It's Lance! It's Brooke! It's Warren! It's the finale! Doesn't it seem like this season has gone on forever and ever? I mean, do you even remember Jeff Ross? And Misty's injury? Like, I remember it, but it seems like it was in a season or something. Anyway, tonight the remaining couples will be doing a group samba and an individual freestyle, and it will all happen LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!
Tom welcomes us to the finals, and you can see some of the former contestants sitting in the audience behind him (if you have HD) -- I spotted Rocco, Maurice, and Misty. Before there is any dancing, each contestant is going to show us his or her favorite ballroom and Latin routines. Brooke and Derek go first. Their favorite ballroom routine was their quickstep, which Derek feels would garner a perfect score if they did it now. It's pretty impressive that they can pick something from so early in the season and be confident that it will hold up. Although it does sort of ruin any "improvement arc" storyline they might have been going for. It is pretty good, although there's a spot at the end where Brooke misses a step. Brooke and Derek think that the paso doble was their best Latin dance, because it was the first time that Brooke showed off her character. Oh yeah. I remember this one. It was to the DeBeers diamond commercial song. After we see both dances, Derek proclaims that Brooke is the most consistent, has come in first 80 percent of the time and has the highest scores of anyone, including the most perfect scores and the only perfect 30. That's a pretty good argument. They couldn't go for the improvement arc, so they went for the "she's awesome every week" storyline. Tom interviews them live and asks about the stumble last week. Brooke says that since then, they've been practicing positive thinking. Tom heard that Warren was trying to psych them out backstage, and Derek claims that he's been doing some psychological warfare of his own. Yeah, Derek is so intimidating.
The couple to make their case are Lance and Lacey. They choose the tango as their best ballroom routine, because it was the first week that they felt like they had a chance. This was the sort of zombie routine to "Disturbia" that I actually kind of liked, and God knows I wasn't a fan of their edgy routines. It was their first fairly traditional routine, I thought. I still have problems with Lacey's posture though -- her butt sticks out too much. They choose their mambo as their best Latin dance, and they laugh because they didn't expect it to be that great, since they were so focused on their jitterbug that week. Is it wrong that I remember these routines by what crazy outfit Lacey was wearing? Because I only remember this routine because Lacey had that outfit that looked like she was pooping ribbons. I just don't think that either of those routines was as good as anything Brooke and Derek did. Lacey reminds us that Lance is the most improved dancer on the show, but I don't necessarily think it was due to poor skills; I think it was due to bad choreography/dancing choices. Lacey argues that Lance is the only one that beat Brooke (not mentioning that it happened the one week that Brooke totally screwed up, so it's not like he beat her purely on dancing skill) and he's peaking at the right time. If Brooke weren't in the competition, I would totally agree. In most other seasons, I would see Lance as the winner. I just think Brooke is a better dancer. Tom interviews them and asks if they're overconfident. Lance says he's been working really hard on the last three dances. Tom thinks that they're getting more competitive and Lance laughs and says that they were having fun. Tom accuses them of being more political.
Finally, Warren and Kym get to show off their favorite routines. For their ballroom, they choose the Viennese waltz. Warren notes that it was the first time he got to really dance with a partner and show off his ability to slow it down. I will say that Warren is surprisingly graceful, even if he is a bit flatfooted at times. He glides across the floor, although his arm extensions are a little stiff. Warren says it was a turning point for him because it showed him that he could do anything on the dance floor. Warren and Kym agree that their paso doble was the best Latin dance due to both their outfits and their dance. No one has mentioned that their outfits are a direct ripoff from Maks and Mel's paso doble, which is bugging me. Watching it again, I just don't think it's that great. Kym thinks Warren "captures the essence" of what the show is, because he lights up the dance floor and excites the crowd. She admits that their scores haven't always been the highest, but the crowds love him and he makes people happy when he dances. Tom interviews them and asks Warren about his Jedi mind tricks backstage. Warren doesn't really give an answer. Tom asks Kym about being in the finals again, since she was here previously with Joey Fatone. Kym gives a non-answer about how great it was before and how great it is now. Warren promises that we'll see something new from them tonight.
It's time to award the junior ballroom trophy. I didn't see the final dances last week because they showed them during the recap show that airs before the results show, and I don't usually watch that, since I just watched the performance show two or three times the night before to weecap it. Anyway, the winners are Craig and Samantha, who do a jive to "Rockin' Robin." I like couples this age doing the jive, because it requires dance skill without being overtly sexual. After they finish, Tom asks them which of them will get to keep the trophy, since they are siblings. They both claim it, and Tom says that they'll get two eventually. He banters with them about going to Disneyland, since ABC is owned by Disney, and then that's done.
Len previews the finals, like we don't know who's in it, and calls it potentially "the greatest final of all time." Oh, please. Hardly. I still would love to see Brooke go up against some of the finalists from seasons. Anyway, they all smack-talk each other for a while, and then Len promises us that anything can happen.
For some reason, they reset the show at this point and Tom and Samantha introduce the finalists like they normally do at the beginning of the show, with them walking down the stairs. Lacey seems really subdued tonight. Everyone else looks happy and nervous, but she looks like she might throw up, not from nerves, though. It's hard to explain. She's usually very smiley. Tom throws it to Len to get his take on the finalists. Len says that they all agree that the three best couples made it to the finals, and he's looking forward to the Samba Smackdown as well as the freestyle routines. He jokes that he's so excited, he needs to "nip to the bathroom." Samantha doesn't know what that means and Tom just lets that statement hang there for a while before introducing the clip package about the group rehearsal for the Samba Smackdown.
They each had to pick their order randomly. Brooke and Derek are going first, then Lance and Lacey, and then Warren and Kym. In rehearsal, each couple works on their strategy. Brooke and Derek want to load up their routine with difficult moves, but Brooke has trouble with remembering their steps. Lance is worried, since his scores haven't been that high for the samba. Warren and Kym got their worst scores for their samba, so Kym wants to work on technique. All of the couples come together to work on their group rehearsal, so first they show off their solo routines. Warren trash-talks Brooke and Derek for using the same moves over and over. When Lance and Lacey go, they hold back and walk through a lot of the tricks. Which is probably a good strategic move, but kind of comes off as dickish after Brooke and Derek just went all out. When Warren and Kym finish, Lance comments that they need to have a bigger ending and Warren pretends to rush Lacey and bash her. So the big group routine is up !
Brooke and Derek start the routine. Derek does a lot of twirling and spinning before they go into some partner work. Brooke looks like she's having more fun than I've seen her in just about any other routine. Lance and Lacey come out , and Lance's footwork looks really good. I still think Lacey sticks her butt out too much. Their tricks are good and seem to fit into the rhythm of their routine, instead of being distracting. Warren and Kym take the floor last. Warren seems a little in his head at first, but he enjoys himself a little more in the middle. There does seem to be a lot of Warren standing around while Kym dances around him, at least more so than the other couples. The other couples rejoin them and their synchronization is great. I'm really impressed with these final three in terms of their ability to dance together; I don't remember another group routine that went off so smoothly and where the three couples seemed so evenly matched.
The judges get to weigh in. Len says that the music was great, which it really was. They do a great job with standards and disco, but not so great with modern songs. Len thought they all did better than when they danced the samba earlier in the season. He compliments Warren's routine for having a lot of content, although he's worried about Warren's feet. He thought Lance had a lot of energy with lots of traditional movements, but he needs to work on finesse. Len knows that Brooke is the sensation of the season, and thinks she's still the one to beat. Bruno starts with Brooke, who he thinks is dazzling, sexy, and sizzling. He thinks Lance is tight and clean and his confidence has improved a great deal. And Warren's sense of fun compensates for his lack of technique. Carrie Ann thinks Lance has the momentum, because he keeps getting better and better. She thinks Warren is the most improved. She adds that Brooke brings technical nuances, and when they dance in hold it's magical. She thinks they may need to scale it back a little bit, but overall thought they were great.
Backstage, Samantha asks Brooke about their freestyle. Brooke says that they laid it all on the line and filled it with tricks. Scores for their samba: Carrie Ann 9, Len 9 and Bruno 10. Lance and Lacey are up for scoring: Carrie Ann 9, Len 8 and Bruno 9. Lance promises that their freestyle will be something special, and they've been anticipating it from day one. Scoring for Warren and Kym: Carrie Ann 9, Len 7 and Bruno 9. Whoa, Len. Warren laughs and says that they have a move that has never been done in the ballroom during their freestyle. Tom reminds us of some past freestyles, and how they have sometimes decided the contest. How do they know that? Like what if I voted for Lance, not due to his freestyle, but because I liked his samba? That's just a silly statement, Tom.
Brooke and Derek are first to do their freestyle. We're reminded that Brooke cracked under the pressure in the jive, totally forgetting the steps and losing focus. In rehearsal, Derek tells her that if it ever happens again, she should just look at him and he'll get her back on track. Brooke knows that they need to fill their routine with tricks to compete with Lance and Warren, but Derek's back is bothering him, so they go rehearse in the pool like Dirty Dancing. Derek says that his sister and his best friend have both won the show, so now he doesn't want to screw up his turn. Their freestyle begins with Brooke and Derek dressed up in '50s clothing as they dance to "You're The One That I Want" from Grease. They start off with some jive-type moves, and Brooke ends up on top of the judges' table where she rips off her dress to reveal a Sandy-style ensemble of crop top and skin-tight capris. She and Derek do some Grease moves and then Brooke leaps off the table and Derek catches her in his arms. They move into a spin where Brooke is hanging with her legs around Derek's neck, and they do another trick later where they do conjoined somersaults (I seriously don't know how else to describe it). Overall, it's a very watchable routine, but I find I'm always a little disappointed by the freestyles because the technique kind of goes out in the window in favor of tricks, and I think Brooke's strength is in her technique. I wish there were more dancing in the dance. The transitions from one trick to the felt a bit stiff to me, and Brooke looked kind of ungainly at times. The audience clearly loved it though, as did Tom. What about the judges? Bruno thought it was spectacular, and says they ended up in positions he's only seen in the kama sutra. He calls it one of the best freestyles he's ever seen. Carrie Ann loves their dance integrity, and thinks they brought it tonight. Len thinks it was the best freestyle he's ever seen. Man, I am totally watching a different show. I'm going to go back and watch it again to see if I missed something. Hold on a minute. Okay, I know what the problem was. From the beginning until Brooke jumped off the judges' table was amazing. Really great dancing, really great performing by Brooke, and Derek even let himself shine a little bit. But the last third just didn't do it for me and felt like an afterthought, so that's what I was reacting to. Backstage, Samantha asks Brooke to tell the viewers why they should vote for them. Brooke says that if they liked watching them dance and go on their journey this season, they should. Scores: Carrie Ann 10, Len 10 and Bruno 10. Everyone is so happy for them, seriously. Derek thanks the viewers for their votes so far.
Final standings:
Brooke and Derek: 28 + 30 = 58
Lance and Lacey: 26 + 27 = 53
Warren and Kym: 25 + 28 = 53
So the couples will do one more dance tomorrow night -- their favorite routine from the season, which will get a score from the judges and factor into the final standings. I really think most people already had their favorites going into tonight's show, but I hope Brooke wins. She really is the best dancer, and I'm kind of a stickler for that, even that it doesn't usually happen. She's not boring, like Kristi was sometimes, but she does have great technique. We'll find out tomorrow night!
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