‘DWTS’ 29×08 Recap: “Double Elimination Night”
This week on Dancing With the Stars took a shocking turn, which changed the outline of how the episode was set to go. Find out how differently things went on double elimination night.
Hours before the episode aired, it was reported early Monday morning that Jeannie Mai would be unable to continue her run. Because of this new development, the show did not do a double elimination as originally planned. Instead, only one couple was voted off after taking part in one individual dance and a group relay.
Everyone was sad to see Mai go, especially since she has done so unbelievably well this season. On Instagram, AJ McLean and his partner Cheryl Burke both paid a lovely tribute to her and everyone rallied around her on social media.
The show must go on
Image via ABC
Despite the setback with losing a competitor, the show did go on with the celebrities vying to make it to the next week. Starting off with a Jive, Kaitlyn Bristowe and Artem Chigvintsev earned 25 points. There still seems to be some frustration with the judging in terms of her dances, but personally, I feel Kaitlyn has been working hard every week.
The breakdown seems to be the feeling of the judging focusing more on the faults rather than critiquing. But I’m confident Kaitlyn will continue to give each dance her all in the coming weeks.
All of the dancers continued to give amazing performances this week, including AJ McLean and Cheryl Burke. AJ danced the Rumba, as a tribute to those battling addiction. It was a breathtaking performance that may not have had as much Rumba as the judges wanted. However, he put his heart and soul into the dance. More than anything, he gave the performance his all.
Relay round
Image via ABC
In the relay rounds, the competitors broke off into three groups, where they danced either the Cha Cha, Viennese Waltz, and the Samba. Each couple had 30 seconds to perform their version of the routine before being given bonus points to add to their individual dance scores of the night.
For the Cha Cha round, it was Chrishell Stause, Nev Schulman, and Nelly who all performed. After a critique from judge Carrie Ann Inaba, Stause got two points, Schulman received three points, and Nelly received two points.
Dancing the Vienesse Waltz were Johnny Weir and Justina Machado. Originally, Mai was supposed to dance this one as well, and Machado gave a heartfelt speech during the video montage for her. The dance earned Johnny three points and Justina two points from Derek Hough.
Finally in the Cha Cha round were AJ McLean, Kaitlyn Bristowe, and Skai Jackson. While Bruno Tonioli awarded three points to both AJ and Kaitlyn while Skai received two points added to their scores.
Hate to see you go
Image via ABC
Of course, as always, there was an elimination. Luckily, there was no double elimination but it’s still difficult to say goodbye. In the bottom two this week were Skai Jackson and Chrishell Stause. A difficult decision considering both of them have grown so much, Skai Jackson was ultimately saved and Stause was eliminated. We’ll miss seeing her and Gleb Savchenko tear it up on the dance floor!
Next week will find the seven remaining dancers paying tribute to their favorite icons before pairing off a Dance-Off challenge. The only competitor not taking part will be Nev Schulman. As per the press release, he has been granted immunity from doing the dance-off. This was decided based on his spot on the leaderboard the previous week and as well as the cumulative score all season so far.
We’re getting closer and closer to the semi-finals, so make sure to vote for your favorite star to stay in the competition! Who do you think will make it to the final three? Let us know and find us on social media to join the conversation!
