Hey everyone! Itās finally time for another episode of DWTS Season 34! This week was the first elimination week, and it was a Double Elimination. Itās safe to say I have a lot of opinions about this episode, especially the elimination.Ā
Off the bat, I am a little hesitant about Carrie-Ann being back to judge, especially after all of her weird scoring last season, but she did give pretty much everyone higher scores than Derek and Bruno, so I wonder if she is toning back her critiques this season. It is also worth noting that since this week is a double elimination, the scores from last week and this week are combined to be out of 50, as well as the judgesā comments being slightly different as the third judge for each group can only use one word in their critiques.
Alix and Val: 34/50 7, 7, 7
I thought Alix did very well and had a big improvement from last week. I think the first week nerves might have gotten to her because this week she definitely had a lot more performance, especially on her face. She also has very clean lines for a beginner, and I loved to see the shoulder stand at the start of the routine because itās something I wouldnāt have expected from her.Ā
Danielle and Pasha: 31/50 7, 7, 6
I think she did incredibly well, especially since she got injured last week. She honestly is such an underdog because she is technically one of the āolder contestants but she is still consistently performing well and has great star quality. She did mess up slightly towards the end and got some critiques on her shoulders, but overall, she covered the mistake pretty well and did a great job for her second week.
Andy and Emma: 25/50 6, 5, 5
I honestly donāt care if he doesnāt do as many steps; his facial expressions draw me in so much because he is such a performer and entertainer, and it hides any weaker parts of the performances. He doesnāt do super great with the dance because he is older, but you can tell he is putting so much effort in it and really wants to do well, which makes his performance so much more enjoyable.
Lauren and Brandon: 34/50 7, 7, 7
Like I said last week, I am so shocked at how well she is doing, considering Fifth Harmony being a hot mess. She has so much stage presence and performance quality, and she honestly has really good lines and technique for someone just starting dance. She also has a really good frame and nice footwork for being a ballroom beginner. Overall, a clean and āclassyā as Bruno put it, Foxtrot.
Jordan and Ezra: 32/50 8, 7, 7
This performance was a massive improvement from last week. I think Ezra really took into consideration the judgesā critiques and the criticism from social media after last week, and had the Jive jam-packed with ballroom content. He did not include nearly as many tricks and lifts in the dance and put a lot more technical choreography into it, and the only bigger ātrickā he added in was when Jordan jumped over him off of all of the flights of stairs, which I think was insanely impressive in her heels. This is the performance I was expecting from her when I first saw their pairing.Ā
Corey and Jenna: 24/50 5, 5, 5Ā Ā
Iām going to be real, I did not like this dance. I love Jenna, but some of the choreography made me kinda uncomfortable, to be honest. I can tell he put a lot of energy into it and really wanted to keep going, but it wasnāt the best. I also am not surprised that he did not get a ton of votes because I have seen some stuff going around social media about controversial things he has done in the past, and also that he was not the easiest partner for Jenna to work with. I feel bad for him, but I also am not surprised that he had to go home.Ā
Jen and Jan: 34/50 8, 7, 7
I actually enjoyed her dance much more this week than last week. I felt like it had a lot more content in it than just lifts, and I think that it was a really good and quality quickstep, especially for someone who has not danced and just had a baby. I think that she has really good lines and pretty good technique, and Jan is starting to get into the swing of choreographing for this show. Iām not really sure why Carrie-Ann gave him a comment about lifts when they clearly had way fewer lifts than they did last week, but I think the scores were pretty accurate anyway.
Robert and Witney: 37/50 8, 7, 7
Again, I, Robert, absolutely blew me away with this dance, as well as last weekās. The tango is pretty different from the jive, and they were in frame a lot more for this dance, but he honestly attacked it and was so clean and looked like a professional. I also love that he is already singing along to the music because it shows that he is clean and confident enough to perform it instead of thinking too much.Ā Ā As Bruno said, āYou donāt need gimmicks, you are good.ā
Elaine and Alan: 33/50 7, 7, 7
I love this dance, the costumes, the song, the energy, all of it was so entertaining and very different from what she showed last week. I might just be a sucker for a good jive dance, but I really liked this, and even if her steps werenāt perfect, she gave the energy and the performance to sell it.Ā
Barron and Britt: 28/50 6, 6, 6
I am so incredibly frustrated that they were the second ones to be eliminated. Britt finally got a younger partner this season, and you can tell he wanted to go far in the competition and had so much potential, which makes it more devastating that they got voted off. Britt seriously deserves her first Mirrorball, and it is long overdue. I am not sure why Hilaria managed to stay another week when she has way too much experience for this show, but Barron got cut when he has already shown so much improvement in one week.Ā
Whitney and Mark: 37/50 7, 7, 8
I thought their dance was just as good as it was last week, but again, that should be expected considering she was a professional dance major in college. I donāt really have any comments about the actual dance because it was clean and nice just as it was last week.
Hilaria and Gleb: 35/50 7, 7, 7
I think itās obvious that most of the internet is not very happy that she is still on the show. Yes, her dance was very good, but she was literally a professional ballroom competitor. Though her scores are high, I think considering the experience and how most of the internet feels about her, she should have gone home. It can be expected that if she doesnāt go home next week, I will be sharing some intense thoughts.Ā
Dylan and Daniella: 30/50 7, 6, 7
I do think this week he looked slightly better than he did before, but he is still very stiff. He is trying to perform and move a lot, but when you are standing next to someone as iconic and energetic as Daniella Karagach, you are going to have to bring it to the next level. Overall, it wasnāt the best performance, but he did keep in time and keep with the ābounceā of the samba pretty well, and the samba rolls towards the end did look great.
Scott and Rylee: 28/ 50 6, 6, 6
I might be biased because I love this pair and this song, but I loved this dance. It felt a little slow, but I think they did that for the style. I thought he looked a lot better than he did last week, and I can tell he is putting in the work and the effort to get better, but he definitely still looks a little stiff in the arms.Ā
I am excited for next week, knowing what some of the songs are, but I am a little on the fence about the whole TikTok theme. But as long as the dances are good I will enjoy it. Tune in next week for hopefully a not disappointing elimination!
My teir list for this week!:
