[MrWookie]

Unfortunately, Katy, I think Marie is going to win. I'll get to why in just a second, though.

You're right about Mel's cha cha. I thought she was given a present on a silver platter by getting a latin dance, but she underperformed. Her technique was good, but the energy and the performance we've seen in her paso dobles and other later dances was missing. At first I thought this judges' choice was a dance to make her shine, but it ended up being a real test. She didn't exactly pass. The scores were harsh, but I don't mind the judges being harsher for the finale.

Well, I predicted the dance that would break Marie, and break her it did. She got her hips going when that was the only thing going on, but when she was actually doing samba steps, her hips were flat because her footwork was terrible. Her fluff was fine, but the meat of the dance wasn't there at all. I agreed with the scores.

Like the cha cha for Mel, I didn't think that jive would be a real test of Helio, but it turned out to be a dance that broke him, too. The toe-heel-crosses at the beginning of the routine were a miserable failure. I haven't seen a dancer fail to get those going as hard as Helio did outside of people who get voted out in the first few weeks. His feet were flexed instead of pointed, and his arms weren't really extending properly. His energy was fun, but this was a big step backwards on his technique.

Mel had a 3 point lead after the first round, so all she had to do to lock up the top spot w/ the judges was score a 28 or higher. I thought she easily had that in her, but she left the door open for Helio. She really reminded me of Stacy Kiebler here, where she'd been doing so well, but then her freestyle fell flat. The choreography was too simple, the music was weird, and it seemed to showcase Max more than Mel. I was underwhelmed with the choice of lifts. The one where she was in the splits over Max's head didn't look very graceful, although the last trick they did near the end was both impressive and tough. I think the 27 she got was fair.

A friend of mine thought Marie's dance was a total trainwreck, but I didn't think it was quite that bad. The doll thing kinda worked for her, since it allowed her to have terrible technique, and it fit with her character. Still, it wasn't great, and she had that stumble at the end. I think this routine and this character would have worked better with better music. The Rolling Stones didn't fit.

Helio either rolls the dice very well, or he is in right with the right people. He's always getting the last spot, which, at least for American Idol, is regarded as the best place to be. His routine was fantastic, and the choreography was top notch. The energy was through the roof, and the tricks, most of which were very difficult, just kept coming. Did you recognize the cartwheel thing they did, Katy? You might remember it from Pasha's west coast swing routine on SYTYCD. Still, Carrie Ann was right, that Helio was awkward coming out of a few of the lifts, one in the middle in particular. Still, this was by far the best routine of the night.

I'll brb w/ why I think Marie will win.