S07.E21: Ashlee's Big Decision Part 1

[OnceSane]

Quote

Abby makes an unexpected return to her studio; Chloe performs for the first time in front of Abby in two years, but struggles with missing her old teammates; Ashlee makes a decision that shocks the group.

[Rebecca]

Kira is just so...dumb -  "The first words out of her mouth was I'm here on distress." Then later, after she had already been corrected, she said, "Abby said she was under durest." It's amazing that Kalani is as well spoken as she is with Kira as her example. I hope Kalani plans on going to college, somehow I doubt Kira is a someone who values higher education.

The mini moms just look so desperate glomming on to Abby like she gives one tiny turd about them. She still tried to get the regular girls back. You know that had to be hard for an ego like hers to even say they had 20 minutes. Yolanda freaks me out. Jaime is still creepy and not just her haircut. The other one is annoying.

I want Laurieann to come back and give the girls (and the moms!) the speech I loved so much from last week until they understand and absorb it. What happened with Brynn and the girls is exactly why an instructor is needed. It must be tough to be the youngest and soft spoken, like Brynn, in this crowd.

Pregnant Erin is still more active than Abby ever was when she instructed her dancers. ?

Edited September 13, 2017 by Rebecca

[tessat]

My thoughts and again we have no idea how much is scripted and how much is made up. Whether she's at fault of not ( and we know she is ) the stress Abby is under is real. It's unfortunate that it impacts the girls. Could Abby have handled it differently - indeed - but that is HER studio and they had a lot of nerve to tell her to leave and then get upset that she told Laurie Ann she wasn't welcomed back at HER studio this week.  Abby didn't have to go away fro a 3 week vacation although I'd probably do the same if I knew I could be locked up for years. Gianna is quite capable of teaching the girls as she choreographs most of the dances anyway.

I'm far from an Abby lover - but feel the moms and girls are being real PITAs and showing their true colors. The only ones I'm even interested in is Camryn and Brynn. If Brynn felt uncomfortable doing a lift and drop without mats - the girls have to respect that. Like it or not. I do feel Camryn and Brynn are usually on the outside looking in.

The families are spending a lot of money to be sitting around if the kids aren't dancing and I don't blame the mini moms or Jamie and Macie for going back to Abby. I appreciate the girls trying to choreograph their own routing - they've done it before and can do it again - but the problem it seems is from the editing - Kalani is taking the lead and not all the girls are in agreement - with only 2 days to get this routine put together - you can't take risks and do tricks that need time to perfect - if you have to do a simpler but clean routine - that's what you put out there.

I did feel sorry for Chloe as she certainly is out of shape - but Erin is a positive person and I feel she's right in saying Chloe just needs to get over it and gain confidence. Erin's dances are very strenupus tho and require a lot of stamina - something we seldom see in Abby's dances. That's why the girls had such a hard time with Laurie Ann's.

[Laurie4H]

8 hours ago, Rebecca said:

 

Kira is just so...dumb -  "The first words out of her mouth was I'm here on distress." Then later, after she had already been corrected, she said, "Abby said she was under durest." It's amazing that Kalani is as well spoken as she is with Kira as her example. I hope Kalani plans on going to college, somehow I doubt Kira is a someone who values higher education.

 

I have friends with Masters degrees that are not too bright so I don't always equate higher school education to intelligence.  

I love how Jill says she has to live in a dinky apt to be in LA.  It's her choice.  She signed the contract to be on this show.

[TomGirl]

When Maesi first joined the show I didn't think she was a particularly attractive kid, but her looks have grown on me over time.  She reminds me of Mila Kunis or a young Jodie Foster.  Brynn is a beauty, but it's Maesi who draws my attention.

[Monie]

2 hours ago, TomGirl said:

When Maesi first joined the show I didn't think she was a particularly attractive kid, but her looks have grown on me over time.  She reminds me of Mila Kunis or a young Jodie Foster.  Brynn is a beauty, but it's Maesi who draws my attention.

and Brynn so reminds me of the actress on Better Call Saul Rhea Seahorn....Brynn could play her as a kid.

[holly4755]

as far as it being expensive for the mothers and children sitting around, they are getting paid to be sitting around, they are still being filmed sitting around, so it is not like it is some horrific punishment. 

As for Laurieann, coming back, why should she be put in the middle of this argument with the mothers and Abbie. It s not like the mothers were all sweetness and light towards her. 

[Rebecca]

4 hours ago, Laurie4H said:

I have friends with Masters degrees that are not too bright so I don't always equate higher school education to intelligence.  

Neither do I? I don't think Kira is dumb because she (presumably) doesn't have higher education, I think she's dumb because she's just...not smart. I see zero intellectual curiousity in her at all. I think she's way more into the "celebrity" that exists right now and doesn't think too much about the future. Just my opinion.

My point about Kalani going to college was so she has options in life  - I don't think dance/"being a star" is going to last or be a viable career option for long. Then what?

[Jax7917]

I think brynn looks like a Disney princess for some reason . 

 

Its sad to say but most of the girls are 15 and only a couple years away from hitting their prime in the dancing world . A lot of dancers start at 18 and retire in their 30s.. I agree with another poster that out of all the girls , the only one I can see strictly staying with dancing is kalani 

[Meowwww]

I am so confused.  Soooo much was made of Abby going to prison.  Yet suddenly, she is back.  WTF is this timeframe?????

someone please help my befuddled brain. 

Edited September 14, 2017 by Meowwww

[KaveDweller]

In the last episode where we saw Abby it was a week before her sentencing and she took off on vacation or something before that. Then while she was gone her sentencing got delayed so she stayed away.

The week they aired that episode was the week they aired a special interview with her that ended with her surrendering herself at the prison. But that hasn't happened yet in show time. 

[holly4755]

I think there were money making opportunities as well, not really vacations as portrayed n the show. 

[tessat]

19 hours ago, TomGirl said:

When Maesi first joined the show I didn't think she was a particularly attractive kid, but her looks have grown on me over time.  She reminds me of Mila Kunis or a young Jodie Foster.  Brynn is a beauty, but it's Maesi who draws my attention.

I have to say - I didn't see what Maesi really added when she joined the show as she seemed average - but in her past couple of performances - I thought she really did well and wonder how much of their talent is downplayed. We already know that Brynn is a beautiful dancer and a winner before coming onto the team where she was constantly berated about not emoting. I just caught a video of Kendall and her sister Ryleigh doing a duet - it was beautiful and I enjoyed it - which I usually don't like watching Kendall - but she was graceful, showed a lot of technique and the girls complimented each other well. I was surprised. 

To me Macie has always been a cutie and is a tough little kid - she takes it and keeps smiling.

[renatae]

On 9/13/2017 at 6:22 AM, tessat said:

Could Abby have handled it differently - indeed - but that is HER studio and they had a lot of nerve to tell her to leave and then get upset that she told Laurie Ann she wasn't welcomed back at HER studio this week.  Abby didn't have to go away fro a 3 week vacation although I'd probably do the same if I knew I could be locked up for years. Gianna is quite capable of teaching the girls as she choreographs most of the dances anyway.

It was so laughable that they were trying to tell Abby that she should let LaurieAnn teach them in HER studio, as well as all the other demands they were making on HER studio. Hello? It must be part of the show script for LaurieAnn to be there at all or their butts would have been out on the sidewalk these last couple of weeks.

I also can't figure out how the instructorless girls think they are going to dance in the competition. They should know from experience Abby does not let anyone dance under the ALDC name without her consent. And how do they get registered? Cray cray. Another planned exception, although it looks like they may be going back to Abby after all.

[cali1981]

2 hours ago, renatae said:

I also can't figure out how the instructorless girls think they are going to dance in the competition. They should know from experience Abby does not let anyone dance under the ALDC name without her consent. And how do they get registered? Cray cray. Another planned exception, although it looks like they may be going back to Abby after all.

Probably because these may not be completely real competitions with parts of them are staged for the show.  Maybe it's just me but did Brynn come across as a whinny little child? 

[Absolom]

It's all staged these days.

Ratings:  771K viewers and a .24 rating.

Time to cut the losses and run.

[marinaalexis]

1 hour ago, cali1981 said:

Probably because these may not be completely real competitions with parts of them are staged for the show.  Maybe it's just me but did Brynn come across as a whinny little child? 

You mean when she was refusing to do the stunt? I thought she came across as the only one acting rationally. Doing a stunt like that coordinated by a 16 year old, with no instructors present and no mats to cushion a fall, would be incredibly stupid. Good for Brynn for recognizing that and not jeopardizing her safety just to fit in with the older girls.

[Lemons]

13 hours ago, Absolom said:

It's all staged these days.

Ratings:  771K viewers and a .24 rating.

Time to cut the losses and run.

That has to be staged. How many times can these nasty women complain about Abby abandoning them. It's so repetitive.  Abby was right on a couple things.  First, the days are numbered for these talentless kids. Most of them are not in good enough shape to compete with professional dancers. Second, Laurie Ann isn't exactly in demand and hasn't been for years, so of course she took the job. And it's bullshit that laurieanns choreography was so cutting edge that the judges couldn't deal. The judges are teachers and dancers themselves and know good dancing when they see it. 

And whichever one called Abby fat is a real POS. None of them are anything to look at and her looks have nothing to do with anything. 

[Lemons]

13 hours ago, marinaalexis said:

You mean when she was refusing to do the stunt? I thought she came across as the only one acting rationally. Doing a stunt like that coordinated by a 16 year old, with no instructors present and no mats to cushion a fall, would be incredibly stupid. Good for Brynn for recognizing that and not jeopardizing her safety just to fit in with the older girls.

The one time a mother should have stepped in and said they didn't think it would be a good idea for Brynn to do a stunt without a teacher, and of course they don't. Brynn had to stand up to kalani and big mouth nia on her own. That wasn't easy for a quiet girl like Brynn , but good for her. 

[tessat]

Hey I like Nia and Kalani and kids look at things differently than adults and parents  - so I'm not going to go off on kids trying to put together something so they can dance without thinking of the fact they don't have mats ect. - but I didn't see Brynn as whiney at all - in fact - she looked like she had been crying and was truly scared. Since Brynn appeared - she's been the brunt of a lot of crap from the moms and I'm sorry but besides Kenzie - who she was friends with - Brynn is always the tag a long in the group - she's part of the group - but not respected as such. I know she didn't want to do the trick as she was smart enough to know how risky it was even with mats and a teacher there - but I think she was conflicted as she didn't want them to make fun of her and she already knows they don't value her opinion. 

We've already seen the Zieglers, Kalani and Kendall go off on Jojo - who yes could be irritating but didn't have a bad bone in her body and just wanted to be accepted. Nia's been there the longest, Kendall always thought she was the greatest and everyone should bow to her and even my Kalani had developed into somewhat of a diva - not the cute kid I watched on AUDC - these kids have all developed attitudes but I think will soon find out that their stars are waning.

[DaisyFields500]

This show is clearly staged.  Sometimes I wonder if LaurieAnn was brought in to set the stage for Cheryl Burke.  I see Cheryl Burke has the one that will come in and save the day for the storyline.  LaurieAnn was obviously not creating routines that followed the script to win competitions, she probably didn't need to.  LOL  I doubt she even looked to see what was needed to be included in the routines to win.  Her choreography to me was trying to be different which was at the expense of easily winning.  I enjoyed watching LaurieAnn, as their teacher, for entertainment.  It brought me back to how entertaining she was on Making the Band on MTV.  I did not give any thought to the girls dancing under Abby's name because it's a TV show, and I thought that was how it was done in her absences on this show. For Abby being gone, well, I understood the desire to chase other opportunities or to take a needed vocation before going to jail.  I would take a vocation too before going to jail.  I can’t even imagine it, but anyway.  LOL  I did not enjoy watching the girl’s chorography their own routine.  Their practice time looked messy and sad.  I would expect Kalani to take the leader role, and I'm glad she did.  Now they are children and still need guidance on how to work in a group.  The group should not expect a team member to put their body in jeopardy for a win. Brynn appeared very wise with her refusal to put her body at risk to fit in with the group.  I think most possibilities are endless for children.  I think some of the dancers are about to outgrow this show and should probably have left it by now.  I hope some of them will branch out if they are chasing the limelight.

Edited September 16, 2017 by DaisyFields500

[RedFire2000]

Kalani's true colors are starting to show, she's a mean girl just like her bitchy mother. I started figuring out she wasn't as nice and mature as she was putting on. Tragic you can't fake your personality for long. This tweet was directed at Abby.

[spanana]

Not that I excuse any of the girls for bad behavior, but when you have these parents as role models, what do you expect?  They also in general all need to be taken down a few pegs in terms of their "fame". I don't wish anything bad on any of them, but their D-level fame and Hollywood has gone to a lot of their heads.  I don't think any of them have gone wild child partying all over the place, but their egos need to be checked.

Also in watching the exchange, in no way was Brynn out of line or whiny.  I'm not going to call the other girls names either because they are young and probably not thinking things through but Kalani was full of shit.  Everybody has to go ahead and try everything somebody suggests doesn't really wash when only one girl is being thrown in the air asked to do dangerous lifts that she has never done before. There is a big difference between having a girl try a dance move that poses no threat to their physical being and tossing a girl in the air with no mats or sufficient instruction.

So in that sense 100% good on Brynn for speaking up even if she doesn't feel respected in that group.  She stood her ground.

Though it's amazing reading through twitter comments and the number of young fans, who think Brynn was being a brat and Kalani was right.  So either they are so far up Kalani's ass or they just truly have no concept of actual safety practices.

Edited September 17, 2017 by spanana

[Lemons]

14 hours ago, MoonWalker said:

Kalani's true colors are starting to show, she's a mean girl just like her bitchy mother. I started figuring out she wasn't as nice and mature as she was putting on. Tragic you can't fake your personality for long. This tweet was directed at Abby.

Kalani must understand by now that she doesn't have the facility to be a successful dancer. She's starting to dance as heavy as nia. I hope some of them will take that money they earned and go to college or learn a trade. 

[spanana]

I'm trying to hold off on saying anything else about Brynn until the next episode airs but I'm truly happy... 

Spoiler

that she leaves the show and goes back home to regular school and regular life.  I've seen pics of her on her dance team and just doing regular kid things as opposed to touring the country with her the other kids and their moms making low rent appearances to prolong their fame just a little bit longer.  I know she's still trying to sell clothes and she isn't fully stepping back from the public eye, but it's nice to see one of the girls leading a fairly regular life outside of Hollywood.

[tessat]

Look like Kira got so much backlash that the Instagram tweet was taken down. Funny they haven't learned that they have to behave in public as the public will fight back.

[Rebecca]

Kira and Jill are both bad people.

[cali1981]

On 9/14/2017 at 0:31 PM, marinaalexis said:

You mean when she was refusing to do the stunt? I thought she came across as the only one acting rationally. Doing a stunt like that coordinated by a 16 year old, with no instructors present and no mats to cushion a fall, would be incredibly stupid. Good for Brynn for recognizing that and not jeopardizing her safety just to fit in with the older girls.

I stand corrected.  You're absolutely right.  Without professional supervision and oversight, it could have been too risky.

[MegD]

5 hours ago, cali1981 said:

On 9/14/2017 at 2:31 PM, marinaalexis said:

You mean when she was refusing to do the stunt? I thought she came across as the only one acting rationally. Doing a stunt like that coordinated by a 16 year old, with no instructors present and no mats to cushion a fall, would be incredibly stupid. Good for Brynn for recognizing that and not jeopardizing her safety just to fit in with the older girls.

I stand corrected.  You're absolutely right.  Without professional supervision and oversight, it could have been too risky.

While I completely agree with Brynn that the stunt shouldn't have been done and it wasn't safe, I think she could work on how to better stand up for herself. She just kept saying no and it wasn't until the end of the incident that she mentioned mats. She should have stepped up at the first mention and said "we don't have mats or supervision, this is a bad idea." As it stood, it just looked like she was being scared, whiney baby to the other girls. Part of that is her age, but as she gets older, she needs to learn how to better assert herself around others in her peer group. Putting it in a real world context, if she was out in college with friends who had been drinking and someone wants to get behind the wheel and drive everyone home, repeatedly saying no without asserting that said friend had been drinking and shouldn't be behind the wheel gives the others in the group the ability to steamroll her or make her subject to a lot of unnecessary peer pressure. peer pressure. For her sake, I hope she learns how to better state her point when she's in the right.

[tessat]

I'm 60 and I can say for a fact - there are times that  am so surprised by a request or accusations that words fail me and I don't state my point. 10 years ago I was directed to use machinery that I had never used before and I refused - I was so taken aback that a directive like that would be issued I was speechless except to say no - it wasn't until a few minutes later when a supervisor was called that I could explain that it put the patient at risk by having someone who had no training on the machine and put the business at risk of a law suit if something should happen to the patient. Had I used something similar in the past yes - but there were so many variables - I wasn't going to practice on a patient without at least reading a manual and becoming familiar with the piece.

[NMDD43]

On 9/16/2017 at 4:59 AM, DaisyFields500 said:

This show is clearly staged.  Sometimes I wonder if LaurieAnn was brought in to set the stage for Cheryl Burke.  I see Cheryl Burke has the one that will come in and save the day for the storyline.  LaurieAnn was obviously not creating routines that followed the script to win competitions, she probably didn't need to.  LOL  I doubt she even looked to see what was needed to be included in the routines to win.  Her choreography to me was trying to be different which was at the expense of easily winning.  I enjoyed watching LaurieAnn, as their teacher, for entertainment.  It brought me back to how entertaining she was on Making the Band on MTV.  I did not give any thought to the girls dancing under Abby's name because it's a TV show, and I thought that was how it was done in her absences on this show. For Abby being gone, well, I understood the desire to chase other opportunities or to take a needed vocation before going to jail.  I would take a vocation too before going to jail.  I can’t even imagine it, but anyway.  LOL  I did not enjoy watching the girl’s chorography their own routine.  Their practice time looked messy and sad.  I would expect Kalani to take the leader role, and I'm glad she did.  Now they are children and still need guidance on how to work in a group.  The group should not expect a team member to put their body in jeopardy for a win. Brynn appeared very wise with her refusal to put her body at risk to fit in with the group.  I think most possibilities are endless for children.  I think some of the dancers are about to outgrow this show and should probably have left it by now.  I hope some of them will branch out if they are chasing the limelight.

I heard that Lifetime is coming out with a new show featuring Laurie ann Gibson. So bringing her on Dance Moms is probably their way of cross-marketing her and trying to get a read on if people like her or not and will watch her show

[DaisyFields500]

On ‎9‎/‎21‎/‎2017 at 4:45 PM, NMDD43 said:

I heard that Lifetime is coming out with a new show featuring Laurie ann Gibson. So bringing her on Dance Moms is probably their way of cross-marketing her and trying to get a read on if people like her or not and will watch her show

Thanks for sharing.  It makes a lot of sense.  

[Fiero425]

On ‎9‎/‎17‎/‎2017 at 9:20 PM, spanana said:

I'm trying to hold off on saying anything else about Brynn until the next episode airs but I'm truly happy... 

  Hide contents

that she leaves the show and goes back home to regular school and regular life.  I've seen pics of her on her dance team and just doing regular kid things as opposed to touring the country with her the other kids and their moms making low rent appearances to prolong their fame just a little bit longer.  I know she's still trying to sell clothes and she isn't fully stepping back from the public eye, but it's nice to see one of the girls leading a fairly regular life outside of Hollywood.

I'm happy for her as well! Being around those shrews was no way to grow up! Lilliana and Elliana should do better in another environment! These DM b!tches are just vile and have no self- control in front of their children! ;-(

[Fiero425]

On ‎9‎/‎13‎/‎2017 at 0:19 PM, holly4755 said:

as far as it being expensive for the mothers and children sitting around, they are getting paid to be sitting around, they are still being filmed sitting around, so it is not like it is some horrific punishment. 

As for Laurieann, coming back, why should she be put in the middle of this argument with the mothers and Abbie. It s not like the mothers were all sweetness and light towards her. 

I loved Abby's comeback! I can watch the episode over and over! The "DM's" could blow up and leave, but what good did it do them? They lost a couple weeks of rehearsal when Abby came back prepared with choreographed numbers for them to do! They had no studio or teacher; "thanks JILL!" Why was she made the leader getting everyone to storm out and take all their $#!t with them? Like the MINI MOMs I would have stayed and it really benefitted them! I love those performances from Elli and Lilli; still wondering how the OG's would have made out doing them instead! "Blue Moon" is a classic and can be watched over and over! I'm so proud of Lilli! "Aria" was good as well for Lilli! ;-)

[Absolom]

That was all complete production planning and arranging except for Abby taking off with little warning.  Abby just said she had numbers ready.  Part of the script.

[Fiero425]

On ‎11‎/‎30‎/‎2017 at 7:41 PM, Absolom said:

That was all complete production planning and arranging except for Abby taking off with little warning.  Abby just said she had numbers ready.  Part of the script.

Well it worked out regardless if planned or not! I really enjoyed those last couple episodes with Abby! The Irreplaceables are definitely "replaceable!" The show would work again if they bring back some other new brats and their crazy stage moms; the dynamics can be the same without even trying! ;-)

[Absolom]

Major problems in a comeback are that Abby doesn't want to work with Collins and Collins doesn't want to work with her.  Who owns the intellectual property rights to the show?  I think Collins might.  Again it all depends on the contracts.  Would any other production company want to try to take it on and sell it to a network?

[Fiero425]

On ‎12‎/‎30‎/‎2017 at 2:44 PM, Absolom said:

Major problems in a comeback are that Abby doesn't want to work with Collins and Collins doesn't want to work with her.  Who owns the intellectual property rights to the show?  I think Collins might.  Again it all depends on the contracts.  Would any other production company want to try to take it on and sell it to a network?

Believe me, if Collins thinks he can make a buck, he'll relent and restart the show! It probably won't happen, but if the show wasn't popular, why are they rerunning it every weeknight on LRW; TWICE? ;-)