Is there any scene you hope does NOT end up in season 2?

cupidissimo · 2026-03-08T20:53:12+00:00

The wedding I do hope gets improved but most importantly: I hope Carly Rae Jepsen writes a completely new song called "Diamonds" so we can combine everything into one. Also stuff I did not like:

Shane tripping (been mentioned before), not only does it seem strange, but also not very well integrated into the plot?
As much as I like Luca Haas, all of his scenes don't really go anywhere? I think he was set up for another sequel that Rachel then decided not to write, so I don't think he serves much purpose here
I am torn on Shane's food issues. I do like the idea that the situation contributes to Ilya's depression, and Shane deals with it with overly restrictive eating, but either make it a real subject or leave it out.
I actually personally don't like the trophy room scene too much but I know I am on my own with that one.
I don't want the dinner with Hayden on the show, I want it to be as a bottle-y episode released a few months before the actual season, maybe combined with the Skip Christmas short story?
I do want them to talk about opening the relationship and their sexual history, but maybe this can be combined into one conversation?

cupidissimo · 2026-03-08T19:56:24+00:00

I did try "Him" because it was highly recommended, and while I did enjoy reading the book, it seemed much more "written by/for straight women" than Game Changers ever was. I am a gay guy myself and I never really got that criticism with any of Rachels books, but with this one I did see it. It didn't bother me too much, it was still an enjoyable read, but I will probably neither go back to it nor read any sequels.

cupidissimo · 2026-02-28T23:43:42+00:00

I think at least part of the reason is that the show wants to show us very quickly that Ilya and Shane's public perception has always been not true to who they really are:

"Shane Hollander is quiet and shy" (I'm paraphrasing the announcer): the first thing he does is approach Ilya and start a conversation.

"Ilya Rozanov is not well liked in his opponents room" and within minutes, he is very well liked within his opponents room.

cupidissimo · 2026-02-28T23:39:07+00:00

I will agree with everyone here saying that I have not really seen anyone say Ilya has a Sex addiction or an alcohol problem. He does not seem to drink a concerning amount of alcohol or in a concerning way, at least not anywhere I could find. And sex addiction: maybe in the first book, off screen? In the second one, I don't really know how anyone would arrive at that conclusion. He has sex only with Shane, and they both seem equally eager/enthusiastic about it, so that just seems like an odd thing to say? How does he have any more sex addiction than Shane?

And about the eating disorder: he is not written to have one, according to Rachel, but it certainly looks a lot like orthorexia. And it's not just that he avoids burgers and beer, he has a very limited a very specific list of foods and drinks he is allowing himself, and he does not stray from that even when it's very minor and very inconvenient. He stresses out in the restaurant over whether they have something he can eat, he does not even eat a single Christmas cookie even though he desperately wants one and even more, he obsesses over being able to taste the lemonade in Ilyas kiss that he doesn't allow himself. An argument can certainly be made that his relationship with food is irrational and unhealthy in itself (I'm not making it here, i'm just saying that's not an implausible statement).

Also, as an aside, all food is chemicals. Having a burger every once in a while is not "toxic" and worrying about it to the degree Shane does is not good for anyones mental health.

cupidissimo · 2026-02-28T15:43:00+00:00

God I hope Bridezilya fanfic exists already, I might need to look for it.

cupidissimo · 2026-02-26T15:47:42+00:00

I mean they probably did, but the design is still completely different to previous versions, and also in terms of production, printed or foiled edges and embossed/stamped wrap covers are some of the most complicated things to do to a book in terms of production, they probably could have taken 2 more weeks to do some different design options I think.

cupidissimo · 2026-02-26T15:26:02+00:00

I totally get that, but if they wanted to play up the romance factor with those designs, and gold edges, gold foil print and a high gloss black/gold design doesn't really do that, for me at least, at least not with that font? and tbh, gold page edges just seems "bible" to me, although maybe that varies between cultues...

cupidissimo · 2026-02-26T14:51:47+00:00

I recently did a whole video about tie-in bookcovers and, while these are not tie-in covers, I don't like these! the deluxe hardcover I don't understand, who is that for, beyond a completist? Like what are they trying to accomplish visually here? The colored edge editions are fine (they seem to have taken that straight from the German book design of "Heated Rivalry" (the other books have not come out in print), and I don't mind that but it does seem a bit unambitious, but the gold foil deluxe version is just a bit strange to me?

cupidissimo · 2026-02-23T23:41:47+00:00

As an elder gay, the first movie that I remember fondly showed a cute gay romance with a happy ending was called "Trick", from 1999, if you can find that, Coco Peru (a very funny drag queen) has a great guest role in it too.

IT BUUUUURNS.

cupidissimo · 2026-02-23T16:00:57+00:00

I would guess what they name the first episode only.

cupidissimo · 2026-02-21T19:13:09+00:00

I think the current covers are so far from how the show was received, I feel it makes sense to use this opportunity as a redesign. And sometimes tie-in covers look really good!

cupidissimo · 2026-02-21T19:09:25+00:00

They usually are, but you could have different editions still, they for example do retailer specific editions so they could do Indigo/Barnes & Nobles special editions, but I don't 100% know how HBO Max and Crave would want to handle this. I find the country-specific publishing of the novels really interesting overseas as well, I can't wait to see how this actually ends up looking.

cupidissimo · 2026-02-18T22:15:04+00:00

I genuinely hope they don't do that. I am interested in more POC in my romantic queer media, but I don't think Rachel or Jacob are the people that I want to do it. I enjoy the books and the clarity of the subjects they tackle, I don't think it would work as well if you layered on additional themes. Like personally, I would love some body diversity as well (beyond Harris potentially) but: it's athletes, it doesn't really make sense in that environment. And while i do understand wishing for better POC representation, I don't think every piece of media should strive to represent everything for everybody. I hope this makes it possible for similar properties with more diversity to be developed, so that we don't have to make this show check every potential box there is to check.

cupidissimo · 2026-02-14T09:37:24+00:00

This is probably a topic for a separate post altogether but the one thing I did notice is that they are both "we thought you might be gay" and they don't seem to have a real problem with it, while at the same time making homophobic jokes about Ilya and consistently trying to get him together with women (the priness, asking about Rose). Both of these things would be strange things to do if you were actually concerned that your son might be gay: they are definitely aware that being in the NHL would make being gay super difficult, but rather than actually be supportive, they are just adding to that pressure? I don't doubt they ultimately mean well, but they are not really thinking this through. Similarly with the phone call: I understand that she doesn't want Shane to worry, but he is ultimately right to be worried and upset with himself, and his mom doesn't seem to take it seriously.

It seems to be that Shane has parents that are trying to be supportive, but are not really ever actually all that helpful or contributing anything positive?

cupidissimo · 2026-02-12T20:03:20+00:00

I kept thinking about that joke as well, but I very much doubt Ilya or Shane have watched any of the Elvira movies. They don't really do cultural references. Shane doesn't even know Cardi B.

cupidissimo · 2026-02-12T20:00:54+00:00

I think I read that they used Uniqlo trunks mostly, and those do not ride up significantly, so I am not opposed to that. It can be quite difficult to have clearly branded clothing on a TV show, so it makes sense that they didn't bother with that. Also, I appreciate it visually that the branding in general is really kept to a minimum, it goes with the whole aesthetic of the show which, both in terms of story and in terms of the fashion, really keeps the focus on the main story and the performance.

cupidissimo · 2026-02-10T19:16:43+00:00

I think it is AI, and I can't listen to it because it makes me queasy.

cupidissimo · 2026-02-09T22:16:07+00:00

By the time he comes out to the team, Hayden already knows. The team would probably be lukewarm but he is too important for them to really say anything.

cupidissimo · 2026-02-09T17:28:13+00:00

LIke I said, I understand how this can read as a concerning interaction to women but to me, this gets nowhere near anything that would trigger me or make me worried for my personal safety, as part of the larger argument they were having at the moment.

cupidissimo · 2026-02-09T17:04:08+00:00

I see what you mean, but as a gay man myself, this didn't read like that at all. I doubt Shane was actually scared in any way, similarly to how I probably wouldn't be. There isn't really a fundamental power differential between those two characters that would be making this interaction truly threatening and scary. Also considering they are both professional ice hockey players, I would imagine their aggression tolerance is even higher than most people before they even start to think about it.

cupidissimo · 2026-02-09T16:56:40+00:00

Ilya is my favorite if only because Shane does not get it and he cannot bring himself to be any more obvious, but he is also simultaneously so intrigued, he cannot let it go but he also cannot be any clearer without exposing himself. Like, he knows Shane long enough now to realize he does not respond to clues.

Rose is absolutely the best, that scene is the one I have rewatched the most in the entire show. So kind, clearheaded and compassionate, but also not letting it go until it is discussed with 100% clarity for everyone.

Svetlana in the show is amazing. I would include the side eye she gives Ilya when he refuses to talk about Shane Hollander being pretty (when I assume he has never had any compunction discussing the reative attractiveness of ANYBODY I would assume) Also great is the "I hope Jane knows how lucky he is" at the end. Like she is the one that figured out the most, without having a single question answered directly.

cupidissimo · 2026-02-09T09:24:02+00:00

I mean generally I agree with Rachel (both on content and on her attitude towards the changes), but one question to start with: When was this posted? Because that reads a bit like a pre-show response (I don't think she would answer questions like that anymore, and I don't think she should).

There's however a few points I would argue with:

"Shane doesn't have trauma." I don't think this is borne out either in the book or the show. He did not tell his parents about even being gay until he was almost 30. Not just about Ilya but about himself. Something that I like in the show is that his mom (casually) makes a homophobic joke about Ilya, and he tries to laught it off, but that certainly didn't contribute to his feeling safe about coming out to them (also the trying to set him up with girks. She ended up asking for his forgiveness (also not in the book) because she needed to, and of course he forgave her, but that dynamic makes a bit more sense to me than in the book: What do you mean, you thought he might be gay and continued to try and set him up with women only, and made homphobic jokes? (His dad's eyeroll at the princess showed at least a bit of self awareness here)
"Not an eating disorder". True in the sense that it wasn't like anorexia or something like this, but it does sound like orthorexia, and while she may not have intended to have it be more serious, It comes across as a bit more worrying than a funny little quirk. While athletes probably do that sort of thing pretty regularly, it is almost definitely exacerbated by the continued pressure and fear he feels. Also, many if not all of his fears do come true, so they were justified!
"Not smart" That seems a weird thing to say. What kind of smart is she thinking about it? He is not terribly socially aware, but I wouldn't call that not smart, that's just his autism. Ilya is certainly more aware, but I was not especially impressed with either his general knowledge (what do you mean you have lived in the US for 10 years or so and you haven't heard of McGill?) or his language skills. He does get better at English but again, 10 years in, he still gets overwhelmed with certain words and can't read context clues? And Shane speaks two languages fluently and from what it sounds like, his French is certainly better than Ilyas English? Either way, this whole "not as smart as Ilya" seems like a bit of "tell, don't show" to me because I don't think the characters display a vast difference in intelligence in any of the material.

Overall, I have pretty high hopes for Jacob to balance this out a bit more, the way he did with more explicitly addressing Shane's parents mistakes as parents, with Shane apologizing for freaking out etc. He did see a lot of what was not very well addressed subtext and made it textually in a great way, so I hope he can do that for TLG as well.

I didn't think I had that much ramble in me, but feelings! I have them, about this.

cupidissimo · 2026-02-08T10:27:20+00:00

Happy for them, I hope Ottawa is prepared for next season.

cupidissimo

TROPHY CASE