Within their 33rd season, ABC’s Dancing with the Stars (DWTS) celebrated their 500th episode on Week 8. Opinions arise as some people are concerned with the judges scores and of who went home this week.
What is DWTS?
For those who aren’t aware of the show, DWTS is a ballroom dancing show located in Hollywood, CA. A professional dancer and famous star are paired up to compete every Tuesday night for 10 weeks. Hence, Dancing With The Stars. Within the 10 themed weeks, the couples also get eliminated. It can vary between weeks whether it is one or even two couples going home that night. The couples go home depending on a combination of their scores and viewers’ votes.
The winners get a $50,000 reward and the Mirrorball Trophy in honor of former judge Len Goodman who sadly passed away in 2023.
The 500th Episode
This week specifically will definitely be a memorable one. To celebrate their 500th episode, DWTS did a very special theme. The theme was recreating infamous dances. This meant that the 6 remaining couples had to pick a memorable dance done by a couple in the past and put together a routine inspired by it. And to even add to the chaos, the couples also had to do a challenge called an “instant dance.” The star was blindfolded and had to pick a style of ballroom out of 4 on the spot. Once it was picked they would be given a song they would have to dance that style to. This meant that the couples had to rehearse the 4 styles from their past routines. They would adjust to the given music minutes before performing. This would add to their score out of 3 judges with a max of 60 points.
Fans Opinions of the Episode
As basketball star Dwight Howard and his partner Daniella Karagach went home this week, it made some fans question the judges and their opinions. On the previous episode, Week 7, judge Carrie Anne Inaba was handing out scores of 10 like they were candy. But this week her viewpoint has drastically changed. She was giving out multiple 8s which is considered low at this point in the competition. Fans also noticed that her opinions on the dances have changed as well. Recently it has been rumored that she has favored certain couple’s on the show. She would show this by giving a 10 for a mediocre dance compared to one that was great where she would give a 9.
But this week, her opinions were very strict and picky this week compared to last week where she thought almost every couple was perfect. She states, “I’m going to tell it like it is, and I’m always going to,” when critiquing Team Danny and Witney. It even brought the attention to her co-judges Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli. It is also ironic that last week Derek and Bruno questioned Carrie Anne for her 10s last week. Yet it was the opposite where they questioned her underscoring. This led fans of Dwight to believe that his result of going home was due to Carrie Anne’s mixed beliefs.
My Opinion on DWTS
In my opinion, I thought this episode was very entertaining and will definitely be one to remember. I truly believe that Carrie Annes scores were all over the place in a span of a week. She clearly has favorites and is biased to her personal picks. As Dwight and Daniella went home, I felt that his time on the show was appreciated but it was definitely his time to go. Although I give all my support for their work ethic to them. Dwight is 6’10 and Daniella is 5’0. So clearly this is a crazy height difference to work with.
I, personally, believe that their major difference in height is what held them back, and led them to getting eliminated. But me personally, I was just not a fan of them, at the fact that I am rooting for other teams to win. I am really rooting for Team Joey and Jenna, but we will have to see what the results are as the semi-finals approach us.
