PureDWTS Season 30, Week 8 – Power Rankings

Editor’s Note: The following is a guest author for the Pure Dancing with the Stars Power Rankings.  As Court shared, she’s taking a “hopefully temporary” break from the power rankings and reader Tei offered to step in while she’s enjoying a well deserved break.

What a crazy week! Can the judges be more obvious on their intentions to get rid of the guys? I’m still processing the fact that Jimmie left. He was not my personal favorite, but he definitely embodies what this show is about. I’m willing to bet that, had the judges not despicably underscored him, he would still be in the competition. By no means his cha-cha was an 8. I agree that it wasn’t his best dance. It was also not his worst. Neither was it so bad when compared to all the other contestants that got 9s and 10s. This week we got a glimpse of the voting, and it appears that the votes are quite even among the majority of the contestants (with the exception of Iman, probably). Putting Jimmie so far below everyone else made avoiding the bottom 3 very difficult. In a night where the judges were throwing out that 10 paddle in almost every other dance, their plan with Jimmie was obvious. And it worked. I still believe that, had he survived, he had a real chance to win.

As for Olivia, I have mentioned how surprised I was with how good of a dancer she became. I also think she brought out the best in Val and this season was one of the best for him choreographically. Not Monday though. The AT was far from her best dance and not was impressive or eye catching as her dances the previous weeks. As soon as this dance ended, I wrote on my notes: she will be in the bottom. I have mentioned that no one can afford to have a not-so-good week and unfortunately this was that for Olivia. This week she also mentioned her father and their (good) relationship for the first time. Could this have detracted some voters from voting for her (maybe it brought back the college admission scandal to the surface)? Don’t know. However, I think she left with a great experience and surprised many people with her dancing and journey.

Now more than ever I believe that the remaining couples need to focus on having memorable dances to catch the more votes possible. I will rank the couples depending on how capable I believe they are to create a memorable dance and who the judges seem to always protect with the scores. However, it will all depend on what they do on Monday night.

Amanda and Allan: I thought this jazz was fun and well performed. Neither the best nor worst dance of the night. I saw issues with the lifts. Also, Amanda seems to forget to point her feet which looks weird. I was truly shocked to see the judges giving her a perfect score as I thought this was definitely not perfect. I have moved her to the top because (i) she has never been in the bottom and (ii) the judges seem convinced on saving her no matter what. At this point I think that even if she lands in the bottom 2 the judges will save her. Therefore, I believe she is definitely in the finals.

Iman and Daniella: Iman is the only contestant remaining that has proven to be getting a large number of votes. This is in great part due to Daniella being just the best pro at creating memorable performances. Iman did not have the best cha cha technique nor was there a ton of cha cha content. However, Iman performed the hell out of this number. There was improvement in his lines and posture. He kept himself up with the dance troupe. Really (again) the most memorable dance of the night. I’ve been ranking and mentioning every week the couples considering how memorable they are, and on Monday Derek himself mentioned this about this couple. Because we have seen how this guy is getting the votes, I considered putting him first (even though I know he is probably the worst dancer remaining). However, as we have mentioned, the judges have a lot of power, and I don’t trust that they won’t lowball him.

Cody and Cheryl: This was Cody’s best dance of the season. His posture improved and he managed to tuck that bum for the majority of the dance. By now I think you know this is not my favorite couple, but I have to say that if they keep going this route he can fight for a spot in the finals. Also, he is the only celebrity (other than Iman) who has managed to avoid the bottom two (or three) without the judges overscoring (protecting) him every week. Which might say something about his votes. I thought this was a breakthrough week for Cody and I hope he can keep going in that direction next week. Maybe more “serious” dances favor him.

Jojo and Jenna: Let me just say that Salsas in DWTS are not salsa (have I said this before?). It just really bothers me. Salsa is like jazz, just another chance to do a freestyle. So how good a salsa was this number: I’m not sure. But it was an awesome performance. Jenna is doing a really good job this season. I thought some of the lifts felt a bit out of character with the dance, but they performed them very well.  This week Jojo was near the top of the leaderboard, so we don’t know if she really is getting many votes. And that’s why I have her this low. I’m worried that her faith will depend on who the judges decide to overscore and if they prefer to protect some other girls (Amanda or Melora) over her. I really hope they get to the finals!

Suni and Sasha: This samba was good, but it was another number that was not a 40 for me (like Amanda). Although she did not miss a step, there was no bounce and therefore lacked samba character. Also, I think I saw Suni have some trouble with her turns. However, this was a fun dance and I love to see her enjoying the experience more every week. Considering how the other dancers are doing, I think this couple is one of the less likely to have a super memorable breakthrough dance next Monday and therefore I’m afraid they might be in trouble. Also, if they land in the bottom two I don’t see the judges saving anyone else over Suni (except Iman, but he will probably not be in the bottom). I really hope they prove me wrong.

Melora and Artem: Last week I said that I thought the only reason Melora had not been in the bottom was because the judges are insistent in protecting her with the overscoring. Well, I guess the judge’s power to protect her is nearing the end. She was the higher scorer of the night. Also, I thought this was her best dance. I was very surprised by the strength with which she performed this Paso. Her acting experience is really paying off. IMO this was her first truly memorable dance. The problem? She was still in the bottom three after the highest score and her most memorable performance. Basically, she had the best week she could have asked for but still it was not enough. Because of this, I believe that is very possible she will visit the bottom 2 this week. If that happens it will be up to the judges who they prefer and I still believe they would safe her over Suni, Cody or Iman.

Finally, (sorry for the rant) why in the world was Melora paired with Iman and Amanda with Cody for the dance off? I haven’t added the votes to see who are the seasons top scorers (in total) but Melora must be near the top probably with Amanda. How is it fair that two of the lowest scorers (Cody and Iman) are paired with two of the highest scorers. Even worst, Melora and Iman get a dance on hold which is obviously a huge disadvantage for Iman and Daniella. Wouldn’t it have been fairer to pair Cody with Iman and the ladies against each other? Could they be more obvious with their intentions?