DWTS11 Week 8 Power Rankings

Ok, so instant choreo wasn’t the trainwreck we all thought it would be.  I think all of the couples did decently well given the  circumstances, and the only indicator I could really see that flagged it as an “instant dance” to me was the fact that the music and the choreography didn’t always stop at the same time. 

I’m left in a definite quandry again tonight, as I don’t think anyone really & truly sucked – plus the eliminations have been so wonky, I never know who’s in danger and who couldn’t be safer.  Ooh wee…where to begin?

1 & 2.) TIE: Jennifer & Derek and Brandy & Maks – Prior to the Maks vs. Carrie Ann “Instantgate” at the close of the show, I would have put Brandy & Maks first…however, I think he may have put a few people off (including some of the pros…check out Lacey’s face as he talks about Carrie Ann observing their rehearsal) with some of the comments he made; or who knows, maybe Team BranDMC fans will rally because of it. Brandy did well tonight – I will say that.  While I found their waltz to be a bit overwrought with emotion, it was indeed a nice waltz, and I thought their cha-cha was cute – but I actually agree with Carrie Ann, it seemed to take quite awhile for them to actually start it.  I think it would have had just as much impact if they had taken 2 bars of music walking out onto the floor hand-in-hand, looking lovingly at each other. Thought Jennifer & Derek had a very pleasant, light, fluffy quickstep, but at times I could tell she was struggling with the pain in her knee.  LOVED the instant rumba – although I must say I’m appalled that they had never heard “Waiting for a Girl Like You” (god I love Foreigner…”I Wanna Know What Love Is” is my go-to karaoke song!).  They definitely nailed the connection that they were trying so hard for.  I don’t think there’s any doubt that these two ladies will be duking it out in the finale (barring any more “shock” eliminations…*shudder*), but both seem to have an Achilles heel.  For Jennifer, it’s injury – it seems like every week, the poor woman is experiencing some new sort of ache or pain to overcome.  This week I really noticed it in her quickstep.  Hopefully she can practice a bit of mind over matter and power through those injuries.  For Brandy (and this is something it’s taken me awhile to put my finger on), I almost feel like she’s desperate to win this competition – as if this is all she has going on right now and if she doesn’t win, she’ll be devastated.  I know everyone seems to complain about Jennifer crying week after week – but seriously, Brandy does it AFTER EVERY DANCE.  It’s really becoming bizarre for me.  I kinda wish she would maintain her work ethic, but really focus on having fun and letting loose. While I’m really reluctant at this point to declare anyone totally safe, I’m about 80% sure these two ladies have nothing to worry about tomorrow night…fingers crossed…

3.) Kyle & Lacey – Not a whole lot to say about these two – decent Viennese, fun jive.  I think it’s becoming clear that Kyle really excels in the Latin dances, and seems to struggle a bit more with the ballroom.  And he’s still the consumate entertainer – just a riot to watch.  Wish I had more to say, but overall, these two did well tonight.  I think he deserves to be in the finale, and hopefully he’ll make it through this week and next in order to be there.

4.) Bristol & Mark – Do I think she deserves to go home this week? Absolutely.  Do I think, based on historical evidence, that she will? No.  Thanks to the judges, who were pretty liberal in their scoring tonight, we have only 1 point separating her and Kurt, and that will mean little to nothing in the great voting game.  I actually think she was pretty damn good in her Argentine tango tonight – maybe she didn’t quite have the intensity that Jennifer had, but I was surprised we got as much heat out of her as we did.  Samba was pretty heavy on the fluff, and she did forget her steps and get a bit off-time once or twice (whether or not it was truly Mark’s fault, I don’t know)…thought she should’ve gotten docked at least 2 more points for that, but the judges were up to their usual wackadoo scoring tonight and only gave her 1 point less than Kurt, who did not get off time or forget any steps.  If she’s anything like Chad last season (who I didn’t think was that great, but managed to stick around to the semi finals nonetheless), I think she’s got one more week in her.

5.) Kurt & Anna – Thanks to the judges and their inability to score everyone relative to one another, my beloved redheaded Russian will probably be headed home this week along with her teddy bear quarterback partner.  Though they did every bit as good as Bristol and Mark in the ballroom round, and better than them in the instant choreography round.  I think they got the crappiest song pick of the night (seriously? Cha-cha to “Hella Good”? :-(), which didn’t quite seem believable as a cha-cha; but I loved that they salvaged the waltz song that Kyle & Lacey rejected during storytelling week (“Take it To the Limit” by the Eagles) and managed to create a very pleasant waltz with it.  I guess it will come down to Tea Party vs. NFL this week…who will prevail? I hope to god I’m wrong…I just want one more week of Anna, PUH-LEASE 😛

Alright kids, let’s hear it – were you impressed or horrified by instant choreography week? Lay it on me, because I will not be ranking next week due to being on vacay in Arizona 😉 In my absence, the fabulous Heidi will be doing the rankings…so be good to her.  I mean it! 😀