DWTS INTERACT: From the Skybox (Season 25, Week 2)- Conspiracy Theories?!

With two nights of episodes, two eliminations, and twenty-five dances from the couples, there is a lot to recap from this week, including looking at some early results of the fantasy draft and the bootlist game! So, with commentary and stats on this week’s jam-packed nights, here are Dwtsdreams, Paul Bentley, and Julia Delbel with this season’s second From the Skybox post!

Week 2 Stats

Night 1 (Monday)

Dancing With the Stars Week Two, Night One Leaderboard				Bloggers’ Scores
Couple	Dance Style	Judges’ Scores	Overall Scores	Bloggers’ Scores
Debbie and Alan	Quickstep	7, 6, 7	20/30	6, 6, 6 (18/30)
Nikki and Artem	Waltz	7, 7, 7	21/30	6, 6, 7 (19/30)
Lindsey and Mark	Quickstep	7, 7, 7	21/30	7, 7, 8 (22/30)
Barbara and Keo	Tango	6, 5, 6	17/30	5, 5, 5 (15/30)
Nick and Peta	Foxtrot	7, 6, 6	19/30	6, 6, 6 (18/30)
Drew and Emma	Quickstep	7, 6, 7	20/30	6, 6, 6 (18/30)
Vanessa and Maks	Foxtrot	8, 8, 8	24/30	7, 7, 7 (21/30)
Frankie and Witney	Tango	8, 7, 8	23/30	7, 7, 7 (21/30)
Terrell and Cheryl	Foxtrot	7, 6, 7	20/30	6, 5, 6 (17/30)
Sasha and Gleb	Viennese Waltz	8, 8, 7	23/30	7, 7, 7 (21/30)
Victoria and Val	Tango	8, 8, 8	24/30	8, 8, 8 (24/30)
Derek and Sharna	Foxtrot	6, 6, 7	19/30	7, 6, 7 (20/30)
Jordan and Lindsay	Viennese Waltz	8, 8, 8	24/30	7, 8, 8 (23/30)

Night 2 (Tuesday)

Dancing With the Stars Week 2, Night 2 Leaderboard				Bloggers’ Scores
Couple	Dance Style	Judges’ Scores	Overall Score	Bloggers’ Scores
Nikki and Artem	Samba	6, 6, 6	18/30	6, 6, 6 (18/30)
Victoria and Val	Rumba	7, 6, 7	20/30	7, 6, 7 (20/30)
Derek and Sharna	Paso Doble	7, 6, 6	19/30	6, 6, 7 (19/30)
Sasha and Gleb	Samba	8, 7, 7	22/30	7, 7, 7 (21/30)
Nick and Peta	Argentine Tango	7, 6, 6	19/30	6, 6, 6 (18/30)
Jordan and Lindsay	Samba	8, 8, 8	24/30	9, 9, 9 (27/30)
Drew and Emma	Rumba	7, 7, 7	21/30	6, 6, 7 (19/30)
Debbie and Alan	Argentine Tango	7, 7, 7	21/30	6, 6, 7 (19/30)
Vanessa and Maks	Salsa	8, 8, 7	23/30	8, 8, 8 (24/30)
Terrell and Cheryl	Samba	6, 6, 7	19/30	6, 6, 6 (18/30)
Lindsey and Mark	Salsa	8, 8, 8	24/30	9, 9, 9 (27/30)
Frankie and Witney	Cha-Cha-Cha	8, 8, 9	25/30	8, 8, 7 (23/30)

Game Updates

BATTLE OF THE BOOTLIST

Bentley

13. Frankie Muniz & Witney Carson 3 Strikes (Barbara)

12. Debbie Gibson & Alan Bersten 0 Strikes (Debbie)

11. Derek Fisher & Sharna Burgess

10. Barbara Corcoran & Keo Motsepe

9. Sasha Pieterse & Gleb Savchenko

8. Vanessa Lachey & Maks Chmerkovskiy

7. Nick Lachey & Peta Murgatroyd

6. Terrell Owens & Cheryl Burke

5. Lindsey Stirling & Mark Ballas

4. Jordan Fisher & Lindsay Arnold

3. Drew Scott & Emma Slater

2. Nikki Bella & Artem Chigvintsev

1. Victoria Arlen & Val Chmerkovskiy

TOTAL: 3 STRIKES

Dwtsdreams

13. Terrell Owens & Cheryl Burke 2 Strikes (Barbara)

12. Derek Fisher & Sharna Burgess 3 Strikes (Debbie)

11. Barbara Corcoran & Keo Motsepe

10. Frankie Muniz & Witney Carson

9. Debbie Gibson & Alan Bersten

8. Nick Lachey & Peta Murgatroyd

7. Vanessa Lachey & Maks Chmerkovskiy

6. Drew Scott & Emma Slater

5. Nikki Bella & Artem Chigvintsev

4. Sasha Pieterse & Gleb Savchenko

3. Lindsey Stirling & Mark Ballas

2. Victoria Arlen & Val Chmerkovskiy

1. Jordan Fisher & Lindsay Arnold

TOTAL: 5 STRIKES

Julia

13. Frankie Muniz & Witney Carson 1 Strike (Barbara)

12. Barbara Corcoran & Keo Motsepe 6 Strikes (Debbie)

11. Terrell Owens & Cheryl Burke

10. Nikki Bella & Artem Chigvintsev

9. Drew Scott & Emma Slater

8. Sasha Pieterse & Gleb Savchenko

7. Nick Lachey & Peta Murgatroyd

6. Debbie Gibson & Alan Bersten

5. Lindsey Stirling & Mark Ballas

4. Vanessa Lachey & Maksim Chmerkovskiy

3. Derek Fisher & Sharna Burgess

2. Jordan Fisher & Lindsay Arnold
1. Victoria Arlen & Val Chmerkovskiy

TOTAL: 7 STRIKES

FANTASY DRAFT

TEAM JULIA

Vanessa & Maks: 24 Monday score points + 15 Monday safety points + 23 Tuesday score points + 15 Tuesday safety points = 77 points
Lindsey & Mark: 21 Monday score points + 15 Monday saftey points + 24 Tuesday score points + 15 Tuesday safety points = 75 points
Victoria & Val: 24 Monday score points + 15 Monday safety points + 20 Tuesday score points + 15 Tuesday safety points = 74 points
Nick & Peta: 19 Monday score points + 15 Monday safety points + 19 Tuesday score points + 15 Tuesday safety points = 68 points

WEEK 2 TOTAL: 294 POINTS

OVERALL TOTAL: 374 POINTS

TEAM DREAMS

Frankie & Witney: 23 Monday score points + 15 Monday safety points + 25 Tuesday score points + 15 Tuesday safety points = 78 points

Jordan & Lindsay: 24 Monday score points + 15 Monday safety points + 24 Tuesday score points + 15 Tuesday safety points = 78 points

Sasha & Gleb: 23 Monday score points + 15 Monday safety points + 22 Tuesday score points + 15 Tuesday safety points = 75 points

Debbie & Alan: 20 Monday score points = 15 Monday safety points + 21 Tuesday score points + 0 Tuesday safety points = 56 points

WEEK 2 TOTAL: 287 POINTS

OVERALL TOTAL: 363 POINTS

TEAM BENTLEY

Drew & Emma: 20 Monday score points + 15 Monday safety points + 21 Tuesday score points + 15 Tuesday safety points = 71 points

Nikki & Artem: 21 Monday score points + 15 Monday safety points + 18 Tuesday score points + 15 Tuesday safety points = 69 points

Terrell & Cheryl: 20 Monday score points + 15 Monday safety points + 19 Tuesday score points + 15 Tuesday safety points = 69 points
Barbara & Keo: 17 Monday score points + 0 Monday safety points = 17 points

*Since Barbara & Keo were the first couple eliminated, Derek & Sharna will join Team Bentley and give him 50% of what they would have earned as a regular pick, including points from Week 1.*

Derek & Sharna: 19 Monday score points + 15 Monday safety points + 19 Tuesday score points + 15 Tuesday safety points / 2 = 34 points

WEEK 2 TOTAL: 243 POINTS

Week 1 points added for Derek & Sharna (18 / 2 = 9 points)

OVERALL TOTAL: 317 POINTS

Hot Topics

Questions and answers about what we think of the show!

Holly HDUB Wilson (@HollyHDUBWilson): Why didn’t they let Sasha be one of the [pros] this season and made him go back to the troupe?

Dream When I think of the male pro lineup Sasha is always at the bottom of the list. I feel as though Sasha and Keo shine brighter as troupe members rather as pros. I feel as though Sasha gets lost in the shuffle. If the producers really wanted Sasha to be a pro this season it would have happened and I don't believe this whole height issue thing. I love Sasha but I would rather have him in troupe.

Bentley Apparently Sasha Farber was cut from the cast because of height issues, which sounds reasonable, and even though that might be part of the reason why he was demoted to troupe, I don’t buy that this is the sole reason he was cut. As history has shown, the production on the show does not usually take such considerations when casting the celebrities, and they are constantly doing odd things, such as giving celebrities music that does not work for their dance style, allowing rules to apply to certain people over others, and even pairing celebrities to pros that seem like weird matches, including when it comes to height. Sasha himself has even proven that height is not as big of a factor as it is made to be, especially with the progression and moderation of dance these days. I could say a lot about this, but I’ll condense it the best way I can, and I’ll say this: It is clear that the production has certain directions that they want they want to go in every season, and they try to manipulate as much as they legally can to get that through. And we have seen cuts being made, certain celebrities getting better coverage over others, and other “conveniences” before, and after the way last season turned out, I wouldn’t be surprised if putting Sasha in the troupe was part of that. And the reactions from after the initial pro reveal was very hush hush, until later when it was said that Sasha was cut for height reasons. Sasha said himself that the reasoning was because of his height, but I think that either A: he is left in the dark about some things, or B: he doesn’t say anything relatively negative about production because of what they have done for him and what they can do for him in the future. Maybe I’m just being a conspiracy theorist here, but stuff like this is common practice on the show, so why would cutting Sasha be any different?

Julia I don’t get what your point there is, Bentley. You say there could be other reasons besides height, so what ARE they? You didn’t really explain them. To me it does look like it was mostly a height thing (apparently Deena was upset she couldn’t get him a spot which makes it seem like they want him around) which makes me wonder if that was part of the reason why they seemed so hell bent on keeping Simone out of the Finals last season (there’s a rumor that in recent seasons pros who make the finals are guaranteed a spot the next season, and it seems possible they didn’t want to have to guarantee him one). I also think it has to do with Mark being back and getting priority for the short ladies (if there were more Sasha could have gotten one but it’s just Lindsey). They do cut pros a lot though, but usually it’s only once and once they’re back, they’re back, so it’s weird Sasha has been sent to troupe twice after being a pro.

Bentley Yeah, the fact that pros are cut so much just shows how expendable they are to production. And as for my point, I am not sure exactly what the reason behind their narrative is, but it’s been there for ages now. It seems like the show is trying to push certain celebrities and pros over others, which is nothing new. Basically, Sasha is just the newest victim of the system.

Bentley Anyway, enough with that. XD Here’s my question for this week: Do you think that Debbie was eliminated on Tuesday mainly because it seemed as though she didn’t stand out on Monday, or do you think she just wasn’t getting the votes in general? Personally, I think it might be a little bit of both, even though I personally loved her Quickstep on Monday. It seems as though that people were voting frantically for the people they love the most because of how close the scores were, and since the votes might not have been as widespread from the general public, she might have been forgotten over some of the people who the audience was trying to save most desperately. But, at the end of the day, she did get low scores, and being that the range of people in the audience of the show are getting younger and younger, it was not too shocking of a turnout.

Julia I think the bulk of the votes went to maybe 4 or 5 people, and the rest got the table scraps. I believe this is usual for the show, so who goes home of the “table scraps” people each week depends on who was good or memorable. So I think Debbie being forgettable and not one of the heavy-hitters in votes were both factors in her elimination.

Tweet us more questions on Twitter, and we will answer them on the blog!

Week 3 Predictions

Bentley So, going by the current leaderboard, Nikki and Nick are tied at the bottom. It is clearly possible that either one of them could be out next, but I also have my eye on Terrell and, to a lesser extent, Derek. Nick was kind of dull this week, which leads to believe that he had a slight drop in votes from last week, but I still think that the 98 Degrees fans might be boosting him along a bit, plus it seems like the good-looking guys who might not necessarily have the flashiest personality end up going further in the competition than a lot of people think. As for Nikki, I want to say that she is going to be fine this week in terms of votes, but I’m a bit unsure about that. And the reason why I put Terrell on this list is because Terrell was a bit uninspiring, which might lead to an elimination, but at the same time, I am always bad at determining sports figures’ fan bases, and maybe Terrell has a bigger base the others on the bottom of the leaderboard. And as for Derek, I am leaning to think that he is the least in danger out of the four I just named, but there is always a sacrificial lamb, and by the looks of Twitter, it seems like people expect it to be him. But if I had a gun to my head and had to give one definitive prediction, I would say that Terrell is going this week. And if not him, I’m going to say Nick.

Julia Nick will probably be safe after being called in jeopardy on Tuesday, and I’m inclined to believe Nikki has fans who are actually voting. I think it’s Terrell or Derek. Terrell hasn’t come across in the best light so far, and Derek seems to be the scapegoat right now. It could go either way, but I guess I’ll go with Terrell being slightly more likely to go.

Dream As of now I think Nikki or Terrell will be going home.

Next Week…

For week 3 of the show, it is Guilty Pleasures Night, featuring songs that we all seem to bop our heads to! Plus, there will be the next elimination of the season! According to this week’s DWTS press release, here are the dances that will be performed for Monday night:

Derek Fisher and Sharna Burgess will dance a Cha-Cha-Cha to The Fresh Prince of Bel Air by DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince
Drew Scott and Emma Slater will dance an Argentine Tango to Red Right Hand by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Frankie Muniz and Witney Carson will dance a Samba to It’s Gonna Be Me by *NSYNC
Jordan Fisher and Lindsay Arnold will dance a Charleston to The Glory Days by Michael Giacchino
Lindsey Stirling and Mark Ballas will dance a Jive to Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go by Wham!
Nick Lachey and Peta Murgatroyd will dance Jazz to Jump (For My Love) by The Pointer Sisters
Nikki Bella and Artem Chigvintsev will dance a Viennese Waltz to Love on the Brain by Rihanna
Sasha Pieterse and Gleb Savchenko will dance Jazz to I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch) by Four Tops
Terrell Owens and Cheryl Burke will dance a Salsa to The Breaks by Kurtis Blow
Vanessa Lachey and Maks Chmerkovskiy will dance Jazz to Girls Just Want to Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper
Victoria Arlen and Val Chmerkovskiy will dance a Quickstep to Tubthumping by Chumbawamba