Lilia Baranovskaya – the former Prima Ballerina of the Bolshoi Ballet. When we are first introduced to her, she comes in with an imposing click-clack of her heels on the tiles, and an expression on her face that looks as if she is dissecting your every move.
She treats Yurio like a prize horse being sold to her by Yakov, and after being pleasantly surprised by his gumption, she works him with a stern and uncompromising hand – knowing that he can become something MORE. By the end of the episode we receive a glimpse of her being proud of who Yurio is becoming.
As a choreographer and co-coach to Yurio, her role is to make sure he is ready for his competitions – both physically and mentally.
We see her with Yakov trying to psych up Yurio before the Rostelecom SP, and we see her cry when Yurio pulls off that beautiful FS program. The Yurio she was teaching to deconstruct and reconstruct himself time and time again has just surpassed his limits and given the skate of his life. He didn’t only display strength (TES), he did it with beauty (PCS), and she couldn’t be more proud of him.
But of course, she’s still his co-coach. She follows him to the Kiss&Cry to receive his scores, and afterwards she needs to get him to talk to interviewers and cool down, so she puts on her serious face and ushers Yurio out of the arena and into the backstage halls.
This slip of a boy she met about 7 months ago,
who has been living with her and who has respected her directions by continuously pushing himself to become MORE, has wormed his way into her heart.
So when Yurio comes to her with a list of ingredients to make the piroshki that his grandfather invented, she lets him use the kitchen. ( “How can I refuse him when he’s so excited to share something with us?”)
And when he makes a batch of piroshki and can’t even wait long enough to take off his apron before serving them, she of course will try it even if she’s a little wary of what strange concoction this katsudon-piroshki is. (Notice the nervous sweat-drop on her jaw. The poor woman is befuddled.)
The awesome thing about Lilia isn’t just that she guided Yurio to surpass himself, or that she’s so proud of how far he’s come that she’s moved to tears. It’s that she cares about his wellbeing and happiness. Somewhere along the way, she’s become his caretaker as well, and darn it all if she won’t correct his language when he speaks to his fans!
(He may not listen to Yakov, but he does listen to Lilia – and that, if nothing else, shows the kind of respectful relationship he has with her.)
I believe this was much more than Yurio acting like a little shit in front of Victor.
And what caught my attention were the similarities between this scene and Yuuri’s and Yurio’s scene in episode 9. But why’s this? Well hear me on this one.
Yurio knows, he knows Victor’s still having trouble to decide what to do next. Everything that’ll happened after the Grand Prix, Victor seems confident and prepared, but leaving the world of skating, which has been part of him for more than 20 years, is not something he can do over the course of a day.
Victor’s struggling, and now that ring opens a door for a new life… something which was not there before. Victor Nikiforov has been standing alone for so many years, and now.. the man just got proposed the night before, of course he’s got a lot of thinking to do. He’s trying to figure things out, and I want to believe Yurio understands that.
Just like in episode 9, these two (Victor and Yuuri), tend to ovethink things when they get worried.
Victor standing alone, he might have been contemplating all the future possibilities which await him.
And look at the similarities, they both get anxious all by themselves, and that’s when this kid comes and tries to put some sense in both. In a way he gives them this little push of courage.
All this resembles what happened with Yuuri back in Russia. Remember how Yurio tried to cheer him up?
Yeah… in his own way, but he did it.
And it’s not evident, he won’t say it directly, “cheer up”, or “it’ll be alright”, but he wants for Victor to leave without regrets, and for Yurio, what better way to say it, than this:
It’s like him saying: “The man I once looked up to, is dead now.“
For Yurio, Victor is no longer the man he used to be, he is no longer someone who’ll give everything for skating, he has found new things which are precious to him now.
And Yurio knows, that’s why… just like with Yuuri, he is trying for Victor to understand something.
“You know, you may be Victor Nikiforov, but this world will survive without you, you don’t need to worry anymore.” (more or less).
And the things is… we’ve seen this along the whole series, how people just expect for Victor to return at the end of this skating season, people like Chris, the public, the media. And Yurio is trying, in a way, to make him want to leave for good, because he knows that’s what Victor really wants. He’s not telling him that directly, but just like he did with Yuuri, for him “Just go away already, geezer.”, is the same as telling him he doesn’t have to carry the weight of staying if that’s no longer something he wants for his life.
And we know, for Yurio as a skater, there will never be a reason valid enough to justify Victor leaving, but it’s no a decision for him to make. He’s telling Victor: “Just go, your time has come to and end.” And he… more than anyone wants to believe that.
The influence this man has had in Yurio’s life, is something he knows he will not find in other skater, not in the same way at least. But he is growing, he knows he’ll get to meet new people like Otabek, he’ll get to learn from them and keep going. And he also knows it’s time for Victor to go, he knows it’s time for him to let go of that symbol (even if it hurts he’ll never admit it) and understand Victor just wants to leave his life the best way he can, and now that he has found a person who he wants to share it with, Yurio has no longer doubts about how the image of that skater he once knew, is no longer present.
And… he’ll keep acting like a rebel child, of course.
But then you get to see a shift in his attitude, and that’s what gave it away.
Why would Yurio mention Hasetsu all of a sudden? Well the only thing that comes to mind, is that he knows Victor’s fallen in love with that home, with Yuuri, with the time he’s spend there, that’s the life he sees for himself in the future.
Yurio knows where Victor’s heart stands now, and he’s come to terms with it in his own way.
Ok! @vortexe and I have been talking, and we noticed something… interesting about the 2 GP finalists this yoi year
All through YOI, the theme of all kinds of love has been displayed in different ways though the show – notably with In Regards to Love: Eros and Agape – and the numerous parallels that people have been pointing out as the show goes on. Eros and Agape are both greek forms of love, but actually there are six different types of lovethat the greeks acknowledged!
EDIT: @aelle (thank you!!!) pointed out that in fact the article is Shitty™ and that it’s based on a misconception… so for the purpose of this post, please disregard the Greek comment and read it as:
Each of the Grand Prix Finalists represent a different kind of love.
*pulls out giant stack of papers, grinning* let me explain!
Since it’s midnight and I have a flight to catch at 5am, why not break down this little argument scene?
This scene is short but it’s important. We tend to quantify closeness by the times we see Viktor and Yuuri kissing, hugging, or otherwise acting explicitly intimate, but this little argument is just as important in conveying a shared emotional intimacy between the two.
It’s pretty obvious from the start that Viktor doesn’t care about the damn nuts. He seems irritated already by the beginning of the scene, and I don’t think it’s because of the missing bag. Judging from Yuuri’s flustered state, he’s probably been dragging them all over, re-tracing their steps panicking trying to find the bag he lost.
Viktor is patient so he’s gone along with it, but even he has his breaking point. Despite his irritation, he does what Viktor tends to do when he’s angry, and hides his feelings behind a fake smile. He’s aware of Yuuri’s anxiety which is probably why he’s placated him up till now, but he’s no saint and anyone would be tired and frustrated after being dragged around a city looking for a missing bag. Still, he doesn’t want to upset Yuuri further, so he appeals to logic: the shop is closed, aren’t you tired?
Yuuri isn’t having it, though. He sees right through Viktor’s fake smile and he knows what he’s doing. He hears Viktor’s words and feels that he is being blamed for a ruined evening. He doesn’t like it and he tells him so.
This scene feels so realistic to me because it’s an argument I’ve had with my own girlfriend many times. The argument of semantics. There is no resolution here because neither Yuuri nor Viktor is really in the wrong. They’re just both in bad moods: Yuuri, because the bag got lost and he feels bad about it and thinks that Viktor is mad at him because of it, and Viktor, because the nuts don’t matter to him and he just wants Yuuri to stop fixating on it and let them enjoy their evening.
What’s so striking is that neither of these characters is confrontational. Yuuri tends to fall into self-deprecation and, as previously mentioned, Viktor hides his feelings behind a smile. Yet, here they are, getting peeved at each other over something so minor. And not only getting mad but expressing that anger. For characters that tend not to do that, it speak of an extremely strong mutual trust.
They know that an argument isn’t fatal to their relationship. They trust the other to not abandon them if they exhibit anything other than an agreeable attitude.
And then they walk in silence and the argument resolves itself. They don’t have to part ways, they don’t have to break everything down verbally, they just need to cool down and give each other the time and space to do so.
I feel it’s rare to see such a realistic couple’s tiff. Normally, things are always 100% wonderful or extremely dramatic. But sometimes these little arguments pop up, sometimes someone gets hangry or anxious or tired and they take it out on their partner because that’s who is available and–unconsciously or not–that’s the person you know won’t abandon you just for showing a non-ideal side of yourself.
I was never skeptical of Yuuri and Viktor’s relationship to begin with, but especially not now. We’ve seen them tackle so many different hardships together, we’ve seen Yuuri correct Viktor when he really was in the wrong, and now we’ve seen them resolve a minor clashing of personalities respectfully and maturely. This is a couple I can realistically see staying together. They’re not together for convenience, they’re not together just because they idolize each other or find the other hot–they truly seem to understand one another and work well together, and it makes their relationship a joy to watch.
Last week, after seeing Yuuri’s anxiety while standing on the street and his one-sided contemplation of leaving the skating world I felt there was something missing. That at that point in the series Yuuri’s desire to leave skating seemed so, so based in his anxiety. In his inability to be the best, that he was letting Victor down, reflecting badly on Victor, and that he needed to just stop. That Yuuri’s drive to keep skating was still there, but he was tampering it down in his heart for what he thought he deserved.
In a complete 180 from that, after episode 10, I feel very content with the idea that Yuuri and Victor will leave the competitive skating world. Before the idea almost made me cringe, because it felt like Yuuri giving in to his anxiety. It made sense for Victor, yes, but not for Yuuri who has so much left to give.
But Yuuri’s won his prize now. The wording in the preview for episode 10, something golden and round, gave the fandom whiplash. “Omg RINGS, no it’s a medal no way, OMG IT WAS RINGS”
Somehow I feel the correlation that keeps being made is very important. Yuuri no longer needs the golden, round medals. He no longer needs to prove himself as the best skater. He went into competitive skating because of Victor. He wanted to skate with/for/against Victor. He wanted Victor to see him. And up until episode 10 Yuuri was still having doubts about how clearly Victor’s sight was. He was worried that once the season was over Victor would leave. Their time was over. But now it’s not. It never will be.
Losing his competitive edge for skating makes sense now. It makes sense now that his reason for skating has been completely achieved. He’s no longer giving in to his anxiety. It’s no longer that monster talking him down. It’s simply that he’s achieved his dreams. The final step something Victor has declared – marriage with a medal.
What does he have to gain from skating beyond that?
Victor, too, has been struggling all season with his career and what to do. Will he retire officially? Will he go back to skating? The world seems to want him back, but here he is chasing Yuuri. Something that has so much more meaning now after that banquet reveal. He’s been waffling and unsure because Yuuri has been unsure and he’s been questioning his heart. Victor was experiencing his own hidden anxiety in what Yuuri truly feels for him, because here is the boy who literally swept him off his feet dancing one night, and now he’s running away from him.
But Victor has also reached his meaning. He’s happy now. His 20+ years of avoiding life and love are over. He’s accepted them. He’s learned that there’s far more in the world that skating, that it’s okay to be beyond skating. He is not just Russia’s National Treasure. He is also Yuuri’s. And that title means so, so much more to him.
The last line of Stammi Vicino/Hanarezu ni Soba ni Ite:
Let’s Leave Together
Now I’m Ready
They’re there. They’re ready. Finally. They can make their exit from skating. But only now. Now that it is together.
Ok I have to get to work so this is gonna be rushed af and incoherent and all but like can we just take a moment because
Like Yuuri being precious smol innocent sinamon roll as always, just happy to finally stand by everyone and share food and drinks and all, ever so grateful that he’s come this far, and met the love of his life in the process, which he couldn’t even get the nerve to talk to before. But we now know that’s not true because he basically declared his love via interpretive dance. Exhibit A:
LOOK. AT. THEIR. FACES.
Ok so it goes without saying that this is where Viktor fell in love. He’s just like omg this quiet meek guy is not what he seems like at all and by god just marry me already. And THEN, this darling little Katsudon goes on, after they’ve already parted, goes on to perform Viktor’s very own Stay Close to Me:
WHICH I’M PRETTY SURE VIKTOR INTERPRETED AS SOMETHING ALONG THE LINES OF: I haven’t forgotten; please come back to me, please be my coach. Look how well I skated this piece, just for you. This is me proving I’m worthy to skate with you as my coach.
Which leads me to this. Viktor’s priceless reaction:
Because like, ok. Imagine being Viktor. You share this amazing night with this guy and you fall in love at first dance basically, and it’s just so so great because again look at how much FUN they’re having together and the way they’re smiling at each other and it’s like Viktor says in this episode, love and life were something he’d ignored for far too long. But here comes Yuuri to change all that.
And now imagine, showing up at that hot spring. Like tada here I am! Aren’t you glad! And Yuuri freaking the fuck out. And Viktor thinking how endearing that is because aw he’s shy.
Aw he’s embarrassed from everything that happened when they were drunk
Aw he just needs to open up his walls and he’ll be the same guy he met on that night.
If you ask me I think this explains Viktor’s boldness throughout the series. Because it’s like he’s been in love all. this. time. and he’s just going around assuming Yuuri is the same way. The whole ‘let’s sleep together’ and ‘be my boyfriend’ and ‘tell me all about yourself’ at the beginning isn’t just Viktor being a cocky bastard. It’s Viktor being in love. In complete and absolute love.
And it sort of explains the whole Eros thing too. Because it’s not just on a random whim or even the fact that Viktor wants Yuuri to step out of his comfort zone. It’s because he KNOWS he’s more than capable, because he’s SEEN it before.
Which he follows with something along the lines of ‘you’ll show it to me soon, won’t you?’
Which basically now I’m gonna interpret as Viktor trying to get Yuuri to understand that what he did on that night was a hell of a lot more seductive than Yuuri himself might even realize, and if he can control that, then it’ll be the hook line sinker that’ll get him to finals.
Also a bit of revenge since, I’m assuming this was probably the first time Viktor was ever caught off guard. I mean seeing Yuuri doing things like that was probably enough to catch anyone off guard. And so maybe this whole time Viktor was just trying to get even, trying to prove that he could seduce Yuuri just as much as Yuuri had seduced him (and not exactly in the sultry way).
And I just. I’m so happy.
Please excuse my rambles. I’ll try to edit this after I get home.
Nothing but My Aching Soul 