“Dancing With the Stars” Season 34, Episode 7

Week seven of “Dancing With the Stars” brought thrills and chills to the ballroom with Halloween Night.

Joining judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli this week was former “DWTS” pro and two-time Mirrorball champion Cheryl Burke.

Dressed in their spookiest attire, the nine remaining couples danced their individual routines, as well as in the Dance Monster-thon bonus round.

Before anyone hit the floor, however, hosts Julianne Hough and Alfonso Ribeiro revealed to the audience that actress Elaine Hendrix suffered an injury in rehearsals that morning. She was in the hospital being taken care of and, therefore, could not participate in the live show.

The first couple to dance was Whitney Leavitt and Mark Ballas, performing a jazz routine to “Brain Stew” by Green Day.

The judges, as usual, praised Ballas’ choreography but pointed out that Leavitt once again had some timing issues in the side-by-side section.

Despite her being clearly off, she still scored a 37 out of 40, with a 10 from Tonioli. Fans are accusing the show of being biased toward Leavitt, especially after mistakes in her dances during both Dedication and Halloween Night still resulted in high scores.

Jordan Chiles danced next with her partner Ezra Sosa. The pair took a risk by using a harness attached to the star as they performed a contemporary to “Elastic Heart” by Sia.

The judges found the prop to be less effective than intended, resulting in a total of 34 out of 40 for the duo. Reactions on social media to this scoring have been critical, saying that Chiles was severely underscored.

Birthday boy Andy Richter and his partner Emma Slater performed the first paso doble of the season to “Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67: I. Allegro con brio” by Ludwig van Beethoven.

Channeling his priest character from “Scary Movie 2,” Richter received praise for his improvements and earned a 28 out of 40.

The intended celeb to dance next was Hendrix, but given her injury, the show had to follow a different protocol. Instead of a live routine, the judges scored her and her partner, Alan Bersten, based on a video of their camera-blocking rehearsal.

Before they showed the routine, Ribeiro announced some good news: Hendrix was cleared by doctors to dance next week, provided she survived elimination that night.

It was heartbreaking not to see the routine live, but the judges said they knew the dance would’ve been amazing had Hendrix been able to perform.

The judges gave them all 8s for the rehearsal, totaling a 32 out of 40.

Next up to hit the floor was actress Danielle Fishel and partner Pasha Pashkov. Working collaboratively, Fishel and Pashkov created a murder mystery-inspired Viennese waltz to “Die With a Smile” by Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga.

They scored a 33 out of 40 for the routine.

Robert Irwin took to the floor next as the leading man in his Argentine tango with Witney Carson. They danced to an orchestral arrangement of “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” by Eurythmics.

Earning his first 10s from Inaba and Tonioli and 9s from Hough and Burke, they scored a 38 out of 40.

In a nod to Jan Ravnik’s time as an Eras Tour backup dancer, he and celebrity partner Jen Affleck danced a contemporary routine to “Look What You Made Me Do” by Taylor Swift.

The reality star earned all 8s for her dance, resulting in a 32 out of 40.

Social media influencer Alix Earle was up next with a chilling tango to “Bury a Friend” by Billie Eilish. During rehearsals, she asked her partner, Val Chmerkovskiy, to go hard on her, bringing back “vintage Val.”

The challenging rehearsals paid off when the couple earned a near-perfect 39 out of 40, with their first 10s from the three main judges and a 9 from guest judge Burke.

The final normal-round dance was from Dylan Efron and his partner Daniella Karagach. After suffering a broken nose in rehearsals, the star danced a Viennese waltz to “Can’t Help Falling in Love (Dark)” by Tommee Profitt, inspired by his favorite romance-fantasy books.

The duo earned 9s from the main judges and an 8 from Burke, making for a 35 out of 40 total.

The dancing didn’t stop there, as the couples went on to partake in the Dance Monster-thon, excluding Hendrix and Bersten.

The eight participating couples danced the hustle and lindy hop, with the Grim Reaper eliminating them one by one based on the judges’ direction as time went on.

Whitney and Mark were crowned the winners of the Monster-thon, earning five extra points. The couples who lost were awarded between one and four points, depending on when they were taken out of the Monster-thon.

Finally, it was time for elimination. Elaine and Alan, Whitney and Mark, and Jen and Jan were the three remaining couples.

It was yet another shocking elimination as Ribeiro and Hough revealed Jen and Jan to be the couple going home.

Next week on “Dancing With the Stars,” it’s Rock ’n’ Roll Night.

—Sarah Gavlak

Sarah Gavlak is a fourth-year majoring in telecommunications. To contact her, please email sng5393@psu.edu.