Score: A+

This was such an important episode for determining Inori’s future. That was already a true statement going into the episode. But the way the focus changed made for a great twist. Inori was given another difficult choice to make and had to make it pretty much on the spot. With only limited training time it was important to make a quick choice, but also to make the right choice. In a sense there is no wrong choice since she’s going to keep skating and trying to take down Hikaru regardless. But it was huge for her to decide where the focus was going to be. Any choice can lock down other options in the future, that’s just how life goes.

This girl is a damn good protagonist!

There was so much growth in this episode and I loved it. This show is all about Inori and Tsukasa. I’ve said it a million times, but it still feels right to repeat that. Inori is the one skating now and the one chasing those medalist dreams. But she’s not chasing them alone and Tsukasa’s role and personal story is very much as important as hers. And that’s why the show works. Tsukasa can offer the right advice and support because he’s been there. He’s experienced the pain of failure, lacking support, or cornering oneself due to the pressure of needing to succeed. He’s not some wise guru, he’s just someone that’s experienced plenty of setbacks and can offer insight from where his life has led him.

And that’s what let him help Inori get where she needed to go. He stopped her from obsessing over failure and to just focus on…feeling the jump. Because it really was all about her mind and body processing what she has to do during that jump. Once she just let go of her tension and overthinking everything…she was free to make the jump. It will of course be a challenge to do so on the biggest stage. But…having experienced success will make all the difference in giving herself a chance.

Some fantastic visuals!

That brings us to the big choice…the quadruple Salchow! At no point did I think she was going to chase a jump like that. To be fair…neither did Tsukasa or Inori! Uobuchi is a masterclass of a coach! The man looked at Inori’s abilities, tried something, and then offered one heck of a wild suggestion. And it left Inori with yet another agonizing choice. Chase the quad jump or focus on getting the triple Lutz under control.

We didn’t see Tsukasa’s breakdown of the options, but we can certainly guess. The Lutz is something that Inori had before and could probably get back easier. But it’s a tough jump that’s judged with serious scrutiny. So unless she can nail that jump perfectly it’s only going to give so many points. The quadruple is working off Inori’s best jump in the Salchow. Taking that triple Salchow and making it a quadruple Salchow would give it a huge amount of points. Far more than a clean triple Salchow and the triple Lutz that’s judged pretty seriously. But if she can’t nail the quad then she might have to go with only the double Lutz and triple Salchow which would mean no chance. But it’s also her best opportunity to actually beat Hikaru. Tough call. But I respect her going for the quad.

This man is a master of his craft!

Full respect to Uobuchi for getting Tsukasa on the ice and having him use the harness. It was important for Inori and Tsukasa. Even if Inori looked horrified at the suggestion! Falls happen and are part of the risk of getting on the ice. Inori needs to get comfortable with Tsukasa doing this so they can both move forward. It also would be very helpful for Inori. She’ll need the harness to keep working on her jumps, but they can’t keep going to Uobuchi. And no better time for Tsukasa to get a better feel for trickiness of the harness than with an expert right there to help him. The important thing was that it helped all parties and is now a tool that can continue to be used not only for Inori, but the rest of the skaters at their home rink.

Onward to the challenge!

This was just a fantastic episode. I didn’t think the quadruple was on the table and it was so satisfying seeing Inori land it! Tsukasa and Inori proved their quality in that moment. Tsukasa channeled his past failure to help steer Inori from the same mistakes. And Inori to her credit pulled it off. Falling like she did, fearing injury, and experiencing the intense spin of a quad for the first time isn’t easy at all. I can skate, but the idea of jumping that high and landing on thin skate blades is something I couldn’t do. But she hit hard ice, picked herself up, and can leave this episode with a weapon that’s going to shock everyone at the All-Japan!