A special episode bridging Heated Rivalry seasons one and two has been teased, but what story would it tell? 

Major spoilers ahead...

Since November 2025, we at Gay Times, along with millions of pop culture obsessives worldwide, have been deep in Heated Rivalry hysteria.

As fans know, Crave’s critically acclaimed MLM hockey romance follows Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie), two professional players locked in a fierce on-ice rivalry while secretly entangled in a passionate love affair.

On 26 December, season one came to an epic conclusion after weeks of addictive emotional whiplash. Emboldened by fellow hockey player Scott Hunter (François Arnaud) and his triumphant coming-out moment at the MHL Cup, the pair retreat to Shane’s secluded cottage for some much-needed R&R.

Unlike their previous encounters, this trip isn’t just about sex. It delivers some of the series’ most tender and devastating breakthroughs, including Ilya opening up about his late mother’s suicide and the couple finally declaring their love for one another.

The emotional high point arrives in the episode’s final act, when Shane and Ilya come out to Shane’s parents. After a brief moment of shock and awkwardness, Yuna (Christina Chang) and David Hollander (Dylan Walsh) embrace the couple wholeheartedly.

Season one ultimately ends in classic rom-com fashion: Shane and Ilya drive off into the sunset, hand in hand, as Calin Russo’s ‘Bad Things’ plays in the background.

It’s a swoon-worthy conclusion, but it also diverges slightly from the ending of Rachel Reid's original novel.

Even more major spoilers ahead!