Episode 1: 1410 - Shane’s Hotel Room Continued

Ilya & Shane’s First Time

Intro and PSA Regarding the Actors Personal Lives and Safety

Thanks for bearing with me as I took a week off from writing. I just want to address and emphasise a few thoughts around privacy and consent. This fandom and the attention Heated Rivalry has gained in a very short period of time has come with some amazing elements and some really awful ones too. I post frequently on Threads about maintain healthy boundaries and healthy online relationships (which include parasocial relationships), as well as short PSAs about allowing Hudson Williams, Connor Storrie, and François Arnaud to have privacy in their lives, particularly relating to their personal relationships and just being able to live a somewhat normal life. I’ve also spoken (or written) about the bullying and threatening behaviour we’ve been seeing. And in that vein, for anyone not familiar with my Threads account, I want to reiterate that these actors are people and they deserve respect, kindness, and privacy. Even though I post about very intimate subject matter within the show (Heated Rivalry), this is where my professional line is drawn. I write about the actor’s performances, the elements of queer intimacy, and the technical aspects from my perspective as an Intimacy Coordinator. It’s none of my business what these actors do or don’t do in their personal lives, and it shouldn’t be any of yours either. As an Intimacy Coordinator I feel particularly protective of actors (as is part of my job) and want to help to keep them safe and comfortable. Keep the fandom and excitement limited to the show, press event/materials, interviews, and what Hudson, Connor, and François choose to share on socials. Please don’t share paparazzi photos or nonconsensual images (this includes fan video as many of these cross lines and boundaries). Please don’t share or spread gossip or anything to do with their personal relationships or sexual orientation. Allow these wonderful artists to live their lives, share their art, and let’s work together to help maintain their boundaries and keep their mental health in a good place. There is a lot of care and respect in this fandom; let’s keep that energy and continue to educate and call in (or call out) unhealthy and dangerous behaviour when we see it. Or at the very least not engage with it, share it, or interact with it.

On with the Show...

Before we move onto Nashville, I wanted to add some additional context to 1410 - Ilya & Shane’s Hotel Room. In my last article I focused a lot on the planning and technical aspects of this intimate scene but wanted to dig into the way that Ilya and Shane communicate via sex and intimacy. Please note that while I do sometimes use these terms interchangeably that intimacy is a broader umbrella term under which sex sits under. Intimacy can exist without sex and in a non-sexual context.

Queer Communication a Quick Flash through History

Queer communication is the umbrella term I will be using but queer coding fits within this. It’s important to distinguish the term queer coding here. I am using an older version of the term queer coding that relates to encrypted behaviours that are mutually intelligible to other queer people. This type of queer communication was used during times when being publicly perceived as queer or being outed as queer was dangerous. Queer coding served a dual purpose of both survival and the need for connection during eras of criminalised and extreme homophobia. Queer coding includes nonverbal communication such as: eye gaze, observation, facial expressions, emotional expressions, body language, stance and posture, gender performance, proximity, touch, expressions of tenderness, hanky code, style of dress, accent or tone of voice, locations frequented or gathered in. Queer coding can also relate to queer coding in character creation, usually discussed in terms of film villains after the Hayes Code and from the McCarthy era onwards. This is a super interesting topic I’d love to expand on, but for brevity I will stick to the topic at hand. I’ll mostly be using the term queer communication in this article as that’s what the more recent academic research discusses.

Queer Communication in the Lead up to 1410

As mentioned in my previous articles, from the very first scene in Heated Rivalry, to the gym scene, and the first shower scene there is so much non-verbal communication. Even in the scenes where Shane and Ilya aren’t together, in the first episode, there is still communication via eye gaze, gender performance, proximity, and observing each other. All of this non-verbal communication falls under queer coding. Understanding queer culture and queer communication opens up a wealth of understanding and interpretation within these scenes that may not be immediately evident to non-queer and/or younger queer viewers. There is a depth and intricacy to the development of Shane and Ilya’s relationship within the lens of queer communication that is immensely beautiful to watch as it unfolds.

Queer Communication in 1410; Shane’s Hotel Room

Within this scene we see Shane and Ilya talk without the fear of being seen by others for the first time. There is still a lot of nonverbal communication happening and even in the dialogue there is a lot of subtext, particularly pertaining to consent and ongoing consent. I’m going to briefly list the key queer communication moments in the scene and then break them down in more detail. Most of these fit under the more general queer communication umbrella because Shane and Ilya are not needing to encode their behaviour as much. However, they don’t really know each other and are still trying to work the other person out, as well as finding their footing in the larger situation. There is still an element of danger present because they are yet to establish a trust in each other. In 1410 we see gender performance, gauging interest, power dynamics, expressions of tenderness, and ongoing consent.

Gender Performance

Gender performance is a pretty prominent element of Heated Rivalry. Gender performance is a form of queer communication and has varied presentations in real life and queer media as a whole. For the purposes of this article and the show, I will be discussing masculine (or sometimes hyper-masculine) gender performance. Although I’ve seen a lot of discourse surrounding how the couples are heteronormative coded, both Shane and Ilya as well as Scott and Kip are very masc for masc and masc for masc, in terms of gender performance. Shout out to all the queers that remember this horrible era of Grindr. I don’t mean that the masc for masc with Heated Rivalry is toxic to the degree of ye old Grindr days, but it is an element that shouldn’t be denied. All of these characters are very masculine presenting; they have very few immediately intelligible feminine or “effeminate” qualities. I’m speaking of this in terms of binary gender constructions, my personal views are that these qualities are human qualities, but this isn’t how the world of gender is constructed and understood. Even when the characters are behind closed doors, they might show insecurities, emotions, tenderness, softness... but these are also things that men contain, experience, and express. Their masculine gender performances are a means of protection while closeted in heteronormative and homophobic environments (professional hockey, Russia, and just the 2000s-2010s in general). Gender performance also blends into their attractions for each other, particularly Shane and Ilya, but also Scott and Kip. The masc for masc front does contain more depth that we see explored as their relationships evolve. Even though the television show was adapted, written, and directed by a gay man, the books being written by a woman, for (predominantly) women does play into the lust for masculine men loving masculine men for viewers and readers. There are a lot of queer men who don’t feel seen or represented by Heated Rivalry, and the masc (and at times hyper-masculine) gender performances of the characters are one reason for this. Moving more specifically into 1410, we see gender performance in Shane and Ilya’s speech, behaviour, mannerisms, body language, clothing, bodies, and the way they have sex.

Gauging Interest

Shane and Ilya still don’t really know each other. Much of the queer communication in 1410 is about both men gauging interest they each have for each other. I have posed the view that Ilya is already very into Shane from midway through their first interaction in the first scene. Shane is very nervous about the situation but is also immediately drawn to Ilya. Shane technically makes the first move, in making himself know to Ilya and introducing himself in a more private setting. After their first meeting, they’ve had a bit of time to observe each other and perform for each other in public spaces (whether we want to consider this gender performance or peacocking). It isn’t until the gym scene where they really start to gauge interest in each other with Ilya taking the lead in both the gym and first shower scene with direct eye gaze (as opposed to the “look and look back” gaze that Shane uses in the first scene and first shower scene). When they are in the same area as each other they both spend time looking or gazing at each other, in a more cautious way than when they have privacy. As well as direct eye gaze, Ilya uses proximity (being next to Shane on the bikes, sitting close and across from him with their feet nearly touching), body language (legs open, chest open, head tilted back), facial expressions (smiling, sexually adjacent looks), breathing (post-workout but sexually suggestive), touch (intentionally touching Shane’s hand when passing the water bottle and letting the touch linger), sharing the same drink, clocking where Shane’s gaze is (between Ilya’s legs). As mentioned, eye gaze is prominent in the first shower scene with Ilya making direct (prolonged) eye gaze and Shane using the “look and look back” (broken) eye gaze. I won’t go over the queer communication in the shower scene again, but we can see a pattern here over these key scenes that is continued in 1410.

From the moment Ilya enters Shane’s hotel room they are both gauging each other’s interest. We see this in their dialogue (including subtext) and their nonverbal communication. I unpack this further when analysing the other elements of queer communication in the scene.

Power Dynamics

The establishing and testing out power dynamics is perhaps one of my favourite elements of 1410. I have a fair amount of experience with power dynamics. For those who may not be familiar with power dynamics, power dynamics exist everywhere in the world where people interact. This is another umbrella term. I am using it to more broadly describe power exchange in an intimate context, but the umbrella term is encompassing of both nonsexual and sexual power dynamics. Power exchange is part of BDSM but does not have to include the more traditional concepts of BDSM, it can simply describe the power dynamics within a relationship. Power play is a more short form version of power exchange. Power exchange can explain an entire relationship power dynamic or a power play during an intimate scene (scene is the term used for a sexual encounter within BDSM; it does not usually relate to anything being filmed unless used within the porn industry).

Before I moved to the US I was in a piercing apprenticeship with a famous piercing studio in Melbourne. Along with offering piercing they had community nights such as a boot polishing night for butch lesbians (and bisexuals) and a bear night (for gay and queer men). I vibed more with the bears and bear night which upon reflection makes a lot of sense. There were many conversations and displays of power dynamics on these nights, and the studio also ran courses on power dynamics which included power exchange and power play. This experience taught me a lot about the communication and experience of these power exchange relationships outside of an explicitly sexual context. I’ve also been friends with many porn actors over the years, particularly the five years I lived in LA, who performed in BDSM scenes that included a lot of different types of power exchange. Seeing behind the curtain, or camera, taught me a lot about how power dynamics function within sex and intimacy.

For Shane and Ilya, they quickly figure out their power dynamics through their intimacy. Their power exchange translates as Ilya leading and taking on a more dominant role and Shane following and taking on a more submissive role. This is not as simple as top and bottom, that just happens to be their preference sexually. Their power dynamics relate to their broader intimacy and not just the way they approach and have sex. Ilya is a mix of a service dom (or service top); a dom who is interested in servicing the needs and desires of their submissive, and a soft dom; a dom who is nurturing towards their submissive while offering guidance, encouragement, and affection. Shane is a mix of a service sub; a sub who likes to provide acts of service for their dom (whether sexual or non-sexual in nature), and a bedroom sub; a sub that is primarily submissive in the bedroom and not in other areas of life. The way these sub and dom types are shown throughout the season in something I will discuss as it appears because it is really cool to watch. Which is to say these are two young men discovering themselves and each other. They are fully developed characters who aren’t one-dimensional caricatures of a dom and sub, and their power exchange is not limited to the bedroom. All of these attributes aren’t always apparent in every scene; they explore and relax into them. There are ups and downs, like in any form of relationship. There is of course the heartbreaking “we didn’t even kiss” moment and the utterly gutting tuna melt scene. As we’ve discussed before, intimacy encompasses so much more than sex, and Shane and Ilya’s intimacy is visible outside of their sexual encounters. It is very subtle and nuanced at times, which is another element of their power dynamics, or power exchange, which I enjoy.

In 1410 we see the first exploration of this sub/dom relationship with Ilya taking the lead within their first sexual experience. This can read as Ilya having more experience than Shane but more interestingly, can be read in a more extensive way regarding the situation of each character in the larger arc of their life-experience. Ilya’s life is out of control. He has very little control over anything in his life. He plays hocky because he happens to be really good at it but was also in that world growing up. Hockey was a heteronormative activity that he may not have had much say about getting into. We see the control his father has relating to Ilya’s hockey career in one of the draft scenes. His father speaks for him, dominating conversations and moments that should be Ilya’s. Ilya is also controlled financially by his brother, constantly being asked to send home more money. He has little control over his sexuality and relationships, living in Russia and working in professional hockey. We see Ilya breaking rules and being quite wild in his actions and decisions because his life is so out of his control. Shane on the other hand has an immaculately controlled life. His mother is quite domineering of this lifestyle and career. Shane is very controlled in the way he eats and how he lives, even down to the houses he buys and how they are decorated. It’s been revealed that Shane is Autistic (shout out to all my neurodivergent folks who clocked this immediately), and some Autistic folks like routine and can be rigid at times. It’s also not uncommon for Autistic folks to be into power exchange and/or BDSM. Likely because we don’t hold onto social norms as tightly as Allistic folks, because we don’t understand while a lot of these norms exist to begin with or they don’t make sense to our brains. We’ll talk more about Shane’s Autism as it relates to future scenes. There is a lot to consider in the exploration and settling into Shane and Ilya’s power dynamics than the fact thay they are a bottom and a top, because bottom doesn’t always equal submissive, and top doesn’t always equal dominant. Then there’s the whole world of switches and being vers, or versatile, which we will explore more during Scott and Kip’s scenes.

Expressions of Tenderness

1410 contains a lot of tenderness. Even though it’s a hot sex scene, there is also tenderness present. The presence of this tenderness is one of the reasons some queer and gay men don’t find the sex to be authentic. I would argue it’s what makes it authentic within consideration for the way they feel about each other to begin with but also just who they are as people (speaking in regard to the characters, not the actors). Tenderness doesn’t equal feminine or overly mushy or soft; tenderness can exist in hot sex, and even rough sex; especially rough sex—where there is consent, communication, care, and trust. Some expressions of tenderness are shown in Ilya’s guidance, in the way that Shane and Ilya kiss and touch each other, in the way they service each other and pay attention to each other’s pleasure. Even in the way that Ilya says, “goodnight, Hollander” and pauses before leaving. The expressions of tenderness start with things like Ilya’s touch when passing the water bottle in the gym, to Ilya listening to Shane when he says, “not here” in the showers, to gaging Shane’s level of interest and comfort in 1410. I will discuss this in more detail in future articles but wanted to at least start the discussion surrounding expressions of tenderness as a placeholder, but also as it blends into the ongoing consent in 1410.

Ongoing Consent

Consent is obviously a big thing for me as an Intimacy Coordinator. I talk a lot about consent in terms of the technical aspects of creating intimate scenes, but also within the context of the storytelling of Heated Rivalry. When we think about consent and intimacy, we generally think of clear verbal consent, which we see a lot of in Heated Rivalry (as well as other queer cinema). Clear verbal consent has a long history in queer intimacy and queer culture, much longer than it has been a conversation and expectation in heteronormative sex and culture. The ongoing consent in 1410 is another part of this scene which brings me a lot of joy because some of it is quite nuanced and sometimes looks like something else is going on (but the subtext and deeper communication is about consent). I’m going to skip over the overt consent because we can all recognise the clear verbal consent in this scene.

The two key moments of subtextual consent in 1410 are what I’m more interested in because they versions of queer communication that are more idiosyncratic of Shane and Ilya specifically.

The first key moment is when Ilya says, “you want me to, ah... lie on the bed and let you do it some more”. This is partly Ilya teasing Shane a little, but it’s also a form of checking in. Ilya has already asked Shane if he “like[s] sucking” his “cock”. Shane nods. Ilya says, “yes?” Shane verbally says, “yes” but doesn’t move. By making a statement inviting Shane to continue to go down on him, he is allowing Shane the opportunity to continue (giving consent), say no (revoke consent), or express that he wants to do something else (redirecting). Shane enthusiastically shows he wants to continue and gives consent by making a joke and walking Illya backwards towards the bed. This is such a beautiful and naturalistic way to engage in active and ongoing consent.

The second is when Ilya says, “ok, was fun,” and looks like he’s about to leave. Even though this hurts Shane, because he takes it seriously (literally asking Ilya, “are you serious?), it gives Shane the opportunity to express that he wants more—wants to continue having sex (a note that queer sex is not only about penetrative sex, which should be the norm regardless of sexuality). Shane gets upset and Ilya asks, “what, you want something?” to which Shane scoffs, still looking hurt. Ilya quickly let’s Shane know that he wouldn’t just leave him like that, after getting off, then moves to start going down on Shane to “show him how to do this”. This interaction both gives me a pang of pain; I can feel what Shane is feeling so intensely, but I can also see what Ilya is doing in terms of not pressuring Shane and allowing him the space, or setting up the space, for him to ask for or indicate that he wants to continue having sex. Some queer folks only like to give and not receive, it’s not a given that both of them would want blow jobs. Ilya is able to cloak asking for consent in his teasing nature in a really creative way, and queer communication is an area where creativity is a core element. This is a brilliant part of the scene in terms of writing, choreography, performance, consent, and queer communication.

The Question of Consent in 1410

One last thing I wanted to cover, and this will come up again with the infamous couch scene at the cottage, is the question of consent at the end of Ilya’s blow job. There is an area here where Shane says, “ok, Rozanov, you better get off... ok... *moans*... stop...,” and tries to physically move Ilya away when Shane is about to climax (or cum, Miss Jackson if you’re nasty). This does appear to be Ilya ignoring the revocation of consent, but again, it is more nuanced. Shane doesn’t really appear to want Ilya to stop, he’s just worried about cumming in Ilya’s mouth. Part of this is likely because he is following what Ilya did in moving Shane away before he cums. It’s a polite gesture when you don’t know the other person that well and haven’t settled into an intimate understanding and sexual routine. It’s not uncommon during oral sex for this exact thing to happen. Many queer folks and men who love men have been in this exact situation. One partner is trying to be polite and the other wants to express the way they feel about the other person, which is essentially what Ilya is doing here. Outside of specific kinks, you generally don’t cum in your partner’s mouth the first time. It is a display of a deeper intimacy. It’s also very aligned with Ilya’s want to provide Shane with positive and enjoyable first experiences. Ilya wants Shane’s first experience with oral sex to be enjoyable. He is polite when Shane goes down on him, then wants to really provide a good service to Shane. It’s worth noting that Ilya would be paying attention to the way Shane says no, and what he’s doing physically; how Shane is reacting. Shane could very easily push Ilya away and/or say no in a more serious tone (this is not an argument for how people should or shouldn’t react in SA situations; this is an analysis of a fictional show). Ilya is very good at reading Shane and always stops or redirects when Shane says no with conviction or seems uncomfortable. This is not to say that there is a grey area with consent. I am speaking specifically about these two fictional characters in the context of the wider story, queer communication, and as an Intimacy Coordinator. This is an analysis of the scene from a queer perspective. There are nuances in communication as this article expresses. The way that Shane behaves afterwards and the conversation they have gives further context to the consent being in the subtext of the scene. It’s made clear that Shane enjoyed the experience but was worried about being rude or making Ilya do something he didn’t want to do, which Ilya makes clear that he wanted to do this. While I am bringing in real world queer experience that is not to say that I am saying that following the content in this scene is what you should do. My reading of this part of the scene is that there is consent there, and I don’t view this as being an area of non-consent within the show or storytelling. It is a difficult part of a scene to discuss, because I do want to advocate for clear consent and stopping when consent even seems like it may be revoked in real world situations. However, this is not a real world situation (it is fictional) and even though my experience as a queer person, my experience with power dynamics and power exchange, and my experience as an Intimacy Coordinator informs my reading of the scene—this is translated into a fictional context with a greater understanding of the characters and story arcs because I’ve watched the show countless times, and the intimate scenes hundreds of times. My final word being, don’t try this at home the first time you’re with someone without clearly communicating boundaries first, but within the fictional world of the show consent is present here in a messy and unconventional way. It reads as an expression of tenderness within the power exchange that Ilya and Shane are building together.

That was much more than I anticipated writing but felt that these were important educational moments regarding queer intimacy.

I hope to see you again next Tuesday for Nashville.

See y’all at the Cottage!