Back in 2005, when I was a wee little girl, a movie called Ice Princess came out. A movie that could have changed the trajectory of my life if there were any ice rinks within 100 miles of me. But unfortunately, that never happened. I still find figure skating absolutely mesmerizing though. 21 years later, my love for ice skating has been rekindled by a Canadian Netflix show titled Finding Her Edge. This is a TV show that is apparently based on a novel that itself is based off of the Jane Austen novel “Persuasion” and follows the Russo sisters, coveted young skaters who happen to be carrying forward the legacy of their parents, Sarah and Will Russo. The show mainly focuses on Adriana, the middle sister, who hasn’t been on the ice for a couple of years but is yearning to become world champion. But there seem to be a dozen obstacles coming in the way of the Russo sisters at every step. Of course, considering this show draws from a Jane Austen novel, there’s plenty of romance, deceit, domesticity, and betrayal that makes for a compelling teen drama reminiscent of competitor shows like “Make It or Break It.” Honestly, if this had come out some 18 years ago, I’d have probably devoured it. Anyway, with that said, let’s jump straight into the ending of Finding Her Edge season 1.
Spoiler Alert
Who Wins The World Championship?
Throughout the show, everybody working at the Russo rink is hoping to become world champions. But as time passes, it becomes abundantly clear that though these people are talented, they may not have enough resources to get them as far as their competitors. What Will doesn’t have in terms of money, he makes up for in toxic positivity. However, this doesn’t seem to affect the middle child, Adriana, as much as it does the older sister, Elise. When Elise completely gave up after hurting her shoulder, Adriana, who hadn’t skated for two years, immediately grabbed the opportunity with both hands. Because all the focus was on Elise for so many years, Adriana became admin, essentially, and Elise grew more entitled by the day. But after the injury, whatever pressure was on Elise shifts to Adriana, who feels more positively towards the competition.
After finding the perfect partner in Brayden, who happens to be a “bad boy,” Adriana focuses on the ice rather than the papers. She is definitely desperate to win, but falls into the trap of a love triangle (which I’ll get into in a bit). To qualify for the World Championship, Adriana and Brayden do her mother, Sarah’s routine. But because Brayden is a rebel and there are videos floating around from the previous night of them making out at a party, the judges want to teach them a lesson and score them low on purpose. However, it’s brought to their attention that the number one pairing has been doping for months, allowing Brayden and Adriana to make it to the World Championship on a technicality. While Adriana wants to honor her mother, she realizes that creating her own routine will give her the winning edge she needs in Paris. Adriana and Brayden end up putting together an excellent routine that scores them the highest points in the group, making them the world champions. But the advantage they had was that they were also feeling a similar way about each other as in the act, making it all seem very realistic. However, ultimately, Brayden is upset with Adriana, so he leaves.
Who Does Adriana Choose?
Brayden leaves because, earlier, he saw Adriana kissing Freddie and felt really bad about it. While Adriana was pretending this whole thing with Brayden was an act, in reality, he was falling head over heels for her. Freddie and Adriana used to be ice dance partners when they were kids, but because Freddie couldn’t grow tall fast enough, he was kicked out by the family, or at least that’s how he felt, leading to both of them growing apart. However, as soon as Freddie returns, Adriana is eager to skate with him. However, Riley is already his partner, and this would mean they can’t skate together till the next year, but this doesn’t stop Adriana from having feelings for Freddie (again). Turns out, she wasn’t the only one. Unfortunately, she even heard Riley obsessing over the guy, but still went for it when she was presented with the opportunity.
Brayden seems to be the ideal choice for Adriana because he’s willing to change for her, and everything about this relationship is new. When it comes to Freddie, he already has a thing going on with Riley, but he still can’t stop thinking about Adriana. Just before the championship, Freddie is caught up with other things, such as his mother showing up again, claiming she doesn’t drink anymore. This really affects him and leads to him being distracted on the ice while both pairs are practicing. Luckily for him, Adriana is quick enough to keep him from crushing his skull on the ice, injuring her hand in the process. This probably sparks something in Freddie that makes him realize he needs to be honest about his feelings, and he finally admits to Adriana that he’s still in love with her.
In Finding Her Edge’s ending, Adriana chooses familiarity over newness, and decides it’s okay to be romantically involved with Freddie while skating with Brayden. But in the process, she has hurt both of them and, for a moment, loses both boys. But in the end, they both pull through in their respective positions, mainly Brayden helping her win the championship, just as he promised. But immediately after winning, he leaves her high and dry when they’re supposed to do the winners’ performance, and she’s wearing her mother’s wings. But this seems to work out just fine, because finally, Sarah’s dreams of her three daughters killing it on ice are realized. Seeing her win, Freddie finds a newfound love for Adriana, and though he was mad at her for five seconds, he finally gives her a chance again. But the advantage is, they also get to be ice dance partners now.
What Happens to Elise and Mimi?
Elise’s storyline in the show has been that of a stuck-up brat who loses everything because of one injury, but instead of this humbling her, it immediately makes her worse as a person. We do have to remember that Elise feels burdened by the pressure of being the champion. While Adriana got a break from it all, Elise ended up becoming their father’s pet project. So after the injury, she freezes and can’t go back on the ice, even when her shoulder is okay. What she really needs at this moment is her mother, but instead she gets her father’s positivity act. Ultimately, he even tells her that they’re very alike, but what he’s learned is that throwing tantrums doesn’t get you anywhere. The thing is, in this moment, Will is projecting his own insecurities onto his young daughter, which he does constantly throughout the show. But in the end, there’s a chance Elise will return to the ice a stronger person, feeling confident in herself rather than feeling the pressure to be a Russo. Meanwhile, right from the start, little sister Mimi has felt like an outsider. When she performs at the birthday party, changing up the routine and being a denim-wearing rebel, you can already tell where her character arc is going. But it takes being part of the world championship for her to finally admit to her father that this is not her dream. She tells him she wants to be a drama kid and go to school like an ordinary person.
How Does Will Save the Rink?
In Finding Her Edge’s final episode, Will has no choice but to sell his skating rink to a competitor so that he can save his home. The rink’s now called Voltage Skating Rink, but at least he’s making waffles from scratch for his three daughters at home. The advantage is the rink remains by the family, allowing Will to train whichever of his daughters wants to continue skating. But, I can imagine the entry of other coaches and the investor choosing who skates for the Russo team will eventually end up making Will upset, sending him back to his old ways. But for now, at least, Camille is around to keep him in check. Also, what’s with the possible romantic angle between these two? She’s supposed to be his dead wife’s best friend!
Who Is Riley’s New Partner?
Hinting at another season of Finding Her Edge, the show ends on the shocking cliffhanger that Riley is now Brayden’s partner. Throughout the show, Adriana and Riley have been supportive of each other because they’re best friends, almost mimicking the story we imagined for Sarah and Camille. But, after being somewhat betrayed by both her dance partner and her dear friend, Riley decides she would rather focus on the championship, kind of like Brayden, right from the start. Riley and Brayden are both bruised by people they care about, which means they have more zeal than lovey-dovey Freddie and Adriana. While Riley may not have had the drive like Adriana before the world championships, she now seems to be a changed person, imbibing some of Adriana’s qualities but also making them her own. Despite seeming to not be in love with Brayden, this immediately riles Adriana up and makes her quite upset. To be honest, this has all been a little bit unfair to both Brayden and Riley, who have been nothing but patient with Adriana and Freddie. But I have a feeling this love quadrilateral will come back to become a major issue if we get a second season of Finding Her Edge.
