Last night, Ricki and JR got top marks, but Chaz and Maks got angry with the judges. Will there be backlash? Will the audience rebel against the judges and keep Hope and Chaz around to show them what's what? Let's find out.
Tom gives Len a chance to talk about last night, and Len doesn't really say anything but announces that there were "two outstanding performances" but presumably since Ricki already got an encore earlier this season, tonight it will be JR and Karina. Yeah, I would still only give this one a 9. JR's footwork isn't perfect and there are a few other small flubs. I would be way meaner than any of the existing judges, including Len. I would require near perfection for a 10.
Time to look back at last night. Before he went on, Rob told JR that he would get a 30 if he did it like his dress rehearsal. And Rob was only one point off. Ooh, they're already doing results. Well, obviously these two are safe. They should have just done Ricki and Derek while they were at it.
Brooke is backstage with JR, Ricki, and Nancy and their partners. Brooke asks JR about week, and he has no clue what they're doing. Karina gives a hint. Brooke asks Nancy if she considers herself a contender, and Nancy says that she really doesn't, but she's just happy to be there. Brooke asks Ricki her plans if she makes it through, and Ricki says she'll do whatever Derek tells her to do. I wish Ricki would relax her shoulders. They're up around her ears and it makes me tense to look at her.
Kristin Chenoweth is back to perform. Thankfully, she didn't pull her hair back tonight, as she did last night. I am also a member of the giant forehead club (although, unlike Cheno, mine actually moves once in a while and has a few creases), and you just can't have your hair pulled tightly back. Christina Ricci does, but her forehead is SO huge that it sort of circles back around somehow. Anyway, Cheno sings and Tony and a female dancer come out and do a really pretty routine with some amazing stunts. I am not a stunt fan usually, but I was impressed. Good for Tony. I wonder what he thought about Maks's outburst. In other news, Tom Bergeron hearts Kristin Chenoweth.
More highlights from last night. Derek hollers a lot while he and Ricki are dancing, maybe to keep her energy up? Also, Bruno yells at the other judges to give them a 10. I would tell Bruno to shut up. Nancy apologized for all of the horrible things she said to Tristan in rehearsals, and said he was a talented choreographer. Also, Len sniggered over Carrie Ann giving them a 9, since he gave them a 7. I like the judges' interactions. So are these two couples safe? They are, in fact, both safe. I'm starting to worry about David.
It's the usual "stars are reaching their breaking points" montage. They all talk about how tough rehearsals are, and how they are filled with self-doubt. Hope had trouble hearing that she wasn't sexy but also claims that someone told her she looked like a dude and like she had balls. Who told her that? I hope she doesn't go online. That is a terrible idea. Anyway, they are all stressed, they are all working hard, and they all want to make it to the end.
Kenny Ortega has choreographed a routine for Corbin Bleu and a troupe of dancers. Corbin is singing and he's... not that great. It's tough to recognize him without the giant hair, too. Oof, he's really off-key while singing "42nd Street." Then they move on to "Cool" from West Side Story and they put Corbin in a giant cage and wheel him around? I don't know. Here's the problem with singing iconic songs - if it doesn't sound as good or better than the original, it's really obvious. The medley moves on to the final song, the titular rap from In The Heights. That's Corbin's strong suit, and he's a great dancer. Just maybe not a Broadway-ready singer.
Martina McBride is on hand to perform and promote the CMA awards. She's joined by Chelsie and Val doing the same sort of routine they do every week. I get that there's not much you can do with contemporary slow songs, but I'm a little tired of the same old routine every week.
Time for more results! Kym does a super cute impersonation of Olivia Newton-John. I mean, she's got the accent and the blonde ponytail already. During their routine, Bruno noticed that David was on the wrong foot at one point, and after the dance, David told Kym that he messed some things up. Chaz was hoping for sevens from the judges, and only got one. And as bad as his dancing was, he did not deserve to be called a penguin by Bruno, especially after Bruno called him an Ewok a few weeks ago. That's harsh, dude. Chaz has a point when he says in the confessional that overweight women on the show are celebrated but he's seen as cute and cuddly, like a mascot. It's dehumanizing. Although, seriously, has Chaz lost any weight? When we go back live, the audience boos at Bruno, who shakes his head and doesn't seem to get what the big deal is. Fuck off, Bruno. Score the dancing, not the attractiveness of the dancer in your twisted mind. David and Kym are safe. Whew! Chaz and Lacey are in jeopardy, but they had to be expecting that.
week is a special Halloween event, and Mark and Lacey are going to show us a preview along with some little kids. These kids are really, really good. I bet Mark is actually really good with the little kids, and Lacey too. He may have found his calling. And somehow he doesn't pull focus like he does with his other partners. Am I... do I like something Mark is doing? What is wrong with me?
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This is the first time we've seen Maks in an interview situation as Brooke is backstage with Rob and Hope and their partners. Rob babbles on and on about how he hopes he makes it through to week. Brooke asks for Hope's take on last night's situation. Hope says that Maks is her teammate and she stands by him, and she loves opinionated people. Brooke downplays what Len said and asks Maks if the judges are allowed to have opinions. Maks says they are, and so is he. Brooke wonders if Maks had been feeling things for a while and finally vented, and Maks says that's definitely true, and then corrects what he said last night, explaining that he had an idea in his head and it came out wrong. He didn't mean to say that it's his show, because he's one part of an amazing cast and crew. I got that. I think he meant it's his show in the sense that he takes ownership of it, and feels personally involved in how the show comes off. He didn't mean the show is all about him and him alone, although he didn't express that very well in the heat of the moment. I still don't agree with him about Hope's scores - I thought they were fair. But I do agree that the judges are being more strict with some couples than others when it comes to scoring technique.
Tom cracks, "Damn, I was going to ask [Maks] for a raise." Oh, Tom. Never change. Rob and Cheryl hope that they did enough to stick around and then the weirdest thing happens. In mid-sentence, Rob just starts crying. Was it the emotional letdown after the dance? What in the hell was that? And it passes without comment. It was so sudden that I thought he was throwing up at first. Like he was just talking and then sputtered and put his head on Cheryl's shoulder. I had to rewatch three times to make sure it wasn't a joke. Weird.
Watching Hope's dance again, I totally see what Len was saying. Most of the time, she looks like a little girl trying to act fancy. I don't know if it's lack of confidence or lack of rehearsal and if she just can't dance, but it's not good. They show the whole Maks/Len debacle again, and we see the judges listening to Maks's interview afterwards as they are shocked to hear him say that it's his show and all agree that Hope's dance was awful. In his confessional, Maks is actually way more tame than I expected as he reiterates that Hope is being judged on technical things and others are not. Hope says that she's not a dancer so she's starting behind a lot of people Who? Rob? David? Nancy? None of them have any dance background. JR really doesn't either. I think the only one who does is Ricki, from being in Hairspray, and that wasn't ballroom. What is she talking about? She seems like she has a bit of a persecution complex and I don't think being partnered with Maks is helping, because he ALWAYS feels that way. She needs a partner like Derek or Tristan who would tell her to leave it behind and move on, and not dwell on whether or not it's fair.
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So looking at these two, which one is safe? Rob and Cheryl. Obviously. We know Hope and Maks are in jeopardy or they'd be announcing that Chaz is leaving. That was poorly planned for tension purposes. The crowd starts chanting "Hope, Hope, Hope" and she eggs them on. Ugh, I hope they're gone. Chaz deserves to go home this week but I can't take another week of these two. I started out the show hating Maks, and then I started liking him when he was partnered with Mel B. and ever since. But last season and again this season, his persecution complex is terrible and he's... not that great of a choreographer or teacher. He's a great dancer. But I can't take the attitude and sourpuss.
So it all comes down to Chaz and Lacey and Maks and Hope. I note that they're not doing the three couples down to two this week. I don't know if that's because there are fewer couples, or because it was so obvious. Brooke says that they are not necessarily the bottom two. So who's going home? Chaz and Lacey. Wow. I wonder if they put Maks and Hope in jeopardy to teach them a lesson or if they were actually the bottom two.
Chaz says that this experience pushed him and taught him that he could do more than he thought. And I will say this: Chaz took no end of shit before this show even aired, and he came out every week and put it out there. His dancing was not great, but it took courage. And I like how he says that if there had been someone like him on television when he was a kid, his whole life might have been different. Everyone wants to run down and hug Chaz before he leaves. I wish him well.
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