Honestly, I think Anna has already lost the PCS advantage over Kamila. We saw at nationals, they basically had the same scores. Anna performed the best that she could, there's really no more improvement she can have in PE/INT (she can however improve her SS). Kamila, on the other hand, while it was her best outing, was still very reserved in her performance and already got the same scores. If she works on her PE/INT in the off-season, and I believe that she will, and delivers better performances next season, her scores will rise more.
And the big thing is Kamila had a fall on her 3A, and we've seen her land it. Anna may have created the moment here, but if Kamila landed her 3A in the short she would've probably had the highest PCS and won nationals regardless of how Anna performed. Even though the performance as a whole still has a lot of room for improvement.
Everyone can say how Anna's artistry was much better here than Kamila, but the scores indicate that they're the same, with Kamila having much more room to improve.
It's important to keep in mind what did happen at nationals.
After Sasha's stunning skate, Kamila rose to the challenge and delivered an even more stunning skate and absolutely brought the house down. I think the judges were reacting to Kamila's skate as if they had just seen their RusNats champion. I think they scored her as if she was the newly crowned RusNats champion. Yes the 2x defending champion was still to come but I don't think anyone - including Anna's own coaches - expected what was about to happen. (Remember the last time the judges saw Anna she was struggling to breathe after her SP. They probably didn't think Anna could make it through the FS.) So with Kamila's PCS sooo high there wasn't anywhere higher they could really go with Anna's. Although it was really Anna's TES that made the difference.
In all of this (and in every judging scenario), it's important to remember judges are human. They should be objectively looking at the skates in front of them but they're human. That's why a reputation for being clean, being artistic, and having a winning resume is sooo important. Because judges are humans and they have biases. Before you even begin to skate, they have an expectation of what they are about to see.
Likewise, going into this competition, before anyone stepped foot on the ice, it's been pretty obvious that Kamila is being pushed and positioned as the heir apparent of the Russian ladies crown (and maybe even the OGM). That's the expectation that everyone - including the judges - had going into this competition. And you can see that in her scores in at the Cup of Russia and her SP/FS scores - even with a fall on the 3A in the SP.
Interestingly enough though, I think while Kamila probably kept her position as heir apparent, I actually think Anna and Sasha did more for their cases here.
Another thing to note though is how these girls have been received internationally. Anna, Kamila, and Aliona in particular have lines and artistic styles that tend to be perceived favourably internationally and have been well received in the past.
Kamila, for example, handily beat Alysa in the FS at the GPF, despite coming off of injuries and without her two 4T while Alysa had two 4Lz and two 3As. Yes, Alysa fell and had other underrotation mistakes but the message the judges sent was clear. We value artistry and clean programs over technical content. (For the record, I think that's the same message they're sending Sasha.) When Kamila got her 4Ts back it was game over. She beat Sasha's FS junior WR FS despite Sasha's TES being higher. She also blew away Sasha's WR total score by almost 5 points! despite Sasha's SP AND FS TES being higher. The only one who held their junior record is Aliona's WR SP indicating yet again that judges are looking for and value artistry. In fact, it's interesting to note that at World Juniors Kamila's FS PCS were 6 POINTS HIGHER that Alysa's. Yes Alysa had mistakes but that's a giant difference when considering the number 1 junior (and defending national senior US champion) from the US versus the number 1 junior from Russia. It's also interesting to note that Daria's FS PCS were also quite a bit higher (3 points) that Alysa's too and that might be even more indicative as Daria was the number 2 from Russia. As Daria's style is also artistic, it's a notable difference.
Anna too, even as number 2 and even with not completely clean skates (such as a fall and underration so only 1/3 clean quads) has gotten incredibly close to Sasha's WR (3 clean quad) TES skate. If Anna had stayed upright on her 4F she would have beaten Sasha's WR TES skate (even with 0 GOE on the 4F and including the underrotation on the 4 Lz). Considering Anna's PCS were rapidly approaching Aliona's internationally I think it's clear that judges value her artistry and interpretation.
I think it's very clear what the judges value when it comes to determining PCS - artistry, interpretation, and clean skates. (Reputation and technical content are a bonus after that has been established.)
EDIT: Anna and Kamila are artistic, ethereal skaters and are quite consistent (considering their technical content.) So they innately have what judges subconsciously look for. They also now have the reputation as Russians perceived 1/2 (order may vary) as well as a glittering international resume (with Anna being the 3x RusNats champion and Kamila being the reigning JGPF and Junior Worlds champion). Finally, they also have incredible technical content (but that's the bonus rather than the base for their PCS). (So if their technical content fails them slightly (in one particular occasion), they still have their reputation/resume and artistry/performance/interpretation.)
).
