{"id":6861,"date":"2018-06-14T13:00:22","date_gmt":"2018-06-14T20:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=6861"},"modified":"2018-05-15T12:17:48","modified_gmt":"2018-05-15T19:17:48","slug":"mark-watches-yuri-on-ice-s01e04-like-yourself-and-complete-the-free-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2018\/06\/mark-watches-yuri-on-ice-s01e04-like-yourself-and-complete-the-free-program\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Yuri On Ice’: S01E04 – Like Yourself… And Complete the Free Program!!"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the fourth episode of the first season of Yuri On Ice<\/i>, I truly did not anticipate that there would be so many naked boys on this show. Am I complaining? NOT I. If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re intrigued, then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch Yuri On Ice<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I? Am? Emotions??? How did I get so fucking invested in Yuri winning this competition???? Why is Victor naked all the time? WHY DOES HE GET SO CLOSE TO YURI? WHAT ABOUT MY FEELINGS?<\/i><\/p>\n

Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s chat.<\/p>\n

Yurio<\/b><\/p>\n

I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t necessarily like<\/i> Yurio, but I still find myself captivated by his journey. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a deeply selfish character, but he uses that arrogance as a motivating factor to actually<\/i> improve his skating. As I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve said in an earlier review, he is technically spectacular, but he hasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t captured the emotional aspect of the sport quite as well as Victor or Yuri have. So how is that going to affect him now that Lilia, his coach\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ex-wife, has taken over his training? She is the tonal and technical opposite of Victor. She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s strict, vicious, and unfeeling. (Rather, she doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t let<\/i> anyone know how she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s feeling, I should say.) It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s brilliant that she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s having Yurio train ballet, and I feel like even the animation for his routines has become more fluid and natural. He doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t seem as stiff as he used to, you know?<\/p>\n

But I also appreciate his perspective because it makes him a more interesting competitor<\/i>. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not just a nameless face or someone Yuri will have to face once. I mean, I still want Yuri to win? But I do find myself intrigued by Yurio regardless.<\/p>\n

Like Yourself<\/b><\/p>\n

The title is a command, isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t it? \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Like Yourself\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 And Complete The Free Program!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d deals with the ever-important problem of Yuri\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s self-esteem. (Or lack of it, that is.) He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a talented figure skater who is easily distracted by his emotions, which rest on the surface. Any time he is preoccupied or worried, he messes up. This is, of course, exacerbated within the competitions themselves, where his anxiety swirls into such a mess that he keeps disappointing himself. And above all, Yuri<\/i> is his own worst enemy. Because this episode makes a big ol\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 point out of the fact that NONE OF HIS FRIENDS OR FAMILY HAVE GIVEN UP ON YURI. No one hates him or despises him for his career, and better yet, they still support him! So why can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t that translate to success?<\/p>\n

The writers trace a few threads here to address that. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the subplot with the music for the Free Program, which he initially never used after his first coach, Celestino, felt it was too weak. And oh boy, IT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S A METAPHOR FOR HIS CAREER. Good, but mediocre. Meaningful, but still middle of the road. I admit it was a little odd that we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t actually get the composer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s name or see their face, but perhaps that is unimportant in the grand scheme of things. But this part of the story is vital to Yuri\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s training. If he can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t connect with the music, how can he immerse himself in his performance? How can he believe in himself if he doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t believe in every part of this?\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Because he already<\/i> believes in Victor, and Yuri finally admits that to Victor\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s face. I got the sense that Victor was desperate to break through Yuri\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s shell, and that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why he invited him on so many excursions. Yuri gets lost within his own mind, and it took Victor pulling him out of his comfort environments to get him to open up. AND LET US ALL ACKNOWLEDGE THAT VICTOR OFFERED TO BE ANYTHING YURI NEEDED HIM TO BE, INCLUDING HIS BOYFRIEND<\/i>. That\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 is canon??? And he clearly wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t joking???<\/p>\n

This show needs to stop fucking around with me. MAKE THEM KISS, EVERYONE WANTS IT.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I also just want Yuri to succeed because I know how hard it is to struggle with self-esteem issues, even though one might be talented. I know I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not a terrible writer, and I know that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve managed to find an odd success in the world. And yet, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so easy for me to insult myself, to assume the worst of my own work, and to believe that when it comes down to it, I am just not worth it. In Victor, however, Yuri has found more than a coach; he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s found a personal cheerleader, someone who believes in him and wants him to win. To have someone in your corner like that can be transformative, and I want Yuri to realize that Victor really does want the best for him.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

AND ALSO TO KISS. THAT AS WELL.<\/p>\n

So, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m nervous about all these qualifying competitions, but with Victor and<\/i> his new piece ready for him, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for a new Yuri to emerge.<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Like Yourself\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 And Complete the Free Program!!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can be downloaded here for $0.99.<\/p>\n

Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n

– My YA contemporary debut, ANGER IS A GIFT<\/a>, is now available for pre-order!\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong>If you’d like to stay up-to-date on all announcements regarding my books, sign up for my newsletter<\/a>! DO IT.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"