PureDWTS Season 23, Week 8 – Power Rankings
So for those just tuning in that may have missed the producers’ agenda that permeated last night’s episode, let me recap:
1.) Make sure you keep pushing for Jana to make the finals.
2.) DO NOT LET DEREK ANYWHERE NEAR THE FINALS!!!
3.) Create an emotional redemption arc for Laurie, complete with Val crying his eyes out on camera.
4.) Milk the drama of Sharna’s injury, but let Jenna have the spotlight tonight…we need her to happen!!!
5.) Keep Calvin in the running for the finals, but he needs to take a back seat to the others tonight.
The face-offs, just like the ones in season 21, were about as big of a sh*tshow as one could expect – mainly just a means to carry out the agenda of the moment, and pretend to give a sliver of power to the viewers so they can feel like part of the action. I actually found myself profoundly relieved that James ended up with immunity – judging from his rehearsal package, it looked like he may have lost some rehearsal time learning the two face-off dances he hadn’t already done (jive & salsa), and I was very, very leery of him having to learn them from Jenna, whose teaching skills are…dubious, at best. So the fact that he ended up not having to attempt them with someone that’s NOT his normal partner? Phew. And really, if they were going to give immunity to anyone, I would rather it be someone that was probably headed to the finale already (and not someone that genuinely needed a boost to stick around), so as to minimize rocking the boat too much – so in the grand scheme of things, I would have been fine with Laurie, James, or Calvin getting it, and oddly enough, they were the only three last night that ended up with perfect scores.
I think I mentioned last week that I was fairly certain that Ryan was on borrowed time – just couldn’t put my finger on when, exactly, the hammer was gonna drop. Oddly enough, his tango last night was probably my favorite dance he did all season – the Cheryl Burke House of Pain method seemed to work, as he seemed more invested in that dance that any other one we saw from him all season. It was fun to watch, but it was time for him to go – but overall, I’m actually glad he ended up doing the show, because I think I came out of it with a much better understanding of him. He generally seems like a good guy, not the calculating type – but is simply too dumb to function sometimes, and that’s what gets him into trouble 😛 And then there were only 2 men, and I’m guessing they’re probably guaranteed a spot in the finals. Which means we’re most likely gonna lose 2 ladies in the next 2 weeks… Read more..