Dancing With the Stars: Who Went Home in Week 2’s Double Elimination?
In a merciful break from recent tradition, Dancing With the Stars opted not to send anyone home at the end of last week’s Season 33 premiere. Nice, right?
Well, the scales of generosity were balanced on Tuesday night when Dancing ended its Week 2 broadcast by sending not one, but two couples home in a double elimination. We can blame that on some scheduling logistics: Next week’s vice presidential debate will replace Dancing on ABC’s schedule; the competition series then returns for back-to-back episodes on Monday, Oct. 7, and Tuesday, Oct. 8. (See what else will be affected by the VP face-off.)
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During Tuesday’s episode, the 13 competing pairs danced to iconic songs from Oscar-nominated movies, with styles like the rumba and paso doble trotted out for the first time this season. (There were, thankfully, a total of zero cha-chas this time around, in a welcome change of pace from last week’s debut.) But over the course of two hours, it became clear that not all songs from Oscar-nominated flicks are meant to be used on Dancing With the Stars: For every emotional, ballroom dance-appropriate tune like A Star Is Born‘s “Shallow,” you had a more unnatural soundtrack like Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5,” which didn’t mesh terribly well with Brooks Nader and Gleb Savchenko’s quickstep.
Keep scrolling to see who was safe and who was eliminated during Dancing‘s Oscar Night, then drop a comment with your thoughts on the results!
SAFE: Jenn Tran and Sasha Farber
DANCE STYLE: Tango (to “A Little Party Never Killed Nobody (All We Got)” by Fergie, Q-Tip and GoonRock)
A solid showing from Jenn here, especially when we consider that some kind of music snafu happened in the ballroom during this performance, causing Jenn and Sasha to only hear a click track instead of their actual song for portions of the routine. With that in mind, Jenn did an excellent job keeping time — and though she didn’t nail the absolute nitty-gritty of tango technique, the fact that judge Derek Hough could zero in on notes about her elbows and shoulders (in Week 2!) proves she has the foundation to accept those notes and work on her form.
JUDGES’ SCORE: 19 out of 30
SAFE: Eric Roberts and Britt Stewart
DANCE STYLE: Waltz (to “The Godfather Waltz” by Nino Rota and Carlo Savina)
It was wise of Britt to choreograph an opening 15 seconds that only required Eric to stand there and let the troupe dudes move around him. Smart! Overall, though not terrible, this waltz didn’t have a whole lot of personality, and Eric made enough technical mistakes to keep him at the same score he earned last week.
JUDGES’ SCORE: 15 out of 30 (Derek’s “respectful” four was apt, I thought; Carrie Ann’s six — the same score she’d just given a vastly superior Jenn Tran — was confusing)
SAFE: Danny Amendola and Witney Carson
DANCE STYLE: Jive (to “Danger Zone” by Kenny Loggins)
Ooh, Danny’s going to be an interesting one! After a serviceable but unmemorable tango last week, he improved hugely with this jive, proving he can smile despite looking like a nervous wreck in every pre-commercial wave to the camera. I wasn’t expecting such lightness in Danny’s kicks and flicks; if he finds his groove in the next couple of weeks, he could be a major dark horse.
JUDGES’ SCORE: 21 out of 30
SAFE: Chandler Kinney and Brandon Armstrong
DANCE STYLE: Rumba (to “What Was I Made For?” by Billie Eilish)
Whew, Chandler is good. So good that I’m prematurely bummed for the shocking elimination sure to come in about five weeks. (Though I hope it doesn’t!) Yeah, there are some small tweaks to be made to her form, and she’ll have to showcase a lot of versatility to keep up such early momentum — but, c’mon. She’s fantastic, and she brought off-the-charts fluidity and musicality to this performance.
JUDGES’ SCORE: 24 out of 30
SAFE: Reginald VelJohnson and Emma Slater
DANCE STYLE: Paso Doble (to “Ode to Joy” by Beethoven)
Hey, Reginald walked at least four steps in any direction this week, which is more than we could say seven days ago. And let’s not ignore his arms, which were both graceful and strong as he whirled Emma around that floor. Voters clearly like Reginald enough to keep him in the competition a while longer; I’m admittedly skeptical, though, on how much farther he can reasonably be challenged.
JUDGES’ SCORE: 15 out of 30; again, Carrie Ann’s six here was a puzzle.
SAFE: Stephen Nedoroscik and Rylee Arnold
DANCE STYLE: Paso Doble (to “Superman — Main Theme” by the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra)
Stephen’s Premiere Week jive was far and away — like, far and away — TVLine readers’ favorite dance from the first episode. And understandably so! But I do think that high-energy style may have camouflaged some of Stephen’s weaknesses, like a tension in his shoulders and some over-the-top execution. (Guess I can’t fault the shoulder thing; they’ve gotta be practically in his ears for the pommel horse.) Do I think he’s in danger of the boot anytime soon? Not at all. But he and Rylee could stand to work on those “shaping issues” that Carrie Ann alluded to sooner rather than later.
JUDGES’ SCORE: 22 out of 30
SAFE: Joey Graziadei and Jenna Johnson
DANCE STYLE: Rumba (to “Shallow” by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper)
I’m trying to keep my professional cool here and not be completely flabbergasted by Joey’s skill level. But sheesh, what a pleasant surprise he’s turning out to be! (And not just because past Bachelors on this show, like Chris Soules and Matt James, flamed out quickly.) Though I think Joey could have gone even further with the sensuality that he struggled with in rehearsals, there was a lot of technique that really worked here, from strength in his arm flourishes to unexpectedly elegant leg sweeps.
JUDGES’ SCORE: 22 out of 30
SAFE: Phaedra Parks and Val Chmerkovskiy
DANCE STYLE: Foxtrot (to “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” by Jennifer Hudson)
Ah, now this was the Phaedra we all hoped to see during last week’s premiere; she has arrived, and she can apparently teach Joey Graziadei a thing or two about forging fake romance with your partner. When she reached backwards and curled her arm around Val’s neck? Steamy! Phaedra brought some terrific passion and intensity to this foxtrot — and reined it in nicely when the style called for something more refined — while making big strides in her technique, too.
JUDGES’ SCORE: 21 out of 30
SAFE: Dwight Howard and Daniella Karagach
DANCE STYLE: Foxtrot (to “City of Stars” by Ryan Gosling)
After an electric start on Premiere Night, Dwight wasn’t able to hide behind the freewheeling salsa style this week, but he certainly stepped up to the demands of the foxtrot. There may be a threshold where we can no longer marvel at how well Dwight is doing for his size, which is a curve he’s getting graded on right now. But it’s only Week 2; for now, let’s give him the credit he deserves.
JUDGES’ SCORE: 22 out of 30; apologies to the dead horse I’m beating here, but… an eight, Carrie Ann? With footwork mistakes?!
SAFE: Brooks Nader and Gleb Savchenko
DANCE STYLE: Quickstep (to “9 to 5” by Dolly Parton)
Brooks has apparently been boxed in to this will-they-won’t-they, wow-they-want-to-kiss-so-badly! story arc with Gleb, which is a real shame: She’s actually one of the stronger female contestants here, with gorgeous lines and a natural ease on the floor. If Brooks and Gleb are going to be a thing, romantically — even just for the cameras — let’s hope they fully dive into that soon, so we can set aside the wink-wink interview questions and focus on the solid work Brooks is doing.
JUDGES’ SCORE: 20 out of 30
SAFE: Ilona Maher and Alan Bersten
DANCE STYLE: Salsa (to “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes)
We saw quite a few week-over-week improvements in this episode, but Ilona ought to stand on the top of that particular podium this time around. There was so much more confidence here, and a willingness to get deep into those movements. Plus, her and Alan’s various lifts — though a little clunky on the dismounts — were daring and entertaining, especially in these early weeks when tricks are used sparingly.
JUDGES’ SCORE: 21 out of 30
ELIMINATED: Tori Spelling and Pasha Pashkov
DANCE STYLE: Rumba (to “This Is Me” by Keala Settle and the Greatest Showman ensemble)
JUDGES’ SCORE: 19 out of 30
Unlike Tuesday’s other eliminated contestant, Tori very much wanted to be here, so it’s too bad she wasn’t given more time to improve. Her earnest emotion may have been her downfall, though, with so much sentimentality clouding her performances (and, this week at least, perhaps even the judges’ scores). Meanwhile, more literally, all that dry ice was actually clouding our view of Tori and Pasha’s feet during their rumba. Ease up, crew!
ELIMINATED: Anna Delvey and Ezra Sosa
DANCE STYLE: Quickstep (to “Suddenly I See” by KT Tunstall)
JUDGES’ SCORE: 17 out of 30
Yeah, the writing was on the wall with this one. Anna was a decent performer, and she wasn’t Dancing‘s first controversial contestant, but her specific baggage did not gel with Dancing voters. Problematic contestants of seasons past, like Sean Spicer and Olivia Jade, have at least displayed an enthusiasm for the work and an eagerness to show viewers another side of themselves. Anna showcased neither, and, upon her elimination, told Julianne Hough she’d take away “nothing” from her experience on this show. Impossible to gain any traction that way; I’m just pleased that poor Ezra is free.
OK, your turn. What did you think of Dancing‘s second week, and who’ll be getting your votes this time around? Weigh in via our poll below, then hit the comments!
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