StupidSexyFlanders

Hmm. I read the scene in the bar differently. It felt to me that Joe was reverting back to being the "hero" again, against his own interest. Pearson tells him that he could do well for himself with MCC (promotion, maybe more money) if he plays ball, but instead of doing that, he chooses to be the hero/savior of his employees who are trying to unionize without having a clue how to do it. In other words, by leading the union, he's holding the door open again (although, this time, he was asked to).

Next week, I'm rooting for anyone except Pearl to win. I don't particularly dislike her, but she's clearly Shangela 2.0: A young, not-quite-ready queen who Ru favors because she sees "potential".

Okay, so I AM nuts. Good to know!

"Alternate language instructions for Star Wars"? Maybe I'm nuts, but I swear I heard that more than once.

Thanks for sharing this! I've been dying to see this show, but I'm on my family's Prime account, so I get the free shipping, but since I'm not the primary account holder, I don't get the streaming service. This makes it extra annoying to consider paying $99/year for the streaming when I already get the free shipping.

Completely shocked that Zack came in fourth. I thought he was a shoe-in for runner up, and a strong contender for the win. Once he was out, I think lots of folks assumed Ricky was going to win, but I actually felt LESS certain. I mean, if I was that sure Zack was at least second, maybe Ricky wouldn't win after all, and somehow Valerie ended up the winner! I was relieved Ricky won at that point. Despite a lot of disappointment in the Top 6 overall, Ricky is a truly deserving winner, and it was satisfying to watch in that sense. It's amazing to think that the show has been around so long that we now have contestants like Ricky who have spent their ENTIRE dance career striving to win! Clearly, he worked on his craft, becoming so strong and versatile that he was able to consistently handle every challenge, from hip hop to ballroom. Also, Ricky is the first male contemporary dancer to win since Season 1. Ricky's obvious frontrunner status early on (which was not his fault, but a production/judging issue), renders his win less than satisfying for a lot of fans, especially in comparison to Zack, who had a more interesting journey and a cooler, more mature off-stage presence. But it's a bit unfair to say Ricky is not a deserving winner, or is less talented than Zack, even if his personality and style is not to everyone's taste. Either one of them would have been a deserving winner. And hey, it could have been worse.....it could have been Valerie.

Um...I just have to reiterate what kechara said to this. Ricky - cute, little, hobbity Ricky - had to do a cha-cha with freakin' ANYA. I was expecting that to go all kinds of wrong (and I like Ricky). I would be happy with a Ricky or Zack win, though overall this is a real let-down of a finale. I don't remember the last time I cared so little about the final 4, particularly the girls. Of the final 3 girls, I actively dislike one (Jessica), I like another one while also thinking she's not quite up to snuff to deserve the slot (Valerie), and I'm completely neutral on the last (Jacque). Tanisha and Carly were the only 2 female dancers that deserved to be in the finale (though we didn't really see enough of Carly to be certain because she was ROBBED so early on). I didn't begin watching this show until season 7. Did they always eliminate male and female dancers evenly (i.e. one girl and one boy go home each week)? I think this season makes a strong case for removing gender equivalency in the eliminations. Come to think of it, Melanie Moore's season with all the awesome female dancers makes this case as well. Particularly if we're only getting 1 winner in the end, shouldn't the eliminations (at least after the top 10) be based on the fewest votes, regardless of gender? This might force more same-sex dances as well. Casey wasn't one of my favorites, but I'd take him in the finale over Jessica or Valerie (or Jacque), not to mention Emilio or Teddy, who would have added some much needed flavor to this bland bunch!

Yes, a few episodes ago, while he was paired with Valerie. He played some kind of magician, and she was his voodoo doll. Pretty silly piece, but they both did their best. The judges really focused on Valerie in their "critiques", but if you watch the performance, Ricky was actually pretty good.

Totally agree. I was shocked they let Valerie get away with that samba. Don't get me wrong - I like Valerie, and she tried her best, but it was just plain sloppy. Poor Ryan was dragging her all over that stage, trying his best to highlight her, but it was obviously sub-par. The judges didn't need to trash it, but should have offered her some tips for improving her form, and making her movements sharper. Why do the judges seem so reticent to critique the top 10 this year? I know they can no longer "save" anyone, but isn't their purpose on the show to help inform non-dance experts on the quality of the dancing? It just feels like they're not doing that at all. Very disappointing. Really, this whole episode was disappointing. The all-stars completely ate the contestants for lunch. I was especially appalled at the tongue-bathing they gave to Rudy. That dance was ALL Allison. She was completely amazing, but I barely noticed he was there. She could have danced with a mannequin on wheels. Again, he wasn't awful, but he was not standing-ovation worthy - only she was. The only good thing about the episode is that he was sent home before he could reap any further benefits from being paired with a stronger partner. Speaking of which, Rudy's former stronger partner Tanisha was the LAST girl who should have been sent home. I almost threw something at the TV. She was the best dancer on the show, after Ricky. I agree with others here who note that her less-than-model looks and mature demeanor might have gotten her sent home prematurely. With Tanisha gone, there are no girls I can root for left, so I'm pretty much only interested in Ricky and Zach at this point. This may be my least favorite top 6 ever.

Whenever Rudy does his big, open-mouthed heehaw laugh, he gives a distinct Lennie vibe from Of Mice and Men. While Cat's reading off all the voting information, he stares into camera, eyes as wide as dinner plates, pleading "You ain't gonna leave me, are ya' George?"

I saw that, too! Ah, the early years of Fox.

Glad to see so many others on this forum have warmed to Tanisha. To my eyes, she's the strongest female dancer this season (by a lot). Not only is she technically strong, but I've been more and more impressed with her performance over the past couple weeks. She's subtle and confident, and can really sell a story without pantomiming or overacting. I'm also a definite Ricky fan, ever since his "skin and bones" solo during notVegas week. He has so much control and flexibility in his movements. I thought he was great in this week's hip hop, and was a little annoyed at how much the judges focused on Valerie's ONE impressive move during the whole piece (the leg wave), when she was otherwise pretty forgettable. Maybe this is why I'm not really getting the complaint about this season being the "I Love Ricky" show. I mean, he gets featured often in the group numbers, and he gets praise, but at least the attention and praise is deserved. I don't see it as being overbearing, and the judges seem to focus more on Valerie in their critiques.

Nigel really needs to stop complimenting the female dancers only on their beauty and costumes. I know that Valerie looked awesome in that dress, but he could have brought that up AND talked about her actual dancing! He was really weird about Carly and Serge's awesome skeleton dance, too. Why wouldn't anyone vote for that? They were both great (especially Carly). Maybe it's because she wasn't wearing a hoop skirt or a princess dress? I feel I little tired of Rudy already. Obviously, the whole showmance thing with Jacque is annoying, but it also feels like the judges keep trying to ram down our throats how LOVABLE he is. "Isn't he SO LOVABLE?!?!" "America can't help but fall in LOVE with you!!" Um...actually we can. I'm sure he's a nice guy, but the last 2 weeks Tanisha (who is demonstrably not that lovable) has danced circles around him, and is a decent performer, but the judges practically ignore her while tongue bathing Rudy about how damn LOVABLE he is. He smiles so hard it looks like it hurts him. Hurts me to look at it. Happy to see Bridget and Emilio get a better routine this week. Both were excellent. Jessica really does have a "face" issue, even if Misty and the other judges were a little hyper-focused on that this week. Seriously, look at her - it's like she's pantomiming in a silent film. I keep expecting to see those little dialogue boxes pop up. Surprised by the praise for Teddy (aka Bowie, Jr.) this week. I actually like him a lot, but all I could think during his routine with Emily was "get those shoulders down!" He was all hunched, and I know I've heard the judges scold dancers for that in the past. I guess they like his eyebrows?

Poor little Nick. He was cursed with "smaller than average male dancer" syndrome, and given a lift-heavy routine. Jessica is anything but large, but she's also not teeny tiny - Nick looked so uncomfortable trying to toss her around. And I'm sorry, Benji's great, but I hated that routine. The music choice was awful, and not in sync with the movements. He was doomed from the start. Such a shame - I would have rather seen Casey go home. He got a lot of praise, but I thought he was completely overpowered by Brooklyn (who shocked me this week!). I feel like I didn't notice him at all in their tango routine. I agree with several others here who noted how awful Emily was in her hip hop routine with Teddy. I mean, she did nothing but back rolls, she was dressed like a 1950's housewife, and she looked very uncomfortable to me. I didn't understand the praise from the judges. On the plus side, Teddy looked 100 times better when he didn't have to dance next to Emilio. That was the most I've liked him since the show began. Speaking of Emilio, that routine was another stinker. I mean, what did Bridget do that even counts as hip hop? He was great, though, as usual. I'm not a big Tanisha fan, but I thought she wiped the floor with Rudy in their Sonja number. She was strong, fierce, and fluid, while he was none of those things. He was another that looked somewhat uncomfortable to me. I thought that could have been a standout piece if Tanisha had been paired with someone stronger (I think Ricky, Serge, or Marcquet could have killed that). Malene was amazing last week in her own style, but I think it was right to send her home. Clearly she and Stanley got unlucky with the choreography, but I saw that lackluster high kick she attempted - not good. She did little more than stand around and swivel her hips for the majority of that routine. Stanley, I thought, looked pretty good, but I got what Nigel was saying about looking a bit "flaily". I still hope he sticks around a bit, though. As for the rest: Serge and Carley: great. Ricky and Valerie: great. Marcquet and Jourdain: Terrible, tacky, incongruent routine, but he was magnetic. She was...okay. Jacque and Zach: a couple of slip-ups, but overall fine. Predictions for next week: I think Jourdin and Emily are in trouble, then possibly Jessica or Bridget. Harder to guess with the guys, but Casey was in the bottom this week, and was barely noticeable in the tango, so he might be in trouble again. I think Serge will do better this week, so we might see some new faces in the bottom. Stanley might get burned from the Phone Fallout, and the third one I'm really not sure. Rudy seems to be too likable, but you never know. Alternatively, one of the hip hop boys might go down due to the lackluster routines and female partners.