We heard you. LOUDLY.

In this very special holiday Bonus Episode, Ariel and Morgan dive headfirst into Heated Rivalry, the wildly requested gay hockey romance that dropped on November 28 and immediately set the internet on fire.

Based on Rachel Reid’s beloved romance novels, the series follows Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, two elite professional hockey players whose rivalry turns into a secret, years-long love affair. What starts as a teenage hookup evolves into a deeply emotional, highly physical relationship that unfolds over nearly a decade, on and off the ice.

Ariel and Morgan break down multiple intimacy scenes from the first two episodes and unpack why Heated Rivalry feels so different from most male-male sex scenes on TV.

They get into it all:

• Why these sex scenes feel unusually realistic, tender, and embodied
• How athletic bodies move differently and why that matters for choreography
• The importance of aftercare, communication, and check-ins onscreen
• What the show gets right about first times, awkward moments, and learning each other’s bodies
• Why queer intimacy is so often shortened and how Heated Rivalry refuses to cut away
• The now-iconic back arch that has gay Twitter in a chokehold

This episode celebrates queer sex that’s messy, hot, funny, imperfect, and deeply human, and why representation like this actually matters. It’s all the spice, none of the filler, and a perfect way to close out the year before we return January 7th.

Give a Little Queer Holiday Love

If you’re feeling the spirit, consider supporting organizations that protect and uplift trans and LGBTQ youth. A few of our favorites:

Trans Lifeline
GLAAD
Transanta

Even a small donation helps keep queer kids safe, supported, and celebrated, and that’s the kind of holiday magic we believe in.

-----------------------------------------

Credits — Heated Rivalry

Creator / Director / Writer: Jacob Tierney
Based on the novels: Rachel Reid (Heated Rivalry (2009), The Long Game (2022))
Producers: Bell Media / Crave (limited series)
Intimacy C

Support the show

🔗 Connect & Support the Show

👀 Watch the Video Version: See our reactions! The video podcast is available on Spotify and YouTube.
💌 Suggest a Scene & Get Bonuses: Join our Patreon to request movies for us to break down and access exclusive bonus episodes. patreon.com/FakingItThePod
📱 Follow Us for Chaos: Get behind-the-scenes content and updates on Instagram @FakingItThePod
🌐 Visit Our Website: Find all our links and more at FakingItThePod.com

🎧 Subscribe for Free: Never miss an episode! Subscribe to Faking It on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app.

💬 Review Us: Love the show? Give us 5 stars! It helps other listeners discover us.

Stay real, Fakers 🫡

Legal Disclaimer

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are our own. This episode is for entertainment and educational purposes only. Nothing here is intended to defame, slander, or infringe upon any individual or entity. All trademarks and copyrights remain the property of their respective owners.

Send us a text

It’s our second holiday episode, which means it’s time for a true Christmas classic: Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut (1999), a film that somehow contains one of the most infamous orgy scenes in cinema history.

In this episode, Ariel and Morgan unpack the cultural mythology surrounding the masked ritual scene and explain what the film is really doing beneath the cloaks, candles, and choreography. Spoiler: it’s not about pleasure, it’s about power, performance, and male insecurity.

They break down:

• Why the orgy may function more as theater than eroticism
• How masking, choreography, and voyeurism guide the audience’s gaze
• The role of ritual, anonymity, and class in the scene’s design
• Stanley Kubrick’s discomfort with sex and how that shapes the final result
• Ariel's hottest take ever (possibly in the history of cinema? You decide.)

This episode reframes the orgy not as transgression, but as a deeply controlled performance: one that exposes how sex, status, and masculinity are staged, surveilled, and policed.

Equal parts film history, intimacy analysis, and holiday chaos, this one pairs best with a glass of wine, a Venetian mask, and a healthy distrust of men in cloaks.

-----------------------------------------

Credits — Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

Director: Stanley Kubrick
Writers: Stanley Kubrick; Frederic Raphael
Based on the novella: Traumnovelle (Dream Story) by Arthur Schnitzler
Producers: Stanley Kubrick
Choreography (uncredited influence): Yolande Snaith
Actors (featured in discussed scenes): Tom Cruise; Julian Davis; Abigail Good; Cate Blanchett (voice, uncredited)
© 1999 Warner Bros. / Pole Star / Hobby Films. All rights reserved.

-----------------------------------------

Support the show

🔗 Connect & Support the Show

👀 Watch the Video Version: See our reactions! The video podcast is available on Spotify and YouTube.
💌 Suggest a Scene & Get Bonuses: Join our Patreon to request movies for us to break down and access exclusive bonus episodes. patreon.com/FakingItThePod
📱 Follow Us for Chaos: Get behind-the-scenes content and updates on Instagram @FakingItThePod
🌐 Visit Our Website: Find all our links and more at FakingItThePod.com

🎧 Subscribe for Free: Never miss an episode! Subscribe to Faking It on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app.

💬 Review Us: Love the show? Give us 5 stars! It helps other listeners discover us.

Stay real, Fakers 🫡

Legal Disclaimer

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are our own. This episode is for entertainment and educational purposes only. Nothing here is intended to defame, slander, or infringe upon any individual or entity. All trademarks and copyrights remain the property of their respective owners.

For our holiday special, we’re entering The Sapphic Canon.
This week, Ariel and Morgan are joined by filmmaker and comedy icon Amanda Holland (On the Phone with Ash and Amanda) to dissect one of the most breathtakingly intimate love scenes in queer cinema: the motel moment from Todd Haynes’ Carol (2015).

From tension you could pour over pancakes to the robe pull that changed lesbian history, the trio breaks down why this scene still feels like a masterclass in sensual restraint, visual storytelling, and character vulnerability.

They unpack it all:

• How power dynamics shift without a word, told only through body language
• Why the simulated oral moment works… and where it gets a little thigh-heavy
• How Cate Blanchett seduces by doing absolutely nothing except existing in a robe (a power move we should all aspire to)

This episode is equal parts craft, chaos, holiday cheer, and deep queer yearning: the perfect festive treat.

Give a Little Queer Holiday Love

If you’re feeling the spirit, consider supporting organizations that protect and uplift trans and LGBTQ youth year-round. A few of our favorites:

Buy Fruity TV Gear (Like a Christmas Carol or Happy HoliGays) here!

The Trevor Project: https://www.thetrevorproject.org/
Trans Lifeline: https://translifeline.org/
Ali Forney Center: https://www.aliforneycenter.org/

Even a small donation helps keep queer kids safe, supported, and celebrated, and that’s the kind of holiday magic we believe in.

-----------------------------------------

Director: Todd Haynes
Writers: Phyllis Nagy (screenplay); Patricia Highsmith (novel)
Producers: Elizabeth Karlsen; Christine Vachon; Stephen Woolley
Actors (selected): Cate Blanchett; Rooney Mara
© 2015 Number 9 Films / Killer Films / Film4 Productions. All rights reserved.

-----------------------------------------

Support the show

🔗 Connect & Support the Show

👀 Watch the Video Version: See our reactions! The video podcast is available on Spotify and YouTube.
💌 Suggest a Scene & Get Bonuses: Join our Patreon to request movies for us to break down and access exclusive bonus episodes. patreon.com/FakingItThePod
📱 Follow Us for Chaos: Get behind-the-scenes content and updates on Instagram @FakingItThePod
🌐 Visit Our Website: Find all our links and more at FakingItThePod.com

🎧 Subscribe for Free: Never miss an episode! Subscribe to Faking It on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app.

💬 Review Us: Love the show? Give us 5 stars! It helps other listeners discover us.

Stay real, Fakers 🫡

Legal Disclaimer

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are our own. This episode is for entertainment and educational purposes only. Nothing here is intended to defame, slander, or infringe upon any individual or entity. All trademarks and copyrights remain the property of their respective owners.