It's the finals! I couldn't be more thrilled, mostly because I'm excited to have my Monday and Tuesday nights back for a few months. I know, it's not all about me. But maybe it's a little bit about me? Fine, it's nothing about me. Tomorrow night, Melissa, Kelly, or Shawn will be crowned champion. I don't think Kelly really deserves it - she would win any other season but I don't think she should win this one. But Melissa and Shawn are about equal to me. I might give Shawn a slight edge. We'll see how it goes tonight.
Brooke is wearing the weirdest dress tonight. It's got a regular shirred bodice and then a halter-style neck strap. That's not the weird part. The neck strap is all sequined. That's not the weird part. The weird part is that the inch or so of strap that attaches to the bodice is clear? Or flesh-toned? So it looks kind of like her dress broke and she taped it back together, or that her strap is a weird horseshoe necklace? It's bizarre. Maybe it will look better in different lighting. Anyway, they introduce the three finalists, who are keeping it loose and dancing along to the theme song.
And we only have an hour, so let's get dancing! Kelly and Val are up first. Remember last week, they just couldn't pull off the perfect scores from the judges, or even a ten from one judge. In their roll-in package, they talk about how they never got a ten from the judges, and their fans are the ones that kept them on the show. So this week, they are redoing their paso doble, and Kelly wants to make it so perfect that the judges have no choice but to give them a 10. We'll see about that.
Wow. The first half of their routine was amazing. Kelly was so sharp and technically brilliant. Her posture was great and she was selling the hell out of the emotion and story of the dance. And then they had a slipped handhold at one point and she seemed to go into her head a little bit. It wasn't a huge mistake; I don't know if many people even noticed it. But something changed slightly in Kelly and while she was still technically very, very good, it took her a while to get back into it. We'll see what the judges thought. If she had kept up the intensity of the first half throughout, it would be a perfect score with no question.
Judges? Len says that this was their best dance to date. Bruno calls Kelly a "fire angel" (is that a thing?) and says that she had artistry and polish like never before. Carrie Ann is so proud of Kelly, and admits that she saw the slip-up with the handhold (which the producers also caught, and replay it). I guess that means no perfect score for them. Scores: Carrie Ann 9.5, Len 10, and Bruno 10. Kelly and Val are so happy to get their first 10.
Tony and Melissa had a great week last week, with perfect scores. They are redoing the samba, which they did in Week 3. Melissa loved doing it, but they didn't get any 10s for it, so there is room to improve. Melissa is contractually obligated to remind us that she's the only finalist who didn't win her original season. Anyway, their samba is colorful and has a lot of tricks in it, but it's not my bag. They'll probably get perfect scores as I didn't see any major mistakes and it was danced well, but it left me cold because I feel like they rely too much on tricks instead of just dancing. But that's my hang-up. Also, during their routine, I suddenly remembered that Bristol Palin was on this season and I think it made me grumpy.
Judges? Bruno compliments Melissa's dance ability but says her real area of improvement has been her confidence. Carrie Ann calls attention to Melissa's ridiculous abs (especially after having a baby) and says that Melissa's solo was the weak spot last time but the highlight this time. Len just yells a bunch of adjectives, so I guess he liked it. Scores: Carrie Ann 10, Len 10, and Bruno 10. I was so confident of those scores that I filled in 30 for them on my leaderboard at the bottom of the recap before the scores were even announced.
There will be an Insta-Dance tomorrow night, and I'm looking forward to that. I think all three of these couples could do a great job. Well, I'm not so sure about Kelly, but she might surprise me. Anyway, the final dance of the first round is Shawn and Derek. They talk about how they've had a great season and they'd hate to fall off the rails at the end. So they're redoing their quickstep, which is risky since Len hated the fact that they broke hold in the middle and gave them an 8. Shawn questions whether they should do it again, and Derek posits that they can either entertain people or cater to the judges. That seems like a false dichotomy to me; can't they do both? But they decide to go ahead and break hold. There's a not-small part of me that hopes they get terrible scores as a result, because I am a rules-follower, and I hate when other people don't follow the rules and don't feel any consequences. Ask the lady who budged in front of me in line on Black Friday. I gave her some SERIOUS stink eye, but I didn't say anything, because I was afraid she would stab me.
Oh, right. This is the one where they dove off the stairs at the end. So this is the THIRD time we've seen this routine because I believe they got the encore the week they originally did it. And it kind of loses something when you know what to expect. This routine is all about explosiveness and surprise, which is now missing. It's a great routine, although I think Shawn's footwork could have been better, but I don't know if it showcased their partnership the best of any routine they've done this season.
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Judges? Carrie Ann says that it's a fan favorite and a great routine, but she wishes they had followed the rules because she thinks that points do matter, and this was exactly what she saw last time. Good point - not a lot of room for improvement here because the points off last time weren't for lack of skill. Len thought there was more body contact in hold this time, but they broke contact and did a lift, so he has no choice with his scores. Bruno tells them that they've taken risks all season, and they've achieved something sensational, even if the judges' scores are bound by the rules. I hate that the judges are going to come off as the bad guys here. Scores: Carrie Ann 9, Len 8.5, and Bruno 9.5. I'd like some explanation of how the judges are all bound by the same rules but give different scores.
Now on to the supersized freestyles. See, this is where Derek and Shawn can get creative; not sure why they also had to do it in their first dance. Anyway, Kelly and Val are sitting in a barn or something? Anyway, they are planning on doing some aerial stunts and Val will play the violin. And they are still playing coy on the "are they doing it or not?" front.
So it starts with Kelly suspended a million feet up in the air doing aerial work on some scarves and Val playing the violin, as promised. And then it goes into "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" and becomes Dirty Dancing. I like that they are incorporating ballroom into the freestyle, and at least this is something different than what we usually see in the finals. Kelly looks beautiful and her movements seem very free. And then a gospel choir comes out and the troupe comes out and this is all pulling focus from Kelly and Val's dancing if you ask me. But they do the lift at the end; it's a beat behind where it should be, but you can't not do the lift.
Judges? Len thought it was spectacular and he loved the lifts, even if it wasn't totally original. Bruno thought the interpretation was superb, and they had fantastic chemistry. Carrie Ann thought their growth as a couple over the season has been fantastic, whether it's legitimate or not, and this routine was their happy ending. Scores: Carrie Ann 10, Len 9.5, and Bruno 10.
Now to Melissa and Tony. Their freestyle in their original season bombed, probably because they did hip hop and that's not Tony's strength. They are doing contemporary, which to me means a lot of rolling around on the floor, and apparently based on their rehearsal footage, tons of lifts. Not my bag, but maybe I'll be surprised. Well, I'm watching their routine now and I think I've figured out my problem with it. Melissa is a beautiful dancer with amazing and graceful lines, and this routine has erased them. It just looks awkward and like an excuse to do a bunch of unnecessary lifts. I mean, it's fine, but I don't feel like it showed off what Melissa can do. I would prefer to see her do a waltz or similar.
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Judges? Bruno thought it showed off Melissa's extensions and lines (did it?) and musicality. Carrie Ann thinks Melissa took huge risks, but it paid off. Len can't even talk, because he thought their routine showed amazing passion. I am having a disconnect with the judges. I thought it looked weird. Maybe I'm just used to seeing a certain style of dance and that was something different? Scores: Carrie Ann 10, Len 10, and Bruno 10. Anyone else feel like that score was predetermined, like they were going to get that score no matter what? Tony is really overwhelmed by emotion.
Shawn and Derek are here for the final dance of the night. They'll be joined by the Fierce Five from the USA Women's Olympic Gymnastics team. Shawn handles the choreography of their parts, since Derek is confused by the names of the tricks. This could be great, or it could be weird, or maybe both? It starts with Shawn doing some amazingly flexible poses, and then Derek disappears and it just says SHAWN in huge letters while she dances amidst her teammates (who are all good dancers and maybe one of them will be on the show season?) Then Shawn and Derek do a little touch of some of their routines from the season: a bit of Indian dancing, some ballroom, and some amazing stunts. It concludes with the gymnasts doing stunts and a big group ending. I liked it. I didn't love it, but I liked it. It was definitely entertaining, and there was some actual dancing, and Shawn was the focus.
Judges? Carrie Ann thought it was super and sensational and she does a little dance as she says that Shawn does not disappoint. Len thought it was totally unexpected, and it was a medley of Derek and Shawn's greatest hits, and he'd give it a gold medal. Bruno thought it was flawless and brilliant, and he'd like to give props to all of the finalists. Scores: Carrie Ann 10, Len 10, and Bruno 10. No surprise there. Freestyles almost always get perfect scores unless you really fuck it up.
So who's going to win this whole thing? Gosh, I don't know. Before Shawn and Derek's final dance, I would have said Melissa, but now Shawn seems to have a chance. And Kelly apparently has an amazing fanbase. None of them would shock me. I realize that's kind of a copout, but it's true. Here is your leaderboard:
Melissa and Tony: 30 + 30 = 60
Kelly and Val: 29.5 + 29.5 = 59
Shawn and Derek: 27 + 30 = 57
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