Warning: Major spoilers ahead

Through 2011 and 2012, Ilya and Shane continue to keep in touch via text as “Lily and Jane”, with their messages getting increasingly sexual over time – including Ilya sending an explicit picture, much to Shane’s shock.

In the fall of 2013, as the pair are preparing to play against each other, but can’t resist texting each other, even in the changing rooms before the game. Ilya asks to meet up, but Shane thinks he’s trying to get under his skin to win the match, so shuts it down.

Later that evening, Ilya comes to Shane’s apartment, where Shane calls him out for the messages in the locker room distracting him. Despite the frosty start, the pair spend the night together, with them finally consummating their relationship. Lying together afterwards, both agree it was worth the wait, with Shane holding Ilya before he panics and leaves.

As Ilya goes to leave, the pair speak about the upcoming Winter Olympics in Sochi, where both will be representing their respective countries. Shane shares how excited his family are, but Ilya is dismissive about his parents making an appearance. They agree to restrict communication throughout so they can focus on the games.

As the Olympics kick off, Shane reaches out to Ilya after the Russian team loses to Latvia but doesn’t hear anything back. As he joins teammates for lunch, Shane gets a rude awakening when he invites them to watch his figure-skating friend Joe compete, and they comment on how brave he is to be in Russia – as Russia is not a safe place for gay people.

As the trio go to see Joe perform, Shane spots Ilya in the rafters of the arena alone and goes to see him. Ilya, already ignoring texts from brother Alexei, tells him to go away and refuses to speak to him.

That evening, Ilya is berated by his father for the loss against Latvia, telling him he should be “ashamed” to show his face at a dinner with the governor that evening. He criticises the American league for giving him “no discipline”, and tells Ilya he’s gotten sloppy, asking if his mother tied his bowtie as it’s done wrong. Ilya has to remind him that his mother is dead, and his stepmother, Polina, is nowhere to be seen. The pair brush past it, and go to the gala dinner together, where Ilya falls into his old rule of not speaking in the presence of his father.

Svetlana notices him struggling and pulls him away from the other group to spend time with her pal, Sasha, who is doing cocaine in a bathroom. Sasha is the son of the hockey coach he had previously had a fling with. The pair encourage him to stop paying attention to his father and reassure him that his team was most hampered by their injured goalie during the game.

When Svetlana leaves, Sasha makes a heavy pass at Ilya, after noticing he doesn’t flirt back with him anymore. While Ilya considers it briefly, he rejects the advances, saying he’s not interested, especially at a party full of Russian delegates that could spell serious trouble for him.

Returning to Canada after the Olympics, Shane and his team enjoy some downtime, while Ilya aggressively throws himself back into the game and his position as the Raiders’ captain. After motivating the team, Ilya wins against San Francisco in a game watched by Shane and the team at his home – and Shane smiles quietly as the Raiders are crowned champions.

That summer in Las Vegas, at the Major League Hockey Awards, Shane and Ilya are set to present an award together, though Shane is notably annoyed when Ilya arrives at the last second after going AWOL. He asks where he was, to which he gets the curt response “busy”, and is completely ignored when Shane asks who Ilya was with.

On stage, they awkwardly read off the autocue, taking a selfie for a comedy bit, at which point Ilya lovingly strokes his back away from the cameras. As soon as they’re done, Shane heads to the bathroom, feeling nauseous. Ilya follows and Shane confronts him about what it is he actually wants from him. As their anger gives way to passion, Ilya stops, saying they should see the evening’s obligations out as best as possible, before meeting up that evening in Ilya’s hotel room. They kiss before parting ways.

That night, Ilya waits for him in his penthouse, and the pair waste no time in reconnecting and having sex once again. Afterwards, as they’re lying in bed, Shane suggests he stay in the US for the summer rather than go home to Russia, but Ilya declines – despite everything, Russia is still his home. As Shane presses the issue further, wanting to get to know him more and what it’s like in Russia, Ilya shuts down and says he needs to sleep, not even getting up to see him out.

When Shane gets to the elevator, he considers texting Ilya to ask why, during their encounter, he never kissed him.