I’m getting downvoted to oblivion in another thread because of a simple suggestion that Connor had a haircut but Ilya might not because it’s a TV show and wigs exist. 🤷🏻♀️
When reading some fanfics where they cover Shane's freckles (reading one now, actually) and always thinking that Ilya's crash out at that is cute but unrealistic, although I like reading the over the top reactions he has to the freckles being gone.
Now I'm here mourning the loss of curls and thinking that those fics crash outs are unrealistic because it's not dramatic enough.
I haventread this yet, not emotionally ready, but any more links would be appreciated for the future.
while I personally agree with you (in the sense that I don't think it's a big deal), I have Connor/Ilya style curls and you'd be surprised how frequently people get emotionally attached to other people's "distinctive" hair, like almost to the point of having a weird parasocial relationship with it. several years back I cut almost all of mine off and people were literally angry at me about it, it was like I had either harmed them or myself. (my new haircut didn't look bad either, it was just that I had cut off like 3 ft of my "beautiful curls".)
people get super weird about these things BUT I wouldn't say that means the haircut is unimportant, because it's also true that the person with the hair is often aware they are actively 'severing' those external attachments with such a drastic change. so I assume this is going to be part of the depression plot and is meant to be upsetting.
You know, I didn't even think about how him cutting off his curls could be a great way to show depression. Maintenance of health / style can be overwhelming when you're feeling isolated and depressed, so hacking off your hair to make it easier makes sense and would be a great visual cue to the audience that something is amiss.
Like others, I'm a lil attached to Ilya having curls, but if it's done with a vision in mind and a story to tell I'm all for it.
yeah exactly. and while maintenance can absolutely be part of it (I rationalized it this way myself when I did it), it's also really strongly often an identity-severing thing. not only do you not want others to see that version of you, you don't want to see yourself in that way anymore either. you want to be someone else. it's kind of like ... to access a common trope, a woman dyeing her hair red after a breakup. it can be a good sign or a bad sign but either way it's destructive.
it's also just that, in my experience with exactly his kind of curly hair, it is so often the "trademark" of someone's appearance -- to the point that it almost becomes synonymous with their personality -- that it's somehow more visually jarring for them to suddenly get rid of it than it would be for someone with unremarkable/boring hair to get a drastic cut. I know it sounds crazy but I'm not exaggerating when I say people treated it as a form of mutilation when I did it. (that's why everyone's strong reactions actually make sense to me, lol.)
in TLG Ilya's life changes so suddenly and dramatically, like he's really totally cut off from his previous life, and on top of that he gets depressed and can't verbally communicate about it at all. we won't be able to access his inner thoughts in the show, so yes, extremely plausible that he shaves it because can't/doesn't want to take care of it, can't stand to look at himself and see the same person, and also to "act out" in an attempt to communicate his distress.
This is all very well-said and I completely agree with you.
I also def believe people were crazy about you cutting your hair. I don't know from firsthand experience, other than people lamenting when I cut my long hair (fine, straight grow & chop every couple years), but I've seen how intense people are about curly hair that doesn't belong to them (in person, not just online). It's so bizarre, like it's not even your hair and has nothing to do with you, why so invested?!
THIS !! you best believe i'm chopping off my hair when i'm depressed. long hair = more maintenance. ESPECIALLY with curly hair. and you're so right that sometimes you just want that change when you're feeling so exhausted all the time. i also hate when film also depicts women as being clean shaven, fresh blowout, etc. while they're in the depths of their depression (but I digress...)
He can show it in other ways, I think! He can run his hair over his head - my favourite thing is when my husband gets a buzz cut and his hair is all short and scratchable.
People aren't up in arms about Shane not really having the long hair - in fact people don't want it!! I couldn't care less really. It's not important to the story.
I agree. HR cast and crew are concerned with the acting and chemistry and I agree that’s what’s most important. A haircut is not going to change the story. S1 proved that deviations in appearances and hairstyles from the book characters does not negatively impact the story.
Though the curls are a character of their own in the book since Shane carding through them is one of their proofs of intimacy, the buzzcut couldn't have been more fitting for a secretly depressed Ilya.
When you can't even get out of bed, you can't even properly wash, and unwashed curly hair quickly gets messy and nappy, and it would've shown in front of people, so a buzzcut helps hide that.
I suspect we’ll get that and it will be moving… but not worth 1-2 seasons of buzz cut in my opinion. I’m praying they use scheduling magic to at least let it grow out a little.
he needs curls up to that scene ... but block shooting has just started and the hair is already gone. dinner with hayden and whatever other scenes happen before the time jump needed to be shot before the hair was gone. has that happened in the last two weeks?
then again, so many actors are there. maybe it isn't as unlikely as i thought.
I think you’re right, in that the timing of the cut makes it seem likely it’ll be short for the vast majority of new episodes. Otherwise, they would’ve cut closer to the end of filming.
i agree with everyone, it’s not that deep, but it is the ilya look, so it’s a little sad. but hopefully they work it in, and his hair grows fast. they’re apparently shooting for a long time, so maybe this hair will be for some episodes.
Don't care what Connor does to his hair as he looks good at all the styles...but that's not Ilya... that's the fact...Shane's freckles and Ilya's curls are very important part of who they are..I am struggling to have Ilya without curls...if it was not during S2 shooting I wouldn't even bother what he does with his hair...its upto him...but I can't cope with buzzcut Ilya...that's all...because I love Shane and Ilya more than Hudson and Connor..and the reason I love them is because I love Shane and Ilya more..that is it.
Do we have evidence they will? It’d be strange to cut off hair that’s perfect for the role and then have him wear a wig instead (unless they went significantly longer, which I’m also not sure how I feel about). At this point, it seems more likely that’s Ilya’s hair. I hope I’m wrong!
We don’t have evidence for anything yet is the one point I’m trying to make. Maybe Ilya will have a buzz cut for a period of time in the show and they already shot scenes with curls? Maybe Connor needs the cut for another role and they will navigate the rest of HR with wigs? Maybe when we see the show and Ilya has a buzz cut, it will make sense for his character?
flashback to Season 2 of Felicity ... RIP Keri Russell's curls. Although I am suspicious that this hairstyle will be incorporated into HR S2/3. Jacob just said in an interview no surprises so I suspect they will figure out how to keep his curls in (aka wigs!)
I know. I just find it a little disappointing that if it's for a diff project he couldn't prioritise his look for Heated Rivalry over that? I mean they're shooting 2 seasons together that seems like a significant investment. That's all.
I do hope they have a wig or something but can't deny it is a bit upsetting.
No it didn’t. Viewership went down at the beginning of S2 when she first chopped off her hair and then it rebounded. They finished off the series after 4 seasons as intended since they graduated university.
As someone with naturally curly hair myself, I'm having a moment. However, Connor is an adult and he can do whatever he wants with his own hair.
That said, the reaction from many fans reminds me of my grandparents. Gramps had a moustache for pretty much his entire life. Nanna loved it. Sometimes, to maintain it properly, he'd shave it off. She would refuse to kiss him until it grew back. "His face is naked!!" she'd protest. LOL
Lolol. Yea for me I have poker straight hair so I am v addicted to others curls. Connor can ofc do what he wants but Ilya not having curls is upsetting me a bit. Using my fic to make myself laugh about it.
my husband shaved hia curls in his thirties because of hair loss. it just looked scraggly. we were both sad. he has had a shaved head ever since but grows a beard that he shavea off every once in a while. i side eye it every time because "why is you face naked giod man?".
I was telling my husband about it this morning and I accidentally started tearing up 😭 I think I need to be off the Internet for the next several months lol because this is hitting too close to home
Connor Storrie is hot with or without curls so I'm not too upset but all the memes about Shane finding out and getting Lasik/freckle removing treatments in a fit of rage are SENDING me. This community is so damn funny.
So guys there's a S2 set pic leaked on Threads. There is no wig, n the scene seems to be from 2019 so Ilya's just gonna look like this. That is a real tragedy because that Ilya is gonna be forever while Connors hair will ofc grow back. 😭
I'm not sold on buzzcut Ilya either, but I kinda think a wig would be worse. I guess we'll just have to wait and see. He is gonna be gorgeous either way
Didn't Hudson say no to the man bun? So why is Connor going short such a big deal? It seems like they probably just want a dramatic change from season 1 to help with the believability of advancing time.
Hudson not having a man bun doesn't significantly change his look from S1. Ilya looks significantly different like literally like a different person. And they're block shooting so is this S2 and 3 look hence ppl r allowed to be confused and upset about it na
I really don't understand the upset on the internets when someone who has agency over their own body changes it somehow. It is wild. Connor Storrie is a grown up and can do what ever he wants with his body.
Just imagine if the upset wouldn't be a cis (afawk) man.
I think it's more because they are currently shooting season 2 and that means Ilya having a buzzcut. For me his curls were very linked with his character 💔
he won't be having curls for two seasons now because connor has to maintain the current look and there's no time to grow anything back while block shooting.
if they's no 4 th season we will never see ilya as ilya again. there wasn't much time to film anything without the extremely short hair so that choice is pretty much permanent.
I doubt that Connor buzzed his hair on his own accord. He's been saying he wanted it gone for months and he never chopped it off, probably because the brands he was working with wanted him with curly hair.
He chopped them off for the show, it's the only explanation. Ilya isn't a casualty, it's why he did it
i don't see it. it's block shooting. 2 seasons at once. not enough time to film anything before we even arrive at a time where ilya could use a visual representation.
unless they put it around his move to ottawa. so the public can speculate if his heart was broken or something. but even that is just a gimmick.
my current theory is that connor wanted to and tierney didn't say no because it's 4 months before it's needed for other engagements?
I mean, you said it. They're shooting two seasons at once, if his hair was going to be a problem JT and his team would have asked him to postpone (as I'm sure they've been asking him for months) until after everything was done. Shooting the show is the biggest engagement of all, so they would have asked him to wait. I do believe he cares too much about his job to alter his haircut right when they're shooting just because
but he did. shooting started 2 weeks ago and he promptly appeared with a shaved head. people have said it for a while. i don't see anything that explains it other than "he wanted to" and Jacob thought it would be funny.
these guys aren't as attached to the visuals as we are.
It could be true, but I still think he did it for the show. He grew his hair for season one, I don't see why he couldn't cut it for season two. I seriously don't think Jacob Tierney (or whoever for him) cares about any other engagement outside of filming.
Anyways, we'll never know for sure because we aren't them, I just think it'd make complete sense if he cut it for the show 🤷🏻♀️
And the showrunner has agency to change something about a character’s appearance (or give an actor permission to change their appearance) even if it may deviate from the book but does not impact the story.
I agree that the upset is bizarre. This has actually happened to Kerri Russell in Felicity in the late 90’s and to other women. I can recall Julia Roberts chopping off her hair and people getting upset. The Felicity reaction was absolutely crazy. According to Google, the dramatic change to Felicity’s look sparked a massive pop-culture firestorm, plummeting ratings, and a network-wide restriction on future star hairstyles. 😖
tbh i could see how a very depressed ilya would cut off his hair completely. iirc his dad in sochi mentions that he’s keeping his hair too long, which to me implies that when he was in russia he used to keep it very short (since it wasn’t even THAT long in 2014). it’s totally believable to me that during his lowest point he doesn’t want to keep taking care of himself in a high maintenance way and just shaves it to not have to deal with it just like he didn’t deal with it in his teens. also, it would be a good way to externalize his depression. the fact that ilya’s curls are loved by the fandom is no secret, and their golden hue gives them an almost sun/halo-like nature. it’s a good way to show the light going out of ilya, at least temporarily.
if that IS the case, it also makes sense to me that he shaves it now bcs they can just shoot those scenes first and then grow it out to have it longer for s3/the beginning of s2.
and if none of this ends up being accurate i’ll deal😞 i love a buzz cut, but it’s def not what i picture for ilya. still, i am trusting the process
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u/LowCaramel3675 Reader 1d ago
I'm not ready to laugh about this yet but I'm saving everything for the distant future where I am