The Long Game Symbol: Patience, Sacrifice, and Secrecy in Rachel Reid's Novel

What Is "The Long Game"?

In Rachel Reid's The Long Game, the phrase "the long game" serves as a central metaphor for Shane Hollander's strategy of hiding his relationship with Ilya Rozanov until their NHL careers end. The phrase first appears in Chapter One, when Shane internally commits to "another decade of hiding" and recalls telling Ilya that he is willing to play the long game for their love. It is not a literal game but a guiding principle: endure years of secrecy now in exchange for a future of openness.

Where the Symbol Recurs

The phrase itself appears most explicitly in Chapter One, after Shane and Ilya reveal their relationship to agent Farah. Shane mentally resolves to hide for another decade, remembering his earlier promise to play the long game. Although the exact wording does not recur in later chapters, the concept underlies many of Shane's decisions. In Chapter Sixteen, Ilya discusses worst-case and best-case scenarios with therapist Dr. Galina Molchalina, implicitly grappling with the long game's costs. In Chapter Thirty-One, a quiet domestic scene with their dog Anya shows the reward of patience: love that does not require sex or spectacle. The symbol thus recurs as a submerged thread, surfacing when characters confront the tension between concealment and authenticity.

How the Meaning Changes

The meaning of "the long game" shifts subtly as the novel progresses.

• Initial meaning (Chapter One): A deliberate plan to postpone public disclosure until retirement. Shane sees it as a protective measure—for his career, Ilya's safety, and their relationship. It is a rational, even noble, sacrifice.
• Mid-novel strain (Chapter Sixteen and beyond): The burden of hiding takes an emotional toll. Ilya tells his therapist that keeping the secret makes him feel like screaming. The long game becomes synonymous with anxiety, sleeplessness, and the fear of exposure. Shane's patience starts to feel less like devotion and more like a trap.
• Later redefinition (Chapters Eighteen through Thirty-One): As the couple navigates rough patches—Ilya's depression, Troy Barrett's crisis, the ESPN documentary—the long game evolves from a timeline (retirement) to a state of mind. It stops being about waiting for a future moment and becomes about enduring the present together. Small acts of care, like letting Anya sleep in the bed, embody a love that is already full, not deferred.

Character Connections

Shane Hollander

Shane is the architect of the long game. His character page describes him as a private person who dreads attention. He has told only a few people about his sexuality and relationship. The long game suits his temperament: he prefers routine, home, and control. Yet the novel shows him struggling with the cost—missing Ilya, counting minutes until their next meeting. Shane's devotion to the long game also reveals his deep fear of losing both Ilya and hockey.

Ilya Rozanov

Ilya is more impulsive and craves openness. He pushes to tell Farah and later imagines a best-case scenario where "everyone knows we’re together and it’s fine." The long game frustrates him because it demands patience he does not naturally possess. His character journey is one of learning to accept Shane's timeline, not because he stops wanting to come out, but because he realizes Shane's fear is rooted in love.

Supporting Characters

• Farah: As their agent, she symbolizes the outside world that could either accept or reject them. Her support offers a glimmer that the long game might be unnecessary.
• Dr. Galina Molchalina: Ilya's therapist helps him articulate the emotional weight of the long game, forcing him to weigh a quiet life together against his NHL ambitions.
• Troy Barrett and Hayden Pike: Troy's hidden alcoholism and Hayden's own secret struggles parallel the theme of hidden burdens. The long game is not just about romance but about the many ways athletes conceal pain.

Theme Connections

Secrecy and Coming Out

The symbol directly embodies the theme of secrecy. Shane's long game is a strategy for staying in the closet, but it also delays the potential liberation of coming out. The novel explores whether waiting until retirement protects or prolongs suffering.

Sacrifice and Devotion

Shane sacrifices the joy of public love for future security. Ilya sacrifices his desire for immediate openness. Their willingness to play the long game for each other defines their devotion. Yet the novel questions whether sacrifice becomes unhealthy when it persists too long.

Mental Health and Depression

The burden of the long game contributes to Ilya's depression and Shane's anxiety. The content warning at the start of the novel alerts readers that depression and suicide are discussed. The symbol thus connects to mental health: long-term hiding erodes well-being.

Toxic Hockey Culture

The long game exists because hockey culture remains hostile to LGBTQ+ players. Shane and Ilya fear losing their careers, endorsements, and respect. The symbol critiques a system that forces athletes to choose between love and livelihood.

Found Family

While the long game isolates the couple, it also strengthens their bond with a trusted few: Farah, Galina, and eventually teammates like Wyatt and Bood. These allies create a small support network that sustains them until the long game ends.

Study Questions

1. How does Shane's definition of "the long game" differ from Ilya's understanding of it?
   Answer: Shane views the long game as a protective plan: hide until retirement, then live openly. Ilya initially sees it as unnecessary delay and yearns for immediate disclosure. Over time, Ilya comes to accept Shane's timeline, but he redefines the long game as a choice to stay together no matter the conditions—not just a countdown to retirement.

2. Why does the author have the phrase appear only in Chapter One, yet have the concept govern the entire novel?
   Answer: By stating the metaphor early and then letting it fade from explicit mention, the narrative mirrors how the characters internalize the strategy. The phrase becomes implicit—felt in every phone-call arrangement, every hotel-room reunion, every hidden kiss. The reader is reminded of the long game through action rather than dialogue, emphasizing how deeply it shapes the couple's reality.

3. In what ways does the long game connect to Ilya's therapy sessions with Dr. Galina Molchalina?
   Answer: Galina prompts Ilya to imagine worst-case and best-case scenarios. The long game is the couple's real-life worst-case scenario avoidance strategy. Galina's therapy exposes the emotional cost: Ilya feels angry that they must choose, and relieved at the thought of a quiet life together. Her sessions help Ilya articulate that the long game is both a survival tactic and a source of strain.

4. Does the long game ultimately succeed or fail in the novel's resolution?
   Answer: The novel does not depict a public coming out or retirement. Instead, it ends with the couple still hiding but more united. The long game succeeds in preserving their relationship through crisis, but it fails as a guarantee of happiness—because happiness is found in the present moments, not in a distant payoff. Reid suggests that the long game is not a final victory but an ongoing practice of love under pressure.