Our Top 5 Hollanov Moments From Heated Rivalry Season 1
Since November 28, when Heated Rivalry premiered on Crave and HBO Max, we’ve all been living through a very specific kind of collective experience, one that feels bigger than just “watching a show.” Some might call it a cultural phenomenon. Others might call it mass psychosis. We call it a dream come true, and frankly, we’re not sure we want to wake up from it.
With Heated Rivalry now rolling out across LATAM and other regions via HBO Max and Movistar Plus+, it felt like the perfect moment to celebrate what made this show sink its claws into us so deeply in the first place. And because we believe in commitment (to chaos, mostly), we decided the best way to keep feeding the monster that has completely taken over our lives was to compile our Top 5 Hollanov moments from Heated Rivalry Season 1.
Easy task, right? Wrong.
Shane (Hudson Williams) and Ilya’s (Connor Storrie) love story is packed with moments that make us scream into pillows, cry a little (or a lot), yearn aggressively, and fully lose our minds. Narrowing that down to just five moments caused what can only be described as a minor civil war in our offices. Voices were raised. PowerPoint presentations were delivered. Alliances were formed and immediately broken. There were arguments. There were spreadsheets. Some staffers submitted five moments from a single episode and called it a day. Others tried to submit five moments per episode. It was a whole thing.
In the name of fairness—and to avoid further casualties, because we love our staff—we landed on a Solomonic compromise: since there are five episodes primarily focused on Hollanov (sorry, Skip, we still love and respect your contributions to the cause), we’d pick one favorite moment or sequence from each episode. Did this make things easier? Not really. But it did give some underrated Hollanov moments a fighting chance.
So, without further ado, here are our Top 5 Hollanov moments from Heated Rivalry Season 1—moments that live rent-free in our heads and probably always will.
Episode 1: The First Hookup After the Joint Ad Shoot
We debated this one hard, folks. Episode 1 establishes the foundation of Hollanov, and that foundation is desire wrapped in denial. While the gym scene is undeniably electric—crackling with chemistry that practically jumps off the screen—we ultimately (and for very obvious reasons) landed on their first hookup after the joint ad shoot.
Why? Because for us, this is where tension finally tips into action.
What makes this scene so effective isn’t just the sex, but the buildup around it. Seriously, there are layers on layers here. Ilya specifically requesting Shane for the ad shoot (a show-only change we’re eternally grateful for) reframes their dynamic early on: this isn’t accidental proximity, it’s intentional. Every look on the ice, every offhand comment off it, every charged pause leads us here.
The shower scene playful provocation, Shane’s firm “not here,” the locker room exchanges— “1410,” “I might open, I might knock”—all work together to blur the line between rivalry and intimacy. When they finally give in, it feels inevitable rather than impulsive.
Narratively, this moment matters because it’s the spark that starts everything. Emotionally, it matters because neither of them can pretend this is nothing afterward. And that’s why we love it: after this moment, there’s no going back. Hollanov has officially been born.
Episode 2: Their First Time, the Aftermath, and the Staircase Kiss
If Episode 1 is about crossing a line, Episode 2 is about realizing that crossing it changes you.
Unlike the source material, the show lets Shane and Ilya wait two full years before going all the way, and that choice makes the payoff hit so much harder. By choosing to delay, anticipation does all the heavy lifting—and it’s delicious.
The entire sequence, from Ilya arriving at Shane’s place, to the playful competition up the stairs like overgrown teenagers, to the soft, teasing bedroom banter, it all feels earned in a deeply satisfying way.
What elevates this moment is how intentional it is. Ilya repeatedly checks in with Shane, centering consent and care without making the scene clinical or awkward. It’s tender, beautiful, sexy, and deeply human. And afterward, when Ilya asks if it was worth the wait, Shane’s response isn’t verbal; it’s physical softness. A soft kiss on the lips, then on the forehead.
That choice shifts everything.
You can see the realization dawn on Ilya’s face: this isn’t casual, it never was. Which is why he leaves, not because he doesn’t care, but because he does. The recalibration happens in real time. And then comes the crown jewel of this sequence: the kiss on the stairs as they wait for Ilya’s cab. Soft, unhurried, devastating.
Knowing this kiss was improvised and intentionally kept soft only reinforces why it works so well. Shane and Ilya don’t yet have the language for what they’re feeling, but the ease between them says it all. They’re already falling in love. They just haven’t admitted it yet. Someone sedate us, please.
Episode 4: Shane at Ilya’s Place in Boston
Episode 4 is where Hollanov stops feeling like a sexual relationship and starts feeling like a real relationship, even if neither of them is ready to call it that. And honestly? Everything that happens at Ilya’s place in Boston could be framed and hung in a museum. From Shane’s awkward arrival to kissing on the kitchen counter, to Ilya asking Shane to stay under the very transparent excuse of more sex (sir, please), everything about this episode screams domestic intimacy. The cuddling. The morning banter.
“I’m hungry.”
“For what?”
“For food, pervert.”
Ginger ale already chilled in the fridge. Tuna melts made without fanfare. Hockey on the TV. Eating together on the couch. These details matter. For queer stories especially, domesticity is still (sadly) radical on mainstream television. And this moment shows us not just desire, but comfort. Not just passion, but care and softness.
Even Ilya’s guarded openness—briefly touching on his father when he calls—signals trust. And yes, Shane panics when first names slip during sex, and he runs. But that hurt is part of the story. What makes this sequence so powerful is the contrast between what they’re building and how unprepared they are to name it.
We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: with Shane and Ilya, what they don’t say often matters more than what they do. This episode understands that perfectly.
Episode 5: The Phone Call From Russia
Episode 5 is a near-perfect hour of television; there is no debate there. So naturally, picking just one moment nearly caused another office riot. The hospital scene (practically a meme at this point). The Tampa hotel room where Shane comes out, and Ilya breaks down. Both were worthy contenders. But let’s be completely honest, there was only one choice here.
After losing his father and enduring a painful confrontation with his brother, Ilya reaches out to Shane, not because Shane can fix anything, but because he’s the one person with whom Ilya feels safe. He’s not doing okay. When English becomes too heavy, Shane offers something that’s equal parts romantic and deeply empathic: he invites Ilya to speak in Russian, promising that not understanding won’t stop him from being there.
And Ilya lets himself fall apart.
He pours his grief, resentment, guilt, longing, and love into his native language, knowing Shane can’t understand a single word. Shane closes his eyes. He listens, doesn’t interrupt, and stays. He doesn’t need to understand the words to understand the pain.
This moment reframes love as witness rather than action. It strips communication down to its most essential form: showing up. Love isn’t about fixing or responding or having the perfect thing to say. Sometimes it’s just being there—sometimes it’s simply staying on the line.
Episode 6: Hollanov at the Cottage (All 47 Glorious Minutes)
Listen. This is our publication, and we make the rules. After much deliberation, we found a loophole in our own editorial limits: since Shane and Ilya don’t actually separate until they leave the cottage (and even then, they still go out together), our favorite moment from Episode 6 is Hollanov’s summer at the cottage. All of it.
This is gay logic at its most authentic, gay math at its most clever. If you ask us, we’re absolute geniuses. No, but seriously, there was no universe in which we could isolate a single “best” moment from Episode 6. The whole thing is Hollanov heaven. So for us, this moment is all the moments. Deal with it.
From the car ride hand-holding and hand-kissing, to the flirting upon arrival. The bellboy role-play. Shane making eight hamburgers because the recipe says so (we adore our autistic son). The sheer domesticity of it all. The cottage represents something new for Shane and Ilya: possibility. Conversations that used to be off-limits are suddenly becoming possible.
The bonfire. The stupid Canadian wolf bird. Ilya opening up about his mother. The future starts to take shape here tentatively and terrifyingly. They tease each other, they dare to hope about the future, they break open. And then it happens: “I love you.”
The confession doesn’t come out of nowhere; it’s the culmination of everything the season has been building toward. The joy, the relief, the “gimme kiss.” Even getting caught by Shane’s dad matters because it makes it real. Not just to them, but to their small world.
That summer at the cottage is sacred to us. We arrived on December 26, and honestly? We’re still there, with no plans to ever leave. Season 2 can meet us at the dock for all we care.
Now we want to hear from you. What’s your favorite Hollanov moment from Heated Rivalry Season 1? Come yell at us on socials (passionately, but respectfully, please). Argue your case. Defend your picks. We’ll be right there with you, because talking about Shane and Ilya is kind of our favorite sport right now.
Hockey be damned.
Season 1 of Heated Rivalry is available to stream on Crave (Canada), HBO Max (U.S. & Other Regions), Sky (New Zealand, UK), and Movistar Plus+ (Spain). Follow us on X and Instagram for all queer stuff!
Featured Image: Image Courtesy of Bell Media and HBO Max.
