Across two rounds on Dancing with the Stars, Alyson Hannigan, Ariana Madix, Charity Lawson, Jason Mraz, and Xochitl Gomez gave everything they had, picking up five perfect scores on the night — but who did enough to make it to next week’s epic finale?
It’s no understatement to say that Alyson Hannigan came into these Dancing with the Stars semifinals as a clear underdog. With Harry Jowsey (finally) gone, she’s the last remaining star who hasn’t kissed the top of the leaderboard at one point or another.
She and Ariana Madix are the only two celebrities who’ve yet to get a perfect score this season, while Charity Lawson and Jason Mraz have had up-and-down seasons, and Xochitl Gomez has seemingly been on an upward trajectory with no top level in sight.
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With two full dances — finally! — across the night, it was each couple’s last chance(s) to impress the judges and the viewers and earn their spot in next week’s massive season finale. The night also featured an unexpected treat with a truly different type of dance featuring Emma Slater and the pros to tease the upcoming DWTS Tour.
Harry’s journey through this season, which saw him ride the bottom of the leaderboard and still make it all the way to the quarterfinals, proves that judges’ scores not only aren’t everything, they sometimes don’t matter at all if there’s enough support from the fans. In other words, we couldn’t count anyone out heading into the results.
By the end of the night, to borrow from another reality competition, the season’s trend of expecting the unexpected reared its head once again, as five perfect scores set the stage for a finale the likes of which we’ve never seen before in the history of Dancing with the Stars.
Who do I think I am? you ask. Well, I spent nearly a decade of my life sweating and bleeding to the music as a dancer. From a young boy learning a shuffle-ball-change to performing with the St. Louis Ballet Company, I experienced the ups and downs of one of the most difficult physically demanding sports on the planet. During this time, I was also a member of the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra, as well as a gymnast, writer and cartoonist. I had a lot more energy in my younger years. And I’ve spent the last twenty years analyzing and critiquing reality competition shows for various media publications. I’ve got this.
Fair warning, since I’m safe at home, I’m probably going to be a little harsher than my colleagues Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough, and Bruno Tonioli. But I might be nicer, too. Maybe.
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FILLER
DWTS Pros on Tour
(“Love Story,” Taylor Swift) Emma Slater took center stage (and table) in a very cleverly choreographed piece that saw her dancing with four guys in a very sensual piece. There was so much passion throughout this piece and brilliantly clever design with four chairs a table and those guys’ bodies to keep her off the floor for fully half of the routine. It’s easy to forget just how versatile and creative dance can be overall with a competition that sticks to just a few formats, so it’s nice to remind everyone that dance can be anything and everything.
ROUND 1: LATIN
Ariana Madix & Pasha Pashkov
(Jive – “Runaway Baby,” Bruno Mars) The only criticism I can give is that we could see Ariana’s energy waxing by the end of the piece as she started to look a little heavy on her feet. But that’s just a testament to how much she was giving throughout. She was more than likely exhausted. She never showed it on her face, though, which kept perfect character. The dance was high-energy with lots of great jive content and those knees were up, hips swiveling, hands flexing, the picture of the jive was spot-on with Pasha next to her. It was a beautifully confident performance with great joy. After finding out she’s dealing with an injury in her back, impacting her full extensions, it’s even more impressive.
Judges Scores: 9, 9, 10
My Score: 9
Xochitl Gomez & Val Chmerkovskiy
(Samba – “Samba,” Gloria Estefan) Val did not joke around with the choreography on this one and Xochitl navigated every bit of it. She was a little in her head, though, cutting some execution short as she prepared for the next step. It’s just a matter of getting fully comfortable and allowing muscle memory to carry the day, but she clearly wasn’t ready to let go and trust herself quite that much. We also wanted a little more commitment to the hips, the posture, the strut. There’s a slight exaggeration in the style and she wasn’t quite matching her partner in this way, though we can’t deny what an incredibly strong samba routine this was overall and how well she kept up.
Judges Scores: 10, 10, 10
My Score: 9
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Charity Lawson & Artem Chigvintsev
(Rumba – “Love the Way You Lie (Part III),” Skylar Grey) A technically clean dancer, Charity needed to lean into her emotional side and really express the feeling behind the dance. She absolutely nailed it, everything that was expected of her. The quality of movement was that same clinical perfection we’ve come to expect, but with an extra layer of that indefinable quality that makes you feel something. She didn’t show concentration, but rather showed the story of the music and the dance. It was heartfelt and we believed every moment of it, with the emotion carrying beyond just her face and into every (flawless) line. With this performance piece, Charity has arrived.
Judges Scores: 10, 9, 10
My Score: 10
Alyson Hannigan & Sasha Farber
(Jive – “Footloose,” Kenny Loggins) Sasha took Carrie Ann’s note and packed this jive with a lot of content, but it might have overwhelmed his partner a bit. Alyson was definitely heavy on her feet in the opening line dance segment and she didn’t ever feel relaxed. There was a tension in her muscles that kept her from loosening up and really giving body to the piece, while also costing her some precision. The footwork was intense and we applaud her for being with Sasha every step of the way, but we could also see how hard she was working. The jive is supposed to just look like unabashed fun, not the hard work that it really is. Alyson wasn’t able to hide her effort just yet on this one.
Judges Scores: 9, 8, 8
My Score: 7
Jason Mraz & Daniella Karagach
(Paso doble – “Diablo Rojo” Rodrigo y Gabriela) We lacked a little bit of intensity from Jason, and he dropped his frame here and there, but we have to give credit for how far he came just from that rehearsal footage. It’s an unnatural posture in this dance, so without a lot of experience standing and moving that way, Jason’s chest crept forward and down from time to time. He also didn’t have the attack fully throughout that we wanted to see. Honestly, though, that’s nitpicky level because to come new to this style, it’s incredible how in command he was on this dance, and able to stand confidently next to Daniella, who was killing it! We adored the opening and the choreography, which Jason powered through admirably. We were just rooting for a little more finesse fastened down on top of the technique.
Judges Scores: 10, 10, 10
My Score: 9
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ROUND 2: BALLROOM
Jason Mraz & Daniella Karagach
(Viennese Waltz – “I Won’t Give Up,” Jason Mraz) Jason struggles with dizziness and motion sickness with spinning … which is absolutely disastrous on this style! We saw him struggle in rehearsals, but he definitely held it together on the dance floor. That said, there was a hesitancy in his movements — especially early on — as if he was nervous about getting dizzy or something. He wasn’t fully committed to what he was doing and wasn’t even leading at all times, which is not something we’ve seen from Jason before. Once he settled in, though, there was lovely elegance and movement. We could see him working for it a bit this week rather than just letting the dance carry him and trusting.
Judges Scores: 9, 9, 9
My Score: 8
Xochitl Gomez & Val Chmerkovskiy
(Waltz – “La Vie en rose,” Lady Gaga) Surprisingly emotional and incredibly performed, Xochitl has really risen to the top in this competition. She has always commanded the stage with her energy and her smile, but she took control here with a sophisticated understatement. This was sublime with incredible movement cross the floor, powerful partnering, hold, rise-and-fall … honestly, it was everything we could have asked for in a waltz .The solo openings and closings also showed just how much of a leading lady Xochitl is, carrying our hearts right along with her as she celebrated her incredible journey here and to come. Is there an “11”?
Judges Scores: 10, 10, 10
My Score: 10
Charity Lawson & Artem Chigvintsev
(Quickstep – “Boss,” Fifth Harmony) The jump-slide combo in the middle wasn’t as smooth as we’d have liked and the jump toward the end lacked some energy and height. By that point, though, we could see Charity winding down a bit as her footwork didn’t have quite the pep of the earlier portion of the dance. This style is no joke when it comes to breathing and timing and just keeping up with it. By the end, we could see Charity laboring to keep that smile plastered on and losing some of the flare in her movements just to keep up, which she did. She executed everything asked of her, as she always does, but the character of the dance faltered just a bit by the end, by our reckoning.
Judges Scores: 10, 10, 10
My Score: 9
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Alyson Hannigan & Sasha Farber
(Waltz – “Come Away with Me,” Norah Jones) If this was to be Alyson’s swan song — and let’s be honest, it probably was — what a beautiful way to celebrate her journey to this point and say goodbye to one of the most charismatic and likable contestants to ever grace this stage. There was beautiful elegance and grace in her movement, we loved her lines, and the precision of steps was stronger than she’s ever delivered. More than that, though, was this testament to the great love story (as friends) between her and Sasha, which has been just as beautiful to watch. Alyson has come alive on this journey and she has a glow about her now that lights up the room, which we saw in this best dance of the season.
Judges Scores: 8, 9, 9
My Score: 9
Ariana Madix & Pasha Pashkov
(Foxtrot – “Trampoline,” Shaed & Zayn) Ariana got to end the night and she put an exclamation point on it with this routine. Sometimes it’s the little things, and her little hand flicks at the beginning immediately drew us into the piece, and then just the quality of movement and flow throughout kept us enraptured. This is one of the most consistent pieces she’s ever delivered in a season of strong routines. Pasha again pushed her and she stepped up to each challenge with grace and commitment. Ariana jumps out with almost every dance and reminds you that she is absolutely a contender to win this thing in a season with some tough competitors.
Judges Scores: 10, 10, 10
My Score: 10
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RESULTS
Look, we love Alyson Hannigan as much as the next from Buffy the Vampire Slayer to How I Met Your Mother and all the way to band camp, she’s been America’s awkward sweetheart for a generation. But there’s no denying that she was the underdog coming into these semi-finals, and she remained that after the night.
Alyson was the only dancer who didn’t get a perfect score this week, while Xochitl Gomez got two of them! The top four couples are all one point apart from Xochitl (60) to Charity (59) to Ariana (58) to Jason (57). Alsyon was sitting at 51 points at the end of the night.
She’s had an incredible run and should be so proud to have made it this far, but these other four couples have dominated most of the season, emerging as early frontrunners and despite a few bumps along the way, they all wrapped these semi-finals by showing that frontrunners can improve as well.
Alyson’s improvement has been monumental as well, but she started well behind these other four performers and her journey ends this way, as well. She should definitely ride out with her head held high as perhaps the most beloved celebrity of this season, but we definitely felt it was time for her to say farewell and let the cream of this season rise to the finale.
Of course, it’s not up to us, so is that what America did?
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Well, there was no face more surprised than Alyson’s when her name was called as a competitor in next week’s finale, so apparently that love America has for her carried into a monumental number of votes. It also means that someone will fall just short of the finale who absolutely deserved to be there based on their season journey?
Even scarier at this moment was the fact that we were really rooting for both Daniella Karagach and Pasha Pashkov to be able to compete against one another in the finale as the first married pros to do so. They’ve both had incredible journeys with their partners, Jason and Ariana.
Of the remaining four, we immediately started to worry that Jason might have fallen short for his more erratic journey across the season. And once again, America wasted no time in telling us just how wrong we were reading them as Jason was the next celebrity to advance into the finale.
So after incredible seasons, we were looking at a final farewell to either Ariana, Charity, or Xochitl. It’s shocking to even think such a thing because for a while we were positive those were going to be the Top 3 finishers. All three have tremendous fan bases, so after going 0 for 2 in our first two guesses, we just decided to ride this out and see what happened.
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What happened was Charity got the good news next, which proves we were right to stop guessing as our first instinct was to say this was the end of the road for her. Bachelor Nation pulled it out for her, leaving Ariana and Xochitl in the lurch. First and third on the night, who did America send packing?
Are they really going to deny Pasha his first finale? Despite my efforts to not speculate, this was my fear going into this final vote because how do you vote out someone who just got two perfect scores, like Xochitl?
Well, how about a true shocker as Alfonso Ribeiro shouted out, “Both of you!” In other words, both of them were safe and all five couples will be performing in next week’s finale. Now, was this always the plan or were the actual results such a shocker (like one of these two women going home) that they pulled an audible in these final moments to avoid total fan outrage?
We’ll never know, but we’re definitely glad to see our Top 4 all advancing into the finale as they all deserve a chance to win the newly-minted Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy in its first season of availability.
Plus, the mini-battle between husband-and-wife pros Pasha and Daniella will be just as fun to watch as they fight for the trophy and bragging rights. Even if neither wins it all, one of them will at least be able to say they came out on top of the other on finale night.
Dancing with the Stars returns with all of the semifinalists for its live finale next Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and Disney+.
