S24.E10: Week 10: The Finale Part 1

[Toonces464]

5 minutes ago, boyznkatz said:

Not to mention, his freestyles suck and he never does anything to improve them. He always phones it in, expecting people to vote for him. It's not Normani's fault, but he did her a disservice.

He must be taking lessons from his brother, who's been doing that with all his dances the past few seasons he's been on.

[boyznkatz]

9 minutes ago, Toonces464 said:

He must be taking lessons from his brother, who's been doing that with all his dances the past few seasons he's been on.

Yep, I remember the roll in the hay he did for the shippers with Meryl Davis that he called a "dance." And she had so much potential to do the best freestyle ever :-(

[tessaforever]

6 hours ago, crossover said:

I can see them being stricter on Normani than the other 2 but she's no ballroom dancer.  Her moves and routines are already more challenging.  If they can't see where Normani deserves 10s, no one does.  TPTB can't let the competition get away with easier movements, easier routines and easier standards.

I remember when (I'm pretty sure it was Derek and someone - Kellie maybe) were given the Quickstep as their redemption dance, and they worked and worked on increasing body contact. They didn't just try to do the steps better. I just didn't see that kind of dedicated improvement in Normani and Val's QS. 

That said, the QS is my least favorite dance on the show, and I hate seeing it in the redemption dances. 

[vibeology]

I feel like if Lindsay had choreographed Rashad's freestyle I would get what all the hype was about.

David's freestyle was the best he was ever going to do. Lindsay tapped into who he is and gave him a dance that was his speed and reached out to his fans. The set and the moves were memorable. The problem is it wasn't very hard or really all that impressive.

Rashad's dance wasn't as tight the lift section was a little sloppy. Still, he was so into that dance and the drumline section with the stepping was good and totally him. I wish there had been more of that and less Bruno Mars (though most of that comes from how poorly the band sang it.) I get why they went with Bruno Mars. They started the season with his music and they ended the season with his music. It's nice but I think more drumline/stepping would have been more Rashad. I think it was a strong freestyle but I do feel like Emma was lost in it and the partnership wasn't featured at all.

Normani's was ick. Sorry. Val was crying at the end and I just rolled my eyes. I get that he wants to create "art" but save if for your tours and do something that will suck in an audience for a freestyle. I could be wrong and maybe this will, but it had the opposite effect on me. I know her movement was lovely, but I just wasn't feeling that dance at all. I think the song played a big part here too. What The World Needs Now just something of a cliché for me.

As for the redemption dances, I'm not sure how either David or Rashad were dancing anything even close to a redemption. David should have been doing Latin. Cha Cha was his lowest score of the season. (Not to mention he never had to Samba or Rumba.) Rashad's lowest scoring dance was his Samba. That really bugged because it felt like both guys were being given something that suited them more to help them out at the finale.

[penbrat]

I thought Rashad was excellent.  I really enjoyed both of his dances and more than that, I have enjoyed his attitude and his partnership with Emma so much this season.  Other than David/Lindsey and Nancy/Artem, they have been the only bright spots for me in a very MEH season.    Rashad and Emma, in fact, are one of my favorite partnerships ever on this show (and I am “invested” more in the partnerships than how “technically” good the dancer is).

 

I enjoy David and Lindsey also and I just like him as a regular person.  I have no problem with him being in the top 3 but he really should come in third.

 

Val really let his partner down with the FS IMO.  It was like all of  her dances – fine, nice, predictable and safe.   None of their dances have been memorable for me, even if she is the “best” dancer left technically, I literally forget about her dances as soon as she is finished.  

 

I think I know who is going to win, but I am crossing my fingers that Rashad somehow is able to sneak in and win it.  But even if he doesn’t, he has had a great experience on this show.

 

Lastly, male celebrity is critiqued more/female celebrity is critiqued more-   ringer/non ringer – the judges favor this person or that person - these discussions have been going on since the beginning of the show and everyone has their opinion – and usually that opinion is based on who that particular person is rooting for.   For me, while some of the discussions are interesting, I don’t think anyone is right or wrong.   This is a reality show and it is subjective and everyone is never going to agree.  In the end, it really doesn’t matter.   I just enjoy this show as a fluffy escape from a hard day’s work. 

[Toonces464]

15 minutes ago, boyznkatz said:

Yep, I remember the roll in the hay he did for the shippers with Meryl Davis that he called a "dance." And she had so much potential to do the best freestyle ever :-(

Nothing will top the sobfest LOL.

I'm still bitter about the way Charlie White was sacrificed that season.

[Primetimer]

The remaining couples get to do a freestyle dance as well as a redo on any of their previous routines, as the final three compete to become the final one.

View the full article

[gohawks]

24 minutes ago, penbrat said:

 

Val really let his partner down with the FS IMO.  It was like all of  her dances – fine, nice, predictable and safe.   None of their dances have been memorable for me, even if she is the “best” dancer left technically, I literally forget about her dances as soon as she is finished.  

If Val had done the Jazz routine for the freestyle, Normani night have a chance.

 

Thank you Jebus for the ignore feature!

Edited May 23, 2017 by gohawks

[spanana]

9 hours ago, PBGamer89 said:

The men get a certain narrative or manipulation and nobody bats an eye. That's my point in a nutshell. A mediocre female celeb will never win (in the sense of not on top of the leaderboard, constantly snagging 10's, someone seen as an undeserving winner generally) but I can name a number of mediocre male celebs who snagged a win (Helio, Nyle, Donald, Donny to name a few)

I disagree with this entirely.  We've had several mediocre female winners and I don't think some of the males you mentioned were mediocre.  Helio, yes.  Nyle won on the strength of his story, but so did Bindi.  Riker IMO was a way stronger dancer than Rumer, yet nobody holds it up as him being robbed since he was a ringer.  Corbin was technically a better dancer than Amber, but Amber won (either would have been fine IMO).  A mediocre Shawn 1.0 beat a better across the season Gilles. Donald IMO was a perfectly legitimate winner and an example of when freestyles matter.  He killed his freestyle.  I don't even think Donny was mediocre really.  Mya was better, but Donny was no slouch. 

Also to to back to the Helio season, yes, he was bad.  Mel B was way better and robbed to some extent.  But I'm also not going to pretend that her mess of a freestyle didn't happen.  She forgot a good portion of it.  It was bad.  Helio might have won anyway, but it was bad.  It's partly the same reason Shawn beat Gilles.

With DWTS, the best technical dancers rarely win period.  That is true even when it's female against female.  See Zendaya versus Kellie Pickler.  Another freestyle situation, though that also had the entire internet voting system going down on finale night.

There has also been plenty of manipulation to help out females on this show.  Rumer's win was manipulated.  Editing worked on that one all season long.  I don't begrudge her win, but don't tell me editing wasn't pulling out all the stops talking about how Val has never won and Rumer's life story of being bullied and etc and giving her packages 2x as long as the others.  Also see the shows manipulation where Meryl/Maks were concerned (Maks and his long diatribes about never winning).  Heck, the show gave Chelsea Kane like 10-15 extra points in some made up round just to get her in the finale over Ralph Macchio.  More recently the show manipulated all season long to get Ginger into the finals at the expense of someone way more talented like Wanya.  Or Charlie being sacrificed for Meryl.

I definitely think the show was trying to manipulate a win for Rashad last night.  I am not blind.  I can see that.  They weren't doing that all along so something shifted after Simone's elimination and my guess is its partly because Rashad signed on to tour.  However it's hard for me to get worked up over it since the show manipulates one way or another every season and it may be hypocritical but I'd rather see the manipulation in Emma's direction, someone who has continually been screwed over by the show and didn't even see a 10 paddle until this season, versus yet another manipulated season for Val.

Also personally I still think Normani is going to win, even with the edit and a boring freestyle.

Edited May 23, 2017 by spanana

[crossover]

23 minutes ago, tessaforever said:

I remember when (I'm pretty sure it was Derek and someone - Kellie maybe) were given the Quickstep as their redemption dance, and they worked and worked on increasing body contact. They didn't just try to do the steps better. I just didn't see that kind of dedicated improvement in Normani and Val's QS. 

That said, the QS is my least favorite dance on the show, and I hate seeing it in the redemption dances. 

Kellie was a good dancer.  She wasn't the ringer that Zendaya was but she was close.  I didn't remember Kellie's redemption QS so I looked it up.  If the routine was judged last night, Len and Julianne would've said there's too much distance between them.  As you know, the judges aren't consistent either.  There's nearly always something the judges can call out on a QS, if they want to.  But Derek does choreographs great QSs.  Last night, Val's was too fast or something.  Had Normani had on the skirt and Val had more "shade", Len might've let theirs go as well.  We'll never know.

[boyznkatz]

I couldn't stand Kellie Pickler, but yeah she was a deserving winner. 

Bindi's win was the mother of all manipulations.

They probably are pimping Rashad for the win, but he is deserving. He isn't as good as Normani, but he is good. Please, anyone but David. It would be nice to see long-suffering Emma get a win.

[spanana]

I don't think you have to be the best dancer to be a deserving winner.  You just have to be a good to great dancer.  Mind you anyone is deserving if they get the votes, but you get my point.  In most seasons, whether I liked them or not, one of the best dancers won.  It might not have been THE best technical dancer, but it was someone with some legitimate skill. 

Another reason why I'm somewhat not caring about the manipulation in Rashad's direction, is I've seen a few posts from Val & Maks, where while I get what they are trying to say, they seem to be attempting to position Normani's freestyle as some sort of commentary on the world and the tragedy in Manchester last night.  Please don't frame your nicely danced somewhat generic freestyle as some sort of larger social commentary in the name of actual tragedy that is still unfolding. 

[truthaboutluv]

Well my ABC was acting up last night and frankly I didn't care enough to find a stream online. So I only saw the dances this morning. My prediction - Rashad's taking this and Emma is going to get her first win. I didn't love any of the redemption dances but Rashad's was probably my favorite. There did seem to be something wonky at the end and I saw some debate online about whether he stumbled or not. I'm not sure if he did but overall, I thought it was a gorgeous dance.

David's was okay but he was clearly trying to keep up at many points in the dance and while Normani's body is banging and she should show it off as much as she wants, I'm not sure that catsuit was the best costume for her Quickstep. I think it highlighted whatever flaws there were. Not to mention that I feel certain costumes help showcase a style better - e.g. the woman wearing fringe when doing a Samba, which makes their hip movement look better. The same is the case with a Quickstep where dress or pants with fringe showcases the leg movements better. This look did not help Normani, in my opinion. I also feel like I didn't see a lot of leg action and a lot more running around the stage. 

The freestyles were okay. I was actually underwhelmed by David's and surprised by Lindsay. I knew she would go with a baseball theme, which is fine and yes, he's obviously not the greatest dancer but I really think she could have done a little more with that number. Hmm, Val and Normani's freestyle - I'm not really sure what to make of it.

I guess it was a gamble on his part to go with something soft and quiet but I don't know if the gamble worked. Didn't really get the point of the kids either. Ultimately, I just feel like the dance never really went anywhere. It was a pretty VW/Waltz/Contemporary combo that sort of remained pretty for a minute and a half. Rashad's freestyle was fun. There were obvious timing issues and one of the lifts wasn't as smooth as it should have been but as a whole, it was a fun and energetic number. 

Quote

Please don't frame your nicely danced somewhat generic freestyle as some sort of larger social commentary in the name of actual tragedy that is still unfolding. 

Especially since there was no way for Val to know this would happen when he came up with this idea for the freestyle. I will admit that when I saw it this morning, especially the song used, I did think it was a little sadly ironic in light of what just happened. But the fact is, if Val's goal was to make some sort of social commentary in this number, he failed in my opinion. Like I said, the number just never seemed to really go beyond the first few seconds. It didn't leave me wanting more or mesmerized, it left me going, "that's it?" 

Edited May 23, 2017 by truthaboutluv

[NodakFan]

12 hours ago, Toonces464 said:

I didn't really hear "ringer" used to describe Normani until after Heather was eliminated. 

I've been sure since about week 2 this is the main reason heather was brought on. Normani was brought in to go to the end getting the young demographic involved, and Heather was brought in to be the smokescreen ringer - who can complain about Normani when Heather was there as the bigger ringer

[Toonces464]

1 hour ago, spanana said:

With DWTS, the best technical dancers rarely win period.  

Nicole Sherzinger. I really thought with his huge voting fan base that Evan Lysacek would beat her out in the end.

46 minutes ago, boyznkatz said:

Bndi's win was the mother of all manipulations.

Nothing with ever compare the manipulation that was Season 18.

37 minutes ago, spanana said:

Another reason why I'm somewhat not caring about the manipulation in Rashad's direction, is I've seen a few posts from Val & Maks, where while I get what they are trying to say, they seem to be attempting to position Normani's freestyle as some sort of commentary on the world and the tragedy in Manchester last night.  Please don't frame your nicely danced somewhat generic freestyle as some sort of larger social commentary in the name of actual tragedy that is still unfolding. 

I thought the same thing about that long ass post Maks made last night.......after he's already made 3 or 4 other posts.

22 minutes ago, NodakFan said:

I've been sure since about week 2 this is the main reason heather was brought on. Normani was brought in to go to the end getting the young demographic involved, and Heather was brought in to be the smokescreen ringer - who can complain about Normani when Heather was there as the bigger ringer

Then it's kind of ironic Maks claims he was supposed to originally have Normani as his partner. Much as he loves his brother, you know he wanted that second trophy for himself to put him on par with Val and Peta.

[Alapaki]

2 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

I've been a fan of Rashad from the beginning and would be fine if he won, just like I'd be fine if Normani won. David's the only one that I would most likely question his win, but it's not like I hate the guy if he won it. I'd just see it as more of a fan thing, rather than a true dance ability thing. 

I'm also fairly agnostic on who will/should win.

FWIW, these last two weeks are great example of how reducing the Judges' actual scores to percentage-of-points-awarded tightens things up.

If the DWTSGossip twitter feed has its numbers right, based on the last week's and last night's dances, David (3rd place) trails Rashad (1st place) by 14 points in absolute terms.  

When the points are reduced to percentages, the gap goes down to 3.08.  

Of course we don't know just how the viewer votes have been going or trending.  (all we can say with certainty is that David's viewer votes have kept him out of last place).  But 3-points doesn't seem to be insurmountable per se.

My understanding is that there's one dance left, which will obviously get Judges' points but no viewer votes.  I'm unclear on whether a team will be eliminated before that final dance.  But assuming all 3 dance the final dance, and assuming for the sake of argument that the Judges give Rashad and Normani perfect 40's and give David a 28 (which I think would be the lowest plausible score they'd ever give a finalist on the final dance), the gap would still only be 4.62 points.  

I agree that Rashad and/or Normani would have to be considered the most likely winner.  But a David win isn't completely out of the question based on those numbers.  At least, I didn't see anything last night that appeared expressly designed to suppress David's vote.

[NeverLate]

May the favourite dancer win, The one who people voted for, because they really enjoyed them. I can't watch two and half hours of this, so I will record, and peek in every once in awhile. I'm hoping to see Rashad and Emma take this, but my day won't be any different if Normani or David win.

[bealled]

Was Bindi actually a ringer? I feel like Nick Carter would have been considered more of a ringer than her, but he never seemed to get 100% comfortable dancing. I did think Bindi seemed a lot more natural of a dancer that season. Had she had dancing lessons in the past? I agree she was definitely overscored/overrated like crazy, but aside from Nick I don't recall her really having much competition anyway. Also, even though I did find her a personality annoying at times, she does seem like a likable and sweet girl so of course audiences are going to gravitate towards that. I just checked and 3rd place was Alek, so that was definitely a weak competitive season of the show.

[Alapaki]

2 minutes ago, bealled said:

Was Bindi actually a ringer? I feel like Nick Carter would have been considered more of a ringer than her, but he never seemed to get 100% comfortable dancing. I did think Bindi seemed a lot more natural of a dancer that season. Had she had dancing lessons in the past? I agree she was definitely overscored/overrated like crazy, but aside from Nick I don't recall her really having much competition anyway. Also, even though I did find her a personality annoying at times, she does seem like a likable and sweet girl so of course audiences are going to gravitate towards that. I just checked and 3rd place was Alek, so that was definitely a weak competitive season of the show.

There's a difference between a "ringer" and a "chosen one".  I can completely see Bindi having been the latter.  

This season I haven't seen any single "chosen one".  I think they've gone easy on David in their critiques.  But that may be a function of their seeing strong viewer support, not vice versa.  Also, they may want to keep the door open to more MLB players.  

I do think that for some reason they've decided to make Val the male-pro face of the show for the time being.  So I think any favoritism towards that team may be as much or more to prop him than Normani.

[ljenkins782]

14 hours ago, doLLish said:

I love Rashad but the praise was over the top tonight. Those who love the phrase "tongue-bath", he definitely got one tonight. The first dance was perfect and deserved the 40. That freestyle though was kind of a mess to me. Really out of sync at times and it was clear Emma is uncomfortable with that style of dance. Simone's look from the audience when Julianne called it iconic was my same reaction. He got the winners edit tonight.

Yeah, his freestyle was a lot of fun (especially the beginning, where he was clearly having a ball), but he nearly dropped her more than once and was out of sync with the back up dancers. Still a lot of fun, but not perfect score-worthy. 

I wish the camera had been on Bruno when he tossed the footback back to Rashad, I really need to know if he still throws in that utterly ridiculous way.  

Quote

David, I actually LOVED his freestyle! Lindsay really knows how to make her partners shine. The first dance was typical mediocre David but he definitely turned it up a notch with the freestyle. Lindsay always has a real special connection with her partners and she's always a joy to watch. David, while he's overstayed his welcome, is really a lovely man. It was nice to get to know him.

That freestyle made me ok with the idea that he could end up winning due to an apparently insurmountable fan voting bloc. He managed to be completely in sync with about 8 professional dancers behind him, I was impressed. That was so much fun to watch.

And good idea on adding the baseball bat prop for him to hold, that really seemed to help ease the awkwardness he usually has. 

Normani and Val's freestyle was an energy dampener between 2 fun numbers. It was technically well done, but not what I like to see in a freestyle, they could have done most of that dance in one of the regular weeks. 

I still wish we could have gotten a Heather freestyle, that would have been fun. 

[NeverLate]

20 minutes ago, Alapaki said:

There's a difference between a "ringer" and a "chosen one".  I can completely see Bindi having been the latter.  

This season I haven't seen any single "chosen one".  I think they've gone easy on David in their critiques.  But that may be a function of their seeing strong viewer support, not vice versa.  Also, they may want to keep the door open to more MLB players.  

I do think that for some reason they've decided to make Val the male-pro face of the show for the time being.  So I think any favoritism towards that team may be as much or more to prop him than Normani.

I loved Bindi, mainly because I was a huge fan of her crazy but lovable father. Plus her love of all animals. But when she danced, she made me smile,  so all my votes went to her. I didnt vote this season, but it would have been Rashad

55 minutes ago, Toonces464 said:

Nicole Sherzinger. I really thought with his huge voting fan base that Evan Lysacek would beat her out in the end.

Nothing with ever compare the manipulation that was Season 18.

I thought the same thing about that long ass post Maks made last night.......after he's already made 3 or 4 other posts.

Then it's kind of ironic Maks claims he was supposed to originally have Normani as his partner. Much as he loves his brother, you know he wanted that second trophy for himself to put him on par with Val and Peta.

The best part of Heather going was Maks going.

[LadyMustang65]

I absolutely loved this episode.  It started off slow, as David's waltz just wasn't good.  I honestly don't know what it is, but he just mostly looks awkward.  Seriously nice guy, though.  But his freestyle - wow!  I know in terms of difficulty, it wasn't there, but boy did he perform the heck out of it.  It was just plain fun.  I smiled through the whole thing.  And a few of the moves he did were actually quite good, I thought.  Like the backwards cross steps.  Not particularly hard, but he did it smoothly and was in sync with the rest of the group.  I have to give mad props to Lindsey for her choreography.  She made him look really good.   She did the same thing with Alex a few seasons back.  His freestyle was way more enjoyable than I expected given his level of dance ability, but she came up with choreography that suited him and made him look good, as she did here with David.  Man, would I love to see her get a real contender and be able to see what she could do with them in a freestyle.  She's rapidly becoming one of my favorite pros.

I loved both of Normani's dances.  The 'catsuit' did seem an odd choice for the Quickstep, but it was a great dance.  But it felt like the judges were being too nitpicky.  Rashad and David get waltzes to re-do, but she gets a Quickstep?  That's one of the hardest to do well.  Anyway, I would have given it a 10.  And I loved her freestyle.  At first I thought they were going to do a contemporary, and I was like, "Ugh."  But then they didn't.  It was a mix of dance styles, and I thought it was just breaktakingly beautiful.  Adding the little kids worked well, I thought.  Just beautiful.  My only worry is that the high energy dances will get the votes.
 

If Rashad wins, I will have no issues whatsoever.  His first waltz was really nice.  I wouldn't have given him a 10 for it, but it definitely seemed that he was getting it all together, and you could see the improvement.  His freestyle was just fantastic.  I loved that he danced so much of it by himself.  That was a gutsy move on Emma's part, and it worked.  He really held his own.  I loved that he 'choreographed' (I'm sure Emma cleaned it up) part of the dance, and he was working it.  He looked really good, the dance was fun, and I loved it.  It's a toss-up whether Rashad or Normani had the better freestyle - I can go either way depending on what I'm judging on.
 

It's been a while since I thought there were 3 really good freestyles in the same finale.  While I kinda missed some of the awesome lifts we've seen done in other freestyles, it wasn't really a big deal because what was given to us was so good.  I have reached the point where, if David wins, I'll be mildly disappointed because he's not close to being the best dancer, but he's been trying so hard and is such a good sport, that I won't feel like the result was a 'travesty.'  If Normani wins, she'll be such a deserving winner.  And a win by Rashad would make me smile because he was such a find.  And with no dance or performance background, he most holds up what many of us thought the show would be about - finding a true beginner and making them into a dancer.  So right now I'm thinking I'll be good however it goes. 

But I still would have loved to see Nancy and Simone in the finals as well.
 

[saber5055]

David's freestyle is now my favorite of all time, and I've been watching since the very first episode. It actually brought tears to my eyes, it was so fun and joyful and well-done. I needed those bright few moments to take me away from the real world. Normani's body stocking was right out of Cher's Billboard appearance. All that was missing was the song choice, it should have been "If I Could Turn Back Time." I love me some Rashid, and his freestyle was second best. I'll forgive him for being "not quite" in synch. I missed Normandi's freestyle. She did a regular dance with a couple of kids coming in and out, but that was no freestyle. In fact, it was more boring than regular-week dances that have more back up dancers and glitz than that. Meanwhile, I tried all morning to phone vote for David and the line was constantly busy. I'm hoping for a big W for him. I'd be okay with Rashid winning too. I hope he gets picked up by a team, I'd like to watch him play.

[MakeMeLaugh]

16 hours ago, Runningwild said:

I don't know why but I've just never cared for Normani. She does nothing for me. I hope Rashad wins but If he doesn't I hope it's David. 

Ditto re not caring for Normani, and I'll take either David or Rashad; both of those guys immediately always turn all judges' compliments and their hope for continuing in the competition to their pros, without even having to think about it. Normani just takes the compliments with a  simpering "little me" bashful smile. I don't vote so don't blame me.

ETA: David and Rashad have athletic physiques--David especially has a nice round booty that is essential to getting a home run (like he did in Game 7 of the World Series but I digress :)). He probably physically can't tuck it in like a non-athlete could. I commented to Mr MML last night that the pros must love having guys like David and Rashad as partners, who are quite strong and can easily and confidently toss them around.

Edited May 23, 2017 by MakeMeLaugh

[ljenkins782]

In rewatching Rashad's freestyle, I noticed one of my biggest pet peeves about this show: the lighting. I don't know if they light the dance floor for the studio audience or what, but the blinding lights so often obscure the dancers that I miss half of it. 

Rashad's freestyle started out perfectly clear and then the flashing white lights came on and blotted out everything behind it. 

This is season 1,229,000,000 and it is a TV show, so perhaps they could shoot the show in a way that the audience at home can enjoy it. 

[realdancemom]

I was so excited for this season because I knew that there were four females who could have been considered ringers in other seasons.  So it's been disappointing that 3/4 of them were eliminated before the finals and the final was underwhelming to me. 

For the first round, I think that Rashad did the best with his dance.  But I don't think David and Rashad had redemption dances.  David should have done a Latin dance with hip action.  Rashad's VW was one of his better dances.  He should have done the Samba or Paso.  I actually think he could do a great Samba because I do think the song was the problem last time.  His Paso got good scores but I thought his frame and feet were awful.  I think he just got good scores because he portrayed a monster well but I thought the character might have made his posture horrid.

A Quickstep is one of the most difficult redemption dances.  I don't think Normani was ever going to get a 10 from Len.  They did need to work on body contact and she should have worn a dress to hide more flaws.  I don't remember her first quickstep but I do remember that she was such a great performer in it that she was my favorite from the start.  Last night's quickstep was just all speed.  There wasn't any dynamics and it didn't showcase Normani's performance quality.  Val did the same with Zendaya's quickstep.

For the freestyles, I think Lindsay did the best in terms of creativity, staging, props, and the use of the troupe.  She always creates freestyles that perfectly showcases her partners even if they're not good dancers like Alek and David.  It was a fun routine and David did a good job.

Normani's was beautiful but I wanted to see a freestyle with sass from her.   I didn't understand why the kids were there.  At first, I thought that Val was going to copy Travis and have the kids play Normani and Val when they were younger.  Travis created a great dance using the same boy (J.T.) and Robert in SYTYCD.  But if that's what Val was doing, the choreography failed to do that.  Also, all it did was show two kids that didn't dance as well as the adults.  I think Val failed to create a great freestyle for somebody that is capable of a lot more.

I thought Rashad's freestyle was very amateurish.  I like Emma but it showed that the only other freestyle that she has choreographed was for Bill E. who was not a good dancer.  The only part that I liked was the drumline/stepping portion which Rashad choreographed.  Rashad was also not in sync in certain portions and you can definitely see that one of the lifts had a bad landing.  Most of the time, I couldn't see Emma when I think freestyles should showcase the celebrity but you shouldn't lose the pro either.

I hope either Rashad or Normani win.  But if David wins, then that's o.k. since he's a really nice guy and it will be Lindsay's first win!!

[majormama]

David and Lindsey: I appreciated when David was watching back his to-be-redeemed dance and commented on his butt, stiffness, and the fact that he was often just standing there while Lindsey twirled around him. It speaks to his willingness to learn, even if the natural ability isn't there. I was also impressed with the lift/spin they did with the bat in the FS. That had to take some strength.

Normani and Val: My first impression of her QS was that it was a lot of running around, but no in place Charleston kicking. On second viewing, there were more moves than I realized, but still a whole lot of just running around. Not even a lot of leaps to break up the running. I didn't get their FS. If there had been a little set up during their package about what the children were supposed to represent, instead of just being random kids. I know, I know, I've had this argument before about how art doesn't always need to be explicitly spelled out. But it reminds me of this indy singer who was popular in my social circle during college. Someone finally had the courage to say what we were all thinking: "I don't know if he's so deep I don't get it, or if he's so shallow there's nothing to get!" And just like that, we were over him.

Rashad and Emma: Their redemption dance was my favorite of the night, although there did seem to be something weird at the end, like maybe his foot got caught or something? Their FS was fun, but a little sloppy. It reminded me a bit of Donald Driver's encore of his FS. Donald was so on when it counted, but was sloppy once the pressure was off. It was a good FS, but could have been great if they tightened it up more.

This is the first finale in years where I truly don't know who will win. Any of the three could take it, and I wouldn't be shocked. Ok, a bit surprised if it's David, but not shocked.

Edited May 23, 2017 by majormama

[sinkwriter]

Oh Val... I was really hoping for something amazing for Normani. Instead, it was just kind of dull to me. I understand the underlying concept, I guess, but it just didn't strike that emotional chord that I think it could have. Her contemporary a couple weeks back where she talked about being bullied and tormented online with horrible, racist images - THAT made an emotional impact for me. So if they were going to do something more low-key and slow / quiet, I wish it had been more like that dance, which made me cry. Unfortunately the freestyle they did just didn't hit that kind of note for me. I felt like their dance fell flat and seemed really safe and boring. In that moment, I felt like she lost. They could surprise me and she could win anyway, but I feel like with that dance, she lost. And that's disappointing to me because I was essentially rooting for her as the last talented female standing.

Rashad has always been in my top few throughout this season, mainly because I find him incredibly entertaining to watch. His feet aren't always the greatest, and he got out of sync a bit in his freestyle last night, but his performance exudes energy and joy and fun, and his skill level still seems pretty darn good to me. I loved the Drumline-like movements and would have loved more of them. Plus, he has shown great improvement and a willingness to challenge himself. So I would be happy if he won. After the letdown of Normani's freestyle, I'm rooting for Rashad full force now.

David... well, I admire his spirit. He's definitely a good guy, as the show has pushed and portrayed about him all throughout the season. But while his freestyle was full of entertainment, there was very little substance. He played baseball and barely danced at all. What he did dance was good. But compared to the talents of the other two? I really don't think he should win.

Edited May 23, 2017 by sinkwriter

[tessaforever]

2 hours ago, MakeMeLaugh said:

Ditto re not caring for Normani, and I'll take either David or Rashad; both of those guys immediately always turn all judges' compliments and their hope for continuing in the competition to their pros, without even having to think about it. Normani just takes the compliments with a  simpering "little me" bashful smile. I don't vote so don't blame me.

I really want to like Normani - but wasn't it odd how she just interrupted Julianne right in the middle of a sentence to thank everyone for "bringing back her light"? That seemed really strange. I thought Julianne handled it well because it could throw someone off and make them forget what they were going to say. 

[MakeMeLaugh]

1 minute ago, tessaforever said:

I really want to like Normani - but wasn't it odd how she just interrupted Julianne right in the middle of a sentence to thank everyone for "bringing back her light"? That seemed really strange. I thought Julianne handled it well because it could throw someone off and make them forget what they were going to say. 

YES! I did not want to mention this because interruptions are a pet peeve of mine and I can be pretty petty in my peeves, but YES! She didn't even let Julianne finish. And I was waiting for Normani to mention her partner (like Rashad and David always do) but no, just all about her.... 

[Toonces464]

1 hour ago, realdancemom said:

For the freestyles, I think Lindsay did the best in terms of creativity, staging, props, and the use of the troupe. 

Ugh, my pet peeve. I hate the troupe. Hate them. I don't want to see them clogging up the stage. I want to see the celebrity and their pro dancing.

[saber5055]

Yes to the comment about Rashad's dance being so back-lit viewers couldn't see anything but blinding light. The same blasting light thing was done to Rashad last week, too, and I was going to come here to complain about it (then did not. Ha.). As a viewer, I feel like I'm being jacklit by an illegal hunter. A good song for a Rashad routine would be "Blinded By The Light." On a shallow note, I love Rashad's work-out practice clothes and his shoes. Hot!

[limecoke]

My dream mirror ball would be David for the win.  He's the only one who has entertained me in an otherwise dull season.  However, I know he can't/won't win so, please, let it be Rashad as he's the only contestant left, besides David, who doesn't have "dancer" as part of their resume.  

[Uke]

6 hours ago, boyznkatz said:

I couldn't stand Kellie Pickler, but yeah she was a deserving winner. 

Bindi's win was the mother of all manipulations.

 

IIRC Kellie had trouble remembering her choreography.  Throughout the whole season, Derek would literally pick her up and put her into place knowing CAI would only dock 1 point no matter how many lifts in the dance but doing it artfully enough to seem impressive.

Totally agree about Bindi.

[Venee]

4 hours ago, F. M. said:

I loved Bindi, mainly because I was a huge fan of her crazy but lovable father. Plus her love of all animals. But when she danced, she made me smile,  so all my votes went to her. I didnt vote this season, but it would have been Rashad

The best part of Heather going was Maks going.

I didn't realize Maks had accumulated so much disdain until I read a few posts here. I really liked them together as a dance pair. I liked Alan but she and Maks just fit together better for me.  In a perfect world, I would have loved  her with Tony Dovolani! I wish he'd return. Fun fact: I saw an interview with Tony where he said he is responsible for Rashad being on the show. He met him outside of the show (not sure what the activity was) and thought he would be  a perfect fit.  While I'm not a Rashad fan, I gotta respect his game. He made it to the finale and will most likely win..

[NeverLate]

1 hour ago, Toonces464 said:

Ugh, my pet peeve. I hate the troupe. Hate them. I don't want to see them clogging up the stage. I want to see the celebrity and their pro dancing.

I dont mind them in a freestyle, but other than that, its a sure sign{ imho} they are there to take the spotlight off who is dancing, Also awful, taking off shirts. Some dances look dreadful with a shirt off.

1 hour ago, Uke said:

IIRC Kellie had trouble remembering her choreography.  Throughout the whole season, Derek would literally pick her up and put her into place knowing CAI would only dock 1 point no matter how many lifts in the dance but doing it artfully enough to seem impressive.

Totally agree about Bindi.

I have video of Kellie dancing, and see no such thing.

1 hour ago, Venee said:

I didn't realize Maks had accumulated so much disdain until I read a few posts here. I really liked them together as a dance pair. I liked Alan but she and Maks just fit together better for me.  In a perfect world, I would have loved  her with Tony Dovolani! I wish he'd return. Fun fact: I saw an interview with Tony where he said he is responsible for Rashad being on the show. He met him outside of the show (not sure what the activity was) and thought he would be  a perfect fit.  While I'm not a Rashad fan, I gotta respect his game. He made it to the finale and will most likely win..

I liked Tony at one time, but once he joined up with the C brothers, he turned me off. 

Edited May 23, 2017 by F. M.

[Uke]

Hmmm, someone on twitter found this:

Some recognizeable elements from last night right down to the little kids and petals falling from the sky.  You can see Len and Bruno getting in on the dance.  (posted by BBC SCD 9/24/2016)

[NeverLate]

12 minutes ago, Uke said:

Hmmm, someone on twitter found this:

Some recognizeable elements from last night right down to the little kids and petals falling from the sky.  You can see Len and Bruno getting in on the dance.  (posted by BBC SCD 9/24/2016)

So Val wasn't even very original. LOL

[spanana]

I read that Alan Salazar, who has ghost choreographed a lot of the DWTS dances, supposedly choreographed Normani's freestyle.  Or at least he's taking credit for it online.

[Uke]

5 minutes ago, spanana said:

I read that Alan Salazar, who has ghost choreographed a lot of the DWTS dances, supposedly choreographed Normani's freestyle.  Or at least he's taking credit for it online.

Val needed help from Alan for that?  Wow.

I saw his Instagram message "alansalazar_"No, not just for some but for everyone" Days like today remind us how fragile life can be and how important love for your fellow man is. There is no limit to how much one can love. Don't limit yourself! @iamvalc you're a class act. Congratulations to you and @normanikordei on a great season. Thank you for taking this opportunity to spread love. #valmani #prayformanchester #spreadlove"  

which seems to attach this dance to the Manchester tragedy - just rubs me the wrong way. 

[Toonces464]

13 minutes ago, Uke said:

Val needed help from Alan for that?  Wow.

I saw his Instagram message "alansalazar_"No, not just for some but for everyone" Days like today remind us how fragile life can be and how important love for your fellow man is. There is no limit to how much one can love. Don't limit yourself! @iamvalc you're a class act. Congratulations to you and @normanikordei on a great season. Thank you for taking this opportunity to spread love. #valmani #prayformanchester #spreadlove"  

which seems to attach this dance to the Manchester tragedy - just rubs me the wrong way. 

Ugh, me too. Maks made the same insinuation with one of his many posts last night.

[NeverLate]

14 minutes ago, Uke said:

Val needed help from Alan for that?  Wow.

I saw his Instagram message "alansalazar_"No, not just for some but for everyone" Days like today remind us how fragile life can be and how important love for your fellow man is. There is no limit to how much one can love. Don't limit yourself! @iamvalc you're a class act. Congratulations to you and @normanikordei on a great season. Thank you for taking this opportunity to spread love. #valmani #prayformanchester #spreadlove"  

which seems to attach this dance to the Manchester tragedy - just rubs me the wrong way. 

They didnt know about Manchester, so to link it to that is cheap and nasty!

[sinycalone]

1 hour ago, F. M. said:

I have video of Kellie dancing, and see no such thing.

I've watched their videos (every one) quite a few times.  I agree...never saw one indication that Derek did anything like that.

[gigiann]

What does TPTB stand for?

[colorbars]

4 minutes ago, gigiann said:

What does TPTB stand for?

The Powers That Be.

[gigiann]

4 minutes ago, colorbars said:

The Powers That Be.

Bless your heart colorbars.....I have been rattling my brain trying to figure that one out!!!!  I appreciate the answer.

[gigiann]

It would be fun to bring back stars from Season 1 again and see how they do.  Kelly Monaco, Trista Wren, that John guy and a couple others.  Even just for a one dance display on one of the shows to see them now

[Catgyrl]

3 minutes ago, gigiann said:

It would be fun to bring back stars from Season 1 again and see how they do.  Kelly Monaco, Trista Wren, that John guy and a couple others.  Even just for a one dance display on one of the shows to see them now

Bring back Joey Mac!! LOL

[truthaboutluv]

49 minutes ago, sinycalone said:

I've watched their videos (every one) quite a few times.  I agree...never saw one indication that Derek did anything like that.

I'm pretty sure Derek has been accused of dragging every single one of his celebrities across the floor, especially the ones who who've won. Even when they spent half their dances dancing side by side, he was accused of dragging them throughout the competition (see Amber Riley).

The only thing I remember Carrie Ann harping on about Kellie Pickler was that she lacked fluidity in her dancing like Zendaya had because Kellie wasn't a dancer. What Kellie had was flexibility since she'd been a cheerleader and did a lot of yoga. And that was exactly what Derek played to in their freestyle. 

That was the first instance of Val pulling a Maks and choking at the freestyle. He dropped the ball big time with Zendaya's freestyle. I know there was the voting snafu, which raised all kinds of conspiracy theories but honestly, I rooted for Zendaya that year and I firmly believed she and Val, much like Gilles and Cheryl, lost the mirrorball on the freestyle. 

Edited May 24, 2017 by truthaboutluv

[spanana]

I agree on Kellie.  I don't remember anything about Derek moving her from place to place, but she lacked some fluidity.  She also wasn't particularly great at emotionally connecting to dances.  Her biggest asset was her flexibility though.  Kellie is one of those dancers that I remember as being pretty good, but if you asked me to remember individual dances the only things I can remember are the freestyle and a futuristic jazz, both of which took advantage of her flexibility.  I remember next to none of her actual ballroom.

I was rooting for Zendaya too, but I don't disagree that Kellie would have likely won even if the voting had been working properly.  At the time what I had major issues with was the way the show basically swept the voting snafu under the rug like it was no big deal.  They had Tom announce at the beginning that due to the website crashing early on they were throwing out all online votes that came in before that and then they just sort of laughed it off and went back to the eliminations like it wasn't a huge deal that voting completely crashed for the finale.  I know the show had to go on and they had to have a winner, but I didn't like the way the shady way the show handled it.