Based on GP performance, a lot more was expected of Arakawa, Phaneuf and Rochette (among women) and Joubert and Weir (among men) than they ended up delivering. (Kwan actually did better at Worlds than 5 of the 6 ladies who made it to the GP final). IMO, the importance of the GP lies in getting feedback on the program and (especially for MK) signaling to the judges the degree of the skater's intensity and seriousness.