The last cut is the deepest. Dancing with the Stars is going to eliminate one couple in fourth place, leaving the other three pairs to compete for the Golden Mirror Ball Trophy. Who will get the opportunity to perform a Freestyle routine in the finale?
I’m predicting that Noah Galloway and Sharna Burgess will be eliminated, as they probably should be, but a shocking upset isn’t out of the question. Will Rumer Willis go home? Or will someone at the top of the leaderboard go home for only the fifth time in the history of Dancing with the Stars?
With only one elimination, DWTS has plenty of other entertainment for the results show. Flo Rida will perform, there’ll be a dance to honor the women of the U.S. military, and Riker Lynch’s brother Ross and the cast of the upcoming Disney Channel Original Movie Teen Beach 2 will perform a song from the film.
LIVE…from Hollywood…it’s Dancing with the Stars: The Results!
We open the show by replaying Noah’s proposal to his girlfriend because apparently, that’s the most important thing that happened last night, not any of the six perfect routines. Then Tom Bergeron talks to Noah, who says he was worried it might take away from the performances, but Riker Lynch, who performed right after, was OK with it.
THE RESULTS, PART 1
Noah Galloway is up first.
Noah and Sharna are…IN JEOPARDY!
OK, good. I hope this means they’re going, which is why we started talking all about his good news. This is fittingly followed by a rousing, patriotic performance dedicated to the women of the U.S. military.
THE RESULTS, PART 2
Riker is up second.
Riker and Allison are…IN THE FINALE!
Huzzah! He’s so excited and it’s very deserved. As I mentioned in my predictions, no male star has ever been eliminated when he’s at the top of the leaderboard, so that trend continues. And let’s not forget that last season, Witney Carson won the Mirror Ball in her second season as a pro, and this is Allison Holker’s second season as a pro.
A Century of Dance:
Emma Slater and Sasha Farber perform a century of dance in 2 minutes in a video. Between the crab costume, Nastia Liukin, and this, Sasha is getting a lot of screentime this season for a troupe member.
THE RESULTS, PART 3
It’s Nastia’s turn.
Nastia and Derek are…IN JEOPARDY!
Ooh! This probably means Rumer will be safe too. This is exciting.
Also, I’d like to take issue with how Tom keeps saying Nastia is the highest-scoring star this season. That’s only true if you factor in those 3 extra points she got for winning immunity during the dance-offs. If you only count the dances the judges have scored, Riker is exactly 1 point ahead of Nastia for the season. HE is the highest-scoring star as far as I’m concerned.
Flo Rida:
After the women of DWTS perform and the pros talk about the Final 4, we get even more filler with a performance from Flo Rida.
THE RESULTS, PART 4
Rumer is the last star to get the news.
Rumer and Val are…IN JEOPARDY!
WTF? Why are we even wasting time with results if THREE of the four are in jeopardy? The producers had to know viewers would assume Rumer would be safe after two other couples were in jeopardy, so if she gets eliminated, the show is purposefully trying to upset the fans, which is cruel.
Teen Beach 2:
Riker’s brother Ross Lynch and the cast of this DCOM do a performance. It’s entertaining and I’m excited to see the movie. However, I’m worried it will be like High School Musical 2, where the first one was innocent, charming, and old-fashioned, but the sequel is all modern-day, heavily auto-tuned pop songs.
THE FINAL RESULTS
It’s down to Noah, Nastia, and Rumer. Two will join Riker in the finale. One is going home.
Noah and Sharna are…SAFE!
Oh no. This is insane and something bad is about to happen.
Nastia Liukin and Derek Hough ARE ELIMINATED!
Wow! For the second season in a row, Derek goes home in fourth place. And even more shocking, this is only the fifth time someone has been eliminated while at the top of the leaderboard, following Willa Ford, Sabrina Bryan, Christina Milian, and Maria Menounos. And just like Maria, she goes home in fourth place with Derek as her partner.
As I wrote in my predictions article, I suspect part of the reason for this surprising outcome was their final performance. Even though I thought it was the best of the night, it was all about Len Goodman. He got a standing ovation and everyone was talking about him, which probably made people forget about Nastia and Derek. That’s the problem with dances that take focus AWAY from the stars.
The saddest part is that, for the first time since season 14, we won’t get to see a Freestyle from Derek Hough. That sucks because his choreography is the most innovative (although maybe he’ll help out his cousin Riker and his occasional choreography collaborator Allison).
However, if you’re into superstition, here’s something interesting. Julianne Hough won seasons 4 and 5. Then we had four Hough-less victories. Then Derek won seasons 10 and 11. Then we had another four Hough-less wins. Then Derek won seasons 16 and 17. If this pattern continues, then Derek will lose again next season, but then he should be back to win seasons 22 and 23.
On the bright side, I feel like the chances of Rumer or Riker just went sky high. Also, none of these final three pros have ever won before, and it’s actually the first time in the finale for both Sharna and Allison.
Next week: It’s the finals on Monday with the Freestyle routines, followed by the finale on Tuesday at 9 pm where one couple will win the Golden Mirror Ball and Tom Bergeron will announce the new host of America’s Funniest Home Videos.
(Image courtesy of ABC)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
John watches nearly every show on TV, but he specializes in sci-fi/fantasy like The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural and True Blood. However, he can also be found writing about everything from Survivor and Glee to One Tree Hill and Smallville.
