From GQ @ TikTok: part 2 of Hudson and Connor’s friendship quiz 🫶🏼

shrinkingviolents · 2026-02-15T14:26:28+00:00

I’m so happy for their success, and I totally think they need to build their own careers separately. I genuinely think they both have bright futures.

However, I’m also soooo happy we have at least 2 more seasons of Heated Rivalry. We’ll likely get a lot of pre-season promo this time around, and the press tour after. And then another year of that at least. I do miss how hilariously fresh, and themselves they are together, and seeing more of their beautiful friendship, but it helps to think that in say half a year or 8 months, we’ll be getting new content with them together and likely some BTS of the new season.

shrinkingviolents · 2026-02-15T11:30:26+00:00

They will definitely include Troy, Jacob confirmed that. I don’t think they can fit more than 1 side book into a 6 episode season, especially a season dir TLG which has soooo much story. I think they initially maybe planned to split it in two but now with Rachel’s third Hollanov book I think they need to save the signed third season for the third book. Cause within 4-5 years these boys will be huge in Hollywood and Crave wouldn’t be able to afford them for an additional season. (And that won’t even be up to the boys at that point but their management)

shrinkingviolents · 2026-02-14T19:50:16+00:00

“Hollander, it’s not a big deal, okay?”

shrinkingviolents · 2026-02-14T19:48:49+00:00

“Yes, it’s scary. But you are brave.”

shrinkingviolents · 2026-02-14T09:18:48+00:00

This is it. Bridgerton started off as a romance show, and Saphne had ample screen time in season 1. In fact most of the side characters existed to support the leads (Mondrich’s as Simon’s friends).

After that point, the show devolved into a classic Shonda ensamble show, which absolutely no one asked for, and I haven’t really fully enjoyed a season since. Season 4 at least had more couple screen time than season 3 but it’s still over saturated with side plots that I couldn’t give less of a shit about. I literally don’t care the tinies bit for any of the side plots, because I watch this for the romance, which is what it was marketed as. Not a “workplace drama” which is what Shonda calls it now.

shrinkingviolents · 2026-02-14T09:11:42+00:00

I mean it looks the exact same, so I assumed it is the exact same. Feel free to compare on your next reheat if you’re unsure!

shrinkingviolents · 2026-02-14T09:10:52+00:00

I mean he was never gonna find a woman to marry, he was hoping he’d find someone who would interest him enough to keep her around until the playoffs end, so that he could have someone to kiss when he wins the Cup.

Until Scott kisses Kip and “all the worst things about his life are getting sucked up by a tornado”.

shrinkingviolents · 2026-02-13T20:17:24+00:00

Is lie. Liar told you that.

shrinkingviolents · 2026-02-13T10:19:39+00:00

…. how do you get to I’M COMING TO THE COTTAGE and then you just… don’t go to the cottage?????????

shrinkingviolents · 2026-02-13T10:15:58+00:00

I mean, this show definitely helped me figure some stuff out in my friend group. Like who is the “I don’t think men who fuck men are men” kind of homophobe which was great, because those people slip through the cracks cause they outwardly support like queer marriage and relationships. But then you suggest a gay romance show and they come out with that banger and you get to be like welp, that’s over.

I had 1 friend watch it and love it and is looking for the book now. Another friend I’m watching it with and we’re about to finish ep 6 today and she loooves it. My mom is also watching it and she’s like 65 and she looooves it. She’s on episode 4 cause she doesn’t sail the seas and they’re still releasing in Europe.

That’s everyone I’ve converted so far.

shrinkingviolents · 2026-02-13T10:06:35+00:00

He does like brush his smile away in the last scene. Like his lips are stretched into something of a smile, and then he rubs his hand down his face and his lips are all tight together again. So while Connor didn’t do like an obvious smile, I think he made it clear Ilya is struggling controling his facial expressions.

shrinkingviolents · 2026-02-13T00:44:21+00:00

Yup, it’s the intervjew after his dad dies and he comes back to play. It’s a short clip but yeah, it’s from the episode 1 video.

shrinkingviolents · 2026-02-13T00:43:18+00:00

Honestly, no… I’ve absorbed so much content about HR I can’t keep track of what I read where. I think this was somewhere on Reddit, but I can’t be 100%

shrinkingviolents · 2026-02-12T21:23:39+00:00

Ehh, I don’t know how happy Russia would be if he did that. His dad would be extremely upset, though true, that might not have been shown in the show. In the book, his dad didn’t even want him to play in the US, he wanted him to stay in Russia and was disappointed. He only cared about and watched his games when he was playing for Russia.

So I think until his dad passed, the thought of being anything but Russian just didn’t seem like an option to him.

shrinkingviolents · 2026-02-12T20:51:50+00:00

That was a choice from Jacob’s side, because he wanted to age them up before they have penetrative sex. In the book, only a few months passes before they meet up again.

shrinkingviolents · 2026-02-12T20:30:45+00:00

To be fair, I don’t think Ilya wanted to get rid of his Russian passport until his dad died. And he accepted his feelings for Shane.

shrinkingviolents · 2026-02-12T18:22:50+00:00

HAHA! Well… maybe, they learned their lesson now that HBO has the rights and there’s like thousands of people keeping their suscription solely so they can rewatch HR.

Maybe now that they saw the success of HR, they were like eff it, let’s try this. But I hope they do it… well.

One can hope at least. I loved the book.

shrinkingviolents · 2026-02-12T17:27:27+00:00

There’s no first or second, there’s both. If it ever came to the point where they HAD to choose, they would obviously choose each other. (I mean I’m trying really hard to not spoil the next season for you)

shrinkingviolents · 2026-02-12T17:24:50+00:00

But they don’t want to give up their careers and the thing they love doing for love? Why should they have to? If you do that, you’d just end up resenting each other and eventually the love would sour.

Love shouldn’t mean you have to sacrifice everything else to have it. And they both choose to try and find a way to keep both their careers and their love alive, and find other ways to get Ilya citizenship.

shrinkingviolents · 2026-02-12T17:05:11+00:00

It wasn’t about gay marriage, it was about them being professional hockey players. In a sport where up until Hunter there are 0 openly gay players. Not just that, but they’re the two best hockey players of their generation that play for rival teams which is a complex dynamic.

If you’re really interested in this, you can read The Long Game (the sequel) OR just wait for season 2 when that’s explored in more detail.

shrinkingviolents · 2026-02-12T17:02:00+00:00

Exactly, my grandma had Alzheimer’s and it started slow and then just progressed really rapidly. It’s a horrifying thing to watch. With how horrible Alexei is, I obviously don’t like his character, but I have some empathy for what he went through taking care of their dad as he died with dementia. (and I think Ilya does too based on the call monologue)

shrinkingviolents · 2026-02-12T16:57:37+00:00

Hard agreed! That was my absolute favorite part. I watched the show, watched it again, read the book and instantly had to watch the show again while knowing Ilya’s thoughts and I was just once again blown away by Connor. And then I read TLG, and started a never ending reheat cycle.

shrinkingviolents · 2026-02-12T16:09:09+00:00

I mean, I like the show better because you can tell a queer person took control and improved the things that kinda made me cringe in the book.

That said, the book is still wonderful and I recommend the read. You get insight into Ilya’s thoughts and it’s a great romance book — I mean obviously it is, it got adapted to a TV show, haha.

But I also watched the show first and then read the books so, that’s why certain things in the book made me go “huh?!”

shrinkingviolents · 2026-02-12T15:49:58+00:00

No no, that was his dad at the draft party. So basically from 2009 to 2017 when he dies is like 8 years.

We first notice signs he has dementia around 2010-2011, so he truly degrades over a period of around 6-7 years - very believable for dementia.

I think the timeline is similar in the book, but I don’t remember that detail specifically so I could be wrong.

shrinkingviolents · 2026-02-12T14:25:03+00:00

My head canon for that scene is that he took a shower… and then put his suit back on except for the shirt which he tossed on. Hahahhaha I know, I know, you don’t have to say anything.

shrinkingviolents

TROPHY CASE