1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:03,920 Hi and welcome to K Let's Talk, the podcast where we breakdown 2 00:00:03,920 --> 00:00:07,440 storytelling across books, television and film with a 3 00:00:07,440 --> 00:00:09,800 special love for book to screen adaptations. 4 00:00:09,920 --> 00:00:13,520 Here we talk about craft, character arcs, structure, 5 00:00:13,520 --> 00:00:17,040 dialogue, visual language, and the creative choices that shape 6 00:00:17,040 --> 00:00:19,480 how a story lands. If you like thoughtful, 7 00:00:19,480 --> 00:00:22,560 conversational, deep dives into the stories you can't stop 8 00:00:22,560 --> 00:00:24,240 thinking about, you're in the right place. 9 00:00:24,720 --> 00:00:27,760 Let's talk. Hello everyone, and welcome back 10 00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:32,400 to the podcast. I can't wait to dive into this 11 00:00:32,400 --> 00:00:37,000 week's episode because I got this request from someone in my 12 00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:41,240 DMS to talk about Shane Hollander's Heroes arc. 13 00:00:41,640 --> 00:00:45,200 And this was brought up because Rachel Reed, the author herself, 14 00:00:45,240 --> 00:00:49,840 has said that the grand story, the overarching story, is 15 00:00:49,840 --> 00:00:52,920 actually Shane's story and his hero's journey. 16 00:00:53,040 --> 00:00:55,920 As soon as she said that, I knew I wanted to cover this. 17 00:00:55,920 --> 00:00:59,360 And then someone very kindly asked me if I would and twist my 18 00:00:59,360 --> 00:01:00,760 arm. I'm happy to talk about it. 19 00:01:01,040 --> 00:01:03,520 So that's what we're going to talk about in this week's 20 00:01:03,520 --> 00:01:06,160 podcast episode. I've written down so many notes. 21 00:01:06,440 --> 00:01:07,880 I can't wait to go through them all. 22 00:01:08,080 --> 00:01:11,840 This is of course my opinion. I would love to hear everybody 23 00:01:11,840 --> 00:01:13,560 else's. I think that this is such a 24 00:01:13,600 --> 00:01:17,160 wonderful storytelling vehicle for her to use and for her to 25 00:01:17,160 --> 00:01:20,400 explicitly state that she is trying to write it this way 26 00:01:20,640 --> 00:01:23,320 makes me so excited. And it's very easy to see and 27 00:01:23,320 --> 00:01:27,000 map out if you have that context when reading through Heated 28 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:30,640 Rivalry, The Long Game, and then anticipating Unrivaled, which is 29 00:01:30,640 --> 00:01:33,040 going to be the third book for Shane and Ilya. 30 00:01:33,280 --> 00:01:37,000 So of course, this will have spoilers for The Long Game if 31 00:01:37,000 --> 00:01:40,400 you have not read that book yet and then speculation for. 32 00:01:41,000 --> 00:01:43,800 So if you are looking to avoid any of those things, please make 33 00:01:43,800 --> 00:01:48,040 sure that you skip this episode or come back to it when you have 34 00:01:48,160 --> 00:01:50,840 read The Long Game. So without further ado, let's 35 00:01:50,840 --> 00:01:53,120 talk about Shane Hollander's Hero's Arc. 36 00:01:53,280 --> 00:01:58,040 So before we get into the nitty gritty, I want to just clarify 37 00:01:58,040 --> 00:02:02,080 what exactly a hero's arc or Hero's journey is. 38 00:02:02,160 --> 00:02:05,400 There's also another name for it called the Monomyth. 39 00:02:05,440 --> 00:02:08,400 There's a lot of history surrounding that, but I think is 40 00:02:08,400 --> 00:02:11,600 really worth digging into of storytelling or the construction 41 00:02:11,600 --> 00:02:14,280 of stories is something that you are interested in. 42 00:02:14,400 --> 00:02:18,800 It's essentially a complete template or like a broad 43 00:02:18,800 --> 00:02:23,880 trajectory used to tell tales that involve a hero that goes on 44 00:02:23,880 --> 00:02:28,440 an adventure, has a crisis, wins in a in a fight, comes out with 45 00:02:28,440 --> 00:02:33,400 victory, and then returns home a changed and transformed hero. 46 00:02:33,560 --> 00:02:37,600 A man named Joseph Campbell is credited for this. 47 00:02:37,600 --> 00:02:41,040 The whole outline of the monomyth or the heroes journey 48 00:02:41,040 --> 00:02:45,520 is also based on a practical guide to Joseph Campbell's The 49 00:02:45,520 --> 00:02:49,480 Hero with 1000 Faces. So again, if you want to do your 50 00:02:49,480 --> 00:02:52,120 own research, it's very interesting to read up on that. 51 00:02:52,440 --> 00:02:56,440 There's a diagram as well to help explain what the adventure 52 00:02:56,440 --> 00:03:00,040 for the hero in the story looks like, and the whole thing is 53 00:03:00,040 --> 00:03:04,320 comprised of a few different pillars that outline the general 54 00:03:04,320 --> 00:03:06,480 story. They can also be broken into 55 00:03:06,480 --> 00:03:10,080 three acts. The first act is called the 56 00:03:10,080 --> 00:03:12,880 Departure. Within the Departure or within 57 00:03:12,880 --> 00:03:18,280 act one, there are a number of key bullet points listed for the 58 00:03:18,320 --> 00:03:22,560 main character of the hero to go through to initiate the story. 59 00:03:22,960 --> 00:03:26,920 The first being introducing the ordinary world, which is the 60 00:03:26,920 --> 00:03:31,160 world that the hero currently exists within so that we can 61 00:03:31,400 --> 00:03:36,160 identify what is going on with that character, how they live, 62 00:03:36,160 --> 00:03:40,200 how they navigate the world, what their moral high ground is, 63 00:03:40,400 --> 00:03:43,920 what their principles are, and really establish the baseline 64 00:03:44,040 --> 00:03:46,320 that we're going to be starting off with in the story. 65 00:03:46,400 --> 00:03:50,280 The second pillar is the call to adventure, which is when the 66 00:03:50,280 --> 00:03:55,240 hero is presented with some sort of a problem or a challenge or a 67 00:03:55,240 --> 00:03:59,040 call to adventure, a quest of some sort that often introduces 68 00:03:59,040 --> 00:04:01,920 other characters that that the hero is going to be interacting 69 00:04:01,920 --> 00:04:05,680 with, of course. But it also brings up the third 70 00:04:05,680 --> 00:04:08,360 bullet point, which is a refusal of the call. 71 00:04:08,640 --> 00:04:13,240 So the hero often will hesitate or initially refuse to accept 72 00:04:13,240 --> 00:04:18,360 this journey because they have pre emptive fears that are 73 00:04:18,360 --> 00:04:21,640 largely stemming from the very normal comfortable life that 74 00:04:21,640 --> 00:04:24,800 they're used to living. And this adventure disrupts. 75 00:04:25,200 --> 00:04:29,520 The fourth pillar is when the hero meets with some sort of a 76 00:04:29,520 --> 00:04:32,240 mentor. So someone who's been on this 77 00:04:32,240 --> 00:04:35,720 journey or is also going on this journey, it's identified as a 78 00:04:35,720 --> 00:04:39,200 seasoned traveller that gives the hero training equipment 79 00:04:39,200 --> 00:04:41,200 confidence. This can be metaphorical as 80 00:04:41,200 --> 00:04:43,800 well. And then the 5th bullet point in 81 00:04:43,800 --> 00:04:46,960 act one is crossing the first threshold. 82 00:04:46,960 --> 00:04:51,920 So the hero fully committing to going on this journey taking 83 00:04:51,920 --> 00:04:56,440 place in this heroic quest, and then the hero is able to enter 84 00:04:56,440 --> 00:05:00,400 into this new world that they're exposed to that is often special 85 00:05:00,400 --> 00:05:02,560 or dangerous. And again, those can be 86 00:05:02,560 --> 00:05:06,760 metaphors as well. That then brings us into Act 2, 87 00:05:06,760 --> 00:05:10,600 which is categorized as the initiation for the hero. 88 00:05:10,960 --> 00:05:14,640 So the first bullet point of Act 2, and there are four bullet 89 00:05:14,640 --> 00:05:17,960 points is tests allies and enemies. 90 00:05:17,960 --> 00:05:21,600 And so the hero of the story learns all the new rules of this 91 00:05:21,600 --> 00:05:24,400 new world that they're entering into through a series of 92 00:05:24,480 --> 00:05:28,720 challenges, also coming across allies and enemies. 93 00:05:28,720 --> 00:05:31,800 And again, that strengthens the story by introducing more 94 00:05:31,800 --> 00:05:35,320 characters. And those characters often help 95 00:05:35,560 --> 00:05:39,640 guide the hero through these challenges or difficulties so 96 00:05:39,640 --> 00:05:42,760 that there are lessons learned during this initiation period. 97 00:05:43,000 --> 00:05:45,840 The bullet point after that is called the approach to the 98 00:05:45,840 --> 00:05:49,040 Inmost cave, which is one of my favorites. 99 00:05:49,320 --> 00:05:53,400 It's when the hero is dealing with the central crisis of the 100 00:05:53,400 --> 00:05:55,360 story. So often times this will be a 101 00:05:55,360 --> 00:05:59,040 larger dramatic moment that the hero is facing, and they have to 102 00:05:59,040 --> 00:06:02,720 retreat inwards and find their own strength within themselves. 103 00:06:02,720 --> 00:06:05,120 They can't be relying so much on allies. 104 00:06:05,440 --> 00:06:07,880 They have to then use what they've learned over the course 105 00:06:07,880 --> 00:06:11,400 of time to get themselves out of this crisis. 106 00:06:11,520 --> 00:06:15,480 The next bullet point is called the Ordeal, which is when the 107 00:06:15,480 --> 00:06:20,720 hero faces the greatest fear that they have or has a death 108 00:06:20,720 --> 00:06:22,440 and rebirth earth type experience. 109 00:06:22,560 --> 00:06:25,200 The way that they were navigating the world is no 110 00:06:25,200 --> 00:06:28,320 longer logical for them. They can no longer continue on 111 00:06:28,320 --> 00:06:30,120 in the ways that they had previously been. 112 00:06:30,480 --> 00:06:34,960 There is a death of sorts of the old self and a rebirth into this 113 00:06:34,960 --> 00:06:37,360 new fully actualized version of the hero. 114 00:06:37,600 --> 00:06:41,120 And they can only do that by facing what was their greatest 115 00:06:41,120 --> 00:06:44,280 fear that we were establishing early on in the story. 116 00:06:44,360 --> 00:06:49,520 The 4th bullet point in Act 2 is called reward, or when the hero 117 00:06:49,520 --> 00:06:53,240 is seizing the sword. So the hero then survives this 118 00:06:53,240 --> 00:06:57,840 ordeal and gains a reward. That can be an object, that can 119 00:06:57,840 --> 00:07:01,800 be knowledge, that can be power, that can be a relationship, that 120 00:07:01,800 --> 00:07:06,560 can be a number of things. But seizing the sword is coming 121 00:07:06,560 --> 00:07:10,600 into their own power, grasping at the greatness that has always 122 00:07:10,600 --> 00:07:13,040 existed within them. But they had to go through these 123 00:07:13,040 --> 00:07:16,400 trials and tribulations in order to find and achieve that. 124 00:07:16,400 --> 00:07:19,960 Then brings us into Act 3, which is called The Return. 125 00:07:19,960 --> 00:07:23,600 This act has only three bullet points within it. 126 00:07:23,600 --> 00:07:25,520 First one is called the Road Back. 127 00:07:25,520 --> 00:07:30,680 So the hero is attempting now, after seizing their reward, to 128 00:07:30,680 --> 00:07:34,560 return to the world they came from, their ordinary world, and 129 00:07:34,560 --> 00:07:39,560 oftentimes they have remaining dangers or unresolved conflicts 130 00:07:39,560 --> 00:07:41,960 following them back to that ordinary world. 131 00:07:42,000 --> 00:07:44,480 That leads them to the next bullet point, which is the 132 00:07:44,480 --> 00:07:47,600 resurrection. This is the final, highest 133 00:07:47,600 --> 00:07:50,600 stakes battle that the hero is going to face. 134 00:07:51,000 --> 00:07:55,320 And through this battle, the hero is often described as being 135 00:07:55,320 --> 00:07:59,200 purified and transformed fully. So this is when they reach their 136 00:07:59,560 --> 00:08:02,480 pinnacle self, the highest version of themselves, and then 137 00:08:02,480 --> 00:08:06,720 the final bullet point in the return is called Return with the 138 00:08:06,720 --> 00:08:09,640 elixir. So the hero finally returns home 139 00:08:10,000 --> 00:08:13,960 using the reward that they have gained in order to improve the 140 00:08:13,960 --> 00:08:18,080 ordinary world that they started off in that they are returning 141 00:08:18,080 --> 00:08:21,160 home to. So a full circle moment where 142 00:08:21,160 --> 00:08:25,520 they return to where we met them fully transformed and changed by 143 00:08:25,520 --> 00:08:28,760 this hero's journey, hero's arc that they have gone on. 144 00:08:29,280 --> 00:08:31,960 Hopefully after I've read through all of those bullet 145 00:08:31,960 --> 00:08:35,360 points, you can identify and start thinking of some moments 146 00:08:35,360 --> 00:08:38,880 in the storytelling that we've already seen and can align with 147 00:08:38,880 --> 00:08:42,440 these big moments within this hero's journey, this hero's arc. 148 00:08:42,559 --> 00:08:46,840 I've mapped out what I feel are moments that align with these 149 00:08:47,000 --> 00:08:50,240 bullet points and each act within this hero's journey, this 150 00:08:50,240 --> 00:08:52,160 monomyth. And so I'm going to go through 151 00:08:52,160 --> 00:08:54,840 all of them in order. And again, I'd love to hear 152 00:08:55,080 --> 00:08:58,080 everybody's two cents and if there's other moments that you 153 00:08:58,080 --> 00:09:01,400 think fit into specific moments or bullet points here. 154 00:09:01,680 --> 00:09:04,600 Because I think it's a really great exercise if you're someone 155 00:09:04,600 --> 00:09:07,840 who's writing a story yourself, to be able to see all the 156 00:09:07,840 --> 00:09:10,880 different ways in which you can accomplish these things without 157 00:09:10,880 --> 00:09:14,080 it being too on the nose. We're not fighting Dragons in 158 00:09:14,080 --> 00:09:17,360 this story. This is very much a personal 159 00:09:17,360 --> 00:09:19,960 hero's journey for this character, so much so that I 160 00:09:19,960 --> 00:09:22,400 think a lot of people didn't recognize that that's what was 161 00:09:22,400 --> 00:09:25,480 happening in this story until Rachel herself pointed it out. 162 00:09:25,520 --> 00:09:28,440 To me. Shanes Heroes journey is largely 163 00:09:28,440 --> 00:09:31,920 internal and his quest isn't actually about hockey, it's more 164 00:09:31,920 --> 00:09:34,600 so about his identity outside of hockey. 165 00:09:35,040 --> 00:09:39,920 The relationship he has with control and his journey is 166 00:09:39,920 --> 00:09:44,360 actually him finding vulnerability and being able to 167 00:09:44,360 --> 00:09:47,000 be in partnership with someone who he loves. 168 00:09:47,040 --> 00:09:51,800 Ilia serves as this emotional heart of the overarching story, 169 00:09:52,400 --> 00:09:56,520 but he's also the overarching emotional heart of Shane's story 170 00:09:56,520 --> 00:09:59,440 too. It's not because Ilya leads 171 00:09:59,440 --> 00:10:03,160 Shane into this hero's journey that his transformation happens, 172 00:10:03,160 --> 00:10:05,880 so to speak. It's more so because he's the 173 00:10:05,880 --> 00:10:10,440 reason Shane can no longer stay in this ordinary world he exists 174 00:10:10,440 --> 00:10:12,720 in. Ilya presents something that 175 00:10:13,240 --> 00:10:17,080 makes him dream bigger and look outside of the norm and this box 176 00:10:17,080 --> 00:10:20,680 that he's put himself inside. So the first bullet point of Act 177 00:10:20,680 --> 00:10:25,040 One is the ordinary world, and that's where we meet Shane when 178 00:10:25,040 --> 00:10:29,080 he is a very young kid. He's only 181718. 179 00:10:29,440 --> 00:10:34,280 He's very disciplined, hyper controlled, emotionally guarded 180 00:10:34,480 --> 00:10:37,560 and very young. The key difference being that 181 00:10:37,720 --> 00:10:40,720 for him, his ordinary world is the NHL. 182 00:10:40,920 --> 00:10:43,400 We're in the show. It's the MLH which is not 183 00:10:43,400 --> 00:10:46,040 ordinary at all. It's very singular. 184 00:10:46,120 --> 00:10:50,040 Because of that, he's become a person defined by his precision, 185 00:10:50,040 --> 00:10:53,800 his routine, the very carefully constructed image that he and 186 00:10:53,800 --> 00:10:56,200 Euna, his mother, have made for him. 187 00:10:56,680 --> 00:11:00,120 And as a person of color who must be extraordinary and 188 00:11:00,120 --> 00:11:04,680 flawless and undeniable, he's also carrying this expectation 189 00:11:04,680 --> 00:11:07,320 to be an example for young kids who look like him. 190 00:11:07,840 --> 00:11:12,320 So he's coming into this quote UN quote ordinary world with a 191 00:11:12,320 --> 00:11:17,720 very specific story intact. So that's what also I feel makes 192 00:11:18,160 --> 00:11:21,920 this story in particular so fascinating is because Shane and 193 00:11:21,920 --> 00:11:25,960 Ilya are both very specific characters with very specific 194 00:11:26,360 --> 00:11:30,400 traits and backgrounds and a storyline that is incredibly 195 00:11:30,400 --> 00:11:33,280 unique to only them. Buried beneath the weight of 196 00:11:33,280 --> 00:11:37,400 everything else that Shane is dealing with is his closeted 197 00:11:37,400 --> 00:11:40,640 identity that he's not allowed himself to explore or even 198 00:11:40,640 --> 00:11:43,320 entertain. And so by suppressing his 199 00:11:43,320 --> 00:11:48,320 desires, it's quietly costing him, and he does not realize how 200 00:11:48,320 --> 00:11:51,680 much it's costing him until he meets Ilya. 201 00:11:51,920 --> 00:11:55,160 That's when we reach this call to adventure state. 202 00:11:55,240 --> 00:11:59,600 And Ilya Rosenov is both the call to adventure, but also he 203 00:11:59,600 --> 00:12:03,800 represents the destabilization of Shane's very carefully 204 00:12:03,800 --> 00:12:06,720 constructed world. And he makes this version of 205 00:12:06,720 --> 00:12:09,400 Shane that we meet at the beginning of the story 206 00:12:09,920 --> 00:12:13,760 essentially unsustainable. So Ilya, to me, is the inciting 207 00:12:13,760 --> 00:12:17,360 force here. And he disrupts Shane's very 208 00:12:17,360 --> 00:12:21,640 carefully constructed world not just because of Shane's 209 00:12:21,640 --> 00:12:25,520 attraction to him, but because Ilya represents something that 210 00:12:25,520 --> 00:12:30,680 Shane cannot neatly categorize or suppress within himself. 211 00:12:30,680 --> 00:12:35,160 And so his call, it isn't a moment in particular, it's not 212 00:12:35,240 --> 00:12:37,720 the water bottle and you know, that sort of moment. 213 00:12:37,720 --> 00:12:40,080 I would just say it's more Ilya himself. 214 00:12:40,480 --> 00:12:45,480 And their rivalry serves as the framework that Shane disguises 215 00:12:45,480 --> 00:12:49,520 his unnerving feelings behind. But love sits really close to 216 00:12:49,520 --> 00:12:52,840 hatred, and so he battles with his feelings internally for 217 00:12:52,840 --> 00:12:55,200 years. And what makes this compelling 218 00:12:55,200 --> 00:12:58,200 is that his call to adventure, it isn't something Shane 219 00:12:58,200 --> 00:13:00,120 initially wants. It's actually something he 220 00:13:00,120 --> 00:13:03,760 spends years actively resisting and trying to deny himself, 221 00:13:03,880 --> 00:13:07,800 which fits so neatly into the refusal to the call. 222 00:13:07,840 --> 00:13:12,920 So after Ilia and Shane cross paths and it creates this 223 00:13:13,120 --> 00:13:16,680 initial call to adventure, Shanes journey continues with 224 00:13:16,680 --> 00:13:19,960 his refusal to the call. And so in the story, it's spread 225 00:13:19,960 --> 00:13:24,440 out over years of Shane resisting Ilias approaches, and 226 00:13:24,440 --> 00:13:27,720 Shane goes to great lengths to keep their relationship secret 227 00:13:28,080 --> 00:13:32,680 and compartmentalize it in his own mind and control as much of 228 00:13:32,680 --> 00:13:35,520 the situation and the narrative around them as possible. 229 00:13:35,800 --> 00:13:40,280 And all of that stems from his fear of being gay, of wanting 230 00:13:40,280 --> 00:13:44,320 Ilya, of disappointing his parents, of losing his career, 231 00:13:44,600 --> 00:13:47,480 his fear of being loved. He's afraid of that. 232 00:13:47,800 --> 00:13:51,600 And Ilya again embodies what Shane wants but believes he 233 00:13:51,600 --> 00:13:53,920 can't have. Ilya has this openness. 234 00:13:54,000 --> 00:13:59,040 He has this supposed emotional freedom, and he lives this life 235 00:13:59,480 --> 00:14:02,440 that is seemingly not dictated by fear. 236 00:14:02,440 --> 00:14:06,280 And so through their relationship, it's very intense 237 00:14:06,280 --> 00:14:10,000 and secret and cyclical. It just keeps pulling Shane back 238 00:14:10,000 --> 00:14:13,840 in, even when he's trying to find distance or maintain it. 239 00:14:14,360 --> 00:14:19,520 That leads into the meeting with the mentor side of the heroes 240 00:14:19,520 --> 00:14:21,680 journey. And in the traditional sense, I 241 00:14:21,680 --> 00:14:25,960 would say that Shane meets a mentor in the TV series. 242 00:14:25,960 --> 00:14:29,520 And Scott Hunter, they've put him in that sort of mentor role. 243 00:14:29,720 --> 00:14:32,920 He's much more prominent in the show than he is in the book. 244 00:14:32,920 --> 00:14:36,600 And his appearances are strategically placed at certain 245 00:14:36,600 --> 00:14:40,880 moments in his hero's journey of resisting the call or refusing 246 00:14:40,880 --> 00:14:43,400 the call. And he serves as kind of a 247 00:14:43,400 --> 00:14:47,520 steady encouragement for Shane. But in most ways, you can argue 248 00:14:47,520 --> 00:14:52,320 that the mentor is Ilya because he is a mirror held up to Shane, 249 00:14:52,320 --> 00:14:56,480 showing him what he lacks and what he's afraid of become. 250 00:14:56,480 --> 00:15:01,400 Ilya doesn't guide Shane in a clean, wise mentor like way that 251 00:15:01,400 --> 00:15:06,360 we often see depicted. He pushes him, though, sometimes 252 00:15:06,360 --> 00:15:08,480 very messily, towards being honest. 253 00:15:08,560 --> 00:15:10,920 He's always pushing him towards honesty. 254 00:15:11,240 --> 00:15:15,280 And he challenges Shane's boundaries and calls out his 255 00:15:15,280 --> 00:15:19,880 avoidance and refuses to let their relationship say 256 00:15:20,320 --> 00:15:24,800 superficial, even though the two of them are forced into hiding 257 00:15:24,800 --> 00:15:28,840 it within their bubble. Ilya is the one that makes Shane 258 00:15:28,840 --> 00:15:33,480 feel brave and he presses the issue and he does that 259 00:15:33,760 --> 00:15:36,640 unconsciously at times, but also consciously too. 260 00:15:36,880 --> 00:15:41,040 And all of that leads to the moment we are we cross the first 261 00:15:41,040 --> 00:15:44,080 threshold, which is when in the hero's journey, the hero fully 262 00:15:44,080 --> 00:15:48,800 commits to join the dangerous special world being offered to 263 00:15:48,800 --> 00:15:50,840 him, this journey being presented. 264 00:15:51,200 --> 00:15:56,400 And in the storyline, I see this as when he and Ilya decide to 265 00:15:56,400 --> 00:16:00,240 become a couple and they're in a committed relationship. 266 00:16:00,240 --> 00:16:05,160 And that's by the end of Heated Rivalry and into the beginning 267 00:16:05,160 --> 00:16:07,680 of the long game. But it starts with it being 268 00:16:07,680 --> 00:16:10,000 accepted at the end of Heated Rivalry. 269 00:16:10,040 --> 00:16:13,080 What makes that interesting is that by the end of the first 270 00:16:13,080 --> 00:16:17,760 book, they are technically coming up with a plan for how 271 00:16:17,760 --> 00:16:21,480 they will be together. But it is still 1 where Shane is 272 00:16:21,480 --> 00:16:26,000 deeply rooted in his preexisting fears from that ordinary world 273 00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:28,040 that we established at the top of the story. 274 00:16:28,040 --> 00:16:31,840 So you can still see how even though he's made this decision, 275 00:16:32,160 --> 00:16:36,040 he's theoretically keeping 1 foot in that old world. 276 00:16:36,320 --> 00:16:40,600 He has not yet gone through any of those trials and tribulations 277 00:16:40,600 --> 00:16:44,640 that he needs to in order to level up and evolve into the 278 00:16:44,640 --> 00:16:47,040 true hero that he is destined to become. 279 00:16:47,320 --> 00:16:49,640 And that's where we meet him in the long game. 280 00:16:49,880 --> 00:16:54,480 So as we continue this crossing of the first threshold, we meet 281 00:16:54,480 --> 00:16:57,760 Shane and Ilya in the long game, and they are in a committed 282 00:16:57,760 --> 00:17:01,040 relationship, but it's still secret and they've come up with 283 00:17:01,040 --> 00:17:03,080 their plan. They've set things in motion. 284 00:17:03,360 --> 00:17:07,079 They have taken the steps across that threshold together and 285 00:17:07,079 --> 00:17:09,680 decided that they will be together and they'll figure out 286 00:17:09,680 --> 00:17:11,960 what that looks like against all odds. 287 00:17:11,960 --> 00:17:16,280 But unfortunately, that moment of bliss and that honeymoon 288 00:17:16,280 --> 00:17:19,359 phase is very short lived because they still don't know 289 00:17:19,359 --> 00:17:20,960 how to communicate with one another. 290 00:17:21,079 --> 00:17:24,720 Shane is still very committed to the plan because it feeds into 291 00:17:24,720 --> 00:17:28,040 his need for control. And again, that's an archetype 292 00:17:28,040 --> 00:17:32,360 of his that is deeply rooted in his world, his ordinary world, 293 00:17:32,360 --> 00:17:36,760 that he starts out and his fear of being discovered has not gone 294 00:17:36,760 --> 00:17:39,520 away. Whereas Ilya is not entirely on 295 00:17:39,520 --> 00:17:42,400 the same page about that and finds it much harder to deal 296 00:17:42,400 --> 00:17:45,720 with the realities of their relationship given his isolation 297 00:17:46,000 --> 00:17:49,040 and depression. So Shane may have taken all of 298 00:17:49,040 --> 00:17:53,040 the steps to map out their future, establish the rules, set 299 00:17:53,040 --> 00:17:56,000 them up to be together one day, but in reality, the 300 00:17:56,000 --> 00:17:59,200 relationship, it's more than just the choice to be in one. 301 00:17:59,240 --> 00:18:03,160 It still requires sacrifice. And Shane is still faced with a 302 00:18:03,160 --> 00:18:07,120 number of internal battles that he must identify within himself, 303 00:18:07,120 --> 00:18:10,880 then face and then resolve, which perfectly leads to the 304 00:18:10,880 --> 00:18:13,880 next phase, which is tests allies and enemies. 305 00:18:13,880 --> 00:18:17,960 So within Shane and Ilya's relationship, we as readers can 306 00:18:17,960 --> 00:18:22,080 start to detect patterns and cracks and one of those is the 307 00:18:22,160 --> 00:18:25,800 distance between the two of them due to their careers and how 308 00:18:25,800 --> 00:18:29,600 that has started to manifest into more challenges between 309 00:18:29,600 --> 00:18:31,840 them and therefore arguments between them. 310 00:18:32,280 --> 00:18:36,440 And as Ilya's depression grows and he starts to identify that 311 00:18:36,440 --> 00:18:39,960 he is depressed, he ends up shutting Shane out. 312 00:18:40,240 --> 00:18:44,720 And Shane transversely does not push Ilya to share his emotions. 313 00:18:44,720 --> 00:18:48,440 And so more misunderstandings start to rear their ugly head. 314 00:18:48,560 --> 00:18:53,360 Shane's expectations of himself, his career, and his own 315 00:18:53,360 --> 00:18:57,080 internalized fears. They make Ilya feel unimportant 316 00:18:57,160 --> 00:19:01,400 and angry and isolated. And ultimately that makes him 317 00:19:01,400 --> 00:19:04,560 slightly resentful because they cannot love each other in the 318 00:19:04,560 --> 00:19:08,200 way that he wants to love Shane because of Shane's internal 319 00:19:08,200 --> 00:19:10,600 roadblocks. And so Shane's attempt to keep 320 00:19:10,600 --> 00:19:14,520 his emotions together and be strong for Ilya actually leads 321 00:19:14,520 --> 00:19:18,440 him to largely blind himself to what Ilya has actually 322 00:19:18,440 --> 00:19:22,000 sacrificed for him and for their relationship already. 323 00:19:22,320 --> 00:19:26,200 And so their fight is the pinnacle of this. 324 00:19:26,200 --> 00:19:29,360 That's when they are able to identify that the enemy is 325 00:19:29,360 --> 00:19:33,520 largely the League, yes, but it's also themselves if they're 326 00:19:33,520 --> 00:19:36,000 not able to find a way to converse with one another in a 327 00:19:36,000 --> 00:19:40,040 healthy way. This it means that Shane starts 328 00:19:40,040 --> 00:19:44,200 to approach the innermost cave. So again, in the aftermath of 329 00:19:44,200 --> 00:19:49,320 their fight, we see him retreat, and that growing impossibility 330 00:19:49,320 --> 00:19:52,640 of sustaining both his public life and his private truth 331 00:19:52,640 --> 00:19:56,240 brought on by this fight after Christmas and ultimately the 332 00:19:56,240 --> 00:20:00,280 plain scare scene are what forced Shane to enter into his 333 00:20:00,280 --> 00:20:03,000 innermost cave and confront himself directly. 334 00:20:03,240 --> 00:20:06,720 And the irony here is that all throughout the story, Shane's 335 00:20:06,720 --> 00:20:09,240 growth doesn't happen in isolation. 336 00:20:09,240 --> 00:20:14,080 It happens because Ilya makes his old life unbearable. 337 00:20:14,120 --> 00:20:16,520 It it makes the status quo unbearable. 338 00:20:16,760 --> 00:20:21,400 Without Ilya, Shane could have remained comfortably stuck there 339 00:20:21,440 --> 00:20:24,400 forever because he would have been too nervous to step outside 340 00:20:24,400 --> 00:20:25,120 the lines. But. 341 00:20:25,720 --> 00:20:29,760 Being with Ilia means that he is afraid of staying the same. 342 00:20:29,760 --> 00:20:33,240 It starts to feel like a loss to him to stay in that place and 343 00:20:33,240 --> 00:20:36,920 live in that fear. And so Ilias love and making 344 00:20:36,920 --> 00:20:40,920 Ilia feel loved become more important to shame than what was 345 00:20:40,920 --> 00:20:46,720 previously his comfort, which is control and safety and privacy 346 00:20:47,000 --> 00:20:48,800 and keeping that part of himself hidden. 347 00:20:48,840 --> 00:20:52,120 He goes into this innermost world and realizes that he's 348 00:20:52,120 --> 00:20:55,440 willing to sacrifice his own comfort and control in order to 349 00:20:55,440 --> 00:20:58,520 be with the man he loves. And it takes him being 350 00:20:58,520 --> 00:21:01,520 threatened with the concept that he wouldn't be able to mourn 351 00:21:01,520 --> 00:21:04,360 Ilya should something have happened to him on that 352 00:21:04,360 --> 00:21:06,640 airplane. And he would have spent the rest 353 00:21:06,640 --> 00:21:11,280 of his life slowly dying in grief alone for him to realize 354 00:21:11,280 --> 00:21:13,080 what's actually important to him now. 355 00:21:13,280 --> 00:21:16,880 And the things that he was placing so high on a pedestal 356 00:21:17,280 --> 00:21:21,040 and making important are actually not as important as 357 00:21:21,040 --> 00:21:24,080 that fact. That's when we reach the ordeal, 358 00:21:24,320 --> 00:21:28,120 and this represents and emotional breaking point of the 359 00:21:28,120 --> 00:21:32,760 hero on their journey. And all of Shane's come when his 360 00:21:32,800 --> 00:21:36,280 love for Ilya demand that he finally be honest, both with 361 00:21:36,280 --> 00:21:37,840 himself and other people around him. 362 00:21:38,320 --> 00:21:42,440 And at a certain point, Ilya is not just part of the journey for 363 00:21:42,440 --> 00:21:46,120 Shane, but can actually be categorized as one of those 364 00:21:46,120 --> 00:21:48,680 tests. Because loving Ilya requires 365 00:21:48,680 --> 00:21:51,600 Shane to confront everything he's built his identity around, 366 00:21:51,920 --> 00:21:55,360 which again, is his need for control, his desperate desire 367 00:21:55,360 --> 00:22:00,520 for privacy, for perfection, his very polished reputation. 368 00:22:00,720 --> 00:22:05,080 Ilia's very existence directly effects each of those pillars of 369 00:22:05,080 --> 00:22:08,360 Shane's personality. And so once he and Ilia are 370 00:22:08,360 --> 00:22:12,680 together and they fall in love, Shane's personality shifts and 371 00:22:12,680 --> 00:22:16,760 it is able to transform into a version that Shane feels is 372 00:22:16,760 --> 00:22:20,400 actually more in alignment with his true self. 373 00:22:20,440 --> 00:22:23,040 And he would have never been able to discover that if not for 374 00:22:23,040 --> 00:22:29,480 Ilia and not this repressed, rigid, sad, lost person that we 375 00:22:29,480 --> 00:22:32,120 find him as at the beginning of the story, and that he'd grown 376 00:22:32,120 --> 00:22:35,920 comfortable being. And so the one priority of 377 00:22:35,920 --> 00:22:40,320 Shane's at this point, when Ilya is at his lowest, is to not only 378 00:22:40,320 --> 00:22:45,160 be a partner worthy of someone like Ilya, but also making Ilya 379 00:22:45,160 --> 00:22:48,920 feel like he's worthy of Shane, moving mountains for him. 380 00:22:49,520 --> 00:22:53,240 And so when the two of them get engaged, this is yet another 381 00:22:53,240 --> 00:22:56,400 step in the direction they both wish to move in, which is 382 00:22:56,400 --> 00:23:00,080 building a life together and having it be out in the open at 383 00:23:00,080 --> 00:23:03,400 some point in the near future. So it's both the reward in the 384 00:23:03,400 --> 00:23:07,200 story, yes, but it's also, in my mind, an ordeal because now they 385 00:23:07,200 --> 00:23:11,160 must navigate what being engaged looks like and not being able to 386 00:23:11,160 --> 00:23:13,760 tell anyone. And then they start to slowly 387 00:23:13,760 --> 00:23:17,160 tell some people, and that is when they are outed. 388 00:23:17,240 --> 00:23:20,800 And this to me, is the ultimate ordeal because their 389 00:23:20,800 --> 00:23:24,440 relationship is exposed without their consent or in a way that 390 00:23:24,440 --> 00:23:27,200 they chose for themselves. And so they have all of these 391 00:23:27,200 --> 00:23:31,240 additional pressures from each of their teams, the reactions 392 00:23:31,240 --> 00:23:34,360 from their teammates. And we see the very contrasting 393 00:23:34,360 --> 00:23:39,120 way in which Ilya is received by his own team, despite this 394 00:23:39,120 --> 00:23:43,840 deeper dilemma within Shane, which ultimately again, is what 395 00:23:43,840 --> 00:23:47,560 the ordeal looks like here. Because by that point, the real 396 00:23:47,560 --> 00:23:50,520 question is whether Shane is willing to lose the life he 397 00:23:50,520 --> 00:23:54,600 understands within his team in Montreal in order to live a 398 00:23:54,600 --> 00:23:58,360 truthful one with Ilya. And he really struggles with 399 00:23:58,360 --> 00:24:02,520 that for a while in the book. That's when we reach the reward 400 00:24:02,520 --> 00:24:04,840 or seizing the sword moment of the story. 401 00:24:04,840 --> 00:24:08,400 And to me, Shane and Ilya's decision to confront the 402 00:24:08,400 --> 00:24:11,800 commissioner, announce their relationship, share their 403 00:24:11,800 --> 00:24:14,880 engagement, hold their wedding in their backyard, and 404 00:24:15,160 --> 00:24:18,760 ultimately Shane's departure from Montreal, they're all part 405 00:24:18,760 --> 00:24:22,280 of that reward. To me, Shane is seizing the 406 00:24:22,280 --> 00:24:25,240 sword within his own life and within his relationship with 407 00:24:25,240 --> 00:24:28,640 Ilya every time they go through each of those story beats. 408 00:24:28,640 --> 00:24:32,520 And so I think it's important to almost separate those two things 409 00:24:32,800 --> 00:24:38,680 because yes, Ilya is Shane's whole world, but Shane as a 410 00:24:38,680 --> 00:24:41,560 person and as a character is his own man. 411 00:24:41,640 --> 00:24:44,680 And so he needed to learn to make decisions about his own 412 00:24:44,680 --> 00:24:48,200 life for himself 1st and for no one else. 413 00:24:48,560 --> 00:24:52,040 And so in this heroes journey and in this phase of the heroes 414 00:24:52,040 --> 00:24:57,320 journey, he's become someone who puts his own needs and desires 415 00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:02,440 first, whereas previously it was last in every facet of his life. 416 00:25:02,720 --> 00:25:05,640 So by the end of the long game, we're finally starting to see 417 00:25:05,640 --> 00:25:09,960 what it looks like when Shane is self assured and confident. 418 00:25:10,280 --> 00:25:13,800 And yes, he's terrified, but he's willing to be brave now and 419 00:25:13,800 --> 00:25:16,960 that bravery allows him to choose his own destiny. 420 00:25:17,200 --> 00:25:20,600 That doesn't happen if Shane hadn't done the work and 421 00:25:20,600 --> 00:25:23,960 confronted his fears and dealt with a lot of his own hang ups 422 00:25:23,960 --> 00:25:28,000 and biases so that he's able to operate from a place of self 423 00:25:28,000 --> 00:25:32,280 assuredness and more of like an internal peace that he's never 424 00:25:32,280 --> 00:25:34,560 had before. And it's something we've never 425 00:25:34,560 --> 00:25:38,360 seen in Shane before now. And so when he and Ilya step out 426 00:25:38,360 --> 00:25:42,000 onto the ice together at the end of the book, it's a new version 427 00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:45,200 of Shane who is about to be tested in new ways. 428 00:25:45,560 --> 00:25:49,200 But he's a almost fully actualized person by this point 429 00:25:49,360 --> 00:25:51,680 because of of the journey he's gone on so far. 430 00:25:51,840 --> 00:25:56,360 But going into this next phase of their story together, he's 431 00:25:56,360 --> 00:25:59,960 never not been a captain. He's never not been on a cup 432 00:25:59,960 --> 00:26:04,240 contending team or any other team besides Montreal since his 433 00:26:04,240 --> 00:26:08,000 rookie year for that matter. And he's never been in a locker 434 00:26:08,000 --> 00:26:10,640 room with Ilya. He's never travelled on the road 435 00:26:10,640 --> 00:26:12,640 with him. He's never prepared for a game 436 00:26:12,640 --> 00:26:15,200 with him. He's never spent every moment of 437 00:26:15,200 --> 00:26:17,800 every day with him. What does that look like? 438 00:26:17,920 --> 00:26:21,360 What does that do to the stakes of their relationship? 439 00:26:21,360 --> 00:26:26,560 Again, it is going to rearrange those trials and tribulations 440 00:26:26,920 --> 00:26:30,440 that he has to go through in order to come out of this hero's 441 00:26:30,440 --> 00:26:33,600 journey fully actualized at the end of this three book 442 00:26:33,760 --> 00:26:36,360 overarching storyline. So that's where we're leaving 443 00:26:36,360 --> 00:26:37,680 Shane at the end of the long game. 444 00:26:37,680 --> 00:26:41,560 And when we think about Unrivaled and what we can deduce 445 00:26:41,560 --> 00:26:45,280 from it so far, there are again three bullet points that have to 446 00:26:45,280 --> 00:26:49,360 be covered in this third book, the first being the Road Back. 447 00:26:49,360 --> 00:26:54,160 So while there of course will be obstacles for Shane to face in 448 00:26:54,160 --> 00:26:59,040 Unrivalled, including this supposed big bad in the form of 449 00:26:59,040 --> 00:27:02,840 a hockey podcast, Shane's biggest obstacle isn't always 450 00:27:02,840 --> 00:27:07,080 going to be something external. It's often himself, and so he 451 00:27:07,080 --> 00:27:10,640 has this fear of losing control, of risking everything he's 452 00:27:10,640 --> 00:27:13,560 built. That's always the true test for 453 00:27:13,560 --> 00:27:18,400 him in his story, and protecting him and Ilya from the outside 454 00:27:18,400 --> 00:27:20,240 forces is part of that, certainly. 455 00:27:20,240 --> 00:27:23,920 But he maintains much of his fear that stems from this 456 00:27:23,920 --> 00:27:27,480 internal restraint well into the long game, and I suspect that 457 00:27:27,480 --> 00:27:29,800 will still be there in Unrivalled as well. 458 00:27:29,800 --> 00:27:33,480 In the portion of his journey that takes place in the road 459 00:27:33,480 --> 00:27:35,320 back. Shane will now have to figure 460 00:27:35,320 --> 00:27:38,480 out what his new while living a life that he long thought was 461 00:27:38,480 --> 00:27:40,200 entirely and completely impossible. 462 00:27:40,200 --> 00:27:44,920 Because he's now married, playing in the MLH, publicly 463 00:27:44,920 --> 00:27:48,400 out, sharing a locker room and teammates with Ilya. 464 00:27:48,920 --> 00:27:52,600 And Ilya is his captain. And he's in a new city, learning 465 00:27:52,600 --> 00:27:56,760 a new system and still dealing with the repercussions and hurt 466 00:27:56,760 --> 00:27:59,480 of needing to leave his old team in Montreal. 467 00:27:59,640 --> 00:28:03,200 And so this again will come with its own set of challenges. 468 00:28:03,560 --> 00:28:07,960 And all of this is without even considering the possibility of 469 00:28:07,960 --> 00:28:11,200 something that Ilya might be grappling with in Unrivaled, 470 00:28:11,200 --> 00:28:13,760 that becomes a challenge for Shane by proxy. 471 00:28:13,800 --> 00:28:17,600 The next pillar is the resurrection, which is the final 472 00:28:17,600 --> 00:28:20,560 battle where our hero is finally fully transformed. 473 00:28:20,960 --> 00:28:24,200 And so again, I imagine this is going to be a moment when Shane 474 00:28:24,200 --> 00:28:27,080 defends himself and Ilya from the protagonist of the book, 475 00:28:27,080 --> 00:28:31,840 which I suspect is going to be the podcast, yes, but also fans, 476 00:28:31,840 --> 00:28:36,000 society, the league. Often this resurrection is done 477 00:28:36,000 --> 00:28:39,800 in a very grand and triumphant gesture in order to prove that 478 00:28:39,800 --> 00:28:44,120 he's no longer the the character we meet at the beginning of his 479 00:28:44,120 --> 00:28:48,120 hero's journey, and he's no longer afraid to put himself 480 00:28:48,120 --> 00:28:51,120 directly in the line of fire in order to do what he feels is 481 00:28:51,120 --> 00:28:53,000 right and what is best for himself. 482 00:28:53,000 --> 00:28:56,440 And for Ilya, this, I think, is also going to trickle down to 483 00:28:56,600 --> 00:28:59,840 mean that he will defend anyone within the community that he is 484 00:28:59,840 --> 00:29:02,680 now a part of. Because in the long game, 485 00:29:02,680 --> 00:29:06,840 specifically when he and Ilya start going on double dates with 486 00:29:06,840 --> 00:29:10,800 Ryan Price and his boyfriend Fabian, Shane expresses that 487 00:29:10,800 --> 00:29:15,120 he's never fully explored what it means to be gay, what that 488 00:29:15,120 --> 00:29:19,800 means to him, and how he fits into that community. 489 00:29:19,800 --> 00:29:23,600 He isn't sure how he's going to fit into that community or if he 490 00:29:23,600 --> 00:29:25,640 fits into it. And I suspect that that will be 491 00:29:25,640 --> 00:29:28,600 part of his journey and unrivalled as well, because it 492 00:29:28,600 --> 00:29:30,280 would culminate quite nicely here. 493 00:29:30,560 --> 00:29:34,000 That also leads us into the final phase of the hero's 494 00:29:34,000 --> 00:29:37,000 journey, which is the return with the elixir. 495 00:29:37,200 --> 00:29:41,400 And again, that's when the hero returns home, changed and in 496 00:29:41,400 --> 00:29:45,520 possession of his reward, ready to return to his normal life and 497 00:29:45,520 --> 00:29:49,200 the world he came from, but move forward in a way where he can 498 00:29:49,200 --> 00:29:53,400 integrate both his new identity and all of the new lessons that 499 00:29:53,400 --> 00:29:55,680 he's learned. If Shane's initial difficulty 500 00:29:55,680 --> 00:29:59,200 was himself, then the resolution here would be his ability to 501 00:29:59,200 --> 00:30:02,760 love himself and accept himself fully, and so a large part of 502 00:30:02,760 --> 00:30:06,280 that is the gift of Ilya's love and their relationship. 503 00:30:06,280 --> 00:30:09,320 But I also suspect that this is when we will see the fruits of 504 00:30:09,320 --> 00:30:12,920 Ilya's labor as well, because they've built a community 505 00:30:13,240 --> 00:30:17,520 together, not only within their foundation, the arena 506 00:30:17,520 --> 00:30:20,880 Foundation, but for players within the league who also 507 00:30:20,880 --> 00:30:24,360 identify as queer. And so that brings them both a 508 00:30:24,960 --> 00:30:28,120 true level of fulfillment that I think rivals that of their 509 00:30:28,120 --> 00:30:31,240 hockey careers and all of their accomplishments that thus far. 510 00:30:31,240 --> 00:30:34,800 And to me, I would assume that that sense of purpose would free 511 00:30:34,800 --> 00:30:38,240 both of them of so much pain and trauma from their formative 512 00:30:38,240 --> 00:30:40,240 years. And it would give them hope for 513 00:30:40,240 --> 00:30:44,680 change and also a renewed sense of purpose as they move closer 514 00:30:44,680 --> 00:30:47,680 to retirement. And I also suspect that the two 515 00:30:47,680 --> 00:30:51,440 of them wanting to have children would also provide them with 516 00:30:51,440 --> 00:30:55,480 that sense of purpose as well. So the two of them are building 517 00:30:55,480 --> 00:30:59,880 a life outside of the sport that has defined them since their 518 00:30:59,880 --> 00:31:01,720 childhoods. They're, they're going to need 519 00:31:01,720 --> 00:31:04,480 to find a new world to walk into. 520 00:31:04,480 --> 00:31:08,280 And that is exactly what the end of this hero's journey calls 521 00:31:08,280 --> 00:31:10,520 for. And for so long with Shane 522 00:31:10,520 --> 00:31:14,320 especially, he could not tell where he began and hockey ended. 523 00:31:14,320 --> 00:31:18,080 It was so intrinsically part of himself and to find him so 524 00:31:18,080 --> 00:31:22,880 deeply and that aspect of his life really ruled all of his 525 00:31:22,880 --> 00:31:26,480 decision making. It had such rigid constructs and 526 00:31:26,480 --> 00:31:30,960 biases that became part of his personality and now Shane has a 527 00:31:30,960 --> 00:31:35,040 life outside of hockey that he has chosen, which in and of 528 00:31:35,040 --> 00:31:39,280 itself is the reward. So that's how I am guessing the 529 00:31:39,280 --> 00:31:41,800 heroes journey for Shane is going to end. 530 00:31:41,800 --> 00:31:46,000 But again, Rachel Reed is going to include so many moments and 531 00:31:46,000 --> 00:31:48,400 nuance that I could never predict. 532 00:31:48,400 --> 00:31:52,200 But I do feel like when you lay it out in this way, it is very 533 00:31:52,200 --> 00:31:55,880 clear that Shane is on this beautiful hero's journey and the 534 00:31:55,880 --> 00:32:00,560 story is very much about him, even though, again, his battles 535 00:32:00,880 --> 00:32:05,200 are not external in the same way that I think Ilya's character 536 00:32:05,320 --> 00:32:08,360 can make them. You know, he has his brother and 537 00:32:08,360 --> 00:32:11,840 his father. Shane's is very close to the 538 00:32:12,160 --> 00:32:14,160 chest. He's he's fighting with things 539 00:32:14,160 --> 00:32:16,320 in his head. And because we're reading a book 540 00:32:16,320 --> 00:32:19,200 and we can live inside of his head, it helps make that 541 00:32:19,200 --> 00:32:21,240 clearer. I think it's a great example of 542 00:32:21,240 --> 00:32:24,680 how you can write a character in this way and give him this 543 00:32:24,680 --> 00:32:28,360 heroic journey without it being the traditional one. 544 00:32:28,480 --> 00:32:33,400 And the internal battles we all fight are just as valid and and 545 00:32:33,600 --> 00:32:36,600 worth exploring as the external ones. 546 00:32:36,840 --> 00:32:40,560 So please let me know if you've thought about Shane's hero's 547 00:32:40,560 --> 00:32:45,000 journey, his monomyth, if you've ever looked into this style of 548 00:32:45,040 --> 00:32:48,920 storytelling structure before. There are so many stories and 549 00:32:48,920 --> 00:32:52,640 movies and shows that if you look for it, you can find this 550 00:32:52,640 --> 00:32:55,400 within. It's been around for a very long 551 00:32:55,400 --> 00:32:57,360 time. It is here to stay. 552 00:32:57,720 --> 00:33:01,720 And I think it's fun to deconstruct a story and look at 553 00:33:01,720 --> 00:33:04,840 it so closely and see how there are so many different ways that 554 00:33:04,840 --> 00:33:09,000 you can take this framework and use it to tell a really 555 00:33:09,000 --> 00:33:12,480 interesting and compelling story about a person transforming and 556 00:33:12,480 --> 00:33:17,120 leveling up and growing. So I hope you enjoyed my gabbing 557 00:33:17,120 --> 00:33:21,600 about Shane's hero's arc and explanation as to what that is. 558 00:33:21,600 --> 00:33:25,040 Please let me know if there are any moments that you think fit 559 00:33:25,040 --> 00:33:28,960 neatly into one of these categories in Act one, Act 2, or 560 00:33:28,960 --> 00:33:31,800 Act three, and then the subcategories within each of 561 00:33:31,800 --> 00:33:34,080 them. I think that it's fun to take 562 00:33:34,080 --> 00:33:36,880 scenes and kind of plug them in now that we know that they're 563 00:33:36,880 --> 00:33:39,960 all part of that hero's journey that Shane's on and that will be 564 00:33:39,960 --> 00:33:44,560 culminating in Unrivalled, which I'm really excited to see how 565 00:33:44,560 --> 00:33:47,320 she wraps it up given what I think those last three story 566 00:33:47,320 --> 00:33:49,000 beats that she's going to be covering are. 567 00:33:49,360 --> 00:33:52,440 As always, if you've made it all the way to the end, thank you 568 00:33:52,440 --> 00:33:54,960 so, so much for listening. I deeply appreciate it. 569 00:33:54,960 --> 00:33:59,120 And again, keep sending me your thoughts and questions in the 570 00:33:59,120 --> 00:34:03,240 DMS. I get so much inspiration talking to people about this 571 00:34:03,240 --> 00:34:06,120 show and the writing and storytelling and how wonderful 572 00:34:06,120 --> 00:34:08,760 it's been executed for our screens. 573 00:34:09,080 --> 00:34:12,520 And it leads to great, insightful, thoughtful questions 574 00:34:12,520 --> 00:34:14,719 like this that we get to discuss on the podcast. 575 00:34:14,719 --> 00:34:17,199 So keep them coming. I absolutely love them. 576 00:34:17,600 --> 00:34:21,320 Thank you again and I will talk to you guys in our next chat.