Strictly finals/week 13
Dec. 21st, 2025 02:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shallownessIt opened with a VT of the finalists at London landmarks, the celebs meeting up with their pros, who had flares, so they could take them and hold them up at a height together. My main thought was that someone watched the Paris Olympics ceremonies.
This led us to the group routine, which featured Amy being lifted at the centre at the back, JoJo being front and centre. There was a real Latin and carnival feel to the dance. The pro finalists came in props echoing fireworks, Alexis between Nikita and Carlos, which I thought was just for optics, but actually reflected the running order. The celeb finalists got a really big entrance on a lowered lighting rig. George made me laugh, so it was a really feelgood opening.
Tess wore a gold gown with (of course) a leg slit, Claudia seemed to be on brand in a black and white trouser suit, but then we found out that she had KEEP DANCING emblazoned on the back of her jacket. Vernon Kaye, being Mr Tess Daly, was in the audience, as was Jay McGuiness. The judges had all dressed up appropriately.
The finalists all looked more excited than nervous.
Round 1 – judges pick
The VTs would be a sort of judge masterclass, with Shirley coming to visit Amber and Nikita and doling out advice. She also admitted that Craig is the judge who counts when it comes to scoring in the final.
In their paso reprise, Amber very much owned her space throughout. All the judges were very positive, particularly over her shaping. Hello, Nikita’s chest again, so he needed a handheld mic. She still didn’t get a 10 from Craig, but the score was a slight improvement.
Quite rightly, Anton came to give George a masterclass on his Viennese waltz, and the reprise was much smoother, he was both more fluid and confident, and it was a clear improvement given it had got a 34 on the first go. It now got a 39 and that was it for ballroom dancing in the final.
Motsi came to tell Karen and Carlos they were reprising the Argentine tango (except she said it in the foreign way so they must have thought, ‘tango? Hang on, we thought it was the AT’ for a second.) I was super impressed by Karen’s legs in this reprise, and it has to be said this was the most interesting routine choreographically. I don’t know that Karen fully got Anton’s detailed comments, but Craig gave it a 10.
I’m not outraged by that, I think they all improved (although George’s dance was the lowest scoring originally, so he may have made more of a statement.) I was minded to vote for both Amber and George after that first round.
Round 2 – showdance – and the VTs were the finalist couples reflecting on their journeys.
I’ll take Amber dancing to ‘Rain on Me’ as a Welsh in-joke. There were so many highlights to Amber and Nikita’s showdance, the smashing costume change, the wowzer lifts. She really is one of the few celebs good enough to pull off a proper showdance. I thought Craig was too harsh here, I thought there was enough flow, but anyway, he didn’t give it a 10, so it got 39.
Janette and Fleur were in the audience!
George and Alexis’s ‘Are we human?’ showdance had a spectacular opening, and the choreography was trying to tell a story. It took advantage of the male amateur/female pro dynamic, the lifts were spectacular and it was full of great light and shade contrasts. Another fantastic showdance – Shirley and Alexis were gone, even Craig sounded touched (but only gave it a 9.)
Karen and Carlos started off to normal speed ‘Inner Smile’ and then it speeded right up, and as it went on, I realised THIS was why they didn’t do their couples choice again, because this was basically it all over again, with her being better at the hip-hop/commercial stuff than Carlos. Again. Unsurprisingly, there were no lifts, whatever Motsi said, just an assist down and a bit of a fling (though the lifts were solid in their Argentine tango, they are not her strength, especially compared with the other two finalists.) Not quite a showdance, then, and Craig gave it an 8 and Shirley, for once, reached for a 9, which was predictable from their comments, but changed the leaderboard. Which is only for guidance (from Craig.)
After this round, I felt even more justified in deciding to vote once for Amber and George, who both did better showdances.
Claudia was almost thrown by some of the pros dressing up as her, and the rest and the judges putting on wigs to honour her hair as she announced that the voting was now open. We then had her fruity hat make a return appearance for a daft bit with Tess about them dancing a showdance, with added male pros wearing similar hats. (It was amusing, but less so as it literally came after the wig bit.)
Round 3 – couples’ pick. The VT was the couples talking, and of course Amber and Nikita had had the famously compressed day of first impressions. Amber was crying in the VT, as she did in Monday’s ITT and Friday’s ITT, where the producers were trying to make as many people cry as possible with the family VTs.
I’d forgotten they were starting their jive before the music began, and it was so good to see it again, I LOVED the bits where her whole body was on a diagonal. The judges mainly commented on her as a dancer, and she also gave in to the ringer with musical theatre experience narrative by talking about what this would mean for her career in the final. I think Amber and Nikita forgot that the scores were coming, but the 40 was a given, and probably a relief after two 39s.
George and Alexis were doing their paso from week 2 (perhaps the most !?!? choice, although I do remember it as the paso that laid the standard, which Lewis, Balvinder, Amber, and, of course, Karen bettered. So weird to see two pasos, when Karen and Carlos couldn’t replicate their Blackpool epic.)
But George very much did show improvement, he was commanding throughout, and Alexis got to put in a few extra flourishes. Motsi and Anton mainly discussed his final. Anton mentioning his son got to George, I think (having not heard dad!Anton do this before, though he does most seasons.) Third 39 of the night for them, which meant that George never got a 40.
Going back even further to week 1, Karen and Carlos reprised their jive, which made everyone sit up, and yes, she was better, it was lots of fun (Carlos was wearing sparkly shorts!) Although the kicks and flicks and spins were impressive, was it quite as accomplished a routine as Amber’s because of what the content was asking of her because one was right at the start, and the other deep into the season, and did they get a little out of sync towards the end? But then Karen’s words to Tess after reminded me of why she was probably going to win.
Anton got emosh, but mainly because he was saying goodbye to Tess. Craig quoted Byron at Kaz, and then realised what Anton had (their dynamic has been spiky this year, no?) and said nice things to Tess. Carlos actually managed to make it more about him in the Clauditorium when he was admitting to past selfishness (and his analysis of why he hadn’t got a partner last year left a sour taste in my mouth. Regardless, Carlos is guaranteed a no-hoper next year.) Never mind that, they got a 40.
Nobody wanted to win, apparently, as Karen was as modest as Amber and George had been when Claudia asked what winning would mean to them. Give it to Lewis, then, I thought, because Katya would take that. Actually, the pros in the Clauditorium seemed quite verklempt considering they had another routine to do.
The leaderboard now had Amber on top, consistent!George second with less consistent!Karen, which was both predictable and meaningless. I voted three times for George and Alexis and five times for Amber and Nikita, and there was some subjectivity there, but that’s all right. (If you ignore the years when I didn’t favour contestants with previous dance experience…like 2023. I reserve the right to be as subjective as anyone when it comes to the final.)
The class of ’25 VT made me smile (and also note the lack of Thomas [ETA: Apparently he wouldn't turn up and is suing the Beeb for rigging the votes. Sir, they had no need to, you were terrible.]) In the routine, LaVoix got the big opening on the pony they and we were denied because of technical difficulties, and then rested their injured foot. Nadiya got her lifts. Look, it was basically reprising everyone’s best bits, with Lewis getting to do tricks, Balvinder (looking wonderful in blue) following him as is tradition even though he was the better dancer in a feelgood routine.
Next it was ‘your’ VT, and Thomas actually got mentioned. Quite rightly, so did the pros’ dance with Diversity. A royal turned up to stan Ellie, and then the focus fell onTessnClaud with input from the Strictly crew. They were clearly moved by that, probably because they hadn’t seen the last bit in the rehearsal. Craig interrupted them to read from a letter that was so long-winded that it could only be written by me… not really, by a royal, because no way would the producers have given that time to anyone else. And lo, it was the King of England’s second wife and that meant something to TessnClaud.
Five preformed a medley for mums and their contemporaries with five of the female pros strutting along at times. Actually, it was really well staged, with the band coming down to the dance floor and the audience doing moves at one point, and special props for pregnant Dianne.
Finally, the finalists were on the dancefloor, and from their body language Amber and Nikita knew that with all the dance-offs, they had no chance. The winners were revealed to be Karen and Carlos, who looked surprised, but I’ve been expecting it for weeks, which may be why I’ve disengaged from them, however much I appreciated her high points and personality. I mean, she did play football for England, that’s a lot of prejudice for me to get over. And it clearly worked for a lot of people. The pros lifted them before the music was ready for it. Fittingly, the final shot was of Tess and Claudia.
It was a VERY emotional final, with a subplot of sisters (Amber's came from Shanghai, George's cried and cried.) Being limited to eight online votes worked for me. There was a counter factual where we’d have seen Lewis’s couples choice and jive again, but apart from a couple of moments (well, and my inconveniently remembering the bad news and past scandals) it was a good final. And the end of an era.
This led us to the group routine, which featured Amy being lifted at the centre at the back, JoJo being front and centre. There was a real Latin and carnival feel to the dance. The pro finalists came in props echoing fireworks, Alexis between Nikita and Carlos, which I thought was just for optics, but actually reflected the running order. The celeb finalists got a really big entrance on a lowered lighting rig. George made me laugh, so it was a really feelgood opening.
Tess wore a gold gown with (of course) a leg slit, Claudia seemed to be on brand in a black and white trouser suit, but then we found out that she had KEEP DANCING emblazoned on the back of her jacket. Vernon Kaye, being Mr Tess Daly, was in the audience, as was Jay McGuiness. The judges had all dressed up appropriately.
The finalists all looked more excited than nervous.
Round 1 – judges pick
The VTs would be a sort of judge masterclass, with Shirley coming to visit Amber and Nikita and doling out advice. She also admitted that Craig is the judge who counts when it comes to scoring in the final.
In their paso reprise, Amber very much owned her space throughout. All the judges were very positive, particularly over her shaping. Hello, Nikita’s chest again, so he needed a handheld mic. She still didn’t get a 10 from Craig, but the score was a slight improvement.
Quite rightly, Anton came to give George a masterclass on his Viennese waltz, and the reprise was much smoother, he was both more fluid and confident, and it was a clear improvement given it had got a 34 on the first go. It now got a 39 and that was it for ballroom dancing in the final.
Motsi came to tell Karen and Carlos they were reprising the Argentine tango (except she said it in the foreign way so they must have thought, ‘tango? Hang on, we thought it was the AT’ for a second.) I was super impressed by Karen’s legs in this reprise, and it has to be said this was the most interesting routine choreographically. I don’t know that Karen fully got Anton’s detailed comments, but Craig gave it a 10.
I’m not outraged by that, I think they all improved (although George’s dance was the lowest scoring originally, so he may have made more of a statement.) I was minded to vote for both Amber and George after that first round.
Round 2 – showdance – and the VTs were the finalist couples reflecting on their journeys.
I’ll take Amber dancing to ‘Rain on Me’ as a Welsh in-joke. There were so many highlights to Amber and Nikita’s showdance, the smashing costume change, the wowzer lifts. She really is one of the few celebs good enough to pull off a proper showdance. I thought Craig was too harsh here, I thought there was enough flow, but anyway, he didn’t give it a 10, so it got 39.
Janette and Fleur were in the audience!
George and Alexis’s ‘Are we human?’ showdance had a spectacular opening, and the choreography was trying to tell a story. It took advantage of the male amateur/female pro dynamic, the lifts were spectacular and it was full of great light and shade contrasts. Another fantastic showdance – Shirley and Alexis were gone, even Craig sounded touched (but only gave it a 9.)
Karen and Carlos started off to normal speed ‘Inner Smile’ and then it speeded right up, and as it went on, I realised THIS was why they didn’t do their couples choice again, because this was basically it all over again, with her being better at the hip-hop/commercial stuff than Carlos. Again. Unsurprisingly, there were no lifts, whatever Motsi said, just an assist down and a bit of a fling (though the lifts were solid in their Argentine tango, they are not her strength, especially compared with the other two finalists.) Not quite a showdance, then, and Craig gave it an 8 and Shirley, for once, reached for a 9, which was predictable from their comments, but changed the leaderboard. Which is only for guidance (from Craig.)
After this round, I felt even more justified in deciding to vote once for Amber and George, who both did better showdances.
Claudia was almost thrown by some of the pros dressing up as her, and the rest and the judges putting on wigs to honour her hair as she announced that the voting was now open. We then had her fruity hat make a return appearance for a daft bit with Tess about them dancing a showdance, with added male pros wearing similar hats. (It was amusing, but less so as it literally came after the wig bit.)
Round 3 – couples’ pick. The VT was the couples talking, and of course Amber and Nikita had had the famously compressed day of first impressions. Amber was crying in the VT, as she did in Monday’s ITT and Friday’s ITT, where the producers were trying to make as many people cry as possible with the family VTs.
I’d forgotten they were starting their jive before the music began, and it was so good to see it again, I LOVED the bits where her whole body was on a diagonal. The judges mainly commented on her as a dancer, and she also gave in to the ringer with musical theatre experience narrative by talking about what this would mean for her career in the final. I think Amber and Nikita forgot that the scores were coming, but the 40 was a given, and probably a relief after two 39s.
George and Alexis were doing their paso from week 2 (perhaps the most !?!? choice, although I do remember it as the paso that laid the standard, which Lewis, Balvinder, Amber, and, of course, Karen bettered. So weird to see two pasos, when Karen and Carlos couldn’t replicate their Blackpool epic.)
But George very much did show improvement, he was commanding throughout, and Alexis got to put in a few extra flourishes. Motsi and Anton mainly discussed his final. Anton mentioning his son got to George, I think (having not heard dad!Anton do this before, though he does most seasons.) Third 39 of the night for them, which meant that George never got a 40.
Going back even further to week 1, Karen and Carlos reprised their jive, which made everyone sit up, and yes, she was better, it was lots of fun (Carlos was wearing sparkly shorts!) Although the kicks and flicks and spins were impressive, was it quite as accomplished a routine as Amber’s because of what the content was asking of her because one was right at the start, and the other deep into the season, and did they get a little out of sync towards the end? But then Karen’s words to Tess after reminded me of why she was probably going to win.
Anton got emosh, but mainly because he was saying goodbye to Tess. Craig quoted Byron at Kaz, and then realised what Anton had (their dynamic has been spiky this year, no?) and said nice things to Tess. Carlos actually managed to make it more about him in the Clauditorium when he was admitting to past selfishness (and his analysis of why he hadn’t got a partner last year left a sour taste in my mouth. Regardless, Carlos is guaranteed a no-hoper next year.) Never mind that, they got a 40.
Nobody wanted to win, apparently, as Karen was as modest as Amber and George had been when Claudia asked what winning would mean to them. Give it to Lewis, then, I thought, because Katya would take that. Actually, the pros in the Clauditorium seemed quite verklempt considering they had another routine to do.
The leaderboard now had Amber on top, consistent!George second with less consistent!Karen, which was both predictable and meaningless. I voted three times for George and Alexis and five times for Amber and Nikita, and there was some subjectivity there, but that’s all right. (If you ignore the years when I didn’t favour contestants with previous dance experience…like 2023. I reserve the right to be as subjective as anyone when it comes to the final.)
The class of ’25 VT made me smile (and also note the lack of Thomas [ETA: Apparently he wouldn't turn up and is suing the Beeb for rigging the votes. Sir, they had no need to, you were terrible.]) In the routine, LaVoix got the big opening on the pony they and we were denied because of technical difficulties, and then rested their injured foot. Nadiya got her lifts. Look, it was basically reprising everyone’s best bits, with Lewis getting to do tricks, Balvinder (looking wonderful in blue) following him as is tradition even though he was the better dancer in a feelgood routine.
Next it was ‘your’ VT, and Thomas actually got mentioned. Quite rightly, so did the pros’ dance with Diversity. A royal turned up to stan Ellie, and then the focus fell onTessnClaud with input from the Strictly crew. They were clearly moved by that, probably because they hadn’t seen the last bit in the rehearsal. Craig interrupted them to read from a letter that was so long-winded that it could only be written by me… not really, by a royal, because no way would the producers have given that time to anyone else. And lo, it was the King of England’s second wife and that meant something to TessnClaud.
Five preformed a medley for mums and their contemporaries with five of the female pros strutting along at times. Actually, it was really well staged, with the band coming down to the dance floor and the audience doing moves at one point, and special props for pregnant Dianne.
Finally, the finalists were on the dancefloor, and from their body language Amber and Nikita knew that with all the dance-offs, they had no chance. The winners were revealed to be Karen and Carlos, who looked surprised, but I’ve been expecting it for weeks, which may be why I’ve disengaged from them, however much I appreciated her high points and personality. I mean, she did play football for England, that’s a lot of prejudice for me to get over. And it clearly worked for a lot of people. The pros lifted them before the music was ready for it. Fittingly, the final shot was of Tess and Claudia.
It was a VERY emotional final, with a subplot of sisters (Amber's came from Shanghai, George's cried and cried.) Being limited to eight online votes worked for me. There was a counter factual where we’d have seen Lewis’s couples choice and jive again, but apart from a couple of moments (well, and my inconveniently remembering the bad news and past scandals) it was a good final. And the end of an era.
