Creative routines. Music reminiscent of a pre-pandemic dancefloor. The suspense of not knowing if someone who's just hurled themselves in the air will land safely again. If you're watching one thing these Olympics, make it figure skating.
With Russia comfortably securing the gold in the team event, individual competitions get underway today — starting with the men's short program, followed later in the week by ice dance, women's singles events and finally, pairs.
And if past Olympic Games are any indication, when it comes to the podium, anything could happen. The best part? You don't need to know a lot about the sport to be thoroughly entertained.
To kick things off, here are some of the big names — and big moments — to look out for.
Women's event showcasing a new level of talent
It's pretty incredible just how far women's figure skating has come since Pyeongchang.
Four short years ago, the maximum jumps attempted were 'triples': that's three rotations in the air. Now, we're expecting to see a number of athletes across several different countries, attempting 'quads'.
Even programs that won't feature the big jumps are set to deliver big performances.
Josefin Taljegard, for example, earned her spot in Sweden's Olympic team with a dubstep-inspired short program — a phrase that is rarely, if ever, uttered in a sport dominated by classical soundtracks.
Keep an eye out also for Wakaba Higuchi and Kaori Sakamoto from Japan — both delivered strong performances in the team event and could be a decent chance to challenge for a podium spot.
Russia's Valieva, 'Quad Queen' Trusova and Shcherbakova set to dominate
With so much talent in-house, qualifying for the Russian Olympic team might just be tougher competition than the Games itself.
Filling the three ROC spots are current World Champion Anna Shcherbakova, 'Quad Queen'' Alexandra Trusova, and Russian National Champ Kamila Valieva.
All eyes will be on 15-year-old Valieva for the gold, and with good reason. She's been virtually unbeatable all season, including in the team event earlier this week.
But it is her teammate — 17-year-old Alexandra Trusova — who is regarded as one of the leaders of this new era of women's figure skating. To put it simply: she took jumps that seemed impossible just a few years ago and made them a reality.
Among her many achievements, Trusova was the first woman to land two different types of quad jumps — then later, the first to land three — the first woman to land quads in combination with other jumps, and the first woman to ever attempt five quad jumps in a single program.
However, she has often been unable to deliver error-free performances at the big events, and that's cost her victory.
In Beijing she will again aim to deliver a clean 'free skate' with five quad jumps - the most difficult content to ever be attempted in the women's competition.
Jason Brown, a masterclass in style
Figure skating as a sport is a combination of style and daring physical feats. And when it comes to artistry, no one does it quite like Jason Brown.
You may remember his viral 'Riverdance' routine at the 2014 Sochi Games.
While he may not have a lot of the big jumps, he almost doesn't need them.
Brown's short program, set to Nina Simone's Sinnerman, is one of — if not the most — detailed, intricate and musically sound performances on the ice right now.
Yuzuru Hanyu's jump into history
After a disappointing 2018 campaign, American Nathan Chen will be looking for redemption in Beijing.
To do that though he's going to have to get past two-time Olympic Champion Yuzuru Hanyu from Japan.
The pair have been tough competitors nearly every time they've gone head-to-head in the past few years. Chen has been building form and it's looking like this might just be his time.
For Hanyu though, these Winter Olympics could be about something more than gold: history.
He's made it clear he wants to be the first to successfully land the 'quad axel' — widely considered the most difficult of all jumps.
Also keep an eye out for Yuma Kagiyama — the 2020 Youth Olympics gold medallist firmly put himself on the map with a top place finish in the men's free program at the team event.
Sui and Han: hometown champions
China's pairs team of Sui Wenjing and Han Cong are easily the host nation's best shot of a medal in figure skating — and if their world record performance earlier this week is anything to go by, it could be gold.
After an injury for Han in 2020, it seems they're back on form at just the right time, with a near-perfect performance 'Mission Impossible'-inspired program in the team event — defeating their Russian rivals and reigning World Champions in the process.
There's a definite showdown ahead!
Hip hop, alien love stories and more in ice dance
Much of Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron's 2018 Olympic campaign felt a little like a supporting role to the big story of the time: their Canadian rivals' quest for a final gold before retirement.
In 2022 however, the French pair go into the Winter Olympics as firm favourites.
Ice dancers will present two routines. The first includes a specific style and theme as set by skating authorities.
This season it's 'street styles', which has resulted in some very creative and... unusual programs. Expect plenty of Usher, double denim and more hip hop than an ice rink has ever seen.
Papadakis and Cizeron appear to have been able to blend their signature emotive style with these required elements — incorporating 'whacking' into an intricate and mesmerising routine.
When it comes to the second 'free dance,' nearly anything goes, so keep an eye out for a wide variety of styles, songs and concepts.
That includes reigning US National Champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates, whose alien love story — set to the tunes of Daft Punk — has already earned them a win in their portion of the 2022 team event.
When to watch Australia compete
Australians Brendan Kerry and Kailani Craine will compete in the men's and women's individual events.
Kerry, who was also a flag bearer at this week's opening ceremony, goes into his third Olympic Games.
While Craine, herself representing Australia for the second time at the Olympics, will be looking to improve on a 17th place finish in Pyeongchang.
