Another poster mentioned that Yulia is a one-trick pony in that all of her programs portray her as a 'forlorn waif'. I believe Yulia's team has kept her in this mode simply because she doesn't have the musicality to portray a wider range of characters and at the same time execute the difficult elements in her programs. So she does her brief character bits (sad facial expressions) at the start and end of her programs and the program itself is all meticulously choreographed to incorporate certain moves at certain times in the music to make it appear that she is 'feeling' the music.
The problem now for Yulia is her music in the ongoing seasons. She can't do "Schindler" endlessly, and there are limited pieces of music that can have a similar impact. I find it somewhat amusing that posters speak of Yulia's 'vulnerability' when it is obvious from watching her expressions off-ice that she is tough as nails, and the only time you see real emotion from her is when she doesn't win---then she is MAD--and shows it plainly.
Posters have also mentioned her consistency, which has begun to unravel a bit. IMO, that is happening because despite the strict diet and rigorous training regimen, Yulia is beginning to develop hips and the first inkling of that is her problem with the salchow. Puberty can be postponed only so long.
So by that logic everyone at world's need to hang em up and move on..Mao, Carolina, Gracie, etc all messed up and must be unraveling...its sad....guess its time to bring in Polina.
And yes its all just the choreography.. Yulia must have just gotten lucky to get the best choreography in the world last season. " choreographed to incorporate certain moves and certain times in the music" ...um..lol..isn't that what everyone does? that's kind of what you are training to do.. The 5 golds, 3 silvers, millions that love her not to mention the standing ovations in 4 different countries clearly show she doesn't connect with the music or audience. If only she would just skate and smile!! yes smile..its all about smiling. After all being able to smile shows you have a wide range in emotions. lol..sorry I just don't get why people think she should act all happy while she preforms and somehow that would emit more emotion. Couldn't you ask the same of the all those that seem to only show the emotion of happiness? Are they one trick ponies? Just because you don't connect with her doesn't mean she isn't connecting with millions of other. I guess the only way for her to prove herself is next year. She's already had a better career at 15 then most can even dream about but I still hope she has even more coming in the future!