Heated Rivalry, eps. 5-6 (end)

Original Post -- January 18, 2026

​I finished watching Heated Rivalry today. It really was good. I was glad Rachel Reid got a longer nod at the end of the last episode. In the others, you missed it if you blinked.

I was impressed by (and, sorry, I haven't looked into the actors' names or anything yet) the guy who played Shane's ability to be so vulnerable and to cry. His anxiety attacks in the final episode were so believable and realistic in a situation where he surely knew his parents weren't going to disown him or anything, but it was a big deal.

The actor who played Ilya was amazing with the Russian. I already knew going in that he wasn't Russian, but I was floored that he learned it in 8 days. I mean, the conversations he had to have in Russian--WOW! Crazy good. He was also great at playing the tough guy who acts like he doesn't care because he's so broken.

And, for having relatively little screentime, the two actors who played the secondary characters did a great job with what they had.

For me, it was so great to see MM Romance represented as a series that people are appreciating so much.