Dancing with the Stars Season 33 Night 5 Recap: A Double Elimination

It was a wild two nights in the ballroom as Dancing With The Stars two-night event culminated in another double elimination Tuesday. The two tapped to leave are veteran actors who were at times sentimental favorites with the judges and the audience.

DWTS took last week off—pre-empted by the Vice-Presidential Debate. So, the show returned with new episodes on back-to-back nights this week. Monday was Soul Train Night and Tuesday’s elimination episode was Hair Metal night. The stars’ scores from both nights were combined with votes to determine the final outcome.

Actors Eric Roberts and Reginald VelJohnson were the two whose run ended Tuesday. Both were on the low-end of the judges scoring, with VelJohnson scoring 21 out of 40 and Roberts scoring 22 out of 40 on during Tuesday’s episode. The episode featured Gene Simmons as a guest judge along with Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli, and Derek Hough.

It was an emotional farewell, especially for VelJohnson, whose courageous efforts drew admiration and praise from the judges. Both VelJohnson and Roberts were gracious about bowing out and grateful for the experience.

That was a 180-degree flip from the first elimination, that saw actress Tori Spelling and personality Anna Delvey as the first stars eliminated. In response, Delvey quipped she got, “Nothing,” out of her time on DWTS.

With four now eliminated, there are nine stars left vying for the Mirror Ball Trophy. The closest call of the night belonged to Olympic rugby star Ilona Maher, who was in the bottom three but remained in the competition. Her Jive on Tuesday featured a few mistakes, that dropped her score to 26 out of 40. Maher was visibly upset after feeling she blew the routine, having to be consoled by partner Alan Bersten. It was her lowest score of the season, but she vowed to bounce back.

On the other end of the spectrum, Bachelor star Joey Graziadei lit up the ballroom with his partner, Jenna Johnson. Their Tango was one of the highlights of the night, earning straight 9s from the panel of judges. Close on their heels were Chandler Kinney and Brandon Armstrong, who posted a 33 out of 40 for their Jive a night after leading the scoring during Soul Train night.

Dancing With The Stars continues Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on ABC.