S31.E11: The Finale

[Melonie77]

💃🏻🕺🏻💃🏻Finale Night Details:
The four finalists perform their final two routines in hopes of winning the Mirrorball Trophy.
Each couple will perform a redemption dance and an unforgettable freestyle routine. 

The finale will kick off with a dazzling opening number, performed to “Everybody Dance” by Cedric Gervais & Franklin ft. Nile Rodgers, choreographed by Mandy Moore and featuring the pro dancers and four finalist couples.
There will be lots of dancing throughout the show as all of the eliminated couples return to dance again on the ballroom floor.
Jordin Sparks will sing her hit song “No Air” live as Selma Blair and her pro partner Sasha Farber reunite to perform a spectacular contemporary routine.
The finale will also feature Judge Derek Hough and his fiancé Hayley Erbert dancing to “Chasing Cars” by Tommee Profitt & Fleurie.
The professional dancers who will be joining the DWTS LIVE 2023 Tour will also take to the stage with a high-energy performance to “100% Pure Love” by Crystal Waters. There will be a special announcement of the celebrities joining the DWTS 2023 Tour.

Throughout the evening, the four finalist couples will perform two routines – a Redemption Dance and Freestyle. For their Redemption Dance, each couple will dance to a ballroom or Latin style, chosen by one of the judges, that they performed earlier in the season – in hopes of earning a higher score than their first attempt at the style.
The finalists will then take the ballroom floor for one last dance each – a show-stopping Freestyle routine where they will pull out all the stops.
The “Dancing with the Stars” Season 31 Mirrorball Champion will be announced at the end of the show.

The couples (along with their dance styles and songs) are the following:
💃🏻🕺🏻💃🏻Redemption Round:
▶Actor and singer Wayne Brady and pro Witney Carson are paired with Judge Len Goodman and will perform a Redemption Quickstep to “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher” by Jackie Wilson

▶TikTok star Charli D’Amelio and pro Mark Ballas are paired with Judge Carrie Ann Inaba and will perform a Redemption Jive to “Grown” by Little Mix

▶Drag queen superstar Shangela and pro Gleb Savchenko are paired with Judge Bruno Tonioli and will perform a Redemption Quickstep to “Queen Bee” by Rochelle Diamante

▶Gabby Windey (“The Bachelorette”) and pro Val Chmerkovskiy are paired with Judge Derek Hough and will perform a Redemption Cha Cha to “I Like It (Like That)” by Pete Rodriguez

💃🏻🕺🏻💃🏻Freestyle Round:
▶Actor and singer Wayne Brady and pro Witney Carson will perform a Freestyle to “Get Up  / 24K Magic” by Ciara ft. Chamillionaire / Bruno Mars

▶TikTok star Charli D’Amelio and pro Mark Ballas will perform a Freestyle to “Us Again” by Pinar Toprak

▶Drag queen superstar Shangela and pro Gleb Savchenko will perform a Freestyle to “Survivor / Call Me Mother” by Destiny’s Child / RuPaul

▶Gabby Windey (“The Bachelorette”) and pro Val Chmerkovskiy will perform a Freestyle to “Cell Block Tango” from Chicago

[Melonie77]

[Melonie77]

[Melonie77]

[CheshireCat]

Just a reminder: whatever happens tonight, please remember to be civil. Say what you want to say then agree to disagree and move on. That way you can all enjoy the discussion.

Enjoy the Finale!

[Gigi43]

I wonder what they'll do for Len's send off? I hope it isn't rushed but it probably will be because they're terrible with time even on streaming. 

I'm looking forward to Selma, seeing Sam Champion because he was so happy to be a part of the show and Joseph because he was also enjoying being here and I thought he was eliminated too soon and could've grown like Trevor and Daniel (though his partner(s) did consistently put a lot of lifts/spins in the dance instead of letting him grow and Len repeatedly said it was too much -I agree for some of his dances- which isn't Joseph's fault but he got penalized in the scores.)

Edited November 21, 2022 by Gigi43

[jackjill89]

I've made my peace with the inevitable. I hope to see a lot of fun freestyles tonight. 

[funnygirl]

Can't wait to see Selma and Jordin again. 

Will miss Cheryl and Len on the show moving forward. 

These judges want the ringer to win come hell or high water. 

Edited November 22, 2022 by funnygirl

[Stats Queen]

10 minutes ago, funnygirl said:

These judges want the ringer to win come hell or high water

They really do. If they are as equally critical of Charli and Gabby, will be pleasantly surprised.

[Stats Queen]

Charli is a beautiful dancer, but Derek saying just 3 years ago you were dancing in your house - what the crap and how disingenuous- she is a highly trained technical dancer (not in ballroom) but years of technical training is not to be dismissed.
However, the judges, especially Derek minimizing this is disappointing.

That said, I’m not voting for her, but she is a beautiful dancer and I wonder like others why she didn’t compete on SYTYCD.

[Melonie77]

Hmmmm...I'm noticing the order in which the finalists are dancing. In years past the order they danced always seemed to reflect the way they fall from winner through fourth place. I wonder if this years' order is hinting at any results?
What I find especially intriguing is how they have assigned Gabby to dance last. This position was always a prime spot in the past - but NOT anymore now that the voting time ends before the show does. Going last may now be a negative factor.

[thesupremediva1]

What tripe is Derek spewing? So disingenuous with the fake tears.

I thought that was Mark’s worst freestyle ever. No personality. Fitting for his partner.

I don’t dislike Charli. I dislike how the judges egregiously praise her when she’s a trained dancer.

Farewell to Len and Cheryl. This is the end of the line for me as well, as I’m forced to watch 2 hours of this crap on an iPad because Disney Plus sucks at live streaming.

[Stats Queen]

2 minutes ago, thesupremediva1 said:

What tripe is Derek spewing? So disingenuous with the fake tears.

I thought that was Mark’s worst freestyle ever. No personality. Fitting for his partner.

I don’t dislike Charli. I dislike how the judges egregiously praise her when she’s a trained dancer.

All of this and I am so confused as to the lauding of this, it wasn’t spectacular- the dancing was technically amazing, but this free style didn’t feel free. 
I’m with you, I don’t dislike Charli, but I dislike the disingenuousnesses of the judges. 
When I see an amazing dance and usually experience some emotion. I did not get that from that freestyle in the least.

[DEL901]

I read Shangela is going last.   Way to sabotage her….she must be doing well in the voting.  

[thesupremediva1]

Val has worked overtime this season. He’s bringing home that bacon to support his pregnant wife. Major credit to him and Jenna on the freestyle. It was his best ever, and I didn’t think anything would top Toxic with Rumer. 
Gabby turned up the performance quality to something spectacular. I am in Love with that number and wish I could have danced it myself. 

[vibeology]

Mark's freestyle was some self-indulgent dance nerd shit. Like, it was technically impressive but kind of a snore. I hope Charli loved it at least.

Edited November 22, 2022 by vibeology

[thesupremediva1]

Forget it. Give this whole thing to Shangela and Gleb. Best thing ever on DWTS. Even my tiny iPad can’t dull their sparkle.

I’m so speechless and happy for them! AHHHH 🤩

[Stats Queen]

2 minutes ago, thesupremediva1 said:

Forget it. Give this whole thing to Shangela and Gleb. Best thing ever on DWTS. Even my tiny iPad can’t dull their sparkle.

I’m so speechless and happy for them! AHHHH 🤩

That was beyond amazing - Shangela is such a bright amazing light and Gleb in drag…

[DEL901]

Okay, now I understand why they went last.  It takes time to get Gleb ready.   I can’t wait until it is up on YouTube. 

[vibeology]

Even if she doesn't get the Mirrorball, Shangela won because her bookings just went through the roof!

[truthaboutluv]

Okay, I am happy for Mark's finally winning another Mirrorball because he is so amazingly talented to have only won twice. That said, this shit was so anticlimactic, right down to the final standings. I do wonder if the move to Disney+ helped someone like Charli win.

Doesn't seem like it would matter so much but I wonder if the small voting window, many fans who didn't have Disney +, etc. made it easier for someone with a big social media following to win. Definitely didn't have the same feel good feelings as I did watching Iman and Daniella win last season. Honestly the best part of the night were the tributes to Len and seeing Gleb in drag. 

Edited November 22, 2022 by truthaboutluv

[funnygirl]

Selma's participation this season and tonight dancing while Jordin sings, & Shangela's freestyle with Gleb in drag are what won the season for me. 

Otherwise, the most anti-climactic winner ever. 

[White Dog]

I absolutely loved Charli and Mark's freestyle.  It was just gorgeous dancing very happy with the result. The Gen Z crowd came through!  My favourite dance of the night by far. 

Wayne and Witney went AGAIN with hip hop- He could have been a contender.

Gabby and Val  that was kinda cringy.  It proves that Gabby isn't as good as Laurie Hernandez.  

Shangela was as expected, loud and proud but really messy 

Edited November 22, 2022 by White Dog

[Stats Queen]

Disappointing but not surprising end of the show.

I will remember Shangela’s, Gabby’s and Wayne’s journeys and especially Shangela and Wayne’s freestyles with joy. 
I don’t begrudge Charli, she’s a young woman, but I never saw her personality shine through above and beyond the dancing itself.

[LexieLily]

The best part of the show tonight was seeing Len genuinely moved when he got his own mirrorball.

Edited November 22, 2022 by LexieLily

[Gigi43]

The biggest surprise of the night is Vinny going on tour. 

Everything else predictable. Gleb in drag was fun but even that was expected (actually, loving Gleb throughout the season may be the surprise of the season). Loved Len getting his own trophy. 

[twilightzone]

I think if Selma wasn't force to drop out, the final results would have been different.  She had a lot of good will, passion behind her.  And yes, she could dance.

[LadyMustang65]

What a surprise! The winner is exactly who we said would win from Week One.  The show could not have pushed her any harder unless she'd been the only contestant.  I was hoping against hope right up til the end that we'd have a surprise upset, but nope.  Yawn!  Didn't even get an amazing Mark freestyle out of it, which might have made it somewhat worthwhile.  My husband didn't even realize that was their freestyle.  And I am so way past over the ridiculous gushing over her.  

Wayne and Witney were great.  He really improved his Quickstep over his last outing, which was good to see.  The freestyle was a lot of fun and really enjoyed it.  

Gabby and Val did their usual good job.  Could see improvement in her cha cha, and I liked their freestyle even with the little glitch at the end.  

Charli's "redemption" dance was one where she scored a 38 first time around - that's 2 10s and 2 9s - and it was the highest scored jive of the season.  Yeah, she really needed to "redeem" herself on that one.  <lol>  Not sure why they didn't go for her cha cha or Quickstep, since those were her lowest scoring dances.  So dumb.  And even with all that, she still is not a great performer, but the judges act like she's some prodigy.  I had really been looking forward to seeing one of Mark's uber-creative freestyles, which would have made up somewhat for the show's pushing of Charli on us all, and instead we got a retrospective of their greatest hits of the season.  Well danced of course but completely forgettable.

Shangela and Gleb are the season's biggest revelations for me.  Shangela did much better with her Quickstep this time around, and that freestyle really brought down the house.  Just pure joy, light and energy.  Absolutely loved it!  And huge props to Gleb for going all in and becoming a drag queen.  He's a good-looking man but who knew he'd be such a beautiful woman?  That was so different and so fun it was worth having to put up with the inevitable coronation of the TikTok princess.

Some real fun moments tonight, but overall this has been the second most disappointing season after Bobby Bones.  They orchestrated that right up to the faux showdown between Charli and Gabby they've been pushing all season with the inevitable winner that we all saw coming the entire season despite their ludicrous attempts to pretend her win wasn't inevitable.  I just hope they've gotten it all out of their system now, and we can have an actual fair-ish competition next season.

[Melonie77]

6 minutes ago, DEL901 said:

I read Shangela is going last.   Way to sabotage her….she must be doing well in the voting.  

They switched the order around for the second round of dances. I don't think they've ever done this before. But yes, I think it had to do with Gleb having to get into DRAG!! I'm surprised they were able to do all that to him in such a short time.

OMG I loved Shangela's freestyle...and I did NOT recognize Gleb at all at first. I thought he was another one of Shangela's friends who joined her final dance. I was wondering where Gleb was when I finally realized he was right there under all that makeup and wig! 

I also loved their final behind the scenes package where they both looked genuinely emotional talking about their relationship and partnership. Gleb said it was his best season and I loved how someone who always came off as the smoldering sexual lady's man of the ballroom had no problem becoming Natasha. I'm surprised and disappointed they came in fourth....I was hoping for 1st or 2nd place for them. 

[nickp1991]

petition to get gleb in drag on tour

crazy to think that Charli was only 5 when Mark last won DWTS

[Stats Queen]

15 minutes ago, nickp1991 said:

petition to get gleb in drag on tour

crazy to think that Charli was only 5 when Mark last won DWTS

Man, I am old

[Melonie77]

1 hour ago, truthaboutluv said:

That said, this shit was so anticlimactic, right down to the final standings. I do wonder if the move to Disney+ helped someone like Charli win.
Doesn't seem like it would matter so much but I wonder if the small voting window, many fans who didn't have Disney +, etc. made it easier for someone with a big social media following to win.

THIS! I think this is exactly how she won, along with a lot of help from the judges. The tongue bathing AGAIN tonight - especially from that nut Carrie Ann was truly just gross! Carrie Ann getting the audience all whipped up over Charli was so manipulative and unfair - it felt like a desperate act to please TPTB. Derek's continuing with the disingenuous cheering for Charli as if he doesn't know her outside the show was so disappointing. It all felt unethical to me.

In addition I still do not enjoy Charli's dancing. Mark out-danced her completely when it came to any type of flair or swagger. She bores me with technical moves devoid of any flourish and performances lacking any real emotion.
I also thought it odd that the 'TikTok Queen' did not put together any video clips of her time backstage enjoying the rest of the cast. She rarely turned up in anyone else's videos either. 

I thought Wayne was OK but IMO he did not end up as good a contestant as I had hoped possibly due to being involved in too many other projects. I also thought he exposed the fact that he is a bit arrogant a few times over the season including tonight when he said something about not liking being told what to do on the show - he talked about being used to controlling his own narrative. His facial expressions when he is being negatively critiqued betray him. He made a face tonight while Len critiqued him and I saw Carrie Ann put what looked like a sympathetic hand on Len as if to support him in his assessment. I do like Wayne though and thought the backstage video clips he made with other cast members were a lot of fun. 

I enjoyed both of Gabby's dances and although I was disappointed in their choice of song and routine for her finale I still think it was extremely well danced. She and Val had a great partnership and I think he was quite happy getting her as his celebrity this year. I'm sure she will be a huge asset on the DWTS tour.

53 minutes ago, Gigi43 said:

The biggest surprise of the night is Vinny going on tour. 

OMG this Yes! I can't even remember who the other two were (besides Gabby) I'm so shocked that Vinnie is going. Maybe there's some truth to him liking Gabby and he wants to go on tour with HER?🤣(just kidding)

Edited November 22, 2022 by Melonie77

[babyhouseman]

I'm thrilled Mark and Charli won. Yeah, she had advantages, but it was great dancing.

Val really should've done something else with Gabby for the freestyle. She's a great dancer, but the Chicago stuff is overdone.

I also didn't recognize Gleb until the end of the freestyle. It was a powerful, unforgettable freestyle. After the tragic shooting in Colorado, this number was really needed. 

[Melonie77]

1 hour ago, vibeology said:

Mark's freestyle was some self-indulgent dance nerd shit. Like, it was technically impressive but kind of a snore. I hope Charli loved it at least.

Yeah, a hip hop routine would have been much more exciting. I wonder if he was pandering to Disney with that song choice? Everything about this contestant seemed hand-picked and planned.

She should have had the courage to audition for SYTYCD instead of slumming it on DWTS.🤣

[Sd601]

I changed my votes to Shangela after that freestyle. Wow. I’ve always hated Glen (and been quite vocal about his sleaze), but I’m a convert. I loved them! Shangela hasn’t had the technique as others, but she had the pizazz freestyle “it” factor tonight! I loved it.
 

I did vote for Wayne and Charli via text because I love watching them both, but online was only Shangela. I have never voted for Gabby before—I’ve always felt she’s too timid and cautious in her dancing, so much so that I don’t enjoy watching her, but of why her freestyle was fantastic and perfect for her. I almost added her to my votes. She was wonderful. 
 

Congrats to Charli and Mark. They’ve had some of my favorite routines this seasons, one’s I’ve gone back to watch again. 

Edited November 22, 2022 by Sd601

[MissPriss]

Just as expected. 
I’m angry with myself for allowing this show to manipulate me to this extent. 
New awful host shoved down my throat. (Somewhere Tom is smirking.) New streaming on pay to view. Winner chosen before the game started. If Mark and Charli feel they lost their joy of dance, how do they think we feel? The “new and improved” DWTS sucked. How can one show make so many mistakes? 

Tyra’s last comment as she sent Charli off to get her (perfect) scores tells me TPTB a have been reading all the negative feedback on Charli’s ringer status. Tyra’s statement rubbed me the wrong way. It was an “in your face” moment and offensive to us viewers. 
And while I’m mad, just how BIG is Tyra??? Nothing like a dwarf co-host to emphasize her clunkiness. 

[LexieLily]

1 hour ago, MissPriss said:

Tyra’s last comment as she sent Charli off to get her (perfect) scores tells me TPTB a have been reading all the negative feedback on Charli’s ringer status. Tyra’s statement rubbed me the wrong way. It was an “in your face” moment and offensive to us viewers. 

I make a point to tune out Tyra on a general basis; what did she say?

[FilmTVGeek80]

4 hours ago, vibeology said:

Mark's freestyle was some self-indulgent dance nerd shit. Like, it was technically impressive but kind of a snore. I hope Charli loved it at least.

I've grown more and more frustrated with Charli and the judges' over the top love fest with her, but I was actually - looking forward to it seems too much - but I wasn't dreading it. Mark really has pulled off some amazing freestyles. I was watching his and Sadie's Super Mario Bros. one and was reminded how much I loved it (and have now had the Super Mario Bros. theme stuck in my head for ages.) And that's really saying something because I was hardcore rooting for Alfonso that season and had a slight worry that freestyle could get them the win. I never felt like Mark did creative freestyles because he was trying to mask crappy dancers. And you would think with him dancing with basically a professional, he would truly not have to worry about anything and put on a show. But that freestyle was such a big pile of meh. Which I guess does make sense since when they were talking about freestyles they mentioned how it should reflect your personality. It was like instead of being extra creative, Makr just decided that since he had a professional with him he'd just do a regular number. But the thing about the freestyle is it is supposed to be a show. And comparing that lame ass freestyle to the others tonight. Blech. Though, I think her still winning shows that the whole thing about everything coming down to the freestyle hasn't been true for a long, long time.

3 hours ago, LadyMustang65 said:

What a surprise! The winner is exactly who we said would win from Week One.  The show could not have pushed her any harder unless she'd been the only contestant.  I was hoping against hope right up til the end that we'd have a surprise upset, but nope.  Yawn!  Didn't even get an amazing Mark freestyle out of it, which might have made it somewhat worthwhile.  My husband didn't even realize that was their freestyle.  And I am so way past over the ridiculous gushing over her.  

Wayne and Witney were great.  He really improved his Quickstep over his last outing, which was good to see.  The freestyle was a lot of fun and really enjoyed it.  

Gabby and Val did their usual good job.  Could see improvement in her cha cha, and I liked their freestyle even with the little glitch at the end.  

Charli's "redemption" dance was one where she scored a 38 first time around - that's 2 10s and 2 9s - and it was the highest scored jive of the season.  Yeah, she really needed to "redeem" herself on that one.  <lol>  Not sure why they didn't go for her cha cha or Quickstep, since those were her lowest scoring dances.  So dumb.  And even with all that, she still is not a great performer, but the judges act like she's some prodigy.  I had really been looking forward to seeing one of Mark's uber-creative freestyles, which would have made up somewhat for the show's pushing of Charli on us all, and instead we got a retrospective of their greatest hits of the season.  Well danced of course but completely forgettable.

Shangela and Gleb are the season's biggest revelations for me.  Shangela did much better with her Quickstep this time around, and that freestyle really brought down the house.  Just pure joy, light and energy.  Absolutely loved it!  And huge props to Gleb for going all in and becoming a drag queen.  He's a good-looking man but who knew he'd be such a beautiful woman?  That was so different and so fun it was worth having to put up with the inevitable coronation of the TikTok princess.

Some real fun moments tonight, but overall this has been the second most disappointing season after Bobby Bones.  They orchestrated that right up to the faux showdown between Charli and Gabby they've been pushing all season with the inevitable winner that we all saw coming the entire season despite their ludicrous attempts to pretend her win wasn't inevitable.  I just hope they've gotten it all out of their system now, and we can have an actual fair-ish competition next season.

Agreed! Except, one of the things I fear the most with this win is what that signals to the judges. I don't think they'll get it out of their system. I'm worried now we'll have an even greater flood of social media influencers. I can count on one hand the amount of times I've used my Tik Tok account, but I'm sure there are other Charli's out there - popular youngsters with dancing chops that the show can force on the audience. And, I worry about an even greater deluge of ringers. The show has always had them, but they've never had one that they've pushed so blatantly while still somewhat mentioning the experience she had. If they feel the audience doesn't care about having basic professionals masquerading as amateurs then there's nothing to stop them from bringing on more and more.

3 hours ago, Melonie77 said:

They switched the order around for the second round of dances. I don't think they've ever done this before. But yes, I think it had to do with Gleb having to get into DRAG!! I'm surprised they were able to do all that to him in such a short time.

I wasn't surprised about the order change because they've done it before. I think it's usually the first two performers whose performance order gets switched but this year it was slightly different. 

2 hours ago, Melonie77 said:

THIS! I think this is exactly how she won, along with a lot of help from the judges. The tongue bathing AGAIN tonight - especially from that nut Carrie Ann was truly just gross! Carrie Ann getting the audience all whipped up over Charli was so manipulative and unfair - it felt like a desperate act to please TPTB. Derek's continuing with the disingenuous cheering for Charli as if he doesn't know her outside the show was so disappointing. It all felt unethical to me.

I thought Wayne was OK but IMO he did not end up as good a contestant as I had hoped possibly due to being involved in too many other projects. I also thought he exposed the fact that he is a bit arrogant a few times over the season including tonight when he said something about not liking being told what to do on the show - he talked about being used to controlling his own narrative. His facial expressions when he is being negatively critiqued betray him. He made a face tonight while Len critiqued him and I saw Carrie Ann put what looked like a sympathetic hand on Len as if to support him in his assessment. I do like Wayne though and thought the backstage video clips he made with other cast members were a lot of fun. 

The best thing I did for myself tonight was skip the judges' tongue baths for both Charli and Gabby. The show continued to follow the script to the letter tonight. Lowball Wayne and Shangela while praising to the skies Charli and Gabby no matter what they did. I actually really enjoyed Gabby's freestyle, but there was such an obvious screw-up at the end that Len even pointed it out and still they got a perfect score. 

How is admitting he can be a control freak at times and it was something he had to work on this season being arrogant? And, so he made a face. He's allowed to be annoyed by the judges' lame nitpicking. He didn't backtalk them. And I doubt Carrie Ann had to comfort Len over it. The guy has been booed by the audience for years and is not going to need to be consoled because someone doesn't look happy.

[Gigi43]

I thought Wayne was agreeing with Len and even named his mistake during the judging, not making a face. I get what Wayne was saying about the narrative. 

I actually thought Shangela going back to the crisp/chicken comment and joke was a bit much because she already did that so it seemed a bit like harping. Dancing chicken was too gimmicky for me especially because she can do more.. However for all the judges pointing out Daniel and Selma had things to over come this season and even trying to push Charli has it oh so hard, Shangela was never really acknowledged for dancing with a rod in her leg and she'd mentioned it once or twice. 

That said Shangela and Wayne's elimination reactions seemed like they knew already when they were going to be eliminated so I got a "going through the motions " vibe of the whole ending. Announcing Gabby and Charli would be on tour before the the winners were announced screamed an early top 2 announcement. If Charli was trying to pretend to be surprised at winning she's as bad at it as she was at all her fake shock at the judges praise week after week and her whole act of being shy despite having a reality show and social media following no one is forcing her to do, but she continues to strive for more attention. She never stopped dancing and worked with Derek before DWTS but she fell out of love with it? OK. 

Teresa said in a interview back when they were getting ready to start the premier she was gonna be on at least 2 weeks so her HW friends will be there week 2. Given everyone's lack of shock at the finals it makes me wonder just how much is manipulated throughout. 

Edited November 22, 2022 by Gigi43

[vibeology]

After sleeping on it, the thing that leaves me the most disappointed isn't Charli's win as she is an excellent dancer. It's the fact that with in-episode voting the Freestyle isn't the moment it used to be. On the night we said goodbye to Cheryl, the person probably most responsible for making the Freestyle the epic event we expect, I would bet that most of the votes had already been cast before a single Freestyle began. I would bet that Charli already had a big enough vote lead to win no matter what happened in the second round. I get that they need to trim the budget but we did get one week this season where we got a Monday/Tuesday of shows. I wish they had saved that for this week and given us a real finale results show. If they're willing to pay cast and crew for one two episode week a season, it shouldn't be a random week in the middle of the season. 

Then we could have had voting open until a set time today, we could have had more time for Len, more for Cheryl and more for the other contestants. More pro dances, a longer opportunity to plug the tour etc. And a chance to let the Freestyle matter. 

[Backwards999]

Charlie winning was an expected result, but I'm surprised it was still a decent season even though the ending was fortold. They were an enjoyable bunch of dancers and celebs.   My fav dances of the night were Val and Gabby's Cha Cha (Val performed the hell out it), Shangela's freestyle, and all the finale festivities and goodbyes.  I wonder if they will get another season.

[Lady Calypso]

So not surprising end to the season. It was pretty much called from the start, so it was more watching the dances and seeing if they impressed me. 

The redemptions were all very much meh. I really have no comment about those, except that Gabby's was scored too high; I thought she didn't really show much improvement, at least not to warrant a perfect score.

As for the Freestyles, I loved Shangela's. Yes, there was not a lot of dance incorporated, but you know what? I don't care, it was a memorable freestyle and so much fun to watch her do her thing. Plus, Gleb in drag was a lot of fun. I really think, if voting was longer, they could have absolutely pulled out more votes to get third. This has been Gleb's best season ever. He's really proven himself here for me. And I hope this has changed something in Gleb with his future partners so he can pull some great choreography like this season. 

I'm gonna say, I was worried about Charli's freestyle, but Mark absolutely tailored it to her and I absolutely loved it. Instead of going with a full troupe and props and Gen Z feel, he really simplified it and catered to her shy personality and strong dance background. I loved the styles he put in to the dance, and I think it worked really, really well. I think, after last season having more lackluster freestyles, Shangela's and Charli's are going to be remembered down the line. 

Gabby's freestyle was not good. The song didn't fit the freestyle theme, and Val/Jenna choreographed a very average routine. Plus, Gabby almost fell on her face had her foot not got trapped in the bars (or maybe that's WHY she almost fell). 

Wayne's freestyle worked with his personality. Witney always choreographs a great freestyle and this was no different. It was just clear Wayne took on too much; he looked exhausted last night. But I was waiting for his backflip that never came.

Loved seeing all the eliminated celebs get a chance to dance. I loved seeing Selma dance to Jordin's song with Jordin singing (at least it wasn't JJD singing her Blue Jeans song). 

The goodbyes for Len were beautiful. I loved the focus they gave to him and the surprise guests they got to say goodbye. 

Cheryl's goodbye routine was nice, but I think she needed to have a more solo moment. Louis kind of took over the stage at times (which is good for me; I've never seen a Louis season before this one so I got to see him dance more).

Overall, yes, a predictable ending, but a very strong season. I really think they got a great cast and we had the best F6 in a long time (at least the best/most deserving F6 of MY personal DWTS seasons). I really did find myself fine with Charli winning in the end; I thought they'd need to pull some journey BS out of their ass, but Charli AND Mark explaining how this journey helped reignite their love for dance was very, very well done. 

[Gigi43]

57 minutes ago, Backwards999 said:

Charlie winning was an expected result, but I'm surprised it was still a decent season even though the ending was fortold. They were an enjoyable bunch of dancers and celebs.   My fav dances of the night were Val and Gabby's Cha Cha (Val performed the hell out it), Shangela's freestyle, and all the finale festivities and goodbyes.  I wonder if they will get another season.

I'm pretty sure Disney Plus signed a 2 season deal with DWTS so their should be one more season at least. 

[White Dog]

I’m so glad that a shy personality who let her dancing say everything won.  The athleticism, musicality, the nods to the cartoon, to Old Hollywood the soaring up the stairs reminiscent of Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face, the slower moving parts the changes in tempo it just had me spellbound. Mark out did himself as a truly fine choreographer, so different from Derek, his stagecraft isn’t about formations and angular movement, it’s more lyrical which is also so enjoyable. 

I loved this season because it put the emphasis on learning ballroom and Latin.and where excellence in dancing takes centre stage..I wasn’t sure about GenZ if they would even care enough to vote because they haven’t shown up like this in the past. If anything, Charli and Mark have proved that Ballroom and Latin aren’t just dancing for old people. When I danced Ballroom and Latin wasn’t cool for my youthful age group. Charli helped make it cool again.
 

I loved that freestyle over huge personalities and over the top drag shows. The Drag Freestyle while cute is done better on RuPaul’s Drag Race. Incidentally Shangela has had 3 opportunities on that show to win and she didn’t. This was yet another opportunity for her but she fell short.

Eastern block dancers need to learn to choreograph. I wasn’t in love with Gleb turning the entire choreography over to the contestant. There’s ringers and then there’s ringers.

It definitely did not surprise me that Val had Jenna choreograph it was evident in the formation work that frankly was done better by Derek when he choreographed Bubles Highet.

Witney choreographed another Wayne hip hop which was fine but expected.

All in all I loved the season. Wayne Brady brought me back, Joseph Baena still left far too soon and Charli surprised me. She isn’t the theatre brat with the huge performance ability that usually turns me off dance experience. Turns out she’s just a sweet girl with a fantastic gift. I’m so glad she shared it.

Edited November 22, 2022 by White Dog

[ljenkins782]

3 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

So not surprising end to the season. It was pretty much called from the start, so it was more watching the dances and seeing if they impressed me. 

The redemptions were all very much meh. I really have no comment about those, except that Gabby's was scored too high; I thought she didn't really show much improvement, at least not to warrant a perfect score.

As for the Freestyles, I loved Shangela's. Yes, there was not a lot of dance incorporated, but you know what? I don't care, it was a memorable freestyle and so much fun to watch her do her thing. Plus, Gleb in drag was a lot of fun. I really think, if voting was longer, they could have absolutely pulled out more votes to get third. This has been Gleb's best season ever. He's really proven himself here for me. And I hope this has changed something in Gleb with his future partners so he can pull some great choreography like this season. 

I'm gonna say, I was worried about Charli's freestyle, but Mark absolutely tailored it to her and I absolutely loved it. Instead of going with a full troupe and props and Gen Z feel, he really simplified it and catered to her shy personality and strong dance background. I loved the styles he put in to the dance, and I think it worked really, really well. I think, after last season having more lackluster freestyles, Shangela's and Charli's are going to be remembered down the line. 

Gabby's freestyle was not good. The song didn't fit the freestyle theme, and Val/Jenna choreographed a very average routine. Plus, Gabby almost fell on her face had her foot not got trapped in the bars (or maybe that's WHY she almost fell). 

Wayne's freestyle worked with his personality. Witney always choreographs a great freestyle and this was no different. It was just clear Wayne took on too much; he looked exhausted last night. But I was waiting for his backflip that never came.

Loved seeing all the eliminated celebs get a chance to dance. I loved seeing Selma dance to Jordin's song with Jordin singing (at least it wasn't JJD singing her Blue Jeans song). 

The goodbyes for Len were beautiful. I loved the focus they gave to him and the surprise guests they got to say goodbye. 

Cheryl's goodbye routine was nice, but I think she needed to have a more solo moment. Louis kind of took over the stage at times (which is good for me; I've never seen a Louis season before this one so I got to see him dance more).

Overall, yes, a predictable ending, but a very strong season. I really think they got a great cast and we had the best F6 in a long time (at least the best/most deserving F6 of MY personal DWTS seasons). I really did find myself fine with Charli winning in the end; I thought they'd need to pull some journey BS out of their ass, but Charli AND Mark explaining how this journey helped reignite their love for dance was very, very well done. 

I thought Gabby had a very bad night. Her redemption dance was awkward and her costuming choice was bad, that dance needs a shredded kind of a skirt for visual impact. And I hated the freestyle entirely. 

Wayne had an unremarkable night, he did seem worn out and the freestyle just didn't come across as that exciting.

Shangela's freestyle was definitely my favorite and I was really amused by how Gleb's body movements changed when he was in drag, he really got into it. Charli and Mark's was nice too, but in a more low-key way. 

They certainly gave Len a hero's send off and it was nice of them to give Cheryl a big moment too. 

For such a strong season, I was a bit bored by the finale. Although I was amused by the dance of the first 4 eliminated contestants, which perfectly showcased why they were the first boots. Wow, that Sex and the City guy REALLY can't dance. Like, at all. 

[LadyMustang65]

3 hours ago, Backwards999 said:

3 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

he really simplified it and catered to her shy personality

Everyone keeps saying Charli is shy, but I have never met an actual shy person who puts themselves in the spotlight constantly.  I just don't buy it.  Nor am I really buying either her or Mark's protestations of not finding joy in dancing any longer.  If that were true, it seems the last thing you would want to do is have to force yourself not only to dance but to dance how someone else wants you to (the show assigning dances) and then have them judge you for it.  Unless, maybe, you're just really an attention ***** and don't care how you get it.  I think that was a narrative dictated by the show (and yes, they can do that; it's in the contract) and not terribly convincingly acted by either of them.

[LadyMustang65]

2 hours ago, White Dog said:

I loved this season because it put the emphasis on learning ballroom and Latin.and where excellence in dancing takes centre stage..

In other words, then, you never liked the show before this season because it's never been about "excellence in dancing" (there are other shows for that), it's been about taking mostly non-dancers and watching them learn and grow over the season.  That's why most of the audience tunes in to watch.  A season where the winner is a foregone conclusion from the get-go?  Not so much.

[Lady Calypso]

44 minutes ago, LadyMustang65 said:

Everyone keeps saying Charli is shy, but I have never met an actual shy person who puts themselves in the spotlight constantly.  I just don't buy it.  Nor am I really buying either her or Mark's protestations of not finding joy in dancing any longer.  If that were true, it seems the last thing you would want to do is have to force yourself not only to dance but to dance how someone else wants you to (the show assigning dances) and then have them judge you for it.  Unless, maybe, you're just really an attention ***** and don't care how you get it.  I think that was a narrative dictated by the show (and yes, they can do that; it's in the contract) and not terribly convincingly acted by either of them.

There's actually a surprising amount of people who would. I've met plenty of shy people who genuinely open up more while performing in some way. I know shyness and introversion don't necessarily go hand-in-hand, but Charli could also be introverted, and there's a lot of introverted celebs who love performing.

I used to be that way. I enjoyed getting on stage to perform when I was younger (even in front of crowds) but I had a lot of introverted/shy qualities (like Charli, I was unable to maintain eye contact; I still can't, to a degree). Plus, seeing her in her rehearsal packages, and seeing her last week after her dances and how she was clearly nervous, I really think she is anxious before and after performances, which could be due to her introvertedness/shy personality. It's hard to fake body language, and she seems closed off whenever she's not performing (and we've all commented on her unable to evoke emotion when she dances, though I've seen a massive improvement since the early weeks).

We've seen a lot of self absorbed celebrities on this show. I thought Charli was one of them as well, but she really doesn't seem like that. I wanted to believe she was but I really think that she's one of the better social media personalities we've seen on this show. She's just boring, but inoffensive. And, as you said, she's no actress, so she can't exactly fake being shy, and I genuinely see the shyness from her (or at least, like I said, her introvertedness).

[A.Ham]

So I have only been watching whatever goes up on youtube because I refuse to pay for yet another streaming service on top of the exorbitant cable bill. So I can't say I've seen any of the judge's comments or behind the scenes segments. I have only watched the dancing through the semifinals.

When I started watching this season it was already half way through, I began only looking for Wayne and knew no one else. But then youtube recommendations started to change, and I liked Joseph Baena (even if he needed to get a bit more loose), really liked Jordin, I liked Gaby well enough, and Shangela was a delight. Shangela even really change my view on Gleb. But Charli blew me away. I actually really connected to the beauty in her dancing. I get that it's not what everyone looks for (I am usually in the outlier group that just wants to watch good dancing). I wanted Charli to win so I am very happy she did, and I say it is well deserved. I did not vote for her (I don't vote for anyone) but I am happy she did not need my vote. That Viennese Waltz was really superb.

[vibeology]

1 hour ago, ljenkins782 said:

I thought Gabby had a very bad night. Her redemption dance was awkward and her costuming choice was bad, that dance needs a shredded kind of a skirt for visual impact. And I hated the freestyle entirely. 

She really did have a bad night. Watching her redemption dance I figured she'd get a lower score like Shangela and Wayne. She certainly left the door open for the judges to award only Charli with the lead.

I would have ranked them

4. Gabby who made obvious mistakes and looked awkward in both dances. I wish this show would stop with Cell Block Tango. It's never as exciting as the Fosse choreography.

3. Wayne who looked tired and overextended but did turn it on in his freestyle. I think he loves dancing and entertaining a crowd but he was tired. 

2. Shangela who is my personal fav and had the best freestyle but does struggle with her ballroom technique a bit. She'll come out of this season the best. Her ability to book larger venues and command more money is a real win. 

1. Charli who doesn't put a foot wrong and I can appreciate her talent even if it doesn't move me personally.

Like I said above, I think if there had been time to vote after the freestyles instead of before, Shangela would have done better in the results. She was the moment and the only one I saw trending on what's left of twitter. I do think the in-episode vote has dramatically changed the show not for the better.