{"id":6880,"date":"2018-06-25T13:00:51","date_gmt":"2018-06-25T20:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=6880"},"modified":"2018-06-11T16:31:42","modified_gmt":"2018-06-11T23:31:42","slug":"mark-watches-yuri-on-ice-s01e11-skate-11-gotta-super-supercharge-it-grand-prix-final-short-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2018\/06\/mark-watches-yuri-on-ice-s01e11-skate-11-gotta-super-supercharge-it-grand-prix-final-short-program\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Yuri On Ice’: S01E11 – Skate 11 – Gotta Super-Supercharge It!! Grand Prix Final Short Program"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the eleventh and penultimate episode of the first season of Yuri On Ice<\/i>, the short program begins. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch Yuri On Ice<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Victor\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

kisses<\/p>\n

Yuri\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

ring.<\/p>\n

HE KISSED THE RING BEFORE YURI WENT OUT ON THE ICE. Do I need anything more? (Actually\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 yes.) Could I ever want anything more? (Okay\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 yeah, lots more.) WHO ALLOWED THIS.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all about love. For Victor, for Yuri, for the artistry of the sport. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s literally<\/i> what this episode is about, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s practically impossible to divorce this meaning from \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Skate 11.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Without the love these two feel for one another and for the sport, this doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t happen<\/i>. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s there. IT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S EVERYWHERE. And I truly can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t believe this sometimes because I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m so used to being teased by this kind of narrative, and yet Yuri On Ice<\/i> is like a rainbow waterfall, cascading the gay all over me, and I AM A THIRSTY MOTHERFUCKER.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

h e l p<\/p>\n

Yuri<\/b><\/p>\n

So, Yuri winning gold is not impossible<\/i> at this point, but his free skate has to be out of this world in comparison to the other competitors. I think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s important, though, to note just how incredible he was during this performance. Yes, his hand touched the ice, but all I could think about is how the Yuri at the start<\/i> of this show would have never attempted a quadruple jump in competition. Certainly not like this! Even though Victor\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s attention was on the other skaters, I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t ignore that he smiled<\/i> when Yuri finished. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s undeniable that Yuri has found a confidence he never had before, that he thought impossible, that has transformed his entire life. Of course, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hard to recognize that when you score as Yuri has. All he can obsess over is his mistake and the chance that he may have blown the gold medal right from the start.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so much more than that. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s grown more than any other skater, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m just so happy for him.<\/p>\n

Phichit<\/b><\/p>\n

I really can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t fathom what the second season of this show will look like, but one thing I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d like to see more of are the vignettes we get of these skaters\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 lives. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re stylized as flashbacks, but they add a gorgeous texture to the competitions. Phichit isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t just skating to win; his flashback reveals that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fulfilling a long-held dream of skating to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Shall We Skate?,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d making him the first Thai skater to perform to that piece. WHICH IS SO MEANINGFUL, Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ALL. So even if he doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get a medal, he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s already won in his heart. And he did it with Yuri by his side! AH, THIS IS A LOT TO DEAL WITH.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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

I admit to being surprised. (Not as surprised as I was by JJ, but we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll get there.) I assumed that Yuri would perform well, but I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t ignore how much he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s improved as well. It truly felt like all the work he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d done in practice with Yakov and Lilia culminated in a flawless performance, one so intensely difficult that even Yurio\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s coaches couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t believe what they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d seen before their eyes. But he did it. He pulled off something that was better than anything Victor had done before<\/i>. Seriously, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s that moment where Yakov flashes back to the image of Victor as Yurio skates, and it was DAMNING. Yuri skated better<\/i> than Victor. Given what Yurio has said over the course of this season, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s clear this is what he always wanted. Now, he doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have the gold medal yet, but he wanted to best Victor. And he did it! He set the world record in the short program.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not enough. Yurio needs to have it all<\/i>. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s certainly behaving like he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s already won, and that makes me think that in the end, he isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t going to get what he wants. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s too<\/i> arrogant about it all already, and this could easily go another way.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122M SCARED.<\/p>\n

Chris<\/b><\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also fascinating to me how many of these characters revolve their own lives around Victor. Chris in particular viewed Victor as someone who complimented his own career. Yet his internal monologue contains a surprising admission: he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been bored<\/i> without Victor to compete against. Couple that with his statement about his age and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s clear that he doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t plan on doing this for much longer. Hell, this might be his final competition ever<\/i>. Does that produce a fiery performance? Somewhat, but in comparison to Yurio and Phichit, I just felt like the guy had given up.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Otabek<\/b><\/p>\n

That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s even more the case when you compare Chris\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s program to Otabek\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s, who chooses to eschew the notion that there is only one way to skate. Instead, he does what he wants and what he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s good at, and it makes his program feel exciting<\/i>. I was so thrilled by him, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all! Part of it is because he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so intense while he skates. There doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t seem to be any joy on his face or his skating, but there is<\/i> a whole lot of determination. He was so FOCUSED, you know?<\/p>\n

But is it enough to win<\/i>? I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think so.<\/p>\n

JJ<\/b><\/p>\n

But the upset of the entire episode comes from JJ, whose confidence and talent gives way to a shocking result: he bends under pressure. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the first time that his internal monologue doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t revolve around his bizarre third person view of himself. Instead, all the expectations that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s set for himself or others have assigned to him pile up in his mind. He promised to get married after he won gold; he told the entire world that he was going to be on top; his fans are anticipating another perfect performance.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And he gives them none of that. He doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t fall, but he underperforms every jump, and Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ALL, I WAS NOT READY FOR THIS PLOT TWIST. I assumed JJ would do something ridiculous to get a higher score than Yurio, but I absolutely was not prepared for him to have the lowest<\/i> score out of everyone. While I still don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t feel entirely in love with him\u00e2\u20ac\u201dseriously, drop the third person thing\u00e2\u20ac\u201dI did appreciate that even though he didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t perform as he wanted to, he returned his love to his fans. That was a nice touch.<\/p>\n

The End<\/b><\/p>\n

This went by SO FAST, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, and there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s only one episode left? Yuri has a immensely difficult challenge ahead of him, so I was stressed enough thinking about that. However, you better believe I am VERY upset over his final request in this episode: that Victor end his coaching of him after the Grand Prix, no matter the result. WHAT? WHAT<\/i>? BUT Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ALL JUST DID YOUR LITTLE VOWS AND IT WAS CUTE AND I DON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T WANT YOU TWO TO EVER SEPARATE WHY MUST YOU HURT ME IN THIS WAY<\/b>.<\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m scared.<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Skate 11 – Gotta Super-Supercharge It!! Grand Prix Final Short Program\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can be downloaded here for $0.99<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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

– My YA contemporary debut, ANGER IS A GIFT<\/a>, is now out in the world!\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":"