Before the show each week, I start to compile a list of talking points in my head that I can include in the intro to the week’s power rankings. General, all-encompassing thoughts that seem to summarize what is going on on the show at any given time. Headed into Monday night’s show, my thoughts were something along the lines of “Y’know, aside from you-know-who and maybe Ray being included this season, this has actually been a really great cast and the funny business has been kept to a minimum. Glad that we’re headed into the finale with the right group of people!” Well, strike that – the judges managed to ruin that sentiment in one unceremonious swoop last night, when they opted to eliminate possibly the best and most consistent dancer this season (who had never been in the bottom two before) in favor of saving someone who was in the bottom two for the third time (and is consistently overscored). Do I even need to mention that James likely only fell into the bottom two owing to personal tragedy striking over the weekend, which likely affected his performances? His bottom two appearance was a fluke, and he had a record of solid performances over the span of this season that should have made him the easy choice for saving – and yet the judges discarded him without batting an eye. This is unfortunately exactly what I worried would happen with the judges’ save in my power rankings last week – the judges using it to REPEATEDLY contradict the viewer vote. I’ve seen several theories from folks trying to make sense of why James was eliminated over Ally, and I guess I’ll just address them in list form:
“Maybe James asked to be eliminated so he could go home to be with his family!”
We’ve had contestants that have dropped out for all sorts of reasons over the years – injuries (i.e. Misty May-Treanor, Dorothy Hamill), illnesses (i.e. Tamar Braxton, Kim Zolciak), even interpersonal issues (Sara Evans left season 3 because she was getting divorced). If James wanted to go home, he could have very easily just announced that he was withdrawing, and I don’t think anyone would have begrudged him for it. Why go through the whole song and dance of rigging an elimination, and making the judges look absolutely insane??? And why have James beg for votes after getting his second score? Both he and Emma looked genuinely shocked and devastated when they were eliminated, so I tend to think this was NOT pre-planned. He seemed to be enjoying the experience of DWTS too much to just withdraw.
“Did James maybe pose too much of a threat to Hannah winning, so they got rid of him?”
I would say he was probably the most likely to play spoiler to a Hannah win, but why would they put so much emphasis on Hannah winning??? Sure, she’s ABC family, but I don’t think they had to make a bunch of wacky promises to get her to sign onto the cast (she seemed pretty willing to do the show), and she’s arguably at the END of her ABC shelf life (Bachelor & Bachelorette stints are already over, the possibility of a Tyler C. reconciliation is dead and buried, Bachelor in Paradise won’t air until next fall – IF they would even cast her)…so I don’t really see an advantage for ABC propping her up for the win. It would have actually made more sense to me to ensure James won, as it would uphold the narrative that the new system works to make sure dancers that are both good and popular with the audience win (and we don’t get another Bones).
“Did the judges maybe think James needed to go be with his family?”
If so, they had no business projecting that onto James – PERIODT. Ask James if he wants to go home; don’t assume he wants to go home because of what he’s going through, or assume that it’s the “right thing to do” given the circumstances. Bitch please – give the poor man agency over his own life, and don’t be so arrogant so as to assume you know what’s best for him.
“Are they trying to make sure that Ally wins?”
If so, it’s a fool’s errand – she’s been in the bottom two THREE times now; do they judges think she’s somehow gonna miraculously rally the votes to take home the MBT next week??? ‘Cause I sure don’t. If the viewers weren’t voting for her by now, they’re not gonna vote for her next week – especially now that she’s got the stink of being the one that the judges eliminated James for hanging over her head. Not her fault, but I’ll admit that I’m probably not going to be throwing any votes her way – she should have been gone by now. Additionally – WHAT DOES THE SHOW GAIN FROM ALLY WINNING? Are they trying to change the narrative to “screw the viewer votes, the judges know best!” Because that’s the only outcome I see from the unlikely event that Ally somehow manages to win. She’s part of a defunct girl group, she’s not got any huge projects in the pipeline…is she the tour celeb??? One of the celebs on this new, ill-conceived DWTS vacay??? Who knows. Bottom line: I don’t see any great benefit to the show or the network in the highly unlikely event Ally wins.
“Ally was clearly the better dancer, so it makes sense that James got eliminated!”
Delusion, thy name is Harmonizers. It could be argued that Ally’s a better all-around dancer than Lauren, possibly a better showman than Hannah, and perhaps a better technician than Kel – I even said last week that I think Ally’s probably the second-best dancer this season. But James had Ally beat on ALL FRONTS, and he was the only one I thought for sure that the judges would ditch Ally for. Sis’ two dances last night were okay-to-decent – but they weren’t James-level polished, and when you take into account the fact that James (even in his off-weeks) consistently was by and large better than everyone else this season, the decision to keep him should have been a no-brainer. Ally’s a great girl and a good dancer – but she ain’t the best. Overscored, sure. It’s not even subjective at this point – James was the better dancer, period.
Was this all just for drama?
Who knows – maybe. With the unmentionable one gone, did they somehow need to stir up drama in another way? If so, this was a dangerous (and possibly counter-intuitive) game to play – I feel James would have been someone that people specifically tuned in to watch in the finale, and now that he’s gone, I could see ratings taking a tumble. Are people talking about what happened Monday night? Sure. But will it translate to viewers? Doubtful.
All conspiracy theories aside, I’m honestly gutted for James – both for the tragedy he’s currently enduring on the home front, as well as his magical journey on DWTS coming to an abrupt and unexpected end. I was really looking forward to seeing a freestyle from him & Emma! I think he’s right up there with Hinch and Shad as one of the best male celebs without dance experience that we’ve had on the show – hell, he might be THE best male celeb without dance experience that we’ve had on the show. He’s also a class act that hasn’t said one bitter word since his elim (though I would not shame him if he did), and has been nothing but gracious and supportive of the remaining finalists. To Ally’s credit, she also tearfully begged James to take her spot in the finals – she saw the writing on the wall (that James was the better dancer with the better track record) and also felt terrible that he got eliminated in a week where he had already endured so much sorrow. So to make my stance clear: what happened sucked, but I don’t blame anyone but the judges – it was their low-balling and just mind-boggling decision-making that caused James’ elimination, NOT Ally. So sending her (or any of the other remaining contestants) bad energy or abuse? Not a good look – I would hope our readers here are smarter and more emotionally intelligent than that 😉 Read more..
