Yes, it was obvious Plushenko was the rightful winner. But come on, his PCS were ridiculous for what he did. He did great jumps (technical) but not one of them had a difficult jump entrance (transitions). He didn't even try the usual perfunctory footwork in front of any of them. This makes the jumps easier - something that should be reflected somewhere in his scores, but clearly was not.
Also his choreography was not the best out there. His program was front-loaded with jumps - again making it easier. Also detracting from the overall theme. With all those jumps right up front he appeared to not even notice what his music was until midway through his program when he headed into footwork.
I also somewhat question his high scores on footwork, but that's on the tech side.
The judges could have easily given Plushenko scores more reflective of his actual performance and he would still have won. It irks me that they try to make it look like he had the best skate of all time. I thought, in fact, just in general performance quality it didn't even rank up there with the best performances Plushenko's ever given. He looked kind of paint-by-numbers without much passion. Perhaps because there was nobody there to push him. Nevertheless, it was not the most exciting LP in Olympic history.
End of ramble.
Also his choreography was not the best out there. His program was front-loaded with jumps - again making it easier. Also detracting from the overall theme. With all those jumps right up front he appeared to not even notice what his music was until midway through his program when he headed into footwork.
I also somewhat question his high scores on footwork, but that's on the tech side.
The judges could have easily given Plushenko scores more reflective of his actual performance and he would still have won. It irks me that they try to make it look like he had the best skate of all time. I thought, in fact, just in general performance quality it didn't even rank up there with the best performances Plushenko's ever given. He looked kind of paint-by-numbers without much passion. Perhaps because there was nobody there to push him. Nevertheless, it was not the most exciting LP in Olympic history.
End of ramble.