Season 34 of Dancing with the Stars (DWTS) was another successful year in the books.There is a lot that can be talked about, and a lot that could be changed. With controversy of the mirrorball winner, tension between other contestants, rigged eliminations, Dancing with the Stars is filled with drama this season.
Andy Richter was the people’s princess this season on DWTS; even though he ended up last on the leaderboard every Tuesday, fans desperately voted to keep him in the show. Don’t get me wrong, I love Andy, and I love the type of person he is, but he wasn’t really doing much dancing related skills in his routines besides moving his arms and legs, and dancing around his partner Emma Slater. The reason why I thought he should have got eliminated earlier in the season, is because he was taking the opportunity from many other contestants that were giving their all, contestants that received way better scores then Andy did.
For example, Danielle Fishel with her partner Pasha Pashkov were eliminated a week before Andy, and received way higher scores then he has ever had on the season so far. Danielle and her partner are not the only couple that was robbed by the votes, so was Jen Affelack, Scott Hoying, even Lauren Jauregui. All of these contestants showed skills that were above and beyond Andy’s dance moves throughout the season. After all, this is a dance competition, and I am not saying that people should vote for the contestants that are rude, it just should not be a “we-should-vote-Andy-because-we-love-him” type of thought process when it comes to voting.
Season 34 was a big hit, as voting surpassed every other season, setting a new record for most number of votes on Dancing with the Stars ever! The winner this season was Robert Irwin, cutting close ties with Alix Earle. Personally, I think that Alix should have been the one taking the mirrorball home, as her freestyle to the song “Maneater” rocked the whole ballroom, while Robert’s improv dance was a little iffy. I feel like DWTS needs to get rid of how impactful the voting method is, because— as we learned from Robert and Andy— the public has too much control over the fate of the contestants.
Overall, I really liked the twists and turns the journey of this show brought, and I would suggest this season to anyone. I feel like this season is very broad, and appeals to everyone. There may be moments that make you want to jump out of your seat in frustration, but that all contributes to the fun of watching a show as intriguing as this, without any spoilers of course.
