I’d like to start this post by
saying that I love Yuri(o) Plisetsky and his attitude and his anger issues and
his dork brand-new friendships and his love of pirozhki.
That said, I also want to
watch Yuuri Katsuki crush him like a bug in the Grand Prix Final freeskate. Not
just because I want Yuuri to win (although, yes, I do) but because I think a
gold medal here would be bad for Yurio.
Yes, a gold medal would be bad for someone.
I’m kind of hung up on this
line of Yakov’s:
“He was arrogant about his abilities because no one in his age group
rivaled him.
A huge part of his character arc
has been about accepting his faults and being willing to grow from them. Now tell
me, does a 15 year old with at least one (presumably two or three)
world record, a GPF gold medal, who is
by far the youngest skater in his division, and, in many ways, just starting
his career, have any rivals? No. No,
he does not.
Which brings me to my next
point: you know who else was the best
skater in the world his first year in the senior division? Viktor Nikiforov.
The last thing the world needs is another Viktor “I’ve been ignoring life and
love for over twenty years” Nikiforov. I know Yurio’s been built up as Viktor
heir of sorts, but really? Really, do we need that one? Especially after going
to such lengths to give Yurio a support system Viktor lacked? Even Viktor was
only a five-time consecutive GPF gold medalist, and he’d been in the senior
division for ever ten years.
TL;DR: I want Yuuri to steal
that gold medal from Yurio’s immature little hands, and it would be atrocious
to Yurio’s arc for it to be anything else.
Not because he’s not skilled enough – he clearly is.
But narratively speaking, he can’t win.
First of all, because it would be terrible for his character as a whole.
We’ve all seen how he acted after his record-breaking short program – cocky, arrogant, and still the pissy kid he is, but now feeling like his behavior is justified because he’s so amazing that he beat the world record. And indeed, that’s something to be proud of, and something to celebrate but Yurio… basically rubs it in everyone’s face. And I get it – after continuously winning silver in his senior career, it must be great to finally be on top, and I know that he’s a kid who’s still learning how to behave, but think about it. Doesn’t it remind you of someone? Someone else who needed to be brought down a notch perhaps? Maybe JJ?
I feel like Yurio’s character would head in JJ’s direction if he won. He would feel like he’s the king of the world who can do and say anything because he’s a winner. He’d feel like telling Yuuri that “Incompetents like you should just retire already” was perfectly fine because he won in the end which means that he was correct, right?
And see, Yurio does deserve to win and be recognized for all of his hard work and dedication, he deserves to be appreciated and praised but that boy needs to learn some humility.
Yes, his life is complicated and he clearly has some issues, but none of them will be solved by his winning the gold medal.
Which brings me to my second point: Yurio still has time to win the Grand Prix, the European Championships, the Worlds, the everything.
He is literally only fifteen years old. His career has just begun. Yeah, it’d be great if he could rule the world already in his first big championship, but he doesn’t need to. He’s already broken a world record. He’s achieved enough for one competition. He can win gold next time because he has a next time. He will be competing in the Grand Prix Final for the next ten years at least, literally time is everything he has.
He’s already proved himself in his Short Program. Now it’s time for someone else to win the GP Final. (Preferably, that person being Yuuri.)
In any case, my point is that Yurio could learn way more, and therefore gain way more by not winning the gold in the Final.
And I highly doubt that the creators would miss the occasion to teach Yurio a lesson. He’s been going around being a bit of a brat (I’m sorry, but it’s true) for too long now. I’m sure they’re showing that part of his personality in order to show his growth when he does finally learn that he can’t go on being the way he is, that there’s a line to everything.
Here’s to hoping we’ll see Yurio grow instead of regressing. (And considering the writing of the show – that’s highly likely.)
Honestly? I’m tired of seeing people justify Yurio’s behavior by saying “Oh, he’s fifteen.”
Yes, he’s fifteen and you’re literally reducing his character to nothing but his age.
You’re making it sound like he doesn’t have a personality, doesn’t have motivations, doesn’t have a history, like his entire character is just being fifteen years old.
As though Yurio is nothing but hormones and pubescent rage. If that’s truly the case, I don’t think that makes for a very good character?
But it isn’t because see, that’s the point – being smol and angry and completely and utterly rude is Yurio’s personality (at least at this stage of his life). It’s time to stop waving it off as his being fifteen and accept that that’s what he is.
And yeah, let’s say it altogether: Yurio has been acting like a complete brat recently. It’s time to stop running away from that fact and pretending that everything is fine because the anime is making this pretty clear. I like him but I’m honestly growing sick of his attitude.
Disrespecting his elders, superiors, his fans, his rivals, his rivals’ fans, insulting people left and right, kicking people, rubbing his success in other’s faces – they’re all things that he does and do you really want to wave that off as an “age thing”. “Oh, he’s a kid, he doesn’t understand.” Really, now? I mean, I’m sure that there are 15-year-olds out there like that and who can relate to that, but 90% of them also realize what they’re doing and do it on purpose.
I think we can hold him responsible for those things at the very least? He’s in full control of his actions, even if he’s young. And see, I’m not saying that you can’t like him – I think he can be very likable. But it’s time to stop pretending like he’s an innocent little angel who never does anything wrong when he’s badmouthing someone literally every episode (usually for no good reason). It’s time to accept how violent and rude he can be and how flawed he essentially is.
And see, here you could say “That’s because he had a difficult past!”. To be honest though…? We don’t know. Maybe he did! Maybe he didn’t. ‘Maybe’s don’t get us anywhere though, so we can drop that argument. We just don’t know.
And then I’m sure some people are willing to say “But he still deserves to win the Grand Prix because he worked hard for it!”. Oh, he did, didn’t he? Just like
you know
maybe
literally every other skater in this show?
There is not a single person in the six who qualified to the Grand Prix Finale that didnot work hard. Maybe we don’t see it, but JJ wasn’t born with his skills either, Chris spent at least ten years perfecting his skills, we know how hard Phichit worked to get his performance across to people and similar can be said for Otabek. And Yuuri? We know just how much Yuuri had to go through to get there – not just physically (although he practiced a lot as well) but mentally.
Literally all of them deserve that gold medal in similar amounts.
Sure, Yurio worked harder this season, that’s true. But it’s not like his work is not paying off? He got two silver medals and for a debut that’s good. It was also mentioned that he got gold in a different competition (Guang Hong was there too). And he broke a world record for God’s sake. And he still has the European championships ahead of him. Not to mention, like another ten years of competing in the Grand Prix Final. He has plenty of time to see his work pay off. It’s not time for him to win yet. Certainly not with that attitude.
And then some people go “It’s a competition judging your skills, not judging your personality!” Yes, that’s true. But this competition exists within an anime which is created by real life people which decide who wins and who loses. And do you really think they will let the brat get away with what he does just because he ‘worked hard’? Nah, mate. I can already see his fall during the Free Skate. It will be painful and glorious.
But that’s a good thing! Because that’s what will make Yurio grow! Maybe even help him grow out of his violent tendencies and into a more humble skater who can win with grace. Think of Victor. How did he act when he won? Certainly not like this, and we all know that Victor knows he’s amazing, but that doesn’t mean that he shows it like an arrogant ass at every step of the way. That’s where Yurio’s character needs to go – in the direction of humility and modesty. Because what’s a victory worth if it will simply fuel his ego and his unacceptable behavior?
At the end of the day, being fifteen isn’t an excuse and narratively speaking, it’s time for Yurio to learn a lesson.
Losing to “that pig” Yuuri would certainly be a good opportunity for that.
I love Yurio but it’s high time for some character development. We’ll love him all the more when he grows as a person.
Thank you. Seriously, it makes me so happy when people bring this up. I love Yurio, I think he has a gooey center in there somewhere, and I believe in his potential. But his age, and his past (which we know nothing about and only assume is tragic) don’t excuse his actions. Perhaps there’s a good reason why he’s violent, entitled, and arrogant, but that doesn’t make any of that okay. He needs to change. He needs to learn some humility. Being proud of who you are, of your hard work and your achievements doesn’t give you the green light to be an asshole to everyone else.
I get that people relate to him. He’s a confused, angsty, hormonal
teenager. But he can be so much more than that, and given his
personality it won’t happen without a few stumbling blocks on the way.
Viktor was a prodigy, too, and I’m pretty sure he didn’t go around
kicking people, calling them pigs and bitches, and mocking other
competitors when they got outscored.
And I also see people saying it’s not fair to ‘punish’ Yurio, etc, by making him lose. But it’s not a punishment. From a narrative point of view, it can be his catalyst for change. He’s got his world record. That doesn’t mean other people are unworthy or lesser, and it would be nice if he finally came to terms with that.
And one last thing. If anyone says that ‘oh but he’s 15 he’s still learning how the world works’ >_> yeah. He is. He’s a teen. A lot of teens that age have a whole plenty of foot in mouth moments. But he’s also not a fucking idiot. He’s not being insensitive and oblivious. He’s out of control, he’s violent, he has cruel tendencies, and he will not grow out of them if everyone makes excuses for the way he acts. I know plenty of 15 year olds, I was also one not too long ago, and honestly I did not know a single one that acted the way he does. Which is fine, because it’s a show, but people need to stop saying that him being 15 means he somehow doesn’t know right from wrong. He knows exactly what he’s doing. His personality is flawed. Which is not a bad thing at all, but the point is that unless he GROWS somehow, he’s going to turn into a cardboard cutout character with no depth and nothing but rage and assholeness powering him through life.
^Such a good response that I just had to reblog it.
Okay, fuck it. I’m doing my analysis because I think this fandom is amazing and they deserve it. BUT MOSTLY BECAUSE I NEED TO CALM MYSELF DOWN AFTER THE SHIT DAY THIS EPISODE MADE ME HAVE. I’m serious. I talked to my coworkers about it and they bought me cookies to calm me down. I left work early. My heart was doing awful things while I was trying to work- it was pathetic. I’m pathetic.
SO. Let’s get one thing out of the way: KATSUKI YUURI FUCKED UP.
Alternatively titled: English Major With Nothing Better To Do With Her Life Overanalyzes Things (finals??? haha what are those)
Now, for the sake of sparing you time because this meta is going to get long as hell, here’s the gist right now: I’m thinking 1. Yuuri’s going to take Viktor’s World Record in the Free Skate and 2. Viktor’s never going to go back to competitive skating again.
Now, am I right about this? Who the fuck knows! Is that going to stop me from writing a god damn essay about it? No. No it is not. So. Let’s begin:
Okay, so I know people have talked about it before (a lot), but the OP is the crowning jewel of both this show and my theory, so bear with me.
One of the most interesting things about the OP is that, despite being sung by one singer, it’s generally agreed that the different parts of the OP are “sung” by different characters. The OP starts off with someone talking about how they’re “tired of feeling” like they’re “never enough,” and Yuuri’s shown on screen. Then, Viktor shows up on screen and the lyrics are about encouraging someone to believe in themselves. That is, Viktor encouraging Yuuri to believe in himself. Basically, the main idea here is that skater on screen = who’s singing the current lyrics.
SO THEN:
Yuri shows up! And Yuuri’s on screen with him! And the lines are “Don’t stop us now, the moment of truth, we were born to make history.”
There are two singers in this part! In fact, go listen to the song right now and you’ll notice that there are literally two singers in this part (a background vocalist joins in on this line). So the “we” is Yuri and Yuuri, and they’re both singing about how they’re going to “make history” during “the moment of truth” (aka the Grand Prix Finals).
Well, guess who just made history by blasting Viktor Nikiforov’s SP record out of the water?
I’m just going to get this one out of the way now: Viktor and Yuri are NOT going to break up and no one can convince me otherwise!
Okay, with that out of the way… This show has been setting up a major misunderstanding since episode one.
Yuri doesn’t think he can hold onto Viktor, and Viktor has no intention of ever leaving Yuri’s side.
Yuri and Viktor are a fantastically portrayed couple: They respect each other, and support each other, and sometimes it feels they don’t even need words to understand each other. Even when they fight they use good communication, and are considerate of the other’s feelings. But we already had one major misunderstanding between them revealed last episode: That Viktor fell in love with Yuri first, Yuri was the one who asked Viktor to come to Japan and be his coach in the first place, that Yuri didn’t remember any of it, and Viktor didn’t know Yuri didn’t remember any of it.
It’s already been established that despite how wonderful their relationship is, there is a significant lack of proper communication on some very important fronts:
When Yuri actually plans to retire.
Whether or not Viktor actually wants to return to skating in the first place.
Yuri has already made his decision regarding the first point as of episode 9, and has not informed Viktor yet.
And I’m convinced Viktor has known the answer to the second point since episode 9 as well, but has yet to actually voice it to anyone.
These conversations have been avoided up till now, but they have to happen eventually. They can’t be avoided forever. And I think this is what Yuri’s line sets up at the end of episode 11: The resolution of this huge misunderstanding that has been building since episode one.
Viktor has no intention to leave Yuri’s side. No matter if Yuri retires or not.
With the development we’ve had in their relationship since episode 7, especially with the airport scene in episode 9 and the ring exchange in episode 10, it’s become obvious that Viktor has no intentions of leaving Yuri. Ever. Yuri is home to him now. In episode 4, he becomes nostalgic for the beach in the only city he’d ever called home, St Petersburg. But in episode 10 it’s Hasetsu’s beach that he’s reminded of.
Viktor no longer identifies home with Russia. Hatsetsu with Yuri is home for him, now. It’s only been 8 months, but Viktor has finally found a place that he belongs, where he is accepted as the man he is and not the man people expect him to be, a place that he feels free. And that place is with Yuri. In episode 9, he was miserable just being apart from Yuri for 48 hours. And it seems to solidify for him that he doesn’t want to part from Yuri again, that home is with this Japanese ball-of-anxiety on skates.
So no matter what Yuri is about to say to him at the end of episode 11, there is no way I see Viktor letting him walk away for good. Viktor, and Yuri too, are in way too deep. Those rings symbolize something very profound and meaningful for them as evidenced by the attention they receive from the animators, and the kissing of the rings before Yuri’s SP. They’re both emotionally invested in whatever they have together, and I doubt Viktor is going to let Yuri be a martyr – if that is what Yuri is planning.
But Viktor still hasn’t told any of this to Yuri. We know this from his voice-overs, but none of this has been voiced aloud to any character on the show.
Yuri doesn’t think he can hold onto Viktor indefinitely.
Not once in this entire series has Viktor ever expressed any desire to leave Yuri or go back to skating. However, Yuri still feels like he’ll have to give Viktor up eventually
even when he is out to prove his love for Viktor to the world and even though he has expressly stated he wants to hold onto Viktor.
Yuri decided in episode 9 that he was going to retire after this GPF and:
But his train of thought is cut off by a flying kick from Yurio. We don’t get the end of this thought. And… what? The implication is “and he’ll leave Yuri to go back to Russia and competition”. Yuri has decided that no matter the outcome of this GPF he’s retiring after it’s over, and that Viktor will go back to Russia even though we have no indication from Viktor that this is actually something he wants. Even though he asks Viktor to coach him until his retirement Yuri has yet to tell Viktor his true intentions. Yuri has spent the better part of this season fighting to demonstrate his love for Viktor to the world, and has expressly said that he wants to hold on to Viktor. But he doesn’t think he can.
A repeated theme this series has been Yuri assuming that after the season is over, Viktor will go back to Russia and competing even though we have nothing from the man in question suggesting that is the case.
We know what Yuri thinks of the situation, but we only get hints of what Viktor thinks.
We never get to know what exactly Viktor was planning to say here. Only that he is pleasantly surprised when Yuri asks him to stay, and implies that he never wants to leave. So we can extrapolate from there what Viktor might have decided to retire as coach and stay by Yuri’s side as something more. But I don’t have much evidence for this, it’s pure conjecture.
Anyways, Yuri has convinced himself that Viktor wants to go back to skating, or at least that Viktor should go back to skating, once the GPF is over despite not ever having discussed this with Viktor himself.
Viktor actually doesn’t want to go back to competing.
Viktor Nikiforov is dead. He’s not coming back to competing. He’s discovered life, and love with Yuri in Japan, he has no reason to go back to competing.
Let’s discuss the part of episode 11 that I think demonstrates this: Viktor watching the competition from the stands.
First, there is Yurio’s performance which is introduced like this:
Russia’s “next generation”. He’s Viktor’s successor, and he’s doing a kickass job at it already. This scene: Yurio’s record breaking SP, Viktor watching from the stands,
Yakov seeing a young Viktor in Yurio
It’s set up as a “passing of the baton” moment, or at least that was the vibe I got from this scene. It shows that Viktor isn’t necessary anymore, he’s not missed as much. There are new, younger, talented skaters to take his place and carry the baton for Russia. Yurio’s got this. And I think it needs to be pointed out that this is reflected int he fact that the reporters aren’t flocking all over him this time around asking if he’ll be returning. People aren’t harassing him about coming back anymore. He’s able to slip away from the cameras to watch his successor skate without anyone noticing, even Yuri.
This scene of Viktor watching Yurio has a melancholic vibe. It feels like we’re watching an era end in real time. It’s like Viktor watching “the death of Viktor Nikiforov” play out before him on the ice. But after Yurio’s program finishes, and Yuri finds him in the stands, this rest of Viktor watching the competitors skate doesn’t strike me as one where Viktor is anxious to get back out onto the ice and reclaim his crown.
The announcers ask this question while we get to see the answer: How does Viktor Nikiforov feel about watching from the stands?
He’s smiling. He seems okay with it. He does’t seem anxious. He’s cheering on his old rivals, and looking like he’s enjoying being a spectator. I only took one screen shot for the sake of the length of this post, but this entire scene after watching Yurio’s performance, Viktor is smiling. They’re more muted than usual, like he’s watching something that makes him a little sad, but happy all the same. Like watching something you love grow, and evolve, and change from what you once knew, but for the better. The skating world doesn’t need him anymore, but he doesn’t look full of regret, or like he’s itching to get back out there into the spotlight. He looks content.
And this is probably why:
Viktor has found a new strength with Yuri in Japan. He has experienced a whole new world, full of new emotions, and life, and love, by becoming Yuri’s coach and cheering him on from the sidelines. He gets visibly excited watching Yuri,
he can’t contain himself and even jumps along with Yuri,
and gets upset along with Yuri when Yuri fails.
and this is his reaction to the prospect of seeing Yuri land a quad-flip in competition:
He feels an emotional connection when Yuri skates. He is invested in this performance, something he’s probably only felt for his own programs. This is something he’s never experienced before becoming Yuri’s coach.
This, for me, demonstrates that Viktor is content with staying on the sidelines and not competing. I don’t see this, as some have suggested, as evidence that Vitkor wants to be back out on the ice in Yuri’s place. I see this as Viktor getting so wrapped up in Yuri’s performance and excited he literally cannot contain himself. I do something similar when I watch sports, even if I don’t play the sport. I jump up and do the “force hand wave” trying to influence the direction of the ball. Viktor’s actions here, in my opinion, more closely resemble that. Like a dance mom doing the routine in front of the stage, not like a man who wants to get back into the game himself. He’s probably more excited watching Yuri than he ever was performing. Viktor described his career as a shackle around his neck. Competing, and skating, isn’t something he desires anymore. He’s been freed from his chains, from the high stress life of competing, and has found pure happiness in something new: coaching and being with Yuri.
This line from Lilia is pretty poignant, I think.
Yuri’s love is what sustains Viktor now, not his love of skating, or his fans, or surprising people. Yuri’s love has reinvigorated him. And he understands that. Especially after episode 9. He is shining brightly here coaching Yuri, as himself and not the idol. He is showing real, deep emotions and he looks so damn…happy.
Viktor Nikiforov the idol is dead, and that’s okay. Because Viktor the human being has found a new life to live, and a new love to sustain him, one where he’s not bound by the pressure to surprise the world each season, or be perfect. One with Yuri. And I can’t see him giving that up for anything.
The Miscommunication
Yuri spends most of episode 11 watching Viktor’s reactions and progressively growing more anxious by what he sees. I believe that this is because Yuri isn’t interpreting Viktor’s reactions correctly, as he is coming from a place where he assumes that he cannot hold onto Viktor forever. Instead of seeing Viktor as calm and content as well as solemn, he is seeing Viktor as only being contemplative, and regretful.
Like in episode 9, we don’t get the end to this thought. But Yuri looks upset. He’s probably interpreting Viktor’s reactions as evidence of Viktor wanting to go back skating and competing against the likes of Chris, and Yurio, when there is nothing there to suggest such a thing. Again, Viktor is smiling that soft smile. He doesn’t really look like he regrets his choices. Yuri is interpreting Viktor’s reactions incorrectly because Viktor hasn’t told Yuri he has no intention to leave. Viktor probably figures it’s so obvious he doesn’t need to. On multiple occasions he has implied he wants to stay with Yuri forever, and that he would marry Yuri. But Yuri still thinks he’s going to have to give Viktor up.
And Viktor doesn’t know that Yuri is planning to retire after the final. He probably thinks they’re going to finish out the season together, at least. That there might be another year, or two of Yuri competing and Viktor being his coach. He might suspect Yuri’s retirement could be sooner than later, but Yuri hasn’t told him his plans yet. So he doesn’t feel the need to be more explicit in his desire to stay for good.
But Yuri is still that little ball of anxiety, even if he is more confident in his choices on the ice he obviously isn’t when it comes to being able to keep Viktor. No matter how big he talked about how he was going to show the world only he knew Viktor’s love, or how he wanted to hold onto Viktor for good, he still doesn’t think he can. Like in episode 7, where he admits that he still asks himself if Viktor secretly want to quit even though he knows those fears are irrational, and that Viktor doesn’t want to go anywhere. That’s the scourge of anxiety: Even fears you know have no basis in reality can eat away at you, and cause you to interpret things in the most negative light. So he has convinced himself that Viktor wants to go back to skating, even if part of him knows that to be untrue. And that’s only reinforced by the fact that Viktor has never come out and explicitly said otherwise.
This miscommunication was going to have to be resolved sooner or later, it’s been set up as early as episode 2, and it looks like the writers saved the resolution for the finale. And I see this conversation going one of two ways:
1) Viktor finally tells Yuri what he’s been alluding to in his voice-overs: that he doesn’t want to go back to skating and he’d much rather stay next to Yuri for good and they go back to Japan together regardless of Yuri’s retirement.
2) Yuri convinces Viktor to go back to skating for one more season, and either they compete against each other on the same playing field like Yuri always wanted, while remaining “rival husbands” or Yuri does retire and Viktor moves his home rink to Japan so Yuri can be his emotional support/source of inspiration.
Honestly, I think the first option is more convincing. But maybe that’s just me. Either way, we’ll be getting a happy ending. Because that’s the kind of show this is. This show isn’t a tragedy, it’s not a tear-jerker. It’s a story about love, and how embracing it makes you stronger.
Ok, I need to address the major fandom freakouts I’ve witnessed about episode 11. Basically, Kubo knows how to write anxiety, and specifically self-esteem related anxiety, extremely well. Frustratingly, painfully well. Still this
This is what we call narrative tension. Ending abruptly on this ambiguous line is meant to be a cliffhanger and make us suffer because we only have one episode left and we can’t go into the last episode with no narrative tension (say, Yuuri placing first and being super lovey-dovey with Victor) or else there would be no stakes. It doesn’t mean the series will end badly.
1. Yuuri messed up Eros because he wasn’t focused on love
As soon as Yuuri talked about changing the jumps and compared his program to JJ, I knew he would mess up. Yuuri’s performances rely on his mental state a lot, Eros in particular always has him adopting a very particular persona to pull through. We had none of that in episode 11. Yuuri is too focused on landing the quadruple flip and forgets to focus on love, and he ends up failing the jump but also losing presentation points. It’s why his score is lower than usual for a performance he had perfected before.
I also feel that the thing about Eros is that Yuuri’s original motivation is gone. Eros is about enticing and seducing a target and so far Yuuri’s focused all of that on Victor. Yuuri doesn’t need to seduce Victor anymore and he’s not trying to do that at all, so the message he’s trying to convey with Eros is not working anymore. He aimed too hight because of anxiety instead of focusing on delivering the same sort of perfect Eros performance we’ve seen from him before. In a way though, you could say he reached the limit of what he can do with Eros, but not with Yuri on Ice, which is why I believe he will ace his Free skate with a perfect Yuri on Ice performance next episode, thus surpassing himself and completing his self-improvement journey.
2. Victor and Yuri are not breaking up, but they are on completely different wavelengths when it comes to the relationship
Let’s get this one out of the way since it seems to be the major source of panic. “Let’s end this” is ambiguous, just so we can suffer the most. Yuuri can mean the coach-skater relationship, he can mean the romantic relationship, he can mean both. I would hope he means the first. If we follow through his thought process along the season however…he probably means both. In the sense that, he probably feels like ending the coach-skater relationship, as he intends to do, will end any sort of relationship he has left with Victor. So what he’s saying is that he wants to retire and let Victor go as a coach, but what he’s feeling probably goes beyond that, even if he doesn’t actually break up with Victor.
This isn’t new information. Yuuri has been unsure about his future in skating since episode 1. He’s been doubting his entire relationship with Victor and wether he will stay or not since episode 2. The types of looks we’ve seen Yuuri sending Victor this episode are not new.
Yuuri has always believed, as he expressed back in episode 4, that his time with Victor was a limited blessing. He believes that Victor will inevitably go back to Russia and skating like everybody around them says he should do. Yes, even after Victor kissed him on international television, even after Victor announced that they were engaged to be married, you can bet Yuuri still believes that Victor’s love is purely conditional and dependent on Yuuri’s skating performances and that this relationship is only temporary. Because Yuuri’s type of anxiety is that type that makes him hear “We’ll get married after he wins gold at the Grand Prix.” as “We’ll get married only if he wins gold at the Grand Prix and thus deserves it.”
There’s been moments he has believed otherwise, of course. The airport scene I’m sure calmed him down, most of episode 10 as well, he probably believed for a moment that maybe this was it, maybe it was real and he deserved this lasting happiness. But then he’s at the Grand Prix and messed up his Eros performance and watched Victor appreciate other skaters doing better than him, so he’s back to questioning everything that’s ever come to pass between him and Victor because right now Yuuri is very set on the “I’m not good enough for him and am just holding him back.” mindset.
Victor meanwhile? Having the time of his life! I mean I should hope nobody gets so caught up in Yuuri’s POV that we start to doubt Victor’s feelings when we had an entire episode narrated by him about said feelings. Victor was leading a lonely and empty existence where he felt like he couldn’t rely on anyone and like he was prisioner to his carreer. Until Yuuri came along, and now he’s finally enjoying life, he’s in love, he’s at peace, he’s free to see fellow skaters as friends and not just rivals. The tiny amount of Victor POV in this episode only reinforces this.
Victor is having a grand time and he’s so invested in Yuuri, so focused, so in love, so ready to marry him on the spot, which is why he doesn’t realize that Yuuri’s anxiety is not exclusively over skating performance anymore but over their relationship as well.
That said, they definitely love each other and they both want to stay together. So this is good. I mentioned this before, they desperately need to talk and let out all their feelings towards each other. This will make things better in the long run. Remember, Yuuri is making assumptions on what Victor actually wants. It’s time Victor tells him exactly what that is, because no matter what it will include staying with Yuuri. They need to discuss the future, together.
They won’t break up.
3. Yuuri is not out of character nor is he experiencing character regression
Yuuri has an anxiety disorder. I’ve discussed this before. Yes Yuuri has progressed very far, yes Yuuri has gained more self-confidence. That doesn’t make the anxiety go away. Victor’s love doesn’t make the anxiety go away. It flaring up at the Grand Prix, when he’s at the peak of pressure? Completely understandable. Especially when you consider his anxiety in particular is connected to his self-esteem and how you see the way his self-esteem works. Basically, Yuuri measures his self worth through his achievements and recently in his life, particularly through Victor. Remember, Yuuri believes Victor’s main interest in Yuuri comes from Yuuri’s skating. So messing up Eros, even if not much? Was a huge blow. Watching Victor happily watch and appreciate other skaters who are doing better than Yuuri? An even bigger one.
Yuuri still doesn’t know what really happened between him and Victor at the banquet last year. He doesn’t know any of the things Victor monologued about to us, the audience. For Yuuri, the only thing keeping Victor around is whatever special spark he saw in his skating in that video. So Yuuri feels he’s losing that spark since he’s underperforming, he feels like he’s not good enough anymore to keep Victor around. Victor didn’t say anything to Yuuri after his short program and then spent the rest of his time looking and even complimenting other skaters. In Yuuri’s head, Victor is disappointed with him.
Thus Yuuri also feels, most likely, that he’s hurting Victor and taking advantage of him. He feels guilty for keeping Victor to himself all these months. If Victor remains his coach he will be unhappy, that’s what Yuuri believes. Hell, he probably thinks he’s been forcing himself on Victor. He asked Victor to stay over the Hot Springs on Ice, he asks again later that he stays until he retires, he gives him the ring first, all of this is probably weighting down on him in the shape of terrible guilt because he loves Victor so much and he wants Victor to be happy.
So, there’s this panic response your brain has to extreme levels of anxiety, which is self-sabotage. Self-sabotage gives you the illusion of being more in control of the situation. Yuuri feels like the relationship with Victor, be it coach-skate or romantic, is doomed to fail, so he decides to end it, to free Victor himself before Victor loses interest and leaves on his own. Things still fall apart but he controls how they fall apart, which is less stressful for his anxiety muddled mind. That, and he gets rid of his crippling guilt over ‘holding Victor back’.
Everything about Yuuri’s actions and thoughts in this episode make sense.
4. EVERYTHING WILL BE ALRIGHT
So way back before episode 7 graced us all with that kiss and canon status, I believed that we would only achieve said canon status in episode 12 and the way I thought it would happen would be through Victor skating “Stay Close to Me” to Yuuri, thus confessing his feelings. Then episode 7 happened and I was a bit confused about the scene. Because the scene is totally happening, we have the duet version of the song in the soundtrack, the opening scene in the anime is clearly half a flashforward to that scene, so I knew it would still happen but I didn’t know how they would make it emotionally significant. Now, I think it might be the ultimate reassurance Victor can offer Yuuri about his feelings.
Reassurance, that’s what.
Victor can’t make Yuuri’s anxiety go away, that’s not how it works. But this series is about love. Love wins, love makes Yuuri stronger. Anxiety may not magically disappear but it can be fought against, it can be overcome. So everything will be alright, they will be alright, Yuuri will be alright.
Speaking of music and how it works as meta-narrative in this series, if you still feel unsure, go listen to the Yuri on Ice track. Listen to it, think about how it mirrors the entire story of Yuuri over the course of the series, and note how it ends in a joyful harmony between the piano and the violin.
So I haven’t seen the episode yet, but let’s all remember something.
Eros is about a womanizer conquering the heart of a lady who didn’t like him at first.
Yuri on Ice is about Yuuri’s love and career.
As we know, Yuuri tends to nail the Eros routine and flop the YOI one. Thing is, as of now, Yuuri doesn’t have to be a katsudon to seduce Viktor anymore. He doesn’t have to skate like he has to get a man, since well, Viktor and Yuuri are literally engaged.
Tl;dr- I feel like this sudden switch of score is supposed to represent the changes in Yuuri’s life (and relationships). Both routines take completely opposite meanings in regards to love after all. So yeah, don’t panic (and don’t start to bash the series too omfg it has given us so much so far), love will still win in the end!
LISTEN TO ME LET ME TELL YOU WHY THROUGH A REALLY CONVOLUTED AND BEN AND JERRY’S FUELED POST
it’s not hard to deduce why Yuuri did what he did, nor is it surprising. We were so caught up in our canon ship reverie that we were completely blind to what was in front of us, lol. But the chips have fallen, and most of us have reached the same conclusion by now.
Yuuri has anxiety.
Yuuri has self loathing.
And this entire time, Yuuri never stopped believing that Victor will eventually leave him.
Alright, I think we can all agree on one thing – Yuuri did not deserve a score than low after attempting a quad flip, getting the necessary amount of rotations on it, landing it and messing up merely touching the ground. I mean, he touched the ground during his jumps in his Short Programs in the past and he still got more points, even though the base value was lower, right? So what the hell is up with that low score?
Well, I think I might just have the answer:
Yuuri forgot about his Eros – the core of the entire performance.
He lost points not from his Technical Elements but from his Program Components aka his presentation.
And think about it – what was he thinking about his entire program?
That’s right – points, jumps and scores.
And not about love. Which is a grave mistake when skating a program about love.
If you recall, in previous episodes, he often thought of Victor during his short program and I can tell you 100% that that was what allowed him to score so well. He focused on his skating but also on the objectof his love. Sometimes he did it more, sometimes less, but here he didn’t do it at all.
I mean look at his face:
And this was in the same moment where he previously blew a kiss or sensually licked his lips.
Perhaps it’s the pressure of the Grand Prix Final but Yuuri forgot about the love in his performance and it was that – not the slightly messed up quad flip – that fucked him over in the end.
Now, what do you wanna bet that it will be the power of love that will allow him to get a high score in his Free Skate next episode?
Nothing but My Aching Soul 