I didn't catch everyone's routine and I tuned in this season mainly to watch Meryl and Charlie, but I caught a few others last night in the process.
Meryl and Charlie are professional athletes who dance on ice for a living. Not surprising that changing the medium to a wood floor just showcases how versatile they are. That's the athleticism. Charlie has his looks and personality going for him as well. It's tougher for Meryl, especially without Charlie as her partner because I think she's inherently very shy. And she does have peripheral vision issues. On the ice, I think Charlie is an expert at working around this, but Maks has not had as many years dealing with it, so we see some hesitation on Meryl's part at times, like when they are not actually hand-in-hand.
I'm no professional, so I can't judge the validity of Charlie and Sharna's timing issues but I was scratching my head over it, for sure. A gold medal Olympian doesn't have timing issues. Period, end of story.
I think Charlie will make it all the way to finals because he has an existing fan base and he is probably picking up new ones because he is so damn cute and personable. Not so much with Meryl and though I think she's really good, this show is not just judged on talent like the Olympics, so I think we will see her go before the end, unfortunately.