Well Virtue and Moir came in Silver to Davis and White's Gold, but it could have gone either way.
That said, I had a feeling that this is what would happen. Having seen their two long programs multiple times throughout the season, aside from artistic arrangement, the only real difference has been consistency. Davis and White are nothing if not consistently flawless, Virtue and Moir are amazing but unfailing repetition has never been one of their calling cards.
Certainly, Scheherazade is not a very well known story, the music a little more so, but I have to say it; had Virture and Moir skated to some music and or a more recognizable story I think that would have put them farther ahead over the season and at the Olympics. Both pairs are known to be at the top of their class so it's the small things like connection to the music and performance that can give an edge.
Now, I'm not looking for something so common, I mean how many skates have we seen over the past week that were performed to Les Miz or Romeo and Juliet?! It gets old. And even more so when someone skates to something that the audience claps along, often times getting louder and louder and sometimes clapping faster and faster, and UGH! that's annoying, if not distracting to the skaters.
Choosing something that the audience knows and will draw them into the skate without overly participating to the rhythm is as much a skill as every twist and turn on their blades.
Many skaters have selected music from Russian composers, some were a little blatant about it, if not painfully obvious: the Russian couple skating to Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, or even Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet are just green thumbs. Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade had just the freshness and slightly less well known feel to it that gave it an edge.
Add that edge over Virtue and Moir's skate and when you have two excellent skates you need something that is going to grab a little bit more attention.
I congratulate all the skaters, those that did as well as did not medal, but at the end of the day, Davis and White received an extra tip of the hat from me.
