If you want a spoiler-free recap, you have approximately 10 more words before you should click out of this article. 

Friends, Romans, countrymen, tonight we witnessed a disgrace in such a fashion that I honestly don’t even know how to continue. Britt Stewart and Taylor Hanson were not the best couple by any means—actually, nowhere near the top of the pack. However, them going home tonight has sent me into a fit of rage. Time and time again, Britt has gotten the short end of the stick; she has never truly gotten a partner that could take her far in the competition. In fact, in the past four seasons, she has never gotten to perform more than four dances with her partner. The producers, the judges, and the show’s fanbase have screwed her over repeatedly, and the fact that she is the show’s first and only Black woman pro is no coincidence. I will continue with our regularly scheduled programming, but let it be known that Britt and Taylor had several more weeks in them—and I don’t even particularly care for Taylor.

To make things worse, this week’s theme was—and I reserve this word for when I truly mean it—asinine. When Alfonso announced, “The wait is over! Tonight is our first-ever yacht rock night!” I laughed out loud. There are so, so, SO many better themes than “yacht rock,” including no theme at all. Nevertheless, I thought the episode was quite good despite several missteps by the camera and audio crews. The stars seemed significantly less nervous this week, and, with the diminishing number of couples, the judges were able to spend more time giving critiques.

Now, I’ll take a deep breath and try to get into it. 

Pasha Pashkov and Amber Glenn | Foxtrot to “Hold the Line” by Toto

Judges’ Scores: 8, 8, 8 | Sydney’s Score: 7

I thought that Amber and Pasha started off the night wonderfully. Amber is a beautiful dancer, and I thought judge Carrie Ann Inaba worded it perfectly when she said that Amber mediated her intense skating style with her dancing by being “softer while maintaining strength.” Her kicks were absolutely breathtaking, and the whole dance flowed so well. I will say that I think Amber took a step backwards this week in terms of letting Pasha lead the dance, but that is quite the nitpick. Overall, they killed it, and they more than earned the first eights of the season.

Ezra Sosa and Julia Stiles | Salsa to “I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do)” by Daryl Hall and John Oates

Judges’ Scores: 6, 7, 6 | Sydney’s Score: 7

After a particularly difficult week, Ezra and Julia came back in mesmerizing fashion this week! Their salsa was fast-paced, fluid, and the footwork was lovely. I also thought Ezra’s choreography was strong here and spotlighted Julia while still being quite difficult. Julia was much less in her head this week; it seems like when she’s able to play a character in her dances, it really helps her get into it. There was a lift in the middle that appeared to have a rough landing, but the judges didn’t seem to notice. They definitely still have room to improve, but I feel like Ezra and Julia are true partners. If Julia continues to actually have fun while dancing, the duo will only get better. 

Witney Carson and Guillermo Rodriguez | Foxtrot to “Escape (The Piña Colada Song)” by Rupert Holmes

Judges’ Scores: 5, 5, 5 | Sydney’s Score: 5

Witney clearly figured out that Guillermo’s dances need a gimmick, and in this dance, the umbrella they handed back and forth did the trick! I’ll acknowledge the obvious: Guillermo is clearly the worst in this competition. However, a positive to the fact that voters are keeping him on (something I anticipate will continue for the next few weeks) is that he is truly improving, which isn’t always the case with beloved contestants who are kept on for their personalities. His lines here were not bad, and he and Witney moved across the floor well. If this were a meritocracy, Guillermo would have gone home this week, but I’m not particularly angry about seeing him dance again.

Jan Ravinik and Tatyana Ali | Quickstep to “Maneater” by Daryl Hall and John Oates

Judges’ Scores: 7, 7, 7 | Sydney’s Score: 7

I am so happy about this dance from Tatyana and Jan! I really needed a breakthrough from her, and she absolutely delivered. Her footwork was impressive, and she kept up with the fast pace of the dance very well. I also love a female costume with pants, especially for a quickstep, and really loved her costume here after two less-than-great costumes given to her by the show. The camera crew really did them dirty here, missing a significant portion of their dance to show the audience, which I hated. Jan has been doubted in the past for his choreography since he doesn’t come from a ballroom background, but I thought his choreography really shined here; he truly created a classic quickstep. Most importantly, I think that Jan and Tatyana’s offstage partnership is starting to shine through on the dance floor. If you haven’t seen their antics, I encourage you to follow them online, or at least rewatch their saga with Elmo.

Jenna Johnson and Harry Shum Jr. | Jive to “You Make My Dreams (Come True)” by Daryl Hall and John Oates

Judges’ Scores: 8, 8, 8 | Sydney’s Score: 8

I have been waiting for a jive from Harry and Jenna, since arguably Harry’s best known dance is this jive-ish combo from the Glee (2009-2015) performance of Amy Winehouse’s “Valerie” with DWTS Season 24 alum Heather Morris. He absolutely did not disappoint! This song was quite slow for a jive—I felt validated when Carrie Ann agreed—which hampered this dance from reaching its full potential. However, the choreography here was truly incredible, and included every element of a classic jive executed to perfection. Jenna is really talented at choreographing theatrical dances—see her Season 29 freestyle with Nev Schulman. I wish there was a tiny bit more partner work, but that’s really being nitpicky. It was great, and exactly the type of dance I’d expect from someone with dance experience. 

Britt Stewart and Taylor Hanson | Foxtrot to “What a Fool Believes” by The Doobie Brothers

Judges’ Scores: 6, 6, 6 | Sydney’s Score: 6

Let’s get this out of the way: the dance wasn’t great. The frame was weak, Britt had to really dance around Taylor, and she was also definitely leading the dance. However, it was not the worst scored dance of the night, and it was by no means a dance worthy of sending the pair home. While it didn’t bode well for their future, they deserved so much more than to be the fourth couple eliminated. I’ve already said my piece about this elimination, but I just want to reiterate that this is a true injustice against Britt, and that a lot of people working on this show need to be looking inwards about the opportunities they give pros of color versus white pros. There is no reason why Britt has gotten partner after partner with no dance experience and limited mobility, while certain other pros get ringers season after season. My feelings can only be summed up with this song, created after her elimination last season, whose premise I still agree with: “Britt better be paired with like Obama next season.”

Mark Ballas and Maura Higgins | Quickstep to “Turn Your Love Around” by George Benson

Judges’ Scores: 7, 7, 8 | Sydney’s Score: 8

Quickstep is one of my favorite dances, and I thought Mark and Maura did it such justice in this routine. Mark always choreographs excellent quicksteps, and while I wished for a little more side-by-side action, their partner work was so lovely that I can’t even complain. I was slightly confused as to why the judges gushed over this routine as being the gold standard of quicksteps, and then proceeded to give it sevens. I thought this dance was a solid eight, and I can’t wait to see Mark and Maura continue to work together.

Brandon Armstrong and Ciara Miller | Cha-Cha to “Never Too Much” by Luther Vandross

Judges’ Scores: 6, 6, 6 | Sydney’s Score: 6

I’m going to come clean: I don’t fully understand the lore of Ciara’s Summer House (2017-current) alter ego Karma Brown that she was portraying tonight, but it totally worked! When Ciara dances, she really looks like a dancer—her arms always look stunning and she’s able to extend herself in such a captivating way. This pair is still missing a bit of the performance quality coming from other couples, but I don’t doubt that they could climb to the top of the pack within the coming weeks. I’d also be remiss if I didn’t note that the orange, 1970s aesthetic of this dance was very reminiscent of Brandon’s Season 33 freestyle with Chandler Kinney, which is one of my favorite dances in DWTS history. 

Emma Slater and Jackson Olsen | Paso Doble to “Easy Lover” by Philip Bailey and Phil Collins

Judges’ Scores: 7, 7, 7 | Sydney’s Score: 6

I thought that Jackson brought an appropriate intensity to this dance, and that his lines (the extensions of his body) were quite lovely. He and Emma were impressively in sync throughout the dance, though this dance was missing a certain “wow” factor. I really missed the typical paso doble knee-walks in this dance—that really could’ve been the “wow” moment this dance needed. This sounds silly, but I also think that Jackson and Emma’s white costumes detracted from the otherwise dark and intense vibe that they brought to the table. The judges were somewhat frustrated by this dance and gave Jackson lots of critiques, but then gave him sevens. Meanwhile, I think this dance was decent, but ultimately didn’t stand out, so I’ll give it a six. 

Rylee Arnold and Connor Wood | Foxtrot to “Everywhere” by Fleetwood Mac

Judges’ Scores: 7, 6, 6 | Sydney’s Score: 6

When it comes to Connor and Rylee, I’m truly torn. I really do enjoy watching them dance, but I also don’t feel like I’m really seeing improvement from Connor. His frame is quite stiff, and while I thought his arms were lovely tonight, there’s still a certain awkwardness to his dancing that’s hard to pinpoint. However, I thought that this routine was good, and while Rylee led for most of the dance, it was clear that Connor was really focusing on his technique. All in all, I’m hoping for more improvement from Connor. I think he could go far, but he really needs a breakthrough!

Val Chmerkovskiy and Jenna Dewan | Samba to “Africa” by Toto

Judges’ Scores: 7, 7, 7 | Sydney’s Score: 8

This was the first samba of the season, and it must be said that samba is, without question, the hardest dance on this show. It is highly technical and involves a sort of bouncing rhythm that is hard to replicate and even harder to keep consistent throughout the routine. I thought this was an excellent samba. Not only did Val and Jenna maintain the rhythm of the dance throughout, but the key samba elements—the whisk and samba roll specifically—were impeccable. Val wanted to show that he’s giving Jenna hard choreography, and he delivered. I didn’t quite understand why the judges were so harsh on this dance given they were quite positive about Harry’s dance earlier, and the two have typically gotten similar treatment as the two contestants with professional dance experience. This was a clear eight in my books—I was very impressed.

Sharna Burgess and Tyler Cameron | Jive to “Still The One” by Orleans

Judges’ Scores: 5, 6, 6 | Sydney’s Score: 5

The best way I can describe Tyler’s dancing is that he’s like that one guy on your high school football team who got a cameo role in the musical, but he’s still kind of embarrassed to go all-out because he doesn’t want his friends to make fun of him. I’d give Tyler the same advice I’d give that kid: the only thing that’s embarrassing is not committing! Tyler is a big guy, and as a result I understand that he’s not naturally light on his feet. I thought that this dance was good, and their side by side was nice but missing a certain sharpness and drive. I think Tyler could be very good if he fully buys in, but I’m not sure he will. These two were, unfortunately, my pick to go home tonight. In more positive news, welcome back redhead Sharna!

Daniella Karagach and Ezra Frech | Foxtrot to “Just the Two of Us” by Grover Washington feat. Bill Withers

Judges’ Scores: 7, 7, 7 | Sydney’s Score: 7

In his preview package this week, Ezra said that he wanted to look good “not as a dude with one leg dancing, I want to look good as a dancer.” Ezra should know that his dances have been entirely impressive on merit alone this season, and tonight was no exception. Tonight was the couple’s first slow dance, and while I felt that it paled slightly in comparison to last week’s cha-cha, they really mastered the rise and fall motion of the foxtrot. What bothered me was when Carrie Ann told Ezra, “You make us all better judges and better people.” Her tone seemed quite patronizing, and that was very strange to say to a person with a disability. She continues to fail in giving him critiques for his dancing, which is what he’s actually doing on the dance floor—he’s not there to make Carrie Ann a “better person.” Ezra has been a really phenomenal dancer, and I hope that comments like this don’t reinforce his thoughts that he’s seen as a “dude with one leg.”

Tweets of the Week:

Sydney Carroll
Sydney (she/her) is the editor in chief and a senior in the college. She likes her two dogs, cat, and guinea pig, sushi, Taylor Swift, public transportation, and Tennessee sunsets. She dislikes math, whichever team is playing the Buffalo Bills this week, the patriarchy, and carbonated beverages.

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