Mirai needs to be a stronger competitor like Ando or Flatt or should will never realize her full potential. Also her work ethic is questionable since she didn't seem to be in the kind of shape heading into Nationals that she should have been. And lastly she needs to start rotating her jumps. It's getting to be a habit. Frank isn't the problem. It's time for her to grow up and start taking her skating career seriously.
Mirai's face after she skated said it all--a look of wry amusement. She knew she hadn't skated well, but she didn't particularly care. Too bad. She has the talent, but she is frittering it away through her lack of seriousness and resistance to doing the hard work it takes to be a top skater.
When Michelle Kwan "sold it" in the footwork it was called passion. Yet when Rachael "lights it up" in her foorwork sequence, it is called flailing? I think Rachael is doing a phenomenal job and that much commitment to performance should be rewarded in my opinion.
I'm pretty sure she's just taking a moment to get out of character, since she's had similar expressions at the end of her feisty SP in previous competitions (although not as obvious) and she doesn't in her FS.
Don't be too quick to project negative attributes to young skaters we barely know.
If Mirai had Rachael's work ethic, she would quickly become unbeatable.
She is the Patrick Chan of womens skating.
When was she ever in character during her SP? To my eyes, she went through her program rather mechanically with very little facial expression. OTOH, Mirai has a habit of showing her feelings before and after she skates. When she skates well, she ends her SP with a big smile. Not so this time.