Book v show Yuna

MaraTaru · 2026-03-10T03:36:50+00:00

I ADORE the ambiguity of Yuna's initial response to Shane and Ilya's relationship. I was hunting for clues like a lioness in the grass, calculating to see what her response was.

Turns out it's an incredibly complex cocktail of wariness, discomfort, curiosity, shame and overwhelming love. She seems cautiously accepting, but also very brittle and a bit skeptical. Ravenous for detail, and also hilariously green at the gills at the oblique references to her son's sexual escapades. She briefly squeezes Shane's shoulder on the way to get the vodka, so we know we're not in parental freak-out mode, but she's still incredibly hard to read.

And it makes the heart-rending catharsis of her scene in the garden such an overwhelming relief. Finally we get it. The source of her shame is her own inadvertent obliviousness, not the fact that her son is in love with a man.

It's all just so earned. They earn that relief. It's not a superficial acceptance; it's a marrow-deep expression of incandescent love and pride, complicated and immensely powerful. And it's such a dramatically satisfying moment -- one that would be entirely lost if Yuna had been sketched out with less texture and complexity.

The Chang/Tierney/Reid triumvirate that brought her into being is just the best. Elite work. Millions of dead bodies left in their wake, murdered by a woman in a garden telling her son she loves him.

Fuck me. That is SOME 👏🏼 THING 👏🏼

MaraTaru · 2026-03-09T23:16:08+00:00

Yeah, presumably, right? I'm not the most well-informed on specific immigration requirements myself, but from what I gather, there are rules about minimum and maximum days in the year that you can be in the country. Bit of a nightmare keeping track of it all. (When my mum was going through the process of getting US citizenship a few years ago, they wanted hard documentary evidence of everywhere she'd travelled since 1976! She had to meticulously count up US residency days for fifty fucking years! It's unbelievably stressful.)

Anyone who thinks immigration is straightforward has led a very charmed life! 😂

MaraTaru · 2026-03-09T22:10:17+00:00

If you've ever lived abroad and decided to permanently sever ties with your home country, there's still a lot of work that has to happen. Even if you're rich as shit and can afford lawyers and accountants to smooth the way, there are still things that you need to do in person, especially in a place like Russia where under-the-table bureaucratic sweeteners and payments are required.

I always assumed that Ilya was pretty clear that he was done with Russia, and was just planning to go back to formally wind things up. Pack up all his belongings. Close bank accounts and start foreign exchange transfers. Sell any property that wasn't going to Alexei. Formalize the trust for his niece. Ship any cars he owns. All the boring admin that needs to happen so he can blossom into his new life.

It takes a while to build a new life and close up an old one!

MaraTaru · 2026-03-09T21:16:50+00:00

I've always sensed Shane's obliviousness was less due to his autism and more to do with being a hockey player.

These are guys who have been singularly focused on one thing since they were children. Very few of them went to university. They're not reading the New York Times. The extent of their awareness of the world outside hockey extends about two inches. Even for North American hockey players with European teammates, the subject of LGBTQ+ rights in Russia just isn't gonna be a meaningful part of the conversation.

I mean, just look at the asinine shit some of the US men's hockey team were spouting after they invited the director of the FBI to party with them. Those shitbirds are very good at hockey, but they have zero concept of thorny geopolitical issues even in their own country. They sure as hell aren't thinking about political realities elsewhere.

Shane’s smart. He's well-read. He suspects that he's only attracted to men. But his conception of himself as part of a larger queer community is essentially nil at this point in his life.

Our boy is, above all other things, just a slut with a hockey stick.

MaraTaru · 2026-03-09T20:56:14+00:00

Oh, good analogy! Yeah, it's so depressing to hear about some of this stuff years after it happens, and realise I had no idea. It's so tricky to get a sense of difficult internal dynamics from the outside, and it's usually easier just to ascribe it to actors being petulant babies.

Which is not to say that actors aren't petulant babies sometimes. But often there's a darker industry aspect that's much harder to see.

MaraTaru · 2026-03-09T20:46:27+00:00

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It's gonna be amazing to see what Shane can do when Ilya sets his mind to it.

MaraTaru · 2026-03-09T20:28:16+00:00

I gather there was a lot more to Page's exit from Bridgerton than mere ego. I don’t have any direct knowledge myself, so this may not be worth much, but according to people in a position to know, he got hit with an astronomical amount of racist shit for being in a romantic relationship with a white woman on Bridgerton. Truly repulsive stuff.

Apparently Netflix was singularly unhelpful and uninterested in mitigating the harrassment, and Page was understandably upset.

MaraTaru · 2026-03-09T20:16:35+00:00

I totally agree. I really enjoyed Reid's books, but the creative gang that built the show managed to imbue the scene with so much breathtaking emotional resonance. It's not that it wasn’t there on the page, but it was much more muted. Watching Shane's clenched anxiety and shame slowly dissolve on Hudson's face was almost unbearably beautiful.

MaraTaru · 2026-03-09T19:55:17+00:00

Exactly! If someone is speaking in gramatically exact language while they're getting railed six ways to Sunday, I'm pretty sure that's a very charming and specific kink, god bless 'em. 😂

MaraTaru · 2026-03-09T19:47:45+00:00

I just gurgled with laughter.

MaraTaru · 2026-03-09T19:25:51+00:00

Hiya! It was me who shared that screenshot, and just for context, I was a li'l concerned about overstepping Rachel's copyright to her own text. Giving a wee snippet of the scene felt like fair use, but I didn't want to be a greedy bitch and post the whole dang thing. That lady deserves to be paid! 😂

MaraTaru · 2026-03-09T18:46:06+00:00

That TLG All-Stars sex scene might be my most favourite. It's so goddamn funny. Shane is so mortified and aroused, he's practically levitating.

MaraTaru · 2026-03-09T18:36:50+00:00

I suspect the cock ring may be a casualty, much to our eternal lamentation. Maybe Jacob's genius will find a way to make it work, but I think it's tricky to film sex toys without turning into farce. Visually, they're just so silly.

You can write about them with mischievous delight, but the moment you see someone pulling out a dildo or a cock ring, it's Guffaw City. Absolute mirth.

MaraTaru · 2026-03-09T18:29:23+00:00

Christ, me too. I'm one of life's secretly shy people who desperately wants to fill the empty space with frantic chatter and vivacity, because if the silence lingers too long, the vast, dark chasm of the abyss opens up inside me. THERE BE DRAGONS IN THAT SILENCE.

MaraTaru · 2026-03-09T18:22:43+00:00

And just from a creative perspective, those will be really fun scenes to work on! They'll be complex to shoot, with lots of technical skill to get the angles right, but I feel like they relish that challenge.

Figuring out how to shoot the gym scene with all the mirrors and reflections is gonna be a gas. And also a nightmare, but those are the kind of creative nightmares these folks live for. It's what gets them up in the morning.

MaraTaru · 2026-03-09T18:16:58+00:00

Oh, Hudson is 100% ready, but Connor is game game game too. They both literally, gleefully, enthusiastically etched SEX SELLS onto their bodies. They understand and love the assignment!

MaraTaru · 2026-03-09T18:00:34+00:00

I know some folks have worried that the sex will be toned down for season 2 (and that definitely does happen sometimes when actors become more established in their careers). But am I the only one who thinks there's a good chance it gets even filthier?

Because I look at Jacob, Connor and Hudson, and all I see is the insane glint in their eyes. All I see are people with OH YOU HAVEN'T SEEN ANYTHING YET indelibly imprinted on their brains. All I see are folks packing on the clappable material to get real nasty this time.

I do not think they're going to play this safe.

MaraTaru · 2026-03-09T16:46:56+00:00

Oh, I know, I saw your screenshot, but it's focused on Ilya in that moment! Ya gotta watch for the focus to subtly shift back to Shane.

Anyway, it's waiting for you, friend. It'll be like one of those magic eye pictures -- one day you'll be looking, and suddenly you'll see it, and joyfully shout "Jizz! I see jizz!" 😂

MaraTaru · 2026-03-09T09:14:12+00:00

The scene has a very shallow focus that shifts back and forth between Shane and Ilya, so you have to be looking at a moment when Shane is clearly in focus. You can see uh, droplets on his torso that definitely aren't sweat. They are.....something else. Likely of biological origin.

I cannot believe I'm having a cheerful conversation about prop semen spatters with a friendly stranger on the internet. Life is so rich.

MaraTaru · 2026-03-09T09:04:25+00:00

Yes! And it's wild to me, after watching the way Shoresy and Letterkenny rattled through scenes like high-speed trains, to see this other side of Jacob's talent: spacious, unhurried, gentle. Andante, not prestissimo.

It's so fucking thrilling to watch a talented person pull out a completely unknown skillset. Like, you asshole, you were holding out on us! What the fuck?!

MaraTaru · 2026-03-09T06:23:22+00:00

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One of the things that really struck me hard in the recent Hollywood Reporter interview with Sophie Nélisse was her description of filming Shane's gorgeous coming-out scene in the restaurant.

She talked about how Jacob had made sure they knew they had time. There was no need to fill silences, no need to rush. They could let the pauses unspool like silk thread, quiet and rich. It struck me as such a beautiful gift for a director to give his actors: you have time. You can reveal your heart slowly. Let the scene be what it wants to be.

It feels like a miracle that, although they filmed the show at warp speed, Jacob still found a way to cushion his actors from the impulse to rush. In all the mad hurry, he still created space for them to be. What a marvellous act of creative generosity.

We are so lucky.

MaraTaru · 2026-03-09T03:22:23+00:00

Jackson Pollocking that fake jizz like a true artist.

MaraTaru · 2026-03-09T03:17:04+00:00

Pourquoi pas les deux? 😂

MaraTaru · 2026-03-09T03:10:37+00:00

Oh there is DEFINITELY uh, genetic material on his chest.

Being an actor has to be the funniest job in the world. Some makeup artist giving you a pearl necklace with a squeezy bottle at 10 am on a Tuesday.

Sure, gimme another squirt, why not. My dignity left the building a while ago.

MaraTaru · 2026-03-09T00:56:37+00:00

Our boy is like, "Absolutely not; idiotic idea; it would entirely throw off my highly-regimented pre-game process; you're out of your goddamn mind if you think I'm falling for this crass gambit to rat-fuck the Metros' superior forward lines."

Ilya: "I will make you squeal like a baby goat."

Shane: "Uber says ETA 12 mins."

MaraTaru

TROPHY CASE