Hi and welcome to K Let's Talk, the podcast where we breakdown
storytelling across books, television and film with a
special love for book to screen adaptations.
Here we talk about craft, character arcs, structure,
dialogue, visual language, and the creative choices that shape
how a story lands. If you like thoughtful,
conversational, deep dives into the stories you can't stop
thinking about, you're in the right place.
Let's talk. Hello, everyone, and welcome
back to the podcast. In this week's episode, I'm
excited to continue our conversation from part one of
our Season 2 Q&A and answer some more questions that had been
submitted to me from listeners and people over on Instagram and
TikTok and Threads. And there's so many great
questions in here that I've tried to break them up into
categories. Similarly to the first half of
this Q&A, in this week's episode we have lots to discuss, so many
things to touch upon, and I really am excited for a lot of
these questions to be answered in Season 2.
But want to preface first and foremost with the fact that
there will be a lot of spoilers in this episode for The Long
Game and some of the other books in the Game Changer series.
So if you haven't read the other books or The Long Game ahead of
Season 2, then this episode is not going to be for you because
we will be spoiling a lot. The second is that Jacob Tierney
has spoken to numerous publications and been
interviewed countless times, and he is very much of the opinion
that fan input is not going to be taken heavily into account
when he is writing Season 2. So everything that I am
speculating and commenting on is purely for fun and like many
people who are fans of the show, I will be happy with whatever he
turns out. I trust in his vision and he
plans to approach season 2 the same way he did season 1, and
for that I am very excited. So this is my version of events
and how I would approach things just based on how season 1 was
shot and composed and written. And if it doesn't look like
this, I'm going to be OK with that.
So again, this is purely for fun, speculative, and I'm
excited to see if I'm right about any of it.
But I will be perfectly OK if I'm wrong about all of it.
And Season 2 is a masterpiece that I didn't see coming because
Season 1 certainly was that. So the first question that I
wanted to touch upon was how do I think the first episode will
start? What do I think we will see in
the very beginning of Season 2? And that question excited me a
lot because I've been thinking about that on my own.
And I personally think we will replicate Season 1's first scene
where we are dropped into a moment between Shane and Ilya.
And I wouldn't be surprised if it's back at the cottage in the
aftermath of their dinner with Shane's parents.
So I think we will get the proper ending of the heated
rivalry book before we jump forward in time.
And there's enough left in the book that Jacob can include a
good 5 or 10 minute scene to open the season and re establish
to all of us what happens at the end of that book.
Despite the happy ending of season 1, at that moment in the
story there are still a lot of concerns on Shane's part.
Whereas Ilya has just had the best day of his life and I think
it's important to establish that disconnect between them early
because it is a theme of the entire long game book.
Second to that, per the timeline, Ilya signs with Ottawa
that summer and then that fall is the season when Shane comes
out to his team mates and tells them that he is gay, which is
October of 2018, which Jacob has already touched upon filming
that and shooting that because it is handled off page in the
book. But Jacob thinks that's too
important of a moment to not show on screen.
And I agree with that assessment.
This is also going to be an important narrative payoff
because when it's discovered later on that Ilya and Shane are
together and his team finds out about that, you want to be able
to refer back to the moment when Shane told them that he was gay.
So that is important. And that takes place in that
liminal space between handed rivalry and the long game.
But I think we will get an adaptation or a new original
scene that Jacob's writing for that moment in the story.
Then that November is when Hayden finds out about Shane and
Ilya. And I would personally love if
Jacob adapts the entirety of the My Dinner with Hayden scene
because there is so much within it that would lay the perfect
foundation for the season. Primarily a conversation between
Shane and Ilya that happens after the night ends where Shane
is upset that they can't love each other freely like Hayden
and Jackie. And that moment also re
establishes how the relation feels for us viewers now that
they are in a committed relationship.
Because the dynamic is going to be different and we got a
glimpse of it in episode 6, but it will be very different in
season 2. And the earlier that can be
established, the better I think. And I also feel it's important
to introduce Hayden and his family early on because they're
going to be important throughout the season as well.
And showing us the dynamic between Ilya and Hayden is
pivotal to and something Jacob has expressed he's very excited
to write because not only is it going to be humorous and funny,
but there is a really important emotional payoff later on in the
show that can't happen if we're not invested in Hayden and Ilya
and Shane's dynamic early on. The next part that I think they
need to cover takes place in the and that's when Shane and Ilya
announced the Arena Foundation, which also takes place that same
month. And a side piece of information
that they can include there is that Wyatt is also traded to
Ottawa and Ilya attends a funeral with Ryan Price for a
player named Duncan Harvey, who had unfortunately lost his
battle with mental health. And I think this is a scene that
sort of has to be included or at the very least mentioned because
of Ilya's character arc in Season 2.
And perhaps Ilya and Shane talk about how that funeral was if we
don't actually get to see him attend the funeral with Ryan.
But that is also when Ilya invites Ryan to coach at the
Game Changers camp. So it feels like it would be a
great on screen moment or opportunity.
And then we have the first year of the Game Changers camp, which
a lot of new characters are introduced then.
And it's in tandem with the same span of time between heated
Rivalry and the beginning of the long game.
And that encapsulates Tough Guy and Common Goal and those two
books. I have a feeling we'll only see
the second year, which is what happens at the beginning of the
long game. I think that we will get very
little screen time for those characters, but a lot of
exposition for those books. And Ilya also gets his loon
tattoo in that gap between heated rivalry and the long
game. So if Jacob does choose to skip
the ending of Heated Rivalry in the moments I just listed out,
which take place between the two books, I don't think he will,
but he might. Then he may dump us right into
the beginning of the long game where this time has already
passed. And instead of showing us on
screen everything that has happened in that span of time,
we would get dialogue between Shane and Ilya to explain that
contextually. And we would drop into the scene
where they are telling their agent about their relationship
in the summer of 2020. They can use that conversation
to give us all the context if need be, but I personally don't
think that would be as gripping of a scene to reintroduce the
show. And if that's the case, then we
will jump into the second annual Game Changers camp, where Ryan
Price has already caught Shane and Ilya kissing.
We would get more Yuna. We would get Shane and Ilya at
the beginning of the episode, already established as a couple.
And then in the back half of the episode, we could include Shane
and Ilya going to dinner with Ryan and Fabian or attending
Fabian's concert together. And I think that would be a good
way to establish their relationship dynamics if we're
not going to get the My Dinner with Hayden scene.
And also a gauge on how each of them are feeling at the
beginning of the season so that it's clear as to why they are
not exactly on the same page and establishes Ilya's headspace and
how they are not communicating well.
The next question I got was what is my guesstimate as to how much
will be covered in each episode of season 2?
And this is a hard one to answer because the way each episode
could be structured is different.
It doesn't all have to follow the same template.
But if we want to paste everything properly, I'd assume
that each episode may cover as little as a few weeks up to a
couple of months. And some episodes might zero in
on a day or two and make the majority of the episode cover
those heavy moments and condense the in between times.
So for example, we might get a longer scene covering the pride
game and the aftermath of it between Shane and Ilya and then
condense the timeline around the pride game, so a lot of the
playoff run, etcetera. The next question I got is do I
have any thoughts on the episode names?
So I definitely think we will get a song title used as an
episode name again, or at least I hope Jacob has a song in mind
for some of the bigger moments in the season that he can use in
a big way. But otherwise, Jacob names the
episodes very simply. Rookies, Olympians, Hunter Rose,
the cottage, they're all quite simple and point blank.
So I'd suspect that if one large story beat like the Pike kids
wedding, they might use a name like something like Honeymoon,
which refers to the book because Shane and Ilya go home and they
they say, is this our honeymoon? Or if the other big story beat
is when their relationship is revealed, it might be titled
something like the Commissioner or something like that.
Simple and to the point. And for the Troy and Harris
stand alone, if we get one, part of me feels like that episode
might cover more of Troy before he arrives to Ottawa, like I
said in Part 1 of this Q&A. And if that's the case, then
maybe the episode is called Dallas or something, and they
use it to tell the story of the league or Dallas and give us
sort of a window into the framework that Shane and Ilya
are so worried about. Because in the first season,
they didn't go into too much detail about that and the
mentality of the league. And Jacob might maintain that
distance from the subject matter like Rachel did.
But who knows? I'll take what I can get, but
I'm willing to suspect that the titles are going to be one or
two words each very simple and mimic that of Season 1.
But I like the title of the commissioner.
I feel like that would be appropriate, but all of the
titles from season 1 are sort of broad brush.
So rookies, Olympians, Hunter Rose, the cottage.
So maybe the commissioner is too specific or Dallas is too
specific. So hard for me to say, but I
like honeymoon too, or the wedding.
I think that would be really sweet if we got that.
The next question I got is which scenes of Ilya and other books
do I want in season 2? I think from the jump, the one I
really would love to see is the funeral scene between Ilya and
Ryan. But I'd also like to see the
scenes from the Kingfisher bar, which I think we will certainly
get. And there's also the scene
between Ilya and Troy when they're in New York and they
come out to one another. And I think we're definitely
going to get that one. So if they combine that with
Ilya clocking Eric and loop his book and story into it that way,
that works for me. If I think they're going to add
some new scenes between him and Hayden, which it sounds like
they might, I'd be thrilled. And Jacob sounds very excited to
write those. But to me that those 3 feels
like enough to satisfy the crossover and not take away from
the moments in the long game. And I feel like we will probably
get a lot of the moments of Ilya showing up in Role Model just
because they're happening in tandem with the events of the
Long Game. So they don't necessarily feel
like moments of him popping up in another book per SE, because
it's part of his story too. And it would be expanding upon
things we already know are happening and will happen in the
long game. The next question I got was how
do I think Hudson will handle reciting Russian?
And in the book Shane is learning Russian.
So if Hudson is also learning Russian for the show, I think it
will feel really authentic and I'm excited for those details
and also to see Connor portray how Ilia feels about Shane
learning Russian with his face acting.
Because it will need to convey all of the internal thoughts and
feelings that we read for Ilya in the story that he doesn't say
out loud per SE. I think we will also probably
get a lot of subtext of this, maybe by inserting a scene or
two of Shane listening to a Russian podcast in his car or on
a plane ride, maybe even just seeing it on his phone so that
the viewer has that back story that Shane's been teaching
himself Russian. And it doesn't need to be called
out explicitly for us. But whether or not they want to
spend the time creating a small scene or a shot like that is
doubtful. So I think it will show up as
small teaching moments where Ilya call Shane something
ridiculous and he tries to guess what the word is, just like in
the book. And I think Hudson will do a
really good job conveying the struggle of learning the
language because he will be feeling the struggle himself as
an actor. The next question is, do I think
Ilya and Svetlana's relationship will grow colder?
How will they justify the big reveal?
And I've shared thoughts on this before and I lean towards them
not growing colder, but rather the physical distance between
them leading to a normal amount of separation.
But because shows that Lana knows Ilya is in love with a man
already, I don't think she'll be going quietly.
I do think that the conversation of why Ilya is moving to Ottawa
is going to have to happen before the move actually takes
place. And then I think she will
hopefully be getting a job in the league with another team.
Maybe keep her with Boston like she is in the book and she'll
check in with Ilya. But Ilya pulls away due to his
depression. And that, to me feels far more
impactful because they are so close and he's not confiding in
her or Shane or anyone who's on the inside and retreating
further into himself. And I think that's another way
to narratively convey that something is really wrong with
him if he's not confiding in the two closest people to him.
And I think that will be effective storytelling.
The next question I got is, since they've changed Svetlana's
role in the show, do I think Ilya will be as depressed and
alone in Season 2? And my answer is yes, because
it's central to the storyline and it is the tension of the
entire season. The fact that he's struggling
with his mental health and cannot and will not let Shane
see it or help him with it is massively important.
And I think like I said before, Ilya distancing from Svetlana as
well as Shane will double down on this notion of his self
isolation and come up in his therapy sessions with Galena
probably. And perhaps Svetlana's words and
advice in addition to Galena's can help him to be brave and
admit that something is wrong to Shane and encourage him to let
Shane in. Because we got to see how
Svetlana's words were a big impetus for Ilya calling Shane
before the Russian monologue scene in season 1, so I suspect
she might be used in a similar way in season 2.
The next question is, do I think the writers will let Shane
correct Hayden for being an Ilya hater?
Probably I think we'll get some sort of scene just like in the
book where he calls out people for their behavior pre
specifically Hayden and JJ who are upset that Shane had lied to
them and they can't understand that their behavior is exactly
why Shane felt obligated to lie. And neither of them spoke of
Ilia highly ever, so Shane never felt like they would fully
understand or accept that he loved him.
And that manifests just as Shane had suspected.
So I hope that we get the My Dinner with Hayden scene because
within that, Shane calls out both Hayden and Ilya for their
childish behavior. And while it can be used as a
humorous moment between Ilya and Hayden, it's also an important
one for Shane because he gets to voice his feelings to the two
men that he values and wants to also establish boundaries now
that Hayden knows about Shane and Ilya.
And that's so important before the rest of the season kicks off
because Hayden is harboring their secret now, too.
So they they need to have those types of conversations and air
out The Dirty laundry. And I think that doing it over
the My Dinner with Hayden scene is the perfect environment for
them to do that. And there's already dialogue
written that would reflect that conversation as well.
The next question I got is what do I think of dinner with Rose,
Svetlana, Shane, and Ilya would look like?
That is a dream for season 2. I think this is so fun to think
about. I believe it would probably take
place before their wedding because everyone would be coming
to town for that. And I think Rose and Svetlana
would be so excited to finally meet the boyfriend of their best
friend and also their close friend.
And at first, I think it would kind of bubble over with Rose.
I think she'd be more outwardly excited about this.
And Svitlana would probably be more protective at 1st and spend
the first couple of minutes sussing out Shane.
And then once she determines that Shane is harmless and
endlessly devoted to Ilia, she'd be able to focus on Rose and get
to know her properly. And those two characters are
ones that we know can have fun. So I think if Shane and in
particular was worried about them meeting, the two of them
would bulldoze right through that fear and get a couple
drinks and everyone and start swapping stories about their
best guy friends. And when they both knew they
were in love with someone else. And Shane and Ilya would
basically be hearing their love story told back to them through
the eyes of Svetlana and Rose and the things that they thought
they were being so secretive about that these two women
clocked right away, which would be quite funny.
And I think just like Rose spearheaded her and Shane's
friendship dynamic, she'd probably ask for everyone's
numbers at the end of the night. And when she says let's keep in
touch, she'd mean it. And she'd create a group chat
while driving home. The next question is Jacob has
confirmed he's writing Shane's coming out moment with the team.
Where do you see that slotting in?
So canonically, he comes out to his team at the beginning of the
story because it takes place between the end of heated
rivalry and the beginning of the long game so early on in the
timeline. But I'd say there are two
moments. The 1st is when he tells his
team that he's gay, and the second is when they find out
that he's in a relationship with Ilya.
And I suspect he'll include both.
So one at the very beginning and the second will probably be in
the second to last episode if I had to predict that, I think.
In Episode 1, it probably will fall closer to the end of the
episode and it's going to be used as a narrative callback
that they will need to have established for that secondary
moment when his team accuses Shane of letting Ilya score in
the playoffs. So I think it will be at the end
of Episode 1 for when he tells his team he's gay.
And then probably in the second to last episode when that
confrontation with his team where he owns up to the fact
that, yes, him and Ilya are in our relationship.
I think that will happen in the penultimate episode.
This next question is I'm curious on your thoughts as to
how Season 2 will address Shane's macro biotic diet and if
you think it will be explored as an eating disorder as so many
readers interpret, or whether it will remain a performance
enhancing diet as Rachel Reid stated before.
Is there a route you hope the show takes over the other?
Do you think season 1 planted the seeds for this to be further
explored in season 2? So I've talked about this in
another Q&A episode and my spin on it is that it's very
important for everybody to keep in mind that Shane and Ilya are
professional athletes and they have access to trainers and
nutritionists and people whose entire job it is to make sure
that they are being fueled properly and can perform at
their at their best every night. So a lot of Shane's viewpoints
on nutrition are going to come from those conversations he'd be
already having with his trainers and nutritionists on the team.
And I think the added layer of that is that Shane is someone
who loves control in all areas of his life because control
makes him feel safe. And so food naturally is an
extension of that. And we see him exhibiting that
control through this diet that he goes on.
And in the long game, he actually has a really important
conversation with Rose where he says that he might be drawn to
exhibiting discipline because of how it makes him feel mentally
more so than how eating the food makes him feel physically
better. And so he's quoted saying I like
to practice discipline and self-control and be rewarded for
that. That's all.
So to me this can be broken down further given his personality
and it can be interpreted as him needing routines and structure
to feel safe and regulated. And we know that in the long
game he feels out of control in a few areas of his life.
And so he would lean further into that regulation as a way to
feel self soothing or or give himself a sense of consistency
and structure. And that reward aspect is more
of a way to have measurable data of how he's being rewarded.
So if he eats better, he might play better.
And with the food, he's trying to use that food to improve his
performance, yes, but he's also aging.
They're going to be 30. And that's where players start
to feel their age in hockey. And so all of those things are
very common concerns that players in the NHL or any
professional sport would be having.
I think there's just that added notion of Shane's control being
a factor that teeters it into that disordered eating space.
But again, I don't know if Jacob's going to want to touch
that because it's so nuanced and similar to how he handled
Shane's autism. Each of these things is so
personal that I don't know if he'd want to specifically label
it at all, and I feel like that's probably what he's going
to do. We do in the book at that moment
when Shane and Ilya are discovered and Shane spirals and
eats a Snickers bar, which I had previously said is is like
triage. Because Shane would be so
dysregulated that he reaches for something he has coded as bad in
his brain. And that reinforces that Shanes
not someone who deviates from a plan.
He's dealing with a lot of internal pressure and he's
feeling like he's losing control, and the food is a way
to showcase that. And it clues the reader into
Shane's motivation for the dieting being largely set around
his career first, but also as he spirals in his personal life, it
kind of gets enveloped into that as well.
And then at the end of the book, he occasionally eats a
cheeseburger and feels like he can continue doing that.
So again, his personal life falls into a place where he
feels he has relative control and happiness over it.
Then he loosens up on the diet. I feel like that is saying
everything that needs to be said.
About what his motivations are behind it without Jacob having
to explicitly label it as anything.
And so I feel like that's probably what is going to be
done in the show. OK.
I think I'm going to wrap things up there and continue this on in
a future podcast episode. And as always, thank you so much
for listening. If you've made it this far, I
really appreciate it. And if you have a question about
season 2 or about the book series that you want me to cover
on a future podcast episode, please leave me a message on any
of my socials and I will try to get to it in a future recording
because I absolutely love all of the questions I've been getting.
There are so many brilliant takes and opinions on there and
it's so fun to interact with people about it on a larger
scale. So thank you so much for
listening and I will talk to you all in our next chat.