Dear Internet,

I forgot to mention in my dissertation about Brendan that I would have no idea what Brendan’s reception would have been to Heated Rivalry. As a hockey player, but a straight man, I would have been curious as to what he would have said about the show. I do know he would probably tease me about my obsession with the damned thing but hey, I like big thighs, and I cannot lie.

The final episode of Heated Rivalry dropped at midnight on December 26th and later that day, I binged it all, staying up to over 1 a.m. The ending was abrupt (but HEA) and I sat there, bleary eyed, going “What the ever loving fuck!” (About the abrupt ending, not the ending itself.)

And I also cried.

I emailed Sierra, a friend from my romance club, and sent posts to Erin, an old friend, on Bluesky to talk about the show. I just couldn’t stop thinking about it. (I will say the sex was tamer than what was being implied online or my version of chili peppers is more explicit than others.)

The tl;dr of the plot is simple: Two hockey players, Shane (Canadian) and Ilya (Russian) meet during their rookie year in the MLH (Major League Hockey) and begin a fling. Shane and Ilya each play for a team who are massive rivals and the news plays up Shane and Ilya’s hatred for each, but we know they are secretly fucking their way every hockey season. Anyway, they fall in love, secrets abound, heavy hearted things are said, and they literally ride off into the sunset. (like I said, the cottage episode. OMG.)

I mentioned in a previous issue I’m a fan of m/m sports romance, primarily if it is hockey, rugby, or soccer. Some are well written and others are just plan trash. (I’m looking at you Avery Flynn though I keep inhaling your trash.)

Erika and I had a conversation a few days after I binged talking about romance novels and why we read them. I understand romance is fantasy but to me it represents hope and an escapism from reality. I have had sex where we were feral for each other so I know it exists but I also know that deep love goes beyond getting dicked downed on a regular basis. (And that part is super hard I must add as an old married lady.)

But yes, hope. Massive hope because I know it’s possible to feel that loved, wanted, and desired and if romantic love is your jam, I want you to feel that way too. I also know about the insecurity, lack of self-confidence, and terror that love can bring as well as those things can be worked on with communication, grace, support, and empathy.

Love is fucking hard y’all. (And that is made very clear in Heated Rivalry. It’s not all sunshine and roses.)

I’ve been telling people who listen that the show gets better after episode one which I found to be meh.

Here are some thing I learned:

• Rachel Reid, the author, based Heated Rivalry on the concept if Sidney Crosby/Alexander Ovechkin, who were heated rivals, were gay (Shane)/bi (Ilya) and fell in love

• Hunter/Kip’s story (which is book one of the series and we see in episode 3 and 5) began as fan fiction on AO3 of Steve Rogers/Bucky Barnes one true pairing

• Connor Storrie (Ilya Rozanov) is from Texas and worked with a dialect coach on his accent and learned Russian and did well enough to fool Russian speakers

• Jacob Tierney, the writer and director, played Glen in Letterkenny. Glen is the gayest gay who ever gayed.

• Storrie and Hudson Williams (Shane) have been harassed by the press on their own sexuality which they are not speaking about (and it’s no one’s business) and Tierney has been protecting them left and right which I adore. (Tierney is a very out gay.)

• In interviews with Tierney, he’s been very adamant on how he shot the sex scenes because members of the gay community are criticizing how Shane/Ilya are having sex. Tierney’s comeback is that a: it’s television and the men can’t be running off to douche every five minutes and b: no one can speak about anyone’s experience on sex other than the person themselves. (yay!)

• While the teams in the show are fake, there is real rivalry in the real life rivalry between Montreal (Shane) and Boston (Ilya)

• Connor and Hudson were part of the Olympic torch carrying

Have I done a deep dive? You could say that.

Anyway, another reason I’m in love with the series is that it represents queer love in respectful and nuanced way. They are not caricatures of queer love, second plot lines, or side characters. It’s just two men in love, they are the focus, and we all need to see that.

Lastly, even the NHL is in full support of Heated Rivalry by releasing a press release to The Hollywood Reporter:

“There are so many ways to get hooked on hockey and, in the NHL’s 108-year history, this might be the most unique driver for creating new fans,” a league rep tells THR. “See you all at the rink.”

Heated Rivalry is now taking a side step because part one of Bridgerton S4 dropped last week. I completely forgot about it until Erika reminded me and then I spurred into action. On Friday, I came home from work, took care of the dog, made sure Mr. Lisa was settled, got into my velour tracksuit, and sat for over four hours immersed into Regency England.

I’m here for it.

I love Yerin Ha as Sophie and Luke Thompson as Benedict are chef’s kiss. They just bounce off of each other so well, their chemistry is palpable, and they are just a treat to watch.

And it wouldn’t be Bridgerton if there weren’t some raunch going on, and the producers delivered. Yes for the sex!

But of fucking course, there is always a dark side.

I had joined a few Bridgerton subreddits years ago and I’m in the process of leaving them because people are ignorant, gross, and racist.

In Julia Quinn’s books, everyone is white and hetero normative. In the series, the casting is color blind and gender queer. Benedict, our hero for S4, is pan (and there was a plot line of S3 with Benedict getting dickmitized so it is very clear that Benedict swings multiple ways), and they swapped Francesca’s love Michael with Michaela who also happens to be Black. Benedict’s one true love is Korean. Hell, Violet gets hers in S4 (her garden is blooming!) when in the book series she pines for Edmund until she dies.

To most of us, who cares. Love is love. We’re there to to see the characters come to life and take over what’s in our heads. But the gross, ignorant, and racist assholes of the internet are clutching pearls and hiding behind "true to the story” about the casting. Benedict can be a libertine but only if he’s shagging white women and not BIPOC or men. Francesca can have a second love but only if that love is male and white.

A deep dive into some of the smaller Bridgerton subreddits last week also turned up some truths that were uncomfortable. Fans stalking the actors, gossiping about the actors personal lives and making accusations, like some super beyond toxic behavior. I felt ill. I feel ill. I just need an escapism for a few hours and watch my stories. What Luke and Yerin get up in their personal lives is not my business.

And this is why we can’t have nice things!

I watched Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story with Steph a few months ago and started re-watching the main series from the beginning. I’m only 1/2 way through S2 but I’m hoping to have watched all of it before part 2 of S4 drops later this month.

Winter Olympics 2026 kicked off Friday. Have you been watching?

I spent Saturday watching curling and women’s hockey pre-lims. GBR killed US in mixed doubles curling while Sweden destroyed Italy in women’s hockey. I told Erika I was bummed she and I did not live closer so that we could watch Olympics together and craft. Alas.

Right now I have no bets on any teams concentrating more on the sport than the nation. Curling and hockey are up there and I learned Mr. Lisa likes the outdoor sports like “we’re going to plunge down a icy mountain protected by cotton and hopefully not die.”

If you’ve got any woo in you, can you send it on Tuesday for Thursday?

When she went in to her senior exam in October, her liver values were high. They asked us to come back in 6-8 weeks and we did. Values are still high. Vet said we could check again in another three months because while the values were high they weren’t super scary high or we could be proactive which meant getting more blood work and an ultrasound. That was last week. They found two masses on her liver but the ultrasound was not conclusive enough to determine if it is benign or not. We went through another round of blood work to check her clotting which is also an indicator on how her liver is working. That came back great so, there is a bit of hope.

Thursday is 13 years and 2 months old and in the entirety of the time we’ve owned her (10 years), she’s never been sick. Not even a cough. The closest thing to her being ill is when we took her in when we learned she had a habit of gulping too much air causing “reverse” sneezing. That’s it. If something is wrong, she is asymptomatic. Her weight is stable, she eats and drinks water like a champ, and she is more regular than the atomic clock.

Tuesday we’ll be down state at an internist who has all of her records to see what is going on.

full of hope,

lisa x