And then there were five! On the Monday, November 14, episode of Dancing With the Stars, the remaining five couples angled for a spot in the finale. Each duo performed two routines, including a Trio Challenge that involved adding an extra pro into the mix. Kicking the night off on a happy note, Sharna Burgess was back in the ballroom after missing two weeks due to a knee injury. Overall, all pairs brought their A-game, which meant any tiny mistake really stood out. Watch the top moments above, and read on for how it all went down.
Laurie and Val Get Two Perfect Scores
Laurie Hernandez and Val Chmerkovskiy began the night with a foxtrot. Much of Laurie’s video package this week was about how close she was with her grandmother — who died the day after the video package was shot. Naturally, the Olympic gymnast dedicated her routine to her late grandma, and by the end, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. “You delivered it with so much passion,” Carrie Ann Inaba said. “You represent the American dream, and you also represent the Dancing With the Stars dream.”
Julianne Hough said she was crying tears of happiness because she knew Laurie’s grandma was doing the same, and Bruno Tonioli, for once, was almost speechless. They earned a perfect 30 for the routine.
Later on, Laurie and Val added in Val’s brother, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, for a samba that nabbed a second perfect score. This put them at the top of the leaderboard for tonight, but not by much. (For full disclosure, every single trio dance received a perfect score — so they kind of didn’t matter.)
Terra and Sasha Also Land Two Perfect Scores
Laurie and Val weren’t alone, though. Terra Jolé and Sasha Farber also nabbed a perfect score for their rumba. Most of Terra’s video package this week told the story of her decision to move to Los Angeles to pursue singing, and her involvement in creating the hit Little Women reality franchise. All of the judges went crazy for her hip action and were equally impressed with her trio routine, which brought Artem Chigvintsev back to the dance floor.
James and Sharna Deliver a Steamy Argentine Tango
For her triumphant return to the ballroom, Sharna choreographed a routine for James Hinchcliffe that involved her being blindfolded the entire time. It had a vaguely Eyes Wide Shut feel that the judges went crazy over. “That wasn’t an Argentine tango. That was an Argentine Grand Prix!” Bruno cheered. Carrie Ann said they “nailed the risky parts” but pointed out a “wobble in the very beginning.” James and Sharna ended with a 29 for that one, which probably could have been a 30 since neither of the other two judges seemed to notice the alleged “wobble.”
They then had an interesting advantage for the trio routine because James had already danced with Jenna Johnson for two weeks. As previously mentioned, their jive (like all of the trio routines) earned 30 points. Bruno seemed especially impressed with James’ ability to go back and forth seamlessly between the two women.
Jana and Calvin Struggle
Bringing up the bottom of the board were Jana Kramer with Gleb Savchenko, and Calvin Johnson with Lindsay Arnold. Both of them delivered powerful routines that suffered from small mistakes. Jana’s rough patch was at the beginning of her quickstep, while Calvin’s was at the very end of his tango. Carrie Ann praised Jana for being the most improved dancer remaining, and Julianne loved how “much attack” the NFL alum brought to the routine. (However, she too saw the mistake.) Jana ended up with a 28, and Calvin landed dead last with a 26 — but at least they both got perfect scores for their trio routines.
Terra and Sasha Are Eliminated
Then it was time to find out which of these poor souls was going to miss out on the finals by just a hair — and the answer was Terra and Sasha, who had actually tied for first with a flawless performance this evening. Terra kept smiling, but it was pretty clear she was crushed. “Sasha had been extremely supportive throughout this entire process,” she said. “Honestly, I wouldn’t be here without him.”
Tell Us: Did the right couple go home?
Dancing With the Stars airs on ABC Mondays at 8 p.m. ET.
