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morganas-pendragons · 4 years

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Best Carol/Melissa Episodes

So I got bored in Quarantine and I was so moved by Look At The Flowers that I decided to make this list of the best episodes that either feature Carol/Melissa as a lead or she plays a large part in them. I haven’t seen S1-2 since like... 2014 as they’re my least favorite (i know i’m sorry but i did include honorable mentions) but I’m so freaking proud that I couldn’t not make this list. Here we go! Feel free to add to them! ** means they’re my favorite performances of Melissa! I do mention some scenes that are also with Norman/Daryl as he is a LARGE part of who Carol is. If you think it’s ‘’shippy’’ which it might be, don't read it. I worked on this for almost two hours.

season 1

- for real, what woman keeps a grenade on hand? That was it. That was where I started paying attention to her.

- also, the scene where she digs the pickaxe into Ed’s head? I think Daryl and I both fell for her then.

season 2

- the honorable mention!! the barn scene in which carol learns the fate of her daughter. I don’t remember most of s2, but this one I do. I think this might’ve been the first point in the show where I was like, “Hey Google, how to protect someone who isn’t real.’’

season 3

- walk with me: We get to see how Carol has changed during her time on the road after the farm and how much she’s learned. This is also, unfortunately, the last time we see her for a couple episodes until Daryl finds her in the cells below.

- hounded: daryl finds carol. It’s sweet, it’s warm and soft and there’s alot of reunions and alot of mourning over T-Dog and Lori.

season 4

- Carol has become a leader in her own right for this season. She teaches the kids how to defend themselves during the ruse of a story time and takes on Lizzie and Mika as her own after Ryan is bit.

- indifference: After killing Karen and David to stop the spread out a virus, Rick takes it into his own hands to banish Carol. This one hurts too because it’s quite obvious why she did it. She did it to protect herself and the people she loves, but sometimes that’s just not enough.

- the grove: emmy emmy emmy emmy material. Holy crap, I CANNOT stress this enough! This is the make or break episode for Carol as a character. There’s beauty and devastation and anguish all wrapped up into 45 minutes. This should’ve made Melissa well known. This should’ve won her multiple awards, and it didn’t. But we know. We know.

season 5

- sanctuary: this one goes down in history for multiple reasons, and most of us know them. 1.) Caryl reunions galore. Even if you don’t ship it, that moment is so, so sweet. 2.) If it weren’t for Carol, your fave would be dead. That’s literally it.

- consumed: OOF. Really.

- The back half of season 5 after the arrival at Alexandria is hilarious to me. Because these people are so sheltered from the darkness and the cruelty of the outside world that Carol takes on their own persona to blend in with them, to know the naivety of these people and to hide easily among them to get what she needs. This is also how she befriends Sam, who probably reminds her of Sophia which is why she’s so cruel to him.

season 6

- jss**: ‘’Miss Peletier, you are an honest to goodness hero.” No. Freaking. Way. I remember watching this episode and rocking back and forth on my heels in anticipation because up until this point, I think this might’ve been one of the bloodiest moments in the show - and right in the center of it all is Carol - who is now of the mindset that, ‘’hey, we need to kill, we don’t have a choice.’’ and she portrays the internal struggle behind all of this so, so well. The scene with Melissa holding the body on the stairs was what won me over for this episode. It’s very much a merciless 45 minutes.

- no way out: Carol is not a lead in this episode, but Melissa is very heavily influenced between this one and the previous because of her confrontation with Morgan. I remember how angry that made me, having to watch him bodyslam her (a former domestic abuse victim) against the floor. Outside of Carol, this episode is one of my favorites in the show.

- not tomorrow yet/the same boat**: Carol moreso plays a bigger part in the latter as opposed to the former, but these two episodes really showcase two things: Her heart to protect her family (IE: A now pregnant Maggie) and her deteriorating mental state. Outside of The Grove, I think this is one of Melissa’s most powerful performances. it’s also the only female led ep in the show

- east**: I cried the first time I watched this. Carol vs The Saviors, #2. This episode breaks between Morgan and Rick going out to look for her (HENCE ONE OF MY ALL TIME FAVORITE QUOTES ABOUT CAROL: “That woman, she’s a force of nature.) I don’t think I really understood the power behind the eyes in the midst of television until I saw this episode. I can’t find the gif, but I’m sure most of you who’re reading this know what I’m talking about.

- last day on earth**: again this episode shifts between perspectives as TF is trying to get Maggie to Hilltop for her pregnancy complication, but Melissa is stellar here. Carol doesn’t want to love because if she loves, she has to kill, and she attempts to manipulate one of the survivors from the massacre into doing what she can’t: taking her own life. She just wants to go, and Morgan won’t let her. This one is a bit darker, and the episode as a whole is not my favorite, but it’s definitely up there in my favorite performances for Melissa.

season 7

- the well: if there was ever an episode that would show you that Melissa aces comedy, it was this one. This is meant to be an introductory to The Kingdom, but the hilarity behind the way Carol talks to Ezekiel is so entertaining. It’s kind of hard to believe she ends up marrying the man (we’re not going into shipper discourse here, friends) but this one also shows you something through Carol’s eyes: The differences between people and walkers and her desire not to kill. She wants to hide, and she does.

- new best friends: Daryl lies to Carol about what happened in the clearing with Negan. This one is so so heartfelt. It’s deeply intimate. It showcases two people who’d move heaven and earth to ensure the safety of the other, both physical and mental and emotional. Norman and Melissa aced this. I can’t say it more simply then that.

- bury me here**: I love love love love love this episode. The entire thing is a metaphor, but I love it anyway. If I remember right, this is also the one where Morgan tells Carol about Glenn and Abraham. Remember what I said about the power behind a look? This is another instance in which Melissa shows she is the master of this.

- carol spends alot of the time at the kingdom for the rest of the season and i cannot really remember any more memorable performances for this garbage, as they took my fave and reduced her to a side character for this and most of s8.

season 8

- the only performance i will give any credit to in this season is 8x04, which is Some Guy. I barely remember the rest of it. Minus the moment where she finally saves a kid - Henry - instead of losing one. And a heartbreaking moment between her and Morgan that I also barely remember. Case in point, S8 was and still is garbage.

season 9

- 9x01-9x05 all have Carol in them because whenever Angela Kang took over the show, she had the brilliant idea to actually use her lead women as leads. Season 9 feels like an eternity ago and I can’t remember if she took over before or after AL signed off, but my point remains. Between Carol’s loyalty to Ezekiel because of Henry, (who she has now taken as her son), and their marriage, and her short stint as the leader of the Sanctuary as Negan is in confinement, there’s something in Carol here we haven’t seen in years. It’s something akin to peace, or as close as she’s gonna get to it. 9x03 and 9x04 (particularly the conversation b/t Rick and Carol) are my favorite of this cluster for her.

- I almost dropped off after 9x05. I thought that was it, I thought that was gonna be where I ended. Nope. This woman - AK- took this show and made it what it had been and I’ll never be able to thank her enough for it.

- Who Are You Now: I only remember this one because of the scene where Carol and Henry are in the carriage - side note: I really need to go back and rewatch this season again - but one of the things that caught my attention about the after of the bridge was how the relationships b/t parent and child are approached as significant. They’re not the future. The adults are building for the future of the kids. Michonne/Judith, Ezekiel/Henry and Carol/Henry. It’s sweet. Very sweet.

- Stradivarius: this is a very Caryl heavy episode, but we find out something here: Even with being married to Ezekiel, Carol has still gone out to see Daryl where he resides by the same river that took Rick. Henry sees the relationship between him and his mother. It’s as obvious as the nose on your face. This one is just adorable. I love it.

- The Calm Before**: Ow. OW OW OW OW OW. You want more pain? Here you go! Carol faces the dark truth as she crests the hill that holds her worst nightmare: Henry has died. She’s lost another kid. You wanna restrain yourself from breaking through the TV to comfort Carol for the umpteenth time as she breaks? Cool. That’s what you get here.

- The Storm**: Split apart by the death of Henry, Carol and Ezekiel no longer remain married. She gives up that fairytale - one of the happiest she’d ever had - and begins wallowing in her suffering over the loss of her son. Heartbreak and grief do not come easily to her. They never have. Can you imagine being suffocated by things you’ve never talked about? Can you imagine having to live every day with your grief? Well, look here... that’s exactly what Carol does, and you want to know who her guiding force is?

It’s Daryl.

season 10

- I remember when Season 10 aired, I watched the first episode in Kenya and loved it. I’d heard something about how PTSD was a BIG factor in the progression of the story throughout this season, and as someone who wants to go into mental health counseling, I was so intrigued by this that every single episode kept my eyes glued to the TV. Carol is the lead female now besides Michonne, but I’m gonna tell you every single favorite episode of mine anyway.

- Ghosts: Carol makes a mistake and fires at Alpha when they meet her at the border. She wears a mask that’s so composed it’s almost hard to see the heartbreak beneath it, and that’s the point. She’s not considering her life. She’s considering vengeance for the life that was taken. This is a constant circle for her. Alot of people are tired of this arc and I get it, I do. But the difference between this one and the three seasons previous is that we’re meant to get to a resolution now. This episode broke my heart. Especially the last scene in the gym.

- Bonds: Another Caryl heavy episode. I love this one. It’s very lighthearted compared to the rest of the season.

- Open Your Eyes**: This one is utterly terrifying and eerily reminiscent of the one in S2 where Daryl interrogates Randall. Carol, having just brought back a Whisperer from her escapade with Daryl, interrogates him to find out the location of Alpha’s horde without any real consideration for the people around her. She also uses Lydia for her own personal gain, and I’m not gonna lie - Even though this one is one of my favorites because of Avi Nash (WHO WAS SUCH A GOOD ADDITION TO THE SHOW I LOVED HIM AS SIDDIQ) This episode made me so angry because of Carol’s motives.

- The World Before**: And when I said I was angry, this episode turned it all into heartbreak. This one remains one of my favorite of the show and of Carol for one very specific reason: The scene in the woods between her and Daryl.

As someone who has never done grieving well, this scene hit me so. hard. She’s so set on this path of vengeance and blood that she’s neglecting a very real truth that she has never done well: talking about her burdens, talking about the pain and if she does that, if she acknowledges it, then she will hurt.

- Squeeze: I don’t have to talk about this. I just have to show you.

Ow. Please, please let her heal. I’m so tired of seeing her hurt.

- 10x11 and 10x12 don’t really have Carol, and neither does 10x13, but she’s there. We see her a couple of times, we have a conversation or two. Let me get to the penultimate moment. One we’ve waited for years to see and which next week will give us the rest of.

- LOOK AT THE FLOWERS*****: You can be a Carol fan for five minutes or five years and still somehow managed to love her MORE after watching this one. There’s a couple reasons why this one is probably in my top 3 for both Melissa and Carol as a whole.

1. I have waited years to see Negan meet Carol. JDM has made it very clear how he feels about MMB and I knew, I knew, that once this interaction happened I would not be disappointed. I should’ve realized she was the one who let Negan out, but I didn’t. That entire first scene is gold.

2. This entire episode is just.. art. The fact that Carol’s darker side takes the form of the being of her hatred - Alpha - is fitting, and it’s also the first time we’ve really gotten an actual dialogue about multiple things that have formed her character for the last several seasons: The Grove, the loss of Sophia, Ed... It’s heartbreaking to see because she keeps telling herself pushing people away is better, it’s better to be alone because there’s no one to burden, and the darker side of her asks a very simple question: What do you want?

Her answer is clear, at least to her. I want to be alone. But the fact that the darker part of her, the one that keeps calling out on Connie, doesn’t agree. No. There’s something deeper. Something she’s too afraid to acknowledge.

3. That whole final scene. Wow. I’ve watched it like four times because Samantha Morton is just so good as Alpha, as Carol’s dark counterpart, trying to mock and taunt her into doing the one thing she never was able to do herself: Dying. This episode is dark because of this realization. “Look at the flowers’’ is akin to ‘’It’ll all be over soon.” but instead of choosing death, instead of choosing the one thing that would let it be over, she chooses life. She essentially chooses to fight for herself which she has not done in YEARS. The minute she acknowledges that it’s never too late (FOR WHAT?? HM??) the demons disappear. I think that this point into 10x15 will give us two things that every Carol fan is desperate for: Healing for Carol (FINALLY!), and a resolution to this endless arc of suffering.

Also... Why do we think that Daryl is the one who ends up welcoming her home? Why is he the one who opens the gate?

Long story short: I love this character. I love Melissa McBride as she is one of the most down-to-earth, humble and compassionate actresses in Hollywood. It’s a shame she’s not gonna be recognized by The Academy because if ever there was an actor/actress on this show to win, it’d be her.

#Carol Peletier #Melissa McBride #The Walking Dead #TWD #twd spoilers #messing up my own tagging system just to prove my point

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jq37 · 4 years

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The Report Card – Fantasy High Sophomore Year Ep 7

Moms, Meltdowns, and Mayhem

Hello and welcome back to Fabian’s worst nightmare, already in progress!

We rejoin the Bad Kids who have linked back up the next day and are on their way to the library of the city Leviathan--The Compass Point Library. On the way there, they see the Crow’s Keep burning but Fabian, assuming it has to do with what happened to him, tells everyone to leave it alone.

Adaine questions why Riz hasn’t had any nightmares (Riz: In a way, my life is a nightmare) and the whole group goes into another round of Shadowcat speculation. Is she protecting Riz from nightmares for some reason? Why can Tracker and Garthy suddenly see her in the picture despite not having seen her irl or had any weird dreams? Is she masquerading as someone else?

Anyway, they reach the library which is the cool, cobbled together and largely stolen (to Fig’s delight) pirate-y library of Alexandria type place. They meet an old pirate wizard named Rollins with a book of pirate spells that Fig immediately wants to steal and Adaine wants to borrow (or steal, she’s flexible). They all sign up for Compass Point library cards and go up to the observatory to look for Ayda Aguefort.

In the observatory, they find a huge orange-yellow bird on a perch and this is the part of the recap where I have to inform you that Aguefort had not only banged a phoenix, he somehow managed to procreate with it. Meet Ayda Aguefort, the half-phoenix (shout-out to the anon from last week who called Ayda as Aguefort’s daughter). She’s got wings and arms, bird legs, a plume of red fiery hair, and eyes which are basically just fire.

Fig thinks she’s the creature Aguefort made for her for reasons I cannot begin to fathom. She tries to feed her but Ayda rejects the food, not wishing to be in anyone’s debt. Ayda is kind of intense, abrupt, and anti-social when they meet her. She’s fully is about to fly away instead of helping until Fabian yells that Garthy sent them and Adaine remembers she has the letter from Garthy asking her to help them. After some back and forth, she agrees to give Adaine the spell (which will take 6 hours to learn) for 150 gold. But these are the Bad Kids so, of course, we have several tangents before the plot goes anywhere, during which we learn Ayda is a divination wizard (like Adaine), she asks if her father has talked about her (Fig successfully lies that he has), and Gorgug spouts out some fortune cookie nonsense (“What is a telescope but a spyglass pointed at the stars?”) that convinces Ayda that he could be the greatest wizard of their age (Adaine does a spit take and Fig is loving it).

Adaine hits the books to learn the sending spell with Sandra-Lynn keeping watch while everyone else splits up suchly:

Fabian wants to go out to check on the Hangman but Kristen absolutely vetoes that. Buddy. System. Ragh agrees to go with him and she lays off. He tries to see what the damage on the Hangman is. Nat 1. As far as Fabian can tell, the Hangman is full dead. Not only that, Fabian is poor people sick which he isn’t used to at all. Ragh isn’t doing much better on the emotional front. He just started making progress with processing his emotions and now his mom might be dead. Saddest Hoot Growl ever (seriously, it’s heartbreaking). Cathilda comes in, loving as ever, with food and kind words and an old lullaby, but that’s not enough to stop Fabian from rolling another Nat 1 and gaining 2 levels of exhaustion (which means disadvantage on ability checks and speed halved). Lou, please burn those dice.

Kristen and Riz are researching the Nightmare King. They go into a religious studies section of the library and (on a 20+ check from Riz) find texts about a temple to a forgotten god in Sylvere (the forest of the Nightmare King). The god is never named in any of the texts which Kristen finds weird. Riz decides to steal the book and is able to do it, despite Kristen’s “help”. Later, Kristen cross-refs Riz’s info with her world religions book and, on a dirty 20, she finds with frustration that there’s a lot of information but none of it really matches up. The fairies, treants, and especially the unicorns all had mysterious deities but none of them really match with the forgotten god. [Note: Last time we heard about unicorns was in episode one and we learned that the last time people saw the great unicorn was the last time the NK showed up.] At the same time, it seems like there are elements of the god in all five of the cultures in the forest. Adaine checks and there’s nothing magic with the book so it’s just the contents of the book that are weird, not the book itself. Kristen thinks there might be a connection to her weird dream about not being able to draw the face of her god. Adaine wonders if Kristen might have been worshipping this unnamed god by mistake. Gorgug wonders if the god is erasing themselves (a theory backed up late when they talk to Aguefort).

Fig looks for information on cursed gems and (with a 19) she finds a good amount--no surprise in a pirate library. She finds a book called Breaking the Evil Eye in one of the forbidden sections and learns that it could be possible to planeshift into the gem, dispel magic from the inside and get rid of the trap, before breaking the original curse. She finds all of this out after she steals the book (disguised as Rollins). Planeshift is a level 7 spell though so Adaine has a while to go before she can learn it (she gets her first at level 13).

Gorgug asks the real Rollins for books about cheering up a friend. He’s brought to a small, dusty section of the library. Gorgug rolls a nat 1 on an insight check and thinks that Rollins must be messing with him. Rollins is confused because he super wasn’t. Adaine takes a break and uses this pointless argument borne from misunderstanding to steal his book. Dirty 20. Rollins instantly skelatizes. She hastily puts the book back. He comes back Wrong and in incredible pain. He begs them to take the book out and Gorgug does. Adaine peaces out to finish studying, leaving Gorgug to deal with her mess. Gorgug decides to keep looking at the friendship books. Even on a 5, he finds a secret door into a HUGE friendship library. Guided by his library card, Gorgug finds a book called Cheer Up Me Hearties. When he gets out, Gilear is being accosted for killing Rollins, but Gorgug is able to get them to stand down. Gorgug Thistlespring, winning pirate hearts and minds. They take the book and Rollins’ bones to get him put back together.

Adaine finishes up as Ayda comes to check on her. Ayda is about to make another quick exit but Adaine tries again to make friends with Ayda, this time by directly asking and offering to let her hold Boggy. Ayda is immediately obsessed with Boggy (and Adaine’s backpack terrarium AND the backpack she makes for him at Ayda’s suggestion) and extremely impressed with Adaine’s spellwork in manifesting Boggy. It’s a very cute scene and Adaine has made a useful ally. Ayda can’t believe she met the two greatest wizards of the age in one day. Wild.

Everyone regroups to call Aguefort now that Adaine knows Sending. He sends them back some more powerful magic so he can talk for longer than the 25 word response. Think of it as magic Skype. He very casually tells them that Ragh’s house is a smoking crater and his mom is super dead. He takes far too long to follow up with the information that, a long time ago, he hid Lydia’s real body under the school, made a clone of her, and used the Magic Jar spell to basically hook up her consciousness to the clone body (which held a fake demon shard). The clone body is what got destroyed. Lydia’s real body and consciousness are fine. Way to bury the lede dude! Upon being asked, Arthur says that he used to remember the name of the god of the unicorn but he forgot. Suspicious and troubling. He and Fig also renew discussions on the creature she ordered but never paid for. He says the cheapest option is a pentacorn for 30k gold (which sounds like a unicorn w/ 5 horns and pretty useless but I refuse to get dragged into this insanity, I am just the messenger here).

Aguefort leaves to deal with the situation at home. Meanwhile, Gorgug notices smoke again but he also notices that it’s on the wrong side to be related to what happened to Fabian. After giving Fabian and Ragh oranges to prevent scurvy--a tip from the pirate friendship book--he brings it up to Fabian who thinks it’s probably Captain Wicklaw making a power play and they should probably stay out of it. What? says Adaine. Nah, we should fight him. Yeah, says Fig. You deserve revenge! Fabian just wants to lay low so they can get their C+. Adaine is not here for that C+ and she’s not here for Fabian’s concerning attitude shift. None of the Bad Kids are. However, the cast is very here for absolutely roasting Lou for all of his choices by having their respective characters inadvertently reference every bad thing that happened last episode. When Adaine suggests that Fabian might be cursed, Fabian finally haltingly comes out with the entire story (which Lou has to laugh-cry himself through in one of the best scenes of the episode) and everyone interjects with comments that they (out of character) know will just make Fabian’s storytelling even more uncomfortable. It’s a very wild combination of very emotional (in game) but deeply funny (out of game). Like:

Ally (who knows good and well that Chungledown Bim told Fabian he was gonna shit in his mouth): Did Chungledown Bim help you?

Zac (who also knows good and well that Chungledown Bim told Fabian he was gonna shit in his mouth): Chungledown Bim probably saved you.

Murph (yet another person who knows good and well that ChungledownBim told Fabian he was gonna shit in his mouth) You know what we should do? We should go see Chungledown Bim.

Amazing.

Fabian finishes his recounting of the 20 car pile-up that was last episode by repeating his earlier opinion that they shouldn’t go after Captain Wicklaw because it will just end with all of them dead. Kristen tries to slap him back to normal and tells him to lose the Gilear energy. Led by Gorgug and Adaine, the gang tells Fabian that being Bill Secaster’s son isn’t the only worthwhile thing about him (in fact, it’s pretty annoying). He’s worthwhile all on his own. Tracker chimes in and says that she thinks Fabian might have some issues with depression so maybe their well intentioned efforts to get Fabian to buck up weren’t the best way to handle things. Adaine and Riz are skeptical that Fabian is like, capital D, Depressed but Tracker sticks by her read on the situation. The group eventually decides to at least check out what’s going on with the smoke but before they arrive, an interlude:

As they walk to Crow’s Keep, Cathilda walks with Fabian and Cathilda starts dropping information about herself and about how her own children died before Fabian was born and about how she sees him as a son--though she’s tried to keep the proper professional distance. She comforts Fabian on his bad day and then her eyes go full Terminator and she mentally buts Wicklaw on her “People I Need to Murder Today” list (more on this later).

When they arrive at the place where the smoke is coming from, they find that the Ramble (kind of a pirate meetinghouse/Courthouse) has been burned down. Jemina Joy is there and she lets them know that Wicklaw asked what was necessary to become the new pirate king. He was told that all he needed to do was get the crown from the former pirate king (because respect for/fear of Bill was the only thing keeping there from being a new king). He just burned down the Ramble to be a dick. Adaine damn near gets her ass beat by Jemina by arguing politics with her (her point being that she wants to install Jemina as Pirate Queen while Jemina is like, “I just keep this place from sinking. Lay off.”) but Riz, mindful of the fact that this is a time sensitive situation, takes off to Gibbety Square where the pirate king’s crown is (and where Wicklaw is headed).

They make it to Brennan’s latest battle mechanic: The Row and the Ruction.

This is the crazy, pirate bicameral legislative system. The Row is a huge fistfight (no weapons allowed--or really they are allowed but everyone will gang up on you if you use them) at ground level. It’s always in session and has been for 150-ish years. Above that, is the Ruction which is a fight with full weapon and magic usage alone. The idea is that you need enough support on the ground in the Row so you can use them to get up in the Ruction. It’s a king of the hill situation up there and if you can hold your position up there for long enough, you can make laws. Got all that? Good.

They get there just barely after Wicklaw and his men who haven’t yet entered the Row. Wicklaw starts talking mad trash to Fabian but his friends back him up. They give him back his sword, his eye-patch, and Kristen hits him with a Warding Bond (which means that he gets +1 to AC and saving throws if he stays close to her plus resistance to all damage and, more importantly, she takes all the damage he takes). Fig gives everyone Countercharm. And, to top it off, Cathilda shows up with in an all black, super-badass pirate uniform to say she’s gonna feed him his own freaking brains! Let’s goooooooo!

But, Wicklaw has some new allies as well. Three elves bamf in from Falinel (same people who Kristen felt scrying on them earlier) and they’re there to bring Adaine back, and it doesn’t seem like they’re gonna just ask nicely.

Detention

Adaine for Unnecessary Theft and (Accidentally) Killing a Man

Adaine was kind of on one this episode. Not only did she inadvertently kill* a man while stealing from him, Adaine also ghosted at the first sign of trouble, leaving Gorgug and Gilear to catch all the flak for her attempt at pulling a Fig. Bad form, girl!

*She probably didn’t technically kill him but she turned him into a skeleton and he called the pain upon reconstitution worse than death so let’s not quibble about the details.

Honor Roll

Cathilda for Being a Badass Mom

Oh man, oh man, oh man.

I’ve low-key been waiting for Cathilda to go full pirate since we learned that was an option and especially since Fabian got attacked because it was a pretty safe bet that was going to be her berserk button and boy did she deliver.

When did she have the time for a costume change? Is she that stealthy? Did she magic it on? Or did she just manifest the outfit on the power of her rage alone?

The scene where she says Wicklaw is gonna pay? Chills. Not only pledging to eat your enemy’s brains but also saying you’re going to feed him his own brains and describing exactly how you’ll serve it? So raw.

But I also have to shout out the non-murderous mom stuff she did this ep. The little talk she gave Fabian about no one being defined by their worst day was very sweet and good advice out of game too.

But honorable mention to Gorgug for being an absolute sweetheart all episode. Zac’s improv about pirates giving their friends oranges to prevent scurvy bodied me.

Random Thoughts

Some very useful posts from @jamiebluewind: Character Descriptions, Location Descriptions, Transcripts of Cathilda’s speeches from this ep.

During the initial discussion with Collins, we learn that the transmutation exchange rate is 50 Parrots=10 Bananas=1 Gold. How are bananas more complex than parrots?

Adaine: May we steal books?

Her later actions aside, I think it’s funny that Adaine’s first move is basically always to sweetly ask for what she wants and Fig’s first move is, “Gotta steal that book!” Adaine is like the most polite person in the group but also ready to fight 100% of the time. The role reversal in the Jemina scene where Fig was the one who asked an on point question and Adaine was the one who made it almost spiral into an actual fight was great.

I was just saying this re: Harry Potter in a different context but clearly marked but not blocked off forbidden sections of libraries are more a dare than a deterrent.

Fig as a horned parrot (done by Rollins for trying to steal his book) is adorable. Please somebody draw that.

I love that when they see the bird that turns out to be Ayda and Murph is like, “I don’t think that’s a bird,” Zac is like, “Yeah, Gorgug doesn’t know that.” Zac (like Travis as Grog in CritRole) has a real talent for playing dumb while actually being really smart.

“My principal scammed me?”

Brennan truly did not have to follow through on Aguefort saying he slept with a bird. He really, really did not have to but he was like, “Nope! I said it so it’s happening! This is happening!” I really wish you guys could have seen my face as I realized in real time that the madman was actually doing that.

Adaine to Fig who thinks Ayda is her creature: This is a full person.

“I like school.”/“You would.”

Lol at Fig trying to draw parallels between Ayda’s prickliness and her own behavior and getting absolutely shut down. “I think people think you’re really tender.” The running thing of Fig’s perception of herself as this standoffish loner being constantly reality checked by literally everyone she knows being like, “You tell us you love us literally every day,” is one of my favorite group dynamics. It’s even funnier because, besides probably Adaine and Fabian, the rest of the Bad Kids probably knew Fig (or at least had seen her around) before she started going through her emo phase. So they totally remember her in 8th grade wearing preppy clothes and carrying a unicorn backpack and listening to Fantasy Taylor Swift and all that.

All ep they were calling Kalina a cat and I was thinking, “I feel like—in game—that’s gotta be offensive.” And then Aguefort straight said it. Wild for it to come from him since he’s the craziest person ever but I’m glad it came up.

“You seem simple to me.”/“Thank God.”

Aww at Ayda asking if Aguefort ever talks about her. Brennan, you gotta stop putting little emotional traps into otherwise funny scenes. I can only handle so much!

The gang did some experimentation with the photo in this ep with these results: Ayda and Aguefort both couldn’t see Kalina in the picture. They also took a picture of the picture but that picture had the same properties as the original picture. Weeping Angel rules I guess.

There’s speculation in this episode about why Riz isn’t having nightmares. I have another question kinda on that topic. In episode 2/3, we see the lie/mirror/Baron thing that happened with Riz. And that was for sure super nightmarish. But it doesn’t match what happened to Adaine and Fabian. Both of them seem to have had more ephemeral experiences that quickly vanished. And they weren’t borne from lies so much as fears. Riz’s monster came from a direct lie and it didn’t seem to be a nightmare. It came out of the mirror and attacked not only him but his friends later. No one saw Fabian or Adaine’s nightmares besides them (although, that could just be because they got away). And no other lie-monsters have showed up as far as we know. I’m just wondering if there’s maybe something else going on or if it was a different NK follower who did that or just a different power of the same dude. Just something I wanted to note because it’s been bugging me a little and no one’s brought it up yet.

Cool quirk of the sending spell Adaine learned: Because it was modified by pirates, curse words don’t count towards the 25 word limit. What I immediately thought (and what Aguefort actually ended up doing more or less) was that you could easily send very long messages with, say, Morse code. Just designate one curse as a dot, one as a dash, and one as a space, and you’re good to go. It’d be slow, but totally workable.

Also, after watching Laura as Jester absolutely flying by the seat of her pants with every sending spell, it was wild to see the group take the time to carefully craft the perfect message.

I said two recaps ago that I wouldn’t be surprised if Gorgug multiclassed into a casting class soon and boy do I hope this episode means he’s gonna do it for real. Adaine’s total disbelief at Ayda’s interest in Gorgug’s wizarding potential was sending me.

Oh also. Ayda has forbidden Gorgug from reading any wizarding books so he doesn’t lose is totally uncomplicated mind. I guess he’s supposed to learn everything the savant way? Imagine Adaine diligently studying her wizard books, trying to master some complicated spell and Gorgug is like, “I woke up and I guess I can use Mage Hand now? Neat.” Absolutely maddening.

Besides Cathilda, Gorgug was the MVP in this episode. Dude has a knack for making friends that I think will eventually pay dividends.

Also, speaking of, everything Brennan said during the secret shelf section was so good as to sound planned, however, how could you predict that that was a thing a player was going to ask to find? Brennan is just always 7 seconds of prep time away from giving an elaborate and super specifically themed speech about friendship I guess.

Big ups to Kristen for not letting Fabian go off by himself again. Like, for the sake of the party of course but also the, “We almost lost you,” was sweet. She also helped buff him going into the coming fight with Warding Bond that means she takes all the damage he takes. I am SO glad they brought another healer with them because that’s such a risky move. Kristen is a LOT but she’s also very ride or die and all heart. I really love that the last time she used this spell it was on Gilear for a joke and now it’s getting used seriously. It’s a perfect establish existence of power to audience/bring back at plot relevant time setup. Improv storytelling is so inexplicably good.

Technically, to cast Warding Bond, you’re supposed to have matching rings with the person you’re casting it on so imagine Kristen blinged out with a ring for each party member and each of them having a corresponding one in case she needs to cast it on them.

Little bit concerned that Tracker still doesn’t know about Sandra-Lynn/Garthy. The longer it takes for her to find out, the higher the chance it blows up and becomes a Thing.

Fig: *Meandering philosophical question about why Ayda watches the stars*/Ayda: I study it so I can know where this big city is floating.

RIP to the Hangman. I don’t think he’s gone for good but it seems like he is for now. On my first watch, I thought that, on a 1, Fabian just fully thinks that the Hangman is gone but, the second time it seemed more like he’s just dead. Now, I’m not Brennan, but if I was in this situation, you know what I would do? I would have someone save the Hangman’s soul (or whatever he has instead of a soul) and store it in the Hangvan temporarily. Imagine how much he’d hate that. It’s full of potential for “roommate” shenanigans.

Is there anything stopping them from just, ramming the Row with the Hangvan? Like, I know it’ll get them ganged up on, but will they be able to do much against a full van?

Also, if/when they hold the Ruction, I wonder what law they’re going to try and make. They didn’t really go in with a plan (understandable under the time pressure) so they’re really gonna have to improvise something on the fly.

Also, I’m assuming Fabian stabbed the Hangman while he was asleep? I don’t think we were ever shown that scene, but Fabian must have been under some kind of compulsion since he woke up in the river (and the same happened to Ragh).

Aguefort casually mentions that he has many children and this episode proves that Brennan can and will back up every single crazy thing that comes out of his mouth, so I’m excited to see if there is a single Aguefort out there that isn’t crazy.

Oh, also, the acknowledgement that occasionally that phoenix is a child is appreciated because that was def a question I was going to ask. Squicky to say the least but I guess that’s how phoenixes work so what are you gonna do?

Ally needing to roll a 10, rolling, being happy, checking Kristen’s modifier, and realizing it’s a negative 3 for a total of 9 is peak D&D.

Fig as Rollins: Look at how fast I can run!

I love Fig thinking Adaine could plausibly have 7 level spells. She’s like, idk bro. She’s the eleven oracle. She cares about school. She could know this too. Who knows? Certainly not Fig who thought she could buy wizard spells to use as a bard.

“Please speak more enthusiastically on my behalf.”

“It’s my brain guys.”

Fig mind controls Gilear into believing in himself and he fails his save. I wonder if this is could be valid therapy technique in this world.

Aguefort mentions that a Wish spell can destroy a Magic Jar just fyi. That makes 3 pretty high level spells mentioned in this ep. Magic Jar is 6th level. Planeshift is 7th level. And Wish, basically the strongest spell in the game, is 9th level. We’re starting to deal with some serious magical mojo.

The whole thing with people in pictures that not everyone can see and memories that you know you once had but don’t anymore and information that should exist but doesn’t is hitting a very specific storytelling sweet spot for me.

This is a little meta-gamey to be thinking about but I’m kinda wondering, why sideline Gorthalax? Obviously, it’s a good plot hook for Fig and that might be all it is. But I’m lowkey wondering is there something Gorthalax knows or can do that would solve the plot in 30 seconds if he was around? Like, was he roommates with the Nightmare King in hell or something?

Kristen finds it weird that the god’s name isn’t written anywhere but I’m sure that’s gotta be fairly common. Or at least not unheard of. Like, I know in Judaism you’re not supposed to do that. Anyway, watch the great unicorn be the Nightmare King just for the Nightmare/Night Mare pun.

Adaine being on brand no matter the situation: Everybody shut up I have to do my homework!

The, “Do you want a friend?”/“Desperately.” interaction killed me.

“I don’t have any wizard friends.”/“I’m a wizard.”/(beat)/“I don’t have any wizard friends.”

Arthur cloned a woman, forgot to tell her, and then straight forgot. So business as usual from him.

Fabian’s, “Nooooooo,” with the rising intonation every time someone made an assumption during his story and he had to correct him was amazing. Also, “He told me he was going to shit in my mouuuuwth.”

Ragh, Fig, and Adaine all crying about their parental issues at the same time. This has been, like, the longest week ever. I wonder if the 7 Maidens are unpacking this much trauma on their quest.

“Absolutely timbered.”

Lol at Brennan dropping the cool pirate sending spell “curses don’t count” detail and then being told from off camera that he needs to keep it PG-13. But then Cathilda needed to go beast mode so, like, what can you do?

Another cool worldbuilding detail is pirate clerics just keep shrines to every deity they’ve come into contact with to hedge their bets like Beni from The Mummy.

I know Lydia was attacked on orders from Kalina but I wonder if they knew about/had plans for the demon shard too.

When Emily said she disguised herself as Rollins, I fully thought she was going to walk out the door the real Rollins was guarding and not go out the back door like she did. The idea of a back door didn’t even occur to me. I just thought we were in for some classic Axford insanity.

Riz: You’ve gotta get better at talking to kids.

Riz: This is real Gilear energy.

Kristen: We brought one Gilear. We don’t wanna make that mistake twice.

Everything that happened with Fabian was really funny because there’s nothing I love more in D&D than players having a good time dunking on each other but, in game, Fabian is really going through it. Fabian low key has mom friend energy so to almost die and then for all of his friends to jump into the exact fight that almost killed him (including taunting the dude! Adaine!) against his advice must be giving him a level of anxiety and dread that I don’t even have the words to describe. Like, now is not the time for him to digging into that because things are life or death. Gotta save your life before you can fix it. But he def needs to at some point. Too bad Jawbone’s not around for a quick mid-battle therapy sesh like he had with Adaine during prom.

Tracker suggested that Fabian might be depressed. I’m not an expert on depression. He could be depressed and, in any case, he definitely needs to see a therapist for a Lot of reasons. But having a breakdown because you saw 14 people die, almost died yourself, and were told that a man wanted to shit in your mouth less than 24 hours ago seems less like a sign of depression and more like the only rational human reaction.

Adaine calls the above, “a vaguely mediocre day”. Michael Scott Voice: Adaine you ignorant slut.

Also Adaine: You got that bike because you won it fair and square because we killed a lot of people.

This is the second time Adaine has said that Fabian’s lineage is actually the most annoying thing about him and these are the kind of tiny continuity details I live for.

Semi-relatedly, Fabian’s relationship with his parents v. Adaine’s relationship with hers is endlessly fascinating to me. Because they have such similar backgrounds but coming from, like, opposite directions of the same spectrum, you know? Can’t wait for those sweet, sweet parallels as we jump into her trauma! (What is D&D but group therapy interspaced with murder?)

Speaking of Adaine’s trauma, it looks like we’ll be getting to it very soon as those FBI Falinel operatives have shown up to force her (and the plot) back to Falinel. This is Concerning to me for two reasons. First off, remember the Aelwyn fight from season 1? Remember how annoying that was? Now imagine that times three and also 2 separate pirate brawls are happening. That sounds like a Bad Time for our kids. They’ve leveled up some and they’ve been known to make some very clutch battle decisions, but this is gonna be tough any way you slice it. This is like two entirely separate encounters at the same time. A small good point: I looked up the language for teleportation and it can only be used to transport a willing creature. So they can’t just bum rush her and poof out. But they could give her an ultimatum to make her agree. The second reason this Concerns me is that Adaine high key doesn’t want to work with/for Falinel and they know this. The fact that they’ve resorted to kidnapping (fun international law fact: when a government kidnaps someone, it’s called rendition) tells me that they’re done playing nice which opens up two options to them they might not have otherwise used. They could coerce Adaine’s consent to be their oracle by threatening her life/her friends’ lives. Or, more troubling, they could just kill her. I mean, she became the elven oracle when the old one died, right? So, if she died, someone else would get the job. Probably someone less troublesome to deal with. I doubt they’re gonna go straight for that because they seem to want her alive, at least for now. But it is a concern.

Of course, we’re assuming that what’s happening on the face of this is the whole story, but that’s not necessarily true. Iirc, all we heard was that they found the oracle and they were gonna bring her back to Falinel. For all we know, the elves could be working for Adaine’s mom. Of Adaine’s mom could be working with Falinel. Or she could be working with Falinel just as a way to get to her daughter. We really don’t know. The last person on this show that got kidnapped was Fabian and that was a friendly kidnapping. Anything is possible.

Something that struck me as a possibility: This fight seems like it’s gonna suck. There is a world where the ideal move for Adaine is to pull an Evy (from the Mummy--two Mummy refs in one recap, did not plan that, I just love the Mummy) and agree to go with the Falinel elves if they help them instead (or at least stop helping Wicklaw) with the faith that her friends will come rescue her. I doubt they actually care much about what happens in the government of this pirate junk city. I’m curious about how they ended up together anyway. I’m guessing the elves clued into what was going on while scrying on the group and decided an alliance might be useful.

Brennan about both Ally’s Applebees Reference and Fig using a Leviathan phonebook: That is nothing.

Shoutout to Fruzzinoid in the chat who said Ally’s alignment is chaotic-chaotic. Accurate.

I love the laughing-squawk that Brennan does for Ayda as much as I hate the fact that he made the Choice to spell it that way.

Truly, the entire scene where Lou is recapping the fight from last episode and he’s laughing uncontrollably but Fabian is clearly crying and he’s expressing both of those things simultaneously is beautiful.

A Fabian line that really hit but that I haven’t mentioned yet: “I probably have one follower running around. Never mind he’s my father’s just like everything else I have.” Ow. Such a deep cut but so off the cuff from Lou. As a writer, this show makes me so mad because that’s such a good line of dialogue that Lou just dropped out of his mouth like it was nothing. How dare he?

Another good line I didn’t mention before, this tie from Riz: “We all draw strength from each other. You went in without your crew. What’s a pirate without his crew?” Ugh, Murph. Who gave you the right?

This episode has made me extremely curious about what Cathilda thinks about Hilariel. Because she sees herself as Fabian’s mom--which she essentially has been in a lot of the ways that count since Hilariel has been mentally out to lunch for the past however many years. To be clear, I do think Hilariel loves Fabian. She just hasn’t really been present even though she’s been literally present. The way Cathilda phrased some of the things she said and the way she seems to talk about Fabian’s dad so much more than his mom makes me wonder if she doesn’t...resent isn’t the right word exactly. Maybe, disapprove? It makes me wonder if she doesn’t disapprove of Hilariel’s parenting choices more than she lets on.

Kristen’s, “Do you listen to music?” in the middle of actually useful questions for Ayda.

Rich people sicknesses include having eaten too much caviar or smoked a cigar for too long in case you’re wondering.

“You want an orange, pal?”

On a practical note, we have two more episodes to go until the show breaks for the year so prepare yourselves from now people!

Riz, Adaine, and Gorgug each rolled one Nat 20 apiece. Fig, Gorgug, and Adaine each rolled a Nat 1 (but Adaine presumably cancelled out hers rolling with advantage because of Boggy). Fabian, who is still living his worst life, rolled three Nat 1s. Tragic.

#fantasy high #fantasy high spoilers #dimension 20 #dimension 20 spoilers #report card

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apassionfortranslation · 4 years

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Kiss & Cry Reloaded Ep 7 - Transcription and translation

It took almost a month because of my job and Christmas, but I finally managed to finish this. It’s a partial transcription (the whole podcast was over two hours, and it talked about Ladies’ single, Ice Dance and Pair skating too) and its translation. Feel free to share it but please add due credit: I’m happy to do this for the figure skating community, but it still took several days of hard job ^^.

Here’s the original https://www.spreaker.com/user/talk-sport/kiss-cry-reloaded-puntata-7

Time tags are added when needed.

Please message me if you spot any kind of mistake! I’ll be happy to edit it!

And many many thanks to Massimiliano Ambesi, Angelo Dolfini and Francesco Paone for their insights and company!

Kiss & Cry Reloaded – Episode 7.

Partial transcription.

Transcription and translation by Costanza Bonelli

Legend:

A: Massimiliano Ambesi

D: Angelo Dolfini

P: Francesco Paone

[Italic Text in square brackets: my notes]

Starts at roughly minute 10:30

P: ... Now, let’s get more in depth on several topics. Ok, Massimiliano, you mentioned the judgement in the Junior Ladies competition, you also mentioned Japan: let’s put it all together, because in the last three or four days there were a lot of talks and discussions about what happened in the men’s single competition, because, okay, Chen won, Hanyu got second, but looking at the scores, many people say “No, it can’t be like this.” I’ll let you talk.

A: I’ll start, but Angelo and I will go back and forth with each other, because, I mean, the topic is sensitive. Let’s put down the basis: Nathan Chen’s victory is legitimate, he got it on the field and this is not up to debate.

D: With full merit, absolutely.

A: With full merit He completed two clean skates (D: Yeah), without any major flaw, and thus this victory, considering Hanyu committed some mistakes, is right. Hanyu lost the competition when he didn’t complete the combination jump planned in the short program (D: Yes), this is a fact, because from that moment he is the one chasing after Chen, clearly with a lot in his mind, the will to make the free program so extreme to try an almost impossible come back... And after that, there’s the free skate with all we all witnessed, in my opinion with more positive sides than negative ones, to be honest.

D: I totally agree.

A: The problem is that if you go and analyse the different elements, you’ll realize that in the GOE attribution, the parameters to get +5, +4, +3 etc are not followed. I believe, and I’m utterly convinced of this, that this system cannot stand as it is, and not because the judges are incompetent or deceitful, I don’t think that, otherwise I wouldn’t be here to talk about skating, I’d be doing something else, and I’d spend my Wednesday evening with my dogs and family, but because the system is not applicable as it is.

Francesco, you are a direct witness because you’ve watched some competitions with me. Every year, I probably see 10,000 different skates, a lot of parents send me their children’s programs from when they’re 10 years old until 18 to know what I think about them, in Italy it happens a bit less, but I receive a lot of video from other countries, so I see a lot of different things. This to say that I’m used to seeing programs, to studying them and to giving scores. But in real time, when you have to judge 12 elements and to keep into consideration the PCS, you cannot objectively keep into consideration all the bullets and the detractions that you have to give to any jump with its GOE. It’s not humanly possible.

I dare the Italian judges to do this (there are some that are real “know-it-alls”), face to face, when they want, I’m here, just call me and I’ll be there. It isn’t possible to judge a skate correctly keeping that system in mind. Then, we can say that a jump is very nice: do we want to give it a +5? Then let’s do this, but the rules say a different thing. The judge is not able to apply said rules to 12 elements, one after the other. Someone will say, “OK, but after the program there’s some time to review it”. The time is not so much, though.

D: It’s a very short time.

A: Yeah, comparatively, very short time.

D: And there are the PCS to score too.

A: Exactly. And what else is there to consider? The fact that, when there’s a review, the call on the element may change.

D: Yeah.

A: And consequently, you have to, you know Use the rules, which call for a compulsory deduction on that element, based on the kind of call arrived.

D: Maybe the jump is under-rotated, or the edge is wrong.

A: Wrong edge, or dubious edge, there are a lot of cases. The consequence is that, with this system, it’s not possible to judge correctly a competition. This doesn’t mean that Nathan Chen stole something, because he deserved to win, but there are some Nathan Chen’s jumps that are judged incorrectly: the Italian Judge that gives +5 on Nathan Chen’s 3A has to explain the reason behind that +5.

For example. Or, the judges who award the 4S from Nathan Chen’s free skate with the same GOE as Hanyu Yuzuru’s one, and I encourage you to watch them both with attention starting with the take-off in both jumps, even if Hanyu simplified his free skate a lot, are - I don’t want to say incompetent - but they weren’t able to judge the element, because in that short time it’s not possible to take into consideration every single bullet that is required. What they do, then, is getting a general idea and give +5, +4, +3, but this is not what the system wants the judges to do. I’ve said these things several times about the various 3A made by Hanyu in the competitions that preceded this final. So, the judges who said [?] +4. But when you give a +4, it means that you didn’t see two of the three available requirements to raise to +5.

What didn’t you see in Hanyu’s 3A? Doesn’t it match the music? It’s a joke, because he’s so insane about it that if it didn’t match the music, he’d rather fall on the ground, angry because he didn’t execute it as he wanted, so that jump does match the music: no.1. Isn’t the take-off preceded by an unexpected or difficult entry? Because if it isn’t so we can go home now. I’m talking about the short program. Isn’t the position in flight correct, perfect? It may have happened once that he was slightly off centre, but not enough to justify a deduction in the GOE. It’s a +5 for sure, and when you give a +4 instead, you have to explain why you didn’t see two of those three bullets. But I don’t want to think that the judge didn’t see them, I think that the judge didn’t even get to consider the bullets, because in their head it’s impossible to do that in that moment, so they say +4. But this is not what the rules say. And as we’re seeing a lot of cases like this...

D: Yeah, and I’d add, in this specific case, they judge, they see that something is missing, because they say “It’s slightly off centre”, from +5 I’ll go to +4, but it shouldn’t be like that, they should remember that the bullets are six and the skater might have fulfilled five of them, and as you correctly explained, it becomes very complicated to do all this.

A: Why does it become complicated? Because I feel it myself without the pressure of being in a technical panel...

D: Yeah, that too...

A: ... And I see how it works. +

D: It’s very complicated.

A: I mean, either we find a way to simplify the score attribution, or this cannot go on. Because the GOE assigned during the competition doesn’t match what the athlete did. This said, Nathan Chen did an exceptional performance from the athletic point of view, okay? But the fact that he completed all his jumps doesn’t mean that all his elements deserve the maximum GOE available, and that there are only positive aspects without any negative ones, this is what I mean. So, if we cannot evaluate the quality of the element for what it is, it becomes difficult to assist to a competition with a correct judgement, and thus a competition that mirrors the real values on the field. Hanyu did lose the competition for other reasons, and we said that everything starts from that failed jump, the missed combination jumps in the short program.

Because everything starts there. But, if you go and see the panel of the elements in the short program, you’ll see that elements that Hanyu executed perfectly, and I mean the triple Axel and quadruple Salchow, didn’t get the maximum GOE possible. And this needs to be explained too: the judge who was there has to explain “why +3?” Or “why +4?”, tell me what’s missing. And this is something that applies to Hanyu Yuzuru, or to Nathan Chen, or to a thousand other athletes. I want to stress and highlight that this system, as it’s thought out, is not good to judge the competitions of this speciality. And I mean Figure Skating. On the Ice Dance, I don’t even want to start the discussion, I’m not really interested in it and it’s based on a completely different approach, but it’s not possible to judge instantly 12 elements and to follow, thoroughly, as it should be, the current rules.

D: And it is complicated, really complicated.

A: Exactly. And I stop here, it’s your turn. It was better in the past, with the +3, because judging the elements was simpler, and then, even then you could get confused, and it was again “very good” = +3, “good” = +2, “good but with something off” = +1, “so and so” = 0 and so on, because the same exact thing happened to Plushenko too.

D: With more nuances, if you want.

A: Exactly, it was more believable, in the past, and now it’s your turn.

D: Yeah, I mean, beside the objective difficulty in correctly evaluating and judging the elements with this score system, that is quite beautiful and thought out, but very complex, and so it’s difficult to judge in such a short time, etc, I’d like to add another concept, in my opinion, that must be explained, and I mean: a lot of judges, especially judges who used to use the old system, a bit less with the newer ones, have always been used to comparing the skaters in front of them (and it still happens when you look at a skating competition), with the aim of saying... What’s your first goal?

The goal is to make a correct classification of the competition they’re evaluating in that moment, and it’s also understandable and right that it’s one of the goals. But, for how this system is thought out and built, it constitutes a more or less absolute judgement system, where competitions are comparable with each other, it’s possible to have and consider a “World record”, and it’s possible to have, let’s say, absolute scores, so they should be able to judge an athlete independently from their competitor, focusing only on what they see on the ice in that moment. Once, with the old system, it wasn’t like this, the comparison was explicit, so they only had to choose, as a judge, who to put first and who to put behind. It was simpler, if you want, but it was less precise, and more arbitrary. In this moment, in the moment when they have to go and judge the single elements, it’s simple to say “Ok, look, he executed it impeccably, it’s the most beautiful triple Axel I've ever seen.” Hanyu made it single in the free skate, for example… +4, +5. I understand this point of view, but then, reading the rules, it’s possible to say, “But... Maybe the entry is not that difficult”, it could still be a +5, we said so earlier, but let’s see, is the landing smooth enough? Are there /have there been smoother landings? Then they analyse it, but this is all in the space of a few seconds and it’s so difficult to do, it is then easier to go on the emotional wave of what one sees: Nathan Chen’s performance was astonishing because he was impeccable on everything, the flaws were really just minor, maybe some landings were not very smooth, but that’s all, and we’re talking about extremely difficult jumps, it’s obvious that something like that brings people to give very high marks, and it is also partially correct, obviously. Then, with a colder mind, maybe alone, you see that program, and you’re not evaluating it in the context of a Grand Prix Final, with the huge tension that was there, and you can make different analyses. In that moment, with that tension, with what they were competing for, it’s easy to evaluate a performance like that in an extremely positive way, and we could ask if it’s correct or not, it might not be that wrong, it’s not easy to weigh everything.

We can discuss about one element, we’re here to do that, we also like to try to understand what an athlete or the other is doing. For us, Hanyu presented excellent elements, and there were a lot of positive notes that he brings home from this final, the quadruple Lutz above everything else, we can say that, but quadruple Loop was great too, but the GOE accounts for a lot in this moment, and if you analyse the required bullets with attention, and you see that in any case the difficult entry is only one of those, but you have 6 of them total. Sometimes a difficult entry makes so that the skater misses everything else and gets less points, and this lets you understand how the judges judge a certain type of skating, and then we would need to see different scores on the PCS, especially on transitions, but even at a strategic level, if you analyse the new rules with attention, and the new bullets, you can see that a jump done with a good speed, very wide and with a good position in air can take a +4 if you get it on the music beat, and maybe even a +5.

A: And then, the analysis of the men’s competition is very complex because everyone will ask why Hanyu ends up creating a program with those characteristics. Because the difficulty of that program is absurd, out of the normal range. Because it’s for all these reasons, for the lack of compression of the GOE given to a series of elements, that, for the skaters that can afford to do that, the idea becomes raising the base value as much as possible. And so, if you sum the elements that Hanyu had planned for the free skate up and compare them with Nathan Chen’s, you can see that Hanyu’s base value would have been higher, in a “clean program vs clean program” scenario. Then, Chen would have gained something in case of maximum GOE he could get, because he has a margin of 0.20 point on the base value of the spins, and that means 0.10 on the GOE, with a perfect program, and then he has a quadruple Flip instead of a quadruple Loop, those have half a point of difference, and it’s another 0.25 potential GOE.

Fact is that, putting all these elements together, Hanyu’s perfect program vs Nathan Chen’s perfect program would have given Hanyu 0.8 points. This just to silence some things that you can read around and that are wrong on this part. Hanyu knew this, because he calculates every part of his program, he had to catch up, and he decided to go all in, but what remains, beyond what some people might say (and I can’t understand why these people say falsehoods), is that Hanyu Yuzuru, in the practice programs and during the practice sessions, has almost always completed the quads he presented, on the short program run-through he make a mistake on the combination, as he did during the competition too, but after a couple of minutes he tried it again and executed it perfectly. He had wonderful completion percentages on every quad. Quadruple Lutz included, which he didn’t practice as much, but when he did, he completed it, as we can see on the free program day: he got it perfectly in the run-through, caught by the camera too, and it was one of the most beautiful quadruple Lutz ever seen, and then he repeats it, almost of the same level, even during the competition.

He had the amazing ability to raise the bar in the most important moment, he failed on the athletic point of view, there’s not much to say, because after two and half minutes he was objectively in difficulty, even though, and this needs to be said, he had simplified his program compared to his normal one, you can see some more crossovers, a bit more skating on two feet, but it’s clear that as he had to go all in with a different program than in the other competitions, he had to risk some more. This said, in practice probably, not here, but in Toronto, he proposes something similar, because his objective is bringing 5 quadruples of four different kinds as per rules with his free program, because he can repeat one, and he still had the satisfaction to complete all those jumps. He will surely need to grow in quality for the rest, and to get the ability to complete every planned elements, so, in this moment to beat an athlete as solid as Nathan Chen, you need perfection, you can’t escape this, but I cannot think that Nathan Chen could still be ahead of Hanyu Yuzuru if both of them skate a clean program, because if this was the case, there would be a problem with the rules. I heard someone saying “Well, on the skating skills and transitions, Nathan Chen is at Hanyu’s level now.”

D and P: embarrassed laughter.

A: You have to explain it to me, though.

P: But... Massimiliano, please allow me, there are a lot of questions about a certain topic, I mean... We all appreciate the way you’re trying to calm the situation down, but the impression is, from what we can also read on the Spreaker chat, that the blown up GOE are getting annoying, a lot of people is asking “but why are the mistakes always on the same person, is the system broken?”, and okay, they could be wrong, we could be wrong, but the mistakes always seem to be oriented in one direction. Shouldn’t this be a reason to reflect on: is there one more problem beyond all that we said until now?

A: Guys... What can I say, it’s from the start of this season that I’m trying to bring some situations to light. Not even from the start of the senior Grand Prix season, it’s from the Junior Grand Prix circuit, where we saw a ladies’ skater, Alyssa Liu, getting huge GOEs, out of proportion with the quality of the elements she presented. Sincerely I haven’t ever seen something like this happen. The nationality is the same as the one above mentioned, the origins are the same as him, we all know where the 2022 Olympics will be, these are factual data that cannot be denied. Still, you have to go on the ice and complete the elements. But I don’t want to call politics on this, because I’m not interested in that. Also, Nathan Chen didn’t steal anything, I don’t want to think that he’s stealing anything, but I want to point out that if I analyse element per element what Nathan Chen does between his elements in the short program, I see something different from what Hanyu Yuzuru does. And careful here, Hanyu Yuzuru might be wrong. How? I mean, when for the judges the “best that there is” is what Nathan Chen does, and that it has to be done that way, probably Hanyu Yuzuru takes risks and uses a kind of skating that is too demanding to be able to win. Because, okay, we can say that Nathan Chen, athletically speaking, is in better shape than him, he was more prepared, he has more resistance, etc... But Nathan Chen’s skating is half as tiring as Hanyu’s.

D: Yeah, these are all elements to be considered, it’s also right to underline how even Hanyu had to simplify his programs, going a bit that same route, but it was necessary because

A: In the free skate, Angelo.

D: In the free skate. In the short program, you know what I think about the short program, in a condition of clean skate vs clean skate, I don’t think we can put up any kind of discussion, although the score makes you think because even Nathan Chen got over 110, and it’s true, he had a higher base value in the short program.

A: It’s true. In the short program, yes. I’ll explain: Hanyu presents a quadruple Salchow that has BV 9.7, correct me if I’m wrong, the other presents a quadruple Lutz, that has a higher value: 11.5, e, careful, the advantage is not only on the BV, but also on the GOE, because Nathan Chen can get a 5.75, which is half of 11.75, Yuzuru Hanyu must stop at half of 9.7 which is 4.85. But if the two programs are skated perfectly, Hanyu has objectively something more, and let’s explain what: the triple Axel. Hanyu’s triple Axel is worth +5. And you cannot dispute it, if you dispute it you shouldn’t be sitting in the judging panel. Of any competition, a regional one or the Olympic final, the free program at the Olympics, it’s the same. This is not disputable. And if we consider the program components, in my opinion there’s a huge difference. Beyond the fact that some experts tell me “Eh, but Nathan Chen’s choreography is brilliant.”

P: Massimiliano, regarding what you said before, and I mean that in case of clean program vs clean program Yuzuru Hanyu would beat Nathan Chen in any case, we got a question on the Spreaker chat, in which... And I quote: “In a well-known Facebook group, an expert with experience on the ice, the same that said several times that Hanyu’s triple Axel is preceded by a bracket turn, has said that clean free skate vs clean free skate, Chen would beat Hanyu for 15 points”. I’m asking you to explain this.

A: Well... Angelo, this question seems a bit confused to me, sincerely, because an expert who skated that says that the Hanyu’s famous triple Axel is preceded by a bracket turn... They cannot be an expert who skated.

D: Heh, no, they can’t.

A: We’re talking about entirely another thing.

D: Exactly. It’s possible to do a bracket turn before the triple Axel, but it’s not what Hanyu does.

A: He did a different thing, that is called backward outside counter, we could define it this way, that has nothing to do with a bracket turn, so we have two possibilities here: either the quoted person committed a typo, but here they say that “they said several times”, or... I don’t know, really... For example, it’s like if someone wrote me... [okay, here Massimiliano made a Tennis reference to Roger Federer which would probably take me ages to understand because I don’t know Tennis enough, I trust what he says. What I got from it, it’s that although a thing might be similar to another in a very superficial way, it’s very easy to see that they’re not the same].

Angelo, please, explain the difference between bracket turn and backward outside counter, I’ll go over the 15-point topic, that I believe might be my fault, because I didn’t really face this topic on Facebook, I was more on Twitter while explaining. No! There weren’t 15 points of difference, because, I repeat, the BV + GOE of Hanyu’s planned free skate was 0.8 points above Nathan Chen’s, go and sum the values up and you’ll see, if we only look at the BV, it was a bit higher still, as you [Angelo] explained earlier, Nathan Chen took something back with the maximum GOE, the Flip and a spin, I believe. Because I think that Hanyu does a Flying combination spin, a classic combination spin with change of foot and another flying

D: sit spin, yes,

A: flying sit spin.

D: A sit spin, yes.

A: that is worth 3 vs the camel change foot camel or change foot camel spin, call it as you wish,

D: That is worth, 3.20.

A: Exactly, Nathan Chen’s one, so 0.20 points are there, and then there’s the difference between Flip and Loop, so it’s not possible to have 15 points of difference. Maybe I should have written specific posts on the topic, explaining the score of every single element. Hanyu reasoned like this, most probably: he went and skated a free program that has higher Bv+max GOE because he needed it. I want to be very clear: I would have liked to see a different competition, I would have liked to see Hanyu skate a clean short program, being in front of Chen for one point or so (as Nathan Chen get very high scores), and then go for his classic program, clean.

D: he can do it.

A. to bring the maximum he could in the free skate, that was my dream for the final, because it would have been a fantastic competition from any point of view. Hanyu made a mistake in the short, mistakes are part of the competitions, and it ended as it did, but... The result is right, what is the base concept though? That 334, right? New World record, that, for what I think, it’s not valid, it’s not confirmed by what has been done on the ice. I mean, we need to detract a lot of points. Even in this case, Nathan Chen would have won the competition.

D: There no doubt about it.

A: I hope I answered the question, you tell me... For Bracket/counter is something not possible, this leaves me speechless.

D: No, I mean

A: I mean, I think the question is wrong.

D: Yeah, they’re very different things, and I’m going to try to explain this as simply as I can: the peculiarity of the triple Axel that comes from a backward outside counter is the fact that the exiting edge of the counter, and I mean after the turn, after the difficult step that brings you from going backward to going forward, is the same edge where you have to start the Axel. It is possible to execute a bracket before the triple Axel, but it’s not on the foot from where the Axel starts, but on the other foot. When you have a bracket, you usually do it on a forward inner edge that puts you on the same curve, switching to the back outer edge, that is the typical preparation for the Axel, the one we all see, and then you turn and do your Axel, and it would still be a difficult entry, maybe Alex Takahashi, if I remember well, did this, so it’s possible to do that, but it’s a different thing. It’s very difficult, but maybe a little less difficult [than what Hanyu does] in my opinion. Just to explain this part.

P: And... Regarding Hanyu, people are asking if it’s true that he wants to change his technical staff, as he was alone in the Kiss&Cry.

A: No, okay, this must be explained. okay ay, for the Grand Prix final, each skater can be accompanied by only one person of his technical staff, so only one will be accredited. What happens? From Toronto, considering that there weren’t other Hanyu’s rinkmates qualified for the final, only one coach could leave, and the Japanese Federation didn’t put Orser’s name but Briand’s, who is, by the way, a person who is very close to Hanyu, he’s the person he probably spends most time with in Toronto, sort of a mentor. Orser explained this situation saying “I didn’t go, he (Briand) went because Yuzuru wanted to up the difficulty of the program, to up the technical score with more jumps, and Briand is the jump-specialist.

D: Yeah, he is.

A: You know it well, Angelo, you also did some stage with him, didn’t you?

D: Yes, I met Briand.

A: So, Orser not being there is linked to this situation, if Brown had got his qualification, as it would have been normal, Orser would have been with Briand, and it would have been better for everyone, because the coach’s role there is fundamental for the logistics and a lot of other small things. Then, Briand had problems with the flights, and he was stuck in Frankfurt, I think, and he arrived late, and Hanyu found himself alone to face the short program and the previous practice session, he made that mistakes, etc. The problem is that he was alone even for the successive practice session, the one of the day after the short program, and there, in the last fifteen minutes, he started trying quadruple Axels on top of each other, in some cases he was even able to complete the rotation and ended up falling badly, and those are not trivial, you can get hurt. If Brian Orser had been there, or Briand, probably nothing of that would have happened.

D: No…

A: He wouldn’t have started to practice the quadruple Axel at full speed, I don’t think the strategy for the free skate would have changed, because at that point he needed to go all in, he was 10 points behind, or something like that, and he had to risk everything he could. But probably, had Orser been there, some small situations would have been handled better but they’re not planning a change in the technical staff. Then, it’s clear that when a relationship lasts for a lot of years, there are highs and lows, aren’t there? It’s normal, but, as far as I know now [December 11th, 2019 TN] there’s nothing more than what I explained, we’ll see in the Japanese nationals who will be with Hanyu (who, by the way, hasn’t participated in the Japanese Nationals for quite a long time, for various reasons). Being there, alone, for such an important event, in a country you don’t know, and God knows what more, isn’t easy... No... Please, add something Angelo.

D: Yes, look, for sure we were all surprised to see him alone at the Kiss & Cry, but then it went exactly as you explained it. The problem is that it’s not easy to handle the emotions in these situations, and we all know Hanyu, and it’s true, what we saw at the practice at Palavela wouldn’t have happened if he had had his staff there. It’s a pity that things went that way, but we cannot go back. In the end Briand arrived, and he managed to fix some things, surely the Plan B had already been prepared, I honestly don’t think that the quadruple Axel had been, the one attempted in the practice, but, you know, those things can happen, but I think that Hanyu, in his interviews, has demonstrated times and times again his complete trust in the Toronto coaching staff, and I cannot see, or at least I don’t know of, problems in this sense. Besides, this union between Hanyu and the Toronto Cricket Club has surely bore fruits until now.

A: well, you know, we’re talking about two Olympic titles, besides two World championships titles, four Grand Prix Finals, etc, etc, etc. It is to be said, for those who are worried, that Hanyu lived the situation in a very serene manner, it’s sufficient to see his behaviour during the gala, when, at the end, he was one of the main protagonists, the pranks he did to the other skaters, the gags with the Russian female skaters, and more and more, but Hanyu is also this, and pay attention, because now a whole new game opens up, because what is to be tried, and I know Angelo won’t like this, it’s raising the BV of the short program. Because when that quadruple Lutz becomes a solid jump, everything changes. When the quadruple Loop is done smoothly, as it was, several times in practice, everything changes two times. Translated: we cannot imagine what’s in his mind, and this defeat, the second in a row against Nathan Chen, hurts, and he’ll probably do whatever he can not to have another one at the World Championship, where he is, “home”, as it’s in Canada. That Canada where finally he broke the taboo of the victory in the Grand Prix competition, in this season.

We can expect changes, that that free skate, as it’s planned, might become more stable in time, so that he may be able to skate properly the last part too, and I would like to make you think about the construction of the two programs, and I’d like to do this all together, because I think that from this point of view Nathan Chen is brilliant. Nathan Chen is score-machine. Why? Because it’s true that both Nathan Chen and Hanyu have five quadruple jumps, but Nathan Chen builds his free skate so that the most valuable elements, without the bonus, are all in the first part. Look at which the first three elements presented by Chen are, and look at the value of those elements. He starts with three big jumps, which he faces fresh, there’s not much between these elements because, I mean, doing a quadruple requires a lot of physical effort, mental too, but he completes them all. Sum up Nathan Chen’s first three elements: they are three absolutely difficult elements, and he manages to complete them, as they were nothing.

D: Fifty points.

A: more than fifty points, and from this point of view, the strategy is brilliant. What does Yuzuru do? Yuzuru is very attentive to everything regarding the BV, and he knows that his premise is that he hasn’t the quadruple Flip, so he backloads the programs, so that he can have all his combination jumps in the second part. For sure, though, when you get around the 3-minute mark, or beyond, and you have to jump a combination of quadruple Toeloop, Euler, triple Flip, (that Nathan Chen does too, but after 45 seconds); and a never-seen before in competition sequence of two triple Axels, which is terribly difficult (and yes, he is able to do even four of them in a row, but when he’s rested)

D: For sure!

A: And then that quadruple Toeloop, triple Toeloop that sometimes gives him problems. One day, I’d really like to tell you Hanyu’s story starting from the Junior competitions. The combination with the triple has always given him a few problems, even when he was younger. When he was young, very young, a child, 15/14 years old, he didn’t do it with a quadruple

D: Lutz, Toeloop

A: I remember when he competed in Italy in the Grand Prix, and we’re talking back of an era, he was constantly working in practice on Salchow/Toeloop, Flip/Toeloop.

D: Yes,

A: Because that year at Junior level I think [here the voices were too mixed, I didn’t get it, but I imagine they were talking about the compulsory jumps in Junior].

D: It was the Lutz

A: Exactly, so, that was his first Junior season, but in general, that is the element that, more or less, has often given him problems in several occasions. This does not mean that he can’t do a combination quadruple Toeloop/triple Toeloop, because when he does that, I mean, it’s exceptional. It’s clear that presenting it after three minutes is difficult. In Turin he did a quadruple Toeloop/double Toeloop, but he had other intentions. What I want to show you, though, is that if we analyse how the programs are built, we realize how much easier it is to get points with Nathan Chen’s program, isn’t it? Hanyu has a triple Lutz as third element in this moment, and he has a lot of elements in the last two minutes, while Nathan Chen’s distribution of the elements is much more balanced, and allows him to get more breath between a part and the other of the program, between an element and the other. This is where the people making the program for Nathan Chen are very good at it, don’t forget that. It’s clear that Yuzuru risks so much that when he completes everything, he is automatically ahead. So, when we think about the programs, let’s think that these little parts regarding how they’re built, especially in a moment when only the last three elements get the bonus.

D: Exactly, so it changed the game a lot.

A: Someone asked why Nathan Chen doesn’t do two triple Axels, he could gain more points with two triple Axels. The answer is no, he cannot get more points with two triple Axels, before the final he did two triple Axels and had one less quadruple, do you remember it? He gives the second triple Axel up, that would be the last jump in combination, probably with a double Toeloop. Why? And he cannot do that with a triple Toeloop, because that would mean repeating the triple Axel, that he is already doing as fourth element, what is his reasoning? I do, as first element, the quadruple with the triple, right? This quadruple is the Flip, in this case. Then I repeat two quadruple Toeloops, then I go to the last element: I have two options: Option A, very risky, triple Axel/double Toeloop, BV: 9.3? Something like that?

D: Yes, 9.3.

A: And then there’s the bonus

D: there’s the bonus

A: Option B: triple Lutz, that I haven’t done yet, and I get to repeat the triple Toeloop. BV, let’s sum it up: 5.9 + 4.2 or 4.3, whatever: it’s more than 10 points already. And there the brilliance of how the program is built is evident, why? Because of Nathan Chen’s qualities, this program with five quadruple jumps completed, is the one that can get as many points as possible.

D: in relation to how difficult the elements are, too.

A: And even regarding the difficulty, because doing a triple Lutz/triple Toeloop for Nathan Chen [both voices at the same time].

D: It’s easy as pie

A: after two and half minutes, it’s like playing. And that triple/triple becomes, considering the bonus, one of the most valuable elements in his program.

D: Exactly. It’s a paradox.

A: So, this is one of Nathan Chen’s great qualities. In order to defeat Nathan Chen, you have to surpass yourself. Then, if the judgement is fair [he used the English here], a lot of things can be different [both voices at the same time].

D: But it’s right to highlight the strategy. Nathan Chen’s strategy and program-building, they are studied in every detail, fit to their skater, and you have to tip your hat in front of a skater that is able to complete cleanly a program with five quadruple jumps, it’s not easy.

A: Sure. Come on, Francesco, go on with the questions, I think there are a few on this topic.

P: Well, I’d say that on the Men’s competition there’s not much more to say, there’s a lot on the Ladies’ skate, if we want to close.

D: it was magnificent.

P: Well, yeah, it was magnificent.

A: Well, on the Men’s skate, I’d like to go back for a few on the program components we talked about earlier. If we talk about the short program, I cannot think for Hanyu to be considered at the same level of Nathan Chen, on skating skills and transitions there’s no competition. Beyond the fact that in Turin he may have skated at the 80% of his potential and not at the 100%, you cannot even compare them, I don’t know what you think about it, Angelo. And those two voices are the not subjective ones, okay?

D: Exactly. Yes, we’ve talked a lot of times about this: there’s less room for subjectivity, if you may.

A: On the other scores, you can call subjectivity in question, someone may like Nathan Chen, someone might say “Mi arriva” [this is something along the line of “he moves me” and “I get him”], which is a term that... When I hear “Mi arriva”, I immediately get angry, okay ay? I don’t say it, other people do. In my opinion, that depends on the genre, on the style, depends on whatever you want... Maybe Hanyu has more room compared to Nathan Chen, so much that with a big mistake, still he’s ahead in all the components of the short program. Then, the difference should probably be higher. In the free skate in Turin, Hanyu simplified a lot.

D: Yes, this is to be underlined.

A: We need to remark this, and simplify a lot means going on the same level of the other, though.

D: And sure, sure, this might be a strategic mistake, even though, I don’t know, it’s difficult to evaluate, because in the end you need to complete a program with 4 or 5 quadruples, otherwise you have no ammo, you’re helpless. Hanyu has a big problem in this moment. The quadruple Lutz was exceptional, but he is usually less reliable on Lutz and Loop than Nathan Chen is (and demonstrated to be) on Flip and Lutz, and the game is there. Then, on whatever is left, you’re taking a risk, you’re raising the difficulty and start putting difficult entries left and right, it really risks to become too tiring, it’s a very subtle balance, but how Hanyu simplified his program on the transitions is evident to everyone, but he raised the technical difficulty really really a lot.

A: But this does not mean that he is behind Nathan Chen on this.

D: No, not behind. But the difference is not as much.

A: Exactly. Then, the transitions are not only about what you do with your feet

D: no, for sure.

Until 53:13

Min: 1:52:00

P. There was a question getting back to Hanyu

A: uh, let’s go back to Hanyu

P: Let’s go back to Hanyu: they’re asking what is the BV difference between the Free skate in Turin and the one in NHK [this was my question actually].

A: Okay, let’s talk about the Turin’s program he had in his mind, what he wanted to skate and couldn’t because there were some small mistakes. I’d say there were... Almost ten points between BV and GOE, I only take into consideration the maximum you can get by summing the BV and GOE with all +5. So, there were 10 point, 9.70/9.50, something like that. The BV + GOE in Turin was, I think, 142.23, go and check, but from what I remember, it was something like that, while in the Grand Prix competitions it was slightly less than 133, so that’s the different, and it was a fundamental difference to catch up with Nathan Chen, he knew that Nathan Chen would be going from four quadruples to five, and so to balance the situation, he needed to create that program, and its difficulty is completely crazy.

Min 1:54:35

P: I have also seen... this is a consideration more than a question. Having seen them skating live, I have to say that Trusova’s jumps are not only definitely higher than Chen’s, the Toeloop is basically as high as Hanyu’s, but she also has a way better ice coverage, plus she skates on one foot.

A: Oh, they, this is an interesting thing I wanted to day: when we talked about Hanyu’s skating being more tiring, in general, it’s because, yes, there are more segments on one foot only, but there’s also a bigger ice coverage that, in theory, should be considered for the composition score.

D: Yes.

A: Someone consider it in the skating skills, but in my opinion

D: it’s not correct.

A: I’d say no, rather than yes, but it’s in Composition that you have to judge that score. Chen is not the only one to have limits of that kind, even if he improved, if you look with attention at Zagitova’s, I’d say Medvedeva’s too, it’s not like they have a lot of ice coverage. A ladies’ skater who has an important ice coverage is Miyahara, and Rika Kihira too, I’d say. Kostornaia, Hanyu, and, okay Hanyu is so... Hanyu takes care of this kind of details on his own, he calculates everything, the contrary would be surprising, but this is a very intelligent consideration, I’m happy that we have such a profound audience following us, I mean, it makes us proud.

#figure skating #yuzuru hanyu #massimiliano ambesi #angelo dolfini #transcription #translation #grand prix final 2019 #ISU Judging System

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