"DWTS" Week 10: The Semi-Finals

We’ve nearly reached the end of a long and arduous journey. People who didn’t think they could dance are now tearing up the dance floor in rhinestone- and feather-festooned costumes. People who did think they could dance have been appropriately humbled. It’s the “DWTS” Semi-Finals.

The situation: Each team had to dance twice—two different dances performed to two different versions of the same song, aka, a choreographer’s nightmare. Even Derek Hough was showing signs of creativity-fatigue.

The stakes: It’s the semi-finals! Those deemed safe will advance to the finals where that Mirror Ball trophy is so close they can almost feel it…

The drama: Alfonso Ribeiro is (maybe seriously?) injured! Last week, Alfonso strained his groin. In an attempt to push through his injury, he also hurt his back. Spoiler alert: After he and our girl Witney Carson danced, there were tears of pain and of triumph.

Also, Val Chmerkovskiy is feeling a little bit of sibling rivalry, since his big bro Maks won the Mirror Ball last year. Fortunately, he stepped up and delivered a really-quite-good paso doble with his partner Janel Parrish. I appreciated the fact that they shed the gimmicks and just danced it out.

At the end of the night, Tommy Chong and Peta Murgatroyd went home. Alas, for Peta, who has really been pulling more than her own weight in the partnership. But hey, Tommy was entertaining and people loved him—and now that teams Bethany Mota/Derek Hough, Alfonso Ribeiro/Witney Carson, Janel Parrish/Val Chmerkovskiy and Sadie Robertson/Mark Ballas are going to the “DWTS” finals, we can really get down to business.

P.S. I’m feel meh about Sadie Robertson, but I’m including this video as a bonus because she’s inspired me to do a quickstep to Ariana Grande’s “Problem.” I would probably wear something different, but I’m pretty sure Mark and I would look great together.