I actually enjoyed watching it last night; after seeing the results and reading about all the controversy during the day about the results I didn’t think I would.
To me, the programs that moved me most were
1) Mao, for her courage. I don’t think she really feels the music or interprets as well as some of the others, but what a great comeback.
2) Carolina. Just gorgeous speed, flow, technique. She didn’t have quite the technical difficulty so that could play into her placement, but I thought she should have had the highest PCS
3) Polina. Amazing! Better skate than Nationals, even with her fall. She is so incredibly musical, has great flow in and out of her jumps. In a way, she reminds me of a young Carolina. It was hard to tell how her speed, etc. matched with the others, but she has a great future, I think.
I felt that while Yuna was clean, there was something missing in her performance; it’s less tangible, but just a sense of heart/magic that wasn’t there this time. I love her, but it just wasn't quite Vancouver this time. It's been a tough year for her.
Adelina – skated the best she ever has. I don’t think she should have had as high PCS as she did, because she does not have the edge quality, flow, and control of the other top women. But she picked perfect music for her skating style, and she interpreted it well, skated with all the passion and energy that Yuna lacked. So I can see how that might have tipped the scales in her favor for some of the judges.
Gracie was great, it will be great fun watching her and Polina compete. I didn’t feel she had quite the natural flow of Polina, but she is becoming the complete package. Maybe she just needs to skate with a bit more joy – I’m guessing Polina felt she had nothing to lose, while Gracie felt a bit more pressure being the US champ and perhaps getting a medal.
Ashley was out for blood Too bad she had the trouble with her combo!
Lipnitskaya – a lot on her shoulders and she seems pretty hard on herself. 5th is not bad, but with her expectations she of course expected more, but never skated against everyone like this. I hope she doesn’t headcase herself too much.
So, even though I don’t think the judging was “rigged”, I think the ISU needs to address some of the issues being brought up. Yuri Balkov should not have been allowed in there to judge. And I agree that anonymous judging should go.