The other reason Yurio won the Grand Prix Final
There were a lot of things about Yurio that I hated along the way, but I never hated him. In episode 3 I was legitimately disappointed to see him go, and I think it’s because he wasn’t just full of bluster. His confidence was strangely quiet, and there was clearly a lot of effort behind his determination. That’s far more than I can say for myself. I admired that.
He is also filled with a desperation that I find easy to sympathize with, and there’s a good reason for it.
Viktor, who has been hogging the podium for years, is suddenly absent. Yuuri, who Yurio believes is skilled enough to dominate, is on the verge of gaining the necessary self-confidence to finally pull it off. And Yurio has advanced to the senior division just in time. He thinks that if he doesn’t win it now, now, very now, then he never will.
Yurio thinks this is his only opportunity to be truly competitive with his strengths.
He likely first became conscious of Yuuri because they share the same name, but by series start Yurio already looks to him for inspiration in a kind of artistic arms race. It’s why he got so angry when we first meet him—he felt personally betrayed that this “Yuri” didn’t perform at his best. We also see that Viktor mentioning Yuuri’s retirement just before Yurio’s free skate lit a fire under him, and pushed him to perfection in order to goad Yuuri into returning.
So then we know he’s so good that he will win simply by deciding to spite someone. First of all, goddamn.
Otabek thinks back to meeting Yurio when he says he can’t do what the other skaters can, hinting that ballet has always been Yurio’s core strength as a skater. Otabek will have a long career by virture of his physical prowess, the fact that he threw his weight behind raw athleticism, something that can be maintained regardless of age.
The other side of that coin is that Yurio feels his own time as a skater is shorter than others.
If I remember anything from watching Plushenko at Salt Lake City all those years ago, this is not something most male figure skaters can do. Yurio knows that, and that as he ages his natural grace—the thing his skating is (for now) inextricably linked with—will wane.
He may rarely be the perspective character, but make no mistake, 4 is a Yurio episode. Just because Yuuri is the one speaking doesn’t mean Yurio isn’t also thinking it.
And the cut that immediately follows?
And at this point Yurio has already said exactly what he thinks of himself.
This line is everything that drives Yurio. It explains his aggression, his forward determination, and why he is initially so repulsed by agape. He does not want to admit to his own vulnerability.
(Which I have passionately posited as something Viktor himself desperately needs. Watch that episode again and you’ll see how hard Viktor whiffs when Yurio challenges him to describe his own agape.)
Yurio prefers only to fight, rather than face his fears and failings. It’s why we see him push so hard in his Rostelecom free program:
and why he continually adds elements (like raising his arms) to up his points. He is desperate.
He effectively loses his mentor at the Onsen on Ice competition, and at this point there is no one in his corner full-time. But he walks away emboldened.
… because I’ve always been fighting alone anyway. While Yuuri draws power from the support of those around him (and there are many), Yurio feels he has had only himself to depend on. The cinematography seems to support his opinion.
It’s no coincidence that, wise coach that he is, Yakov reaches out to his ex to help give Yurio the extra push he needs to make something of his extant talents. And from the moment he meets Lilia, Yurio is all in.
This isn’t something he even needs to consider. She’s just put words to what he was already feeling.
As we’ve learned from Yuuri, one’s own opinion of oneself is not usually the most accurate. So whether or not his skills really do diminish from here on, by the end of the series he seems to have a new resolve to fight as long as he can. All because Yuuri fulfilled his end of the arms race bargain and beat Viktor’s other world record.
And you can’t throw shade on someone for that if you do the same yourself. So he even avoids hypocrisy.
And whether or not Yurio believes it himself, his coaches believe he has become more than just a ballet dancer.
So there’s hope that he will remain competitive by continuing to evolve and broadening his strengths.
TL;DR Yurio (knowingly) nearly killed himself for those scores. He earned the shit out of that win and his talent and potential are terrifying.
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