Heated Rivalry : Additional Musings on Princes and Princesses

The Egalitarian Trope

In my earlier post Rules of Romantic Engagement, I assured the readers that the concept of Princes and Princesses is just as applicable to same-sex romance as it is to hetero affairs. And I promised to eventually demonstrate that with an illuminating illustration.

At the time, I thought that Brian Kinney (Gale Harold) and Justin Taylor (Randy Harrison) of Queer as Folk would be a perfect example. I was even planning to explain how violating the natural order of the trope and forcing Brian (the Prince) into a sacrificial act tainted the final season of that show.

But then, Heated Rivalry happened to me… It was on my Must-Watch list since the trailer came out last year, but it’s a long list. So, I only got to the show now. And it turned out to be a quintessential romantic fairy tale! The Gold Standard, truly!

Moreover, the star-crossed lovers at the center of the show present a far more compelling case study in relation to the trope at hand. Because—at a first glance—it is not all that easy to distinguish who’s who between those two: which hockey superstar is the Prince and which is the Princess.

Obviously, it’s not their gender that makes it difficult. It’s the appearance of a virtual Parity.

Jacob Tierney’s Wizardry

But before I go any further, I would like to officially declare that I am in awe of Jacob Tierney’s outstanding craftsmanship and magic powers. Every choice he made—the selection of the storyline beats, the quirky timeline, the expansion of the supporting characters, the additional dialogues, the juxtaposed sequences, the montages, the music—it’s all there to make the viewers fall in love with his protagonists.

Down to the most minute nuances. As early as the hotel’s gym sequence, for instance, I was astonished to see that he made right-handed Shane reach for the water bottle with his left hand, so that he could film the sliding fingers from the most advantageous POV. Every single episode is full of these hidden hooks.

He took Rachel Reid’s skimpy soft-core outrage with the homophobic hockey culture and turned it into a candy about the trials of LOVE so luscious and addictive, millions of veiwers got hooked. No, that’s not a strong enough word—obsessed.

He waved his magic wand and charmed the writer onto the bestselling lists and the leading actors into international stars status—with repeated appearances in Vogue, Vanity Fair, Bazaar; invitations to Met Gala; and CAA representation. I mean, you are a wizzard, Jacob Tierney! From the bottom of my heart I hope they will never forget what they owe you.

The Chemistry

And how about those leading actors! The combination of talent and scorching chemistry that he recognized in Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams. And then unleashed them onto our screens, flooding us with the heat.

Some critics compared their chemistry to that of Bogart and Bacall. But I think it’s hotter than that, because it permeates through much deeper levels of intimacy. It’s more on the level of the passion Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor were able to summon, while filming Zeffirelli’s The Taming of the Shrew during their first marriage.

And did you realize that the way these two boys look toghether subliminally triggers you into recalling Heath and Jake? “I wish I knew how to quit you…” Right?

The Virtual Parity

And this casting actually ended up accentuating the very Parity I’m talking about here. Because the actors are of pretty much the same height. As opposed to the source material that puts Ilya at about 5″ taller than Shane.

They are also the same age. Professionally, they are both natural centers. Widely recognized generational talents, constantly competing against each other for the same trophies and awards.They both possess the star quality and celebrity status. Display equal intensity and astonishing confidence on ice. And it is clearly a part of the concept that their competitiveness is a major contributing factor into that unquenchable wanting they feel for each other.

They are similarly rewarded for their athletic efforts with multi-million-dollar compensation packages and endorsements. They are not billionaires, but by the time these boys are 23 and captains of their respective NHL teams they are already very wealthy. With prestige lofts, spectacular houses, hook-up buildings, and custom-built lake cottages most people can only imagine in their dreams.

Relative to the general population, they are well off. And their fiscal freedom and independence facilitate their affair—providing them with opportunities most young people, caught in the tempest of passion, don’t have. Things can always be arranged when you have means.

Moreover, by the time we roll into the season finale they are only 26 year-old. And even though they just finished their eighth season, they are not even half through their careers, with at least 10 more years ahead of them. In fact, the characters’ professional analogues—Alexander Ovechkin (age 40, 1st overall draft of 2004) and Sidney Crosby (age 39, 1st overall draft of 2005)—are both still playing for the very teams that originally drafted them.

Now, as William Burroughs never failed to point out, it’s always a power struggle in men’s relationships to begin with. But with these two—it’s another level altogether.

They are extraordinary über-athletes in perpetual physical training, conditioned into mind-blowing physical endurance.And while their levels of comfort with themselves are diametrically different, Shane is no pushover. Moreover, both of them demonstrate an uncommon degree of valor by refusing to walk away—in spite of the emotional confusion and the unfathomable high-stake risks.

So, they effortlessly throw at each other “dick sucking” commands—both literally and figuratively—as men can… And their foreplay frequently involves shoving one another against walls and on the beds. For years they call each other by their last names IN BED, for fuck’s sake! “Come here!” “No, you come here!”—while slowly walking towards each other. And they can equally get hard just by being in the same place at the same time. And every time they touch, their knees go weak.

The Prince and the Princess

And yet—in spite of the astonishing depth of the closet, where he hides from himself; his initial inexperience, the bottom positioning, the yearning for intimate instructions, the subtle mannerism of a good boy, the social anxiety, and that very-very pretty face—it’s Shane who is the Prince here. Not the rugged, bold, brash, sexually domineering, and self-accepting rockstar Ilya. Who is, consequently, the Princess.

If you look closer, there are plenty of Prince vs. Princess behavioral indicators all throughout. Ilya instantly acknowledges that incredible sexual pull he has with Shane. And his Princess’s sensitive heart is also the first to recognize that something unimaginable has happened inside his traumatized soul.

And at that point, he is willing to take small steps forward. Let’s not go to a hotel—come over to my home. Stay, I’ll hold you while you sleep. I’ll make you a tuna melt, and here’s your ginger ale. Let’s have an open conversation—I am bi, but your mouth… Let me cuddle you… And while climaxing, he breathes out, “Shane”—like a gentle caress.

In return, Prince gets overwhelmed, has an emotional meltdown, and runs away. Disastrously beds a very cool, hot, smart, sensitive, and intuitive female movie star—out of pure denial. Confusing companionship for attraction.

This escaping behavior, by the way, is quite typical for practically all Princes of contemporary fairy tales. Especially the good boys caught in the conundrum of “Right” versus Real. Out of confused sense of propriety, they end up muddling their own feelings and wounding the Princesses in the process.

The classic case in point is Dr. Derek Shephard first abandoning Meredith Grey in an attempt “to make it work” with Addison. And then again with nurse Rose. Makes me wonder: Is Rose Landry an homage? “He is with Rose, he is with Rose, he is with Rose…” You know what I mean?

The Hero Quest

However! Once Shane sorts his turmoil out and comes to terms—both with who he is and the life-altering power of True Love—he is as steady with his protective sword as only a Prince can be. He is on the hero quest. He is the one thinking of the possibility to redefine the relationship into “something”. He wants to get as close as the Princess would let him—with his questions about the family, and the emotional support, and the cottage invitation…

He is the one with the forward thinking and the long-game commitment… He is “the knight in shining whatever”, obsessing over the need to rescue his Princess from the terrifying clutches of homophobic Russia as well as to heal the wounds of the oppressive childhood. He wants to wrap Ilya into his arms and shelter him. And, God forbid, he’ll marry that Svetlana for passport, thus committing a felony under the US laws.

His determination to shield Ilya and ensure their future together keeps him awake at night—devising elaborate, step by step, plans. And on top of that, to honor his beloved’s mother, he also wants to help depressed people on the verge of killing themselves. What did I tell you about Princes?

Needless to say, in alignment with his Princess nature, Ilya pledges himself to his Prince’s vision. He is willing to sacrifice his loyalty to his team as well as his chances to win more Stanley Cups, so that he can be closer to Shane. To Ilya, Shane is more important than hockey.

The Unfortunate Inversion

Objectively speaking, though, it was not a perfect execution of the trope. Nobody is flawless. And Jacob Tierney made quite a few… I hesitate to call them errors. Le’t say, missteps.

Of course, I’m the first to admit that these flaws, especially the strange timings of various events and the continuity problems, could be nothing less than poetic licenses. And it’s very possible that these quirky inconsistencies are actually responsible for turning the show into such a spellbinding fantasy.

However, I feel less forgiving about his inversion of the trope we are discussing here. You see, Rachel Reid, who’s been plowing various romantic tropes throughout her entire writing career, clearly understood this better than Mr. Tierney.

In her original material, after the mutual declarations of love finally take place, it’s Ilya who asks, “How did we let it happen?” and then—as any Princess would—requests reassurance, “This is real, yes? …I feel like… I’m dreaming?” And it’s Prince Shane who reassures: “It’s real. You’re not dreaming. I love you.”

Unfortunately, Jacob Tierney decided to reverse the roles here. Thus, disrupting the trope. It felt false to me from the very first time I watched the show and on every rewatch after. It was the reason I ended up buying the book—to make sure that at least the author got it right.

Don’t get me wrong: all kind of things happen in real life. Most of the time people act in the most unexpected way. There are no tropes in our daily reality. That’s why our existence is so fucked up.

But this is not reality we’re talking about. It’s a romantic fantasy! We’re escaping! So, please, don’t mess it up for us.

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Let me share an afterthought with those readers who have read this post all the way through:

Imagine for a second gender-reversing Heated Rivalry—recasting all male roles with women. A confident bisexual and a beautiful, yet insecure, closeted lesbian hockey stars? Could be just as hot, right?

It’s not surprising, of course, that a thought like that would come to me. After all, in Fireworks and Other Illuminations, my Regina Cohen is bisexual, and so is her daughter Cassandra…

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