t really care what you’re choosing.
I f- have a, I have a certain feeling about this, and I’m gonna go and talk to Scott about it whether you like it or not.” Yeah. “And I’m not gonna…” You know, sh- so that’s, that’s kinda where I’m coming from. I’m not saying she was right or wrong. I’m just saying it’s not as, uh, kind of utopian as maybe you guys are making it out to be.
Tanya: But she said- She
Awesome: is butting
Tanya: in. She said in the bar, though- She’s butting in … she made the, she made the point of saying in the bar, though, that she was going to talk to him and, and Kip didn’t, didn’t say, “Oh, no, don’t do that.” Like, like-
Victor: It, it… No, that, that can just come across as being cheeky, [01:11:00] like, “Hey.” No, but
Al: there, there was a look he gave in the b- in, i- in their, in that first, the previous scene during their conversation where he’s like, he, he’s happy, but then she kinda like, “Are you?”
And he gives a bit of a look. Like, it- Yeah … it, it’s very subtle. Yeah, but
Victor: then she, she decided that- Sure … she decided- Sure. Sure … to interpret that- Yeah … as the worst thing in the world. Sure. That it’s killing him.
Awesome: Yeah, in light of being Kip’s lifelong bestie. Yeah. That’s how she decided to interpret. Yeah.
She knows him as well as he knows himself. She’s being
Al: protective of her friend. Awesome.
Victor: Yeah, yeah. Listen, I’m not, I’m not disagreeing. Yeah. Yeah. I’m just saying she did butt in. Mm-hmm. And I, I’m not sure that it’s, like, 10 out of 10 the right, was the right thing to do. Yeah. Maybe it was. Maybe it wasn’t.
Al: Awesome, what do you think?
Awesome: Um, look, I, it’s not even that I necessarily disagree with Victor. I just think this is one of those things that gets exaggerated for the sake of having a story at all in the first place, when really, if we were genuinely talking [01:12:00] about two m- you know, mature grown-ups-
Clip: Mm-hmm …
Awesome: they could navigate the delicacy of the situation together.
But because you’ve got Kip, who is… His family and friends are wonderful and supportive, but he’s also desperately, grindingly poor, and that’s a major factor in his character. Um, it’s one of the reasons he does have so much hustle.
Al: Yeah.
Awesome: Um, because his, his-
Al: And in that relationship
Awesome: too- Financial security.
It, the class disparity between him and Scott is a major factor in their relationship as well.
Al: Yeah. There’s a, there’s a bit of a- Um- … an imbalance there too, right? ‘Cause w- e- like in, in their first lovemaking scene, I think he says, “I can’t believe you’re into me.” Like, there, there is a bit of that-
Awesome: Yeah …
Al: that feeling too where- I
Victor: felt- Um-
that’s more of him being a civilian than a poor guy.
Awesome: No. Also, I don’t like the term [01:13:00] civilian versus ath- Well, whatever. Athletes are civilians. If you’re not a civilian, you’re living in a different- Yes. Yeah, I’m not putting them on a pedestal.
Victor: I,
Mat: I, I get what Victor’s saying. Yeah, we understand what you’re saying.
Like, I think…
Victor: Yeah.
Awesome: I get it. A non-athlete. But I just, it’s one of those- We’re all normal folk … terms that we need to not cheapen. You know what I mean?
Victor: Uh,
Awesome: listen. Uh, anyway. No, no, no. It’s- Stop. Anyway, I- Okay, I’m sorry … Val wants to keep it short, let me get through this. Yes,
Victor: please. Please.
Awesome: Okay. Um, if, if you were genuinely talking about two mature adults here, there is a difference between coming out and disclosing quietly to your friends and family.
Mm-hmm. You know what I mean? Like, there is a divide between I am including these people in my life because this person is my partner, and I’m making a public announcement. Mm-hmm.
Clip: Yeah.
Awesome: A- and there is a way to navigate that. But again, because, because Scott Hunter is so m- emotionally [01:14:00] incongruent, that’s where the tension comes from, and it is genuinely making him paranoid and mentally ill.
Al: I, uh, you, so
Awesome: you say that he- Like the, the art gallery scene, right? Yeah. That’s actually a way bigger blow up in the book. Sure. Like, he starts yelling, and he has a full fucking freak out, and he-
Al: Uh, see, I don’t think I would’ve enjoyed that as much as what, what, what the, the show showed.
Awesome: No, no.
Al: Right? In the show- Like-
I really liked that. It was, like, more of a panic attack, and he, and he just needed to leave. I really, yeah, I
Awesome: don’t know. Oh, yeah, no. It’s, he has a full-ass- Yeah … meltdown, and just straight up abandons Kip. And Kip has to walk from the gallery back to Hunter’s apartment.
Al: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Well, I’m glad
Victor: that they- Um, l- listen, listen, K- Awesome, like your example exactly demonstrates why we have th- why it’s important to distinguish an athlete and a civilian.
‘Cause, ’cause a, a, a person- I’m not saying you can’t distinguish- … a person who’s- … athletes from
Awesome: non-athletes …
Victor: a, a, a- I’m saying civilian
Awesome: is not the
Victor: term to use … a civilian. Just a, for lack of a better term. Whatever. If it- Semantics … whatever, then- The semantics, yeah … [01:15:00] pick a different term. But the, but the whole point is Kip-
Al: A normie.
Let’s call them
Victor: normies … Kip- Oh my God, that’s terrible … yeah, Kip can live a regular- Kip, Kip, Kip can live a regular life- Yeah … and just simply live- Yeah … as a queer man- Yeah … without coming out, and people know he’s gay. An athlete is not able to, a, a s- a star athlete is not able to do that. If they start living a, a life where they’re
Awesome: just- Look, I, I didn’t even-
they’re hooking up … I don’t even disagree with you. All right. I started off by saying- … I don’t disagree with you. So
Al: Matt still needs to talk. I don’t know what he made a big deal about it. Let’s, so before I, I get to Matt, I, I, I’ll, the only thing I’ll say is as intense as Scott Hunter was, he took the news of Elena knowing pretty-
Awesome: I know
Al: pretty casually. I was kinda
Awesome: surprised by that. He- They’re in a public place-
Al: I know, but- … and he
Awesome: doesn’t want to cause a scene.
Al: Yeah, but he’s- I was surprised by that … well, he’s not
Victor: an idiot. He probably knew she would’ve known anyway.
Al: Uh, he, he got, he got the, the, the hints from her, her behavior anyway, but yeah.
Yeah. Like, uh, I feel like up until now w- I would’ve expected a bigger reaction from him. Anyway, Matt, final comments- So- … and then we gotta finish this off here. Yeah. [01:16:00]
Mat: I’ll, I’ll try to keep it quick. So two comments. One on the relationship with his father. The, my only take on that is because I think even this with, what word do you wanna use, um- Normie
uh, so norm- Non-athlete … normie- Normie … normie, normie and athlete, it’s new territory even for him. Mm-hmm. He’s like normally it would be no problem, but as he understands the sensitivities behind the situation, it’s a weird one. And I also feel Tanya’s comments around, um, I think his dad will say the thing that he doesn’t wanna hear, where it’s like you’re setting yourself up for pain- Yeah
because this can’t end well- Mm … is what I pre- what I take. Yeah. On the, on the take in the, that scene-
Al: The dance
Mat: scene … at the dance My original, a- and I still stand by it, I think everybody deserves a friend like Elena
Clip: Mm.
Mat: Um, I understand the overstepping. I understand all that. However, I can tell you, and again maybe I’m wrong, I have [01:17:00] had conversations, not on the same subject matter, but with close members of close friends where I knew there was things that needed to be addressed that was just sort of hiding in plain sight and no one would call it out.
And I think it’s how you address it, and I think Elena came at it very mature, very respectful, very on the level. Um, and I really appreciated that, and I feel like Scott would have as well where he’s like, “I hear you.”
Clip: Mm-hmm.
Mat: And, and no one’s stupid to the situation. These aren’t dumb guys. Um, they’re both very aware.
They’re navigating territory, um, that they’re not sure what to do with, and I think her approach was, and everybody including Scott would know, this comes from the best place.
Clip: Mm.
Mat: It’s just calling out… It’s calling a spade a spade. Sure. And we just need to say it out loud. What you do with that information, you two will figure it out, but I don’t want it to not go, um, [01:18:00] not go silent and this- Unacknowledged Yeah
unacknowledged. Yeah. And, and I, and I actually really applaud her for this. And I wish, like I said, I wish everybody had friends like this who could advocate in a very structured way when you’re faced with such controversy and such a hard situation- Yeah … where nobody’s trained how to deal with these. So I, I, I actually think he’s in a good place with this, and I think she’s in the right.
Al: And he w- she wasn’t being accusatory. She was saying-
Mat: No,
Al: no … “Kip deserves better, and so do you.” And so do you. So I think, uh- Yeah … yeah, I think it was- The,
Mat: the difference would be if she came in, she’s like, “If you fucking hurt him, I’m gonna kill you.”
Al: Yeah,
Mat: yeah. Versus, versus, “You seem like a great guy. I really like you.
He loves you. I think you love him, but-“
Al: Yeah “…
Mat: there’s a big elephant in this room-“
Al: Yeah “…
Mat: that you guys need to deal with.”
Al: Yeah.
Victor: Yeah, it’s a nice line, but what does it actually mean? Like, when she says, “You deserve sunshine too,” like, what is she telling him? Is she telling him, “You should come out- Yeah … and be and live a [01:19:00] full life?”
Yes, yes.
Al: That’s exactly
Mat: what
Victor: she… Yeah.
Mat: That’s
Victor: what she’s telling him. Yeah, yeah. But I think she emphasizes that, that he- So yeah, but it’s easy to, it’s easy to say that. Sure, agreed. It’s e- And when you’re one of the, when you’re one of the top players in the league- Mm … um, it’s, it’s easy to say that to somebody like that.
However, um, like I said, to this day-
Al: Yeah
Victor: Not a single player has come out
Al: You’re
Mat: not wrong. Yeah. And that’s why I think
Victor: everybody- So why should it be Scott? … understands the risks.
Al: Let’s, let’s, let’s wrap up this recap. Here we go. Sorry. Back at Scott’s condo after the event, uh, Kip mentions that Sunday’s his birthday, and Scott already knows that.
He’s arranged a caterer for the two of them. Kip explains though that his friends are thr- also throwing him a small party at a, at a, at their local bar, and it’s a gay bar. And he asks Scott if he’ll attend, not as his boyfriend, but simply as a friend. Scott can’t do that. He wishes he could, and says he wants to tell everyone that he loves Kip.
And Kip, Kip s- responds and says he loves him, too. Scott promises that someday, perhaps in a few years, they can be open about their relationship. Uh, Kip remembers Scott’s speech about the people who [01:20:00] depend on him being his family. He understands that Scott feels responsible for them, but Kip has family, too, and he’s tired of lying to them.
He misses them, especially his father. Uh, Kip says, uh, he’s going home, and he leaves. As he walks away, we hear Scott’s speech from the fundraiser.
Clip: Thank you for coming. For those of you who’ve attended before, feel free to ignore my sob story and go straight to the bar. But for those of you who don’t know it, here’s the short version.
My parents were both junior hockey coaches, and they were hit by a drunk driver when I was 12 years old. Mercifully for them, they died instantly. Mercifully for me, the St. Thomas scholarships existed. I didn’t have anybody else to help me. Had a lot of memories, a love of hockey, and a huge hole in my [01:21:00] heart.
St. Thomas filled it with hope, the hope of a new family. Things, things weren’t always easy. You know, they never are for anybody. But in hockey, I found what I was missing. First at my high school, then later at college, and now here with the Admirals. And I never looked back, because I, I never had to
The family I craved, the family that I needed, that, that I still need today, hockey gave it to me, and St. Thomas gave me hockey So from the bottom of my heart, I want to thank you all for being here tonight and for supporting this cause because it’s not just a scholarship, it’s, it’s everything that comes with it.
It’s a whole world, a whole life. It’s, uh
It’s everything[01:22:00]
Heya. Hey, Dad. Hey, the prodigal son returned home. Look, I got, uh, some mail here for a certain someone, and it’s pretty heavy.
I
wonder-
Sorry. For what? You got nothing to be sorry for, silly. Oh.[01:23:00]
Al: Kip celebrates his birthday at the bar with his friends, who also surprise him with news that he has received a full graduate school sh- scholarship. Outside, Scott watches through the window, unable to bring himself to walk through the door. Finally, we return back to where this started, at the Sochi Olympics.
Scott is in the dressing room preparing to face Canada in the g- gold medal game. Before pulling on his hockey socks, he puts on the blue banana socks Kip gave, gave him, and we fade to black All right. That is episode three, Hunter. So let’s do, uh, initial thoughts. We start at the top. Matt, what did you think of this episode?
Mat: All right. Or stop share, stop sharing. You’re sharing your, uh-
Al: Oh, yeah …
Mat: your, your board there. Um- Yeah … yeah, this, this was, this was awesome. Um, a lot going on. We talked about a lot of it already. Um, I’ll add a couple extra notes around, um, first the whole [01:24:00] scene. Um, so, so what I, what I thought was most interesting…
Hold on. How do I start this? I feel like I learned a lot in this episode, um, things that I would’ve never… Like, I guess I kind of assumed, but never saw. So this portrayed struggle in a way I’ve never been able to comprehend and-
Clip: Mm …
Mat: likely will never be able to comprehend. Um, and I, and I appreciated this.
Watching Hunter His vulnerability ru- ebb and flow throughout the episode as he’s putting himself out there, pulling back, going forward, pulling back. You know, I, I feel like the inevitable end is not going to be well. Um, he’s… It’s one of those decisions you see in movies, everything at the end. He feels like the choice is do I choose my career?
Mm-hmm. Or do I choose this man I love? And that the two can’t coexist.
Clip: Yeah.
Mat: Um, which is horrible, but that’s the internal struggle that’s going on. So I really… [01:25:00] Watching him back and forth was, was, was wild to see. Um, I did have a laugh when, when he was really coming out and saying, you know, “I want you to stay.
I want you to be here.” It reminded me, and again, I don’t know if everyone’s seen it, but like, it really felt like I was half expecting him to pull out an NDA. Um, kinda like in, um- Mm-hmm … 50 Sha- Fifty Shades of Grey when Anastasia signs an NDA. Oh, yeah. Um, where he’s like, “I’m gonna keep you and you’re gonna live under these terms in my house- Yeah
and all this shit.” Uh, really fucked up, but that’s where I thought we were going and thankfully, we, we, we s- it stayed, uh, stayed okay. Right. Um, so that was funny to me. I- I… Victor made a comment, the sex scenes in this, I, I found them much more tasteful. Mm. They were perfectly executed. They didn’t need to go over the top.
They need to drag out for long periods of time. This is kind of what I would’ve liked to have seen in the previous ones. They are what they are, and I’m assuming we’re gonna get more graphic again in later episodes, but whatever. This episode, I think they portrayed them, [01:26:00] um, perfectly- Yeah … in, in the scenarios and how they were, so I really liked that.
Um, what’s in the mail? Like, I wanna know what’s in the mail.
Al: It’s a scholarship. A scholarship to grad school.
Awesome: That was his- Oh … that was his grad school acceptance.
Mat: Damn
Awesome: it.
Mat: Yeah. I must have missed that. Okay. Yeah. Fuck that. Um, the other… Yeah, this, this episode, yeah. The other thought I had through all this, and this is again a side thought, it really reminded me of like a side quest episode, like in Last of Us with the n- with the Nick Offerman episode.
Okay. Mm. Yeah, yeah. Um, where it’s just like the, the gay love story and, and somehow it ties into the bigger story afterwards and you figure it out later. Yeah.
Awesome: We’re gonna provide you a bunch of context- … without actually just exposition dumping.
Mat: Exactly. Like it’s a whole episode just dedicated to one side quest and, uh…
But I’m for it, so I loved it. Um- Yeah. Yeah, I mean, I’ve talked about a lot already. It, it just- This one, I- all, all that to say before we get into everything else, I felt stress in this episode. Um- Oh, God,
Awesome: yeah …
Mat: be- because of what I kinda said where I can’t grasp that [01:27:00] kind of pressure on what it’s like- Mm
to be closeted and, and, and to not know how to cope. Um, you know, as a heterosexual man it’s like, “Oh, I like that girl. Hey, hey, I like that girl.” Mm-hmm. And I have no problem saying it out to the world and whatever, and that’s just what’s expected. Um, by reverse I can’t imagine. Mm-hmm. You know? I have… So one of my closest friends, and actually it was a guy who used to live in our basement, is, is gay.
Um, he’s 44, 45 now. Um, and he came out very young, but I can tell you with his family generally accepted, but his mother Although they still had a relationship for years, it took forever for her to actually accept. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Like, he now has a boy- he’s gone through many boyfriends, but now he has a boyfriend now he’s been with for a couple years, and this is the first time the boyfriend’s been welcomed into his home.
Clip: Mm.
Mat: Into his family’s home. Into [01:28:00] events, things like the first time I’d seen photos of the mother with her son and his boyfriend in the same photo- Yeah … and it’s, it’s amazing to see, but it’s fucking gross- Yeah … that it took… Like, he- guy’s in his 40s. Yeah. He’s had to pretend like this doesn’t ex- even though his mom knew he was gay and he was very open about it to everyone else, he had to hide that and not be able to have those kind of conversations like you see, um, Kip and his dad, how very open they are.
That doesn’t exist for so many people.
Clip: Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Mat: And I can’t imagine. A- and not to say, like, I don’t have open conversations with my parents about that. Like, it’s not like I went home and say, “Hey, here’s the new girl.” I like- Yeah … no, it didn’t fucking happen, but I also didn’t care one way or the other.
Sure. Um, it’s a very different level. So watching the buildup- Oh, shit … for their relationship and then seeing it sort of beginning to implode towards the end of the episode was heartbreaking.
Clip: Yeah.
Mat: Mm-hmm. And I’m like, I, I see where it’s going and I know [01:29:00] the outcomes. I fear what it, where it’s going to end, and I hope it doesn’t, but unfortunately the world sucks.
And, uh, yeah. I don’t know. But all that to say it w- it was, it was a real fun ride to… Uh, not fun, it’s not the w- it was a ride. Yeah. Um, and I was for it and it was refreshing. Um, and I think it’s a very strong learning episode- Mm … uh, for those who have no concept of what this could be like.
Clip: Jen?
Tanya: I, I, I think you worded that very well, Matt.
Um, I agree. Like, I’ve been in profound thought, uh, since watching this episode, um, now a couple times. Um, a- and, and it, it, it felt as though I had a, a glimpse into w- what that must be like. Like, I, I feel like the actors did a great job, um, with that power struggle of, of, and that c- conflict. [01:30:00] And a- again, I, I felt like the kitchen scene was a, a, a really powerful scene where he was speaking of, of…
It, it was almost his sadness as he was trying to confess his, his feelings, um, to Kip. And, and, and his words that he used and, and his facial expressions, and it, it really was so powerful that it, it, it, it took me into- Uh, uh, like that, that, that struggle and that, and that, that, it m- it must be s- I, I, I can’t, again, I can’t imagine, um, the, that situation and how, um, how difficult it is.
Mm-hmm. Um, I, I, I think you said it really well, Matt. Um, it, it was a good episode. Um, I, I think it had a, a great balance of, you know, those [01:31:00] butterflies and, uh, happy feelings, and let’s just say, like Kip’s body, holy hell. Like- … uh, I did not know- Like why is a
Awesome: smoothie barista walking around looking like that?
Tanya: Well, I did, I did think that as well, yeah. I was gonna say that ’cause I have that down in my notes. Like I didn’t know that w- like weightlifting strawberries could like put on a nine-pack like that or like- The, it’s
Awesome: the banana boxes. Like, like you know Robbie was like doing press-ups and pounding latex right before a shooting every goddamn time.
Tanya: Wow. Like when he was in the k- Like us dad
Mat: bods need to be represented somewhere in
Al: this series. I know. I kn- I know how, how women feel now when they watch all these movies with the gorgeous w- … like fully fit women. Right. And I’m watching this like as a schlub watching these two, like, uh, Adonises. Yeah.
Tanya: And I love, and I wanna say I love the lovemaking scenes ’cause, um, I, and I noticed like all these little thing, like when he, um, holds onto the sheets and pulls up, and it just cuts [01:32:00] through that, you know, there’s some lovemaking scenes that you can’t see, that we’re not privy to. And I, um- Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. I thought, I th- it w- it was, it was a great episode.
Great.
Clip: Victor.
Awesome: I love how they like verbally switch, too. Like, “Can I fuck you?” “Absolutely.” “Can I fuck you?” Oh. “Absolutely.” Yeah. So you know they’re both-
Tanya: Yeah …
Awesome: trading
Tanya: off. Love consent. Yes. Consent’s good. Consent’s hot.
Awesome: Victor. Consent is super hot.
Victor: Is it my turn now? Yes. Um, yeah, so, uh, uh, I generally agree with, uh, what, what you guys are putting down.
I, uh, one thing I want to remind both Tanya and Matt, as you guys are talking about kind of the struggle of coming out, this is not Kip’s struggle. Kip is actually in a very supportive scenario here. Um, and he’s not, from that perspective, he’s not trapped at all. Scott is the one that’s living with the turmoil.
Like, even if this relationship doesn’t work out, which again, the odds [01:33:00] are against it working, but we, we hope for the best, um, Kip will just go and meet somebody that next that’s not gonna be an athlete, and they’re gonna have a regular relationship and- No, but, but you’re
Mat: wrong. It is his struggle too.
Victor: He shares- Just, but let me finish my thought All right, all right, all right.
Sorry. Let me finish my thought. So, so, so all I’m saying is, in, in this situation, he’s in love, and it would be heartbreaking for this not to work out. So yes, in this one moment, he is in that struggle, but if it doesn’t work out, time heals, and he’ll be in a, in another relationship, and that one will be fine.
‘Cause likely it will not be another s- uh, you know, athlete or s- or actor or whatever. Mm-hmm. It’s just gonna be a regular relationship with both are normies and everything will be fine. ‘Cause they live in a country where- I like how you pivoted
Mat: well into
Victor: normies. Right? So, so, and yeah, you’re, you’re welcome.
Um- I
Awesome: appreciate that, Victor. Thank you. Y-
Victor: that’s, uh, I listen. Um, so, so however- … Scott, Scott’s next relationship is gonna be just as [01:34:00] problematic.
Clip: Mm-hmm.
Victor: Right? Unless he finds another hockey player like those dude dildos, Shane and, uh, um- Oh, God … and, um, um- Ilya … Ilya. Ilya. Yes. Thank you. Um, so, so all I’m saying is, like- Fucking guys
it, the, Scott’s the one that’s in turmoil. Like, he, it looks like Scott is the one that’s kinda having the time of his life, and he’s got his, like, live-in, uh, you know, uh, buddy. But, um, he’s the one that’s, has the long-term t- turmoil here because he’s trapped until he finally finishes with hockey.
Clip: Mm.
Victor: And even then, he might still feel not safe to come out, ’cause in real life that’s the case.
Mm. So anyway, um, all to say is that, you know, I, uh, that’s, that’s kinda, that’s why I felt like, um, uh, it, um, uh, Elena coming hard at Scott was kind of, she’s, she wasn’t seeing that this is also very difficult for him. And I get it, she says, “You can have sunshine.” It’s easy to say that. Mm-hmm. But what is she?
Who the hell is [01:35:00] she to tell Scott to come out? Sure, sure, sure. Is, right? Yeah. So, so anyway, um, I think it’s very interesting, and the whole point is there’s a lot of depth here. There’s a lot of stakes. Oh, yeah. There’s, there’s- Oh, yeah … it’s, it’s such a- Especially
Al: after his speech, right?
Victor: Yeah. ‘
Al: Cause that dance- Yeah
happens before his speech. Yeah. Watch Elena and, and Kip while Scott’s telling his speech, and then they’re realizing- the depth of, of the stakes,
Victor: right? 100% Yeah. And that’s why, like, my biggest fear at the end of this episode is that we’re gonna go in episode four back to Shane and Ilya and, and leave this story behind.
Mm. Because this is, this story is so much more interesting and has so many more layers. I don’t care about Shane and Ilya at this point. I wanna know more about these guys, and I wanna know where this story is gonna go. And my fear is episode four is gonna go back to those guys. Mm. So that will… That’s, you know, I, I felt like this episode was fantastic from beginning to end.
Al: All right. [01:36:00] Uh, uh, I mean, I’m gonna say I, I enjoyed the episode as well. I really, really enjoyed how he ties it back to the Sochi Olympics, uh, beginning and end. He bookmarks or, or, uh, uh, book, uh, ends- Bookends … bookends it. There you go. Bookends. Yeah, that’s what I was looking for.
Awesome: And, and by he you mean Jacob Tierney.
Al: Tierney, yes. I like the way he-
Awesome: As opposed to all the 15 other hes that we have.
Al: Yes, yes. Tierney bookends the story, uh, with the Sochi Olympics. We start there, we end there. And also given the background we saw from the previous, uh, episode. Uh, so I really enjoyed that, and just that little extra, uh, added thing where he was wearing his, his, uh, smoothie socks.
But I, I believe, though, Canada still beats the US in, in that game, uh, if- Mm … if I’m not mistaken, so the socks didn’t work. But anyway, um, yeah, no, this is a great episode. And again, it’s, again, the first time we watched this I was like, “Where’s Shane and Ilya?” So I was very distracted for a lot of the episode, uh, because we left the main storyline and came to [01:37:00] this.
And I know, Victor, that’s what you appreciate about this episode. I appreciated a, a lot more the second time through, uh, because you’re right, it is, it is a much more interesting story. I think the Shane and Ilya, uh, attraction is a lot more physical, um, than this. This is, here I think are two people who are- That’s
Victor: junk food.
Mm. This is health. This is-
Al: Yeah …
Victor: you know, health food.
Awesome: So- This is a four-star meal.
Al: Yeah.
Victor: Yeah.
Al: Awesome.
Awesome: I, Victor, you are a continual source of surprise to me because I would’ve bet any money last week that you would’ve hated this episode.
Al: Oh.
Victor: Oh.
Al: See, I-
Awesome: I’m surprised by that … yeah, because it is- I had some hope
a departure from the storyline- Yeah, but he hated the storyline … and traditionally, historically- Historically- Yeah … Victor hates anything that is not driving the plot forward. Sure.
Mat: Right, the concept episode.
Victor: Yeah. I needed something to kill the plot, and this
Mat: did. Fair enough.
Awesome: Oh, man. No, uh, look, I love this episode. This was [01:38:00] one of the two episodes I wanted to come on for. The other one got sniped. Gord, I fucking see you. Uh-
Al: Gord earned that episode. Don’t w- don’t, uh- He
Awesome: did … don’t hate on him Absolutely. I’m not gonna- Mm. I’m not, I don’t begrudge. Yeah. I do not begrudge.
Um, but yeah, no, this is, um- Structurally, this episode is interesting because like I said, I don’t know if I would have chosen to put it here or chosen to swap it with episode two.
Clip: Mm-hmm.
Awesome: Um, I don’t want to talk too much about the future, but there is a payoff. I just don’t know whether I would’ve chosen to extend the time between this episode and the payoff or- Right.
Yeah … um, the first episode and this episode, and I think there are interesting aspects to both. Um, but my initial impressions of this episode are, um It is interesting to see [01:39:00] some of the parallels between Scott and Kip and, uh, Ilya and Shane. Um,
especially when it comes to, like, you know, a difficult parent situation versus a supportive parent situation, um, or, like, w- Scott and Kip really do have a, a, a certain class dynamic that Shane and Ilya don’t. Um, I do wanna talk briefly about some of the history of this series of books. So Game Changers started out as a Stucky fanfic, a hockey AU fanfic.
So, like, it was an… originally posted on Archive of Our Own as a fan fiction featuring Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes- … as a Marvel universe hockey universe alternate universe. It’s fucking- With [01:40:00]
Mat: the Winter Soldier?
Awesome: Yes. Yeah. So weird. A- and it, it, so, um, Rachel reposted it under a pseudonym on Archive of Our Own, and, um, then later took it down, filed the serial numbers off, and submitted it to a publisher as Game Changers, this first book.
Clip: Mm-hmm.
Awesome: And then once she got a publishing deal, then the story came out that, you know, in interviews and stuff, that she had never intended it to be a fan fiction, that it had always been intended to be an original fiction, but she couldn’t get any feedback or any beta readers to read her book, so she glued the serial numbers on and posted it to Archive of Our Own because she didn’t realize that they allow original fiction under certain [01:41:00] circumstances.
Um, a- and there are some people who give it, that story credence simply because, um, if you’re writing a fanfic about Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes, a lot of the characterization is pretty off. Um, especially the thing about being an art history student. I mean, Steve was an art student, not Bucky, B- Bucky was an engineering student, whatever.
But, um, there is equal weight to the theory that once she did get a publishing deal, uh, the legal department sat her little ass down and was like, “We are not- Fucking with the House of Mouse Right You are not allowed to ever admit or insinuate ever again that this was a Bucky/Steve fanfic, okay?
Al: And didn’t she also [01:42:00] mention that, uh, Ilya and, and, uh, Shane were modeled after, uh, Sidney Crosby and A- Alex Ovechkin?
Like, uh-
Awesome: Yeah …
Al: yeah.
Awesome: Yeah. That’s absolutely true.
Al: Which makes sense that- I
Awesome: don’t give a shit what she says now … yeah … that is absolutely true.
Al: So, uh, that kinda makes a little bit of sense. All right, let’s move on quickly to, to ratings. Um, Matt, we’ll start with you. What rating do you give this episode, a fresh, clearance, or compost?
Mat: Yeah, one of the easiest fresh’s I’ve given to anything we’ve watched or reviewed in a long time. I’ll leave it at that.
Al: Okay. Wow. Yay. Tanya, how about you?
Tanya: Fresh streak ke- continues.
Al: Wow. Uh, let’s see. Victor, how about you?
Mat: Oh, it’s an easy fresh.
Al: Hey. Really?
Mat: There we go. Yeah,
Victor: yeah. He’s back. Wow. It’s not e- not even a…
No, no, no question about it. I’m not mad at it.
Al: All right. Wow. And you know what? Let’s
Mat: only invite him back to episodes that star Hunter and, uh-
Al: I, I didn’t, I didn’t think we were gonna get this. I did not think we were gonna get this for this series, but we have a unicorn. I give it a fresh as well.
Wondrous.
Clip: Oh [01:43:00] my
Mat: Gord.
Clip: Oh my Gord. Oh my God. Yeah. Oh my God. Yeah. Oh, wait, wait, wait-
Al: The unicorn- Oh
Clip: my- Take me.
I regret nothing!
Al: The unicorn makes an appearance behind Victor there. Uh- I haven’t seen
Mat: that in a
Al: while … I do wanna give a, a shout-out to that last scene. I- in the past for doing our Shoresy and Letterkenny, I, I always ta- I talk about earned scenes. Earned, you know- Mm … uh, whatever climaxes or whatever.
The, the end of this one here with the father and, and Kip- Mm … and, and when he comes home- So powerful … uh, so powerful and so earned. Just it was- Mm-hmm … it was, it was beautiful. And now Awesome, obviously, uh, the, the unicorn is in the books. There’s no pressure on you either way, but what do you give this episode?
Awesome: Compost. No- … kidding. Fresh.
Mat: You’re looking for some- All right … YouTube comments, I get it.
Awesome: No, God, no. Keep my name out of your mouth on YouTube. Holy fuck.
Al: [01:44:00] I want com- comeuppance now for those people who are calling Victor a homophobe on YouTube. All right. You
Mat: have to go back and message the ones that dropped off and be like, “Come back to
Al: three.
Come back.” Yeah, come and, come and listen. Wait, was,
Victor: was somebody actually, uh, uh, uh, went there? That’s kinda spitting. That’s- And
Al: then when I defended you I was called a bot. Anyway. W- we, we, we- Yeah. Anyway.
Victor: That’s, that’s- Were you really?
Al: Yes, yes. That’s
Victor: pretty
Al: ignorant of some people. “You’re starting to sound like a bot.
You… Uh, can’t he speak for himself?” Um, anyway. Uh, we’ll move on to MVPs. Um, Matt. What, what, what?
Mat: Um, yeah, for me i- it’s Elena on this one. Oh. Um, I… Uh, the… I mean, with an honorable mention to his dad. The support system- Mm … behind Kip is a beautiful thing. Um, but I think that that scene at the dance and the sunshine, uh, speech is just incredible.
Um, and, and he delivered it so well. Um, like I said, I think we all deserve a friend like Elena.
Al: Very nice. Uh, Victor, how about you? MVP.
Victor: Uh, yeah, so thanks to Aaron. I was gonna give it to [01:45:00] George but, uh, I, I have to give it to Kyle- … ’cause that’s, that’s a man that’s in true turmoil. He’s such a good man. Oh, yeah.
Like, to be wa- to wa- be watching- Oh my God … all of this, uh, unfold in front of you. You’ve got this crush on the guy- You had to- … and here he is getting- You had
Al: to go back to being a contrarian, didn’t you? But you know what? Folks aren’t… The, the… Our new listeners aren’t gonna understand this, but look what I have for you, Victor.
Look what I have. Just give
Mat: him this one, Al.
Al: Oh my God. Chira. Like, we… It’s… At least it’s a
Mat: person.
Al: Yeah.
Victor: I’ve got this for you. Uh-huh. That’s, that’s what I’ve got for you.
Al: Tanya, your MVP.
Tanya: Um, I’m giving it to the kitchen scene. I, I think, uh, that was the… That, that was such a pivotal… Mm. It was such a, a, a moment.
Which
Al: one, though? The one where, where, uh, Hunter asks him to stay?
Tanya: Yes.
Al: Yeah. Okay.
Tanya: Yeah.
Al: Yeah. That’s- Yeah … it’s a great scene.
Tanya: Yeah.
Al: I, I was going to give it to the father, but you know what? Matt, you convinced me. It’s, it’s Elena. That scene, the, the dancing scene is, uh- Yeah … is, is amazing and I mean, I even used her quote in the [01:46:00] opening of our podcast- Yeah.
Mm … ’cause it was that powerful. So yes, Elena gets, gets my MVP. Awesome, what about you?
Awesome: I really wish we could afford licensing so I could give it to the fucking song. Uh, but no uh, I’m gonna give it to François Arnaud- Oh, okay … ’cause his performance and his delivery l- I have loved that man since The Borgias.
Al: Mm-hmm.
Awesome: And he just continues to fucking crush.
Al: He’s the one who plays Hunter, Scott Hunter. Oh, okay. Okay. He’s the actor. That’s the actor’s name, yeah.
Mat: Yeah.
Awesome: Yeah.
Al: Yeah, he’s great. He’s great in this. Th- they all are. Um-
Mat: Yeah, the performances- Oh, yeah … in this, in this episode across the board were stellar.
Al: Yeah.
Agreed. All right.
Awesome: But particularly François.
Al: Yes. All right, we’ll move on quickly to listener comments. I won’t bo- I won’t bother you with, with the YouTube comments, but I do have a li- … a couple listener comments here from our Discord. First one here, “I think my disagreements with Victor about his commentary of previous shows and episodes is well documented.
I agree with him though. The [01:47:00] first two episodes of Heated Rivalry, uh, were it not for the others from the folks whose TV tastes I trust comments about the show, I would not have watched episode three, but I am glad I did. It’s one of the episodes of any… One of the episodes of any show in the history t…” I think he meant to say one of the best episodes of any show in the history of television.
That’s our buddy Tobias from Maine. So high praise for this episode. But he didn’t disagree with you, Victor, about the first two, so there you go. That
Victor: sounded like a compliment to
Al: me. Yeah. There you go. Uh, and, and our friend Miriam, who also came to, to your rescue. “Although I feel for Al going in and commenting on YouTube, no, Victor is not homophobic.”
Yes. Thank you, Miriam. You’re, uh, uh, y- you’re right, and I hope those same people listen and/or watch to this episode, or watch this episode to, uh, to see proof. Anyway, uh, and then just a real quick Universal news. Uh, they’ve confirmed additions to Heated Rivalry season two, which include [01:48:00] Jerry Dee from Mr.
Dee- Yeah … uh, Nick Stahl from, uh, Sin City, Milla Jovovich from The Fifth Element, and the one and only Michelle Mylett as-
Mat: Yes, sir …
Al: AKA Katie from Letterkenny. So season two is, is, is, like, becoming star-studded. Uh, it’s amazing. Uh, we for… Just to be conscious of time here, we’re gonna skip, uh, the Patreon roll call this week.
Sure. So let’s just move on to final comments, and Matt, we’re back up to you
Mat: Yeah, um, Awesome, great to see you my friend. Or not see you, but hear you, as always. Nothing but love. Hang
Clip: around.
Mat: I always appreciate your insights. Uh, Victor, uh, it’s nice to see, uh, you have bring some love tonight. Um, and, and, and actually despite what Awesome said, when I watched this episode, I had a feeling you were gonna dial in on this one.
This- I
Al: was hopeful to.
Mat: Yeah. Um, and I, and I, and I, and I get where you’re coming from in the past and, uh, [01:49:00] um, but I’m hoping that the, the go forward episodes kinda follow some rhythm, but I don’t know. If we start jumping timelines, who knows? Anything can happen here at The Produce Stand. This is a crazy fucking place.
Um, but if it’s doing it- Yeah, they’re gonna introduce
Al: Dr. Strange in the next episode.
Mat: Oh yeah. You know I remember doing the time travel, and it’s gonna be wild. Yeah. But, uh, no, this was- Well, we do have
Awesome: the portal- Yeah … out back.
Al: Yeah. It’s, it’s-
Mat: There. Yeah, it’s… We haven’t used the portal in a while, have we?
It’s been a
Al: while,
Mat: yeah. Um, but no, I, I loved… This was such a fun one to review. Um, I, I’m, I’m… I will admit, I am enjoying this series far more than I thought I was going to. Um, and, and actually I had a friend who I, I posted something that we are, that we are live, and she messaged, “Oh, are you loving it?” I’m like, “I’m not gonna lie, I, I, I’m, I’m into it.”
Um, it’s a very interesting perspective is front and center in this. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And, um, and I really appreciate it. So no, I’m looking forward to the rest and, uh, here we go.
Al: All right. Ten.
Tanya: Um, Awesome, thank you so much [01:50:00] for coming out tonight. I always love your perspectives. Yeah. And that was super interesting about the, the whole, um, uh, what it was originally, um, and how it’s changed- Yeah
since then. Um, that, it- … it- The social
Awesome: history of
Tanya: the Game Changer Universe. … broke, broke my brain a little bit there. Um, um, yeah, I, I’m, I’m a sucker for a love story, and, uh, I, I love myself some Daniel Steels, uh, every once in a while. And, and, uh- She used to have
Al: a big pile of them.
Tanya: I, I did. I did. I- How
Awesome: about Nora Roberts, though?
Tanya: I, I, you know what? I haven’t picked up a book since- … uh, having children, I think. I, I think I’ve only- Ooh … had time for, like, magazines now. I… It’s just, yeah, it’s been a, it’s been a hectic few years.
Al: Few ye- 20 years. Yeah. It’s been a hectic 20 years. It’s been a
Tanya: hectic 20 years. I really need to get back into books.
Um, but- Audio
Awesome: books, babe.
Tanya: Yeah, yeah. Um, I’m looking forward to, um, watching more of these [01:51:00] episodes and, uh, um, um, hearing everyone’s review. ‘Cause, uh, yes, uh, as Al’s mentioned, we have watched ahead, um, originally back then, and, um, I’m looking forward to re-watching it again and, uh, discussing.
Clip: Victor.
Victor: Uh, yeah.
Awesome. You were great. I was hoping probably for a little more heated rivalry between us, but, uh- … unfortunately this was a good episode- … and, uh, uh, y- you know- Did you say
Clip: unfortunately?
Victor: Yes,
Al: he did. He did. He said unfortunately. Goddamn
Victor: you, Victor. So, so, so we ended up agreeing on most things, so what are you gonna do?
Mm. Um, I’m, I’m hoping- Next time. Yeah, yeah. Next time. I’m hoping for, you know, the, the, the quality that we got today to continue for the final two episodes. And I’m, you know, um, I have trust in Tierney that he’s gonna give us that. Uh, but we’ll see. We’ll see what happens. And, [01:52:00] you know, for any, any, any, uh, ignoramus out th- there, out there who, uh, who think that, um, if everybody doesn’t agree with them that they’re homophobic, then that’s just stupid, and so get your, uh…
you know, give your balls a tug- Okay … is what I gotta say to that.
Al: Um, yeah, uh, this is great. Awesome. Thank you so much for, for being on tonight. You picked a great episode, I think. Uh- Mm-hmm … you, you knew. You knew. Yep. Um, and, uh, yeah, it was a great time, and, and yeah, after watching this, uh, you know, when I was working on, on the script for this, I’m like, “I think f- I think Victor might actually enjoy this one.”
And I’m, I’m happy to be right. I didn’t think we were gonna get a unicorn, but, uh, wow, amazing. It’s great that we did.
Tanya: When’s the last unicorn we’ve got? It’s, uh, I mean- I feel like it’s been a while.
Al: Well, I mean, the Don Cherry series had a few unicorns in it- Yeah … I think. So I think, uh, yeah, it’s been a while since…
Well, it felt really far away when we started doing these reviews ’cause Victor was so down on them. Ooh. Um, yeah. Awesome.
Victor: We’re, uh, by the way, we’re [01:53:00] still… U- up until to this episode, we didn’t get a Fresh Out of You out, so, you know, um, just putting that out there.
Al: Well, but I… I- it was a clearance ’cause I knew that we were building to some, some good stuff- Yeah.
Yeah … right? I’m, I’m not gonna… Yeah, I’m not gonna- You
Tanya: can’t-
Victor: I’m not accusing you for it. I’m just saying I, I wasn’t the
Al: only reason. I wasn’t gonna blow my load right, right up, up front, you know? I,
Tanya: I’m gonna- Yeah. You’re, you’re stupid fucking curve- You can’t curve your load to be blown pending what you already know.
Al: No, I’m not. I’m, I’m, I’m reviewing what’s in front of me. You totally did. All right. Awesome. Okay. Final comments, go.
Awesome: Final comments. Uh, yeah, it’s always fun hanging out with you guys, talking about the shows.
Um, I look forward to whatever we’re gonna be doing next. Uh, keeping in my ear to the ground as far as stuff from Crave and New Metric.
Al: Yes.
Awesome: Um, and hopefully I will- Speaking of which, I’ll be in the
Al: office tomorrow. I’ll be at the New Metric office tomorrow.
Awesome: Oh.
Al: I’ll say hi. If
Awesome: you see Cara, say hi.
Al: Uh, Cara, I believe, is up in Sudbury, but yes.
Awesome: [01:54:00] Oh, right, right, right. She’s up in Suds. Ooh. Okay.
Al: I’m not saying anything out of school. They know that pre-production started on, on Shoresy’s s- Yeah. Ooh. On Shore,
Awesome: Shoresy’s
Al: s- And
Awesome: I’ve been posted. Yes. Uh, yeah. Love that. But hopefully I have some news soon.
Al: Awesome. All right. Uh, not you, Austin, but yes. Great.
Yeah. Amazing. Uh-
Mat: That’s confu- you have a very confusing name. Can you- You need to find a different pseudo name.
Al: Agreed. Anyway.
Awesome: No. Thank you. I’ve had this one for, like, fucking 18 years. I’m keeping it.
Al: So-
Mat: It’s a pretty awesome one to have, though.
Al: You know what we gotta do? It
Awesome: is, though.
Al: Let’s get into the after party and, uh, let’s get inebriated, shall we?
And that’s all we have for this episode. Next week, we recap and review episode four of Heated Rivalry: Rose with our new friend Manisha. Until then, if you’d like to support the podcast, become a patron. You’ll get a [01:55:00] shout-out on the show, exclusive bonus content, early access to interviews, and your own ad-free podcast feed.
Another great way to support us is by telling us a f- telling a friend about the podcast or leaving us a review, and don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and BlueSky @produceandpod. Shout-outs al- as always to our buddy Ian Serviss for the live stream, our friends at Sonar Network. Our intro and outro theme’s by Poise For The Worm.
You can find music on all major streaming platforms. Thanks for joining us. We’re headed to the after party. On behalf of awesome Tanya, Victor, Matt, and myself, thank you for listening, and have a great [01:56:00] week
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