I watched Heated Rivalry
Feb. 16th, 2026 11:04 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
conulyand then read the books, and I gotta say, I think the author and I fundamentally disagree on a key principle of storywriting.
I believe, strongly, that if you have two viewpoint characters, or two love interests, or two viewpoint characters who are also love interests, then they need to have balanced problems - and, ideally, the interaction of those two characters should affect those problems in some way - by making them realize that they have problems, by making them realize that those problems aren't so bad, by solving or exacerbating those problems - who knows? But they need to start off with the same level of problems, and then by the end of the plot those problems need to have been changed in some way.
And pretty much that never happens in these books. Just look at the two that make up the TV show. We have two couples.
In one couple, Shane has loving and supportive parents, he's in his home country, and while his parents could've been a bit more proactive about saying that it's okay to be gay, he doesn't believe they'll reject him for it. He doesn't think his teammates will. His girlfriend doesn't reject him.
Ilya comes from a notoriously homophobic nation, his father was abusive and now has dementia, his brother is just awful, his mother killed herself. If he comes out, he can't go home to Russia. He's not totally fluent in English. (Shane appears to be totally fluent in French....)
He has all the problems. Shane has one problem, and that problem is Ilya. (Well, two if we count "Ilya" and "being gay" as two separate problems, which I guess he does, but at any rate, Ilya has the exact same problems so it's a bit moot.)
The second book featuring them is more of the same, by the way - Ilya continues to have more problems than Shane does, from being on the losingest team in the league to having lost touch with his friend in the move to still being totally in the closet and now suffering from depression.
These problems are not balanced. This relationship cannot solve any of Shane's problems, because his problems are relatively trivial, and meanwhile Ilya's problems are all over the place with regards to Shane's effect on them.
And it's the same with the first book (Kip and whats-his-face). Hockey player can't come out because nobody's ever done it before in the NHL oh god no. Also his parents are dead and his team is basically his family. His boyfriend has a supportive family and friend group, and his only problem is that his hot hockey player boyfriend won't come out. That is a serious problem, but again, not balanced even a little bit. It can't be balanced when one person's problem is the other person. (I guess Kip also has the problem of being poor, but since he refuses to be a sugarbaby we'll just ignore it. Nobody's solving that problem.)
I mean, the books are fine and all, and I have 5 hours a day during the overnight shift in which I have nothing to do but read (and I guess get the floors really clean), but problems need to be balanced, and this is an issue with all of them.
Balanced problems are not "My family sucks, but I've built a family of choice instead, and also I hate that you're trapped in hockey even though it makes you miserable" vs "I agree on both those points, but I can't figure out how to extricate myself from hockey". Balanced problems are "I appear to be super put together, but my family is terrible and, consequently, I push people away" and "My life is super chaotic after my traumatic breakup and my self esteem literally could not be lower, but actually my family is amazing and I just need some support to get my life back in order" or "I do well in school and my parents indulge me, but they'd withdraw that love and support in a heartbeat if I ever stepped out of line" and "My family couldn't care less if I lived or died, and they certainly don't care that I struggle in school, but hey, at least I can do what I want".
If the problems do not balance, you cannot resolve them in a satisfying way. Just making the guys smooch and have feelings is not resolving their problems.
This opinion on problems was brought to you by: The Overnight Shift! I have so much time on my hands, guys!
I believe, strongly, that if you have two viewpoint characters, or two love interests, or two viewpoint characters who are also love interests, then they need to have balanced problems - and, ideally, the interaction of those two characters should affect those problems in some way - by making them realize that they have problems, by making them realize that those problems aren't so bad, by solving or exacerbating those problems - who knows? But they need to start off with the same level of problems, and then by the end of the plot those problems need to have been changed in some way.
And pretty much that never happens in these books. Just look at the two that make up the TV show. We have two couples.
In one couple, Shane has loving and supportive parents, he's in his home country, and while his parents could've been a bit more proactive about saying that it's okay to be gay, he doesn't believe they'll reject him for it. He doesn't think his teammates will. His girlfriend doesn't reject him.
Ilya comes from a notoriously homophobic nation, his father was abusive and now has dementia, his brother is just awful, his mother killed herself. If he comes out, he can't go home to Russia. He's not totally fluent in English. (Shane appears to be totally fluent in French....)
He has all the problems. Shane has one problem, and that problem is Ilya. (Well, two if we count "Ilya" and "being gay" as two separate problems, which I guess he does, but at any rate, Ilya has the exact same problems so it's a bit moot.)
The second book featuring them is more of the same, by the way - Ilya continues to have more problems than Shane does, from being on the losingest team in the league to having lost touch with his friend in the move to still being totally in the closet and now suffering from depression.
These problems are not balanced. This relationship cannot solve any of Shane's problems, because his problems are relatively trivial, and meanwhile Ilya's problems are all over the place with regards to Shane's effect on them.
And it's the same with the first book (Kip and whats-his-face). Hockey player can't come out because nobody's ever done it before in the NHL oh god no. Also his parents are dead and his team is basically his family. His boyfriend has a supportive family and friend group, and his only problem is that his hot hockey player boyfriend won't come out. That is a serious problem, but again, not balanced even a little bit. It can't be balanced when one person's problem is the other person. (I guess Kip also has the problem of being poor, but since he refuses to be a sugarbaby we'll just ignore it. Nobody's solving that problem.)
I mean, the books are fine and all, and I have 5 hours a day during the overnight shift in which I have nothing to do but read (and I guess get the floors really clean), but problems need to be balanced, and this is an issue with all of them.
Balanced problems are not "My family sucks, but I've built a family of choice instead, and also I hate that you're trapped in hockey even though it makes you miserable" vs "I agree on both those points, but I can't figure out how to extricate myself from hockey". Balanced problems are "I appear to be super put together, but my family is terrible and, consequently, I push people away" and "My life is super chaotic after my traumatic breakup and my self esteem literally could not be lower, but actually my family is amazing and I just need some support to get my life back in order" or "I do well in school and my parents indulge me, but they'd withdraw that love and support in a heartbeat if I ever stepped out of line" and "My family couldn't care less if I lived or died, and they certainly don't care that I struggle in school, but hey, at least I can do what I want".
If the problems do not balance, you cannot resolve them in a satisfying way. Just making the guys smooch and have feelings is not resolving their problems.
This opinion on problems was brought to you by: The Overnight Shift! I have so much time on my hands, guys!
