This episode was a neither-fish-nor-fowl torture. It didn't try to tell us much. It didn't promote Scott and Tessa's reality show personas (her a pathetic P.G. Wodehouse-esque gawdhelpus, him something out of Duck Dynasty) as much as previous episodes, so it was a slog. Episode 5 makes up for it (based on what I've read, I actually will be able to stay awake long enough to post that tomorrow), apparently.
The most striking element of this episode were the ways in which we saw how the actual Scott Moir is accustomed to wending his way through the maze of Tessa's insanity and zeroing in/connecting with something human.
And, to give Tessa some credit, there was this way she appears to differ from Moirville:
 |
| "TRYING to be funny? SUCCEEDING!" |
Very unlike Tessa, this sort of remark re Scott reads as completely genuine and not at all controlling/patronizing/pandering. How did Tessa overlook the opportunity here to make herself seem pathetic? Oh well, I hear she doubles down in Episode 5.
I'm so glad she has a daughter. That child will be chewing her nails to the quick and self-abusing by age 6, if she takes after her mother.
I certainly hope none of the little and young girls who idolize Tessa Virtue watch this show and learn what a male-dependant, self-lacerating, self-disgusted, inept, pathetic, incompetent waste of oxygen she finds herself to be, Olympic champion and model-gorgeous though she is. WAY to go, Tessa. Why not put a suicide hotline number scroll in all your scenes? I think you owe it to fans. If YOU suck, what right do all those ordinary females watching have to exist?
 |
| "Scott almost seemed to give a shit." |
 |
| I liked - and obviously, noticed, that moment too, Kate. |
WHY did people think she was smart? The blonde bob? Her husband is a litigation attorney? Tessa - the Madwoman of London - said she was?
At least it's settled now that she's as dumbass as her youngest daughter.
 |
| Seriously. Not even a random extra behind them. I'd say we should be insulted but let's just stipulate that about the entire reality show. |
 |
| They beat Kaitlyn and Andrew! What a relief! Maybe they'll make the top 5 in Sochi after all! |
 |
| Cassandra seems to be struggling to hold onto Scott, and Scott admires Tessa's outfit and notices her shoes! Episode 5 must be FANTASTIC! |
Episode 5 tomorrow (my plan is the whole thing).
Also, I'm going to put up some more skating comparisons (linked in the comments section to the post below).
Thank you for these.
ReplyDeleteWhat is particularly galling is how the narrative of 'DW never make mistakes' is upheld in spite of clear footage that they do and have been doing so all season. Meryl has been missing that key point throughout the season (SA, GPF, Nationals...I'll have to check NHK) while other teams have been managing to perform this key point cleanly. On paper, DW are very clean--in reality, it is a whole other story. Does the ISU think we know nothing about the rules or skating technique? That we don't know the difference between a flat and an edge?
11:49 here
ReplyDeleteI looked at the NHK footage but it is too fuzzy to make out...but from what I saw it didn't look great there either. They are getting the benefit of the doubt far too often for it to be a coincidence. But we are just silly fans, we are not supposed to be watching this as a sport or anything. Sparkly costumes and fun themes are it for us.
I was actually meaning the part before the key point, and how Meryl no longer flings her arm out. I don't think that's a mistake, considering it's the same at both GPF and Nats, but a calculated move to simplify getting back in hold. Which is, of course, a necessary thing to do for the best team in the world.
ReplyDelete@12:01
ReplyDeleteOh, I thought you were pointing out the weird bendy arm that bounces around. I see, that change she made does make getting into hold much easier.
The key point thing was just an aside--something that jumps out to me every time I watch their SD. She has never performed that choctaw well yet apparently this is the cleanest, most technical team out there.
Oh ok, I see haha! The key point discussion is well worth having, for sure. This is a bit random, but I remember D/W's Yankee Polka would get so sloppy after the last key point was done, and I wonder what their Finnstep would look like if the final key point wasn't so late in the pattern.
ReplyDeleteI really can't understand why VM was ever in favor of abolishing the CDs. It was where you could really see the difference between them and DW. I just watched DW's 2010 Worlds golden waltz. You know the part near the beginning of the pattern, where the couple spins around (I don't know the exact ice dance term)? Meryl's 'edges' were shit. And her belligerent attitude towards extension pisses me off. It makes me wonder if growing up at the rink, she'd been relentlessly compared to Tessa to the point she'd grown resentful and eventually decided 'fuck posture, line, free leg extension'.
ReplyDeleteThis is the dumbest article ever written: http://www.wnetwork.com/living/are-tessa-virtue-scott-moir-dating
ReplyDeleteIts dumbness is seriously a wonder to behold.
"Fun Canadian fact: She's been hit on by Jian Ghomeshi, Patrick Chan and probably dozens of more high profile Canadians!"
DeleteI'm not canadian but...this is fun? Really???
Oh well...so much for the skating and celebrating her as an individual...Kate Virtue should be so proud of how her making sure she had balance in terms of attending school etc and all that the W network can come with - oohh - let's see who she hooks up with after she's done competing...classy...and yes we are very private people...the irony...
Delete^^ probably lol and people call her "queen". nothing regal about shitty lines and posture sry2say.
ReplyDelete"I really can't understand why VM was ever in favor of abolishing the CDs."
ReplyDeleteI know why. They were arrogant enough to believe that it would never be used against them. I think they never realized that politics would make it possible for a team that has hopeless skating skills to win over them.
In their book, they say that CDs hurt Tessa's legs the most. They described barely being able to get through 2009 TEB (in Paris, they used to have the CD and the OD during the same day).
ReplyDeleteIn the lead up to Vancouver, training compulsories was one of the hardest things on Tessa's legs.
ReplyDeleteDo you guys really think that if CDs were still around that DW wouldn't be overmarked there as well? What would be going on is that the scoring would be such that DW would be scored as the greatest team ever in history when it came to CDs.
Exactly 10:25. And CDs were easier to manipulate. They didn't even go through the farce of pretending there were key points and that DW were hitting them. They just graded the sections of the pattern with GOE and then gave PCS marks for the entire CD.
ReplyDeleteDW would have simply said they brought Ludmila Pakhmova back from the dead and she consulted on their CDs and said they were best and had improved so much.
"DW would have simply said they brought Ludmila Pakhmova back from the dead and she consulted on their CDs and said they were best and had improved so much."
ReplyDeleteLol, very true. If the CDs were still around, the judges would just inflate DW's scores there, giving them scores to top N&K's record. They are completely disregarding the rules now.
I keep hearing that DW never make mistakes and have such technical precision. How is missing edges on key points, rocking your blades and not being able to hold your positions in lifts and messing up your twizzles clean and technically precise? These are mistakes they have made numerous times (they messed up the twizzles at NHK and in both programs at GPF and missed key points at every event and their lifts have been a mess all season). Like OC said, their momentum is all on paper. They have been messing up all over the place this season (I am talking mistakes on top of their already flawed technique) but the judges just ignore it. Ice dance is a joke.
Of all the things to be upset about this episode, it really bothered me how backstage it kept switching between her SD and FD hair and makeup. The editing on this is incredibly sloppy even aside from all the lying.
ReplyDelete