Strictly '22 #16 — Twice the dances, twice the drama, triple the paso dobles... its the semi-finals!

[PolkadotsAndMoonbeams]

Previous thread here.

Remember as always this is a SPOILER-FREE THREAD.

I wanted Will in the final. He obviously is popular with the public as he has never been in the dance off before but the judges making sure he was bottom of the board made it difficult, if not impossible, for him not to be in the dance off.

I was sure it would be Molly v Fleur and it seems pointless really for them to both be in the final as neither stands a hope in hell of winning as just obviously not popular with the public.

I really want Hamza to win but would be ok with Helen winning although Gorka has really got on my nerves this year

Claudia is dressed for university exams

He's really got on my mammary glands this week.

Oh I loved the cabaret routine!

I was sure it would be Molly v Fleur and it seems pointless really for them to both be in the final as neither stands a hope in hell of winning as just obviously not popular with the public.

I don't know if that's quite true — I think they appeal to the same audience, and are both suffering for it.

Agree @PolkadotsAndMoonbeams but will be interesting to see who Will’s voters switch to

Helen has two strong repeat dances for the final (Couple's Choice and jive) but her showdance song is a bit wussy.

Next thread

They don't usually have extra dancers for the final, do they? Didn't Helen's CC have a bunch of extras? Will it work, just the two of them, and will they need to make changes - is that allowed?

Helen only just did her CC. I hate when they repeat recent ones (thought the same about Danny's samba, would rather have seen his ChaChaCha from week 1).

No ballroom.

Interesting there is nothing I can find on the internet about why Craig didn't do his pro dance

On Reporting Scotland Hamza was entitled Ardnamurchan's Hamza so that's the Scottish vote sorted😂

I agree mydog

I really can’t see Molly or Fleur winning. I would rather just see Hamza and Helen in the final because I think that is who it is between.

I have to disagree on Gorka though. 😍😉

I was sure it would be Molly v Fleur and it seems pointless really for them to both be in the final as neither stands a hope in hell of winning as just obviously not popular with the public.

What a bitter comment.

I thought Molly's reaction and her interview with Claudia after having her name announced was delightful. The fact that she's in the final is already a win for her and she probably knows herself that she won't win. She's earned her place as far as I'm concerned.

Fleur took the announcement to be in the dance off with grace and dignity, and acknowledged how good everyone was.

Neither of them will win but they do knock out polished performances.

It's sad disappointing when our favourites are not in the final, but I'm happy for the dance off queens after enduring them week after week.

He won't be handing mummy the glitter ball after all .

Am I right that all 3 of the new pros got to the final then? Which is pretty good going for their first season. (Still can’t warm to Carlos though - too cheesy, which is saying something considering it’s Strictly).

I don't see it as a bitter comment at all. I bet more than half of the Strictly viewers thought it would be a Molly v Fleur dance off. I know on Digital Spy that was the common thought. Most weeks have had one or the other in the DO.

It's true that they don't stand a hope of winning. If they were popular they would not have been in the dance off so often. Molly, in particular, was often quite high on the leader board yet still ended up there.

If Will was in the final there would be a chance he could win. He had never been in the dance off before even though he was bottom of the leader board at least once. So obviously popular.

I want Hamza to win anyway but a bit more competition would have been nice rather than it just being between Hamza and Helen

Tbf I think 100 people live there so... 😂

While I agree that neither will win, that still doesn't mean they shouldn't be in the final.

I appreciate it is ultimately a popularity contest, and ringers very rarely win, but they will deliver stunning performances and that is what makes them finalist material in the judge's eyes. They have both been resilient after being in so many dance offs and neither of them have complained, which I applaud them for.

Will is popular with the votes, but he was poor on the night and I personally do not remember any of his dances apart from the Line of Duty one. I am not sorry that Fleur won the dance off over him.

Well one was going to be in the final anyway if they had both been in the dance off.

I don't dislike either Molly or Fleur. In fact at that start I thought Fleur might be in with a chance of winning but she has never lived up to the promise she initially showed.

I have preferred watching Will over both Molly and Fleur most weeks. Molly I find very boring to watch and Fleur stomps around most weeks. For me, her charleston and her CC were awful.

I loved Will's jive and have rewatched it quite a few times.

Not sure that anyone has ever complained about being in a dance off although Jayde made her displeasure pretty clear

We like different things clearly.

Will's Jive was good and I thought atthe time he was a contender, but that was in week 1 and he's not had a better dance than that since imo.

I enjoyed Molly's quickstep, rumba, Charleston and Paso doble, Fleur's samba and Argentine Tango. They have both been consistently good, so I am looking forward to see their show dance.

On the subject of unpopular contestants, I seem to end up rooting for them as they get closer to the final. In previous years I've voted for Alexandra Burke, Ashley Roberts, Dan Walker amd this series Fleur amd Molly.

I have to say I agree with mydog

I haven’t enjoyed Fleur since that dreadful cc. Getting a high score for that was a nonsense. I want to see grace. I haven’t. Plenty of stomping about though. I don’t know if it concentration that is making her expression look slightly aggressive but it is off putting to me. And it is a shame - because she should have been a treat.

Molly is different. I enjoy her dances from a dance perspective but I feel nowt which makes it less enjoyable for me. She’s doing nothing wrong (apart from maybe her awful cc) but she isn’t really inviting me into the dance.

Should Will have went? I’m torn. I enjoyed watching him far more than I do Fleur. Could his cc been a wow? Yes it could but it wasn’t quite as engaging as I thought it might be.

Fleur was always going to get picked before him overall. But on those dances the other night? No. I don’t think she should have been.

As for not complaining about being in the dance off? I should hope not. If anyone was daft enough or ungracious enough to do that, they should be put on the spot to say who should be there instead of them. That would nip that right in the bud.

Someone has to be there. It is ok to be disappointed but they’d make themselves look dreadful if they were anything but gracious. And they know that.

Dances are up. THREE Couple's Choice!!! Very little Ballroom. It's going to feel very over the top.

Fleur & Vito
Judges’ Pick: Samba to Hot Hot Hot by Arrow
Favourite Dance: Couple's Choice to Destiny’s Child Megamix by Destiny’s Child
Show Dance: Find Me by Sigma featuring Birdy

Helen & Gorka
Judges’ Pick: Jive to Tightrope by Janelle Monáe
Favourite Dance: Couple's Choice to Mein Herr by Liza Minnelli (from Cabaret)
Show Dance: Shine by Emeli Sandé

Molly & Carlos
Judges’ Pick: Quickstep to Love On Top by Beyoncé
Favourite Dance: Rumba to All The Man That I Need by Whitney Houston
Show Dance: Kiss/1999 by Prince

Hamza & Jowita
Judges’ Pick: Salsa to Ecuador by Sash! featuring Rodriguez
Favourite Dance: Couple's Choice to Jerusalema - Remix by Master KG featuring Burna Boy and Nomcebo Zikode
Show Dance: Let’s Face The Music And Dance by Irving Berlin

I think they should all have to do at least one ballroom in the final.