Score: A-

And that’s if for now! It’s a tough thing to see Medalist go especially after only 9 episodes. The movie situation obviously does change things. It’s more like the season isn’t really over here. But the remainder of it will go to theatres. The downside of course is that the next “episode” is going to be coming out months later and on this side of the ocean we’re not going to see it until probably well into 2027. Rough, but that’s how it goes. That’s not to say this wasn’t a great episode. It did a great job of setting everything up and building the excitement. This was all about Inori getting herself into a serious mode and showing off the rivals she’s going to be going up against. She’s still got familiar faces like Yuna to deal with, but it’s only getting harder from here on!

This showdown will be one to watch

I am a bit worried for Inori going into the competition. Her chance of winning isn’t changed by anything here of course. But the presentation has me concerned. Inori scoring a win against Hikaru would you’d expect come from her quad being a complete surprise. That Hikaru and Jun would be blindsided by that jump and she’d be able to snag the win. Instead we’re going into this tournament with Jun completely expecting Inori to come with that jump. He’s either overconfident or he knows that Hikaru’s performance will be so overwhelming that even that jump won’t cover the gap. I have thought that might be the direction this story goes. Having Inori beat Hikaru here would be epic. But it’d also take away that particular chase. Keeping Inori hungry for that win while carrying her forward into the next showdown beyond this would work.

It does make me wonder what Hikaru does have up her sleeve. It’s got to be just an obscenely polished performance with skating that will be jaw dropping to see. I could see her skate truly being ballet on ice. The obvious hope is that Inori can win. That’s always the hope. But there’s bound to be a time when she doesn’t and the next competition seems entirely possible to not quite go her way. But I do see her still doing well enough to move to the next stage where she might get the win.

Inori is ready!

At the very least it looks like Inori’s move for the quad is going to be the right call. It will give her some great point potential and it definitely brings the pressure on her opponents. I like the idea as well that she picked the quad jump knowing it would make her stand out more and that there would be increased pressure as a result. Inori is really working to build herself into a competitor that won’t wilt even once all the eyes are on her.

And I appreciate that the show isn’t ignoring how her development and jumps will get more attention on her. Making the scummy adults that whined about her getting special treatment praise her. They have to acknowledge her now. Of course acknowledgement from people like that means nothing. It’s just kind of funny that they either have to swallow their words or are so pathetic that they don’t even see how hypocritical they are.

Rude to call a girl a beast, but she’s intense

They are definitely building up how impressive Hikaru and locked in Hikaru is. She’s just obsessively watching Jun’s videos and probably absorbing things from them. That line about just wanting to make everything hers and not simply take what she’s given was great. We haven’t focused that much on Hikaru’s mindset, but she’s not someone resting on her laurels. There’s a drive in her and she’s not going to be surpassed that easily. I definitely think the next competition will be where we get much more of an understanding of Hikaru as she is right now. We’ve gotten snap shots across the show, but this competition is likely to be her show. But the good thing is that her and Inori are on the same page, on the same stage, and we’re going to see how they stack up…eventually.

Both Inori and Tsukasa look ready to make something special happen

Final Thoughts

This was a solid last episode. But it doesn’t really feel like the last for me since we’re heading right into the next battle. I get that obviously the last season kind of ended there too. But with so few episodes it feels all the more the case. This season is still amazing and the quality we got in these episodes was right up there. It was great seeing all those girls performing, Inori getting such a big win, and then setting up what is coming next. I’m sure they’ll put the time, energy, and money into the coming movie so that the skating we see there is the very best the series has shown thus far. It’ll just be a tough wait. But there’s new rivals being introduced and of course the huge wall that Hikaru presents. Awesome season and I look forward to what’s coming.