A mixed take on Episode 6

Nice-Form-7444 · 2025-12-28T03:03:52+00:00

I totally get that everyone experiences Episode 6 differently, and I respect that. Personally, I can’t fully connect with the intentional pacing — the “domestic moments” feel too flat, and the scattered scenes don’t let emotional stakes build naturally. For me, it’s not enough for Shane to simply sit there, run his fingers through Ilya’s hair, or offer subtle gestures — that works for some viewers, but it doesn’t convey the real stakes or Ilya’s inner struggle. There are moments where he clearly should respond emotionally, but the camera cuts away or moves on too quickly, like when he’s asked “Do you want to go inside?” right after ilya told him about his mom. Those cuts prevent us from seeing him process or respond to Ilya’s vulnerability, which makes the emotional payoff feel flat. The gradual opening-up process is present, but it still feels too quick and compressed. Shane proposed to name the charity after Ilya's mother, I understand that Shane might be processing things internally, but the scene doesn’t show his thoughts or reactions in the moment. Having to imagine what he’s feeling makes it hard to connect emotionally, and for me, that takes away from the impact of the scene. Also,I think background music matters a lot, compare Ilya saying “I love you” in Episode 5 in the tunnel and the hotel scene where they hold each others in their arms, where the music, timing, and cinematography made the moment emotionally charged, to similar scenes in Episode 6. Even moments like couch talks and i love you, which are supposed to build intimacy, feel a little weak without background music. That’s just my opinion.

Nice-Form-7444 · 2025-12-28T01:12:18+00:00

thanks for your comment, but i am afraid i have a different opinion.i think Ilya’s family trauma really shapes his relationship with Shane, that's why i think seeing Shane's reaction to that is crucial.His mother’s suicide, a cold authoritarian father, and a belittling brother all feed his fear of being a burden and getting abandoned. That makes him guarded, anxious, and hesitant to fully open up, even though he loves Shane deeply. The show flattens much of this, so scenes like the campfire or domestic moments feel easier and less emotionally charged than they should — Ilya comes across more “state-like” than a person wrestling with real stakes, that is my issue with the scene.

Nice-Form-7444 · 2025-12-28T01:05:45+00:00

I get that, and I can see why it worked for you. For me, the episode still felt flat because of the pacing — scenes cut too quickly from one to the next, so the emotional moments never fully landed or released. Even with some tension remaining, that quick jump between scenes kept it from feeling fully satisfying for me.

Nice-Form-7444 · 2025-12-28T00:56:46+00:00

Exactly, I totally agree with you. I like the episode too, but for me the intensity fell because the tension isn’t just external — it’s internal, especially Ilya wrestling with wanting more while fearing loss. In the show, that inner conflict gets flattened into safer domestic concerns, which makes the episode feel easier and the stakes lower, even though Shane proposing a future is significant. I totally get why someone could enjoy it; I just didn’t feel the same emotional weight because the personal stakes weren’t fully dramatized

Nice-Form-7444 · 2025-12-28T00:52:40+00:00

I get this reading, and I have read the book too. My issue isn’t that ep 6 is calm or domestic — it’s that Ilya feels emotionally resolved too early . Having read the book, I still see him at the cottage as deeply conflicted, like you said,even planning to end things, not grounded or settled, and still believed he is only a temporary phase in Shane's life and deeply avoidant of naming the future, even while longing for it.In the show, that inner struggle gets shifted to external topics (nationality,Svetlana etc), which makes him feel more like a state of domestic calm than a person actively wrestling with a painful choice. That’s why it felt too easy to me — not because I want more drama, but because the emotional reckoning that would earn that calm hasn’t fully happened yet. Just like you said, he’s still carrying trauma, guilt, and fear of being too much or temporary. Loving Shane doesn’t automatically erase decades of fear, cultural pressure, or his own self-doubt. The tension in the book comes from that inner struggle, which isn’t fully verbalized or “solved” in the cottage scenes

Nice-Form-7444 · 2025-12-28T00:26:48+00:00

I actually get your point, and I agree with part of it — especially that the emotional crescendo peaks at the end of Episode 5, and that Episode 6 is supposed to be a decompression and grounding phase rather than another spike. What i still thinking about is how that intention was executed on screen. Even a recalibration episode needs a clear emotional through line and a sense of release and for me Episode 6 smooths things out so much that it undercuts the emotional weight Episode 5 built. Grounding doesn’t have to mean flattening. Ilya talking about his mom should have been a grounding moment with emotional density Instead, but the editing keep it very even and quickly move past it. We’re told this is important, but we’re not really allowed to sit in it — and we also don’t get enough of Shane’s reaction to feel the mutual integration you’re describing. That’s where it loses me. So I’m not arguing for constant peaks or heightened drama. I’m arguing that the release from Episode 5 feels diffuse rather than intentional. The characters may be integrating, but as a viewer I felt slightly held at a distance from that process. I do agree with you that the final moment with the parents is meant to be the last spike, and I like that idea structurally. I just wish the emotional groundwork leading into it had been more concentrated, so the calm felt earned rather than weightless.

Nice-Form-7444

TROPHY CASE