I agree, silver for Akiko, but I am just happy she made the podium, and I thouhght it was beteen her and ZWagner for bronze, and I guess it was, though Ashley could have been bronze. I don't get the scoring often.
I still haven't seen, anywhere, any plausible explanation for Akiko's PCS scores (particularly PE, CH and I). Not even getting into whether she deserved the silver over Alena (ahh, the heck with it, I thought she did
, but that's not my primary point), how is it that possible that they got exactly the same scores (and I mean the
exactly the same scores: 7.50, 7.25, 7.50) on these components in the Free Skate?
In the Short, Alena hugely outscored Akiko on the "artistic" components, and I suppose a crude argument could be made that Alena skated the cleaner program, with verve and energy. Akiko wasn't technically quite as clean, and I could see that her performance was just a little bit tentative and subdued compared to her usual effervescent self. At least there's an argument, however neolithic. (Then again, this applied to Carolina Kostner as well, but CaroK ended up in a virtual dead-heat with Alena on these three components...)
But even this crude rationale doesn't apply in the LP, inasmuch as Akiko outscored Alena in the technical elements, and it was Akiko who showed the energy and verve, while Alena skated with the methodical momentum of a freight train. Don't get me wrong, I admired and even liked Alena's performance. I've publicly rooted online for her this season, acknowledging both her grit as well as the fact that this LP was a refreshing change of pace for her. But this doesn't blind me to the fact that, at least as far as the artistic aspects are concerned, Akiko's performance in this here World Championships LP was on a completely different level from Alena's.
Are we to understand from this that the scoring of these components should be completely in line with technical scoring? Which is not only obviously absurd (if that were the case, there would be no need for separate component scoring in the first place), but the case of Carolina (see above) shows that it is, thankfully, not the way it's actually applied.
Is it just a bizarre one-off? Intellectually unsatisfying (not to mention a cop-out).
Is it reputation? But Akiko was one of the performance leaders this entire season, and many expected her to be a genuine contender in this Championships (which turned out to be accurate). I find it hard to believe that there wasn't enough time for Akiko to build genuine respect, particularly in those aspects where where her talents, for even the average viewer, are manifest.
Is it Federation support (that Akiko has never been the Japanese #1)? I've always hated this kind of argument. Not least because I don't understand the exact mechanics of how this would work. Also because it assumes that 1) judging is still corrupt, and 2) it requires that judges be automatons, who follow their directives no matter what is happening in front of their eyes and what they personally think. Absent any damning evidence, I will not level such accusations at other human beings.
Which brings me back to my original question: what is the logical way to understand Akiko's LP result? Someone put me out of my misery, because this question has been annoying me no end for the past couple of days.
(BTW, I thought Ashley's PCS in the LP was inexplicably low, too, although she was further behind so it would have required a much larger swing in PCS for bronze).
:, this 
), but I haven't given up my struggle for complete internal consistency.
