^I think Yuna SP was very spectacular (in terms of a "casual fan" visual perspective, not in terms of levels/scores). I liked her LP too, but I can understand why some people might not. Mao's LP was the performance of the night, but sadly it was never going to be enough after that short program.
In case you weren't watching, Sotnikova's LP (with many errors) outscored Mao's LP by more than Mao outscored Lipnitskaia (who fell all over herself).
Had Asada skated a clean short, she still would have been annihilated by Sotnikova's score. Need anyone say more?
The other skaters had no chance because the results were predetermined according to deals that were struck before the Games. All the Russians had to do was stay upright and they would have finished 1-2. Lipnitskaia fell so many times and was so awful that not even her ridiculously inflated scores could put her on the podium. Sotnikova on the other hand managed to skate relatively well (hey, she deserved to be on the podium for sure) that virtually all of her errors were overlooked and her scores were goal-seeked to ensure victory.