Strictly '22 #18 — Who's going to lift the glitterball? We don't know, but it will happen in this thread!

[PolkadotsAndMoonbeams]

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We're moving so fast I'm setting this one up to be ready!

Basically fine with that result, but very disappointed in Hamza and Molly's show dances, slightly disappointed with Fleur's and wasn't expecting much from Helen's anyway. I don't know why though. Every single year I get excited for the showdances and almost every year they're all distinctly underwhelming. When you add one fewer days rehearsal into the mix, it's even more inevitable that they'll be a bit rubbish. The only one I'll rewatch is Hamza's to see what went so wrong.

Gorka having to be dragged by Helen over to congratulate H&J was a bit off.

I thought Fleur's first and last dances were excellent - her personality really shines through for me, and I find her a mesmeric dancer. I did two votes per "round" and gave her all four in the first two rounds and split between her and Hamza on the last round because his CC was really powerful and infectious. I liked Helen's CC the first time but wasn't quite so convinced this time. But I was resigned to Fleur not winning, and I'm happy for Jowita, who seems lovely.

My theory is that Helen was screwed over by the voting system in the final: her last dance was surely a vote-winner but a lot of people would have cast all their votes by then. What would be a valuable pimp slot on a normal week suddenly becomes a curse.

I went to see the live tour, which has a similar voting timetable, with voting opening at the interval and staying open throughout the second half, in the year that Joe won. He did his Argentine Tango as his second number, the last dance of the night and it brought the house down: the whole of the O2 were stamping their feet and cheering for ages. But he only won a handful of dates because most of the votes had already gone in before he did his best dance.

I’m really happy Hamza won. Even seeing his stumble in cc I enjoyed the dance. They have wonderful chemistry and he is so intuitively rhythmic.

I wanted Fleur to win as by the end she was head and shoulders the best dancer and I find her charismatic, but I’ll certainly take Hamza as a worthy winner. A joy to watch.

I think I must be the only person that doesn’t really get the appeal of Hamza’s dancing. I can see that he’s incredibly light on his feet and has a lovely personality but there doesn’t seem much fun or variety in his performance. I’d have liked to see him do something completely different like Bill Bailey’s couples choice.

Nope, I said to DH after the result was announced last night that already I cannot remember a single one of Hamza’s dances with any clarity - none of them stand out from the rest. Jowita never seemed to challenge him in the way the other pros do - she just gave him a succession of very safe dances. Everyone raved about the lifts but look at the size of the guy in comparison to her!

I thought last night that the final was missing Will. Would have loved to see the jive again and quite liked some of his other dances. He did score top quite a few times.

The only thing i will say is he did seem to struggle with two dances last week, but I think three dances learnt over two weeks or two over one would be better. Ultimately they want to do their favourite dance and the judges pick well, so a new dance with no specific rules never comes out well. I think public pick rather than judges pick would be better, but not sure they would manifest that though. I think having to do three dances creates poorer finals. Has it always been like that?

I agree I've never 'got'Hamza as a dancer. As a person he seems lovely, but his dancing doesn't excite me. I got really annoyed by how lazy and floppy his arms were last night! I wanted Fleur to win last night but didn't have much hope due to all the dance offs. Gorka's bad reaction put me right off him.

I agree with others that the showdances were plain awful. I went back to watch Oti and Danny Mac's to make me feel better. I definitely agree couples choice has killed the showdance. They used to go on about the sd having 'no rules' but the CC has no rules either so there's nothing special about that now.

Gorka’s little strop was pathetic. It is not as though Helen was the best dancer of them all.
Oti would have been pissed off when Danny Mac was robbed of the glitter ball, but she was gracious on defeat. . Danny Mac was actually robbed, Helen wasn’t.

in defeat

Totally agree. Danny Mac definitely was robbed but no way was Helen. She wasn't the best dancer last night.

I have always liked Gorka but this series he has annoyed me a few times. His face when the judges gave their comments was often very sour. His reaction last night has put me off him totally. He is a very bad loser

Not sure how Hamza's dances were "safe" in comparison to the other male dancers. The roles of males and females in dance are quite different. Males are there to lead and support as well as to be technically accurate. Hamza did that in spades, as well as performing spectacular lifts that require trust and excellent timing as well as strength. Saying he did "nothing" compared to female competitors is as facile as complaining that none of the female contestants did any lifting. He was praised throughout the series on technique and footwork (and did a lot to combat his turned in feet) and his excellent hip action, frame and excellence in hold. He had some stand out moments out of hold, such as his solo in the Samba. He also had to act as all his dances had a story that required a bit of role play. He brought proper joy and his personality to the dance floor each week, he and Jowita have a lovely and believable connection, and he never seemed like he was just going through the motions. He may not have been "the best" technically, and I wouldn't expect him to be as a big bloke and a total dance/acting novice. However, he clearly connected with the audience, otherwise he wouldn't have won.

Someone has helpfully uploaded the last 5 mins of the final on YT. I don't think the judges were unhappy, actually, they all seem genuinely happy (if surprised) when I watched this back. Only Gorka looks pissed off.

Agree with this. You are not the only one.

I agree. He never seems to really love being on strictly but it somewhat going through the motions

he needs a joe varney partner who suddenly makes him humble and grateful just to be there, I think Debbie the that for him

I was so disappointed with last night. With the weak showdances, and with Hanza winning. I ended up watching old finals dances, and in every one of Karim's final dances you'd have thought he was the professional, he was that good. Head and shoulders above Hamza, and he didn't even win! And the lovely Christmas showdance Gorka did with the young girl from Eastenders. Just no comparison to last night.

Do we get to know the public voting figures?

Would be interesting to see if it was close

Just watched that clip of the announcement of the winner and I thought the judges all looked happy. Craig had a massive smile on his face.

Fleur, Vito, Molly and Carlos all smiled immediately and started clapping but Helen just hugged Gorka as though consoling him.

When they all went to congratulate Hamza, Helen literally pulled Gorka's arm to get him to go over.

No, they never release them.

I think that was Gorka’s “trying not to cry”face.

Yes, the showdances and general quality of dance this year were abysmal. ( in my opinion,

On another subject, are there any other dance shows on streaming worth watching? Other than DWTS.

Looking at that video clip, everyone looks nervous except Helen. I think she thought it was in the bag.

For me' it isn't all about the "best" dancer technically, it is about creating an emotional response. I got nothing from Helen, Molly seemed to be having a great time, Fleur was full of energy and Hamza just seemed to have pure joy in the act of dancing. I think Helen held herself back emotionally for some reason (I would be shit at this bit of dancing too).

This series wasn't as good as previous ones but that does all depend on how the celebrities work out so it's not really fair to compare to previous years.

Watching that video Gorka looks so petulant. So arrogant to assume they would win.

I thought they would as her backstory really seems to have come to the fore recently. But I’m glad they didn’t. I think they’ve had a couple of great dances but aren’t better than any of the others and I don’t feel connected to her as a dancer although she seems nice enough and is probably good fun. If she’d been a contestant last year I don’t think anyone would remember her.

I'll have to rewatch the judges. It seemed to me that Anton had his fake "isn't it marvellous" smile plastered on. And Motsi and Shirley seemed surprised. Though how they could be surprised is beyond me. Clearly Hamza has had a strong fan base throughout the series. Yes, not his best night, but the judges know that doesn't always matter (Ore a notable exception).

That was the poorest final I have ever seen. No real pzazz or wow compared to other years, really disappointing all round. I liked Hamza all the way through but last night he wasn’t great to be honest. I think he’s sweet on Jowaita too definitely has a crush on her bless him. I wonder if this may be Gorka’s last strictly stint he looked gutted ...

just saw the 5 minutes,
all looked very happy,
gorka's face was just a brief unhappy face.

I have never voted in Strictly before but I voted for Hamza this year.

He had a personality which came through in his dancing - none of the others did.

Motsi and Shirley seemed surprised

Motsi said something like "oooh, wow!"