"DWTS" Finale, Part 2: We Have A Winner!

May 20, 2014

Aaaannndd…It’s Meryl and Maks! Can we really say we’re surprised? After a whole season of rave reviews from the judges—not to mention some pretty obvious chemistry—Maks and Meryl were a shoe-in for that coveted Mirror Ball Trophy. Check out our recap of the final episode below, plus some throwback pictures of the final three couples from earlier in the season.

This is everything.

Never ones to rest on their laurels, Maks and Meryl’s final performance was just as good as everything else they’ve done this season. They earned perfect scores for their dancing on Monday night, and last night’s foxtrot/cha-cha fusion got them another perfect 30. Even though the dancing itself was great, I was just blown away by Meryl’s stage presence. That girl can really give some face. And really, despite the intricate choreography, I loved that they just ran up to the top of the stage at the end, like two excited little kids.

So cute!

 

 

 

Third place went to Candace and Mark. Candace definitely overcame her periodic performance jitters and was especially adorable during the rehearsal footage. She and Mark performed a solid samba/quickstep fusion with Candace in an awesome bright red jumpsuit that I need to own. We can all relate to how much she’s grown over the season, and even though she might not be the best dancer, she seems genuinely happy to learn and watch herself improve. It’s obvious why she has such a big fan-base.

Total trust.

 

 

Amy and Derek were the runners-up, dancing a cha-cha/tango fusion. It was…okay. It wasn’t my favorite performance—it just didn’t pop like the other two dances. That said, they’ve been consistently impressive throughout the season and their confidence in each other definitely shows up in their dancing.

 

 

 

 

 

Of course there were all kinds of extra performances throughout the night. Most impressive was Peta and James’ encore of their amazing freestyle dance. Kind of like The Hunger Games? Shirtless James? Backflips? Fierce ladies? Um, yes please. I was obsessed with it, and was really happy to get to see it again.

So long to “DWTS.” Now, take a breather and get excited for “So You Think You Can Dance!”