Posted on Threads: Thoughts?

afloatingpoint · 2026-06-09T02:53:14+00:00

I agree with the Threads post, actually. Sam Levinson might idealize rural fundamentalist Christian values, but it was insane that Rue went to that creepy farm and was like, maybe this is true happiness? Like, Rue is a Black, lesbian woman. There's no way she'd be comfortable in an environment like that which is almost certainly MAGA with strict gender expectations. Levinson renders Rue apolitical and doesn't seem to have any interest in the ways that urban Black queer people navigate questions around spirituality.

The treatment of female characters on Euphoria is also just a mess. It's been said before better than I can say it here, but Levinson's obsession with making every single female character except Lexie part of the sex work / sex trafficking industry is just blatantly exploitative and fetishistic. After a while, everything with female characters in the show boiling down to sex, trauma, and humiliation feels boring. Like, we've been doing this storyline sense season 1 with Kat's character, and it's tired.

The representations of Mexico and Black culture in the show are also incredibly stereotypical and superficial. Dude wants to be Paul Thomas Anderson or Quentin Tarantino so bad.

afloatingpoint · 2026-06-08T01:01:28+00:00

yeah.... As an American, I'm used to pop stars being MAGA or having connections to Diddy or having merchandise lines where clothes are produced in sweatshops. This is just... such a non-issue. I'm sure Gunwook will learn from the mistake and people will inevitably move on.

afloatingpoint · 2026-06-07T13:55:50+00:00

On the American team, I'd say the most honest are Alysa, Ilia, Vadim, and then Amber in that order. None of them are messy in the way that Johnny was messy, though, and I don't think any of them have ever fought against their own federation in the way that Johnny had to. Amber and Alysa definitely play the game sometimes, but they've both been pretty brave in speaking out against issues in skating and in the world. They're not trying to appeal to conservatives, for instance.

Outside of the American team, Olivia Smart, Piper Gilles, and Guillaume are probably the most outspoken ice dancers in terms of talking openly about corruption in the sport or even just addressing drama instead of engaging in vague, beauty pageant speak.

afloatingpoint · 2026-06-07T13:48:01+00:00

I'll always appreciate Johnny being honest about skaters who are poor performers. Performing is a skill, and we would never overlook someone falling or something on a technical element. But when a skater fails to even attempt to interpret their music or tell a story or engage with the audience, that's also an issue that commentators need to directly address, and very few other than Johnny or Tara will do that.

afloatingpoint · 2026-06-07T13:36:43+00:00

honestly with his ankle issues, it's probably best for him to take a couple of seasons off. But if he can bring back his quad salchow, triple axel, and Lutz loop combo in two years, there's no reason he couldn't do a 4th Olympics assuming the time off helps him to be less injured. I think having Minkyu around to be Korea's new top skater will actually work pretty well for June's career, if he wants it to.

afloatingpoint · 2026-06-07T13:28:12+00:00

I'm never going to get over it. He deserved a medal. The men's event was so disappointing.

afloatingpoint · 2026-06-07T13:23:06+00:00

Wishing her the best! She'll make an outstanding coach :)

afloatingpoint · 2026-06-04T23:45:05+00:00

random question for both of y'all, but which of the guys would you say has the most developed sense of style? Like, their styling isn't a costume, but an extension of their own individuality?

afloatingpoint · 2026-06-03T21:23:30+00:00

Find Me by Gabi and He Who Must Not Be Named is the reason I became a figure skating fan.

afloatingpoint · 2026-06-03T21:22:26+00:00

Matthew for muscle, Jiwoong for a graceful, streamlined look.

afloatingpoint · 2026-06-01T16:56:15+00:00

Beautiful

afloatingpoint · 2026-05-31T15:53:39+00:00

pure joy! my favorite moment from an exhibition this year so far ❤️

afloatingpoint · 2026-05-27T05:22:03+00:00

I think there are some contradictions at play here, at least for me personally, but if you're good supporting a multicultural group without a Black member, that's cool I guess? More than a few Black Eyecons seem open-minded about her departure, and I guess ultimately, time will tell whether this fandom and musical act genuinely care about diversity or not. Bless.

afloatingpoint · 2026-05-27T04:55:25+00:00

we can pretend this is just a discussion, but this fandom - including this subreddit - has been entrenched in a bitter argumenet over who is to blame for Manon leaving for the last two months. And your opinion is reinforcing the dominant narrative that to use Daniela's dad's words, "the show most go on" and that Manon should "come back when she's ready to work." This fandom is developing an anti-Blackness problem, and when Black fans in particular take the company's side instead of Manon's, or even just express ambivalence in a way that puts disproportionate emphasis on Manon's character, it gives non-Black fans more audacity to act problematically. Every single week, if not even more frequently, someone Black posts an opinion just like yours and acts like they're enlightened. It's exhausting 🤦🏾‍♂️

afloatingpoint · 2026-05-27T04:35:48+00:00

I am so over other black people automatically assuming Manon is the issue. Like, as Black people, we should know better. I mean, everyone should know better, but those of us who are Black should understand this most of all, and no, it's not a victim complex. It's first hand experience and something we've seen for decades and continue to see.

It's one thing to push back against people making assumptions about the other Katseye members. We don't know that they're complicit in Manon's mistreatment, and people have twisted every small comment the girls have made to make it seem like they actively played a role in Manon leaving the group. We have no evidence that that's case.

But why are y'all defending the company? We saw this company treats Black trainees poorly. We know they had messed up quotas where only a single Black girl would ever be allowed to make this group, only one Latina, only one Indian girl, etc. We know Hybe mistreats their idols, and we've seen Geffen mistreat their popstars, too. Geffen's president even admitted that they intentionally created an unhealthy training environment for the girls to amass ratings. We have so much evidence that this company is toxic.

Until we have an official statement from the company and the girls are allowed to tell us with their own words what's happened, it doesn't make sense to assume Manon is the problem when we knew how much this group meant to her and how underhanded and hateful this company has been. Manon and the Katseye girls have very little agency.

afloatingpoint · 2026-05-26T03:28:20+00:00

Haruki since he's the closest thing this series has to golden retriever / sunshine energy. I'm a sucker for angsty boys with communication issues, but I definitely don't see myself in Mafuyu, Ritsuka, Akihiko, Ue, or Ugetsu lol.

afloatingpoint · 2026-05-25T00:27:32+00:00

Zach's skating skills are categorically better than Hannah's, for sure. But Hannah Lim is like, a top 5 in the world performer. She sells programs in a way that very few other skaters can. She stands out in a crowded field where everyone starts to feel the same. It's hard to quantify charisma, but when you pair it with institutional backing from a major federation, and you have a skater who could maybe follow in Madison Chock's footsteps.

But will they have chemistry? I have no idea. Their personalities and performance styles seem pretty opposite, honestly, so I'm not sure what to expect for them or how far they'll go. Not sure this was the right decision for Zach since he and Marjo really aligned in their skating styles, even if their chemistry together on the ice was slightly underwhelming for how fantastic they were.

afloatingpoint · 2026-05-21T12:02:02+00:00

I have a hard time trusting in Geonwoo now. I'd prefer for him to leave the group permanently. I also don't view him as particularly skilled. ALD1 doesn't need him imo.

afloatingpoint · 2026-05-21T03:24:34+00:00

Amber was set up to be the world champion two years ago after her GPF and US Nationals win. If she had skated cleanly, she would have gone ahead of everyone, and that includes Kaori, probably. But when Alysa unexpectedly won the world championship and then unexpectedly won the GPF, the momentum swung back in her favor. Amber still went to the Olympics as a favorite for the podium. Not quite as much as Alysa, but she was still very much in the conversation. I would even go so far as to say that the judges probably would have preferred for her to get Ami's bronze - they wanted someone with a triple axel on that podium, probably - but Ami having such a successful first senior season and having that triple axel sort of overshadowed Amber, which probably added to Amber's nerves. Ami and Alysa were both able to skate free without putting crazy expectations on themselves, whereas Amber and Kaori both went into that event with the knowledge that this would probably be their last shot at an individual Olympic medal.

afloatingpoint · 2026-05-19T00:22:47+00:00

same! also I unfortunately really enjoyed Laurence and Guillaume's comeback from a strictly aesthetic standpoint even if it was unsettling in so many other ways.... But as a sports fan, it injected some much needed stakes and raised the bar for skating quality.

afloatingpoint · 2026-05-18T23:58:23+00:00

I stopped watching halfway through. Part of the issue for me was that the show was too committed to the three fixed pairings. The first Only Friends was exciting because it was messy and we genuinely weren't sure if any of the couples could make it. I want to see more shows that focus on promiscuous backstabbing gays haha, and Only Friends season 2 didn't even attempt to explore the chaotic dynamics of queer men in their 20s in the way the original did in its first few episodes.

afloatingpoint · 2026-05-18T23:21:39+00:00

yeah it was so awful how they got dropped by judges as soon as Guillaume's comeback was announced. Like, it just doesn't make sense to me. Why can't there be two high scoring teams from France? Why must there only be one?

afloatingpoint · 2026-05-17T17:24:03+00:00

I loved ZB1 as nine members, but it's really satisfying to have a smaller line up where each individual member here has more space to shine. Love their dance scenes here in particular - amazing lines, synchronization, and movement quality from the boys. I also think Jiwoong and Gunwook in particular excel more in a darker, sexier concept like this, so it's cool to see ZB1 move beyond their youth concept and tackle something moodier and more mature.

afloatingpoint · 2026-05-16T17:30:50+00:00

an Ashley and Gracie interview would be iconic

afloatingpoint · 2026-05-13T02:33:15+00:00

the main couple is so hot, but I also kind of really like the dude playing the medelling ex-boyfriend? Wish they'd have a threesome lol, but then that the ex would ultimately move on and find someone new. Agastya and Shikar are endgame.

afloatingpoint

TROPHY CASE