Halloween Night on Dancing with the Stars proved to be scary in more ways than one, as contestants battled gruesome injuries, public drama and a heartbreaking goodbye. The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Jen Affleck, paired with former Taylor Swift Eras Tour backup dancer Jan Ravnik (who also got drawn into some drama this week), performed her final dance Tuesday night, bidding a tearful goodbye to the show following her elimination.
"This experience has meant everything to me," Jen said. "I cannot wait to talk about this in the future with my kids. I did this for my kids and I'm so grateful for the experience. Thank you for everyone rooting for me at home. I can't tell you how much it meant to me. Thank you." Jan added with a smile: "She's a rockstar, that's all I'm gonna say."
Actress Elaine Hendrix was absent from the live show following an injury that the show documented later on as Elaine shared a video update from her hospital bed. Though she was unable to dance during Tuesday night's show, the footage from her rehearsal that morning garnered high enough scores from the judges and votes from fans to allow her to survive in the competition another week.
Tuesday night was also contestant Andy Richter's birthday, and as a gift to him (and his fans watching at home), the comedian didn't have to wait for the final three to find out that he would be moving on to the following week. "There were some people asking if I secretly wanted to go home," Andy said after his Halloween performance. "Did that look like I want to go home?"
Here's how the remaining nine couples performed this week.
Whitney Leavitt and Mark Ballas
Dance: Jazz to "Brain Stew" by Green Day
© DisneyWhitney was in need of a good "therapeutic scream" this week. The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star opened up in rehearsals about feeling overwhelmed and pulled in too many directions. "I'm still a mom, I'm filming this other reality show," she said. "I have to do all these jobs. I want to throw up. I have so much anxiety. I'm so overwhelmed. ... I feel like I need to say yes to everything because I don't know how long the spotlight's gonna last. But I need to start saying no because I know this competition is just going to get harder." The duo, dressed as Beetlejuice-esque zombies offered a punk-rock jazz routine that brought some energy to the show's opening, though it wasn't the best performance we've seen from this frontrunner couple. "Watch the timing a little bit,"guest judge and former pro Cheryl Burke warned and Carrie Ann Inaba agreed (she wondered if Whitney and Mark's wacky Halloween eye contacts might have something to do with it). But still, the judges loved their dance overall. "You put so many different jazz styles in that routine, it's unbelievable," Bruno Tonioli said.
Scores: Carrie Ann: 9, Derek Hough: 9, Cheryl: 9, Bruno: 10; Total: /40
Jordan Chiles and Ezra Sosa
Dance: Contemporary to "Elastic Heart" by Sia
© DisneyJordan tied for first place last week with a near-perfect score (39/40). But this week she's aiming a little higher: "I want to be at the top by myself," Jordan said. "I don't want to share anymore!" She and Ezra took a risk with a creative, emotional contemporary in which Jordan wore a harness that Ezra used to pull, spin and even fly her through the air. Despite their unique, mummified spin on the performance, judges weren't quite as enthused as we expected. Cheryl wanted the two to showcase their trust through their performance more. "For me, the idea, the execution personally wasn't fully realized," Derek said.
Scores: Carrie Ann: 9, Derek: 8, Cheryl: 8, Bruno: 9; Total: 35/40
Andy Richter and Emma Slater
Dance: Paso Doble to "Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67: I. Allegro con brio" by Ludwig van Beethoven
© DisneyIt's Andy's birthday! The comedian with a newfound fan club name (the Fandys, Emma revealed in rehearsals). But following Pentatonix singer Scott Hoying getting sent home last week despite Andy's consistently low scores, he opened up about having survivor's guilt on the show. "I know I'm on the chopping block. I live there," Andy said. "So when someone gets voted out, I feel bad. Because Scott is one of the best people in the world." Andy, dressed up as a priest in a creepy cornfield, delivered the first paso doble of the season with gusto. Again, he's not the best dancer of the season, but there's clear improvement, control and more confidence in his movements, which judges have said, time and again, is the entire point of the show. "You have some kind of mystery magic. Every week, you're getting better and better, "Carrie Ann said. "You are carrying yourself as a dancer." Derek even snapped his "6" scorecard in half to prove that Andy's scores are on their way up.
Scores: Carrie Ann: 7, Derek: 7, Cheryl: 7, Bruno: 7; Total: 28/40
Elaine Hendrix and Alan Bersten
Dance: Argentine Tango to "Bad to the Bone" by 2WEI and Bri Bryant
Following a rib injury last week, Elaine was dramatically carried off the ballroom floor on a stretcher Tuesday morning and hospitalized, preventing her from performing in Tuesday night's episode. While Elaine, 54, remained at the hospital, DWTS aired video from Tuesday morning's rehearsal, during which Elaine is seen visibly in pain, stopping mid-dance. "Elaine and I were dancing and all of a sudden, Elaine kind of froze and said she can't move and she can't breathe and something happened with her rib," Alan said. "She's in so much pain that I don't know if we're going to dance tonight. It's just a lot of unknowns. I just hope this isn't the end of Elaine's dream to dance again." Alfonso noted that the rules of the show dictate that if a star is unable to perform, they should be "judged by you at home and scored by the judges on the basis of her last rehearsal." Meanwhile, Elaine offered an update from the hospital via social media that she was cleared to dance next week, as long as she survived the elimination. "First and foremost, we love you Elaine," Derek said after watching the rehearsal footage. "We're sending you our best, speedy recovery. It's really hard that we have to judge that. I know Elaine tonight, she would have gone up ten gears," hinting at the lower scores than the judges had been expecting following her breakout performance last week.
Scores: Carrie Ann: 8, Derek: 8, Cheryl: 8, Bruno: 8; Total: 32/40
Danielle Fishel and Pasha Pashkov
Dance: Viennese Waltz to "Die With A Smile" by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars
© DisneyCarrie Ann called Danielle's performance last week a "breakthrough" and Danielle was so proud of how she "rose to the occasion." This week's dance brought out her creative side: Danielle's vision was a murder mystery dance, during which it's revealed that Danielle is actually dead and Pasha murdered her. The performance began as a dreamy waltz but quickly turned into a nightmare with a blood-stained white dress, combat moves and a ghostly disappearing act at the end. Cheryl applauded the duo's "amazing, proper waltz," but wants to see more "raw and authentic" emotion out of Danielle; Carrie Ann similarly felt "mixed emotions" about the performance. "What I really liked about it is the way the movement reflected the turning of a dream into a mind-blowing madness," Bruno added.
Scores: Carrie Ann: 8, Derek: 8, Cheryl: 8, Bruno: 9; Total: 33/40
Robert Irwin and Witney Carson
Dance: Argentine Tango to "Sweet Dreams Are Made of This" by The Hampton String Quartet
© DisneyWitney and Robert are gunning for the top of the leaderboard. "Every dance has to be as close to perfect as you can get it," Robert said. "I want there to be the turning point from he can dance to he's a dancer." The wildlife conservationist plays a zombie symphony conductor, offering a dramatic, serious side of himself along with precise, technical movements not often attributed to the undead. Carrie Ann applauded Robert's ability to be the leading man. "It really had that tension, intention, and enticement and entrapment," Bruno said, likening his performance to iconic dancers of the 1940s.
Scores: Carrie Ann: 10, Derek: 9, Cheryl: 9, Bruno: 10; Total: 38/40
Jen Affleck and Jan Ravnik
Dance: Contemporary to "Look What You Made Me Do" by Taylor Swift
© DisneySwifties, rejoice. Despite some drama earlier this week in which former DWTS pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy (Val's brother) made some comments suggesting Jan has "no business" being a pro on DWTS because he doesn't have formal ballroom dance training, Jen and Jan are shaking it off and using another Taylor Swift song to prove their haters wrong. "I resonate with Taylor a lot, so I'm using everyone who has doubted Jan and I to fuel us even more, like Taylor did," Jen said. Judges agreed that Jen had some technical issues this week, but appreciated her commitment to the dance. Derek also weighed in on the controversy, adding some praise for Jan: "I want to tell you my man that you are doing a fantastic first season, Jan. Fantastic."
Scores: Carrie Ann: 8, Derek: 8, Cheryl: 8, Bruno: 8; Total: 32/40
Alix Earle and Val Chmerkovskiy
Dance: Tango to "bury a friend" by Billie Eilish
© Disney"The tango has a lot of power and her best is not good enough anymore," Val said in the dance couple's opening package. Alix expressed frustration through tears: "I asked for Val to be harder on me and it might have backfired on me. I love strict Val. They're tears of dedication to this process." But those tears paid off in a chilling, perfectly jerk-y graveyard tango that cemented Alix as a serious contender in the competition. "Sometimes tough love gets the job done," Derek said. "Drop dead good," Bruno added. "Your footwork? Incredible. The variation he gave you was competition style. What was this, Blackpool?" he joked, referencing the highest level ballroom dance competition that many DWTS pros (and former competitor this season Hilaria Baldwin) have competed in.
Scores: Carrie Ann: 10, Derek: 10, Cheryl: 9, Bruno: 10; Total: 39/40
Dylan Efron and Daniella Karagach
Dance: Viennese Waltz to "Can"t Help Falling In Love (DARK)" by Tommee Profitt and Brooke
© DisneyElaine wasn't the only one to suffer an injury this week: Dylan took Daniella's elbow to his nose, resulting in another emergency room visit and a broken nose, though he noted that he's clear to continue dancing. Daniella was visibly upset in rehearsals the next day: "I feel horrible," she said. "He's been improving so much and I don't want it to get in the way." But perhaps Dylan's bloody hospital run was an appropriate precursor to his dark, brooding vampire romantasy-inspired performance, in which the Traitors alum is out for his dance partner's blood. Cheryl offered some technical advice; "You really had a very convincing lead," Bruno said, sharing some more notes on how Dylan can improve but ultimately deeming the dance "hot."
Scores: Carrie Ann: 9, Derek: 9, Cheryl: 8, Bruno: 9; Total: 35/40
Monsterthon group dance
Meant to replicate an actual ballroom dance competition, all dance couples are on the floor at the same time, performing the hustle followed by the Lindy hop until a judge taps them on the shoulder to signal that they're out. he last standing couple wins 5 bonus points to add to their scores this week.
© Disney- Elaine and Alan: 0 points (Did not participate)
- Andy and Emma: 1 point
- Jen and Jan: 2 points
- Danielle and Pasha: 2 points
- Dylan and Daniella: 3 points
- Robert and Witney: 3 points
- Jordan and Ezra: 4 points
- Alix and Val: 4 points
- Whitney and Mark: 5 points
