The finals kind of snuck up on me this season. I don't think we need to go on for more weeks or anything; I think this season was exactly the right length whereas usually when the finals come around, I'm like, "Let's get ON with it already. Lord." Also, I have no idea who's going to win tomorrow night. I think any of the final three could take it, which actually makes tonight interesting.
William and Cheryl are up first. Tonight each couple has to do a judge's pick, and their assigned judge is Bruno, who might sexually assault William. I'm a little worried. Although William can probably handle himself, since he's about twice Bruno's size. Bruno watched them rehearse their cha cha and really doesn't have much to add, since they're doing great. He admires William's hip action and the only advice he has is that William needs to stand up straight and tuck his butt underneath him.
They are dancing the cha cha to Pink's "Raise Your Glass" and the band is MURDERING it. It sounds terrible. The singer is off-key, the background singers are off-key - just awful, and distracting from the routine. Anyway, William looks good, although I'm not feeling the connection between him and Cheryl. I don't see any missteps or obvious errors in technique, but it also seems pretty basic. It was a great week five or six routine; I'm just not sure it was a GREAT finals dance. Maybe just a very good one.
Judges? Len thought it was as good as he's ever seen in terms of cha cha. Really? Okay. Bruno calls it "an intoxicating Cuban cocktail" and says he's green with envy regarding the hip action, and adds that his placement was fantastic. Carrie Ann thinks William has added sophistication to his moves and they've seen a ton of growth. See, I haven't seen a ton of growth. He's marginally better than he was at the beginning. He just doesn't do it for me. Scores: Carrie Ann 10, Len 10, and Bruno 10. Oh, so it's going to be that kind of night.
Katherine and Mark have the paso doble this week. Len comes to their rehearsals and advises Katherine to have less aggression and more finesse. Len dances with Mark and pokes his calves and butt. Len! Getting fresh! Len also dances with Katherine and I know I say this every season, but I'd really like to see more dancing from Len. So how is their routine? Again, as with William, it seems technically perfect but it leaves me a little cold. Maybe I'm used to Derek's flashy choreography, but this feels like a very traditional paso doble and this show has conditioned me to expect more. That said, Katherine does a great job with the aggression and the finesse, and her form is perfect.
Judges? Bruno thought it was full of artistry and had technical brilliance. Carrie Ann thought every movement was perfectly executed. Len thought it was very satisfying and fabulous. Scores: Carrie Ann 10, Len 10, and Bruno 10. Katherine and Mark are especially thrilled with the 10 from Len, since they haven't had one from him before. It's starting to feel like the scores were pre-determined. As long as they don't screw up royally, they're getting perfect scores.
Carrie Ann visits Donald and Peta in rehearsals. They have the Argentine tango this week, and last time they did it, the judges were very split. Carrie Ann advises them to fill the dance with content and don't have anything that seems like filler, and Len will score them appropriately. They start, and I'm really impressed with Donald's acting abilities and his emotion. Remember, he's a football player. He's the only one left who's not a performer of some sort by trade. And the precision of his movements, and his shapes, are excellent. I thought he could have danced more instead of just being a pedestal for Peta during the many lifts, but I guess if you have someone with an athlete's strength, you take advantage. This was my favorite dance of the first set.
Judges? Carrie Ann says she loved the crispness of his moves and the light and shade of Donald's performance. Len thought there was a lot more content and he loved the intensity, and the lifts were great. But, Len thought it was a little too careful. Bruno thought it was subtle and intimate with strong storytelling. Scores: Carrie Ann 10, Len 9, and Bruno 10. Of course, Len doesn't give them a 10 and the audience boos. Donald vows to get a 10 in the freestyle.
And speaking of the freestyle, it's time! Traditionally, the freestyle is not my favorite because everyone does some stupid hip hop or contemporary dance, and I don't think the pro dancers excel at this type of choreography. That said, the past season or two have showed some of the dancers taking more chances with original types of routines, so maybe they will continue to buck the trend.
Cheryl and William are up first. Cheryl plans to do a Latin flavor, which is smart, but then add in lifts. William is really worried about the lifts, because they're taking a lot of risks and he's exhausted. But he knows that he has to give it all he has in this last dance. So how does it all work out? Well, the lifts were all good to great, and the rest of the dancing wasn't too bad either. Cheryl did a great job combining the tango, the salsa, the cha cha, and I think I saw some samba in there. And she was sure to add in a long segment of William shaking his buns, because she's no dummy. My only complaint was that William didn't look like he was having any fun! It was a fun, action-packed routine, and he looked worried the whole time. Lighten up and just enjoy your last dance, dude!
1 2 3 4
Judges? Len says that he liked it all, from the lifts to the rhythm changes, but he thought it was too predictable. Carrie Ann argues with him, but Len says he didn't want a salsa with lifts. Bruno thought it was sinful but ever so good. Carrie Ann can't even talk and weirdly starts doing the robot. She thought they broke ground, but Len argues that it was just a salsa with lifts. As Tom goes to commercial, Len and Carrie Ann are still arguing. Scores: Carrie Ann 10, Len 9, and Bruno 10. They seem pleased and they knew they weren't getting a 10 from a Len anyway.
So how about Mark and Katherine's freestyle? Mark thinks Katherine is really versatile, and they should take advantage of that in their freestyle. I actually think the freestyle might be Katherine's downfall, as I think her worst dances have been when she "let loose" and just danced. They start out with Katherine singing and I hope this isn't taking away from her dancing time. Well, their routine was jam-packed with content, that's for sure. The problem was that Katherine looked a little awkward at times, and seemed behind the beat a few times near the end. And this resulted in some awkward transitions into and out of the lifts. But it had a ton of energy and it was different - sort of a combo of the jive, the quickstep, the Lindy hop and I don't know what else. And Katherine danced her little heart out.
Judges? Bruno loved the tour through all the ages of swing, and thinks it had a ton of content all the way through, and Katherine was on the money. Carrie Ann thought it showcased Katherine's range, and that it was the dance of a champion. Len thought it was a dream. Ugh. I thought it was too frenetic even as I could admire the effort that went into it. Scores: Carrie Ann 10, Len 10, and Bruno 10. That's bullshit.
And finally, Donald and Peta have their freestyle. Peta's never done a freestyle, right? Donald thinks that William will do Latin and Katherine will do ballroom so they should do something unexpected and dance country. He references the gold standard of freestyles, Drew and Cheryl's "Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy." That's actually not my favorite freestyle of all time, but it was good and I'm just happy to see something different. So they are dancing to a song by Cowboy Troy, who is singing it. And I am LOVING seeing Donald do a different style of dance. He is more into this routine than he has any other this season and it shows. I think the first half of the routine is way better than the second half, but both halves are fantastic and I'm sad we didn't get to see more of that type of dancing from Donald this season. The lifts were insane.
1 2 3 4
Judges? Carrie Ann says it's her favorite finals and that was her favorite dance of the night. Len thought they took an enormous chance and it was fantastic. Bruno thought it was a wild ride and "a country-inspired triumph." Scores: Carrie Ann 10, Len 10, and Bruno 10. I'm so happy that Donald finally got his 10 from Len, especially one that was so well-deserved.
So now it's up to the viewers, and then they have one more dance tomorrow night for the judges. I'm really rooting for Donald. I still think he has untapped potential whereas I feel like we've seen everything the other two have to offer. Man, during the recap, they show one of Katherine and Mark's lifts again and it's SO awkward. I can't believe they got a perfect score for that. Anyway, here are your scores. See you tomorrow night!
Katherine and Mark: 30 + 30 = 60
William and Cheryl: 30 + 29 = 59
Donald and Peta: 29 + 30 = 59
1 2 3 4