If there’s one thing you did over the timeless week between Christmas and New Years, it’s watch Heated Rivalry. The show, which was acquired by HBO Max, has grown to be one of the streaming services top shows ever. In case you missed it or need a recap, Heated Rivalry follows two professional hockey player, Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, through their — you guessed it — rivalry as they play each other on different teams in the show’s fictional version of the National Hockey League. However, it also follows their secret situationship-turned-relationship, featuring over a decade of sneaking around hotel rooms and each other’s houses in fear that coming out could jeopardize their career and the complex dynamics of their rivalry.
But if you still haven’t watched it, I’m begging you to pause reading, bookmark this article, and come back once you have seen all six episodes — it’s so worth it. And pay close attention to the tuna melt scene.
What is the tuna melt scene in Heated Rivalry?
Okay, so now that you’ve seen the show, you know that the tuna melt scene is subtly significant to Shane and Ilya’s relationship. It shows up in chapter 13 of the book and episode four in the show.
“You like tuna melt?” Ilya says in his thick Russian accent.
“You wanna make me a tuna melt?” Shane responds with a tone of hesitation in his voice.
“I was gonna make one for me,” Ilya responds. “I can make two.”
From there, the two embark on a journey of what looks like small talk. Ilya asks Shane about the places he is traveling to next, they discuss another professional hockey player, Ilya playfully calls Shane boring, and the two talk about their favorite places to play. All this is happening while the tuna melts are in the oven.
What does the tuna melt *actually* mean in Heated Rivalry?
The tuna melt, of course, is not just a tuna melt, but a shift in Shane and Ilya’s relationship (or situationship at this time). Before this, most of the time they have spent together was specifically for physical intimacy, not emotional connection. In fact, most of the time they have spent together up until this point has been in hotel rooms, not their homes. So, when Ilya offers to make Shane a sandwich, it signals a subtle change in their dynamic. It’s one that goes beyond their casual hookups and wades into emotional intimacy. It is the first step in their situationship shifting towards a love relationship through vulnerability.
How does Ilya make the tuna melt?
While Ilya doesn’t share his recipe for his tuna melt, we do clock a few ingredients that can help us make our best guess as to what the recipe is. A classic tuna melt includes tuna salad, bread, and cheddar or American cheese. When Ilya grabs his ingredients from the fridge in the show, we can see containers that look like they contain homemade tuna salad, Kraft American cheese, and soft sandwich bread. However, one ingredient he grabs that isn’t traditional is a jar of Grillo’s pickles. We don’t see him make the sandwich or even the couple eating the sandwich, but we can assume it was delicious based on what came next (IYKYK). Shane also enjoys it with a cold ginger ale, his signature drink.