Mao: 
Love the program, love the confidence. Not really feeling the dress, but it does show off her excellent donut spin (everyone else's looks like a D, hers is an O). Considering Rika's 3F-3T was counted, I don't see why Mao's 3F-3Lo wasn't (yes, there was pre-rotation going on... but that's what happens for loops in general). Seeing a skate like that get 37 Tech makes me miss 6.0.
Rika: She still more work in terms of arms/body movement, but gotta give props to her consistency. Very deserved second place.
Courtney: A little boring for me, TBH. :hopelessness: I know many people love her jumps, but they just don't seem... aesthetically pleasing to me? The air position always looks wild and out of control--like every jump is Patrick Chan's triple axel, though thankfully with a higher "hit" percentage. Still, I can't dispute her placement since the people below her (mostly) messed up.
Anna: It's nice to see her genuinely performing and connecting with her program, at the beginning. However, the middle section really sagged as the mistakes crept in. She did get (sorta) back on track with the step sequence though.
Zijun: There's a lightness and ease to her skating, which I love. I just wish she could combine it with a bit more speed and attack (which could help the jumps too). I thought she deserved a bit more points-wise (around Courtney's score).
Elena: I adore that dress! The program was a bit... COP-in-a-way-I-didn't-love. It was full of transitions but most of it didn't seem to enhance the choreography/performance. Lena is such a wonderful performer; surely there's something else she will connect with more? :think: Regarding the jumps, I actually think that lutz looked bigger than any lutz she did last year... which could be throwing off her timing, causing her to miss the second half of the combo. It's disheartening to see her struggle (there goes the chance of anyone going clean), but I'm not going to hit the panic button yet.
Her nerves are bringing her down and it's a real shame.
