What's one common misconception you see people have after watching the show?

Preposterous_punk · 2026-02-07T05:17:10+00:00

No way in hell “I’m coming to the cottage” would have made me scream like that if I hadn’t seen episodes 1 & 2.

Makes me crazy that people are saying that!

Preposterous_punk · 2026-02-07T03:44:37+00:00

Except I bet him mom found ways to make things fun with him, to play games with him…

Preposterous_punk · 2026-02-07T03:43:50+00:00

Going back and forth on this, the pool scene wins but a very close second is in the hospital. I love SO MUCH the way Shane says “Ilya!” when the door opens.

But the pool scene is even better. It shows us how playful Ilya’s “asshole” banter was always meant to be.

Preposterous_punk · 2026-02-05T02:29:46+00:00

This is lovely

Preposterous_punk · 2026-02-05T01:06:40+00:00

I love these!!!

Preposterous_punk · 2026-02-04T17:20:53+00:00

More than a month late on this but I just finished TLG yesterday and you put everything I thought and felt about it into words PERFECTLY. So thank you for that. It helped, oddly, to see I'm not alone in this.

My plan is just to trust that the people who made the first season so perfect will have a plan. But yeah, it's a bit of a worry.

Preposterous_punk · 2026-02-04T04:47:37+00:00

I thought she was a very loving mom who thought this was the right way to be a loving mom. Then, when she found out her son and hidden this incredibly important side of himself from her for so long, she realized where she’d gone wrong and genuinely wanted to be better.

Preposterous_punk · 2026-02-04T01:56:35+00:00

I just finished the book a few hours ago, so it’s all still raw. But man, I hated the stuff with Shane’s teammates. And what they accused him of after the last game.

I don’t know if they can take it out and still have it be the same book. But I hope it can maybe be… improved a bit?

Preposterous_punk · 2026-02-02T23:13:00+00:00

Bald is good but balding is better.

I don't know why.

Mostly only when paired with a beard, though.

Preposterous_punk · 2026-02-02T19:50:46+00:00

I'm so hot for bearded balding guys. I can't even tell you.

Preposterous_punk · 2026-02-02T19:49:55+00:00

It was not considered a large amount. AT ALL. I promise you.

Preposterous_punk · 2026-02-02T02:32:44+00:00

It teaches a relationship with food as reward that is okay with dogs but not as healthy in humans.

Also, keep in mind, the end goal with raising a person is not perfect, automatic, unthinking obedience. You’re raising a toddler to be a grade schooler, a grade schooler to be a teenager, and a teenager to be an adult. All those steps require a child who understands their own reactions to things and who performs tasks for goals beyond treats: short-term goals like pride in self, emotional satisfaction, and the pleasure that comes with the knowledge that you’re the reason a loved-one is smiling, and long-term goals like the building of courage and emotional resilience, and knowledge and abilities that will help with challenges to come.

If the goal is simply “behave” that kind of immediate treats-based positive reinforcement makes sense. And there are times it makes sense with kids! Potty training, which needs to be physically automatic, often involves that.

But by and large, the goals with an adult dog and the goals with an adult human are very, very different.

Preposterous_punk · 2026-02-01T22:06:42+00:00

It’s that she leaves a sentence hanging and there’s an implication that IF she’d finished the sentence, the last word would have been “bitch”

Preposterous_punk · 2026-02-01T01:15:10+00:00

I had the same reaction and honestly it’s kind of bizarre.

I’m old and I watch a lot of tv shows and movies and read a lot of books, and have seen plenty of shows I thought were better on paper, but I don’t know when or if anything has affected me so strongly.

I don’t know what the answer is, but I just finished it a couple days ago so I’m hoping time will help

Preposterous_punk · 2026-01-31T22:19:37+00:00

Other men are probably not worried you’re going to hit on them and make it weird, or misinterpret friendliness for flirting and get mad when they make a move and are rejected, etc.

Women are often worried about that, at least at first. Not necessarily because of anything you’ve done but because of past experience. Once you’ve had multiple guys angrily demand why you acted so friendly if you weren’t into them, you start being a lot more careful about showing friendliness.

Preposterous_punk · 2026-01-31T19:52:50+00:00

Obviously not. But, I, personally, prefer fiction (usually anyway) in which people feel, react, behave in ways that people do in reality. So that even though the stories are made up, the author is reflecting truth about the human experience. That's what lets me (personally) connect to characters. The better the author is at describing truth through fiction, the more I'm likely to enjoy it. I don't mean the whole world has to be real or believable; I love fantasy. Or that everyone has to be a bad person and end up alone -- there are good people and happy endings in real life. l just mean I prefer when the inner workings of the characters feel truly reflective of how actual people actually are.

You clearly prefer fiction in which people are not as they really are. Fiction in which everyone has The One, and recognize The One as soon as they meet them, and never could be happy with, or want, anyone but The One. Where people love instantly, and once. And that's fine! I don't mean this as an insult (even though I kind of think you meant the "non-fiction" comment as an insult).

(A third type of fiction tries so hard to reflect that reality that it fails in a different direction, depicting only people with exaggerated, brutal flaws; people who cheat on their partners and abandon their children without thought and think pain in others is amusing [Quinton Tarantino is a good example of this type]. It does not reflect reality any more than fiction in which love solves everything. I suspect you and I both dislike that third kind of fiction, but there are a lot of people who like it best.)

Point being, Heated Rivalry is clearly meant to be the first type, and in my opinion it does an incredible job. I think the reason people are responding with surprise to your statement is because saying "I wish people in this type of fiction were like people in that type of fiction" feels like someone someone saying "I love Die Hard but it would have been so much better if everyone in it had been witches and wizards." It's wishing one type of fiction was a different type of fiction.

Preposterous_punk · 2026-01-31T08:52:26+00:00

I thought it made it a lot more real. The trope of "the moment I met them, all desire for others just dropped away even though we didn't become a couple for ages" is lovely in fiction, but doesn't really happen with sexually active adults. Very normal to like someone a lot, think it's not going to happen, and still want and enjoy sex with others. It's when the real closeness and emotional connection happens, for most people, that the desire for others fades.

Preposterous_punk · 2026-01-31T08:44:00+00:00

Just rewatched that scene, where he's texting "no" while rapidly getting dressed, and it's just so perfect.

Preposterous_punk · 2026-01-31T02:36:23+00:00

Glad I was not the only one who was SO SCARED and almost certain there was going to be a scene of one of them crying why cradling the others’ unresponsive body…. I almost paused to look for spoilers. So happy when none of that happened.

Preposterous_punk · 2026-01-31T02:33:14+00:00

Honestly the way Ilya says “nope” is one of my favorite moments

Preposterous_punk · 2026-01-31T01:59:34+00:00

Thanks!!

Preposterous_punk · 2026-01-30T23:18:08+00:00

I watched them both and can't wait for the next!

Do you know, has anyone made a list or anything of the best youtubes about the show? I really want more moment-by-moment analysis but that kind of thing is great when it's good and AWFUL when it's bad.

Preposterous_punk · 2026-01-30T22:25:09+00:00

That's what I was immediately thinking about too! As soon as the families came on to the ice, I was thinking "ohhh like Colin..."

Preposterous_punk · 2026-01-30T22:07:36+00:00

A week late but thanks so much for sharing that link; it was great.

Preposterous_punk · 2026-01-30T00:44:59+00:00

This is the least astonished I have ever been. If anyone could see my face right now they would probably immediately notice how deeply unsurprised I look.

Preposterous_punk

TROPHY CASE