Supernatural 9x06 "Heaven Can't Wait"

Oh my goodness, guess what! Sam was not in mortal danger for an entire episode for the first time this season! There was no sign of Zeke, other than Dean not wanting Cas to hang around Sam long enough to possibly realize something is up with him.

"Steve" contributing to modern society.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Kevin has returned to the bunker with some translations of the spell that sent the angels to Earth. However, he was only able to translate them into some ancient, dead, language that no one speaks anymore. When it comes time to put in the research hours, Dean is especially happy to get a call from Castiel, who is holing up in Idaho working at a gas-n-sip as probably the most efficient sales associate ever. There have been mysterious deaths, so Dean decides to take on the case while Kevin and Sam work on the translations.

See, people have been apparently spontaneously exploding, though of course we know it must be some kind of angel wizardry because we see one of the people go kabluey in the opener thanks to an angel hand to the forehead. Only this time it blasts pink spray everywhere. That's a new one. The only thing that seems to be connecting these deaths is that all of the victims seem to have some sort of depression.

Dean's not an idiot, though, so he figures that if Cas knew about this stuff going down, then he's probably nearby. How he finds him at the particular gas-n-sip he's working at, I don't know, but then Dean's a hunter who specializes in such things, so...? But if Dean can find him that easily, he doesn't seem that well hidden. ANYway, Dean finds him and Cas basically is like ummm I'm just living my human life and that's fine and btw my boss asked me out on a date tonight so leave me alone. But Dean is having none of that and convinces him to go along on the case for at least a little bit, in case he knows anything helpful.

The unlikely trio?

Meanwhile, back in the bunker, Sam and Kevin have figured out that there is one person there who happens to know a lot of languages. That's right, our dear friend Crowley, still locked up. He is less than enthused at the idea of helping them, and only agrees to do so if he gets a phone call to Hell. Though they are anxious about such a call, eventually they agree, and Kevin supplies him with some blood. Again, begs the question, if Sam has supplied the blood, would Crowley have detected the angelic nature of it? A bit convenient that he insisted on Kevin's. Hmm.

Basically, he calls up Abaddon, only to find out that her new regime in Hell equals cashing in on all of his deals early, which Crowley is not exactly thrilled about. She is not one to be fearful of any of his bluster, so he's basically screwed for now since it doesn't seem like any demons are particularly on the hunt for him. He translates the spell stuff, only to find out that there is no way to reverse it. No getting the angels back in to Heaven. That is, if he's telling the truth.

Let's be honest, this one is just for hotness factor.

Back in Idaho, Dean and Cas find the remains of another victim, and Cas recognizes the pink spray. It's the work of a particular type of angel that used to take the souls of those mortally wounded in battle in Heaven. Only now the angel is on Earth and can't distinguish, so it just killing anyone who feels particularly depressed. Sure.

Dean goes to find the angel, only first he has to drop Cas off for his big date. Sadly, though, it turns out it wasn't a date after all. Rather, his boss was asking him to babysit while she goes on a date with someone else. While she's gone, of course, the bad angel killer shows up. He was able to find Cas due to his epic amounts of man pain about being human and not able to help his angel brethren anymore. Things do not look so good for Cas, but Dean figures out the angel is there and shows up just in time. Though he gets knocked down, he does throw an angel blade to Cas just in time to kill the Ephram dude.

In the end, Dean drops Cas back off at the gas-n-sip. Cas is wondering what he can do to help the angels, but Dean, having heard from Sam, knows there's no way to get them back to Heaven, so rather than tell Cas that bit of news, just says they'll take care of it and he can keep on his merry human way. Oh Dean, always with the lies.

Meanwhile, back at the bunker, Sam notices a missing needle and finds Crowley plunging more of Kevin's blood into himself. As we may remember, the human blood makes Crowley feel more human feelings, so basically he's wanting to feel them more by doing it to himself. Interesting...

Random Thoughts:

- I totally thought when Sam was in the bathroom by himself cleaning that blood off that he was going to have some moment where he was like, something is not right here. Not about the blood, but about himself. Not quite yet, I guess!

- Do we really think there's no way to get the angels back to Heaven? There must be, just not by reversing the spell.

- Will Castiel ever get his grace back? It's actually kind of nice to see him doing the human thing. And honestly I don't miss the trenchcoat, though I'm sure others are in a tizzy.

- It was really sad when Cas was realizing that he wasn't there for a date but rather to babysit. Poor guy can't catch a break.

- What happens if Crowley keeps injecting himself? Does he become fully human, or just remembers more human emotions, or...? I do like the development that he's interested in doing it to himself, shows that it wasn't something that wore off, but rather had a lasting effect.

Quotes:

High School Girl: Why can't he dump me on Facebook like a normal person?

Dean: My dates usually end when I run out of singles.

Dean: Listen to me, always open the door for her, okay? Ask a lot of questions, they like that. And uh, and if she says she's happy to go Dutch, she's lying. Go get 'em tiger.

Crowley: I keep my agreements.

Previous Episode -- Next Episode

Supernatural 9x05 "Dog Dean Afternoon"

I think they kind of set themselves up for high expectations with the opening previously bit. It was all clips from past funny episodes, thereby making us expect this episode to also be super funny. Did it succeed? Eh. I personally didn't find it all that funny, though maybe others did. For me it was more hokey than funny.

Shush, Sam, I have become the dog whisperer.

But the show was due for a more lighthearted episode after so many bleaker ones focused on the overall arc. Though they've been holed up in the Men of Letters bunker for a while know, ostensibly to let Sam heal from the trials, Sam is ready to get back to hunting. Dean, of course, is less than receptive to the idea, knowing all the secrety secrets that he does about Sam being angelfied inside. But, Sam will not be denied. They must go find out what happened to a man whose entire skeleton was seemingly broken.

They don't have a whole lot to go on when they research what happened to said dead taxidermist. Is it a giant snake monster because he was constricted to death? But also venomized, which apparently one snake alone cannot do both? Well, guess what, another dude is killed in a completely different animal-y way, so that can't be it! Oh no! What to do! How about we ask the dog that happened to be at both crime scenes!

The way to a dog's heart? Belly rubs.

Yes. We're going to ask the dog, because he barked at a guy in a cowboy hat, which seemed very suspiciously helpful. So Dean takes this potion that allows him to mind meld with the dog, named Colonel, who happens to have a gravelly voice and is generally sort of ornery. Colonel tells them all he can about the man in the hat, but it's not really enough. Good thing that this spell also allows Dean to hear other animals too, because he can interview the other dogs from the pound where the second murder happened.

So they talk to some more dogs, give one a hefty belly rub, and after setting them free, figure out that the bad guy in question is a local chef. He's doing some kind of shaman spell that involves eating animal parts to gain the aspects of the animal. Hence the snake-like kill and the other face-slashy kill. And he has a whole lot of other body parts to choose from. They track him down to his restaurant and have themselves some fisticuffs. Sam gets rather badly scratched by the guy and Zeke takes over to heal him, which makes the guy like oh shizz, I better eat you because that is some crazy healing power going on. So, he knocks Sam out.

Of course, Dean finds them and gets to hear him blather on about having cancer and there being no cure apart from this shaman spell, blah blah. Ultimately, Dean manages to lead the guy outside and calls on his dog posse that he let go from the pound earlier to basically rip the guy apart. Dead guy is dead.

Sam is becoming more and more aware that there's something weird going on with him, because Dean is terrible at coming up with decent lies that don't sound like obvious lies. And Dean loses the power of animal-speak just as the Colonel was about to tell him what a dog's purpose is, since it's really not being man's best friend. Ba dum bum.

Random Thoughts:

- I mean, I guess I'm glad they didn't go too overboard with the dog stuff becoming one with Dean, but even still it was kind of weird. Like looking at the poodle all sexy-like just felt stupid rather than funny. Maybe I'm the only one who feels this way, who knows.

- How long until THE TRUTH comes out? And what is Sam going to do once he finds out? Will Zeke get the boot, or does he really have some secret plan for doing what he's doing? It always seems like everyone has some kind of secret plan.

- This episode really just made me want to watch some of the better funny episodes of the past. Yellow Fever. Wishful Thinking. Tall Tales. Changing Channels. Ghostfacers. Ah, good times, good times.

Quotes:

Dean: All right, let's keep digging. But not here. I don't like the way that owl's looking at me.

Dean: Hey, you know who wears sunglasses inside? Blind people. And douchebags.

Sorry, that's all I have. I just didn't think it was super funny this week. Feel free to add any of your favorite quotes in the comments!

Previous Episode -- Next Episode

Supernatural 9x03 "I'm No Angel"

Last week's episode was all about the demons. This week's is all about the angels. Speaking of angels, just where has our favorite angel, or former angel, been up to since last we saw him on the side of the road somewhere? The Winchesters are wondering about that as well, because the angels are out to get him, so they better find him first. Also, Zeke seemed to imply that maybe the angels and demons would start working together to find him, but maybe I just heard it wrong and he was just talking about the angels getting organized.

Rollin' rollin' rollin'

Anywho, the angels are indeed getting organized, thanks to the online presence of a reverend who is telling the masses to let in the angels. Yeah, they're getting vessels much easier now. The angel at the top of this new food chain? Bartholomew. He's taken up where Naomi left off, it seems, and is spearheading the search for Castiel. One may wonder why they're so intent on finding him since it just seems like revenge times, but it turns out that they think he must know how to reverse what happened. Alas and alack.

Just what has Cas been up to? Basically hanging around homeless shelters and generally finding out what it's like to be a human - hungry, cold, etc. And that the people who have the least tend to be most generous, which is a sad and also true fact, it would seem. Some of the other homeless guys share their food with him, and also a cute waitress... who shares more than just a PB&J, oh ho!

Meanwhile, the boys are on Cas' trail. But they're not the only ones. Bartholomew has hired a special Reaper who I guess works as a tracker. See, Cas was smart and got a tattoo to ward off angel detection, so they can't find him so easily. But they know that Sam and Dean will be looking for him, so a Reaper starts tailing them. But, duh, the Winchesters aren't so easily tailed without their knowledge. They capture him, find out the dealio, then shove the angel blade through his skull. Lovely.

I whip my hair back and forth

Cas gets to have a nice night with the aforementioned cute waitress, April. And you want to trust her, you really do, but you know how things work on this show. Come the morning after, we find out she's not really April anymore, but rather another Reaper hired to find Cas. And apparently these Reapers are also of the angelic variety? I guess we'd never seen one die before, but they glow just like the other angels.

Reaper April starts torturing Cas for information on how to get Heaven back, but of course he doesn't know how to do it, only that maybe because Metatron took his grace for the spell that maybe he's important in reversing it. Things aren't looking too good, but that's when Sam and Dean burst in to go all heroic. Alas, this time around, they do not prove victorious in time. Yes, Dean does manage to kill April, who I keep wanting to call Amy, but before he does, she delivers a fatal stab to Castiel's fair stomach.

Yes, fatal. But, luckily for him, and for Dean's psyche, Sam has an angel riding shotgun inside of him. Zeke comes forward and heals Cas, but not without a physical cost to himself (or is it to Sam?). Nonetheless, Cas is alive.

Thanks for the se---oh wait.

They bring him back to the bunker, but Zeke is quick to inform Dean that he can't stay. That he's a danger to them, a beacon to other Reapers and angels looking for him, despite the tattoo and the underground nature of the bunker. Dean is obviously very against the idea of tossing his friend out on the street, but Zeke says that if Cas doesn't go, he'll leave Sam's body. Which means Sam would probably die.

So, Dean has to tell Cas he has to leave. Poor wittle Cas. He's never looked so sad. Whatever will he do without the support of the Winchesters?


Random Thoughts:

- Angels enter through the mouth as well? I guess we've never actually seen it. The parallels to demons never ceases.

- The guy playing Bartholomew looked really familiar. Anyone know what else he's been in? Same goes for the girl playing April, I know I've seen her in something before. I almost feel like maybe she's actually been on this show before. You know they love to recycle people.

- What if the angels and demons start working together? Chaos! Anarchy! What would they be working for, exactly? One never knows, but it could be an unexpected turn of events.

- Do we think Cas will get his grace back? And if so, before the end of the season? Do you think they'd ever actually kill him off for good? I can see him sacrificing himself in some way.

- When the boys found out Cas had sex with the girl... that scene was pretty priceless.

Quotes:

Castiel: Do you ever tire of urinating? I'll never get used to it.

Sam: I grabbed you real bacon and eggs, extra grease. Not even gonna argue.

Sam: Look at these chemicals, do you even read the label?
Dean: No. I read pie. The rest is just blah blah blah.

Dean: Never do that again!
Castiel: All right.

Cas: You lied.
Dean: I did. I do that.

Dean: I haven't seen half of the nerdy stuff you do, doesn't mean you don't do nerdy stuff.

Dean: So, did you have protection?
Cas: I had my angel blade.
Dean: He had the angel blade.

Previous Episode -- Next Episode

Supernatural 7x20 "The Girl with the Dungeons and Dragons Tattoo"

As far as guest stars go, I'd say Felicia Day is probably one of my favorites so far. I think any nerdy girl can agree, it's nice to see someone we can relate to, right? Especially when she uses her smarts to do some cool crap.

Would you like to play a game? War Games references FTW!

In any event, now that Ghost Bobby has made himself known to the boys, he is able to finally tell them what he had learned back all those episodes ago when he was shot. That the place for the coordinates was for a dig site. The Leviathans are planning to basically build human slaughterhouses, but first they will make everyone complacent with their turduckens, cure all of any ills, and once the people have been turned into mindless sheep, lead them to their deaths. Fun for all!

But before they can really think about that for anything more than a few seconds, they get a bing on the computer - an email from one late Frank Devereaux, who had set up a device to send Sam and Dean a warning that his harddrive was being hacked, and it just happened to have all of their information on it. But hey, they're able to locate the hard drive in question. Where is it? Um. In the middle of Dick Roman headquarters! Oh joy of joys!

And just who is cracking it? That would be one Charlie Bradbury (or whatever her real name is!), an employee there who happens to excel at hacking. Dick gives her the job, personally, of getting into that hard drive. Only, once she does get into it, her curiosity gets the best of her, and she opens up some of the files, leading her to all of the information on the Leviathans. Since she's semi-normal, she takes Frank to be a Loony Tunes McGee, but when she sees Dick's crony actually turn her manager into one of them before her very eyes, well, that's probably enough to convince anyone, right?

Just in time, too, because Dean and Sam have tracked her down. Once they get on the same page about what's going on, they've got a plan: Charlie will have to break into Dick's office from the inside in order to find the secret information on what the Leviathans have been searching for, or something, even though we hadn't really been made aware they were searching for something until now. She also needs to erase the hard drive, because obviously if Dick knows she could've seen what's on there about him, she would not be long for this world.

We're not here to hurt you. Just to look pretty.

Since the Winchesters are on every Leviathan's radar, they're stuck in a van while Charlie goes inside to get the job done. Bobby, meanwhile, has grown sulky, because the boys did not want to let him tag along to help with his ghostly powers. So what does he do? Uses his ghostly powers to swayze his flask into Charlie's bag. Why are the brothers so reluctant to let him come along? Because he could go vengeful spirit on Dick, and if he goes down that route, there won't be any getting him back.

Once inside, Charlie manages to maneuver herself into Dick's office via a hilarious flirting session with a guard, and they are able to access his email. It turns out that there's a delivery of a special package about to happen nearby, so Sam and Dean head off to intercept it while Charlie hangs back to finish her job. So just what is in this mysterious package? Some kind of red clay. What may be inside the clay is left for another episode. They switch the package for a Borax bomb.

Only Charlie did not have a chance to make it out of the building before Dick and the package toting crony get bombed. He locks down the joint and goes after her. Things don't look good for our plucky heroine, but Ghost Bobby comes to her rescue this time, knocking her out of the way (and, whoopsie, breaking her arm!), then going after Dick himself. Sam and Dean show up in time to whisk Charlie away, and also the flask, so Bobby can't go 100% vengeful.

They get Charlie's arm fixed up and set her up with a bus ticket to parts unknown to start over. I'm glad she survived, it would've been sad to see her go. But they are more concerned about this whole Ghost Bobby situation. But for now there's not a whole lot to be done about it. Que sera sera.


Random Thoughts:

- Okay. We get it. Bobby says idjits. He doesn't need to say it every single episode.

- The dude who plays Dick Roman has always reminded me of someone, and I've never been able to figure out who... until tonight! I figured it out! Gary Cole. He reminds me of Gary Cole, so good at the evil smarm.

- OMG. Sam talking Harry Potter to Charlie? LOVE. You know I'm a Harry Potter dork. Any of you out there on Pottermore? Not to get sidetracked, but I could really talk about that sorting hat test for at least an hour.

- Interesting use of splitscreen, reminded me of Ocean's 11 or something. Not so sure about using that "hours earlier" device twice in one episode, though I'm sure it was meant to all be part of that same break-in spy show vibe. I did enjoy the reveal of Sam and Dean in that airport scene. Jensen can rock a baseball cap, am I right?

- Anyone know what her ringtone was? It was so quick I didn't really have a chance to figure it out!

- What's with the red clay? Is there something inside? What could it possibly be?

Quotes:

Dean: Baby?

Charlie: Is this real life?

Charlie: I should've taken that job at Google.

Charlie: I sing when I'm nervous, don't judge me.
Dean: Judgment free zone.

Charlie: I was drunk. It was ComicCon.
Dean: We've all been there.

Dean: This never happened.

Sam: Charlie, you're a genius.
Charlie: Yeah. It's a problem.

Dean: She's kinda like the little sister I never wanted.

Previous Episode -- Next Episode

SYTYCD S8: Top 4 Perform

Hmm. Is it just me, or was tonight's finale kind of lackluster? Lacking some definite luster. I think maybe three routines stood out to me out of the ten partner dances. 30% is not the best percentage. And, also? Tonight was a prime example of ridiculously overpraising guest judges. Not to get all rude up in here, but Katie Holmes basically said the exact same thing for every routine. At least Kenny Ortega mixed things up, but neither of them once said anything bad, and there was some bad stuff to be seen, I think we can all agree.

Observation: all of the dances they did with the all-stars were in their own style while the ones with each other seemed to try to make them step more outside the box. This drawing things out of a hat business is clearly bunk.

I'm going to go through by dancer, in their solo dancing order. Up first...

Melanie - Though I'm not sure her solo quite lived up to the one she did last week, I still feel she has the most heartfelt and quietly powerful solos this season. She can do so much with just the smallest movement, and that's what everyone has come to love about her. Were all of her partner dances tonight as powerful? Ehhh... I think, by far, her best routine of the night was with Tadd in their Ray Leeper piece. She had great attitude and dancing to match. Her worst routine of the night, however, opened the show, and was especially sad since it was a reunion with her longtime partner Marko. But their Doriana Sanchez disco just could not be called great by any means. The lifts were labored, and honestly I found the camerawork really distracting. Not to mention the slow song choice. I termed it "weird." And not in a good way. Rounding out the middle were her two contemporary pieces - the first with all-star Robert in a Stacey Tookey contemporary number that just felt like most other contemporary numbers I've already seen, there really wasn't anything extra magical about it for me. The other was, oh me oh my, also choreographed by Stacey Tookey and danced with Sasha. It was fine. Honestly they had so much dancing to do tonight, you can't expect them all to be amazing.

Marko - I think Marko's solo tonight was the best solo he's demonstrated in the competition ever. He really seemed to put his heart and soul into it, and it showed. Marko's best routine of the night was easily the contemporary piece he had with all-star Lauren, choreographed by Tessandra Chavez. They had such a great connection; everything about it was incredibly heartfelt and powerful, but not in an overpowering way, if that makes sense. Honestly my favorite routine of the night, period. I've already mentioned the dismal disco debacle (alliteration!) earlier. Bluck. His second best routine of the night was the Broadway number danced with Sasha and choreographed by Spencer Liff. It had a certain lightness and playful nature to it that was nice to see, as sometimes things can get too dark and sad. Nigel was negative about his performance but, whatever Nigel. The final routine of the evening was the gumboot stepping piece he had with Tadd, choreographed by Chuck Maldonado. I'm... not so sure about this one. I know that the gumboot thing is in the name of the style of dance, but those boots were seriously distracting, and looked incredibly hard to dance in. I can barely walk well in those non-bendy boots. I didn't get it, to be honest.

Tadd - Tadd has had to do a lot of solos over the course of this season, but you know what? I never get tired of seeing them. I love that he brings the sense of humor and uses the stage in unexpected ways. Not to mention his always surprising music choices. Tadd's best piece of the evening was the previously mentioned Ray Leeper routine with Melanie. Though, I must admit that my favorite part of the whole thing was afterward when Cat said, "When all else fails, bring out a pair of comedy boxers." Comedy boxers! Can we please make this a phrase? Tadd's worst piece of the evening was undoubtedly his Mark Ballas choreographed cha cha with Sasha. Egads was that bad. They had absolutely no sexual chemistry, seemed to miss a lot of the moves just slightly. All in all, a serious struggle. And seriously, Sasha looked like a giant next to him! I already talked about that gumboot routine he had with Marko, which I also termed "weird." Two weirds in one night! Not a great sign. But I will say that I thought Tadd was doing the stepping slightly better than Marko. Finally, Tadd's all-star piece was with season four winner Joshua in a Lil C hip hop. Now don't get me wrong, I love Lil C, but I'm rarely a fan of his hard-hitting style of choreography. I think Joshua was out-doing Tadd in it, which is not really a surprise since it's his bread and butter.

Sasha - You know, all of the dancers had good solos tonight, which is not always the case. Sasha was no exception, though I'm having a hard time recalling anything specific about it other than this thing she does with her legs. I don't know what to call it, so we'll just leave it at that. Sasha's best dance of the evening was her all-star dance with Mark (Mark!) in a Sonya Tayeh jazz number. I mean, come on. Mark and Sonya, you can't go wrong. Plus, a shirtless Mark? mmmmmmMark. Oh, sorry. I'll stop the drooling now. Ahem. Okay! They both demonstrated such strength in this piece! It was my second favorite routine of the night. I dig the quirky dark style Sonya always brings, which is obvious to probably everyone by now. Sasha's worst number of the night was, obviously, the cha cha with Tadd. I thought it was weird that the judges were saying she danced it slightly better than him, because honestly I thought he was doing a bit better than her, but then what do I know about ballroom dancing? The answer is only what I've seen on this show, so I am clearly not a reliable source. I think tonight was also the most we've seen Sasha in dresses! Right? I loved her gorgeous purple gown in her Spencer Liff dance with Marko, which I think was her second best dance of the night. Some of you may disagree on that, but I was left not feeling much in that '50s housewives number with Melanie. Maybe I was just tired of seeing so much standard contemporary by that point? Bring on the funky jazz! Oh well.

Phew! Okay, well, that was the last performance show of this season! Who do you think will be taking home the prize tomorrow? Do you agree with Nigel that it's going to be between the girls, or does Marko have a chance of making the top two? Should Tadd just know right now that he's going to be the first eliminated? Can I ask more questions?

If past records are any indication, it should be Melanie to take home the top prize, but if we're just going based on tonight's show, I really don't know. They all had highs and lows, so it's hard to say.

That's all for tonight! Get pumped to see the best routines of the season in the finale tomorrow! I'm sure we'll be seeing at least the Melanie/Marko statues, the tWitch/Sasha breakfast hip hop and the Jordan/Tadd vulture routines, right? Plus that contemporary one from Allison and Marko. Oh and maybe that jazz one with the kiss from Melanie and Marko! Wow that's a lot of Marko. What routines do you hope to see?

I'm done asking questions, I swear.

Previous Episode -- Next Episode

Supernatural: Best Scenes of Dean Eating (Seasons 1-6)

As promised, I am focusing on some less than serious lists on here this year. We've had a ranking of Sam's Hair, so I figured it was time to give Dean his own list. Since his hair doesn't change much through the seasons, what better way to celebrate our love for him than to focus on one of his true loves: food.

Oh yes, Dean likes to eat. A lot.

Some of his "best" moments shoveling stuff down his gullet....

It's a Terrible Life (4x17)

What's this? Starting off with such an atypical scene?! It's true, this may be the first and only time we have ever seen Dean eating a salad. Of course, this wasn't our real Dean, but a version in another life, which was the whole point of this scene in the first place, to show us that something was terribly wrong with him if he wasn't eating burgers and fries and pie.

Provenance (1x19)

The best part of this little scene is Dean's total entitlement for the hors d'oeuvres and champagne, even though it's quite clear he's not really from some kind of art firm. Classic.

Nightmare (1x14)

One of the very first instances of Dean being inappropriate with his food needs, but certainly not the last.  Posing as a preacher, no less!

Mystery Spot (3x11)

Not the last time his food will come back to haunt him, but certainly one of the most memorable times. Technically two, twice in the same episode he died from his food intake. Maybe that's telling you something, Dean? Nah.

Wishful Thinking (4x08)

Of course the thing that Dean would wish for from a magical wishing well is a sandwich. And, as you would expect, the wishes don't exactly go so well. Cue vomiting up said sandwich! Note to self: don't make wishes in magical wishing wells.

Bad Day at Black Rock (3x03)

We've all experience this moment. Or at least, we all should have. What is life without an occasional ice cream headache? This was like Dean's dream come true - free food for, what, a year? I can't remember the exact details anymore! 

Tall Tales (2x15)

Another classic moment - eating some chili fries on Sam's bed. Don't worry, the moment you're thinking of from this episode is still coming, but I thought the fries deserved their own too just for the look on his face alone.

What is and What Should Never Be (2x20)

Probably the best part of this scene is Mary's "what are you doing" facial reaction to him eating that giant sandwich. A sweet moment that he never got to experience in real life, alas.

Folsom Prison Blues (2x19)

Even while in prison, he can't stop eating, going so far as to take Sam's food as well. Not that we ever hardly see Sam eating, so that's no surprise. Maybe he's always stealing his food. Unless it's a salad shaker.

Hollywood Babylon (2x18)

Dean and craft services = made for each other. Whether little Philly cheesesteak sandwiches or... whatever that other thing is. Food he doesn't have to pay for is always the best kind.

Tall Tales (2x15)

Ah yes, the caramels. Probably the most iconic moment, even though surely exaggerated through Sam's point of view. But hey, with all of the evidence, it sure looks like all he does is stuff food in his mouth, right? 

You know what is an interesting observation? Though it has been a well-documented fact that Dean loves pie, we've never actually seen him eating it. He's ordered it, had it in front of him even, but never actually taken a bite on screen. EDIT: Someone said he did actually eat some during Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid. You know why I forgot that? Because it's one of my least favorite episodes!

Sadly, I could not find individual clips of all of the scenes above, but I did find a couple of compilation videos that feature most, if not all, of the scenes above: here and here.

For my past lists, head over: here.

Psst! Hey you! You should totally go like my Facebook page. I'd love you forever and ever. Click and like: http://www.facebook.com/freshfromthe.com. 

SYTYCD S8: Top 6 Results

All is right with the world. I have to say this is probably my favorite top four ever. In the past seasons I've always been disappointed about one of the people who make it into the top, but not this time. Way to get the voting right, people!

I really don't have much to say, so I'll just list the results...

Eliminated:
Caitlynn
Ricky

Top Four:
Melanie
Marko
Sasha
Tadd

Barring something really crazy happening in the performance finale, I can't really see anyone winning this other than Melanie. She and Marko are the only two dancers to never be in the bottom this entire season, and the roar she gets from the studio audience is much more deafening than any of the others. Honestly, she's been my favorite since her initial audition.

You know what's funny? I just went back and looked at my recap for both Melanie and Marko's audition week, and this is what I wrote: "Melanie Moore, the jazz dancer who's also an artist. I liked her quirky style. Marko Gemar, the guy with the bullet in his arm. He looked like he had some real potential too. Those were really the only two from the Atlanta ones that stood out to me." HA, I guess I was right, and so were the producers, to feature them!

What about you? Are you happy with this top four, or do you think someone is missing?

SYTYCD S8: Top 6 Perform

Can you believe next week is already the finale? This summer has just flown by so quickly, it's crazy. As far as who will be in the finale come next week, I think three essentially clinched it tonight, whereas the last spot is a little less clear. Who are the three? Obvious. So obvious. Melanie, Sasha and Marko. I hope it's Tadd joining them and not Ricky, but one never knows with the votes.

Joining Nigel and Mary on the judging panel this week were Christina Applegate and Lil C. I wouldn't have necessarily ever expected Christina Applegate to be a great judge, but she had some great comments, I must say. Who would've thought all of the comedic actor guest judges would be so great? Not me, apparently!

On to the dancers! In the order of their solos...

Ricky - Ricky's solo was planned out well, and went in beat to the music, but I feel like we've seen just so many solos from him by now that it's hard to bring anything new to the table, and there wasn't anything new this time around either.

As for his partner dances... he was teamed up with all-star Jaimie for a Dee Caspary contemporary piece involving sticks. I wasn't paying attention to the intro package, and I must say I had no idea what the sticks were for when watching the actual dance itself. They seemed more like a prop for the sake of a prop, and while I can understand that it was a challenge for him, I don't know. There was some kind of emotional center lacking for me, and maybe that's because he was more worried about the prop than the intention behind the movement. He's a great dancer, but is he a great performer?

For his second dance of the night, he was paired up with Sasha for... whacking. What. This just sounds like a disaster, and honestly, it wasn't the best. After seeing the audition of Princess Lockeroo months ago, this number really just fell flat to me. It seemed really slow and didn't have as much arm stuff as I was expecting, and was just so... bubblegum.

Caitlynn - Oh Caitlynn. She really needs to do something to make her solos stand out more, because every time they just seem to be a lot of flailing about. I feel like that sort of reflects her young personality, though, so I guess it's sort of expected.

For her all-star dance, she was paired up with Pasha for a samba choreographed by Dmitry Chaplin, and though it was certainly serviceable, all I can say is that whenever I see Pasha doing a dance like that, I want to see him with Anya because they have such fire together and can both dance it so well. That lift spin thing at the end seemed super labored too. I'm not sure if it was actually supposed to be that slow or what.

I will say, however, that Caitlynn's shining moment on this entire show was her final number with Marko, a Sonya Tayeh jazz piece. I mean, I love Sonya, for one thing. And Sonya and Florence & the Machine music are just a match made in heaven. It's funny too, because I wrote "Best C's danced" in my notes, and that is what all of the judges then said! Yes, it was the best she's danced, but I don't think it's enough to beat out the other two ladies at all.

Tadd - Dude, how long can Tadd stay up on one hand like that? Crazytown. I'm not sure that Tadd presented anything new in his solo tonight, but there is just something so likeable about his performances that bring a smile to my face, so I could care less.

Tadd's first dance of the evening was with all-star Ellenore in a Sonya Tayeh jazz piece that will probably be dubbed the chandelier piece from now on. It was very cool, I thought. The judges weren't so sure about it, but I felt like I was watching something from Cirque du Soleil up in there. I will agree, however, that it seemed way too short. I wanted it to just keep going. The way he swung around and was able to time it all perfectly was great.

His second dance of the night was with Melanie in a Spencer Liff broadway piece. And can I say something about broadway? Whenever I hear that people are doing a broadway routine I straight up groan. I would say about 90% of the time I don't like them, but tonight? Tonight I did. I think it helped that there was a cool sort of Black Swan story going on. The judges really focused on Melanie in their comments, but I thought Tadd was doing just as well. Go Tadd!

Sasha - Sasha's solo left me wanting more, which can be taken one of two ways. I mean it in the positive way - that I just wanted to see more of her dancing, rather than I wanted to see her do more with it. She has a great musicality to her movement, and is always so centered emotionally in whatever she is doing. Well, except for maybe whacking, but I'm not there yet.

Her first partner dance of he night was with all-star Kent in a Tyce Diorio contemporary piece. And can we just all agree right now that Tyce should stick to contemporary choreography? It's always so much better than any of his other stuff. I really liked the use of the wall in this piece. It was all very passionate, and it came through in their movement. Sasha truly just shines when she is up there dancing, there's no other way to say it. There's something about her that is so engaging.

Except, maybe, in her final partner dance of the evening with Ricky. I mean, I already touched on this earlier, so I won't repeat myself, but this is the one time I didn't feel a connection to her at all. I don't entirely blame her for that. As the judges said, it seemed like they were focused more on getting it right than feelin' it.

Marko - I enjoyed Marko's jumping intro to his solo, and actually enjoyed it on the whole, but there wasn't necessarily anything that new about it that we haven't seen before. But hey, I still love Marko.

His first dance of the evening was with all-star Janette in a Dmitry Chaplin paso doble. First of all, I want that skirt she was wearing. I would be swishing around in that thing constantly, though, so it would probably be a bad idea. This type of dance can be sort of hit or miss, and I think they came up somewhere in the middle. We've seen better, but we've also seen worse. Honestly I hope there aren't too many ballroom style dances in the final performance show next week, because they always seem to be the least exciting.

For Marko's second dance, he had the Sonya Tayeh jazz piece with Caitlynn. I've already said I liked this dance, but now I'm wondering if it is going to be one of the most memorable of Sonya's pieces or not. You know I still remember The Garden from years ago with Mark and Courtney. I'm not sure it was quite to that caliber. But hey, they danced it really well. Man I am so critical sometimes!

Melanie - Wow. That solo was straight up AMAZING. By far one of the best solos I have ever seen performed on the show, period. And apparently she was just coming up with it on the fly before she had to go on! What! What in the world! That is usually a recipe for disaster! Wow.

Ahem. Okay. Melanie's first partner dance of the night, however, was with all-star tWitch in a NapTab hip hop piece. I would say that I liked the concept more than I actually liked the dance itself. That's not to say that I didn't like the dance. For the most part I thought she was hitting it pretty hard, but there were some instances where I wanted her to hit it even harder. This was the first time we've seen her do hip hop, though, so that was a nice change of pace. I was a bit distracted again by the music, though. I'm not sure songs which feature such strong lyrics are as appropriate for this show because it can often overpower the dance, like that Busta Rhymes one a couple weeks ago.

Melanie's second dance of the evening was the broadway number with Tadd. I don't really have much more to say than what I already said. Melanie's great. I think she could win the whole shebang, depending on how next week goes. You never can tell. But if it's not her or Sasha, I will be surprised.

Okay, phew! I think that's enough rambling from me. Who do you want to see as America's favorite dancer next week?

Previous Episode -- Next Episode

SYTYCD S8: Top 8 Results

Sorry for the delay on this wrap up of this week's results, friends! My family has been in town and it's been busy busy times. That being said, I got to watch the results show just now, so here we go.

First of all, I just have to say that perhaps my wildest dreams came true in terms of eliminations tonight. Jordan and Jess! What! To be perfectly frank, I was expecting it to be Ricky, but he got a save from the voting public in that he wasn't even in the bottom two guys at all. Instead, it was the awesome Tadd. Really, America? Tadd in the bottom?! I know he had kind of a lackluster ballroom dance, but after seeing his amazing solo tonight, how can you even doubt he belongs there?

Ahem. Okay, my Tadd rant is over. Also in the bottom four was Caitlynn, which was no surprise considering the only other two girls left are Melanie and Sasha, and they aren't going anywhere. It seemed like Jordan was pretty much expecting the results tonight, and instead of going home in tears, she went home smiling. So, to reiterate:

Bottom:
Jordan
Caitlynn
Jess
Tadd

Out:
Jordan
Jess

A couple final notes... The league of extraordinary dancers were pretty freakin' extraordinary, I must say. That was all kinds of awesome.

Did you all see Mark dancing with Gaga? Yep, in case you didn't know, he's been on her tour for a while now, and that's why he hasn't returned as an all-star this season. Good for him, sad for us. At least we got to see a little bit of him tonight!

Previous Episode -- Next Episode

SYTYCD S8: Top 8 Perform

It's funny, the judges basically declared exactly who I think should be in the top four tonight as their favorites. Psychic powers! Not really, just paying attention to the best dancers.

Joining Nigel and Mary on the judging panel tonight were Rob Marshall and Lady Gaga. Now I wasn't sure what sort of judge Gaga was going to be on a dancing show, but she actually had some good comments, with maybe some inadvertent choreographer disses thrown in too, ha. But hey, that's refreshing when all they usually do is lavish praise. Not that the choreographers don't deserve praise, they definitely do when they have to pull out so many routines in so little time and adjust depending on what dancers they get.

Okay enough rambling. Let's get on to the dancing! Tonight was finally what I (and others) had wanted - one dance with an all star and one dance with a fellow contestant. And we're off....

Sasha and Pasha - What's this? Sasha in a, gasp, dress?! Can it be? It's like they heard me wondering whether she would ever be in a dress! Let's just forget about that unfortunate headband thing because it's better that way. She and Pasha had a Jonathan Roberts quickstep. This dance is usually the kiss of death on this show, but it was a lot more spunky than we usually see. I think the choreographers have caught on that the ballroom numbers can't be too formal or they won't get votes. I did note that the final lift seemed kind of wonky, though.

Caitlynn and Ivan - I just want to take a moment and reflect on how awesome Ivan was in this Marty Kudelka choreographed hip hop piece. He was just so smooth, I loved him. But I'm supposed to be talking about Caitlynn, right? Caitlynn had some moves on her too, but I found my focus constantly shifting back to Ivan the whole time. If it weren't for another girl in the competition, I would say this was Caitlynn's final week, but I think she has one more week in her.

Jordan and Ade - Oh, speak of the devil! Yes, Jordan is the other girl I was talking about above. She and Ade had a Tyce Diorio jazz piece that the judges had a lot of praise for, but I just wasn't feeling it. I thought it was sort of boring and did not like the music choice at all. I was baffled by a lot of the music choices tonight, actually. I feel like the judges were sort of just making it up to Tyce after last week or the week before when they were sort of ragging on him. Whatever. Not good enough in my eyes.

Melanie and Neil - When I first turned on my TV to start the show, this piece was playing, and all I really heard was the music. I said to myself, "Mandy Moore!" and I was right. Lady is predictable with her '80s music stylings! I think we can all agree the best part of this dance was when Melanie ran across that floor and just jumped into his arms with complete abandon. Otherwise it felt very regular contemporary. Maybe that's just because I've seen so many of these types of routines on this show over the years. I'm becoming jaded?! Oh no. But as Rob said, there's something poetic about Melanie's movement, and that was not lost in this performance.

Ricky and Anya - These two had a Jason Gilkison jive number, and it was another one that I was having some serious music choice concerns over. So much love for Celine Dion on this show! Couldn't they have just gone with the original River Deep Mountain High? Two Tina Turners in one night would be too much maybe? In ANY event, the number did pick up the pace as it went on and became more interesting, but overall I don't know. The lifts felt really labored. And trust me, I'm not just repeating what Mary and Nigel said, it just so happens that I wrote both those things down before they said them. It's my psychic powers, you see. Why can't my psychic powers apply to things other than So You Think You Can Dance? The world may never know.

Jess and Lauren G. - I've got to confess, I barely even paid attention to this number. It was a NapTab hip hop piece that the judges again heaped a lot of praise on (except for Gaga, who wondered at the need for a prop!), and again I wasn't feeling it. Of course this may partly be because I am just not the biggest Jess fan. Gasp! I'm not a Jess fan! This has not been obvious at all! For real, though. All I really wrote was, "blah blah."

Tadd and Lauren F. - The case of the dropped hat. It was totally hilarious watching Tadd play around with an invisible hat once he lost his. I have some sympathy in the hat losing department, as that once happened to me on stage during a dance number. What's this? I used to dance? Um, a looooooong time ago, don't get too excited. But I did lose my hat and have to come back and get it afterward, which the audience applauded and made me turn bright red. Guess how old I was! ANYWAY. Sorry, narcissistic moment there. It's too bad, though, that the hat was dropped, because otherwise I really liked this Mandy Moore jazz piece (which featured another song from the '80s, no less!). Tadd just has a certain smoothness to him, an adaptability that is rare, it's great.

Marko and Allison - These two had a Sonya Tayeh contemporary piece that brought a lot of tears to the house. It was certainly beautiful, but I must admit, my eyes were drawn to Allison the whole time. There's something about her dancing that is just so magnetic. Nothing against Marko, but it's hard for anyone to outshine her when she's doing her thing. This piece had a lot of personal meaning for Marko, though, and that came through in his dancing as well.

Caitlynn and Tadd - In the first of the paired couples, Caitlynn and Tadd had a Jonathan Roberts foxtrot. My notes say something along the lines of it being perfectly serviceable but not a number that will get a lot of votes. The understated ballroom pieces are just hard to get truly excited about, even though that's not necessarily fair. But it just didn't quite have that extra something to make it very memorable.

Marko and Ricky - I think I might have just said only last week how I wanted to see Marko do a hip hop number, and lo! Lo and behold! Here he is with a NapTab one! And he was just as good at it as I thought he would be. Ricky was fine, but I didn't think he got as down and dirty with it as he could have. But then he's just so tall and lanky that it's hard for him to look down and dirty.

Jordan and Jess - Easily my least favorite dance of the evening. They had a rumba from Jason Gilkison, and while the choreography itself was perfectly fine, I felt absolutely no connection between the two of them. Jess was certainly trying, but Jordan only seemed to be concerned with looking out into the audience. Um, not when the dance is supposed to be about how you are too into him! Just saying. I can only hope that it lands them in the bottom tomorrow.

Sasha and Melanie - Oh yes. I said to myself at the beginning of the show, "what if it's Sasha and Melanie together? Unstoppable!" And I was not wrong, especially not when they were handed a Sonya Tayeh jazz number. Match made in heaven! It was just everything you wanted it to be, and the reaction to it all made me believe that Sonya and Gaga may be sort of soul mates. Definitely the routine of the night. I think these two ladies might be the top two come finale time!

My prediction for who's going home tomorrow: Jordan and Ricky. Joining them in the bottom will be Caitlynn and, I hope, Jess. If it's Tadd, I will weep. Not really, but I will be annoyed.

As a note to anyone who cares, I may not be able to post my usual wrap up on the results tomorrow night. My family is coming into town and I'm going to be busy busy!

Previous Episode -- Next Episode

SYTYCD S8: Top 10 Results

Tonight was a night of absolutely no surprises whatsoever, apart from maybe the fact that apparently the judges are still the ones dealing eliminations instead of it just being by the votes only? Isn't it supposed to be that way at this point? Because honestly why else claim that it's America's favorite dancer if it's never really our actual votes? Just sayin'.

I can also say with certainty that I am plum sick of solos. Maybe it's because the same people keep having to do solos every week, I don't know, but dang. I'm done with 'em. Please tell me in next week's performance show we don't have to be subjected to them all again? Pretty please? I'd much rather see two partner dances.

Speaking of partner dances, the all star line up is apparently changing week to week this season, and next week's will feature: Ivan, Jaimie, Anya, Pasha, Lauren G., Neil, Ade, and Lauren F. I thought it was pretty funny that Anya & Pasha were just billed together rather than separately. Are they an actual couple or just dance partners? The world wants to know.

Anyway, on to the results of the evening. The two guys and two girls in the bottom four were:

Mitchell
Clarice
Ricky
Jordan

And I think from that lineup alone it's pretty easy to tell who was let go - Mitchell and Clarice. I am not saddened at all, to be perfectly honest, and unless something crazy happens next week, I expect it will be Ricky and Jordan sent home.

That's it for another week, dance fans! Can you believe it's only 3 weeks until the top four?! Crazy.

Previous Episode -- Next Episode

SYTYCD S8: Top 10 Perform

Tonight's show was the first time we've seen the dancers split from their original partnerships. They had two performances - one with an all-star, and one solo. I was rather hoping they'd have an all-star dance and another duet with someone else in the top 10, but maybe that is coming in the next weeks? I can understand wanting to do solos, so that the people who've never been in the bottom three can show their individual styles.

In the spirit of solos, I'm going to go through the performances in solo order. How many times can I say solo? Solo solo solo! Han Solo! Ok, it's starting to lose any meaning. Let's get this party started.

Sasha - I literally almost just typed solo again. Sasha KILLED it tonight. As perhaps Lil C would say, her solo demonstrated an organic musicality of movement, making it easily the best solo of the night. At least for me. That's the kind of solo I enjoy (solo!). For her all-star dance, she was partnered up with fan favorite tWitch for a Chris Scott hip hop piece that was, to put it bluntly, awesome. My favorite of the night, easily. No offense to Alexander, but hello! Now that is what partner chemistry should look like. They were totally in sync. Great. Love it.

Jess - Now it's no secret that I have not been a big Jess fan. What's funny is that I remember really liking him when he auditioned, but then he quickly became muggy muggerson, which, funnily enough, guest judge Neil Patrick Harris most dutifully pointed out. His solo was a lot of leaps and bounds and a cute flirtation with Cat at the end, but while that was more what we've come to expect from him, his partner dance with all-star Kathryn in a Stacey Tookey contemporary piece was anything but. It was definitely his best performance on the show to date, but that doesn't mean I've changed my mind really, because Kathryn was the lead of that number, and my eyes were constantly drawn to her.

Melanie - Melanie started the night with a quiet, controlled solo with an interesting version of a song I have since forgotten but know was from Grease. I think. While not the most showy of solos, it was very her. For her partner dance, she was teamed up with ballroom king Pasha in a Jason Gilkison Viennese waltz. Uh oh, the Viennese waltz? Like NPH said, it can often be a recipe for disaster, but not for these two. They floated across the stage. The floatiness was probably aided by the nature of her dress, which I was coveting, but yes. It looked effortless, which that type of waltz rarely does on the show, so props indeed.

Ricky - While I felt like Ricky's solo was just more of the same that we've seen from him in his other solos, his partner piece with all-star Allison actually made me take notice of him in a much more positive way. And, not to go quoting NPH again, but I can't help it if he says things that I'm also thinking! Anyway, he said how he's had a hard time connecting to Ricky because he's so lean and that's just his nice way of saying his movement is more feminine than the other guys on the show, which I distinctly remember voicing awhile ago. But hey, in the Tyce Diorio jazz piece they had about nightmares, he was strong and for once actually had a partner I felt he connected with. I actually really enjoyed it, which is more than I can say for the other Tyce piece of the night. But oh, we're not there yet? Okay okay.

Clarice - Clarice has been something of a blank slate for me this entire season, and I'm not entirely sure she isn't still, but as my notes say, she was workin' it in her solo. Second best solo of the night behind Sasha's, in my humble opinion. Her partner dance was a Nakul choreographed Bollywood piece with all-star Robert. It was certainly a high energy piece that they both danced well, but I'm still not sure I was getting much of a connection with her. Am I alone in this, or will she be the girl going home tomorrow?

Mitchell - Poor Mitchell was really the only dancer of the night to not get great reviews from the judges on his all-star dance, which was a Tyce Diorio Broadway jazz piece in which he was partnered with all-star Melody. While they danced it okay, I have to agree that it's pretty much forgettable. There was some not so subtle dissing of Tyce going on, but you know what? His Broadway dances are hardly ever any good, and I'd say about 80% of the time it's because of the music. I know it's supposed to have Broadway music, but something always grates me. Anyway, Mitchell did not really help himself much with his solo, particularly not with those white shorts that bunched up to make him look like he was wearing diapers. Since he's already been in the bottom three a couple times, his outlook does not look so great come tomorrow.

Jordan - Even though Jordan is not my favorite dancer of this season, I have to say that tonight was one of her best nights, if not the best. Her solo wasn't overly sexualized, even though she did still put in some of those leg extensions she so loves. But it was quiet and more heartfelt than I feel like we've seen from her. And maybe that was partially inspired by her contemporary piece she had with all-star Brandon, choreographed by Dwight Rhoden & Desmond Richardson. Except, you know, still a lot of leg extending stuff. Because ever since someone mentioned she does those all the time, I can't help but notice it. Still, it was a strong piece, but I'm not sure it was memorable enough to keep her out of the bottom, seeing as I can hardly remember anything about it right now.

Tadd - Now Tadd, Tadd knows how to work a solo. Everyone should take a note from his, because for real, they are great. Part of that has to do with the humor factor, which obviously is easier for a b-boy type to pull off in a solo, but you can also tell that he has planned the whole thing. It moves with the music and ends at the right time. Love it. For his partner piece, he was teamed up with all-star Comfort for a Chuck Maldonado hip hop number. I'm going to be completely honest and say that while I love Tadd, I was not so in love with this piece. I think it was because Busta Rhymes just raps so fast, it was hard to concentrate on anything but the music behind the dancing, which didn't seem to keep up with the rapping. I know it kept up with the beat behind it all, but it felt slow regardless. But whoa, Busta. That is some rapping skillz.

Caitlynn - You know, I like Caitlynn. I feel like she's been something of a dark horse this season. Of course, her solos could really use some work. Maybe instead of always picking an intense song and flailing about, she could pick something more understated and make the movement more meaningful. Take her partner dance, for example. She was teamed up with Pasha for a Miriam and Leonardo tango that was all about subtlety and sensuality. It was slow, but in an intense way that built as it went. She also looked gorgeous, I mean, come on. The lifts were also great, there was some around the back thing with the legs held in place that I really liked. If there could be three girls in the top four, she might squeak past one of my favorite guys.

Marko - We all know that I love Marko, but while the judges gave him a lot of praise for his opening piece with all-star Chelsie, I honestly felt like it wasn't that great. It was a samba choreographed by Jason Gilkison, and to me some of his footwork felt off, but then what do I know about ballroom type dancing? Not a lot. Chelsie looked great, though, so if I can notice a difference, that must mean something, right? No? I'm full of crap. FINE. Marko's solo, however, was the best contemporary guy solo of the night, though. But maybe that's just because it's the first solo of his that we've seen on the show! I have contemporary solo fatigue from the other guys, ha. Seriously, though, it was quite lovely, and I liked his little groove thing at the end. It made me really want to see him attack a hip hop number. Pretty please?

You know, I've already picked out who I think should be in the top four. Inevitably whenever I do that, one of my favorites gets ousted right at the end and someone I hate gets put in instead, so maybe I shouldn't even talk about it. But what the hell. My top four, in no real order: Sasha, Melanie, Marko and Tadd. Who are yours? Who do you think will be sent packing tomorrow? Does Mitchell stand a chance?

Previous Episode -- Next Episode

SYTYCD S8: Top 12 Results

It's funny, I was thinking that the bottom three couples were going to be predictable yet again, and then boom! Surprise! That seems to have happened every week, though, when you think about it. There's always one couple you don't expect. And can I just say? I'm a little bit stoked about who was sent home. That sounds terrible, but I felt like it was a long time coming for both Ryan and Alexander, who were the ones who got das boot. Yes, that's right, Sasha and Alexander were in the bottom three this week, for the first time! As soon as that happened, I said out loud, "oooh Alexander, you are in trouble." Right, or right? Right.

Joining those two in the bottom three were the more expected Ryan and Ricky and Caitlynn and Mitchell. You know what, though? I had really different reactions to a lot of the solos than the judges apparently did, apart from Ryan, who we can all agree looked like she knew her time was up and just didn't give a fuh anymore. Caitlynn's was praised, but it seemed like more of the same to me. They said Mitchell's was powerful but didn't really give him much praise, though I thought his was the best out of the guys'. They then said Ricky's was amazing. Really? For doing a bunch of pirouettes? I really enjoyed Sasha's, even though they said it wasn't very good. But she had planned it so well, and it showed a great musicality. And Alexander, I had really no idea he was something of a ballet dancer, and was fairly impressed, then Nigel went and lambasted it. Huh? What? Was I living on another dancing planet tonight? Were they discombobulated from their Emmy nominations?

Who knows, but even though I thought Alexander had a good solo, it was not meant to be. He's been struggling to connect for weeks, and though he did finally have a moment last night, I think we can all agree up until this point he'd been carried through by Sasha's fan base. If it hadn't been for her, he would've been gone long ago. And maybe Nick could've been here instead. I still miss Nick, okay? Deal with it.

Speaking of Emmy nominations. Miss Cat Deeley finally got one! It was as though Jesse Tyler Ferguson had a looking glass into a glorious outcome. She's been sorely overlooked these past seasons, and it's great to finally see her get one.


So, after all of that, the top ten dancers for season eight are, alphabetically by first name, lest you be thinking I am listing favorites or something:

Caitlynn Lawson
Clarice Ordaz
Jess LeProtto
Jordan Casanova
Marko Gemar
Melanie Moore
Mitchell Kelly
Ricky Jaime
Sasha Mallory
Tadd Gadduang

Next week will also feature the return of the all-stars. Nigel informed us that the dancers will be doing two routines - one with another season eight contestant, and one with an all-star. And all is right with the world, this is exactly what I had hoped would occur. And just who are these all-stars? I can tell you one very important name is missing from the list. That is one Alex Wong, who apparently has serious injury issues with feet tendons, because he just injured himself again mere days ago. Sigh. Sans Alex, we have:

Melody, Allison, Pasha, Twitch, Comfort, Chelsie, Brandon, Kathryn, Robert

You'll notice a large percentage of them are the same ones from last season. I wish there was another girl hip hopper instead of Comfort, I have never been a fan. Remember the girl breaker, Sara? Why not her?! She was great. It is nice to see Melody on the list, because I don't think she has benefited from the show as much as later seasons' contestants. That first season was so different!

Anyway, what are your thoughts on the decisions tonight? Are you as excited as me? Can I make another embarrassing confession?

I had ANOTHER dream about this show last night. OMG. What in the world! This time, I was a dancer on the show, and had just made the top 10, but was freaked out because I knew I wasn't good enough and had gotten by thanks to a good partner. The other contestants were also pissed at me because I was still writing this blog and they were mad I dissed some of them. Ryan and I became friends. Then Jake Gyllenhaal showed up and started dancing with me. Okay, um. We can stop talking about the dream now. I apologize.

Previous Episode -- Next Episode

SYTYCD S8: Top 12 Perform

First, an embarrassing confession: Travis Wall was in my dream last night. We were hanging out, and then when I went to leave, I ran into his car, which was just some really old Honda or something. Ah, unconscious, what does it all mean?! That maybe recapping this show makes it infiltrate my brain more than it should? Probably.

Now, I know I usually get sort of snooty about the stunt guest judges, but if they were all as entertaining as Jesse Tyler Ferguson, I wouldn't particularly mind. He is clearly a big fan of the show, and I loved that he commented that Cat should be nominated for reality show host at the Emmy's. She blushed hardcore! But Cat, not that you will ever read this, he's so right!

This is the last week that these couples are dancing together, and they did two dances instead of one. Tomorrow night, the top ten will be revealed, as well as the all stars that will be joining them next week. You know what would be an awesome introduction to the all stars? Have them dance a group number together! Come on! Make it happen! If it does happen, I'm claiming psychic powers. YES. I mean, really, I had a few moments where the comments I wrote down were near exact quotes of what the judges then said. Psychic!

Okay, now on to the dancers.

Sasha and Alexander - For weeks now everyone has been saying it, whether directly or indirectly, that Sasha has been carrying Alex through the competition. It's the truth, she has been. If they had been in the bottom three at any point, he probably would've been sent home. Tonight, however, he finally started to shine. The couple started the night with a paso doble from Tony and Melanie, and though I do get the concept of both being the bull and whatever, I missed seeing her in a red dress. Have we seen her wear a dress? I feel like she's always in pants. Hmm. Anyway, yes, she was strong, but hey, I was actually watching Alex too! This is a first. He got even stronger in their second dance of the evening, a Tyce Diorio piece. What? A Tyce piece I didn't hate? It happens on occasion, rare but true. As Sonya stated, he finally seemed to relax into the dance. Only took him five or however many weeks. Yeesh.

Jordan and Tadd - It was a mixed bag for these two tonight. I looooved their first piece by Travis Wall, I can't understand why they didn't let them end on that high note by switching the routines, but... oh well. I really liked the vulture concept, and how Jordan would move her arms in that bird-like way to remind us of it throughout the dance. She's grown on me a little over the season, but only in regards to her dancing. Tadd, however, has been a constant delight, and didn't disappoint in this one either. But their second dance, the Spencer Liff broadway piece? Man. First of all: terrible song, terrible costumes. Jesse even made a comment on both of those, so I feel justified saying it too. The whole thing was just... meh. It was lacking that extra something. It makes me worry they'll be in the bottom three since they've already been there a couple times.

Ryan and Ricky - The only thing I can hope after the lackluster night from these two is that they don't drum up a bunch of sympathy votes due to harsh criticism. It's been known to happen in the past, and it drives me absolutely insane. Then again, they've already been in the bottom twice already, so with another not great night under their belts, I'm not sure it matters. Their first dance was a Spencer Liff broadway piece that I found extremely boring. There was just something so muted about the way they danced it, something about the arms not extending enough. I'm no dance expert, but I noticed that. Their second dance, a cha cha from Louie Van Amstel, while better, wasn't enough. Someone commented how Ryan is just trying too hard, and you know what, that might be exactly the problem with her. She wants it so bad, and we can tell, and it's coming across as desperate. Ricky, I mean, he wasn't bad, but he wasn't that great, so... eh.

Caitlynn and Mitchell - Okay, I have to say one thing. There were so many "message" routines tonight, right? I just... Look. I'm not an insensitive person, but when that kind of thing gets employed too often, my cynical side comes a callin' and I can't help but roll my eyes. Such was the case with their Chris Scott hip hop number tonight. The problem, as all the judges mentioned, was that they just weren't in synch. They really had no swagger, particularly Mitchell. It was just missing a groove or something, I don't know. And the message that was being presented would've been completely lost if not for it being emblazoned so brazenly on their shirts. Their second dance of the night was by Travis Wall, and was leaps and bounds better, though I did feel it was missing a certain magic quality. Maybe I am just hard to please.

Melanie and Marko. Aw, this is the last week they're a couple! It is a great shame because these two have such great chemistry. Take their Louie Van Amstel tango, for example. It wasn't perfect, I saw them make a couple mistakes, but you know what? There's something about them that makes you just shrug and go, "but I love you anyway." Sonya said it best when she said they dance with conviction. It doesn't matter if they mess up, they don't let it show. Their second dance of the night was a lovely contemporary piece choreographed by Dee Caspary, all about trying to draw Marko's character out of a dark place into the light, in a literal way, with an actual light. Literal and figurative. While it is not my favorite number they have danced together, it certainly showed why they're so great together. M&M forever.

Clarice and Jess - You know, I don't care how much the judges say they love these two, something about them just doesn't connect with me. Clarice just comes off as such a blank slate, I feel like I know nothing about her. And Jess is the opposite. Too much personality. You'd think they'd balance each other or something, but not so much. Their first dance of the night was a lyrical hip hop by Chris Scott, and you know what? They had way more swag than Caitlynn and Mitchell did in their hip hop. It was light, it was fluffy, it was fine, and then there was a creepy ass painting at the end. Get rid of that thing, yikes. Their second dance of the night was a Tony and Melanie choreographed jive, and, well, it was awkward. When she had to go under his arm: awkward. A lot of the partner moves: awkward. Labored. Like they were really tired, and it was showing. Particularly in Jess. It just got worse as the dance wore on. And the jive is not supposed to look labored. It's supposed to be fun and carefree.

But who will be in the bottom three come tomorrow? Keep in mind that means half the couples. The only two couples I feel certain are safe are Melanie and Marko and Sasha and Alexander. I mean, neither of them have been in the bottom yet. As for the bottom three, the only couple I feel pretty sure about is Ryan and Ricky. Any two out of the other three could join them, but with the way people have been voting recently, it seems like it's going to be Jordan and Tadd and Caitlynn and Mitchell. We'll see tomorrow!

What did you all think? Are you excited for the all stars, or wary? Is it totally weird that I have choreographers in my dreams?

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