PureDWTS Season 27, Week 5 – Power Rankings
Weird things happen when Disney comes to town. Wonky scoring, a fake-out jeopardy and almost-elimination…I guess we should unpack what all went down and see what can be inferred from it. Generally, I think the judges were out to give out as many points as they could reasonably get away with last night, to everyone except Joe; this accomplishes two things: it makes the voting margins very small (due to the larger number of total points), and also makes it harder for Joe to try and make up ground and potentially oust a better dancer. Given that we’re now on the hook for (2) double elims (and one of them is on night 1 of finale week), and we didn’t eliminate anyone this week, I’m thinking next week we cut (2) couples, when we’ve got the best odds of Joe at the very least falling into the bottom two. He doesn’t have to be the lowest on the totem pole; if they can just get him second-lowest, they can flush him out. As for the psych-out almost-elim – my little bird told me the couples were told by producers (after the fact, of course) that the two couples in jeopardy “were only picked for shock value, it wasn’t a ‘real’ jeopardy”. Be that as it may, I think that faux jeopardy will only have the effect of boosting votes for DeMarcus and Alexis – I think the former is doing fine, vote-wise, but I think the latter probably could use whatever boost they can give her. I think it’s interesting that they went more for “shock value”, when they could have actually utilized this jeopardy to boost someone that maybe needed help – Mary Lou comes to mind, as I have yet to find any super-passionate Mary Lou voters (except maybe Bill – I know you’re reading this, bruh) and there seems to be a lot of viewers that tend to forget about her by the end of the night. Then again, with 5 weeks down and 4 to go, they’ve gotta start lining things up for their ideal finale…
…which brings me to my next point: given that last night was the midpoint of the season, it’s time to take inventory of who I think is headed to the finale and who is probably not. I’ve been told by several people that Carrie Ann apparently said in her Instagram live that (5) couples go to night 1 of the finale (meaning we get five freestyles) and then there’s a double elim at the end of the night, and only the final (3) dance on night 2 of the finale. So somewhere in weeks 6, 7, and 8, we’ve gotta shed (4) more couples…meaning there’s a double elim at some point BEFORE the finale, and my guess is that it’s next week. My gut says they don’t let Joe anywhere near the finale, if they can help it – and Bobby’s probably not far behind him. Mary Lou just seems to be fading into the background, so I doubt she’s long for this show, either; I think the last cut is probably a toss-up between John and Juan Pablo – I think John’s actually connecting better with the audience, but I get the feeling TPTB are going to do whatever they can to ensure that the better dancer (Juan Pablo) makes it over the decent-dancing everyman. So that leaves us with Milo, DeMarcus, Alexis, Evanna, and either Juan Pablo or John headed to night 1 of the finale; of those, I think the final three SHOULD be DeMarcus, Milo, and Evanna. But given the sudden showmance angle with Alexis & Alan, and the fact that they seem to think Juan Pablo is the greatest thing since sliced bread, who knows what will happen.
Things I enjoyed from last night? Loved that they found ways to work in the junior pros and contestants, and that opener was the most unique one we’ve had in awhile – loved how may Disney Easter eggs they managed to throw in the background (loved Hayley trying to jam Cinderella’s slipper on Britt’s foot in the hallway 😛 ). As far as I’m concerned, Jason Maybaum can cohost with Berge anytime – that kid is a riot 🙂
1.) DeMarcus & Lindsay – I’m putting these two here solely based on their jeopardy appearance and the fact that the judges were generally pretty complimentary this week, after a few weeks of low-balling these two. Don’t necessarily think this was their best dance – so I was kind of floored when they started heaping praise on it when I thought it wasn’t as good as their Argentine tango two weeks ago, which got majorly low-balled. I think DeMarcus may have struggled a bit with the foot placement, particularly in the beginning – I partially blame those dumb Hercules moccasins, as I think they may have thrown him off a bit and given a heaver appearance to his feet; but by the middle of the dance, he had hit a nice stride, and seemed to get in the pocket of the dance really well. The lifts were on-point, though – and DeMarcus makes lifting Lindsay look as easy as me lifting pizza into my mouth 😛 Nice to see a repeat of the windmill lift from Calvin’s Argentine tango in season 23. Still think these two are getting quite a few votes, bolstered by their jeopardy appearance, so they’re more than likely safe.
2.) Alexis & Alan – I predicted in the pre-season that this was probably coming at some point. And given that Alexis and her boyfriend allegedly broke up just a week ago, TPTB didn’t seem to waste any time jumping on the showmance bandwagon – and I think it should be viewed as a bit of a desperate effort to drum up votes, and I don’t think Alexis’ jeopardy appearance was an accident (even though nobody got eliminated), and I’ve been skeptical of how many votes she’s actually been getting…she was in the bottom 5 in week 1, after all. Do I think it’s real? I don’t know. Does it matter if it is or not? All that matters in the eyes of TPTB is that the viewers buy into it. And with both Alexis and Alan on board with it (and seemingly 100% in on the pretty heavy-handed charade we saw last night), I think it might serve its intended purpose, which is to create buzz for a very-pretty-but-otherwise-kinda-forgettable-couple. At least in the short run – I’m not sure it’s going to pay off in the long run against more organically-likeable contestants like DeMarcus, Milo, and Evanna. But we’ll see how it plays out. As for their dance – it was pretty, there wasn’t anything glaringly wrong with it technically, but by the 4th or 5th dance I saw last night I had forgotten about it. And I sincerely doubt that really deserved a 29. But given their jeopardy appearance and a burgeoning showmance, they ought to coast through next week unscathed.
3.) Evanna & Keo – This was one dance that didn’t seem to fit the “heap the praise and points on!” scheme, and it honestly left me really confused. I actually thought this was Evanna’s best dance – she seemed really comfortable and in her element, was selling the performance well, and was moving big and having fun doing it; additionally, I though this was another win for Keo in the choreo department, as he seemed to really commit to including traditional jazz turns and steps while also serving the Tangled theme. Admittedly, I tuned out most of the judges’ critiques as soon as I heard the first “Wellllll, it was great, buuuuuut…”, so I’m not actually sure what they were nitpicking at; but the only theory I have as to why they may have been harder on her (and waaayyyy easier on others) is to maintain her growth arc – give her supposed “ups and downs” that show a journey, as opposed to Alexis (who has been good from day 1) and Mary Lou (who has been alright from day one, and doesn’t show any signs of having a breakthrough). At this point, I think only one female celeb makes it to the final 3; and honestly, I think Evanna’s got the best chance – she’s a good dancer, AND she’s got a fanbase that coincides better with DWTS than Alexis does.
4.) Milo & Witney – Not necessarily a bad week for Milo & Witney, but definitely one where the energy seemed to dip a bit. I think given their theme and the fact that they’ve knocked their dances out of the park the past two weeks, expectations were high – and this dance was cute and fun, but not the showstopper that was their trio last week. I think the height difference between Milo & Witney came back into play this week – Milo seemed to struggle with reconciling his height with maintaining his frame, and maintaining body contact with Witney. He was great on the sections out of hold, though, and I loved the fight sequence. Just not his best week, but I doubt it’s going to hurt him much in the long run. Actually kind of excited to see how he does during Halloween week – seems like something he’d get really hype about.
5.) John & Emma – These two continue to pleasantly surprise me, week after week 🙂 I was highly skeptical that John was going to handle quickstep well – let alone one to a song that has been painfully overused on Disney night (last night made 3 times – 4, if you count Jack’s trio in season 16). But as usual, he and Emma delivered – and I think it was actually their best dance so far. It was a cute, fun interpretation of the song, with a good amount of quickstep content. John kept up pretty well – he may have lost some steam at a few points, but he still sold the dance well and seemed like he was having a blast doing it. Loved the binocular shot – don’t think we’ve seen that in one of these “I Wan’na Be Like You” quicksteps yet. At the end of the day, I’m finding myself preferring John to a good number of the contestants still left – I’d eliminate everyone below him on the rankings to get him to the finale, if I had the power. Ready for another Emma freestyle 🙂
6.) Bobby & Sharna – *shrug* It’s Bobby. At this point, I’m kind of over the Willard-from-Footloose goofiness, and it’s just reading as awkward and forced now. His dancing also still feels awkward to me – that erect, head-held-high posture he had for most of his waltz was unintentionally hilarious, but also made his dancing feel stiff. He moved ok, but never seemed to get in the pocket of the music; at the end of it, I was just left going “Meh. At least Sharna looked pretty as Ariel.” I’m not as annoyed with Bobby as I am with Joe, simply because Bobby actually appears to be actively trying to learn how to dance; however, Bobby’s probably next on my list after Joe, simply because I feel like the whole “I’m a guy from a town with a population of 800 who just loooooves to dance!” schtick just feels…disingenuous at this point. That being said – I feel like Bobby is still connecting with viewers, and might have another week or two left in him. Time will tell.
7.) Juan Pablo & Cheryl – Dancing 2nd – not really a good sign. Especially when you consider that every couple that has been eliminated so far has been eliminated after dancing in 2nd or 3rd position. And really, I still feel like Juan Pablo is coming across as relentlessly one-note: every dance he’s done so far has centered around his machismo, bravado, and his ability to smolder. Last night was no different – I felt like it was just another retooling of his cha-cha, salsa, foxtrot, and samba. Sure, he handled it well, but he wasn’t really showing me anything different than what I’ve already seen from him; plus, that dance was so full of production and props and extra dancers, the attention was shifted off of him more than a few times. He may be right that the perfect “30” was too much, too soon – I don’t think it was deserved, and I think he’s going to be chasing the dragon of that score for awhile. Even 29 felt a bit high for last night’s dance – part of me thinks they’re trying to keep him around longer. Just wish he’d show us some vulnerability…
8.) Mary Lou & Sasha – Once again, I’m left without a whole lot to say about Mary Lou other than “her dancing doesn’t suck, but it also doesn’t excite me.” I think part of my lack of excitement lies in the fact that Mary Lou moves small and tight – yes, I’m aware she’s short, but so were Terra, Simone, and Snooki, and they all managed to find a way to really move big and maximize the impact of their moves. Mary Lou…almost seems to wad herself up a bit as she dances, and she also tends to move a bit mechanically, which I saw again this week. Also can’t say that I was terribly impressed with the choreography Sasha gave her – I actually found the part with the sword pretty cringe-y. And at the end of the day, I don’t know that TPTB have a stake in keeping her around – they seem more inclined to prop up Juan Pablo and Alexis, and are letting the chips fall where they may with regards to Mary Lou. For that reason, I think she’s got a legitimate risk of heading home next week – particularly if there’s a double elim. Her score isn’t great, and she only has three people below her – and of those three, I think at least two can handily beat her in votes.
9.) Joe & Jenna – Ok, I’m going to say something that sounds patently ridiculous on the surface, and then qualify it: I think this may have actually been Joe’s best dance. THAT SAID – Joe’s best still has miles to go before it even gets close in quality to some of the other remaining contestants’ worst dances. He’s still not doing much of anything at all when he’s on the floor, and the stuff he is doing is almost always off-time; but I did see at least a smidgen more effort from him this week, so I can appreciate that. Is it enough for me to say “Joe deserves to stay”, though? Yeah…no. He is by and far the weakest dancer left, and there’s not really anything about him personality-wise that redeems him for me. With any luck, there will be a double elim next week, and he’ll be one of the ones sent packing. Part of me thinks saddling him with the mandatory “new Disney promo dance” this round of Disney week was calculated – seems like all of the couples given the new/not-yet-released Disney movies during Disney week have struggled (Jodie & Keo with Zootopia in season 22, David & Lindsay with Cars 3 in season 24, Nikki & Artem with Coco in season 25). Not much else to add – just think it’s (long past) his time.
So how do you feel about Disney night? What are your predictions for next week?
I wish they would get rid of the mandatory Disney week on DWTS. I really enjoyed it on juniors on Sunday but for the regular show, I wish they would only do it every other season or skip two seasons.
I wasn’t really blown away by anyone last night. I hope Joe does go next week but part of me wonders if the double elim will be next week or the week after, just because they may want to even out the couples for the team dances in 2 weeks (if they do it).
Hey Courtney! Firstly I wanna say I love reading Pure DWTS, even though I only recently discovered it, and I’m actually a teen dwts fan 🙂
Anyways, so a question I have for you is what is your opinion about the fact that they don’t seem to use anything from the Princess and the frog for Disney night? I think it’s an under-rated Disney movie and one of the couples should have danced to a song from it. Think Tinashe might have if she hadn’t been eliminated?
I know Disney Night is already over, but I’ve found myself with this question lingering in my mind.
Love the updates and can’t wait to keep reading! This is only my second time ever commenting on this so I’m dipping my feet in the water lightly ❤️
Also, notice how it’s basicallt mandatory every season to have a “Disney Star” on, so I think over the years it’s become mandatory to also have a “Disney night” as well, just a food for thought!
Lindsay is such a queen and trouper for literally dancing with a broken shoe, that’s dedication and work right there!
Before talking about the dances, I have to say few things.
1) Jenna and Sharna needs to stop acting like they are the only one being challenged with non dancers. I know there was a controverse about Tinashe’s elimination and people got mad at Joe and Bobby but come on. Also Jenna saying the show is about growth and journey, well I have yet too that with Joe. Sharna saying people are not in rehearsal to see how hard Bobby is working a)I haven’t seen anyone implied Bobby isn’t working (he just sometimes turn into a frat boy on the live show) and b)she isn’t in others contestants rehearsals to see how hard they are working.
2) Does eveybody have to coddle Joe now ? Erin, Tom, CAI, etc. we get it he is shy and all but come on, it’s like the judges can’t “tease” him anymore ? It’s also hard to believe hum saying he is having fun tbh.
3) Except for the openning number, the juniors and the musical performances, I found the show to be a tad boring. Nothing really wowed me. The Disney Night on s25 was much more “magical”.
4) Stop the showmancing please !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I actually really hope the lean into the whole “I starred in a ‘Zombies’ movie’ thing with Milo next week, given that it’s halloween themed, and give him a zombie themed dance! That’d be cool to see him do and I think he’d be very comfortable in that element.
Oh my gosh I forgot! WHAT IN THE HECK IS COUNTRY NIGHT?!
I think this is honestly going to be the worst weirdest night of the season oof.
I was sort of underwhelmed initially by Keo and Evanna’s dance, mostly because I might have been doing other things. But then I went back and watched it, and there were a lot of what you would call traditional jazz elements that were involved, and Evanna handled it really well.
It might be why it didn’t quite radiate with the judges. Unless it’s modern jazz, which sometimes blends into contemporary a bit, or done in the Fosse style, it isn’t always recognizable, particularly when you’re tossing a couple ballroom-type holds in.
I think with Jenna and especially Sharna, they’re politicking a bit for votes. I’m of the mind-set that you can learn to feel and express rhythm, but if you don’t have an innate sense of it, it takes far longer to learn it than a few weeks. I get the sense that Joe and Bobby don’t really have that innate sense of rhythm, and I think they’re the only two with that disadvantage.
I don’t even have much to say about the dancing tbh. Overall it was meh. My fave of the night was probably Evanna’s jazz, really underscored imo.
I think I would have prefered for Witney to have some fringes (like Normani’s catsuit thing) or a palazzo type of pants for the quickstep, something was bothering me with her outfit for that style.
I saw a little improvement with Bobby, (really)little improvement with Joe too – not as much as what CAI was trying to say let’s be real.
I have the same issue with Alexis that I had last week : I need to see something different from her, a different look/type of character. I would also like to see a softer side from JP and Milo, for Milo it’s more so he still has some fun, fast pace dances at the end of comepetition.
I found it somewhat amusing that people have been saying that Joe doesn’t act like he’s having fun, wants to leave, and I know he got majorly slammed for surviving over Tinashae (and will probably continue to get slammed because I sadly think he’s going to outlast a couple more duos). But then we see a happy Joe, him feeling down on himself, and wanting to be there. When you have to bring in one of the Juniors contestants to give you a pep talk, I think that screams desperation. Both he and Jenna just looked over it last night. I get it, it’s likely hard for her to see her partner getting smeared, but she didn’t really do him many favors last week with her comments on twitter. And I am in the camp that wonders if things would be different if he were with Emma or Lindsay or Witney. At least the former two have had challenging partners that they’ve proved they can choreograph around! Every season there’s a few pros that get either controversial celebs that they have to defend or people that are horrible dancers. That won’t ever change, and it’s nothing new. I’ve never been much of a Sharna fan, but I’m really over her as well. I’d love for Joe and Bobby to be the next to go. I do believe Bobby is going to be in the finals though, especially if it’s a 5 person finale.
That said, I do agree that Joe’s dance was the most dance-like I’ve seen of him this season. I was kind of surprised by the low scores again. Not undeserved, but just surprised. Count me in as being surprised by the high scores and praise for DeMarcus. I actually think this was his weakest dance to date. It wasn’t even that bad, but kind of a mess in the beginning.
I am an Alexis/Alan fan, and am disappointed that they likely aren’t doing well in votes. But I’m even more disappointed that the show went there with a showmance. I don’t know why they are wasting that angle and energy. I find Evanna/Keo a very likely duo that’s more memorable and has great chemistry, yet the judges seem more nitpicky with them each week. I don’t know why they insist on creating a fake showmance for Alexis/Alan and that they clearly hare pulling out all the stops to save them-high scores (not completely undeserved, just a little more than I would have given her), and being in jeopardy last night, which might mean absolutely nothing next week.
I’m truly over Disney night. There’s nothing special or unique about it anymore. Some of these songs are just tired and overused. I’d like to think we won’t see it again=, but I know that’s not happening. My favorite couple of the night was John/Emma, and Evanna/Keo, which I didn’t expect. Some of those dance styles did not fit the song choice and I believe that’s why the dances suffered. Milo/Witney is an example.
Once again, I think Alexis, Mary Lou, or John will go next week. In a 5 person finale, I’m betting on Milo, DeMarcus, and Bobby for sure. A toss up who the others could be at this point.
Gilliana, pick one name to post with, please, and try to combine some of your comments.
I am in (what I’m assuming is) the majority when I say I am over Disney night. While I get that ABC is owned by the Mouse and that there is usually one person under the Disney umbrella in some way, doing two Disney nights back to back is a bit of an overkill. Please, producers, go back to having it once a year. That, or get some new movies into it. Seriously, your back catalogue is massive.
With all that being said, I was not too particularly impressed with just about every dance that was presented. I did enjoy Alexis, Evanna, John and Milo’s dances, however. I am hoping that next week will finally see the end of Joe’s run on the show. You could tell last night that he is over it and is basically there for the paycheck. Heck, while I may not be the biggest fan of Bones, at least he’s having a good time with it. Hoping that Milo gets a zombie themed dance as an homage to what kickstarted his career.
On a separate note, I am super excited for Country week. I grew up about 30 minutes south of Nashville, so I was born and raised listening to country. And now that between the all stars season and now (the last time Country week was a thing, please correct me if I’m wrong), there has been a lot of good music that was put out that could make some great dances.
@Gilliana and @Ally
In their post-show interview with ExtraTV on Monday night, Witney said that their dance next week will not be Zombies-themed. She said it is something “creepy” and Milo said he would go as far to say that it will be the “scariest dance of the night.”
Country week 🙂 right up John street. Some posts about how some of the pros are politicking for votes. I agree and think they should just get on and do the best they can with what they have and stop whining. Some of them also need to remember that they are not the star their partner is.
My rankings:
1)Milo & Witney: This was my favorite of the night. I loved everything about this dance.
2)Alexis & Alan: This was gorgeous and totally unexpected. She really is amazing. Saying that, I really want more personality from her.
3)Juan Pablo & Cheryl: Loved this dance it mad eup for last week easily in my book. Saying that, I really was baffled by the arrangement of the song since they took out a lot of the memorable parts of it.
4)Mary Lou & Sasha: Her best yet. Loved everything about this dance.
5)Evanna & Keo: This was the only one that made me smile so much that it hurt. This was just such a happy dance and so well choreographed too. Loving Keo this season.
6)DeMarcus & Lindsay: This was a really fun dance and I agreed with Bruno. Saying that, I think him being in jeopardy was slightly worrying.
7)John & Emma: Disclaimer: I LOVE this song. Saying that, this was just so much fun. I thought he did great.
8)Bobby & Sharna: This was my favorite dance from him thus far and I would have given him an 8. This was just unexpectedly good and if he goes home next week, I can at least say he really wowed me once.
9)Joe & Jenna: Easily his best dance. This was really fun to watch but it’s time for him to go.
I would rank Milo, Juan Pablo, Evanna and Alexis together as top four, not necessarily in that order. Not sure who I would add in as the fifth. I’m only guessing, but I presume they didn’t do an elimination because they didn’t want to cause another ruckus with Grocery Joe staying over someone more worthy of the spot. The way they’re running this season makes it one of the weirdest seasons to date.
I would have ranked Milo somewhere in the top 3
[…] so everybody can surely expect one couple to be sent packing in this next episode. In fact, some at PureDWTS have speculated that there might be a double elimination coming up in Monday’s show and that will […]
[…] Mary Lou left us, and I can’t say I’m terribly shocked. I had her 2nd from the bottom last week (and really, it was just me willing Joe to leave, so she was probably more of a real bottom for […]