Sadly, PCS are a reflection of politics and reputation. Mariah has had TWO clean shorts this entire season internationally; one at the very beginning of the season and yesterday, so her PCS are not going to skyrocket suddenly. The long is where she “broke through” this season having competed several near clean or clean long programs, so if she performs a clean one here, her scores should hopefully reflect that.
I agree with you about Mariah. Very well stated.
I think we need to give all judges a break ... this competition, everybody's nationals, all the international competitions. This is exactly what Sonia Biancetta (sp?) predicted upon instating the IJS. She said that in order to make a quick judgement and post all the numbers they have to post, they would have to rely somewhat on what they knew before of the skater. And all that glancing down to press buttons after every element would hinder their experience of, and reliance on, those wonderful inexplicable unmeasurable things that make figure skating performances great.
I try to be inspired by the attitudes of the skaters, who constantly say that what the judges decide is out of their control. So they just skate, and improve, and stay dedicated to what they love.