"DWTS" Week 7 Recap: This Is Halloween!
Halloween night on “Dancing with the Stars” is always next-level, with its bedazzled yet still somehow terrifying costumes, oodles and oodles of fog machine effects, and wicked choreo to every spooky tune imaginable. And last night’s episode somehow took next level to the next level. Pennywise the clown costumes! An opening routine set to a Billie Eilish song! YET ANOTHER shocking elimination! Spooooooky…
But before we get to the tricks, let’s focus on the treats—AKA all of the amazing dancing we got to see last night.
James Van Der Beek and Emma Slater: Viennese Waltz
James Van Der Beek and Emma Slater can put a spell on us anytime. Especially if that spell involves a Viennese waltz as dazzling as the one this power couple pulled off last night. James and Emma (plus guest star Keo Motsepe, our fave) told the creepiest story with their performance, and we were totally hooked from start to finish. The judges seemed spellbound too, and gave the duo three 9s, for a total score of 27 out of 30.
Lauren Alaina and Gleb Savchenko: Argentine Tango
Oh, steamy Gleb, we missed you so! This dance was a friendly reminder that Gleb Savchenko is the reigning king of the Argentine tango. But we were also impressed by how well country girl Lauren Alaina was able to keep up—she was laser-focused for the entire performance. She even managed to stay so in-character during a major slip-up that half the audience didn’t realize anything had gone wrong. Gleb and Lauren earned three 9s, tying James and Emma.
After all the pairs had a chance to show off their spooky sides, the show moved on to a Halloween tradition: team dances. And while both teams had creative, super-entertaining performances, Team Trick really brought it to the ballroom. All four couples—Hannah Brown and Alan Bersten, James and Emma, Ally Brooke and Sahsa Farber, and Lauren and Gleb—totally delivered on a routine that somehow mixed paso doble, tango, and even a little bit of waltz. Though we’re still not sure why they were wearing creepy masks on the backs of their heads, we loved the number. And, in a treat for Team Trick, the judges did too, giving the performance (you guessed it) three 9s.
Of course, it wouldn’t be Halloween without a twist ending. Many fans expected former White House press secretary Sean Spicer and partner Lindsay Arnold to go home, as the couple was lagging a full 8 points behind the next-lowest scorer. Instead, Karamo Brown and Jenna Johnson ended up in jeopardy alongside Kate Flannery and Pasha Pashkov. (And we’re pretty sure we heard some boos—though the audience may have just been getting in the Halloween spirit.) The judges chose to send Karamo and Jenna home, though they didn’t seem happy about their choice.
What about you? Which dance had you saying, “Bow down, witches”? Which couple made you want to say, “Boo, Felicia”?
