Unlike the Dancing with the Stars producers, we won’t wait until the final moments to let you know that Stephen Nedoroscik and partner Rylee Arnold are advancing to the finale!
That’s right, despite a not-so-perfect week, the pair joins four other couples for next week’s three-hour final show – when one couple will be crowned the season 33 champions!
So do Stephen and Rylee have a chance? Let’s discuss.
The stars were faced with a double doozy this week, starting with a Latin dance round and then a ballroom dance round. (At least there wasn’t an instant dance this week!) Things started off challenging for Stephen and Rylee, with their Cha Cha scoring a 25/30 (two 8s and a 9).
The judges said the dance seemed too difficult for Stephen, with his footwork leaving room for improvement, but you could also tell this spicier dance was out of his comfort zone, leading to some nerves.
Still, the duo had an another dance to go, and they didn’t let the 25 hold them back! Stephen embraced the Tango and his smoother side, showing great posture and technique. The result? A much-more-like-him 28/30!
At the end of the night, it was the two Olympians in the bottom two: Stephen and Ilona Maher… but WAIT! No one’s going home!? Correct! All five couples will compete in the three hour finale next week! Phew.
Stephen and Rylee have shown great progress this season, but it seems Chandler Kinney and Joey Graziadei are the front-runners to win it all. Anything could happen, but we predict Stephen will likely be fighting for third place. We’ll have to wait and see!
Although voting has closed for Episode 9, you can vote for Stephen and Rylee in the finale on ABC.com and by texting STEPHEN to 21523. You can vote 10 times online and via text (so 20 votes total) during the show.
See the full leaderboard and a photo gallery below!
Episode 9 Dancing with the Stars Leaderboard
These scores are from the Episode 9 individual dances. No couple was eliminated on Episode 9.
