Spoilers ahead for Heated Rivalry Episode 4, “Rose.” Proceed with caution and maybe a snack.
If Heated Rivalry has proven anything so far, it’s that no one does romantic masochism quite like Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander. Episode 4, aptly titled “Rose,” may be the show’s most emotionally chaotic installment yet delivering intimacy, avoidance, jealousy, and one extremely memorable tuna melt.
After briefly sidelining our central duo last week, the series comes roaring back with an episode that deepens their connection just long enough to rip it away again. Tender moments? Check. Crushing misunderstandings? Absolutely. Pop music needle drops that feel personally targeted at the gays? You know it.
Let’s break down everything that made Episode 4 the most unhinged (complimentary) chapter so far.
Two Years, Countless Texts, Zero Emotional Growth
The episode opens with a stylish time-jump montage spanning 2014 to 2016, set to Feist’s “My Moon, My Man.” In classic Heated Rivalry fashion, the years blur together in a familiar cycle: hockey seasons, clashing schedules, strategically timed hookups whenever Shane and Ilya’s teams cross paths.
They’re older. They’re more successful. They’re still doing… whatever this is.
Shane becomes a two-time Stanley Cup champion, while Ilya keeps partying through his feelings like only a world-class athlete with commitment issues can. The question hanging over the montage is unavoidable: Is this really all they want each other to be?
Shane Hollander: Emotionally Unavailable, Still Hot
By late 2016, Shane’s life looks enviable on paper fame, championships, money but everyone around him can see the cracks. His parents try to coax him into caring about something other than hockey. His teammates gently wonder why he never dates. Even strangers clock him as potential “dad material” during a painfully awkward aquarium visit.
Meanwhile, Shane is secretly texting “Lily” nonstop a name his teammate Hayden assumes belongs to a woman. (Buddy… if you only knew.)
Across the border, Ilya’s friend Svetlana presses him about “Jane,” sensing there’s something deeper there. She’s right, of course but Ilya isn’t ready to say it out loud.
uncle shane 😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/OXxM6eyeny
— ash (@shiilyas) December 12, 2025
Daylight, Domesticity & the Infamous Tuna Melt
Then comes the episode’s emotional centerpiece: Shane visiting Ilya’s apartment in Boston.
It’s shockingly intimate not because of the sex (which happens immediately), but because it’s the first time they’ve ever just… existed together in daylight. No arenas. No sneaking around. No excuses.
Ilya asks Shane to stay the night. Shane hesitates then stays.
They cuddle. They talk. They laugh. Ilya makes tuna melts, which somehow become the most romantic food in the Heated Rivalry cinematic universe. Over lunch, they discuss humor, travel, attraction, and the quiet reality that Shane likes girls… but also likes Ilya.
When Ilya gets a call from his father, whose dementia is becoming harder to ignore, Shane listens even without understanding the language and offers genuine care. For a fleeting moment, they look like a real couple.
And that’s exactly the problem.
Intimacy Triggers the Panic Button
What follows is one of the most charged scenes the series has delivered so far intimate, restrained, and unmistakably queer in its realism. This isn’t about spectacle. It’s about closeness.
Names are said. Feelings surface. The walls Shane built around himself start to crumble and he panics.
Without warning, he pulls away.
“I can’t do this.”
And just like that, Ilya is left shirtless, confused, and alone on the couch — tuna melts cooling, heart cracking, everything unsaid.
🌹 Enter Rose (And the World’s Most Obvious Rebound)
Back in Montreal, Shane does what he always does when things get too real: he runs.
A night out leads him to actress Rose Landry, played by Sophie Nélisse, and their chemistry is instant easy conversation, shared fries, playful flirting. It’s sweet. It’s public. It’s safe.
But let’s be real: this isn’t a crush. This is Shane discovering the joy of bonding with a charismatic woman while aggressively not processing his feelings.
Unfortunately for Ilya, the tabloids don’t see it that way.
Public Romance, Private Spiral
When headlines break announcing Shane and Rose as a new celebrity couple, Ilya is blindsided. The montage that follows jersey-wearing photo ops, paparazzi shots, social buzz makes it clear: this isn’t just a fling. It’s a spectacle.
And then comes the club scene.
Both men end up in the same place. Both pretend they’re fine. Both spiral internally.
Cue the most unhinged needle drop imaginable: t.A.T.u.’s “All The Things She Said.” As the beat pulses, Shane dances with Rose (and her friend), Ilya watches from across the room, and the episode fractures into parallel moments of desire, denial, and longing.
The final shots — both men staring directly into the camera — say everything they can’t say to each other.
They’re still connected.
They’re still pretending they’re not.
Verdict: The Best Episode Yet
Episode 4 proves Heated Rivalry isn’t just a sports romance — it’s a meticulous study of queer intimacy, fear, and emotional self-sabotage. The slow burn hurts because it’s honest. The chemistry devastates because it’s earned.
With Season 2 already confirmed, the real question isn’t if Shane and Ilya will figure it out it’s how much damage they’ll do before they finally stop running.
Until next week? We suffer. Together.