"Dancing with the Stars" Recap: Season 10, Week 3

It’s week three of “DWTS”! After KateGate last week, we were curious to see if there’d be more drama–and oh, was there ever. The pros and stars tackled the quickstep, the waltz, and the paso doble, with an added twist: Each dance had to tell a story. And apparently that challenge was just enough to put a few of the stars over the edge.

The Good

-We love love loved Evan Lysacek and Anna Trebunskaya’s quickstep, set to an oh-so-familiar song from the musical Chicago! Evan, playing a husband mad at his wife for running late before a night out, was a little stiff at the outset, but soon eased into the upbeat, high-energy routine. And he topped it off with a cartwheel–adorbs! With 26 points, this was the highest-scoring number of the night.

-Despite the judges’ complaints, we were also impressed by Nicole Scherzinger and Derek Hough’s hugely entertaining quickstep. As two sailors slacking off, the couple had a grand old time hamming it up, vaudevillian-style. A grouchy Len whined that there wasn’t much actual quickstep involved, but c’mon, dude–the routine was awesome! (And we loved that Nicole toned down the sexy for a week–well, besides the cleavage.)

The Not-So-Good

-All of the judges LOVED Erin Andrews and Maksim Chmerkovskiy’s “blind waltz,” in which Erin demonstrated her trust in her partner by dancing blindfolded. But we just didn’t get it. Her waltz step seemed jerky and stuttery, and girl needs to eat a sandwich–or 50. Also, the solid 10 seconds it took for Maks to tie on her blindfold? Totes awk.

-We want to root for Pam Anderson–really, we do. How weird/awesome is it that the woman often criticized for being totally fake has somehow been the most sympathetic, real member of this “DWTS” cast? And we had a mini hissy fit when Charo showed up in rehearsal to help Pam get her flamenco on–CHARO!! OMG! Coochi coochi! But it looked like Pam stumbled a little during the dramatic supported drop at the beginning of her flamenco dancer-vs.-matador routine with Damian Whitewood, and she seemed distracted afterwards. Better luck next week, Pammy.

The Ugly

-Oh, Kate. We almost felt bad for you this week–almost. When your partner Tony Dovolani brought in an acting coach to help you during rehearsals for your paparazzi-themed routine, we nearly bought your teary meltdown–you have been through a lot recently (we won’t talk about whether you’ve deserved it or not), and you did seem “bottled up.” But honestly, the extra coaching didn’t help your either your acting or your dancing much. Watching you literally walk your way, blank-faced, through what should have been a super-intense paso doble was just uncomfortable. And the magazine covers at the beginning? “Kate Strikes Back”? Ew.

-OK. We’ve all been in rehearsal situations that devolve rapidly from “intense” to just “tense.” And we understand that these dancers are under a lot of pressure. But some of the backstage drama this week seemed downright manufactured. Jake Pavelka “storming out” on Chelsie Hightower? Really? She may be a tough coach, but we know from experience that she is the sweetest girl ever, and Jake never really looked all that angry. Chad Ochocinco and Cheryl Burke’s little rehearsal tiff seemed equally fake. Manipulative editing = not classy, DWTS.

Do you agree with us? Who were your favorites? Let us know! And check back tomorrow for our rehash of the results show…