Dancing With the Stars had subtle undertones of Most Memorable Year without actually calling it that. The videos dug deeper into the celebrities' backgrounds and brought forth a Costco-size Kleenex box of emotions. It resulted in a stronger week of dance versus Disney Night.
The show has often been guilty of forcing narratives for many years from showmances to injuries. The one thing DWTS hasn't trusted is that dance is dramatic all on its own. Tonight, the producers threw out all of those devices and let it all happen organically, and guess what? The show was authentic.
There wasn't a dry eye in the house for Skai Jackson's tribute to former Disney Channel co-star Cameron Boyce. Johnny Weir on the ballroom floor was the passionate Johnny Weir we know and love from the Olympic ice. It was hard to contain the joy pouring from Justina Machado's soul and Vernon Davis and Peta Murgatroyd smoldered in the Rumba.
Even after typing half of this article, the final moments delivered messy drama that no one anticipated — cue cards that had the wrong names of who was in the bottom two. While Twitter is erroneously pointing their fingers at host Tyra Banks before getting an explanation from ABC, the show now has to work its way out of a sticky situation. Everything must be precise to follow Federal Communications Commission regulations because it's a competition show and DWTS needs to quell the conspiracy theories that are bound to grow out of this misstep.
Week 4 from start to finish hit all of the emotional notes we ask for in a dance competition show — tears, heat, joy and some darn good dancing. It delivered an unexpected and suspenseful finish. So does DWTS even need to bother with a theme? It turns out a good old Foxtrot and Samba delivered something more than a two-hour Disney infomercial.
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