“RR favors Ilya over Shane in TLG (and in general)”
“Ilya’s POV is the one that takes priority in TLG and it villainizes Shane!”
Actually, neither Shane nor Ilya had their actual situations explored to the depth required to properly communicate their circumstances and experiences in TLG, and it was a disservice to them as characters, the story as a whole, and the audience because it prevents a full understanding of what is occurring in the narrative.
There are so many interesting facets of Shane and Ilya, both on an individual level and as a unit. Ones that deserved exploration and deeper communication between them.
Ilya’s POV in TLG definitely attempted to explore his character, and it did decently with his experiences with depression and social isolation. But it was lacking in his experiences as a Russian man that has now lived in two different countries that will definitely exhibit at least some xenophobia. I want to see the pain of immediately being categorized as homophobic in queer spaces. I want to see the discomfort of consistently being othered- both because of his accent but also because of his habits or his country’s history. It was also lacking in his experiences as a bisexual man that is primarily known for his sexual history with explicitly just women. I want to see him struggle with his draw to leaning more masculine in aesthetic (though we know he’s not against nail polish or having fun with his appearance!) and mannerism and his want to fight against the expectations of society rooted in stereotype.
And Shane! He barely had anything explored in TLG- nothing with his undiagnosed autism, his experience as an Asian man in a sport, or his experience of being a closeted in an unsupportive environment. I want to see his floundering as he tries to name and follow the impossible to interpret social expectations of his team. I want to see his fear of being outed in the face of the homophobia evident in the people surrounding him. I want to see him struggle under the weight of the labels he’s already forced to represent as an Asian athlete and the added feeling of “failure” for being more “effeminate” in his queer relationship by being a bottom- something that agrees with the stereotype he’s fighting against. I want to see him trapped in a system that punishes differences when his whole existence others him.
Ilya and Shane are both people being oppressed by the world they live in and the identity labels that they live under. Their only solace is each other and the support system they cultivate. I don’t think RR did either of them justice, but I also don’t think RR had the space to do so in a book categorized as a fun romance. I think the book would have to be at least twice as long with an equal split in both of their POVs for it to actually be satisfying to me.
