With Heated Rivalry Episode 4, “Rose,” now streaming on HBO Max, the tuna melt has quietly become the fandom’s defining comfort food. Seasoned Rachel Reid fans, whose Game Changers book series serves as the inspiration for HBO Max's latest queer hockey romance show, were eagerly waiting for the iconic tuna melt scene, which finally graced our screens in Episode 4.Heated Rivalry Episode 4 was a game-changer in every sense. Not only did Shane (Hudson Williams) and Ilya (Connor Storrie), our perpetually confused hockey rivals, call each other by their first names during a heated make-out session, but Ilya also made a hearty tuna melt for the Montreal Captain.While the scene was a treat for fans, it certainly made our protagonists uncomfortable and quickly changed the unspeakable terms of their casual fling. In an interview with Decider, Storrie described this shift as:“You see us really uncomfortable in a different light and you also start to see the dynamic kind of shift, which I think is really interesting.”More on this in our story.Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie break down the tuna melt scene in Heated Rivalry Episode 4 View this post on Instagram Instagram PostWhile Shane and Ilya continued to win big on the ice and hook up with each other behind closed doors in Heated Rivalry Episode 4, their dynamic shifted when the Boston Captain insisted that Shane spend the night at his home. This new arrangement was different and dangerously fell into the category of a serious relationship but the Montreal Captain agreed, and the couple basked in some domestic bliss.Their secret fling in the bedroom came out in Ilya's living room and his kitchen, where the two shared a hearty meal of tuna melts, while literally melting into each other's arms and watching a game of hockey on the couch. However, when their hangout quickly transforms into an intense make-out session in Heated Rivalry Episode 4, Ilya slips up and calls Shane by his first name, an act which is soon mimicked by the Montreal Captain.Just when fans saw potential for a genuine relationship, Shane panics and flees Ilya's house, saying, ''I can't do this.'' The Ottawa-born hockey player is visibly terrified of his bubbling feelings for Ilya and the seriousness of their not-so-casual fling and decides to put an end to it.In a recent interview with Decider, Storrie described the tuna melt montage as:“I think you can see in those scenes that it feels new and uncomfortable and exciting in a different way...I think those initial scenes in the house, leading up to the tuna melt and around the tuna melt — even in the edit and everything — it kind of it breathes a little bit.''While the rivals, especially Ilya, were comfortable hooking up in random hotel rooms across the globe, the intimacy of Ilya's house in broad daylight makes them uncomfortable and they are forced to evaluate the terms of their 'fling'. Storrie added:''Once it starts to get to this connected, emotional, vulnerable, transparent place, then you start to see Ilya kind of seize up a little bit and Shane try to be be able to dig a little deeper until he can’t.”Also Read: What is the song playing at the end of Heated Rivalry Episode 4? An intimate space helped create a visual shift in Heated Rivalry Episode 4 View this post on Instagram Instagram PostHeated Rivalry Episode 4 was certainly a game-changer (pun intended) for the couple. One where they connected beyond just physical intimacy and almost came close to expressing their genuine feelings, before our Montreal Captain practically fled from the battlefield. But the recently released episode was beyond just actions and dialogue. The small changes in lighting, space and the couple's intimate scenes cemented their changed dynamic.While Shane and Ilya began their casual fling from a dark hotel room, which they continued for many years, Episode 4 saw them sharing an intimate space in Ilya's house, in broad daylight. Their s*x scene was deliberately softer and less intense, which highlighted the evolution of their relationship and their budding feelings for one another.Breaking down this metaphorical shift in Heated Rivalry Episode 4, Williams told Decider:''There was a lot of conversation about how light changes, how colors change… To kind of represent them getting metaphorically closer to out of the the dark with their relationship and confidence in their sexuality.”Heated Rivalry releases weekly episodes every Friday on HBO Max.For the latest scoops on your favorite TV shows and movies, follow SoapCentral.