At last, it's time. He's stretched with Lilia, taken a few final pointers from her on his hand positions and the angle of his head. She and Yakov are with him, ready to go. Katsudon...appears to have gone off somewhere to stretch on his own. Whatever, it's not his problem anymore. (As if it ever was in the first place.)

Nekola. Crispino. And now Lee, whose song choice makes Yuri want to roll his eyes at the insipidness of it all. (Dead princesses? Really? First Georgi, then Lee -- what is it with his fellow skaters and their obsession with princesses?) But he's next on deck, ready to shed his warm-up jacket...and it's at that point that he remembers that he should probably tell Yakov what he's planning to do.

First, keep it casual: 'Hey, Yakov.'

'What?' Not expecting anything important.

Next, broach the subject: 'I'm changing the jump combination.'

'Huh?' Some surprise, but more confusion.

Then, drop the bomb: 'I'll reduce the number of jumps in the first half from four to two.'

'So you'll have six in the second half?' Now he's catching on.

Confirm it, without question: 'That's right.'

'Do you have a death wish?'

To hear it spoken so plainly...it sends a chill through Yuri's blood. A blast of winter wind, because Yakov is not one to exaggerate merely for the sake of theatrics. But the cold, sharp bolt that stiffens his spine is just what he needs to know that he's made the right decision. 'I can't win against JJ or Yuuri otherwise,' he says, and leaves it at that.

It's more than just his own personal pride at stake. Yakov needs this win as much as he does -- to prove to the sponsors, the sports ministry, that even without God's Own Anointed Viktor Nikiforov they're worth the support. And Yuri has absolutely no intention of disappointing his grandfather, who has come to see the very best that his grandson has to offer. There is no other option but the one before him.