Also can i say that i think the elevation of Svetlana’s inclusion in the show was so fantastic not just because Ilya needed another character in his life to bounce off of dialogue wise but also because it showed how he behaves when he’s comfortable. He’s always laying in her lap and getting pet, joking around with silly voices, he likes to play and rough house and we see glimpses of that with Svet because she’s his childhood friend, so slowly seeing those behaviors come out as he gets more settled with Shane was so incredibly sweet and rewarding.
outside of the obvious reasons why the hollanov relationship reveal must be crazy to shane’s parents, it’s gotta be wild to them that their shy, awkward kid is dating the league slut. their kid, who cannot even say the word “sex” without blushing, has been fucking a man whose sexual reputation is a topic of conversation. for a decade. they are in fact on a sexcation together. if you want to see them, you need to text them that you’re on your way there, because even if they know you’re coming in advance, they cannot keep their hands off of each other long enough to properly keep track of time. david hollander sees things start to heat up between them and knows instantly that they have probably fucked against every window in that extremely glass house.
idk i’m obsessed with how shane bringing ilya home is not just him coming out as gay, it’s him coming out as an experienced sex freak.
I just wanna say also that, especially as an atheist, I love that Wake Up Dead Man was not Christian versus atheist. It was weaponizer of power Christian versus faith and kindness Christian.
Not to get on my soap box but I have a lot more in common with a Christian of my own values than a fellow atheist without. And a good-faith Christian has a lot more in common with a good-faith person of any other religion or lack-there-of than they ever could a manipulative, power-hungry, fear-mongering Christian.
I think the story often told doesn’t draw those lines where they should be drawn, and it was something lovely to see. That Jud is in the same category as “proud heretic” Benoit. Wicks the same as Miles Bron.
