Heated Rivalry’s fifth episode becomes second best-rated TV episode of all time
Heated Rivalry’s fifth episode is now the second best-rated episode of TV in history. (HBO)
Heated Rivalry's fifth episode is now the second best-rated episode of TV in history. (HBO)
Episode five of steamy queer ice hockey series Heated Rivalry has become the second-highest rated TV episode of all time, just three days after its release.
On official ratings and reviews site IMDb, episode five, entitled “I’ll Believe Anything”, has scored a remarkable ten out of ten stars, based on 21,000 viewer ratings. The previous four episodes all have an impressive score of 9.3 out of 10 and a above.
It’s only the second episode of TV in history to receive a perfect score, with the 14th episode of Breaking Bad’s fifth season, entitled “Ozymandias”, being the other episode.
With a staggering 273,000 ratings, “Ozymandias” retains the top spot on IMDb’s list of best-rated TV episodes.
Heated Rivalry’s “I’ll Believe Anything” episode dropped on streaming services on Friday 19 December, and saw queer hockey stars Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie) finally being honest about their feelings for one another.
The pathos-packed episode begins with Montreal Metros captain Shane waking up after sleeping with his girlfriend Rose (Sophie Nélisse) and realising that he needs to break things off with her.
At dinner, Rose senses that something is off between them, telling Shane that their relationship is like “trying to fit a square peg into a round hole”. Admitting that he has been hiding his sexuality, the sports star then delivers one of the most notorious lines from the Rachel Reid novel the series is based on: “The thing is, I kind of prefer being the hole than the peg.”
Together again in Florida for the All-Star hockey game, Shane and Ilya finally take their relationship beyond the raunchy sex scenes that have gripped the internet for the past few weeks. Shane confesses that he is gay and reveals he and Rose have split, and Ilya toys with the idea of them becoming an item. Yet, hailing from Russia – with its government’s staunch opposition to LGBTQ+ rights – means that Ilya can’t admit his bisexuality publicly.
Back home in Russia following the death of his father from dementia, Ilya delivers one of Reid’s most pivotal scenes: telling Shane exactly how he feels about him – that he loves him – over the phone, in Russian.
The historic episode ends with Admirals player Scott Hunter (François Arnaud) pulling his new lover, barista Kip (Robbie G.K.), onto the rink and giving him a kiss in front of the cameras. The kiss – a momentous moment for LGBTQ+ history in the show – could change whether Ilya and Shane decide to make their love for one another public.
Heated Rivalry season one will conclude with its sixth and final episode on 26 December, streaming on Crave in Canada and HBO in the US.
The show’s first season will premiere on Sky in the UK and Ireland from 10 January 2026.
Last week, it was confirmed that Heated Rivalry will be coming back for a second season in the future.
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