Dancing fam: We did it! Okay, we didn’t physically push our bodies to perform dancing routines at a professional level for two months like our contestants, but emotionally, we really did it. We survived what has been a wild and wacky season of dancing, full of eliminations that made very little sense and forced us to stuff our feelings way down inside and move forward like the professional DWTS audience we are. Our prize for doing so? A finale episode (they did away with our two-night finale extravaganza, for better or worse) so packed with joy, we can all walk away feeling like winners.
Just kidding — there can only be one winner and the four remaining couples have two rounds to prove it should be them. They’ll be doing a repeat dance of their choice in the first round, and this season, we’re ending with the always highly anticipated freestyle round. Scattered throughout our couples’ final routines we get some great performances like: Sharna and Artem making everyone feel things during a Dan + Shay live performance; Jenna and Joe reprising their “I’m Too Sexy” gas station worker routine, this time flanked by other beefy Bachelor contestants because sure why not?; the male pros deciding to try out a strip show featuring DeMarcus Ware; and Juan Pablo and Cheryl performing their flawless Argentine tango in order to remind us all that they should be dancing in this finale.
There’s a whole lot of dancing packed into these two hours, so for the last time this season, let us get into it.
REPEAT DANCE ROUND
Alexis Ren and Alan Bersten
Argentine Tango, “Swan Lake” by Ray Chew Live
Alan and Alexis choose their week two ballet-ballroom fusion routine as their repeat dance partially because it was one of their favorites and partially to redeem their tutu wardrobe malfunction. There’s lots of talk about how much Alexis has grown throughout the competition and that’s because of Alan, etcetera, etcetera. When they get out on the dance floor, the tutu comes off, but this routine doesn’t have as much impact as it did the first time around. Alexis has looked sharper. It’s still gorgeous — and even Len enjoys the lyrical ballet section, which feels like a feat for Mr. Messing About — but the judges make it clear it won’t be a perfect score due to a few missteps. It still beats their original score and that’s growth, people.
Judges’ Score: 27/30
Bobby Bones and Sharna Burgess
Cha Cha, “U Can’t Touch This” by MC Hammer
Bobby and Sharna dancing their Trio Week MC Hammer routine just feels right. Bobby is here because he’s a fan favorite and is living his best life out on that dance floor. This cha cha encapsulates that perfectly. His dream was to do the MC Hammer dance in Hammer pants and he achieved that. See? Keep dreaming people! This time around, the routine feels more polished and somehow, more energized. Does Bobby do the cha cha content correctly? Not really. But the judges understand he’s not here for that. He’s working hard and enjoying the process and sometimes that’s all you need. He also gets the judges to sign his shoes at the end and that’s such an endearingly baller move it makes me happy that he’s here in the finals.
Judges’ Score: 24/30
Evanna Lynch and Keo Motsepe
Tango, “Disturbia” by Rihanna
Evanna’s journey on this show has been about her growing in confidence and owning that ballroom floor, so it only seems right that she and Keo would perform their Halloween Night tango where that transformation truly began. You may remember this tango as “the cat lady dance,” but, like, a very ferocious cat. They nailed this routine the first time around — they were docked one point from Len for frame-reasons, which is so typical Len you can’t hate it — but it’s even better on repeat. Carrie Ann calls Evanna the most improved of the season by far. Know that I’m crying for them even before Emma Watson pops up to send her Harry Potter co-star a little love. You can bet the waterworks turned on in full force after that. Harry Potter ladies gotta stick together!
Judges’ Score: 30/30
Milo Manheim and Witney Carson
Charleston, “Living in New York City” live performance by Robin Thicke
Bless Milo and Witney for choosing to repeat this week 2 Charleston. This pair — as Carrie Ann says, the ones to beat — have a lot of memorable routines, but this one was such an electric celebration the first time, it’s fitting for them to perform it again on the finale. Milo really hasn’t had a misstep this season, and he continues that trend tonight. Even Len, who gave them an “8” the first time around due to “lack of Charleston swivel” is a full-blown fan this time around. He also makes a weird comment about having underwear older than Milo and you can really tell this is the end of the season.
Judges’ Score: 30/30
(Next: It’s time to let those freestyles fly)
