Hana Chan

That's not what I said. What I said was that no one would say anything because those who didn't toe the line knew that they would be replaced in a heartbeat. When you're in a gym with about 30 other woman all shooting for the few slots on an Olympic team and either Bella or Marta has sole say over who got one of those slots, you don't make waves. You spent your whole life building up for that one shot, fighting through injuries and broken bones and this is just one more discomfort and indignity that needed to be endured so they could have that chance to achieve their goals. If these young women were confident that their interests and safety would have been protected and they wouldn't be retaliated against, we wouldn't have had to wait until some who had already been cut or retired from competition to start the ball rolling. As I said, if Simone Biles felt that speaking out would risk her spot on the team, it speaks volumes about how corrupt the USGA was. Everything that I've read and seen about how Eteri runs her program is pretty much the same. The girls drill quads all day, using the crappy technique that wrecks their backs and if anyone complains? They're out the door and likely have no chance of making it into the Grand Prix and Olympic events. When Zagitova was trying to get back into competitive shape (and keep in mind that she was only 18), Eteri made it clear that she wasn't a priority, accused her of being lazy when she couldn't drill jumps all day and instead of helping Alina work through what was holding her back, drove her out of the sport. If any of her current troika think that Eteri will have any interest in helping their careers once the newest teenager rises from juniors to dazzle the judges, I've got a bridge to sell them. And if these girls are told to take "vitamins" for their own good, they're not going to argue.

When Simone Biles, the most decorated gymnast in the history of the sport, feels that she cannot speak up, then the federation has a huge fucking problem. At least it's starting to be addressed now. I was watching Nathan's presser and I love how complimentary he was towards Yuzuru and that he was honored to compete against a man that he considers a legend in the sport (even though Yuzu really wasn't able to compete against Nathan this time around). The press gets caught up in the rivalries, but the elite skating world is a pretty small one and the top men all know one another pretty well. They compete regularly and know better than anyone else what it takes to get to this level in the sport. I'm sure that Nathan is sorry that Yuzu had a rough event and that while he was happy to win, he would have preferred to win with his greatest "rival" skating the way we know he can skate.

The problem with the way Eteri and the Karoylis approach sports is that the athletes are disposable. It was always very clear to everyone involved that stepping out of line of faltering in the smallest way would end up with you being left off the national teams because there was always someone else ready and willing to take your place. So the althletes learn early on to keep their mouths shut and toe the line so they can make it to the Olympics. We saw that with the Larry Nassir scandal, that the few gymnasts that complained about his abuse were cut from being considered for the national team. Retaliation was a given so the ones who made it to the Olympics only spoke about their abuse after the door was opened and their chances to compete weren't at risk. Athletes being abused and used up by their federations is nothing new and hardly isolated. What I think makes Eteri so pernicious is that, like the Karoylis, she seems to have near total control over which skaters make it to the big competitions. And with the ISU constantly rewarding her and her skaters, they have no reason to change. I'm not optimistic about the Olympic Committee or the ISU making a stand now and risk disqualifying Eteri's brightest (current) star.

The downside of any sport with an "artistic" element (like figure skating and gymnastics) is that there is a lot of wiggle room for subjectivity. The current scoring system was supposed to take a lot of that subjectivity out and making it clear what was expected when an element was performed and would be scored at how well it was done accordingly. Unfortunately that doesn't usually happen. I can't count the number of times when I found myself screaming at the television about one skater being zinged for an element while others who made errors got high GOEs. The video that I posted shows just show screwed up the judging is for Eteri's girls. That the moment they hit the seniors, their GOEs go through the roof. Then the new dazzling 15 year old shows up two years later and their GOEs start coming back down to earth. I'm wondering if a scoring system the way we have in gymnastics would be more fair. An element would have a maximum value (instead of a base value) and then deductions would be leveled for specific reasons (missed edges, positioning, etc). It wouldn't erase the subjectivity completely but it would certainly help to rein in the abuses.

There is no question that a lot of sports programs have very questionable histories and there are a lot of coaches that should be run out of the sports. But it's one thing for a federation to turn a blind eye to abuses (such as what happened with US gymnastics) and the systemic issues that we see in the Russian skating federation. Eteri gets results, but she totally destroys her athletes as a result. When Evgenia Medvedeva moved to train with Brian Orser, her back was destroyed by the torquing that Eteri's technique of jumping caused, and she's not an isolated case. Alina Zagitova was finished in the sport before she was 19. The medals that Eteri's 15 year old phenoms win are paid for with being forced out of the sport by their own bodies before they're 20. I know that this is a sport that favors the young, but Eteri's stable takes it to an extreme that the ISU needs to address. This YouTube video really documents just how pervasive the problem on the Russian side is, and that doesn't even go into the doping issues that got the Russian team banned in theory (though not in practice).

I adore Jason and he's definitely one of the best artistic skaters alive right now. It's a serious flaw of the judging system that the technical side of the sport (focusing on the quad jumps) and not as much on the artistic side. Jason is also 27 (same as Yuzu) but didn't have the quads at an early age so he was at a real disadvantage as quads became so critical to winning. It's hard to learn them when you didn't train for them when you were younger. It's remarkable that he's as competitive as he is without a secure quad (especially when others are doing multiple quads and quads in combination), but he's usually not able to really contend for the podium at international competitions. I'm looking forward to seeing him and Yuzu going pro, where they don't have to worry about judging and can just do stunning performances for appreciative audiences. I'll never forget Yuzu's gala performance where his only jump was a single delayed axel and the performance was so gorgeous that you didn't miss the jumps. I'd like to see the scoring system recalibrated to give the artistic side of the sport more weight, but that's an argument for another day.

I'm seeing some mixed reports about the quad axel - some are reporting that according to the score sheet that it has been ratified (though performed as underrotated). If so, then Yuzuru achieved his goal.

I'll be more interested in pairs and ice dancing. It's not a lot of fun to watch a competition where the winners are a foregone conclusion. And with this cloud hanging over Kamila and Eteri's whole school, it's going to be unpleasant to stomach seeing a Russian sweep of the podium. I can't help from feeling that we're watching the end of an era on the men's side of the sport. I suspect that right after Worlds, we're going to see a slew of retirements. Yuzu will probably retire after Worlds if he decides to compete at all there (he's a bit hurt from a fall he took in practice so he said that he's not ready to consider his future at the moment). After a decade in the sport, and all that he's accomplished, he could step back and be proud of what he did. Even if he doesn't get his quad axel ratified (it has been certified, so he's halfway there), he's had a career to be very proud of. Nathan achieved his goal and while I can see him sticking around, he achieved his final goal so he might be ready to move on before he riisks the kind of injuries that have hamstrung Yuzuru the past few years. He also has a career to be proud of and got this final crown jewel. Shoma and Bo Yang will probably retire, as will Jason. They've headlined the men's side of the sport for many years now and I'm kind of looking forward to seeing what the younger men are going to accomplish as they start rising in the ranks. I don't think that I'll ever be as invested in a skater as I was with Yuzuru but I'll always be a fan of the sport and would like to see how it continues to evolve.

Why? Because that will mean that team Japan's medals will be upgraded too. Look... I may not be a huge fan of Nathan because I don't love his style of skating. I can admire it and I'll agree that he has improved on his artistic quality tremendously, but I much prefer the style of skaters like Yuzuru, Plushenko and Yuma. Nathan worked very hard to win this medal and I'm happy for him because I know how disappointing losing at the last Olympics. He deserves this medal. Do I think he's going to leave as much a mark on the sport as someone like Pleshenko or Dick Button or some of the other greats? I'm not sure.... Nathan had an outstanding quad, but others have had outstanding quads before and will in the future. As I said, the sport always moves on. We'll have to see where things go, but I certainly can do without the various fanbases egging one another on.

As far as whether going for the quad axel was a bad idea, Yuzuru has said many times that it was his only reason for staying competitive. He's done everything else. He's a 2x OGM, has won every other competition that he could as a junior and senior and held multiple world records, He had absolutely nothing left to prove and his place as one of the greatest in the history of his sport is secure. This was a challenge that he set for himself and he's worked hard to try to see it through. And he's so close. The medal was always secondary. I'm sure that he would have liked to win but I think that it's probably more disappointed that he didn't land the axel than about not making the podium. And when you look at the ages of those that he was competing against this time around, the fact that he was very much in the mix is remarkable. He's five years older than Nathan, three years older than Shoma and nine years older than Yuma. He's come back from injuries that would have had most calling it a career and he is one of the best skaters in the world. And what happened hear is what happens to every top skater. At some point, they are going to be beaten by the younger ones who haven't been so physically beaten up by the sport. I'll never forget how Plushenko had to withdraw at Sochi because he physically wasn't able to compete, and when Patrick Chan just got swamped by the younger skaters doing quads. And at some point, if he doesn't retire, someone is going to surpass Nathan. It's the nature of sports that at some point, there is always a new champion. I don't know what Yuzuru plans at this point. It's possible that he'll go to Worlds and see if he can get that quad axel ratified since he's so close but if he decides that this is it for him, then he has nothing to feel sorry about. When you consider that the only thing that kept Yuzuru from winning a third Olympic medal was a chink in the ice, he's more than just a king. He's a fucking legend.

That is just what I was thinking. I'm sorry, but Nathan is not a Tom Brady. In this quad he certainly has been the dominant skater, but I'm tired of the US commentators disregarding the legends like Pleshenko and Yuzuru who have spent many years at the top of the game. He's the king now, but there will a new king in a few years. Can I say that I really hate this routine? I get why he's blowing the others out of the water, but I hate this program.

This has always been an issue with the way the scoring is calculated. the ISU was trying to take the arbitrariness that we sometimes saw and to reward skaters who were doing more difficult elements. They wanted to make the scoring more transparent. It is better than the old system, but we do find that a mediocre quad will outscore an exceptional triple. I've sometimes wondered if the sport would do better to have a scoring system the way we have with gymnastics. That there is a maximum score for any specific element and then they just deduct for any flaws. But I do get why they want the flexibility for rewarding truly exceptional skating.

If he didn't do the required number of rotations, the spin sequence is disallowed. It happened to Yuzuru once. Nice showing by Shoma regardless of the mistakes. Team Japan did us proud tonight.

It is amazing that at worst, Yuzu is finishing at 4rh. A fantastic comeback after being so far behind the leaders. As much as I wanted to see him on the podium, I can't be disappointed.

The man is a legend. He's much older than nearly everyone else on the ice and still able to skate at this level despite coming back from injuries that for most would have ended their careers. He keeps trying to push the sport forward and he's got absolutely nothing to be sorry for. INathan is now where Yuzuru was five years ago, before that first ankle injury. The sport moves forward but nothing that happens here takes away from everything that Yuzuru has accomplished. I hope to see him at Worlds but if he decides to call it a career after tonight, all I can say is that it's been a joy watching him all these years.

I also have an issue with the penalties not being evenly levied out because she's a minor. The runs should be the same across the board and if she's too young to be penalized, then she is too young to compete at the Olympics. Enough is enough. And Eteri and her team need to be investigated because I'll bet you anything that most of her girls are being improperly medicated. They just haven't been caught yet.

I was heartbroken for Vincent because it's got to totally suck having to pull out because got sick and for Yuzu, because he just had the bad luck of hitting that divot at just the wrong moment. These athletes work so hard and to be taken out of competition (or in Yuzu's case, probable medal contention) for something outside their control really stinks. But the ROC team is making a mockery of fair sport. I never bought the idea that it was possible to punish the federation while not punishing the athletes was ever going to be possible. And my opinion of Eteri and the way she goes through these young skaters like toilet paper is probably not possible to say in polite company. It's not to say that there aren't abuses in other countries, but in Russia it does seem to be systematic and there is zero concern for the wellbeing of the athletes.

To be fair, the original series ended with none of the women (except for Carrie) ending up as they might have thought they would when SITC first started. Charlotte did marry the perfect society man and the marriage was a disaster. She found happiness with her fat, hairy Jewish divorce lawyer. Samantha would never settle down, but found herself genuinely in love with a sweet young actor who stood by her during the darkest moments of her life. Carrie did end up with her idealized partner, but we were shown how toxic and destructive her relationship with Big was. As for Miranda.... yes, the plan for her life got upended by the unexpected pregnancy but in the end, she chose Steve. She chased after him and made the choice that this quiet, unassuming man was the one she wanted to spend her life with. And she found herself happy and fulfilled with the compromises that she had to make in order for her family to be secure. It's okay to write a story that she became discontented with that life and yearned for the excitement of her early years (the midlife crisis) but how they handled it was a travesty. That she never loved Steve and that the child that she chose to have and upended her life to raise would not be a consideration at all in her choices of how to end things. They made Miranda, who was always clever and deliberate with her choices a flightily, careless twit who got swept away with this new love and the hell with how this affected anyone else. A show can write any story they want for a character, but if they don't take into account what a character's actual history was and what the audience remembers (rather than how they just want to present it in the current story), then it shouldn't come as a surprise that the majority of the audience rejects it.

And I have no problem with them shutting the door on KC returning on the remote chance that she might entertain the idea. The problem is that by constantly bringing up Samantha on the show with the repeated texts right through the finale, they kept her character in the picture and kept the media poking at the question of KC possibly coming back in the second season. They basicaly turned Samantha into a Chekov's Gun and you know that a big rule of storytelling is that you don't introduce an element like that and not have it mean something. The way they could have taken the media and fan attention off of KC was not to mention Samantha or do the texts past Big's funeral. SJP and the writers are at fault for keeping this going and then acting all offended that KC should even be considered to return. And with the total dumpster fire that AJLT turned into, KC is looking very smart by keeping away and just throwing some subtle shade.

I'm sure that SJP would rather have her wisdom teeth extracted without novocain before welcoming KC back. That is, on the remote chance that KC develops retroactive amnesia and forgets why she wanted nothing to do with the show anymore. The problem for SJC is that the show really needed KC and Samantha. Her absence left a big hole in the show and the relationships between all the characters was seriously out of balance. All you have to do is watch any episode from the original series and see just how superior a show it was to AJLT. In a way, the title of the reboot makes sense. Because there was such a disconnect with everything from the original series and movies that this storyline started Just Like That.

I totally agree with this. KC had her own reasons for not wanting to be involved with the franchise any further and that was that as far as she was concerned. She didn't have to play "friends" with the others anymore, which is understandable if she was excluded from the bond formed by SJP, CN and KD. It had been a decade since she left the show and wanted it in her rear view mirror. A lot of the response to the Samantha question from SJP and the show runners feels way too much like "Well, we never wanted you in the first place!" It's childish and petty and they could have avoided the constant questions about KC returning for a possible season 2 (please, Gods, but no!) could have been avoided if they didn't constantly have Carrie texting with Samantha. As far as a second season goes... if they get any kind of award consideration, then it will happen. Here's hoping that they get totally shut out of the Emmys.

The problem was that the dress wore her, not the other way around. It just swallowed her up into a big, shapeless, tangerine mass. It wasn't pretty or flattering. It was just a mess of fabric.

The problem with the Samantha/KC situation is that they didn't just leave it alone. As much as I disliked how they explained her absence, the show gave a reason why Samantha was gone and they should have left it as that. Instead they kept bringing Samantha into the storylines with the unnecessary texts. It would be one thing if the texts were actually pivotal and important to moving the stories along, but they were just incidental. All they did was remind the audience that one member of the group isn't there and wasn't the show so much better when Samantha was around. If SJP and the show runners are annoyed at KC constantly being brought up, they have no one to blame but themselves because they didn't leave the situation alone. They were the ones who made a big deal about Samantha and keeping her a fixture in the storyline long after KC made it abundantly clear that nothing short of a gun to her head would make her even consider returning to the show. I agree that we don't know what went on behind the scenes, but it's obvious that there is a lot of bad blood and KC made it very clear that she would not come back. Why SJP and the show couldn't leave her out of it speaks more about them than anything else.

The show runners and CN seem to think that none of us remember the original series. The problem is that we did and we remember what happened. Otherwise they wouldn't have spent so much time and effort with the press and fluff reviews to try to convince us that we're wrong and the storyline is actually really fantastic for Miranda. The fact that the series is over and they're still doing damage control just shows how wrong they were. So glad that CN was happy to reenact her own life on the show. Hope that it was worth staining SITC's legacy to accomplish that.

The writers have clearly failed in the most basic rule of good storytelling. Show, don't tell. Telling us that Miranda was always miserable in her relationship with Steve didn't fly with the majority of the viewers didn't stick because the we saw in the show that their relationship was real and deep and genuine. If they wanted us to buy that things have changed significantly, they needed to show it in order for it to be believable. Because we didn't and just went by Miranda's totally out of character behavior, it didn't work. And when you need to trot out CN and SR (and the show runners) repeatedly in the press to justify this radical shift in a character's storyline and poo pooing that the audience is rejecting it because we just never understood Miranda as a character, it's again a failure on their part. It's not the audience's fault that they didn't believe or like what we were seeing. And with good storytelling, you can get your audience to go along with pretty much anything. They took the sloppy, lazy way out and then have their surprised faces on that it wasn't well received, When you read fanfiction written by a fourteen year old that shows more thought and consideration that we saw here, it's not the audience who has the problem.