And the winner of the Mirrorball is… coming up! It’s amazing how many times we heard those words last night during the season finale of Dancing With the Stars. It had all of the contestants, including some from prior seasons, return, as well as live performances. Much like several episodes this season, so much of this was finale was just filler, stuff to bridge the gap between the beginning of the show and the last dances. Some of it wasn’t even very good! The Lip Reading of the season, or having Willow give us little previews of what’s to come through social media? We could’ve skipped right on past it. There were others, though, like the Rehearsal Bloopers, which were funny.
Before we get to the final 24-hour fusion style dance, a lot of other dances and performances happened. I’m not going to focus on the musical performances here. Not that I didn’t like Jason Derulo or the others, but this is show is about dancing! They brought back Willow and Mark for their Disney Night dance, which just reminded me not only of how good Willow is but also what amazing costumes Mark can pull off. The episode had two dances with contestants from past seasons. One was Alfonso Ribeiro and Sadie Robertson, first and second place from last season, and the other was Noah and Amy Purdy, who was second place from Season 18. It was really cool to see them all intermingle, although I wish Amy and Noah could’ve danced together a little bit more. Other pairs that came back were Chris and Witney and Nastia and Sasha from this season. I noticed, presumably because they’re not being judged or scored, they seemed to be relaxed and having more fun.
Finally, we come to our three remaining final couples: Noah and Sharna, Rumer and Val, and Riker and Allison. In Monday night’s episode, each team was given a dance style that they performed last night. Noah and Sharna started off the round with a combination of the cha-cha and the tango. Julianne noted afterwards, “Both of you have been the hearts of this competition.” They gave them a score of 36, putting them at 108 for both nights. Riker and Allison went next with their salsa and quickstep. Watching them last night, I realized why the show placed them together. They both have that same upbeat and energetic attitude to them that makes such a great pair. The judges gave them 40 points, so 120 all together. Last up was Rumer and Val with their fusion of foxtrot and paso doble. Bruno remarked to Rumer that it’s been “amazing to see how dance has transformed you.” The judges also awarded them 40 points, so 120 points in the end.
Then, the lights were dimmed and the Mirrorball goes to… Rumer and Val! I’m not sure who I wanted to win. A Twitter comment the show posted said, “Rumer has grace. Riker has pizzazz. Noah has strength.” They all bring something different to the ballroom so it could be said that any one of them deserved to win. Regardless, congrats to Rumer and Val! I hope they display that Mirrorball proudly, and I’ll see you all in September for the next season of Dancing With the Stars!
[Photo credit: Adam Taylor/ABC]
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