S21: Alexa PenaVega: No Spying Just Dancing

[radishcake]

ALEXA PENAVEGA Alexa is known worldwide for her role as Carmen Cortez in four blockbuster Spy Kids films, as well as Machette Kills and From Prada to Nada. PenaVega made her Broadway debut in 2007 when she played Penny Pingleton in the Tony Award winning Broadway version of Hairspray. Fans of the ABC hit drama Nashville also know her for her turn as Kiley Brenner. Alexa is married to actor/singer Carolos PenaVega, who will also compete in Season 21 of Dancing with the Stars. PRO DANCE PARTNER: MARK BALLAS

[calipiano81]

No posts for Alexa?

I hope with the big personalities and controversial casting picks this season, she won't be overlooked as being "ordinary."

I'm looking forward to watching her and Mark this season!

[spanana]

I don't know how Alexa is going to come across, but she had one of the better nae nae vids.  So I think she will at least be a decent mover and has potential.

[BoogieBurns]

With her last name change, I think a lot of people don't realize they know her from Spy Kids and Lifetime. But I think the husband/wife thing will make the two of them interesting enough to not be invisible.

[just prin]

Have no idea who she is but checked out her "nae" video. Cute, young, "naes" ok, with Mark. Compared to most of rest of cast? Looks like a high-finisher to me!

Edited September 3, 2015 by just prin

[katha]

I think Alexa and Mark have potential. And selfishly as a fan I'm glad that Mark isn't on babysitting duty this season. But yeah, I don't know how it will work out for her with all the "louder" personalities around her. She'll split some votes with her husband and I suspect that he with his boyband following will get more of that particular cake. Some people will probably know her from her work as an actress and through Spy Kids nostalgia, so hopefully that generates some interest. Both she and her husband seem nice enough on social media and in interviews.

 

Generally I think the female celebs this season don't seem that strong on paper. Bindi will have more recognition due to her father, but has no dance experience. Alexa looked decent in that short nae nae video, so I think she'll probably be at least all right as a dancer. But there aren't any ringers or frontrunners among the females that I can see.

Edited September 4, 2015 by katha

[calipiano81]

Will Alexa really split votes with Carlos? I had heard of Alexa before, whereas I didn't know her husband. They have different working credits, with Alexa having done the Spy Kids movies long before she met Carlos.

[smiley13]

I do not see Alexa splitting votes with her husband,  To be honest, I was not familiar with him prior to his casting, but did know her from the Spy Kids movies and a stint on Nashville last season.

[Saylii]

I don't see Alexa splitting votes with her husband either. Likely she'll split votes with Bindi (both are semi-90's nostalgia celebs) and Carlos with split votes with Hayes & Nick.

[katha]

I was going more by the fact that they present themselves so strongly as a unit. And her husband has more of a following on social media, but we know that can be treacherous. The fans that comment there seem to be more BTR fans? So their ultimate loyalty will probably lie with Carlos, not Alexa. But yeah, I'm not some specialist on fan dynamics and social media can be deceiving on a show like DWTS that skews older. And it's true that Alexa will have the recognition from her work as an actress, so perhaps it won't matter that much. But my impression is that people that come in as fans of both of them will rather skew towards Carlos when push comes to shove. Of course we haven't seen them dance yet, so this is all wild speculation.

[legaleagle53]

I do not see Alexa splitting votes with her husband,  To be honest, I was not familiar with him prior to his casting, but did know her from the Spy Kids movies and a stint on Nashville last season.

 

Heck, I didn't even know she had grown up and gotten married.  How long ago was "Spy Kids," anyway?

[spanana]

Heck, I didn't even know she had grown up and gotten married.  How long ago was "Spy Kids," anyway?

 

It's actually Alexa's second marriage if you want to feel old.  She married some film producer in 2010 and was divorced by 2012.

[Saylii]

In regards to her talking up her husband and him not reciprocating...

I have a feeling that's how their relationship has always been. Alexa is the child star who kind of faded from the limelight and hasn't had many high profile projects in years. Carlos is the up and comer who probably uses some of the connections she previously made. She probably has to talk him up in the background a lot in real life where he is never in a position to do the same, unless he's talking about how hot she is.

[Uke]

In regards to her talking up her husband and him not reciprocating...

I have a feeling that's how their relationship has always been. Alexa is the child star who kind of faded from the limelight and hasn't had many high profile projects in years. Carlos is the up and comer who probably uses some of the connections she previously made. She probably has to talk him up in the background a lot in real life where he is never in a position to do the same, unless he's talking about how hot she is.

 That's interesting. Alexa was tweeting about a Lifetime movie she was in this weekend. Far cry from Spy Kids.

Watching the West Coast feed for All-Access. Alexa's being interviewed and all she's talking about is Carlos. Mark just joined and he's trying to talk a little about Alexa and future costumes.

Edited September 15, 2015 by Uke

[katha]

I rewatched the dances and now I'm even more annoyed at the double package and hope they don't do it again: Alexa had a good first dance and being compared with her husband, who has way more dance experience and more experience performing live shows, hurt her and overshadowed her. Apparently she was nervous and did better in rehearsals, that's something you can't plan for on the first show as a pro. Judging by his choreo Mark thinks Alexa is very capable and can deal with complex stuff. Which is probably true, but now he knows he'll need to adjust a bit for her nerves. Or not, perhaps she'll grow used to the live aspect and it won't be a problem. I also agree with something on Carrie Ann's blog: Alexa was good, but she has room for growth and improvement. You don't need to kill them on the first show: that can work, it can also start working against you. So Alexa might be a bit unhappy with performance and score, I thought Mark was good with both (he was not good with the married couple shenanigans, but we already discussed that in detail LOL) because he doesn't expect her to be perfect in week 1.

 

I understand that they couldn't help themselves on the first night and thought it was a cute gag or something. But if they continue doing it, it will probably hurt both Alexa and Carlos because no one will get a clear sense of their identities as individual people and as individual dancers. Though that they're assigned totally different dances for week two makes me somewhat hopeful.

[calipiano81]

I agree with everything you said, katha.

Since the theme is "Hometowns" next week, that hopefully also lends to establishing more individuality for Alexa and Carlos. And since the second night is about the pros' hometowns, hopefully we'll see her getting to know Mark more.

[katha]

Starting with: I know this is edited to bits, I know the producers egg them on. But what's bleeding through with Alexa is kinda mistifying anyway IMO: I get that of course her marriage is more important than a silly reality show where you win an ugly plastic disco ball. But Carlos seems into winning it, and tbh Alexa seems into Carlos winning it as well? Which is fine, but then why do the show in the first place? Why not cheer him on from the sidelines? The voters will catch on to the fact that she doesn't care about her own dancing and won't vote for her (her fanbase isn't the strongest to begin with...). And since she's talented I feel she's wasting a lot of potential to be even better if she was more motivated to commit to the show for herself. It's also got to be a headscratcher for Mark: How to work with someone who is so capable yet seems so half-hearted? He can't point a gun to her head and force her to be more into it, so I feel at this point he just shrugs, does his best to teach her and give her good choreo ( I think all his pieces for her were great) and waits for the (not so) "shocking elimination".

[WhitneyWhit]

Starting with: I know this is edited to bits, I know the producers egg them on. But what's bleeding through with Alexa is kinda mistifying anyway IMO: I get that of course her marriage is more important than a silly reality show where you win an ugly plastic disco ball. But Carlos seems into winning it, and tbh Alexa seems into Carlos winning it as well? Which is fine, but then why do the show in the first place? Why not cheer him on from the sidelines? The voters will catch on to the fact that she doesn't care about her own dancing and won't vote for her (her fanbase isn't the strongest to begin with...). And since she's talented I feel she's wasting a lot of potential to be even better if she was more motivated to commit to the show for herself. It's also got to be a headscratcher for Mark: How to work with someone who is so capable yet seems so half-hearted? He can't point a gun to her head and force her to be more into it, so I feel at this point he just shrugs, does his best to teach her and give her good choreo ( I think all his pieces for her were great) and waits for the (not so) "shocking elimination".

I agree with this. I said this in the episode thread, but her response to Alfonso's comment was just bizarre to me. He wasn't telling her to leave her husband, just that it's OK for her to be an individual and concentrate on winning. If she's that sensitive about her marriage, I have to wonder how good it actually is.

 

And yeah, like you said, the packages are always edited, but it's obvious she's more into Carlos winning. I thought she was going to offer herself as a sacrifice when Carlos was revealed to be in jeopardy. 

[katha]

Though I will say the fact that the judges feel free to score both her and Carlos relatively harshly and there hasn't been any propping up yet (I don't think both of them have so far been underscored as much as IMO others were overscored compared to them. Like this week 7s for Alexa with that mistake were certainly ok on their own, but they were too low compared to the 6s Paula got or compared to the scores Andy and Alek got. Tamar's scores OTOH...) makes me have hope that it might not look too bad vote-wise for both of them. That they feel that they can stretch things out till the inevitable "marrieds in jeopardy!!!" moment. And despite my criticism I still think Alexa has the potential for places 3 to 5 (she's not winning this no matter what), hopefully she can realize that potential and not get even more defensive about her marriage and focus all her attention on the show on that instead of on her own dancing.

Edited October 6, 2015 by katha

[calipiano81]

What frustrates me though, is when Alexa doesn't do so well, people say it's because "she keeps focusing on Carlos." Maybe Alexa didn't do well because of ALEXA and this is just her learning process/journey.

Other than the first week, when Mark called her out for being distracted, I haven't seen anything since then that shows she's not working hard and trying to do her best. No, she doesn't go around saying "I want to win," but neither do a lot of the other contestants.

Edited October 6, 2015 by calipiano81

[katha]

To be fair, I do think DWTS thrives on creating a toxic atmosphere and messing with people's heads and this week Alexa fell for it. Don't doubt that she puts in the work and apart from the first week she was committed to the performances, even today with the mistake. But even apart from the manipulative editing and scripted comments, IMO it's pretty clear that she's almost more invested in Carlos' dancing than her own.  And that becomes pretty apparent because it's a contrast to the way Carlos behaves: He's absolutely in it for himself and makes no secret of that.

 

Now, this is also tied to the fact that Carlos is more extroverted and self-confident than Alexa, true. Fons was too harsh last week with the way he put it, but the way she IMO totally misunderstood what he was talking about  and instead got defensive about her marriage was a head-scratcher as well. Perhaps it was just a bad idea to have a married couple on at all, DWTS can't resist the temptation to turn it into drama central.

 

To come back to her foxtrot: I thought it was cute and I loved that Mark gave it a retro feeling that suited the song choice. Perhaps too much work with the umbrella there. Since ridiculously (really, the dance assignments are such a mess!) this was her first ballroom dance it was understandable that she struggled a bit. I thought her upper body work was a bit wonky throughout. It would have probably gotten 8s without the mistake, which seems about right. With the mistake I thought 7s were fair (disregarding overscoring of other couples etc.).

Edited October 6, 2015 by katha

[calipiano81]

But even apart from the manipulative editing and scripted comments, IMO it's pretty clear that she's almost more invested in Carlos' dancing than her own.

How, specifically, is she conveying that?

It just seems like people won't be convinced unless she completely ignores Carlos on show days.(And then people would probably turn around and call her an unsupportive wife.)

Edited October 6, 2015 by calipiano81

[spanana]

How, specifically, is she conveying that?

It just seems like people won't be convinced unless she completely ignores Carlos on show days.(And then people would probably turn around and call her an unsupportive wife.)

 

I don't think she should ignore Carlos.  My issue was with what she said herself.  Alexa said she took offense to Alfonso's comments, not for the reason I expected her to say, but because to her Carlos should always come first.  If Alexa took offense because she felt she was invested in her partnership with Mark and resented that people kept saying otherwise, I would have understood it.  But Alfonso wasn't saying that Alexa should put Mark above Carlos in life.  The critique was that Mark was her partner in the ballroom and should be number one for her in the ballroom, which she seemingly took the wrong way and made about Carlos.  That wasn't really editing since those were words out of her own mouth.

[Alapaki]

I don't think she should ignore Carlos.  My issue was with what she said herself.  Alexa said she took offense to Alfonso's comments, not for the reason I expected her to say, but because to her Carlos should always come first.  If Alexa took offense because she felt she was invested in her partnership with Mark and resented that people kept saying otherwise, I would have understood it.  But Alfonso wasn't saying that Alexa should put Mark above Carlos in life.  The critique was that Mark was her partner in the ballroom and should be number one for her in the ballroom, which she seemingly took the wrong way and made about Carlos.  That wasn't really editing since those were words out of her own mouth.

 

 

Agreed.  I thought her response last night in that talking-head segment was really off-putting.  No one's accusing her of going down on Ballas after rhearsals!

 

I think either that interview was taped at the wrong time for her (energy and focus-wise), or she "doth protest too much".  Because getting from Alfonso's critique last week to a full-throttle defense of your "husband coming first in your life above and before everything and that's the way it should be and why would you question that and no I'm not paranoid why do you ask?" was a little weird.

[tarotx]

Alexa is getting a lot of 'too invested in Carlos' accusations. That reply wasn't just at Alfonso. I personally think Alexa is only doing the show because Carlos wanted to do it. The show wanted the married package. So in away she is in it for him and he in it to win. But she is putting her all into the dancing.

I think some people(no accusations here) are a bit iffy cause how they perceive their marriage. And that is reaching Alexa. And it's made her mad.

[calipiano81]

I was actually asking, OUTSIDE of the show producers egging her on to talk about Carlos (and filming her every reaction to everything Carlos on show days), what has Alexa specifically done on her own to convey she's not as invested in her own dancing and partnership?

Because when she does well (like last week's Breaking Bad dance), all of a sudden people say she's "committed" and she and Mark are "working as a team."

Edited October 6, 2015 by calipiano81

[Saylii]

I was actually asking, OUTSIDE of the show producers egging her on to talk about Carlos (and filming her every reaction to everything Carlos on show days), what has Alexa specifically done on her own to convey she's not as invested in her own dancing and partnership?

Because when she does well (like last week's Breaking Bad dance), all of a sudden people say she's "committed" and she and Mark are "working as a team."

On her Instagram, before this week's dance, she had two posts dedicated to Carlos and asking her fans to vote for him. She had one post about asking fans to vote for herself and that was a repost of a picture that Mark had posted a day earlier.

Carlos had two posts about voting for himself and none about Alexa.

So there's definitely a mentality in their social media that Alexa pimps Carlos and Carlos pimps Carlos.

I also could have sworn that DWTS wanted Alexa before she was even married to Carlos. I know her name has been a constant rumor for what seems like years. I wouldn't be surprised if she kept saying no, so they went after her husband who clearly craves the spotlight and told him they'd take him as a package deal. That would certainly fit the narrative that she wants him to win, she's there for him, and she's not really feeling her partnership.

I do hope in the switch up week that she could get Louis. It'd be interesting to see how she acts with a man that there is no chance of a sexual relationship forming between them.

Edited October 7, 2015 by Saylii

[katha]

I think Alexa just didn't come across well this week. I agree that Fons just parotted things that weren't even true for the jazz Alexa did with Mark. The problem with her reaction is that it still showed there's an issue:  She totally misinterpreted Fons to mean that Mark and the show should somehow have priority in her life. Of course they shouldn't. But in her role as dance competitor on DWTS? Yeah, he's her main man. But for Alexa Carlos always comes first, as if she can't keep her private life separate from her job on DWTS. And absolutely no one is saying she should start showmancing or is somehow pushing her in that direction. It was a strange and weirdly defensive reaction that totally missed the point. A better rebuttal would have been: "I think Fons was out of line, I'm plenty committed to my dancing and at home I'm committed to my husband. I can keep these two things separate." IMO Alexa's reaction kinda showed that she has problems keeping these things separate.

 

And yes, as far as social media goes: Carlos is promoting Carlos. Alexa is promoting Carlos as much as herself, perhaps more.

Edited October 7, 2015 by katha

[Uke]

My first thought about Alexa's defensive reaction to Alfonso's remark was that she's very insecure with her marriage.  I just looked her up on Wiki and her first marriage lasted only 1 year and 10 months. Coincidentally, she's now been married to Carlos for 1 year and 10 months (it'll be 2 years on Jan. 4) and there was only 13 months from the divorce from the 1st to the engagement to Carlos.  On Monday she tweeted a couple times about how we should look forward to Carlos' beautiful and powerful dance.  Maybe that's her way of showing she's a good and supportive wife.  From the rehearsal package we saw of Carlos last week and his issues of being "the man" in control and "right", I wonder if Carlos places that expectation on Alexa and she does as he wishes.

 

It's all very odd because on the show she seems all about Carlos but in interviews she and Mark seem to have a great rapport, and to me her dancing shows that she must be working hard since I'm not aware of any dancing in her history.  I do agree that DWTS purposely creates a toxic atmosphere and I have to wonder what questioning was going on just prior to Alexa going on about how her marriage comes first, etc. For example, some pros refer to their partnership as a 10 week "marriage" with a "divorce" at the finale.  It's just a joking way of referring to the couple's commitment to each other for the season.  Something like that, conveyed in a non-joking manner, could possibly set off Alexa's reaction.

 

WhitneyWhit - I too thought she was going to "volunteer in tribute" when Carlos was put in jeopardy. 

 

I think the whole thing was a combination of Alexa's own insecurity, her insecurity about her marriage and some poking by a producer.  I think what was aired coupled with a low score (compared to overscoring for other couples) may have put Alexa in real danger of elimination. Only Paula is lower on the leader board and Paula is just perfect for the demographics of this show.  Alexa's saving grace may be that there is no elimination for the switch next week and this weeks scores will be added to next weeks scores.  She's with Derek for the switch so if she can nail her dance, she'll likely get high scores (and if she can watch what she says), she may be able to recover.

 

This whole First Married Couple! would have been so much more fun if they had booked a couple with a somewhat more mature marriage who could have had fun with the competition.

Edited October 7, 2015 by Uke

[katha]

I think the whole thing was a combination of Alexa's own insecurity, her insecurity about her marriage and some poking by a producer.  I think what was aired coupled with a low score (compared to overscoring for other couples) may have put Alexa in real danger of elimination. Only Paula is lower on the leader board and Paula is just perfect for the demographics of this show.  Alexa's saving grace may be that there is no elimination for the switch next week and this weeks scores will be added to next weeks scores.  She's with Derek for the switch so if she can nail her dance, she'll likely get high scores (and if she can watch what she says), she may be able to recover.

It was a cute dance, so hopefully at least some people voted for it on that ground. And since she obviously had the mistake and was marked down for it, perhaps that rallied the fanbase she has (which doesn't seem large...) and Mark's fanbase and that can pull her through. It's still early enough in the competition that she has a fighting chance. If something like this happened in week seven or so: Toast. And yes, hopefully she has a good, memorable dance with Derek that will give her decent scores that will prop her up some more. Now that the producers have caught on that she might be vulnerable to manipulation they will want to exploit that some more. So fingers crossed she doesn't fall for it again.

 

And agree that having on a couple that's been together for longer would have been more fun. I think Carlos and Alexa are still so wrapped up in each other that they don't quite know how to take the DWTS shenanigans in a more light-hearted way.

Edited October 7, 2015 by katha

[ShaNaeNae]

I just don't like her. I guess I was turned off a little with the whole "in your face" married couple thing. Then her comment last week about Alfonso, just threw me off that tiny bit I was hanging on the Alexa train. I know guys like Carlos. Men in my culture (Mexican) are often like Carlos, and they are the head, the wife is there for support. But I think she's not very secure to be with, she's got 2 marriages under her belt at 27. The last name thing is annoying.The look on her face after Carlos is done dancing is like a teenage girl meeting a boy bander. Which, close...nevermind.

 

Anyway, I agree the older, mature couple would have been better. Like on the two different seasons, Lisa Rinna and Harry Hamlin.

Edited October 10, 2015 by ShaNaeNae

[just prin]

Love A's smile. Go girl--stomp C! Even if it's by mistake! Lol

[katha]

Ok, I know I've been a bit critical of her here and I still think she's easy prey for the producers and that's why they're making one awkward, strange package after another with her. But I don't care about all of that anymore. Just like last week with Tamar bummed me out because the celebs shouldn't have experiences like that on the show. It should be cheese and entertainment, not these sorts of mindgames.  I just felt horrible for her. Perhaps it was just drama to create more votes or something...but that was seriously screwed up. The scoring was way harsh, the comments were way harsh....you saw her get to that judges' table relatively happy with herself and then all life got drained out of her.  Then with the bad scores it was the decent thing to do to put her in jeopardy, so I understand that part, but at that point it was just a "the hits just keep on coming situation" for Alexa and I understand that she couldn't hold it together anymore. It was a horrible night for her and no matter how much they pay these celebs, no one prepares them for that kind of BS.

 

I feel bad for both her and Mark tbh, it's obvious they're both trying like crazy to make it work but the dance partnership isn't ideal, it happens. But what they're putting out on the dance floor is better, often much better, than the scores they're getting and I feel this has been a theme throughout the season. So they're getting dragged and discouraged practically every week and it must be super frustrating to work in that atmosphere and try to re-motivate every week. No wonder they both look defeated.

[PBGamer89]

I saw a lot of people saying that she was treated unfairly or brave for the snake and that she was underscored.

 

Hopefully that translates into votes, because she doesn't deserve to go yet.

Edited October 20, 2015 by PBGamer89

[smlait]

I think they're going for the big dramatic "married couple are bottom two" moment next week - and that's why they both scored oddly low (compared to the rest of the competition who were mostly overscored).  I just hope it's Carlos who gets cut instead of Alexa.  Alexa, I like.  Carlos, not so much.

 

Edited to note that I must have misremembered Carlos' score being lower than it actually was.  Boo!  That means it's Alexa they want rid of - but I bet they're still planning that "married couple in danger" moment.

Edited October 20, 2015 by smlait

[Uke]

Every week they alternate which has the higher or lower score.

Week 1: Carlos beats Alexa 23 to 22

Week 2-Monday: they tie at 24

Week 2-Tuesday: Alexa beats Carlos 22 to 21

Week 3: Alexa beats Carlos again! 36 to 31

Week 4: uh oh, Alexa runs out of steam, Carlos beats Alexa 25 to 21

Week 5: Alexa rallys and beats Carlos 40 to 39

Week 6: wait a minute! Carlos regains the lead over Alexa 38 to 30

 

Ohhhh How exciting! (not)

[Danseur]

Shirley Ballas was on Afterbuzz TV tonight and said they actually get along fine and have a good relationship. She blamed the editing for how their relationship is being portrayed. She also noted the inclusion of Alexa's comments about the differences between Derek's and Mark's teaching and said, "they were trying to pit the boys against each other."

Since DWTS is a competition reality show, it's sometimes hard to remember the "reality show" aspect of it and all the scripting that is done. Someone on the Abuzz panel suggested the fake conflicts are to get people upset and talking about it.

[katha]

Shirley Ballas was on Afterbuzz TV tonight and said they actually get along fine and have a good relationship. She blamed the editing for how their relationship is being portrayed. She also noted the inclusion of Alexa's comments about the differences between Derek's and Mark's teaching and said, "they were trying to pit the boys against each other."

Since DWTS is a competition reality show, it's sometimes hard to remember the "reality show" aspect of it and all the scripting that is done. Someone on the Abuzz panel suggested the fake conflicts are to get people upset and talking about it.

It's obvious Mark and Alexa get on pretty well, perhaps they don't have the most scintillating dance chemistry ever, but the way they perform together is also pretty good. They're both engaged with each other and in the performances. But at this point the damage is done: The packages have created a narrative for them and  it's probably too late to dig themselves out of it now. I don't know what their deal is with Alexa, not getting enough votes plus vulnerable disposition lends itself to particular targeting?

 

I can also see how they asked her to compare teaching styles and then edited it together to further push their "oh dance partner disconnect!" crap. They seem fine in rehearsals, she's being very kind and appreciative on social media, she's kind and appreciative and warm towards Mark in interviews and talks a lot about how encouraging and patient he is. You could see her mouthing "I love you" at him and thanking him for being so patient during the last show and they seem pretty comfortable hugging it out. At the end there when she was bawling her eyes out and he was trying to comfort her and keep her together, that seemed like a pretty supportive and connected partnership to me. But that's not in the script, so that's not the edit they're getting. I think perhaps if Alexa was a more forceful personality she would push against the way they are portraying her more (partner disconnect! only interested in husband! no self-confidence! not really committed to her own dancing! low-key whiny and negative all the time!), but you saw how difficult it is to do that even for someone strong-minded like Tamar. It's very difficult to steer against producer agenda once you are in that hamster wheel. I think the celebs that come onto the show aren't prepared for that aspect and not all of them can cope with it.

 

To suggest partner disconnect is also a surefire way to shoot any contestant in the head (see also Nastia last season), since the general audience looks for that and the pro fanbase gets miffed if they feel their fave isn't appreciated enough (eyeroll, I know, but that's how tribal fan thinking works). It's particularly damaging for Alexa because I feel that Mark's fans are her main voting block, I've not seen much fanbase just for her tbh (though this week's dragging has for the first time resulted in some noise for her on social media, so we'll see..). They've been ambivalent about her to some degree, but seem to be catching on to how she's being framed by the show and seem to have rallied behind her now. Let's hope it helps. I think she's most likely to go next week with the low scores and overscoring all around her. Perhaps the obvious harsh treatment this week motivated people to vote for her. And tbh I still don't know why they want to get rid of her...

Edited October 21, 2015 by katha

[methodwriter85]

I'm sad that Alexa never really took off. I always thought she was talented. Now she looks about 10 years older than she really is, and she's pimping her second marriage pretty hard.

[Danseur]

I don't understand it either, Katha. I do think Mark doesn't seem himself this season. I don't know if it's editing or if he's discouraged or somewhere in-between. There's no question the heavy scripting could be writing the "Mark is so down" storyline. On the other hand, he doesn't smile as much and no one is forcing him to respond with specific downcast facial expressions and other body language.

Mark is usually the fun and goofy guy who is patient and easy with his partners but I've noticed a different atmosphere about him for the past few seasons. We can never really know what's going on in the private life of a public person or why they behave the way they do at given times. There are too many variables. There's no doubt about the fact that the show uses frankenbyting and other kinds of manipulative ploys for the sake of whatever story they want to tell for whatever mysterious (or not-so-mysterious) reasons.

I try not to draw conclusions and just wait to see if any of my hunches are later validated by the person's own statements or other trustworthy means. Even then, the key word is "trustworthy." The biggest problem with modern media in general is how impossible it is to separate truth from fiction, whether it's political "news" or an unimportant entertainment show on television.

[magpye29]

I've never voted before, but last week I gave Alexa most of my votes and this week I gave her all of them.  I dislike Carlos a LOT, and I feel bad that Alexa and Mark seem to be falling prey to crazy behind-the-scenes shenanigans.  It's just not right.

[Uke]

I don't understand it either, Katha. I do think Mark doesn't seem himself this season. I don't know if it's editing or if he's discouraged or somewhere in-between. There's no question the heavy scripting could be writing the "Mark is so down" storyline. On the other hand, he doesn't smile as much and no one is forcing him to respond with specific downcast facial expressions and other body language.

 

I agree with you and Katha that Mark doesn't seem quite himself this season.  I was just reading on another site similar things being said about Witney and the suggestion that maybe it's something about the PenaVegas that the show either is trying to reveal or is trying to hide.  While no one should be expected to walk around with a grin on his/her face all day and acting goofing and everyone is allowed to have their up & down days, something does seem not quite right.

[Artymouse]

I agree that something seems a little off. Carlos is giving off major douchebag vibes, while Alexa reminds me of myself during my disastrous first marriage: trying to placate the husband and build up his ego in hopes that he wouldn't be such a jerk.

I think she's a very talented dancer, and the judges really screwed her over on the Britney dance critique. To my (non-dance-expert) eyes, she looked great out there, sexy and confident.

[realdancemom]

During the first show, after Carlos and Alexa performed, they went up and were talking to Erin.  After they briefly talked to Erin, they were mostly just paying attention to each other.  Witney and Mark looked uncomfortable because they were basically ignored. 

 

So maybe, Carlos is a distraction to Alexa and vice versa.  She might want to take sneak peeks to see how Carlos is doing, etc.  I also see her doing this more than Carlos checking to see what Alexa is doing.  Also, I don't think she has the fire to win.  I think she wants to do well but I think she would rather have Carlos win.  

 

I think the judges underscored her this week even if they thought she wasn't as fierce/confident as Britney.  In the episode thread, I also commented that maybe Alexa doesn't really like doing sexy dances.  Her two best dances were Derek's tango and their jazz routine.  Both routines are not sexy.  She might feel uncomfortable doing these type of dances.  But she doesn't want to complain so she won't speak up like Carlos did with the Magic Mike routine.     

Edited October 21, 2015 by realdancemom

[tarotx]

I do think there is something up with Mark but I can't really tell if it's coming because of the Penavega's.

 

As for Alexa's dance this week I just wish Carrie Ann didn't compare it to Britney as much. Alexa was cute, sexy and Confident. It was the actual Cha cha that she wasn't grounded enough in. I wish Alexa would have got all 8's. :( I thought the performance was cute and I was entertained even with it not being as dynamic as Britney's performance.

 

Edited October 21, 2015 by tarotx

[katha]

I agree with you and Katha that Mark doesn't seem quite himself this season.  I was just reading on another site similar things being said about Witney and the suggestion that maybe it's something about the PenaVegas that the show either is trying to reveal or is trying to hide.  While no one should be expected to walk around with a grin on his/her face all day and acting goofing and everyone is allowed to have their up & down days, something does seem not quite right.

I absolutely believe that the PenaVegas bring in a screwy dynamic, because I agree that both Mark and Witney seem strained with them. From the outside looking in, I'm inclined to mostly side-eye Carlos because he's giving me major controlling and manipulative vibes and if they are scripting him to behave like that, it's not funny to me: Not really respecting Witney's authority, his hurtful "jokes" at Witney's expense, the endless "joking" possessiveness towards Alexa, that Alexa had to run after him and placate him after pointing out she got a higher score (and if that was scripted, do the producers want us to think he's a creepy jerk?), proclaiming he wanted to make babies the moment she had a perfect score, she was super concerned about him being in jeopardy, he didn't seem much interested in her distress this week at all (Mark practically wouldn't let go of her anymore the moment she started cracking, loads of people immediately rushed to her at the end of the show, Carlos not among them).

 

And I still can't figure out what this week was about: I don't think Alexa is a huge vote-getter, but no one can really predict who is getting votes or not. Because the most effective way to get rid of her would have been to make her scores just a tad bit higher (the 7s are causing the outrage mostly, as Shirley said) and critique her in a more benign way, then don't put her in jeopardy. That way people would have forgotten all about her. But they went low on the scores, they went harsh in the comments and then they put her in jeopardy (where she started crying, I'm not saying that was calculated, but it sure added to create a lasting impression). So she's one of the most talked-about topics from this week's show in fan circles. What's the deal? Do they just hate her that much? Did they want to create more fan backing for her (I mean, this is the first week I actually had the impression she has fans, or at least people who are ready to rally behind her, judging by social media reactions)? Is she doing better than I think in votes and they wanted to create drama and storyline for her? I don't get the motivation behind any of it tbh.

 

ETA: Alexa posted a video of Mark on her instagram and one of her fans commented that they wished they would show moments like that in the packages and Alexa agreed. So while they may not be the bestest pairing ever, they are also getting this season's "no connection" edit and I'm sure that must make both of them frustrated as well. I've seen Alexa make a comment in some article last week or so that went in the same direction, she's just probably not forceful enough to make a stink about it, so the producers are getting away with it anyway.

Edited October 22, 2015 by katha

[boyznkatz]

I'm thinking that maybe the "cute married couple" schtick isn't working the way TPTB intended, so now it is time for one of them to go. I thought maybe that was Alexa, but if putting her in jeopardy made people sympathetic to her, maybe it is Carlos they are trying to get rid of. I would't be surprised to see one of them go this week. 

[katha]

Idk, I just don't know what the game plan is supposed to be here? For me it's obvious that they were pushing some kind of agenda with how they treated Alexa this week. But giving her all 8s, being only low-key critical in the comments and NOT putting her in jeopardy would have been a nice way to set her up for a "shocking elimination". I think Carlos' score is too high to put him in danger, but if they are sharing a voting base to some degree and that shared fanbase rushed to save her? Don't believe that one, actually, but who knows.

 

Is there someone who is getting much less votes than everybody else and they want to conceal that with overscoring until they boot them in a "surprise" (Andy?). I think Hayes and Alek are getting votes. Hayes with his 10 billion social media followers, you never know how that translates into actual votes with the youngsters. And he's been unremarkable dance-wise for two weeks now. Alek should appeal to the conservative base, but he's kinda stalled and doesn't have such an interesting presence or story compared to Noah for example.

 

I still think Alexa is most likely to go next, but the treatment she got this week is straight out of the Charlie White playbook: Be mean to them and put them in jeopardy to rally the fanbase. It was just strange.

[boyznkatz]

Carlos has as many twitter followers as Hayes, though. I'm not sure how that translates to votes on the show, though. Most of Hayes' "fans" are probably fickle ten year olds who will move on to someone else by the time the show is over. I think Carlos has a lot of preteen fans as well, but he's in a real band and his fans might be voting. Andy has a lot of recent hits, so it's strange he would be unpopular, but you never know. It could very well be that they wanted to get rid of Alexa but went overboard. It will be interesting to see who gets eliminated next week.

[boyznkatz]

Wow, they put the poor girl in jeopardy AGAIN after that amazing performance? Why can't Alek and his rude ass be put in jepoardy. He seems exempt even though his dancing stinks and he talks smack to the judges. Nick and Carlos always get hosed and Bindi gets straight tens. What a joke.

Edited October 27, 2015 by boyznkatz