SHHH EVERYONE MY SHOW IS ON

Ah, the plastic sheets in the locker room.  Yeah, that's a sports thing.  When a pro-team is playing in a championship game, the owners have that plastic put up in the locker rooms so it's protected from the post-game winning celebration, which always includes spewing champaign bottles.

The 2 deliveries of "hollander" is crazy good... one being "sorry we can go back" and one being "please dont leave" just from the tone shift!!!!! Connor is so good!!!

I feel like there is also something to be said with regards to Shane being autistic contributing to this meltdown. We autistic people LOVE rules and once we find them for social situations, we hold on tight for dear life! Ilya has taught Shane time and time again that the "rules" for them are a certain way and then just suddenly goes and starts breaking all of those rules in one day, topping it off with the rule that even Shane himself never even considered could be broken - using first names. So, of course, Shane has no idea how to respond so his brain just immediately goes to ABORT and he panics and runs away.

I reckon Shane initiating sex during that moment of intimate cuddling on the couch could be read as his attempt to steer the dynamic back to familiar territory.

As a man (I love opening a statement that way) the hand down the pants is a comfort thing, in my thinking. Usually ONLY done when alone for me. The fact that Ilya's doing it with Shane around both brings attention to the part he wants to highlight and shows that he's become comfortable with Shane around. He's not self-conscious about a thing not many of us would like to admit that we do. Also, I hope he washed his hands before handling food...but I doubt it.

I never noticed that moment of Ilya sliding the ginger ale can towards Shane like this grand offering and being so pleased with himself! Honestly the humour in the subtle moments are amazing. Shane trying to pretend he's not jealous/angry also always makes me chuckle. Great video once again!

I think your interpretation of Shane’s freakout is definitely part of it, but I think another part is also his internalized homophobia. I think he’s been able to sort of come to terms with wanting to eff Ilya, but I think he’s been able to avoid having to process what wanting him means for his sexuality (especially given how they’ve framed their sexual dynamic as an extension of their professional one). Suddenly being faced with an attainable emotional intimacy with a man forces Shane to confront what that means for his identity. And he’s so overwhelmed by fear of that confrontation that he immediately shuts down. Thank you for continuing this series! It makes me so happy to over analyze my favorite things!

i’ve never thought (with the knocking on the wall) that shane was appreciating the artistry / materials 😭😭😭 but that’s makes so much sense

I am not sure if other actors would have been able to make this show as emotionally charged. These guys have been there and can pull from that for these scenes. There is a reality in the acting that you very rarely see. Looking forward to the next season. They have a lot of pressure now

I always read the texting montage as them rereading older conversations but not sending new texts. Whenever we see their phones after, there are never any messages we haven't already seen on screen. I read it as them constantly having the other in mind but choosing not to try to change the dynamic. This could be colored for me by the book though, because it's explicitly stated on the page that they only text to arrange meetups.

You have no idea how long I've waited for you to dissect this scene...

I think "you think we need to talk" was actually Shane wondering if they should talk before going to bed, not that Ilya asked him to talk by message.

i came as soon as i heard

Ilya trying to revert back to using Hollander, after accidentally using Shane's first name, always breaks my heart. You can hear him begging to reverse course and prevent Shane from leaving. 😭

I was so engaged watching this, I love your analysis and your presentation style.

One of the things that makes this scene interesting to me is disconnect between what Ilya thinks he's achieving and what he's actually achieving. His lack of experience in romantic relationships and emotional reticence makes him blind to the brick wall he's heading for. He's so focused on cautiously feeling his way through while pushing the boundaries he himself set that he can't see how much he's scaring the sh*t out of Shane.

Looking forward to your take on Shane's speedrun through heterosexuality with Rose, ending in what I think is one of Hudson Williams best performances in the show -- their breakup scene.

I couldn't agree more on that little scene between Ilya yelling on the phone at his brother and going back to Shane. He stops, he stands, he takes a breath, calms himself, composes himself, centers his mother's cross in his chest, shakes the fury and then goes back to Shane. It's an incredible little piece of acting (the likes of which we found a lot here).

Re: the hand in the pants thing, yes it is something men do. Gonna caveat up this upfront that it's obviously not every person does even privately, and fewer are going to do it in company, but it's the same thing as why some woman will cup their chest absentmindedly. Non-sexual self-touching of areas like chest, stomach, and genitals can trigger oxytocin release which makes you feel more relaxed and happy.

It's one of the many types of regulatory behaviors humans engage in—often without consciously realizing—along with things like playing with your hair, biting your lip, tapping your fingers, etc. It's a type of stimming (which is a human thing, not an autism one), basically.

Edit: As to how it pertains to the scene specifically, I think it could either be Ilya bolstering his nerves if it's primary being used as a self-soothing behavior, or he's signalling to Shayne that he considers them close enough that he isn't worried about propriety and is acting the same way he would alone as a gesture of intimacy.

33:32 something someone else pointed out that I'd not considered in this scene - when Jacob Tierney adapted this scene, he switched the initiator from Ilya (in the book) to Shane. Can we assume he did this because it shows Shane performing the only type of comfort he knows how to give Ilya? Does Shane understand that the conversation Ilya just had with his family is (as always) upsetting?

yes, the hands pants thing is absolutely real and accurate!