I’m back with a new iteration of my “DWTS” recap. The theme this week was Halloween Nightmares. Each couple performed a spooky dance, exploring and facing the fears of the celebrity. Additionally, after the individual round, there was a dance-off where the winning couples received bonus points for their score. And as always, someone went home.
The night kicked off with Ilona Maher and Alan Bersten, who danced the tango to “Psycho Killer” by Miley Cyrus. Maher faced her fear of murderers by taking on the role of the killer in the dance. The judges praised Maher for her dancing frame but said she needed to work on the footwork. She received a 24 out of 30.
Next up were Dwight Howard and Daniella Karagach. Karagach is known for her fantastic Halloween choreography, with her 2022 Halloween dance with Iman Shumpert being nominated for an Emmy. This dance did not disappoint. The pair performed an eerie contemporary to “Ring Around the Rosie” by District 78. Howard dressed up as the Boogeyman, and the judges were impressed by the difficult and dangerous lifts. The pair received the first Derek Hough slow clap of the season, as well as the season’s first long-awaited 10 from Carrie Ann Inaba. In total, they received a 28 out of 30.
Danny Amendola and Witney Carson danced an intense and difficult Argentine tango to “Poison” by RAVN. Carson, dressed as a snake, implemented new lifts to boost their difficulty. The judges commented on these lifts but mentioned that at times Amendola was out of time. They gave the pair a 28 out of 30, with Inaba giving out another 10.
Jenn Tran faced her fear of vampires in a contemporary dance to “vampire” by Olivia Rodrigo. Partner Sasha Farber choreographed a clean and controlled dance that allowed Tran to explore her acting skills. They received their highest score yet of 28 out of 30, with — you guessed it — another 10 handed out by Inaba. If you want my personal opinion, this dance was not 10 material.
Joey Graziadei and Jenna Johnson performed an Argentine tango to “Ramalama (Bang Bang)” by Róisín Murphy. In their spooky dance, Johnson dressed as a ventriloquist doll and Graziadei as the puppet master. From lifts to quick footwork to an important character arc, their dance contained a lot of diverse content, leading them to receive Bruno Tonioli’s first 10 and Inaba’s fourth one. Their score totaled to a 29 out of 30.
Stephen Nedoroscik and Rylee Arnold wowed with a contemporary to “I Ran (So Far Away)” by Hidden Citizens. With Nedoroscik chasing Arnold, the dance explored the former’s fear of the dark. Inaba commented that their dance was the best of the night, giving yet another 10. The pair received a 28 out of 30.
Finally, Chandler Kinney and Brandon Armstrong danced a beautiful Viennese waltz to “Secret” by Denmark + Winter, which is the theme song for the show “Pretty Little Liars.” Armstrong’s choreography and Kinney’s elegant movements and doll makeup were in Tonioli’s words “spellbinding.” The pair received Hough’s second slow clap praise. However, Inaba commented that the dance was not perfect and that she would be judging their dance harder than the rest. After not giving any feedback for improvement, even with Kinney asking, she scored the dance as a 9, while Hough and Tonioli both gave it 10s, for a total of 29 out of 30.
After the individual round, Chandler and Danny, and their respective partners, were tied for first place, and Ilona was at the bottom of the leaderboard.
In the dance-offs, two couples dance at the same time to the same song. The goal is to wow the judges and attract attention away from the other couple.
Chandler and Brandon received immunity in last week’s episode, so they automatically got the three bonus points for their score.
Dwight and Ilona faced off for the first dance-off. Dancing the cha-cha to “Ghostbusters” by Ray Parker Jr., Dwight’s dance implemented more energy and excitement, while Ilona’s was more technically sound. The judges ended up giving the bonus points to Dwight.
Jenn and Stephen went next, performing a salsa to “Jump in the Line” by Harry Belafonte. Both pairs had very different styles: Jenn’s used lots of movement and content, while Stephen’s had eye-catching lifts. In the end, Jenn won the round.
Danny and Joey competed in the final dance-off. They danced a jive to “Time Warp” by Little Nell, Patricia Quinn, and Richard O’Brien. Both started similarly; however, Danny’s was more athletic, while Joey’s was more polished. Joey received the bonus points.
When it came to the elimination, I truly didn’t know who was going to go home, nor who I wanted to. Ilona had the lowest score, but she has lots of dedicated fans. While Chandler had the highest scores, she is less well-known. I was truly at an impasse and distraught: I didn’t want anyone to go home. But someone must.
This week, the unlucky couple to be sent up was Jenn Tran and Sasha Farber. The two received this news with grace and seemed to be enjoying their relationship even without the show. Is a hard launch on the horizon?
However, after the episode aired, controversy and debates ensued about Carrie Ann Inaba’s scoring and potential bias against Ilona and Chandler. Inaba gave every couple a ten, except for these two. With rumors spurring about her treatment and scoring of past female contestants, it is unclear whether Inaba holds these biases or whether her scores are just a result of the dancing in the moment. Nevertheless, I found her judgment of Chandler to be harsh, especially with Derek Hough giving the dance his first and only ten of the season. Similarly, I think she underscored Ilona’s dance, but that might have been a product of Ilona and Alan dancing first in the competition.
See you in two weeks!
