Choregraphed Superhero Fight Steals Disney Night

Credit for that goes to Witney Carson, who took Super Bowl champ Danny Amendola into the MCU by taking on the role of Wolverine to his Deadpool in a dance that immediately went viral and is destined to be one of the most talked about routines of the season.

The Top 8 were fighting to break a stranglehold in judges scores last week after a five-way tie toward the bottom of the leaderboard was broken by Brooks Nader’s elimination. And Dwight Howard had to fight even harder, as the towering NBA all-star fell all the way to the bottom of the ranks.

With dances inspired by Disney classics like The Little Mermaid, Tarzan, The Lion King, as well as more modern fare like Encanto and Wreck-It Ralph, it was a night filled with a lot of high energy, a lot of fun, and one epic group dance that features so many incredible moments, you might want to watch it again and again.

Fair warning, since I’m safe at home, I’m probably going to be a little harsher than my colleagues Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough, and Bruno Tonioli. But I might be nicer, too. Maybe.

(“Friend Like Me,” from Aladdin) While Michael performs as Genie on the Broadway adaptation of the Disney classic, he sounded a bit out of sorts — and oddly out of breath — during the opening portions of this number. It settled in, and maybe it’s the translation to television from performing big on a live stage, but it was jarring at first. He (and maybe we) calmed down a bit and found a really enjoyable number that set the right tone of fun and energy for the night.

(“We’re Back,” from Moana 2) A simple, light dance that brought the island flare to the ballroom with the broadcast debut of this song from the upcoming sequel. The eliminated pros — including choreographer Britt Stewart — and troupe brought the spirit of the franchise effortlessly with flowing movements, but we kind of wanted to see the vocalist, for some reason. It just felt incomplete.

(Charleston – “A Star Is Born,” from Hercules) The less said about that awful opening sequence the better. It was jittery, unstable, Stephen was way too timid and tight in his swivels, and even the backup dancers did not make holding Rylee up look effortless or pretty. Okay, that was too much. The rest of the dance was a slight improvement, but again Stephen’s energy pushed him ahead of the music over and over. The very first arm extension he retracted too soon, his footwork was half-performed. His energy should have filled all the spaces of those movements, but instead, it just catapulted him through them too quickly, leaving most unfinished and the whole dance wanting.

Judges Scores: 8, 8, 8

My Score: 5

(Rumba – “Kiss the Girl,” from The Little Mermaid) There’s such a sweetness in this partnership that’s wholesome and beautiful to watch. Sasha looks after her like a little sister, and while she may have a bit of a crush, all of it is translating into stronger and stronger performances from Jenn. She had some really great sinuous movement going on through her hips — though Derek is right, she needs to incorporate a little more ribcage to enhance the visual — when she hit those poses and moments, while never losing that connection to the piece. America loves a growth story and Jenn is really showing that throughout this journey.

Judges Scores: 8, 8, 8

My Score: 8

(Samba – “Trashin’ the Camp,” from Tarzan) There is so much finesse in the samba that’s hard to nail when you’re moving so fast and just trying to get through the dance and remember all the steps. To his credit, Joey definitely did that latter part. He didn’t quite have the character of the piece, like the bounce the judges noted, and his focus was more on his feet than what his upper body and arms were doing. He’s putting the pieces together and if you can come this close to nailing the intricacies of a samba in one week, you’re in good shape for most of these other styles.

Judges Scores: 8, 8, 9

My Score: 7

(Paso doble – “We Own the Night,” from Zombies 2) Milo Manheim — who landed 2nd on this show his season — dropped by with Meg Donnelly from the Zombies franchise to help their costar get back into her werewolf character. There should be no danger of digging deep into a character she knows so well, so it’s just about putting that quality dance on top of the performance.

She definitely channeled the ferocity of a werewolf with her attack of this style. Other than a few moments where we felt she could have gone a bit broader through the chest and wider with her arms, she was really in this style in a way that was beautiful to see. It was so strong and powerful throughout, nailing the impact of the dance style. She’s such a strong dancer and definitely reclaimed her frontrunner status with this one.

Judges Scores: 9, 9, 9

My Score: 9

(Jazz – “Cruella De Vil,” from One Hundred and One Dalmatians) Phaedra started great with the attitude and the lighter elements of the dance, but when it came time for the midway portion that featured actual choreography, she lost her confidence, looked down at Val’s feet, and suddenly got very heavy on her feet. She lost the character, too. The dance went from sexy and strong to sweat flop in a matter of seconds and stayed that way until the more artsy ending. Phaedra was all character and no choreo this round, which is not a great combination in any style.

Judges Scores: 8, 8, 8

My Score: 5

(Jazz – “Bye Bye Bye,” from Deadpool & Wolverine) Witney got really creative with this MCU dance, incorporating the film’s iconic fight sequences into a jazz routine. The choreography was extremely fun, but Danny was working too hard in his head and on his face to really pull off the comedy, and he pulled a bit short on some of his moves. Overall, though, this was a monumental task of artistry and athleticism that they both pulled off extremely well. The lifts were challenging and fun, the dancing aggressive, and they both poured so much into one of the most entertaining routines of the season.

Judges Scores: 9, 9, 9

My Score: 8

(Tango – “When Can I See You Again?” from Wreck-It Ralph) Dwight kind of fell apart last week, going from riding toward the top of the leaderboard to the bottom. He didn’t even seem to understand that he was feeling stage fright with his kids in the audience, but it definitely translated poorly into his dance. In other words, he really, really needed to come back strong this week.

Boy was this a way to come out and make a statement. There was so much playful personality in the banter and characterization between this adorable pairing. We love the way they play with their size difference, and we loved seeing Dwight push himself with some respectable tango frame and presentation here. It’s a journey and he’s putting the work in and really showing progress and growth.

Judges Scores: 8, 8, 8

My Score: 7

(Jazz – “Surface Pressure,” from Encanto) First of all, we love that Alan did the whole dance inside a ridiculous mask. Ilona could have shown a little more happiness in her performance. She was dancing beautifully and showcasing her strength and versatility, but we wanted to see her enjoying herself and offering a little more showmanship. This character was so perfect for her as a big, strong woman who’s fearless and elegant and powerful and beautiful all at the same time, challenging narrow-minded definitions of feminine beauty — just like the movie. This was her story in so many ways, so we wanted to feel her connected more to it. The rest was great.

Judges Scores: 9, 8, 8

My Score: 5

[Dwight & Daniella, Danny & Witney, Stephen & Rylee, Phaedra & Val]

(“I Just Can’t Wait to Be King,” from The Lion King) Dwight started off the picking and it was clear he was going to go with athletes. He wound up with three male athletes on his team, with Phaedra rounding out the group. Would that be a good strategy? Danny and Stephen have also been pretty good with the judges, and he knows they’ll put in the work, so there’s some sound logic there.

Unfortunately, the end result wasn’t nearly as hard-hitting or polished as we would have liked. Phaedra, in particular, looked completely out of sorts throughout, unsure of her steps and a mess with her timing. Dwight didn’t quite have his arms under control throughout, while the rest of the stars were a little hesitant and small in their own movements. We were also a little disappointed they couldn’t quite pull off Stephen jumping over Dwight, but they did create some nice lifts and moments. The whole piece felt like a rehearsal run, working out the choreography still, rather than a final piece. The ending pose, though, was very cool.

Judges Scores: 8, 8, 8

My Score: 5

[Ilona & Alan, Joey & Jenna, Chandler & Brandon, Jenn & Sasha]

(“I 2 I,” from A Goofy Movie) Ilona’s strategy as team captain in picking her teams appeared to be about going for those stars who’ve been leaders. That gave her a team with three female stars and one of the strongest male stars of the season in Joey. It also, interestingly enough, marks a reunion of sorts for Joey and Jenn, since he dumped her on his season of The Bachelor. They even had a lift together!

Everything that wasn’t quite working with Team Roar came together here. Even those partnered cartwheels at the beginning were perfectly in sync. There was so much fun, creativity and energy throughout this piece, with the celebs giving every bit as hard as their professional partners. Ilona and Jenn were a little small at times in their movements, but more than made up for it in other moments. This wasn’t a technically perfect piece, but it captured the “goofy” spirit, was technically very challenging, and we couldn’t take our eyes off of it!

Judges Scores: 9, 9, 9

My Score: 5

The group dance was good news for Jenn Tran and bad news for Danny Amendola as she went up notably in the rankings and he dropped, with both of them landing in a tie for fourth place. Ilona and Joey also benefited from a great group dance to rise into a tie for second, while Chandler’s group dance victory helped her secure sole first place, breaking that tie with Danny.

On the bottom, with a 3-point divide between them and everyone else, was a three-way tie between Dwight Howard, Phaedra Parks, and Stephen Nedorocsik. This is where we start to get irritated with how overly generous the judges tend to be. They and the stars need to remember that anything over a 5 means you performed it well.

More range in scoring would help to break these ties. All we saw tonight were 8’s and 9’s, and we absolutely do not think all 10 dances were that close. There are clearly stronger dances and clearly weaker dances, so if the judges want their voices to matter more, they need to start judging more honestly and change the narrative that a 6 or a 7 is a bad score.

Okay, rant over. As for these results, we figured the judge gap between those bottom three was probably big enough that the eliminated player would come from this pool. Of the three, it’s really hard to say who might have the smaller fanbase. We’d argue Phaedra is showing the least growth and had the roughest night, so she should go.

But are more sports fans or Real Housewives fans watching? Dwight recovered from a rough week last week, while Stephen stumbled but everyone thinks he’s adorable. That had us a little worried about Dwight this week, though we also never expected Tori Spelling to get booted so early, so maybe TV villains aren’t as well-liked on DWTS and Phaedra was in trouble.

The first couples sent into safety were Chandler & Brandon, which was a no-brainer, followed by Ilona & Alan, Danny & Witney, Joey & Jenna, and Dwight & Daniella. That left Stephen & Riley and Phaedra & Val, alongside Jenn & Sasha. From here, we jumped right to the end, sending Phaedra Parks and Val Chmerkovskiy home.

We honestly thought Phaedra had more support from those Real Housewives fans, as she brings so much personality to the competition and to the show. Her performance was always through the roof, but she definitely struggled with all of the technical things this week, and hasn’t had the growth you would want to see at this midway point of the season.

Dancing with the Stars moves on to “Halloween Nightmares Night” next Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and Disney+.