“DWTS” Season 33 Finale Stops Just Short of Great

Kit Humbarger

Managing Editor

“DWTS” Season 33 Finale Stops Just Short of Great

On Nov. 26, Dancing with the Stars (DWTS) hosted its 33rd season finale. The three-hour special was filled with incredible performances and tear-jerking camaraderie between the contestants, but the judges’ favoritism and drawing-out of the event created a lackluster show.

The night kicked off with a recap of each finalist’s journey throughout the season. Each judge took turns highlighting the star’s improvements and their favorite dances from the past weeks.  

A high-energy performance by the DWTS professional troupe started off the first round of dancing. The contestants revisited dance styles that needed improvement from past weeks. They performed two jives, a cha-cha, a tango, and a quickstep. Mini dances from the professional troupe, this season’s eliminated stars, and last season’s Mirrorball champions Xochitl Gomez and Val Chmerkovskiy were scattered between the finalists’ performances. DWTS judge Derek Hough and pro dancer Mark Ballas also performed an Argentine Tango for the crowd.

In the second half, the stars performed freestyle routines, allowing them to express their creativity fully. Each pair delivered a show-stopping dance, emphasizing their unique skills and passions. After a tense wait, The Bachelor star Joey Graziadei and pro dancer Jenna Johnson were announced the winners.

The dances were the highlight of the night. Each pair emphasized their own personal narrative, blending it with traditional dance styles to create unique and captivating performances. From the meaningful choreography to the elaborate costumes, each star produced authentic stories to share with the audience. 

The genuine friendships between the stars and the professionals are another focal point of the show. The pairs are fighting to win, but there is no tension between them off of the dance floor. Social media is filled with videos of the contestants having fun behind-the-scenes and spending time together off of the show. This builds a positive environment for the competition, and the audience views the contestants in a higher regard. 

A major downside of the show was its length. With commercials, the show ran just under three hours, making it longer than most movies. It was easy to become disengaged in the show during the wait between performances. 

Another complaint circling the Internet was the clear bias from the judges. Viewers criticized judge Carrie Ann Inaba for her obvious favoritism towards certain stars, and her confusing critique towards others. Her actions created an unfair judging field for the stars, shining a light on her personal opinions instead of providing professional judgement for the contestants. 

While the reveal of the champions was exciting to watch, it was definitely not worth the three-hour wait. For those looking to watch the dances and skip over the extensive commentary, clips of the performances were posted on social media.