REVIEW: Yuri!!! on Ice Episode 2 Is a Masterclass in Character Growth and Self-Discovery

Welcome back to our Yuri!!! on Ice rewatch roundtable! Last time, we covered Episode 1, “Easy as Pirozhki!! The Grand Prix Final of Tears,” where we met Yuuri Katsuki, watched his career hit rock bottom, and witnessed the shock of Victor Nikiforov showing up at his family’s onsen with the declaration: “I’ll be your coach.”

Now, in Episode 2, “Two Yuris?! Drama at Yu-topia,” the stakes escalate. Victor settles into life in Hasetsu, a fiery young Russian skater storms onto the scene, and Yuuri is forced to decide what he really wants.

🍰: Poor Yakov. His wayward protégé deciding to go gallivanting to Japan, in search of “inspiration,” aka Yuuri.

🪼: I was a little behind… busy jamming to the theme song once again. But now that I’m at the same part you were at, I agree. Yakov is relatable to all parents, everywhere.

🍰: Yuuri’s mom already adopting Victor as her son-in-law with her affectionate “Vicchan.”

🪼: Yuri Plisetsky’s reaction to learning where Victor went always sends me. Like, yeah?! You promised to coach me! How dare you abandon me for that third-rate tubbo! (I say with affection as a fellow tubbo lol)

🍰: Victor in a food coma. Relatable.

Seeing Yuuri feeling a mix of emotions—flattery, shock, confusion—when he hears that Victor came to Japan for him just hits different. Yuuri has always been putting himself down, claiming he’s not a good skater, that he came last at the GPF, etc. And to have those self-criticisms torn down by Victor… he needed that kind of validation.

🪼: Yeah. I think if my “glittering god” acknowledged me, I would be absolutely delighted. Like, man, have I peaked in life, or what? And what did I do to deserve it? Although, Yuuri certainly deserves the boost after he struggled to really bring his dreams to fruition, despite the hard work he put in.

🍰: I hear you. Yuuri is very relatable.

I can’t help but laugh at Yuuri and Minako startling when Victor sneezes. Like, neither of them could even believe that he was real until he sneezed. Also, you teaseee. He totally let that robe slip down his shoulder slowly on purpose.

THIS IS WHY YOU NEVER MEET YOUR IDOLS. If a guy like Victor came waltzing into my life, self-assigned himself as my coach, then called me fat and said I can’t eat my katsudon anymore? I’d be booking your flight back to Russia right this second.

🪼: I am 100% on the same page as you. NEVER MEET YOUR IDOLS. It’s much safer to worship them from afar. But… despite everything, I’m glad that Yuuri and Victor met. Imagine a world with no Yuri!!! on Ice? Might as well die.

🍰: Oh man, this scene! Victor trying to suss out Yuuri: “Do you have a girlfriend? We need to get to know each other better—oh, because I’m your coach! This is what coaches do!” Then the slow stroke of the arm and holding his hand. All the signs were pointing to this being a show with an LGBTQ couple but we were all too afraid to hope.

🪼: SORRY TO INTERRUPT YOU BUT THE THREE LITTLE GIRLS REACTING TO PLISETSKY IS ME. Okay, back to you!

🍰: Ugh, long-haired Victor is just a painful reminder of what we could’ve had. I also remember the fandom going ham with trying to find the inspiration behind a lot of places in the show like Victor’s apartment in Russia.

I never noticed until now but Yuuri’s words about how he didn’t take up figure skating until Minako urged him to try makes me think that we could’ve had a ballet Yuuri x figure skater Victor storyline! But it is interesting and makes sense as to why Yuuri has better artistic components than most and maybe why he has better stamina.

🪼: Yuri!!! on Ice crashed my YouTube app. LOL I’m glad you had so much to say because I needed to find my exact spot in the episode again.

I think it was really clever of Victor to have the Yuris create a program to the same song. I think it’s an excellent opportunity to build up Yuuri’s self-esteem again, and help him figure out who he really is as a skater.

🍰: Not to bring in real-life figure skating again, but little Yuri incorporating quads into his program is so reflective of young Russian female figure skaters jumping quads at 12, 13 years old. And they can do them exactly because they’re young (bad technique withstanding), but they won’t be able to have a sustainable career. So yeah, you win a JGP, you win Junior Worlds, but can you transition to seniors? Can you even have a healthy career afterwards? And because those figure skaters with quads in their arsenal were winning competitions handily because of their tech scores, it pushed more female skaters to attempt quads, which seriously injured them. It’s kind of funny to me that Yakov is the one scolding Yuri because coaches are usually the enablers.

And yes, YOU CAN WIN WITHOUT QUADS.

Poor Yuuri’s back. Poor Yuuri’s face. Don’t take out your anger on the innocent bystander, Yuri!

I absolutely love Yuuri’s smirk when he realizes Yuri was underestimating him. It ties into what you said about bringing up Yuuri’s self-esteem. Yuuri is definitely a top-notch skater, but he just needs to see it for himself.

🪼: Both Yuris being aghast at Victor’s choice in program/music (I don’t know what the correct terminology is here). He did it on purpose to make them uncomfortable and challenge themselves. You really love to see it. I love that the episode ends on sort of a cliffhanger, showing them both fired up.

🍰: The debut of the heart-shaped mouth!

Haha, Yuuri panicking about having two Russian figure skaters in his home. What’s he to do?!

I think Yuuri seeing Victor laughing with Yuri brought some of his insecurity in him. He’s not sure what appeal he has for Victor other than inexplicably being his inspiration. He’s definitely not as technically skilled as Yurio, so why is Victor here? And how can Yuuri make Victor want to stay here? Want to coach him?

🪼: I think that’s very relatable and that the average person can relate to Yuuri because of his imposter syndrome. It’s like, “Well, he’s already got rapport with this skater I truly believe is better than me in every way, so why is he even here?” But little does Yuuri know that this is the beginning of a new chapter in his life, in more ways than one.

🍰: Also, Yurio being angry that “Eros” wasn’t assigned to him. My guy, you’re still a child. What do you know about spicy love?

I also like that the episode ends with Yuuri voicing an observation that Yuuko said earlier on in the episode. He is very competitive. He wants to win. Sure, his opponent is someone who is extremely talented and has already won competitions in the junior circuit, but Yuuri isn’t going to just stand there and let Yurio win. Victor and Yurio’s appearances in his life brought out another side of Yuuri that I don’t think anyone would’ve ever seen.

Episode 2 does what great second episodes should: it deepens the relationships, raises the stakes, and gives our protagonist a reason to fight. Victor’s arrival isn’t just about coaching—it’s about forcing Yuuri to confront the gap between who he is and who he could be. And Yurio’s presence makes one thing clear: Yuuri isn’t just competing for a gold medal anymore. He’s competing to prove he belongs on the same ice as the people he admires.

Yuri!!! on Ice continues to build momentum, and we’re only two episodes in. Next up: Episode 3, where we’ll see Yuuri and Yurio’s exhibition skate and the debut of “Eros” and “Agape.” Stay tuned for our next roundtable!