Season 8 Finale Part 1 Thoughts and Discussion

Tonight’s Part 1 of the Season 8 finale. I’m going to post my thoughts live and I hope you’ll join in the discussion. Let us know what you think?

Spoiler space, just in case…

I thought it was interesting that the Top 4 kinda dropped the “here’s your dancers” walk and just sauntered out.

Love that Kenny Ortega is back and I think Katie Holmes might be a good judge.

I love Melanie and Marko, but I really, really dislike disco. That being said, I think this is the first one this season and I’m okay with that and if disco must be danced, I have faith that Melanie and Marko can do it well. Except…it felt really frantic. I know I use that word a lot. It’s hard to put my finger on what felt so clumsy and messy about that. Was Melanie ahead of the beat in several places? The lifts were definitely awkward in places, as Mary said (finally, some honest criticism). And they definitely missed some beats. I agree with what Katie said about their faces because I really loved when Marko stuck his tongue out and made something of a stank face in the middle of the disco routine. Still, it’s the first routine and they have room to wow us tonight and again, I LOVE them. And I know I’m not alone.

Part of me really likes that Sonya choreographed to suit Sasha and part of me isn’t sure. But I really loved Sasha and Mark (and Mark’s mohawk!). Even if the beginning of the routine reminded me too much of Mia’s addiction piece, I got over that because it was very different later and Sasha’s quality of movement was entirely her own. I thought Nigel said it best when he said that Sonya’s choreography is particularly good when she’s working with Mark. He’s her dream dancer, I think, and Sasha may be the female equivalent.

I hate to say this, but I thought the Tadd-Joshua Lil C hip hop was a little boring, which disappointed me a lot because I was excited when Cat said before the commercial they were dancing together. I thought they were pretty well-matched, but I agree with what my mom said – Tadd was watching Joshua too much, trying to match him. The routine got really good for me when they were on the floor, gliding on their knees both smoothly and with style.

While I really liked the Melanie and Robert routine, I don’t think the choreography matched the “unrequited love” theme all the way through. I love both of them and there was a lot of great acting and they had chemistry, to be sure. I don’t think it was Stacey Tookey’s best choreography, but I really enjoyed it. I thought it was interesting that Cat brought up Kenny Ortega’s remake of Dirty Dancing with Melanie onstage and basically campaigned for her to be Baby (she said cast, but it was pretty clear she was saying “star”). Mostly, I think this was interesting for two reasons. First, several of the writers for this site were talking about a potential cast for Dirty Dancing after Marianya sent us this link. The article suggests Twitch as Johnny Castle and Melanie as Baby, which I loved the idea of earlier. Even so, I was a little grossed out by how much time they devoted to fawning over Melanie (who I love!) in the middle of the finale. Kenny essentially promised her a part… As much as I want Melanie to win, the judges are SO BIASED toward her that it could seriously hurt her chances. So even while I was enjoying Cat saying “nobody puts me in a corner” and acting as Melanie’s agent, I was also really uncomfortable.

LOOOOVED Sasha and Marko’s Broadway. I think that was the best Broadway of the season, though I’m no expert. Sasha really surprised me, as did Marko. Really hated Nigel’s remarks about the routine because I completely disagreed and I don’t know where he was coming from. They both had SO MUCH character and strength in the piece and it was so fun.

Melanie’s solo was absolutely GORGEOUS! Her best yet. It expressed her mood and what she’s feeling right now (I imagine) so well. I loved that she admitted to having a crush on Neil during her interview. It gave me an idea. NEIL as Johnny Castle in Kenny’s Dirty Dancing remake and Melanie as Baby. I would CERTAINLY watch that movie. Over and over again. We already know they have chemistry and I don’t doubt Neil can play a sexy bad boy. Come on, Kenny, we’re doing all the work for you tonight.

I think Cat nailed it when she said that Marko is so honest with his emotions. I’m glad he didn’t pick another James Morrison song for his solo, but Joshua Radin wasn’t much better. While I like both those singers and Marko’s solos, I just think they’re always too slow and too much alike.

Ouch. The Mark Ballas cha cha with Sasha and Tadd kinda wobbled. The worst part for me, since I’m not technically familiar with Ballroom, was that there was NO connection. I blame Sasha (and the choreography) because whenever Tadd was looking at her and trying to connect, she was looking into the audience. ALL of her energy was going into the audience – and this is precisely what I don’t like about Sasha in some routines. I felt like she was dancing with Alexander again.

Marko’s Tessandra Chavez contemporary (?) with LoFro was EXCELLENT! It was so good. I wasn’t taking notes because I was just in it.

Didn’t enjoy Tadd’s interview. I can see that he’s introverted, so he’s projecting a lot of what people perceive as cockiness. His solo was more of his usual, but what I really like about them is that he always picks interesting music that I don’t expect and builds a routine around it. It was really cute when he pretended to fall into the audience.

Enjoyed the Melanie-Tadd Broadway a lot, but I’m not exactly sure why she would be tearing off his clothes (even angrily) after catching him cheating. Especially right on the heels of Tadd’s interview with Cat where she brought up the shirtless Tadd website. Also, I hated Melanie’s pants for her and it seemed like she was waiting for Tadd a lot. However, they have really good chemistry and it was fun. I agree with that.

Sasha’s solo was so her and so fierce! I loved that she used a really soft, feminine song and paired it with her really strong dancing. Also, has anybody noticed that Sasha clearly has a crush on Cat? Can’t say I blame her. 🙂

Stacey’s routine with Melanie and Sasha was EVERYTHING I didn’t get from their Sonya routine. She heard us when we said that they’re strong enough for lifts, so she put them in. There was so much connection between them, which I was starving for in the Sonya routine. I loved the props, the picket fence cages/thrones. Considering how many times they put their hands over their mouths and their chemistry, I wondered if this wasn’t about two women who aren’t allowed to love each other in the 50s, not just repressed housewives. But there was also the innocence and connection of sisters. It was remarkable.

Well. Marko and Tadd’s gumboot stepping routine was awful and I disrespect the judges (except for Nasty Nigel) for not saying so, especially Katie. Their movements were weak, boyish, unfinished and out of sync. But, it was kind of an awful style/routine to give the two guys in the finale, especially when they’re already the underdogs. HOWEVER, did y’all notice that Marko and Tadd were the ones that got the All-Stars who’d WON their seasons? I wish they’d ended on the girls’ routine because the boys’ routine sucked.

Working on the Power Rankings now. OH! And I gotta go vote! Y’all, talk to me, tell me what you think and help me out. There’s going to be a fun poll in the Power Ranking post, so look for it.