Much of tonight’s episode of Dancing with the Stars consisted of replaying moments from over the season, and allowing the eliminated celebrities to dance again. That was all probably very nice for them, because they got to show viewers all the skills they’d spent time improving since they left the show. About halfway into the show, we learned Ricki Lake received the lowest amount of votes and therefore was not going to win the Mirror Ball trophy. This was particularly shocking to me because she was who I was hoping would win, and Derek Hough provided her with what was the best choreography of the season.
That left it between Rob Kardashian and J.R. Martinez, who are each exceptional dancers in different ways. While J.R. started off the season with clear dancing ability and established himself as a serious competitor rather early, Rob’s skills developed over time, which means viewers might find him to be the more compelling and deserving celebrity to win.
And then the winners were finally announced, and they were J.R. and Karina! They seemed ecstatic to hear their names called, and Tom Bergeron told J.R. he was an inspiration to all involved with the show. J.R. took time to thank everyone who voted for them over the course of the competition, and told Karina he was honored to be the person she was going to share her first Mirror Ball trophy with.
Congratulations to the winners!
