Tikichick

Finally managed to watch the finale. I am satisfied with the results, although my heart really did ache for Gino. I got the impression he was hoping, but prepared for second. He seemed shellshocked by third. First time I've felt that every single finale number was actually performed better than in competition. Don't know if it's the compacted season, the fact that it really seemed they had much less rehearsal time this year, the fact that this year they didn't compete live, or this group really needed the pressure off to shine. I'm really hopeful the audition promos and Nigel's comments do mean they're coming back. I used to love academy week episodes, because you got to see what some of the dancers really did or did not bring to the stage. Audition episodes this season were horrendous, they went on week, after week, after week, after week, after week -- yet we saw very little auditions. A top 20 would really help us actually see the "journey". Surely they can afford more than 2 rehearsal rooms if the show continues? Watching carefully this year it sure looked like everyone had to share just the 2 rooms. No bueno.

I really enjoyed the season and I think the lovely Christmas bow on the end had a lot to do with it. Betty Gilpin certainly had a great season. Although I do worry about the backlash if her scheme is uncovered before she and Bash can complete the deal. It will be particularly bad if Sandy and Tex join forces against them. I find it ironic that Ruth had a much lower profile this season, whilst Alison Brie picked up her first directing credit.

I loved the number as well. It also read very Broadway to me as well. Another jazz piece I loved from past seasons was Amelia Lowe and Will Thomas several seasons back doing Lovecats (it used the dumpster prop). For some reason I've seen it listed as hip hop, but for me it straight up jazz number, and a fun one. ETA Another one that popped in my mind is Neil Haskell and Lauren Gottlieb doing the comic book style angel/devil Jazz number that I believe was choreographed by Wade.

You're telling me there's more to partner lifts than being picked up and letting your partner do all the work during the lift? You mean the partner being lifted has to do some actual work supporting their own frame and position, making it easier for their partner to do their job and continue dancing? Who'd a thunk it? Wonder how much the choreo for the disco was adjusted because production realized it would be very bad for the show if Ezra was traumatically injured trying to pull off one of Doriana's actual numbers with a Play Dough partner?

I'm kind of hoping for an All Star number or two for finale. Even though the final episodes of the season finally had some spark of life, I think an infusion of All Star talent will help dazzle the audience.

Only just weekend have I finally caught up watching all the episodes. Such a relief to see the top 4 have made strides to give a respectable showing. Sorry Sophie, but even with the progress you would not be the top girl in many, many dance studios across the country. It's clear this experience has been broadening and eye opening for you, and thank goodness considering you've moved across the country to pursue this professionally. Can't help but notice the comments about the same things I feel have not lived up to show standards this season. Lighting of too many numbers was either too low or did not provide the contrast to see and appreciate the moves fully. That has been shocking to me because the show has always excelled in lighting the pieces, I think even won awards for it several times. Earlier in the season I mentioned the fact that costuming really shows the starvation budget, but that's no excuse for Sophie's tragic outfit. Absolutely agree that it's one of the few times Comfort hasn't had to dial it back as an all star and it was a treat watching her give it the gas in her number with Bailey -- and watch him keep up. Clearly we were sold a bill of goods about his training experience. Jazz is certainly having a moment this season. I guess they're paying attention to the contemporary and even hip hop burnout.

Unfortunately I don't think there was a line formed of people waiting to adopt Will and Zoey. How wonderful that the parents that did show up were ready, willing and able to pour heart and soul into giving them the very best lives they could in every single way they can think of, and are willing to learn about whatever they need to along the way.

For young kids in dance it's common for parents to come in and film a class run through of their recital number in the weeks before performance so that the child can practice at home. The video Zoey was watching appeared to be just that. When our daughters were younger I wasn't available for filming week and had to send my husband in for a jazz class for our youngest daughter. I told him to film the teacher, not our daughter because our daughter didn't have the choreo in hand quite yet. My husband was having a fit, assuming the teacher was going to think he was being inappropriate, coming in and turning his camera onto the pretty, young teacher. No, no, dear, that's basically what all the parents are going to be doing. He still wasn't happy being the only dad in the room filming.

Thank you, yes, that's her name. It was rolling around somewhere in the distant corners of my brain, but eluding me.

And that's exactly the magic this show had going on for several years. I'm really grateful for the artistry that the show brought to the screen for so many seasons, it was and is a rarity. I'm thankful for all those little gems that I won't forget -- even as I forget all of the numbers and most of the dancers of this season within a couple hours of viewing.

Loyal viewer who's missed 1-1/2 episodes of all seasons. Finally finished watching recording of this episode 9-8. Past seasons would have found me frequently juggling plans in order to watch live, or stay up until all hours in order to catch up on what happened before the next day. I'm demoralized at the starvation diet budget Fox has allowed this show that can be, and has been, an absolute gem of artistry.

I thought Joanie's scene in the restroom was in her master bath and she was desperately trying to keep her husband from hearing any tea the commode was about to spill. When we saw her in the office with her very pregnant boss/coworker? I was confident where the major threadline of Joanie's storyline is leading.

Things with the competitions may not be exactly as we're led to believe watching the show, however I can say that the judges they show are the actual judges at the various competitions and are merely being shown on camera for the show. Back on the original show I saw judges I actually know being shown at the particular competitions they actually work for and judge for, one of whom actually coached one of my daughter's competition teams for a year and taught at the studio she attended for several years. I noticed that the woman announcing the awards on one of the episodes this week appeared as a coach/mentor on the competition show Abby had back several years ago. She was in the VERY short, body con chartreuse mini dress announcing the awards. I kept thinking the cameraman needed to tighten up his shot so that he didn't inadvertently capture unusable footage giving the audience a real show straight up her dress. Couldn't remember her name, I'm thinking Raquel? Former dancer, supposedly "an old friend of Abby's".

Watching it I have to remind myself that some of the things that seem off or strange are also probably down to creating a storyline and/or filling time for a TV show. Hence the frequent exploration of the culture of the birth countries of each child, Bill/Will liking vehicles and speed, trying to sneak goodies past Jen, etc. We've seen the kids get goodies with Jen present many times, with her full approval. The kids' excited enjoyment of them makes me think they are still a limited offering treat in their world -- not as if they're completely unheard of, but not an everyday occurrence either. I was really interested in Zoey's reaction to the surprise of the new pool toys hidden for them to find. "Oh, thank you so much, thank you, thank you so much!" The kids do get a generous amount of material things. Gratitude is being impressed upon them as well. It's not a slam dunk that kids who have so much will be aware of the idea they should be grateful and express it. Clearly some effort is being put in to attempt to instill that idea into them. I'm most encouraged about Will and Zoey's interactions with their peers -- Will's friends at his birthday party and Zoey with her cousin's at grandpa's house told me a lot about what the kids are actually like interacting with others. For a lot of reasons I thought there were a lot of indicators the kids wouldn't do well with peers, and I'm glad to see I was wrong. Judging by the response we've seen of other children with Will and Zoey I think they understand how to get along with their peers. Currently I think we're seeing a phase that Zoey is going through that looks annoying and I'm sure can be annoying to be around at times. She's very intent on, look at me, watch me, look at me. Some of that is her age. Some of that is being very doted on by a lot of adults in many situations. Some of that is a natural result of growing up being encouraged to "do this, do that, show us this, show us that" for the TV show cameras. Judging by the change in Will as he is maturing, I'm expecting this phase will pass with Zoey.

I can let it slide when the mother of the dancer speaks in first person making a comment about getting costumes late. I was a dance mom who struggled with that issue from a dance studio. It's stressful and a real scramble when you have less than 24 hours to alter and/or stone or embellish a costume before it hits the stage. A child dancer isn't the one scrambling at that point, it's all on mom's shoulders -- and is not even a little bit fun.

Or get to shoot off confetti as the finale of a routine.

Tom's relationship with and marriage to Shiv have been his stepping stones to climbing the Roy family empire, ideally to the top if he can clear the path. His assumption had been that Shiv shared his ambitions. Last episode he came to the horrifying realization that Shiv shares his ambitions in a wholly different way than he ever contemplated. That realization led to his outburst last week. This week I think we watched Tom begin to contemplate just how much of Logan's daughter Shiv truly may be. We also saw Tom learn from Logan just exactly what he can expect his place in the family and the company to be -- and that the ultimate level he will ever achieve with Logan is siring his grandson. That's something Shiv has absolutely no interest in at this point, until daddy absolutely commands it.

Sorry to see this show end. I am very glad they did not choose to make Sherlock and Joan a romantic pairing. The relationship they have is wonderful, special -- and was refreshing for the audience. Interesting to see where Sherlock and Gregson's relationship ended up -- greeted with a big hug, and the punch in the gut from Marcus also revealing deep feelings about thinking for a time Sherlock had died. I'm going to miss this show much more than I expected.

Several of the girls are quite poised and mature. Lily is exceptionally so for her age, and seems to have a talent skillset to match. I hope someone who really knows what they're doing is keeping a handle on where and how Lily is being physically pushed so that she doesn't do damage to herself that can have repercussions down the road, both on a career and personal level. Stacey should give some thought into whether playing the villainous stage mother might come back to haunt Lily's ability to book jobs. The concept of the bird dance didn't fit the narrative Abby gave the girls. Gia danced as one of them, not a nemesis. She looked like a victim to Brady's villainy in the end. Pretty careless not to get the concept right when you're taking sponsor money for the number. Munchausen by proxy number was completely indecipherable and no reflection on the talents of the dancers' performing it. They performed what they had, which was a muddy nothing of a concept. Ellianna? She wasn't there. The notion of degrading someone is repulsive and says a lot about producers that they would script something so ugly.

My first nitpick was the very first line of the night -- most spectacular auditions ever? No, no, and NO! The ridiculous hyperbole went on and on from there. A huge part of the magic of this show was always its heart and authenticity, making the audience feel a part of it. Audiences notice when shovels of manure are reigning down on us, and we tend to react badly. Hated the opening number graphics -- particularly when I realize that there are a certain amount of $$$ attached with doing that. It may not be much, but when the costume and music budgets are obviously at such starvation levels we need every scheckel used wisely. Bailey and Mariah did well with a not very exciting number. They gave it a sparkle and performed really well. They made me enjoy a ho hum number. I preferred Gino over Stephanie. For me she was dancing too high, not down into the floor. It was a mistake for wardrobe to put her in form fitting pants. That's not to say anything is wrong with her body at all -- simply that it was a distracting element with Gino in baggy pants and her leg movement so different from his. Of course Madison was the one to dance in her own style, because I knew she would. They also were the ones to get the classic lighting treatment. She did not impress. I thought Ezra did a commendable job, very much at least her equal -- and not in his own style. Benjamin did a credible job. I can't really ding him for not crushing it when he was quite busy trying to keep Bambi from falling on the ice. That was a big enough task. Eddie and Sophie gave exactly what I expected since Academy. I will give Eddie credit for taking the harsh critique solidly on the chin and maintaining his composure. Obviously the number would have been elevated with better performances and better performance quality, but honestly I think Brian Friedman phoned this one in, same old/same old. He's in a bit of a rut and needs to shake things up. If they want me to feel as detached as I do when watching WOD, mission accomplished. Of course that series languished for weeks at a time on the DVR before I could get around to fastforwarding my way through the episodes. There's no way I'll be doing that 15 years from now.

I started watching the show via a binge of first season just after second had begun. From the start I expected Jane/Rafael to be the ultimate love story, and yet the Jane/Michael love story really made me invest. His death was a crushing blow, but I fully expected he would return someday. Color me surprised when the return was so offputting. I fully expected the amnesia. What was jarring was that when his memory returned I didn't buy he actually felt the same about Jane. I think ultimately the writing couldn't get around the obstacle of Jane and Michael, together or individually, fully remembering their love for each other AND manage to end with Jane and Rafael truly and deeply in love, happily ever after. Always from the start was the idea that Jane and Rafael would and should wind up together, the twist of fate that brought about Mateo decided that. The unexpected pure, deep love of Jane and Michael deserved a better ending, but the fact of the matter is if I had to write it I cannot come up with a way that honors the beauty of that relationship, allows Michael to not only return but live his life fully and happily and allows the Jane/Rafael love story to be truly a happily ever after without any shadow of the Jane/Michael love story hanging over it. What would make me feel better about it I think would be really showing memory restored Michael once again as a warm, caring, attentive partner with a match who reflected the same back at him. I don't buy memory restored Michael being detached and seemingly living an existence where he chooses to live with a brusque, controlling mate. That's where I'm struggling with letting go on the Michael front.

A big part of the problem with Comfort's run on the show was down to the narrative they hung on her. She had more training than production wanted the audience to be aware of. They also attempted to imply she didn't care to strive for technique in other styles. None of that was true. After the show she pursued even more training to hone her craft. The technique and skill she picked up boosted her overall dance abilities into an entirely new stratosphere. Everybody knows she's unbelievable in hip hop, but for me she is as good, if not better in contemporary, particularly where it requires deep emotion. She can bring strong and powerful feeling to her dancing -- and then deftly and delicately reach in and pluck your heart right out of your chest. Mark, Billy and Ade definitely all brought their special magic to the show. It would be nice if they brought Mark back again to choreograph as well. Another favorite I left off my list is Ivan Koumaev from season 2. I still have a very special place in my heart for his liquid approach to hip hop. One of my daughters was lucky enough to attend a master class with him at her dance studio after season 3. His approach cracked open the door of hip hop for a dancer who had great difficulty breaking through the wall of the more formal ballet world.

I agree, attempting to do so for the current crop is almost impossible because of the way they've been presented to us/foisted on us/hidden from us. As far as all time, several appeared as All Stars this season -- Comfort, Koine, Marko, Fikshun, Robert, Jasmine, Lauren all showed why they're each magical in their own ways. My very special favorites include but are not limited to: Comfort - IMO was not worthy of the win her season, but may well be the best of them all post competition. She trained incredibly hard after competing and it shows in how incredibly versatile she's become. It's a shame we don't often get to see her out of a hip hop format. She's also an incredibly deep and kind person, things which pour out of her in performance as well. Very generous with whomever she shares the stage with, a fact that many competitors have benefited from. Marko - Deserved to win his season. Has never received his due. Incredibly versatile. Very generous and beyond supportive partner. Koine -- Lex who? How on earth did this gem get overlooked as the winner? Can do literally anything thrown at her -- and own it. She came back to crush it in Salsa this season!! Salsa!?! Alex Wong - But for cruel fate would have definitely won his season. Superb technician. Superb performer. Spectacular all around. I am truly grateful he came back from devastating injuries -- twice no less. Eliana Girard and Cheon -- Spectacular and deserving winners. Not often mentioned, but never forgotten. Special, special dancers. Phillip Chbeeb, Ellenore Scott, Hok -- Incredibly talented creative unicorns I can never get enough of. Twitch -- Incredible talent, much more versatile than he's ever been given credit for, incredibly warm human. I will never forget the privilege of watching his talent and humanity on display with Comfort in the 4Realness of Season 4. Will Wingfield -- Special blend of natural talent, incredible technique and pure magic. The show was lucky to have him, the audience was privileged to watch him. Jasmine Harper - First impression is always legs for miles, incredible lines. Watch out for the stealthy ability to turn around and destroy with hip hop ability and then knock out of the park any other style you want to throw at her. Brings a whole other level to it all with her eyes. I know there are many, many more. These are the first few that flood directly into my mind when I think fondly of all the treasures I've enjoyed over the years with the show.

I was frustrated enough catching up on who they orchestrated into the top five girls and the top five guys. Then I log in here to see what everyone had to say -- and am completely furious with not only the casting, but with the continued decision to soldier on with a weak imitation of the very much inferior WOD. What is the point? It's painfully obvious that the show is on absolute starvation diet in regard to budget. Thanks Fox. How many of the ridiculous format changes stem from network oversight as well? No one with any power to course correct recognizes that EVERY SINGLE SPARK that made this show MAGICAL is being extinguished?!?! I've hung in with the show through all the highs and all the lows since the second episode of the series. At this point put it out of its misery because you're destroying something that once brought what rightfully bore the label world class art to the mainstream television audience. How far it's all fallen really stood out starkly when I look at what's being force fed as the best this season has to offer and I don't see much likelihood any of them could begin to step into the shoes of a Marko, a Koine, a Robert, a Comfort, a Fikshun, a Lauren, a Jasmine. (At this point the best I can say of the season is thank you for the privilege to watch them dance again -- I love them all.) MO the best we can hope for is Gino being able to bring us what's seemingly not as much technical proficiency as Lex, with perhaps a tic more ability to emote, but that's uncertain. Mariah will hopefully grow her raw emotive abilities while she boosts her technical proficiency to give us something to root for when it comes to the women. Bailey is the highpoint for natural emotional spark able to instantly charm the audience, but I worry he will not be able to absorb the necessary technique in the very short timeframe. Although I do give him credit for incredible heart and what seems to be determined effort so far. Maybe Benjamin? can do something with the ability to channel a Harry Styles-esque vibe, but I can't say for sure what his name is at this point, so having much of an impression of his dance potential with what they've offered isn't likely. Cannot believe they tossed away the potential of Nazz, Sumi and Brandon. What struck me watching Brandon was how very much his physique gave me Danny Tidwell flashbacks and how watching the ballet dancer attempt to loosen up for ballroom took me back to Cheon's struggles to overcome that same hurdle. I strongly suspect the producers were very unwise to overlook those raw ingredients that once brought the magic to their dance floor.

Yes, that slip of the tongue highlighted the likely root of the issue. With Hannah being 14 I hope something really pounds the danger of the situation into mom's head, because both likely outcomes of the situation as is point to frightening possibilities for Hannah -- the unholy mother of all rebellions or a meek knuckling under as perpetual lamb ready for slaughter for every bully and predator that comes her way whenever she's outside the stunted existence under mom's protective gaze. Let her stumble, fall, screw up, learn to stand up and fix her mistakes when consequences are smaller and mom's around to offer appropriate guidance and support. ETA: Eliana's expression in particular really drew my eye in a not good way. I thought it was very out of character for a kid who has shown some skill for acting in the past.