Heated Rivalry Episode 3: “Hunter” — A Needed Detour With Purpose

It’s Friday, and that means one thing: a brand-new episode of Heated Rivalry is finally here. While the premiere last week dropped two episodes at once, today we’re back to our weekly dose of queer longing, hockey drama, and emotional devastation (the good kind). And episode 3? Well… this one is a curveball in the best way.

As many fans know, the title of Episode 3 had been kept tightly under wraps. Crave listed it only as “******”, prompting endless speculation. Was the title truly redacted? Was it a spoiler? A twist? A joke? Turns out, yes, it was a censor for the real title: Hunter.

If you’re familiar with Rachel Reid’s Game Changers universe, that title alone is a massive giveaway of who this episode belongs to. And if you’re not? Don’t worry. Heated Rivalry has already proven with the premiere that it knows how to bring newcomers along without requiring homework.

But before we jump in, let’s address the elephant in the locker room: Yes, we know many of you wanted more Shane (Hudson Williams) and Ilya (Connor Storrie) content this week. Trust us, so did we. But given what’s coming for our beloved rivals, Episode 3 needed to walk so Episode [redacted] could run (if you know, you know). This detour is doing essential groundwork for the emotional arc ahead, so let’s trust the process and enjoy the ride.

Now, with that said…Let’s dive into Heated Rivalry Episode 3, Hunter, shall we?

Episode 3: “Hunter” — A Quiet, Heavy, Necessary Story

From the moment Episode 3 begins, it’s clear that this episode is different in many ways. The show drops us back into the Sochi 2014 Olympics—the same moment we saw from Shane’s POV in Episode 2—but this time, the perspective shifts. The camera lingers not on our Canadian poster child and his Russian prodigy situationship, but on another player who’s been hovering quietly at the edges of their story: Scott Hunter (François Arnaud).

The episode opens with the familiar scene of Shane suggesting they go watch the men’s figure skating competition to support a friend. Hunter’s teammate, Carter Vaughn (Kolton Stewart), immediately responds with a line about supporting brave athletes, clearly assuming Shane’s friend must be gay, and that being visibly gay in Russia is an act of courage. In Episode 2, this moment was framed through Shane’s discomfort. In Episode 3, we sit inside Hunter’s discomfort.

The show rewinds four months to the start of the hockey season. Scott Hunter, star forward for New York, is struggling. His scoring has dried up. His confidence is shaken. His performance is slipping badly. And with the Olympics looming, the pressure is suffocating. 

We watch him jog through the streets of New York, listening to sports media tear him apart. He knows he’s faltering. He knows everyone expects him to be better. He knows the world is watching. And then, by sheer chance, he walks into a smoothie bar.

There, he meets Kip Grady (Robbie G.K.), a very handsome barista who hands him a blueberry-banana smoothie and unintentionally hands him a lifeline. Their chemistry is instant. Their banter is disarmingly sweet. And when Scott wins his game that night, a superstition is born.

Scott keeps going back. For the smoothie, yes, but mostly for Kip.

And if Kip can’t quite believe that Scott Hunter is flirting with him? That disbelief becomes part of their dynamic. Kip is charmed, cautious, and curious. Scott is flustered, smitten, and wildly out of his depth.

Their relationship unfolds fast… romantically, sexually, and emotionally. Scott invites Kip to his apartment. Kip slips into Scott’s routine with surprising ease: morning smoothies, late-night conversations, stolen moments before games. Eventually, he moves in. But their relationship exists in a bubble, carefully hidden from teammates, fans, and the entire sports world.

Kip wants openness. He wants a life that isn’t spent in the shadows. He wants to be loved out loud. He wants something real. Scott wants him, genuinely, desperately, but he also wants safety: for his career, his captaincy, his sponsorships, his carefully curated image as the face of American hockey. The fear of losing all of that keeps him silent. And that silence becomes the wound at the center of this episode.

Which is why, when the story returns to Sochi and Scott prepares to take the ice as Team USA’s captain, the emotional weight hits differently. Before stepping into the spotlight, he puts on his lucky socks—the blue ones with bananas, a gift from Kip to match the smoothies that brought them together. It’s a tiny gesture with enormous meaning, a quiet reminder of the love he can’t acknowledge. And in that moment, the emotional gut-punch lands harder than expected: no matter how high he rises, Scott is still carrying a part of himself he’s terrified to show the world.

For those who’ve read the original novel (Game Changer), this episode is a very, very condensed version of Scott and Kip’s story, a fast, broad-strokes adaptation meant to serve this series rather than replicate the book beat-for-beat. And honestly? It works.

Scott’s expanded presence in Heated Rivalry is clearly intentional. The writers are laying track. They’re preparing the audience for the ways Scott’s journey will echo through Shane and Ilya’s. Even though Episode 3 shifts away from our main pair, it deepens the series in a way that’s going to matter later.

So yes, this episode feels different from the first two. And yes, that’s the point.

Like Shane and Ilya, Scott’s story shows the emotional toll of being a closeted athlete, but from a completely different angle. His loneliness is quieter, heavier, and painfully relatable. His fear of being truly seen is suffocating. His internal conflict is its own kind of heartbreak.

And by giving us his POV now, the show broadens its emotional landscape.

We’ve glimpsed Scott through Shane and Ilya’s eyes; the veteran, the calm presence, the quiet observer. Episode 3 lets us actually see him: a man fighting himself as much as the world around him. A man who wants love but doesn’t know how to hold it. A man who might one day find freedom, but isn’t there yet.

Also, we’re personally relieved this episode finally cleared up all those “Scott is just a very supportive ally” allegations floating around social media. We couldn’t handle one more day of not being able to scream from the rooftops that Scott Hunter is absolutely, unmistakably gay. And if he does clock Shane and Ilya’s whole situation (and we’re not saying he will, but if he does), well… it takes one to know one.

Anygays, we cannot wait to see what Heated Rivalry has in store with Episode 4, Rose. If the show keeps following the book’s emotional breadcrumbs, we’re fully expecting tuna melts, chaotic “bring your ‘girlfriend’ to the club” energy, and a whole lot more unapologetically gay drama. Whatever’s coming, we’re so ready, and as usual…we’ll be right back here next week to break it all down. 

Until then, we’ll be rewatching the first half of the season and overanalyzing every frame like the academically gay scholars we are.

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Episodes 1-3 of Heated Rivalry are available to stream on Crave (Canada) and HBO Max (U.S. & other regions). Episode 4 drops Friday, December 12 at 12 a.m. ET.  Follow us on X and Instagram for all queer stuff!

Featured Image: Image Via Heated Rivalry on IG. Footage © Bell Media.