Heated Rivalry made a bold creative choice throughout its fifth episode that felt risky for the breakout hit, but offered fans a hint to the evolving storyline between Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie). Throughout Heated Rivalry season 1, Shane and Ilya’s relationship has been an intensely physical one. Whether they’re on or off the ice, their connection has been physical.

The physical side of the relationship is such a large piece of the puzzle for Heated Rivalry, and it’s clear Tierney understood its importance. For fans of the Game Changers novels by Rachel Reid, which Jacob Tierney’s Heated Rivalry is based on, seeing a nuanced, cinematic version of their favorite stories play out on screen has been more exciting than anticipated.

As Ilya and Shane have revolved around each other’s orbits for the first handful of episodes of the season, their lingering feelings have largely been set aside as they’ve connected more physically than emotionally. While the show has consistently brought their intense encounters to life, Heated Rivalry season 1 episode 5, “I’ll Believe In Anything”, broke the show’s mold when it comes to physicality.

Heated Rivalry Episode 5 Broke A Major Pattern For The Series

As Heated Rivalry’s fifth episode moved through the events of an exciting All-Star weekend, Ilya and Shane’s relationship changed for the better. After the pair spent a steamy day together in Boston during the show’s last episode, Shane struggled with the intimacy of the moment and fled Ilya’s home, then got together with Rose Landry (Sophie Nélisse) quickly thereafter.

After talking things through, Shane and Ilya seemed to be in a better place. As the episode unfolded, it quickly became clear that rather than showing the explicit sex scenes that were connecting the hockey rivals in previous episodes, Tierney was far more focused on their emotional communication. Unlike previous episodes of Heated Rivalry, there were no explicit sex scenes to be found.

Heated Rivalry’s Decision To Forego Explicit Sex Scenes Worked In Its Favor

Although Heated Rivalry’s penchant for the aforementioned heat is part of its charm, seeing the show move from a purely explicit relationship to an emotionally connected one was huge. While it was implied that Ilya and Shane were physically intimate throughout the episode, seeing their conversations and understanding that their connection had deepened was far more important for their development.

Heated Rivalry’s Penultimate Episode Set The Stage For A More Impactful Finale

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As Heated Rivalry’s first season begins to round out its storyline, seeing Ilya and Shane make a huge decision in the final moments penultimate episode set the stage for a huge finale. With Ilya and Shane having seen Scott Hunter (François Arnaud) publicly come out after winning the MLH version of the Stanley Cup, Heated Rivalry is bringing their emotionally deeper relationship to the next level.