Welcome to Everyone Deserves Sunshine. I'm Diana.
And I'm Anusha. We're the girls in the crease.
And today we're going to be talking about the
book versus the show. And versus is maybe a strong
word. We're not like doing a comparison. We're
just doing a side -by -side analysis. How about
that? Correct. Yes, correct. But before we get
started, Anusha, have you by any chance, because
last time we talked, you said you were really
into hockey, right? Yes. So have you by any chance
been watching any at all lately? I have been
watching Why You Ask because the Flyers won their
matchup against the Penguins. I have such a soft
spot for the Penguins because I lived in Pittsburgh,
loved living in Pittsburgh. My husband and I
were just newly married, but obviously I'm a
Flyers fan. So yeah, I felt a little twinge,
but mostly like absolute glee that they won.
Have you, did you watch the game? I didn't watch
the whole game. I watched the highlights and
everybody and their mother told me about it,
including my brother. So, yeah, it looked like
an awesome game. And I'm glad we won. And I'm
not sorry about the Penguins. So there. Even
though Sidney Crosby is the apparent inspiration
for Shane. Yeah, I mean, even though. What if
he was the inspiration for Ilya? I would feel
maybe differently. You keep thinking, you keep
insinuating. are listeners. And I want to make
one thing very clear because I feel like you
are insinuating something that's not true. I
love Shane. I love him with all of my heart.
I love Ilya with all of my heart. And not a day
goes by that I don't think about both of them.
So I'm not just in love with Ilya. I'm in love
with both of them. Now that I've made that clear.
Okay, we can get to our analysis. But first,
I would like to tell our listeners that if you
haven't read the book, there might be some spoilers
in this conversation that sort of foreshadow
into season two. But this is just a fair warning
to everyone who is listening. There might be
spoilers for the next season here. We will do
our best, but we can't control ourselves sometimes.
And that will be that. Anusha, do you agree?
I agree that we can't control ourselves sometimes.
And yes, this episode entitled Book v. Show does,
in fact, contain spoilers for the book. And with
that disclaimer, let's move on to our analysis.
Yes, let's do it. I'm so excited. Anusha, I think
you wanted to start. I think you wanted to talk
about the vibes. Okay. So when I was like sketching
out this episode for us to like talk through,
I just said, oh, the first part, we'll just talk
about vibes. And you were just like, I don't
know what that means. And, you know, to be fair,
I do have the language of the youth on my side.
Wow. Wow. You know what? Fine. Fine. You are
youthful. You are very cool. And you can have
the cool vocabulary of vibes. So please explain
to us, all of us, all of us elderloons, what
you mean by vibes. Okay. So what I just kind
of meant was the general sort of atmosphere of
the book and the show. And I just feel like this
was a really faithful translation of book into
show. What do you think? I agree. I think you
read the books. I always forget. Did you read
the books before or after? After. Okay, same.
So from what I heard from people who read the
book before, and that's a lot of people, obviously,
they say that the adaptation was so well done
and so close. And even though I read it after
the fact, like I agree, definitely very close
to the book. I know Jacob obviously made changes,
which we're going to discuss, but I agree with
you. The vibes are very similar. The vibes are
similar. I think what was the challenge, though,
reading the book, which is 200 plus pages long
and the show, which is six episodes long, is
that Jacob has to essentially capture a novel
that has a lot of internal dialogue and then
externalize it for an audience. But you're still
trying to maintain the intimacy of the book because
the book is like all about thoughts and emotions
under the surface. Right. That, I think, was
really hard to do. And I think he really did
succeed in that tightrope because you really
have to transform thoughts into a visual sequence.
Yeah. Not to mention that, you know, you said
a book into six episodes, but it was two books,
right? Like we have also the Game Changer book,
right? take two books and put them into six episodes
was incredible work. So I agree. And all of that
dialogue and all internal thoughts, like Jacob
did an amazing job, but like obviously so did
the actors, right? Like they had to read those
scripts and they read the books and they knew
the character so well in order to play them.
I'm a consumer, as you know, of spitting romance
novels. I came out of that closet episode one.
The way it's usually portrayed is really unserious,
you know, unserious stuff. And I read a thread
or something that said, Jacob Tierney took the
most unserious genre and made it the most serious
thing he could have ever made. I think we're
going to start with like scene breakdown analysis,
right? And yeah, and I think that we're going
to try to stay chronological, but obviously we're
going to have to not be totally chronological.
But yeah, we'll do our best. And the book starts
with the prologue. The prologue is set in 2016,
right? It does a good job setting the way in
which this situationship is heading. I found
the prologue to be like really bleak. Now I understand
what Jacob in the show was working towards from
the start of it. You really see how deeply non
-verbally communicative they are. but also how
absolutely separate they are at this point in
2016 in the prologue. They're not communicating
with words well, but there is a language between
them that is established, like the language on
the ice, all the little chirps. And we have the
immense loss. Shane got walloped by the Raiders.
And then the subsequent care in terms of physical
affection that... Ilya demonstrates. Do you remember
that scene in Jurassic Park? I swear this is
going to make sense where you see that. We'll
see about that. It's it's it's my process where
you see that insect trapped in amber. You know
what I'm talking about? He's holding it up and
it's perfectly beautifully preserved. That's
what that scene reminded me of. I wrote it down.
Insect trapped in amber because it just evoked
the sense of claustrophobia in me because. It's
preserved, but it's also killing it inside. You
know what I mean? Like the love and the care
and the affection that they're showing each other
is part of the problem because they are not.
communicating in a way that is going to suffocate
them. In the show, Ilya and Shane have their
meetups in their own places, right? Like Shane's
apartment, Shane's actual apartment. And the
hotel rooms. And the hotel rooms. But yeah, but
Shade actually bought a... freaking building
to keep them, their sex life and their personal
relationship private. And he feels only safe
in this empty building that is devoid of all
of his personality. And he doesn't even feel
safe. The quote I have is, it was as close to
safe as either of them were going to get. I mean,
this is so bleak. It's like, it's like a tomb.
That he feels safe in. But it's not even working
anymore because they're so miserable in that
tomb, you know? They're so miserable. Oh, yeah.
And you're like, damn, this is. I know. This
is a hard place to be. That's how I felt when
I read it, too, actually. When I read the prologue
after obviously watching the show, I'm like,
oh, like this, this hurts my feelings. Right.
This this hurts my feelings when you think about
it, like timeline wise, it is probably the well,
it's definitely before the tuna meltdown scene.
But the this particular scene in the prologue
is probably like those little snippets we get
of them being together. in your favorite montage,
right? In four. And like, you know that because
we have the shower scene, which is also in the
prologue. And we have them like kissing and making
out and like having sex, which is also in the
prologue. So I think that's why we see that montage
in episode four. That's the prologue. Obviously,
we don't see the entire thing. It's so interesting.
I didn't put it together because the montage
felt fun and the prologue did not. The prologue
does not. Right, exactly. No, you're so right.
But yeah, but you think about it. it makes sense
right i love your description of like the insect
trapped in ember it's interesting that you mentioned
the whole like the line about them being like
safe there because they're They are, but they
are not. Right. Like almost safe. They're almost
safe. Right. Because obviously they're not safe
anywhere, but it's a safe version of something
completely unsustainable. And they know that.
And like in this in the prologue, Shane multiple
times says, like, this has to end. I wanted to
end this. I've been trying to end this for six
years, you know, and even in the end of the prologue,
he's like, I'm going to sell this building. I'm
going to call my realtor and sell this building.
And then. He himself knows that he's lying to
himself. I think the last line is, he knew making
plans to end this was pointless. As long as this
was being offered, Shane would never be able
to say no. And like, that's how the prologue
ends. But I think the prologue is also interesting
because obviously it deviates from the way the
show begins. And in the show, we have like the,
will they, won't they? Even though we know we
will, they will because it's a romance. But in
the book, we already know that they will. Like
in the book. we are told like they're together
in this really complicated, fucked up way. And
it's not great. It's mostly physical, but also
you could see like the yearning and the longing
for one another in the prologue. So, you know,
it gives us this like contradiction, private
life versus public life, right? Like, you know,
it starts with them chirping on the ice and,
you know, being really fucking mean to each other
on the ice. And then... When you first read it,
you're like, oh, this is the beginning, you know,
and then you're like, oh, shit, this is actually
like them playing this public persona. And then
they go back to Shane's building that he bought
for fucking. And then they're like in bed together
and they're giving each other, you know, this
is obviously six or so years in. And you could
see that they already care for each other and
they're giving each other what they want. And
they're like regulating one another. You know,
Ilya knows that Shane is pissed that he lost
and doesn't want to look at him. So he fucks
him from behind, you know. Like they already
know each other so well. And gently, you know.
And gently, exactly. One last thing I want to
say is that it matters that it's right before
the tuna meltdown because. You know, we all know
what happens in the tuna meltdown. Shane freaks
out. But I think he freaks out not just because
Ilya whispers his name like it was too much for
Shane. But since this prologue happens right
before that in the prologue, like Shane is already
feeling like a closeness that he has never felt
before from Ilya. He's already like starting
to freak out a little bit. There's like there's
a part that says after a long, oddly tender kiss,
Shane. lifts his head and sees Rosanoff looking
at him very seriously. He swallowed but didn't
say anything as Rosanoff brushed his fingers
through his hair. And Ilya calls him beautiful.
And Shane's like, I don't know how to respond
to that. We've never really said things like
that to one another. It's interesting that we
already get a preview right before Tuna Meltdown
that Shane is already kind of starting to freak
out about this a little. Like, we don't talk
like that to each other. So how much before Tuna
Meltdown is the prologue? The prologue is October.
And the tuna meltdown is November. So it's it's
a very short period of time. It's been simmering
for a while in the book world versus the show
world, because looking back, the scenes immediately
preceding pivotal tuna meltdown scene, you have.
You know, you had Vegas in the previous episode.
And then, of course, you have the interval where
it's Game Changers slash Skip and Scott. But
then you have the montage. And there's a lot
more joy. before the tuna meltdown. It feels
like it crescendoed more quickly in the show
than it did in the book, which makes sense because
the book is 266 pages long. So that's interesting.
I actually just kind of put that together that
the show, it's been like. simmering and they've
been in this like rut for a while so it almost
feels a little this is not a criticism but it
does feel like a little disjointed right because
like you finish in Vegas in episode two and then
you're like wait who are these characters you
know in episode three and then you're right back
to Ilya and Shane where which is episode four
arguably or not arguably, I think we could all
agree is the most heartbreakiest episode we have
in the book because because of all of the internal
dialogue, we kind of get to understand that a
little better. And like we're almost like more
prepared for the heartbreak, you know, than we
are in the show, which I think. partly why the
show hits so hard when you're watching it you're
like oh fuck my heart like everything hurts when
you watch that shit the prologue definitely is
different because we don't get that and it sets
up the book and their story completely differently
where we're different feelings in both um important
but you know neither good or bad yeah and to
be fair Wasn't there an interview where Jacob
said they didn't have a budget for another set?
I don't know if that's the only thing that played
a role. I don't know. I didn't see that. That
makes sense. That makes sense. Totally. They're
like a small budget. Now not so much. No. So
the second little blip that I want to talk about
is the commercial, which is, I know, one of your
favorite underrated scenes, right? Like, oh,
yeah, yeah, that's true. Thank you for remembering.
I see. I listen to you sometimes. Sometimes.
Sometimes I feel like when you're watching me
talk, you're just thinking about what you're
going to say next. Accurate. Accurate. This is
how it works. Anyway, go ahead. Commercial. So
tell me what your take was commercial in the
book versus show. Well, they were almost the
same, except for one part. And that part was
Ilya saying he was the one who set it up. That's
not in the book. That was a Jacob Tierney edition,
which I... Fucking love. Love that part. Love
that addition. I know. It was like something
that made you swoon the last time we talked about
it. So I tried to deconstruct why he did that.
Why Jacob did that? Why he? I don't know. I don't
know. That's a good question. I don't know. Maybe
to show that Ilya is already in it. Because again,
we don't have the prologue to start. We don't
know what their relationship is going to be like.
And so that scene definitely tells us that Ilya
wants this kid, you know, whether just physically
or in more ways, but he set up a commercial.
And perhaps that's why Jacob made that decision
to like show us that Ilya is interested. That
probably is it because the book has the ability
to tell and they have to show that really that's
that. That makes sense. And I think for the book,
it kind of makes sense because, I mean, they're
really young and this was pre their NHL career.
The chances that they actually had the power
to make these requests may not have been so realistic,
right? That commercial. is like a way in which
the world that's around them is creating the
rivalry. I think it shows a little bit of how
powerless they were in the start of their relationship.
They had these narratives already kind of created
for them. And they did step into it in both the
book and the show. But I really feel like in
the book, it was less active and more thrust
upon them. Maybe others will have a different
take. But that was like one of my feelings from
the commercial. Yeah, because, you know, drive
sales. Yeah, yeah. Sex is not the only thing
that sells. Yeah, anger and rivalry as well.
So there's that. So that's a good one. I like
that addition. What are we moving into next?
Okay, so next. The 2014 Vegas hotel room scene.
I'm going to bring up not just the book version
of Vegas chair, but also. You've definitely read
the Vegas remix, right? Oh, yeah, girl. Yeah,
I have it printed out and inserted into the book.
I'm not kidding. I'm not kidding. It's right
here. Oh, my gosh. I am actually shocked that
it's not itself like a little in like a little
novella type of book. I mean, it's in my book,
but it is. I do want to do something more with
it. So thanks for giving me that idea. OK, so
this is after Sochi. He's been ghosted. They
haven't communicated. in months. When I read
the book and saw the scene, I thought how thin
that veneer of I don't care about you, both publicly
and privately, how thin it was. Shane says at
one point in the book that He doesn't even need
to pretend he hates Ilya. Like, he actually hates
him. I mean, granted, we know why he hates him.
It's because he's hurt. He's not ready to talk
about it. And, you know, and they are touching
each other in public. You know, that stroke in
the neck is also depicted in the show. And then
they go into a... relatively public bathroom
and and have this like big meltdown there so
to me that like private persona that they've
crafted is, like, really shaky at this point.
You know, it feels like it's, like, very real,
this scene. I'm going to read this out. He says,
I mean, he's having, like, an erection on stage.
Like, this is really... really intense and then
you know when Ilya takes the photos that's where
the private life Really blurs, right? Like he,
I have this quote here too. It said, it was stupid
wanting to have them, but even that didn't stop
him. He wanted the photos, even if Hollander's
face was all tight with disapproval. Even if
Hollander never wanted to touch him again, Ilya
wanted these photos. And that's why he took them.
It's just like such a blur, private and public
life blurring. Their love and hate. is blurring
too. Interestingly, with the remix, we see that
Shane and Ilya are mentally in literally the
same place. Like Shane's having a panic attack
at the idea of seeing Ilya. And Ilya is like
all calm, cool, and collected. And the remix
shows you what he was doing in what, the two
minutes, 55 seconds before he was having his
own panic attack in the bathroom. He says, I've
thought about him every day. That's what's in
the book. Like every day since Sochi, he's been
thinking about him. And that's the setup of Vegas
before they go up to the room. And so my thing
was, OK, how are they going to like translate
this very complicated internal feeling into the
scene? And it was a really, really hot scene.
But to me, it was on rewatch. I just felt like
it was so stylized. Even Ilya's hair was just
like. perfect it wasn't like his usual rumpled
waves in the show too because he's in this like
slicked back bun in the book and the lighting
is so stunning in that scenery because it's all
this contrast like dark light it's not soft right
no and you see all the angles which it's doing
great for shane and ilia but it looks like really
stylized do you know very cinematic yeah cinematic
and first you feel like okay that's like a really
great look. It's a beautiful scene. But there's
something really clinical about it. And here's
what I mean. Like every scene before that, they
kiss immediately. And here, the raw emotion occurs
in the bathroom. But in the hotel room, obviously,
they don't kiss at all. And Ilya doesn't join
Shane in bed. The voyeuristicness is like sexy.
Again, it could all be under the guise of sexiness.
Right. But these were choices they made. He was
removing himself from the emotional connection
that sex usually gives them. Even the sex wasn't
enough. Like, that's what it felt like. And after
reading the remix, I really got that. What the
show did was so fantastic because I actually,
like, it was the lighting, the setting, the acting,
the kind of detached nature. that you felt watching
that scene, it really felt like it conveyed those
emotions. That's how I felt. What do you think?
I have a slightly teeny tiny bit different take
on that. So when I watched, obviously. didn't
read the book before or the remix i didn't even
know that the remix was even there but a lot
of people if you if you saw the discourse online
in the very like early stages of that scene a
lot of people were like oh my god ellie is such
an asshole in that scene you know starting from
like the very beginning of uh the the awards
show you know like he's just so dismissive of
shane shane is hurting you know poor baby shane
and when i watched that scene i thought that
the actors did such an amazing job displaying
their emotions, like wearing their emotions on
their sleeve, essentially, no matter how hard
they tried to not. I watched that entire scene.
And to me, that scene is very comparable to the
club scene in terms of complicated emotions that
they're wearing on their faces. You could see
like even in that bathroom, like Ilya is so conflicted.
He doesn't want. to kiss Shane he's like suck
my dick you know like he doesn't want to have
any feelings for Shane but you can tell that
he does I mean when he runs his hand in the back
of his like that's not just like oh I want to
fuck you that's like I want to be close to you
you know and then in the hotel room like yes
Ilya tries to play it cool he really does he
he wants just to fuck Shane and leave Shane.
And that's the end of that. And both of their
internal, you know, dialogues are basically like,
we hate each other. We hate each other. No, I
hate you. Damn it. Why do you have to be Shane?
They're constantly like so conflicted. Even when
Ilya's like, yeah, like I'm going to drink my
vodka. Like you see him like gulping, like he's
very intense. It seems like Ilya also has the
upper hand in the situation, right? Because Shane
is like vulnerable. He's naked on the bed. He's
touching himself. Ilya's watching. You could
see Ilya's already like, shaking inside from
wanting Shane so bad, but he's trying to keep
it cool. And then Shane notices and he smirks
like they're both kind of sharing that, you know,
power in the bedroom as well. And so, you know,
when I read the remix, I was like, yeah, that
makes sense. Like when I read it after the fact,
I'm like, of course, this is what they're feeling
because it's so obvious in their expressions,
you know, in the scene. Yeah, we a lot of times
we talk about the micro expression and acting.
And I think this is one where it really plays
a big role. My interpretation actually was Ilya
understanding what was happening and not knowing
what to do. Whereas I think for Shane, he felt
wounded and he knew he felt wounded, but he doesn't.
He's not. He doesn't have that internal perception
to understand why. And that was always my sort
of take on that scene with Ilya's micro acting.
Because when he's smoking that cigarette in bed,
Connor looks visibly. uncomfortable. He actually
looks distressed. And that's not an expression
we've typically seen from him after sex. Right.
Happy. He's gotten his thing. That's not also
an expression you would. assume would happen
when you have sex and quite possibly the sexiest
swankiest sexiest sweet in the world right he
should be like preening even if he did if he
doesn't care for shane he should be like motherfucker
i won this round and i won the cup but it was
it was discomfort and and almost like distress
like he did not look happy at the end of that
scene And he should have. He should have. And
that's another thing that people always say,
like, why is he so distant? And I wanted to read
this part. Ilya was smoking on purpose in that
scene because, you know, he knows Shane hates
it and he's trying to, like, keep as much emotional
distance between them as possible, hence the
fucking and no kissing. And so it says Hollander
didn't say anything about the cigarette, even
when Ilya released long, obnoxious clouds of
smoke over the bed that they were both reclining
on. Hollander quietly sipped his vodka while
Ilya waited for the moment to crumble apart.
Are you heading back soon? Hollander said back
to Russia for the summer. Ah, there it is. Moment
ruined. Like Ilya was waiting for it. And it
almost seems like Shane gave him the opportunity
to pull back again, you know, because they keep
pulling toward one another and they keep wanting
to not be. And Ilya is just like, just. Just
give me just give me that out. Just give me that
out. And Hollander's like Russia. And he's like,
yep, that's it out. I need to go to bed, you
know, and I just believe you can tell you can
tell because like when Shane stands up and he
walks out and he's standing alone in the room
and then Ilya is alone in there and like their
faces are just really devastating and sad. So
good. So good. Right. And that's a very complex
scene to act out. Yeah. And I think. All of it,
like the lighting, the direction, the way in
which they were sort of apart until the very
last second on the bed, the lack of kissing,
the text messaging going back and forth, being
erased. And you just see like the choices that
were made to depict that scene were really brilliant
by Jacob and the actors and everyone on the scene.
This to me is. the tie into the prologue. I think
this is the first time in the book where I felt
like this sense of being trapped. When I read
that and I was like, wow, OK, that's where they
started here and ended up at the prologue. It
makes sense. They're just getting further and
further like sunk into this like trap of their
own making. And that's Shane realizes that right
in that moment when he's like, fuck, like when
he wanted to write, we didn't even kiss. And
then he had that realization in the show. puts
his head against the elevator and he was like,
fuck. Like, fuck. Yeah. Fuck my life because
this is bad. This is bad. Yeah. Oh, I can't.
I can't do this anymore, Anusha. What are we
doing with this analysis? My heart hurts. I know.
We didn't think this through. We didn't think
this through. On a Friday. We're like, oh, it's
going to be so fun on a Friday afternoon to discuss
the show and the book. I'm like sweating. I'm
sweating. You're pale and sweating. Oh, my God.
Okay. We're moving on to a fun, fun, fun scene.
We're going to talk about Moscow. That's your
fun scene. That's your fun scene. Moving on to
brighter spots. Better and brighter things. Let's
talk about the funeral. I want to talk about
this because there are actually significant differences
between the book and the show when Ilya goes
back home to Moscow after his dad dies. Okay.
Okay. So we're in 2014 Vegas. Yes. And now you're
taking us to what year? February 2017 or about.
Yeah. So we're moving three years in the future.
Yeah, we're moving a couple years. This is obviously
post -Tampa. We are dad's funeral or post -funeral
already. So in the show, we have two phone calls
from Moscow. We have the initial conversation
and then we have the monologue. In the book,
we have four conversations from Moscow. And I
want to talk about the second two. The second
conversation with the monologue, as everybody
I hope knows, the monologue was completely written
by Jacob. That was not in the book at all. However,
I think what Jacob did is he took bits and pieces.
of the dialogue between Ilya and Shane throughout
the next Skypes that they had to build that monologue
because Ilya like confesses a lot of the things
throughout those multiple conversations that
he actually says in the monologue but still like
Jacob took all that together and created this
beautiful piece in Russian you know for Ilya
to say in the book world we don't have the monologue
we have the idea of the monologue because Shane
says the same thing talk to me in Russian and
then he does and we do know that Ilya confesses
that he loves him. We just don't have the actual
monologue in the book. But I'm not going to focus
too much on that. I want to focus on the follow
up to Skype conversations. Okay. Are we book
world or? We are in book world right now. Okay.
The third conversation after the monologue in
the book is, I think, in addition to Tampa, almost
like a turning point where both Shane and Ilya's
relationship shifts to emotional intimacy. Here,
the energy is completely different. Ilya is obviously
grieving. You know, his dad just died. He's alone.
Like he says, like he has no one left. But instead
of like doing and we've talked about this before,
but instead of being typical Ilya and like putting
up a wall, he's softened. You know, he's listening
to Shane. He's sharing with Shane. And it was
really interesting because in that scene, they're
Skyping and Ilya has watched Shane, you know,
on TV and, you know, social media for so many
years. And he's like, I want to know what your
bedroom looks like. Do you remember that scene
in the book? I think it was like. a few chapters
beforehand when he's watching him in the cottage.
He's like, he's so perfect. I bet he has perfect
blue sheets and perfect picture frames. And then
he's like, OK, well, now I want you to describe
your home to me. Tell me about your bedrooms.
What do you see out the window? You know, he's
not just making a conversation. He's almost picturing
himself in Shane's home, like by making maybe
like I might be like inserting too much of my
own. No, I think that you're true, because like
in book world, he's not even allowed to be In
Shane's actual apartment. Right. That's even
more of a poignant thing. I know. I know. I know.
It's like vulnerable, right? Because we haven't
seen that from him before to take that much interest
in Shane's anything outside of sex stuff. And
Shane meets him. Like at first he's like a little
resistant, but then he physically moves into
his bedroom with Ilya on Skype. And so they're
no longer being like performative with one another,
which they have been for so long. They're just
like there together being super intimate and
emotional with one another. That scene starts
with Shane says something like, you shouldn't
be alone right now. And Ilya says, I'm not alone.
You're here now. Right. And and Shane, like his
like his whole heart, like stops right in that
moment. And so he lets Shane know in that moment,
like you are the comfort. Like, I don't need
anyone else. Like, I have you. Right. Like, you
are my. safety. Also, this is the part in the
book where Ilya actually talks about Svetlana,
like potentially marrying her for citizenship.
He makes all these confessions that we see in
the show, we see in the cottage. We don't see
them here. Shane, meanwhile, in that moment,
invites him to the cottage. Again, that is later
in the show in the hospital when he's high. He
invites him to the cottage. But in the book,
Shane invites Ilya to the cottage during the
Skype while Ilya is in Moscow still. which I
thought was really interesting. And he invites
her to the cottage and then he immediately goes,
fuck, what did I do? And again, Shane spirals
because he understands that like he can't undo
that. He can't pretend anymore. And he realizes,
and I think they're both realizing in that moment,
is that it's not just physical. Obviously, they
want a life together eventually. And we only
really get that in the cottage. But here we get
that in this Skype conversation. So in that scene,
like it's very clear that they are there. really
just falling in love. Then this last Skype call
that they have really like seals the deal, right?
Because at first glance, it's like, oh, they're
going to have phone sex or Skype sex, video sex,
whatever, right? It's almost like back to their
physical. They start with the familiar territory.
Ilya takes the lead. Shane follows. But then
again, it shifts into something different, right?
Shane asks to see Ilya's face. Like he just he
can't even enjoy the sex part of it without looking
at Ilya, which is amazing, right? Like it's a
small choice, but like completely changes the
tone of the entire scene. Again, they're not
performing anymore for one another. They're being
a lot more vulnerable. They're seeing each other's
like eyes and, you know, paying attention to
each other's expressions. The intimacy there
is just like what they're feeling, being super
honest with each other. And then like they start
like complimenting each other. You're beautiful.
And you've never said that to me before. And
then that's when Shane admits that. no one compares
to Ilya that's when he admits that he was with
a few other men right I actually really love
that part and we don't have that in the show
like in the show we are assuming that Shane hasn't
been with any other men and like in that moment
Ilya's like did he hurt you and that was just
like oh my god like you care so much like I'm
gonna die and Shane's like no nobody hurt me
but like it just wasn't you you know like it
just wasn't you you know and I love that that's
a confession like everything they're saying to
each other in that moment moment on that Skype
call is a confession. Like neither of them expected,
I think, or intended to go there. I think they
really just wanted to have phone sex. And then
it turns into this like super like vulnerable,
intimate moment. And then at the very end, the
most intimate moment that isn't physical that
I actually do wish was somehow in the show. That's
the only thing that I wish was included in. Well,
two things. We'll talk about that later. But
one of the only things I wish that was included
is that when Shane. He kisses his fingers and
then puts his fingers on the screen. I mean,
girl, that is so fucking sweet. Like, yeah, you're
fucking in love. Like, I know we talk about how
they've been in love this whole time. But like,
if this doesn't say it, then like nothing says
it. You know, that is just such a sweet. Such
a like, like they've been together forever, you
know, moment. Yeah. That's like what you would
do when your husband or something, you know,
is away and you miss him or your wife is away
or, you know, it's like a very domestic gesture.
It's very domestic, right? Like that's that's
what it feels like. There's no pretense anymore.
My assumption as to why these two scenes, because
they are pivotal in the book. to show us the
progression of their love for each other and
vulnerability and all that. But by assumption,
why they aren't in the show, honestly, probably
for time. You know, like how many Skype phone
calls can you really put into one episode? I
mean, episode five was already the longest episode.
And I guess it didn't seem that pivotal because,
you know, Jacob made up for that moment with
other parts, like the monologue probably. But
the kiss, the kiss, I want that back. I want
it back. I agree with you 100%. The monologue
is doing some heavy lifting. It moved the plot.
And the emotional action forward leaps and bounds.
It was a brilliant choice to do it that way.
Yeah. Okay. I have a theory that. About this?
Yeah. Well, now that you bring it up, the difference,
I think, in pacing in the book and the show and
the different choices that were made to sort
of progress their emotional intimacy. And you
have a lot shorter time to do it in the show
than you do in the book. But time constraints
aside, I'm looking back and one of the things
that I kind of want to talk about is Shane's
reconciliation of him being gay. And some of
the way that it's different in the show versus
the book and why maybe the way in which they're
navigating in the show makes sense for that world.
You brought up the fact that Shane has been with
other men in the book. It's really heavily implied
that in this show that that was not the case.
Going back to his interactions with Rose, specifically
that coming out conversation and even his meeting
with Rose. So when he meets Rose in the restaurant,
in the book, he notices the bartender is really
cute. And he even says that. Rather than look
for the Rose Landry, he is wanting to look at
this bartender who's a dude. And he's sort of
semi -flirting in the book with the bartender.
He's like grinning at him, etc. When you look
at the same part of that in the show, and I have
to... think it's a conscious choice the bartender
could be just being like you're the shane hollander
anything you want is free yeah there's like an
element of flirtation and shade right but shade
is just like trying not to make eye contact looking
around being like great crowd tonight right like
like so much denial so much denial and that part
to me really like compared to the book to show
shane like he's still really not ready to come
turn come to terms with his identity as a gay
man and then even in the coming out scene rose
is doing her thing and it's very similar dialogue
in the book when the book very similar she notices
his like Their lack of sex life being like, you
know, great. And she's she's being really sweet.
So I think that carries over. And but the show
is much more fraught. She brings up Miles in
the show and Shane's just like. OK, why are you
talking about Miles? His facial expression suggests
he does not understand what this is being brought
up. And he's confused because of that. In the
book, he is confused. But he says when Rose asks,
you know, Miles is gay. He says, I guess I hadn't
really thought about it. Shane lied. So that's
actually in the book. Like he said he lied. He's
lying to her. He's lying to her. He knows a little
liar. Yeah. But that vibe. Did you feel like.
Shane was lying when he was telling Rose that?
No, not at all. Not in the show. No, he felt
like, it felt like he was genuinely clueless
as to why. Like he was surprised as to why. He
was surprised, right? And I really think the
rest of the conversation, it was really moving
in the book, but it almost felt like Shane was
like, finally, someone's just like asking me.
Yeah. It felt like really resigned. Then, then
you're like, wait, what's? the next 45 % of the
book if he's reconciled his identity. And then
you see the angst transfer on to not the entirely,
you know, that he's gay. but that he's gay in
love with his rival and he doesn't know what
his rival feels for him yet or how serious it
is. And I think that's a distinct difference
in the show and the book is that the anxiety
about these closeted hockey players is generalized
in the show. More so, I think, than in the book.
In the book, if I had to like say, okay, what's
the... angst causing element is it being gay
or is it being gay in love with your rival to
me like that's when it switches into it's really
the ilia part that's yeah getting him and i think
that's why there need is maybe a lot more build
up maybe in the book maybe to resolve it i don't
know that's what i'm thinking He does. Shane
does say like in Tampa, he's like, it's not just
being gay. Being gay is one thing. Fucking your
arch rival is another thing, you know. But I
love that you brought that up because in the
book we see a lot more internal dialogue from
them or these internal thoughts about them not
knowing how the other one feels the entire time.
Like the entire time they're like there's two
things that run through the book actually counted.
OK, about. 15 to 20 times, either one of them
thinks to themselves, I'm going to end this.
And then another thing is, like I said, like.
They are constantly saying, well, I know I feel
this way, but he must not feel that way. So I
can't tell him how I feel. Like these fucking
kids will not communicate at all. When there
is a lack of direct communication, the lack of
information, you come up with your own narratives
because you have nothing else. So they're coming
up with all these things in their head, like
even something so silly, like in the book, when
Ilya gave the speech in Russian, he was like,
what if Shane went and translated it somewhere?
I'm like. Like, what is wrong with the two of
you? Like, why are you always like reverting
back to like such negativity? They're constantly
like, does he like me too? Right. It feels like
the anxiety is Ilya not knowing and Shane not
knowing what the other is thinking. Yeah. First
and foremost, after the resolution of like, OK,
I'm gay. And I think in the show was not the
choice that was made. And it works. It actually
worked well. And I think in a way, maybe it was
pacing. Like, they don't have time to, like,
sit there and spin their wheels. You have one
episode left. But you had to kind of think through
that plot, right? Like, because otherwise, you
know, if it was more apparent that Shane was
ready to embrace his identity as a gay man, then...
it feels like that tension would have resolved
in the show. And then you'd be like, what's left?
And I think it took Shane a bit longer to get
there. And I also think that that's why we get
in both the book and the show that moment where
Shane says, let's just tell each other how we
feel. Like, let's be honest with each other for
the next two weeks. Because I think at some point,
I mean, Shane is like sick of it. You know, like
he's sick of being in his head, trying to figure
out what Ilya feels, what he feels. So he's just
like, can we just like, cut the bullshit and
be honest with each other. And that line does
make me think that while we don't see that conflict,
that particular conflict in the show, it exists,
you know, obviously, because this is something
he has been thinking about, you know, and he
needs it. He needs to be told very explicitly,
this is how I'm feeling or else he will spin.
And Ilya, he needs the same thing because he
also doesn't know how Shane feels because Ilya
thinks that he's just like, like overly in love
with him because he also confesses at first.
And Shane is kind of like, whatever. Good point.
I like it. All right. Speaking of the cottage,
shall we go? Yeah. I mean, I'm already I've been
living there. I've been living there since December.
But do you want to join me? Yeah, I was in that
empty warehouse, two floors, two stories. I mean,
that's a sad place to be. No, no. I mean, I'm
OK being there as like a mom who is overwhelmed.
You just want to be alone in the empty. Leave
me alone. Got it. Well, okay. There are some
things I thought that were interesting choices.
For example, in the show, Shane comes up with
the plan of starting this charity and going to
Ottawa. book Ilya comes up with half of that
so like there's definitely some changes but I
actually love the way it is in the show because
it makes more sense for Shane to come up with
that plan because Shane is the planner so it
actually makes sense obviously not canonically
but narratively it makes sense for like Shane's
character but I want to talk specifically the
last part that is completely left out from the
show and the show ends with them driving off
into the sunset beautiful cinematic masterful
you know they're happy in the book they drive
back to the cottage. But before they go to the
cottage, Shane is freaking out. How do you think
about one? And he's like, it went fine. Like
it went well. Let's go home, he says. And that
becomes Ilya's little tick because he's like,
wait. Shit, I just said home. Does Shane think
it's weird that I called it home? Because it's
not home. It's not my home. You know, like, so
he's like spinning. And then he goes, well, Shane
hasn't said anything. So I guess it's not weird.
Whatever. I'm just going to stop thinking about
it. They get back to the cottage. Shane is completely
overwhelmed. He is spiraling. He's stuck in his
head. He's just like a wreck. He immediately
jumps to planning. Ilya, at this point, realizes
that he needs to de -escalate Shane. Because
for Ilya, that was like a really great moment
at Shane's parents' house. He felt good there,
despite all the complex. feelings and emotions
of everything, meeting his lover's parents for
the first time ever under these very weird circumstances,
but still. It was some of the best time he said
he's had. He wants to de -escalate Shane. He
does not engage with that anxiety. He tries to
pull him out of it, like grounds him, you know,
brings him back into the present and he like
kisses him. He's like, this is the way I've always
wanted to kiss Shane. And I want to read this
part, right? I'm just summarizing what is written
on the page. Ilya wanted to tell Shane that this
has been one of the best days of his life. Sure,
it was awkward, but... He was welcomed into Shane's
family, and he has barely been welcomed into
his own family. He wanted to tell Shane that
the closest he's felt to home is when he's with
him. It didn't matter if it was a hotel room
or Ilya's apartment or some weird hideout building
that Shane bought for them. He was himself when
he was with Shane. He had left Russia, he was
uneasy in America, and he spent his entire adult
life drifting between continents and between
lovers. But now he had been reeled in by this
annoying Canadian. And all he knew was that he
wanted to stay. He wanted to anchor himself and
just stay. But he couldn't say all that. He literally
like didn't have the words, the language for
that. So he just turned around and he said, I
love you, you know, and Shane looked at him and
said, I love you, too. And then he's like, are
you OK? Because he obviously sees that Ilya is
like, you know, processing all of these feelings.
And, you know, that's when Ilya de -escalates
and Ilya is just like, enough. Have some drinks.
Have some vodka. Let's relax. You know, we can
we can plan later. So it's a huge shift again
from where they started. We don't get to see
this in the show, this aftermath. They really
are talking about building their life together
at this point openly with one another. They understand
there's going to be a lot of challenges, but
now they believe that they can overcome them
because usually it was like we can't be together.
You know, even if we want to, we can't. But now
they're like, we can and we will try. You know,
in the scene also is when Ilya looks at him and
says, one of these days I'm going to come here
with you and I'm going to light a bunch of candles
and I'm going to ask Shane Hollander, will you
marry me? And you will say yes because you're
a nice guy and I'm only going to do it to get
my citizenship, you know, get my passport or
whatever. So and you're a helpful dude. So you're
going to say yes. And you're like. Oh, my God.
You may as well just fucking ask him to. Now,
you know, because clearly you're not just saying
that because, you know, you want the citizenship,
obviously. It is like a soft and domestic scene,
you know, and a very complicated one. It like
blends like. humor and intimacy and anxiety,
obviously, all together. It's a great scene and
it's left out of the show. And I was trying to
figure out why. But I did see one interview with
Jacob in Variety. He said he wanted the final
image to feel like simple, elegant and emotionally
complete. He says that he was just aiming for
like that feeling of like warm fuzzies. And so
like them driving off into the sunset together
was just like that. It did it like a cinematic
kind of situation. And also, I think in either
this interview or some other interviews, I heard
him say that he wasn't sure if they're going
to get a season two. So it was like it was like
a nice wrap up to season one. So I get that.
But it is a beautiful scene. And I hope the season
two starts with the scene because you need it.
As you know why you need the scene. Well, it
is domestic and it is sweet. But the book sets
up the tension. I'm going to read this from the
book. He says, this is Ilya thinking, were they
really going to be able to keep this a secret
until they retired? Now that they're both honest
about what they were to each other, Ilya feared
it might be impossible to hide their relationship
from the world. And then like Ilya then says,
I want to tell. everyone right now. And Shane's
eyes went wide with panic. No, don't. We have
to stick to the plan. And Illy sighed dramatically.
You and your plans. And then they're going back
to sort of the humor. That's right. I forgot
about that part. That's an important part. Yeah.
They're like, you know, he's trying to. diffuse
it with humor like what if I just kissed you
at the all -star game and yeah they're like I
forgot all about that part yeah yeah you're right
and then he's like I'll punch you and then it
kind of like goes back to like funny but you
can see it's gonna be difficult they're not entirely
on the same page no they're not and season two
is gonna break us but yeah they're not They're
not. And they almost never are, right? That's
the beauty. They almost never are on the same
page. They almost never are. Yeah, they almost
never are. So, yeah, so. that's that's the cottage
and uh i really hope that season two starts with
that because i think it would be important yeah
and that's a wrap and that's a wrap that was
fun very fun very fun very emotional yeah i was
about to say the same thing a little bit heartbreaking
again like reliving this and hurting our own
feelings non -stop but it gets a little But anyway,
let's lighten the mood and talk about our sunshine.
What is your sunshine for the week? My sunshine
is my neighborhood. We just moved this colossal
trampoline from our neighbor's house to our home.
And you would think this was an easy process,
but bear in mind that we did not want to take
it apart. So we had to recruit like six guys
from the neighborhood. And my husband just put
a call out earlier. today, you know, six people
showed up and lifted it up. And one brought a
baby who was watching this occur. And then we...
pizza and drink some beer it was really sweet
and it just reminds me uh you know there are
so many ways that community is so important um
the neighborhood community and also our our friend
community um we went to a derby party that was
really fun and on all of those places the kids
were completely welcome You know, and it was
just really nice. It was just a really nice weekend.
And I love my neighborhood and I love my friends.
Oh, that's really nice. What's your sunshine
this week? I know that I've told you that I've
been trying to get my mom to watch heated rivalry.
Now, the context here, as many of our listeners,
if you've been listening to us since the beginning,
know. I was born and raised in the former Soviet
Union. Obviously, my parents were born and raised
there, too, specifically Uzbekistan. So as many
people know, you know, very repressive laws against
LGBTQ. So I kind of figured my my parents are
liberal, but they're Soviet liberal. You know,
that's a little. Yeah, that's a different type
of liberal. But. I empathize with that. Yeah,
they're great. They're great. I love them. But
I didn't think they were going to go for this.
But I thought I had a shot with my mom. So I've
gently like. Kept asking. And then at some point
I kind of gave up and I was like, whatever, I'm
not going to push someone, you know, to watch
something they're just not interested in. And
it's not going to be a good experience for any
of us. And then finally, my mom brought it up
after reading that article I wrote, the Trenchfoot
article. She brought it up. She said, I'll watch
it with you. So finally, on Friday night, she
texted me and she's like, I'm ready. So I ran.
I ran as fast as I could. You dropped everything.
You're like, I'm coming, mom. I said goodbye.
children goodbye husband I'm out she was locked
in from the moment that show started I don't
even think she blinked the entire time okay so
after the first episode she's just like oh my
god those poor boys like she's already feeling
so much for them you know and I'm like all right
I know I have her like she's locked in we watched
the second episode and I kind of like look at
her and I'm like you want to do three and she
goes okay so we did three on Friday night On
Saturday morning, I get a text message from her
with the word ready to do the rest. So I run
over there. And again, we were only supposed
to watch two because we were going to this derby
party. And I was like, I don't have time to do
all three. But we had time because after five,
you can't not watch the cottage. I mean, if that's
at your fingertips. Obviously, when you had to
wait, you had to wait. You had no choice. But
if it's at your fingertips, you're going to go
to the cottage after five. My mom is not very
like emotive. But during episode five, when Scott
comes out very publicly, she like raised her
arms up like triumphantly, you know, like real
quick. Like as if somebody was watching her,
like it was the cutest thing ever. And she loved
it. At some point, she's like, they have very
nice bodies. I'm like, yeah, no shit. You're
like, yes, Diana's mom is correct. But, you know,
her her final thought was they make it seem like
a happy ending. But you know that it is not.
all there auntie i just want to say you and i
are on the same vibe you are you are we loved
it from episode one unlike some folks out there
who shall remain nameless i don't know who she's
talking about no idea thank you for being another
recruit on behalf of diana that experience for
me was I don't know if I could describe it and
it might sound even very silly to some people,
but it felt really meaningful to watch that with
her and to actually have her enjoy it and process
it and analyze it with me. And yeah, so I that's
my moment of sunshine and it makes me a little
teary. But as you know, everything makes me teary
now. So this is no surprise. Well, you know,
the thing that I love, I love that the trench
foot episode, which is. entitled Women and Our
Feelings was sort of the inspiration of this.
I have to say that one felt really cathartic
to both, you know, like kind of do on the spur,
think through. So I love that, you know, that
piece that you wrote and then that translated
into an episode really was the like. That's what
got her. Yeah. Yeah. That pushed her into it.
Women in our feelings. Women. And she's in her
feelings a lot. So, and I, I understand that.
I get it. I get it. Next week on Everyone Deserves
Sunshine, we're talking about hockey. Subscribe
now, wherever you get your podcasts. And if you
want to say hi to the girls in the crease, find
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deserves sunshine. Or email us at everyone deserves
sunshine at gmail .com. New episodes drop on
Mondays. See you then.