Someone probably beat me to the punch and made a post like this already, but honestly, I just had talk about this scene.
I’m sure all of you remember the infamous bathroom scene. This new flashback from episode 12 puts things into a different perspective.
Here Yuri is, watching Yuuri’s past GPF performance. He’s trying his best to look disinterested yet you can tell he’s clearly interested. He even goes as far to admit that Yuuri’s step sequence grabbed his attention. And when he mentions the failed jumps he sounds almost…disappointed.
He isn’t making fun of him for messing up his jumps. He wants to see Yuuri be able to succeed and successfully complete a program.
yurio’s 15 year old ass like I WANT TO SKATE TO SEXUAL LOVE!! no way kid!! you better skate to ponies and rainbows brat!!
Yurio skating to some ska song about hating your parents and not being able to buy GTA unless they are with you.
yurio just skating to otabek spitting a sick beat into his hands with a completely serious face
Yurio skating on the themes off loss, loneliness, and heartbreak because he recently got kicked out of his WoW guild.
he’s skating to a song about having to go home before it’s dark out
making his next routine very sharp and rigid and controlled because he failed his driver’s test by being too reckless behind the wheel and hitting a trash can
Yurio skates to a theme of defeat, the decline of capitalism, and the chances you must take to get ahead in life because he recently got fucking decimated in a game of monopoly with Lilya, Mila, and Yakov.
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.
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.
So YOI is just full of ingenious, subtle and entirely graceful dialogue. No scene is wasted and every conversation, however brief can explain so much with just a few lines. I’d like to take a moment to talk about one of the last scenes in episode 10 when Yurio and Victor are on the beach. In all honesty, I thought about this scene a lot and it took me a little while to really, truly understand what was going on here.
Nothing but My Aching Soul 