I’ve been getting a lot of questions about this, so here you go, my thoughts on the Victor-Yurio scene from episode 10. I feel like I don’t really have enough information to make a clear-cut statement about it which is why I hesitated to, but you guys really insisted so….
My theory is : this is about Yurio’s Agape.
So, a few things we have established : 1) Victor genuinely means well for Yurio and his growth as a skater 2) Yurio admired or hero-worshipped Victor back in the day 3) Yurio was present at the banquet and had a perfectly good idea what happened 4) Yurio likes yelling at both of them in a tsundere way a lot, and acts particularly resentful to Victor acting like he’s still at Russia’s top 5) Yurio’s Important Person is his grandpa, and he’s skating partly to support his family (this is in his character bio)
I feel like for the most part, despite how we’ve been introduced to him as a self-centered character, Yurio’s primary motivations are more about serving other people. Serving his country. Serving his family and friends. He skates for his family and for Russia, and the thing that means the most to him is being called a soldier—a profession where you lay down your life for your country. It’s not all of him, but Yurio is mostly about love for others, unconditional, giving.
(Yuuri’s motivations were a lot more self-centered, really.)
Yurio’s 15. Victor’s been skating for 20 years, and his gold medal streak (if not his 100% win streak) started when he was 15, so 12 years ago. In his home country, he’s known as the Hero of Russia. So Yurio would’ve spent most of his young life growing up with these tales of the legendary Victor Nikiforov, the great hero who brought glory to his country, the emperor who brought the crown to their homeland. To be Victor is to have a honor that Yurio dreams of, in serving everyone. To shoulder a responsibility he wants to shoulder. This invincible, shining hero of myth is what comes to mind with the words ‘Victor Nikiforov’, and that is everything Yurio wants to be.
And then Victor threw it all away for love.
Victor himself says so. He’s engaged. His boyfriend is going to win the gold—screw Russia’s gold, he wants it to go to his boyfriend—and then they’re going to get married. And then here he is, in the morning, standing there looking at his engagement ring like a lovestruck idiot.
What could be more selfish, to Yurio?
Where is that hero now? And why is this man still acting like he has the right to that hero’s name?
So there’s the resentment of that, and there’s another thing : I feel that Yurio has some mild abandonment issues. We know that his mom was barely around, if at all, during his childhood. We know that he gets very insecure when his grandpa isn’t there (which probably is part of why he grew friendly with Yuuri). And now he feels that he’s been abandoned by this man he admires, too, for completely selfish reasons. Him and his country both.
So being Yurio, he lashes out.
Victor’s actually been having pretty interesting reactions to Yurio’s lash-outs on this subject for a while now. Most of the time, he just smiles this mysterious half-smile and deflect the subject or let it go. Some other times, when Yurio feels frustrated, he goads Yurio on. This is one of those times, apparently.
I feel like Victor’s response to Yurio is threefold : one, this time, he’s also asserting himself. He’s dedicated himself to being Russia’s hero for 20 years. He’s tired. It sucked all the life out of him, life that he only found again with Yuuri. He’s done. And as far as he’s concerned, this is not up for discussion, especially not from a young skater who’s never actually done it and thus never realized what that thing does to you. Second, he’s still coming to terms with his future and what he’s giving up for it—not that he regrets it, but it’s been his life for 20 years and now he’s thinking about how it’s not his life anymore and what that ring means for him from now on—-even if he goes back to skating, it won’t be the same anymore. And Yurio barged in and brought that issue face to face with him. The fact that he has to leave, and others will take his place. So he faces it.
And lastly, and most importantly….he knows that Yurio’s anger can’t touch him, so this time he’s willing to play the recipient of it once again, let Yurio lash out and use said anger to see past him grow further, because he genuinely does want Yurio to grow as a skater in his own right. And if that means Yurio needs to finally kill his own hero for real? So be it. He’ll lend a hand. Act like that invincible hero, let Yurio kill ‘him’ once and for all.
(This is similar to him acting like asshole at the end of episode 2, I think.)
So, Victor Nikiforov the hero is dead.
Here stands Victor Nikiforov the person, a man who hears the cry of seagulls on the shore and think of home in a Japanese seaside town, engagement ring glittering on his finger.
Yurio resents Victor Nikiforov the hero so very much his blood could burn….but that hero is dead. What remains is Victor Nikiforov the person….and he actually rather likes Victor Nikiforov the person. He’s known this man for a while, even if it was only glimpses of him, seen him being outrageous and stupid and silly, and ever since meeting Yuuri Katsuki, seen him being happier than he had any right to be—–and despite everything, and despite not wanting to admit it—-he cares, and he wants Victor Nikiforov the person to continue being happy. Because his love is Agape—-unconditional and selfless towards his fellow man, in the name of a merciful god.
Hurry up and go away already, he says.
If this is your decision, stick to it, the words said, between the lines.
Understanding everything, Victor Nikiforov the hero raises his sword and lets the Russian soldier come and kill him once and for all.
The seagulls’ cry reminds me of the sea in Hasetsu, he says.
I wish you happiness in the path you chose, said the words.
Understanding everything, Victor Nikiforov the person smiles, face flushed in the morning sunlight, and says yes, it does.
Or at least, this is my interpretation.
tl;dr – that conversation was three conversations at once : between Russia’s soldier and its traitorous hero, between an abandoned child and its caretaker figure, and between Yurio the person and Victor the person. It is about Yurio’s love for others and Victor’s love for the self. It is about Yurio’s Agape and Victor’s Eros (for Yuuri). It’s about Yurio’s abandonment and Victor’s compassion. It is, in the end, about how growing up, letting go and reaching understanding comes about in different ways.
Nothing but My Aching Soul 