#anyway mappa are absolute losers for cancelling this show. S2 would have simply been too powerful for this world

[anodymalion]

I just rewatched Yuri on Ice, because, you know (rip). Maybe because this time I could watch it all in one go instead of waiting week by week for new episodes, but: wow there is so much more I noticed this time around in the progression of Yuri's skating program through the series.

So up until the final episode, the arc of Yuri's program is about him embodying the idea that he's selfishly seducing Victor away from the world of skating. It's pretty clearly done out of defense - he feels insecure about Victor quitting to become his coach, and the other characters are very vocal about criticizing him for taking Victor out of the competition (some jokingly, some very much not). To get through it, he has to use the strategy of turning the thing that people hate about you into your armor so they can't hurt you with it anymore.

But - this changes at the Grand Prix Final. He's struggling with watching Victor interact with this world that Victor so clearly belongs in, wondering if he's preventing Victor from living the life he wants. And Yuri is not really that selfish of a person, despite him having spent an entire season trying to convince himself that he is. So he decides he's going to leave skating forever and set Victor free.

And ooooof watching his final free skate after this hits so hard. Like: this is Yuri getting on the ice for what he believes will be the very last time, skating a program about letting both Victor and the world of figure skating go. But it's different now, because unlike the last time he wanted to quit, this time he's not leaving out of insecurity or fear, but out of love - out of wanting to watch the people you love be the best they can be, even if that means they have to leave you behind.

and then they choose to stay together anyway because they both realize that "being the best they can be" is when they are around each other. ohhhhohhohhhhhhh my god I'm gonna cry