Spoiler Warning: This review contains spoilers for season 33 of “Dancing with the Stars”

As a second-year viewer of “Dancing with the Stars” (DWTS), this season may have been the most random and unexpected season of the show we have ever received. While I may not be an expert in dance, here is my opinion on the finale and who should’ve really won Dancing with the Stars based on the season.

Danny and Witney (5th place)

If you told me that Danny and Witney had made it to the finale of DWTS at the beginning of the season I would have never believed you. Danny Amendola started off the competition with unsure footing and even less steps in his dances. I hate to say it, but he ended the season with the same thing. Something I noticed with this pairing is that the judges as well as the public loved Danny when he stood and did intricate tricks with Witney rather than actually dance with her. I’m not saying this is necessarily a bad thing as lifts are a hard skill to learn however Ilona and Alan included lifts in their routines while dancing together (and Ilona was in heels while doing both the lifting and the dancing). I found myself waiting for Danny to do more or perform some sort of step but it was always Witney’s choreography in the end that left me impressed and wanting more. 

Stephen and Rylee (4th place)

Out of all the celebrities on Dancing with the Stars this season, Stephen Nedoroscik was the only name I recognized as the cheerful pommel-horse Olympian. I was always rooting for him and Rylee from the start because of their cheerful attitude and uplifting spirits. But, if I were to take two couples out of the finale sadly it would have been Stephen and Rylee, and Danny and Witney. While I appreciated the team effort and not wanting any other contestants to be eliminated, they became stagnant in the competition after his third or fourth episode. His first jive was impressive and showed off his athleticism well even though he was rushing in front of the beat. It felt like the criticism he received from the judges was the same every episode and that he wasn’t improving his rhythm or the timing of his dancing. Even with his rhythm struggles, I really appreciated Rylee’s efforts to push through to the finale and create a brilliant freestyle dance that incorporated both his love of gymnastics and dance. In my opinion, this pairing had the best freestyle of the whole finale which is why they deserve fourth place in my rankings.

Ilona and Alan (3rd place)

Ilona Maher, a professional and Olympic rugby player is by far the most entertaining and empowering celebrity we’ve seen in the finale in a long time. Looking back at her progress throughout the season, I had a hard time placing her and Alan in third or fourth place. Yes, she had shown tremendous improvement in the last episode however that was truly the only episode where I saw any true technical improvement. While I loved her online social media presence, and her message about empowering young women, I felt like Alan’s choreography didn’t reach her true dance potential. With that being said I do think in some ways she earned her second place spot with the amount of lifts she conducted throughout the season as no other female competitor on Dancing with the Stars has been able to lift their male partner before.

Chandler and Brandon (2nd place)

Chandler Kinney and Brandon Armstrong used to be my top picks for this season. So, in the hearts of all Dancing with the Stars fans, we have miserably failed this pairing in public voting and overall support. Chandler and Brandon deserved second place this season and quite honestly if we were basing placements on the finale dances only, they would have won in my opinion. Their last dance was an artistic masterpiece and should be nominated for an award as it pays tribute to so many wonderful artists and black dancers including the Nicholas Brothers and more. I do agree that Chandler started off almost too strong at the start of the competition which made it tougher for her to improve in the show which is ultimately what Dancing with the Stars is about. The only reason I think she shouldn’t have won the whole competition is because Jenna gave Joey harder choreography earlier in the season.

Joey and Jenna (1st place)

28th bachelor and tennis instructor Joey Grazieadei shocked us all with his dance moves and shocking rhythm when he first appeared in season 33 of Dancing with the Stars. This might not come as a huge surprise but I actually agree with the judges and the general public that Joey Graziadei and Jenna Johnson deserved the win this season. While many people based their opinions on the finale performance alone, if we look at the rest of the season, overall Joey has had the most improvement as a celebrity on the show, which is what the judges repeatedly looked for when scoring. Jenna also tended to give tougher choreography throughout the season as well which is why it made more sense for the pairing to win the Mirrorball trophy. I think his finale performance lacked emotional relatability as it felt more like a commercial or feel-good dance than anything else but that shouldn’t take away from the rest of the great dances he and Jenna had from the rest of the season. Some of my favorite dances included their Samba on Disney night and their very first dance to “Dancin in the Country.”

So what did I take away from the finale and this season of Dancing with the Stars? Honestly, it wasn’t my favorite choice to have 5 pairings in the finale as I think it just stretched out the season even longer. I also think that the social media presence this season was by far the best it’s ever been and is something the cast and celebrities should strive to continue for future seasons as this is the most viewership the show has ever had. Lastly, even though the fan voting may have interfered with the technical dance opinion of the judges and the results of the competition, I don’t think it actually took away from who ultimately won the competition and the overall spirit of the show.

On this blog, members of the Carmel High School chapter of the Quill and Scroll International Honorary Society for High School Journalists (and the occasional guest writer) produce curations of all facets of popular culture, from TV shows to music to novels to technology. We hope our readers always leave with something new to muse over. Click here to read more from the MUSE Winter Collection.