We call everything on the ice "love" [YOI 12]
Okay. Here we go. Yuri on Ice, FINAL EPISODE.
Argh, I wish it weren't over! It would have been nice to get one more episode - bump it up to 13. They were trying to cram an awful lot into this one, and it would have benefited from a longer runtime.
I would have liked to have seen more of the conversation between Yuuri and Victor at the beginning. I'm not sure if it was so brief because of runtime or what, but - I really would have liked to see a little more. We haven't seen much off Victor in such a distressed/angry state, and he... obviously had his Opinions on Yuuri's decision.
These two have a lot of communication issues. On the one hand, I don't actually mind that we don't always see everything, and that a lot of things just seem to go unsaid. But on the other hand, there are times when it would make narrative sense for it to happen, so that the audience knows a little more.
Oh, well. LET'S TALK SKATING. Yay, GPF Free Skate!
Ahhh JJ's skate... He's a little bit more likeable to me now. That total failure of an SP obviously gave him some perspective, and I liked his internal monologue during the FS - to me, it seems like he's coming around to being able to do his own thing, and be confident in himself, while acknowledging that maybe he still has a way to go. (And I really liked the little character moments with his parents - dude really does love his mom and dad. It's cute.)
Now, I was spoilered for Seung Gil's reaction to JJ's skating, but nobody told me JJ landed a QUAD LOOP. HOLY SHIT. None of the other skaters at the GPF can do that! "The Four Continents are going to be interesting" You can say that again, Seung Gil. (And now I understand why the JJSeung shippers on my tlist were flipping their shit, heh. His little smile... cuuuute.)
Also, THAT FLASHBACK. Specifically, the coach flashbacks - and the background. JJ used to be rinkmates with Leo? WHOA. Previously, I liked thinking about the possibility that they might have some rivalry, since it was an entirely reasonable extrapolation and some nonnies on FFA suggested it. But this nice little tidbit, while not really the same thing, is more than I ever could have asked for. I'm going to be using this for fuel for a while, I think.
(Also, get a load of Celestino with his hair down. FFFF. Dude looks like a lion! I love it.)
As for Phichit's FS....
"Phichit, use your performance to intoxicate the world" - well, I dunno about the world, but he's sure making me feel things. /// (That brief shot of his lips and that little exhale of breath before he actually got started was... really hot...) Ahem, anyway.
Since we saw him do a clean skate of Terra Incognita at Cup of China, I don't mind so much that Phichit's FS was trimmed down. It's worth it for the brief snip we get of his Ice Show dream. THOSE COSTUMES. THOSE HAMSTER HATS. THOSE RIDICULOUS PASTELS. Oh my god, Phichit, I am in love. I would, 100% honest, watch an extra episode in which PHICHIT ON ICE happens.
(As an aside, I'm glad we got a snip of Guang Hong and Leo again. *_* And lol, Leo switching back and forth between phone and laptop... too real. Me every time I try to watch a fucking livestream. Anyway...)
Ah, and Yuuri's free skate -
The bit before he actually gets on the ice just reminds me, again, that I wish we had seen more of the hotel conversation, so that we would have more context. I don't need necessarily much more, but I would have liked more than we got.
That aside, though... wow, was that ever a lovely Free Skate. This is the beautiful Yuri on Ice sequence that I've been wanting to see for a while now, and man, is it ever gorgeous. *_* And the increased difficulty! It makes sense that he'd push himself that much, because otherwise hitting podium would be chancy, even if he skated clean. And I really, really loved those moments where he's thinking about how people other than Victor have helped him, and we got that brief shot of Minako and Mari and that flashback with Yurio - that was so nice.
AND THAT QUAD FLIP. YESSSSS. HE LANDED IT!!!
(Pfff, that brief shot we got of Minami moved to tears by the sight of his idol doing such an amazing skate. So cute. :D I've rewatched bits with him in it recently, and I feel like I didn't appreciate him enough the first time I saw him - he's adorable.)
It's just so fitting that Yuuri would beat Victor's world record, too. <3
With regards to Chris, I have little to say except yes, I still like him, and mannnn that moment with Minako was CUTE. SO CUTE. I ship it. Like. 100% now. I kind of did before, because she's soooo into him, but now... yeah. xD Cute. (Also, the way he said that "Merci~" ...Yeahhhh okay, I finally see where the sex appeal thing comes in, YOU GOT ME.)
Also, I find it interesting that he was so distracted by Victor and Yuuri that he ended up passing on one of his jumps. Duuuude, keep your mind on the program! But at least he managed to set it right by shifting some stuff around, unlike JJ in the SP.
Otabek's free skate was - argh, it drives me nuts that we kept switching to Yuuri and Victor! I would have liked to see the whole thing, not just because he skated clean and because I liked his inner monologue, but because from the bits that we did see, it was really cool! He just seems like such a formidable force of energy. I WISH WE COULD SEE THE WHOLE THING. Also, I'm a little bootyblasted that he came in behind JJ. Otabek was robbed, I tell yooooouuu.
I had previously thought that Yurio is kind of fuelled by anger and spite, at least when it comes to his Free Skate programs. Last time, it was his reaction to JJ; and this time, it was the possibility of Yuuri retiring, and his utterly pissed off feelings about that. Which... surprised me, because I hadn't really caught on to any hints that Yurio had respect for Yuuri as a skater. This makes me think that I should do a rewatch, paying special attention in the earlier eps - because there's probably a lot that I didn't catch, or that I forgot, or that just escaped me because I didn't have the context at the time that I do now.
"If you retire now, I'll make you regret it for the rest of your life" Wow, what a way to put it. But hey, if that's what it takes, make him keep chasing that gold, Yurio. ;p
THAT PODIUM LINEUP THOUGH. I'M SO PISSED THAT JJ WAS ON IT. GET THAT FUCKER OUT OF THERE. IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN OTABEK FOR BRONZE.
I CONFESS I'm kind of disappointed that Yuuri didn't win gold. It would have been nice. Silver is awesome, though! (PLATINUM MEDAL.) Especially since it's Yuuri's first time actually hitting podium for the GPF. ...Though lol, obviously silver isn't gold enough for Victor. "I really wanted to kiss Yuuri's gold medal" ... is that an innuendo, my dear Victor. Is it. (It sure sounds like it. Ahem.)
"I'll need you to become a five-time world champion" ...Tough order. Fffffffffu.
THAT PAIR SKATE, though. I hadn't expected that we'd get a Yuuri and Victor pair skate, but whoa, we did! What a gorgeous sequence. Their matching outfits! Sooo beautiful! And just - the way they work together... It's so perfect.
Just think - this couldn't have been a spontaneous decision, so they must have practised this, with the intent of putting on this gala show together. I wish we could have had even a snip of those moments. It would have been so nice. Not just for the visuals - though of course that would have been good - but also because it would have probably given more insight into their relations.
And... that brings me back to what I said at the beginning, about how I wish we had another episode. Because this one had a lot of things that I liked, but it also felt too compressed. As if there were so many things that the Powers That Be wanted to put in it, but there wasn't enough room to stuff it all in, even after removing the OP and ED. One more episode would have taken care of that problem, smoothed it out a little bit more. Given some room to breathe.
But! That bit at the very end seems to imply that we'll be getting another season, so hopefully that will happen. I'll look forward to it.
I have mixed feelings about the idea of Victor going back to skating. He seemed to be unsure about the idea at certain points in the episode, though in the end he seems to be fine with it as long as there are others to help with his motivation. (But once again, since we didn't see much of the relevant conversations with Yuuri, it's really hard to be sure of anything.) Going back after a stop is difficult, though, if RL precedent is any indicator - I've just done some cursory poking around with regard to that, but it sure does seem hard. So, I'm not sure what his story in the (implied?) second season will be like, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
This wasn't my favourite episode, but that's more because I'm a total secondary character fan, so anything that focuses so majorly on Victor and Yuuri is... probably not going to be one of my favourites regardless of what happens in it, heh. But I did think it was all right, even though it was imperfect, and left us with a lot of questions and loose ends. That final ending sequence (the pair skate, and Yuuri's closing words while running to meet with Victor and Yurio) was really sweet and cozy. And if that second season does happen, I'll look forward to watching it.
<3 This was a good time, and I'm glad I decided to keep up with this series.
This entry was originally posted at http://yuuago.dreamwidth.org/3526189.html. You can comment here or at the original entry.
Argh, I wish it weren't over! It would have been nice to get one more episode - bump it up to 13. They were trying to cram an awful lot into this one, and it would have benefited from a longer runtime.
I would have liked to have seen more of the conversation between Yuuri and Victor at the beginning. I'm not sure if it was so brief because of runtime or what, but - I really would have liked to see a little more. We haven't seen much off Victor in such a distressed/angry state, and he... obviously had his Opinions on Yuuri's decision.
These two have a lot of communication issues. On the one hand, I don't actually mind that we don't always see everything, and that a lot of things just seem to go unsaid. But on the other hand, there are times when it would make narrative sense for it to happen, so that the audience knows a little more.
Oh, well. LET'S TALK SKATING. Yay, GPF Free Skate!
Ahhh JJ's skate... He's a little bit more likeable to me now. That total failure of an SP obviously gave him some perspective, and I liked his internal monologue during the FS - to me, it seems like he's coming around to being able to do his own thing, and be confident in himself, while acknowledging that maybe he still has a way to go. (And I really liked the little character moments with his parents - dude really does love his mom and dad. It's cute.)
Now, I was spoilered for Seung Gil's reaction to JJ's skating, but nobody told me JJ landed a QUAD LOOP. HOLY SHIT. None of the other skaters at the GPF can do that! "The Four Continents are going to be interesting" You can say that again, Seung Gil. (And now I understand why the JJSeung shippers on my tlist were flipping their shit, heh. His little smile... cuuuute.)
Also, THAT FLASHBACK. Specifically, the coach flashbacks - and the background. JJ used to be rinkmates with Leo? WHOA. Previously, I liked thinking about the possibility that they might have some rivalry, since it was an entirely reasonable extrapolation and some nonnies on FFA suggested it. But this nice little tidbit, while not really the same thing, is more than I ever could have asked for. I'm going to be using this for fuel for a while, I think.
(Also, get a load of Celestino with his hair down. FFFF. Dude looks like a lion! I love it.)
As for Phichit's FS....
"Phichit, use your performance to intoxicate the world" - well, I dunno about the world, but he's sure making me feel things. /// (That brief shot of his lips and that little exhale of breath before he actually got started was... really hot...) Ahem, anyway.
Since we saw him do a clean skate of Terra Incognita at Cup of China, I don't mind so much that Phichit's FS was trimmed down. It's worth it for the brief snip we get of his Ice Show dream. THOSE COSTUMES. THOSE HAMSTER HATS. THOSE RIDICULOUS PASTELS. Oh my god, Phichit, I am in love. I would, 100% honest, watch an extra episode in which PHICHIT ON ICE happens.
(As an aside, I'm glad we got a snip of Guang Hong and Leo again. *_* And lol, Leo switching back and forth between phone and laptop... too real. Me every time I try to watch a fucking livestream. Anyway...)
Ah, and Yuuri's free skate -
The bit before he actually gets on the ice just reminds me, again, that I wish we had seen more of the hotel conversation, so that we would have more context. I don't need necessarily much more, but I would have liked more than we got.
That aside, though... wow, was that ever a lovely Free Skate. This is the beautiful Yuri on Ice sequence that I've been wanting to see for a while now, and man, is it ever gorgeous. *_* And the increased difficulty! It makes sense that he'd push himself that much, because otherwise hitting podium would be chancy, even if he skated clean. And I really, really loved those moments where he's thinking about how people other than Victor have helped him, and we got that brief shot of Minako and Mari and that flashback with Yurio - that was so nice.
AND THAT QUAD FLIP. YESSSSS. HE LANDED IT!!!
(Pfff, that brief shot we got of Minami moved to tears by the sight of his idol doing such an amazing skate. So cute. :D I've rewatched bits with him in it recently, and I feel like I didn't appreciate him enough the first time I saw him - he's adorable.)
It's just so fitting that Yuuri would beat Victor's world record, too. <3
With regards to Chris, I have little to say except yes, I still like him, and mannnn that moment with Minako was CUTE. SO CUTE. I ship it. Like. 100% now. I kind of did before, because she's soooo into him, but now... yeah. xD Cute. (Also, the way he said that "Merci~" ...Yeahhhh okay, I finally see where the sex appeal thing comes in, YOU GOT ME.)
Also, I find it interesting that he was so distracted by Victor and Yuuri that he ended up passing on one of his jumps. Duuuude, keep your mind on the program! But at least he managed to set it right by shifting some stuff around, unlike JJ in the SP.
Otabek's free skate was - argh, it drives me nuts that we kept switching to Yuuri and Victor! I would have liked to see the whole thing, not just because he skated clean and because I liked his inner monologue, but because from the bits that we did see, it was really cool! He just seems like such a formidable force of energy. I WISH WE COULD SEE THE WHOLE THING. Also, I'm a little bootyblasted that he came in behind JJ. Otabek was robbed, I tell yooooouuu.
I had previously thought that Yurio is kind of fuelled by anger and spite, at least when it comes to his Free Skate programs. Last time, it was his reaction to JJ; and this time, it was the possibility of Yuuri retiring, and his utterly pissed off feelings about that. Which... surprised me, because I hadn't really caught on to any hints that Yurio had respect for Yuuri as a skater. This makes me think that I should do a rewatch, paying special attention in the earlier eps - because there's probably a lot that I didn't catch, or that I forgot, or that just escaped me because I didn't have the context at the time that I do now.
"If you retire now, I'll make you regret it for the rest of your life" Wow, what a way to put it. But hey, if that's what it takes, make him keep chasing that gold, Yurio. ;p
THAT PODIUM LINEUP THOUGH. I'M SO PISSED THAT JJ WAS ON IT. GET THAT FUCKER OUT OF THERE. IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN OTABEK FOR BRONZE.
I CONFESS I'm kind of disappointed that Yuuri didn't win gold. It would have been nice. Silver is awesome, though! (PLATINUM MEDAL.) Especially since it's Yuuri's first time actually hitting podium for the GPF. ...Though lol, obviously silver isn't gold enough for Victor. "I really wanted to kiss Yuuri's gold medal" ... is that an innuendo, my dear Victor. Is it. (It sure sounds like it. Ahem.)
"I'll need you to become a five-time world champion" ...Tough order. Fffffffffu.
THAT PAIR SKATE, though. I hadn't expected that we'd get a Yuuri and Victor pair skate, but whoa, we did! What a gorgeous sequence. Their matching outfits! Sooo beautiful! And just - the way they work together... It's so perfect.
Just think - this couldn't have been a spontaneous decision, so they must have practised this, with the intent of putting on this gala show together. I wish we could have had even a snip of those moments. It would have been so nice. Not just for the visuals - though of course that would have been good - but also because it would have probably given more insight into their relations.
And... that brings me back to what I said at the beginning, about how I wish we had another episode. Because this one had a lot of things that I liked, but it also felt too compressed. As if there were so many things that the Powers That Be wanted to put in it, but there wasn't enough room to stuff it all in, even after removing the OP and ED. One more episode would have taken care of that problem, smoothed it out a little bit more. Given some room to breathe.
But! That bit at the very end seems to imply that we'll be getting another season, so hopefully that will happen. I'll look forward to it.
I have mixed feelings about the idea of Victor going back to skating. He seemed to be unsure about the idea at certain points in the episode, though in the end he seems to be fine with it as long as there are others to help with his motivation. (But once again, since we didn't see much of the relevant conversations with Yuuri, it's really hard to be sure of anything.) Going back after a stop is difficult, though, if RL precedent is any indicator - I've just done some cursory poking around with regard to that, but it sure does seem hard. So, I'm not sure what his story in the (implied?) second season will be like, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
This wasn't my favourite episode, but that's more because I'm a total secondary character fan, so anything that focuses so majorly on Victor and Yuuri is... probably not going to be one of my favourites regardless of what happens in it, heh. But I did think it was all right, even though it was imperfect, and left us with a lot of questions and loose ends. That final ending sequence (the pair skate, and Yuuri's closing words while running to meet with Victor and Yurio) was really sweet and cozy. And if that second season does happen, I'll look forward to watching it.
<3 This was a good time, and I'm glad I decided to keep up with this series.
This entry was originally posted at http://yuuago.dreamwidth.org/3526189.html. You can comment here or at the original entry.