Season thirty-three of “Dancing with the Stars” coming to an end has caused conversations to arise among fans revolving showmances, controversial scoring, and the final five pairs who competed for the Mirrorball trophy.

From the premiere to the finale, much improvement was shown from the dancers, but it all occurred at different paces. For example, Chandler Kinney, Disney Channel star, and her partner, Brandon Armstrong, dominated the first couple weeks of the competition with their strong technique right from the beginning.

However, as the weeks passed, the other couples became more comfortable, and they started to compete at a higher level with Chandler and Brandon. For example, Joey Graziadei, the former Bachelor, and Jenna Johnson began scoring higher than the leaders in certain weeks.

“I thought that the season overall was really good, but I was very sad that my favorite pair did not win the Mirrorball. I am still so excited for next season though,” Fiona Corr ‘27 said.

Danny Amendola, an NFL wide receiver, and Witney Carson peaked towards the middle of the season, specifically week 5 on Dedication Night. Danny displayed his strong lifts and tricks during this dance, and pulled off one of the most iconic moves of the season that went viral on the internet.

Showmances:

Throughout the season, Ezra Sosa was able to keep fans updated on the latest showmance drama displayed on Tiktok. The showmances between supermodel, Brooks Nader, and Gleb Savchenko as well as Jenn Tran, the former Bachelorette, and Sasha Farber were big hits on social media.

“I was very invested in the Brooks and Gleb romance on the show, and Ezra made it so much better with his Tiktoks too,” Brigid Infanti ‘26 said. “I love Sasha and Jen a lot. I think their little Instagram posts are so funny.”

Controversial Scoring:

Although they received plenty of love and support from fans online, neither of these pairs were able to make it to the finale. Controversial scoring from judges, specifically Carrie Ann Inaba, took a toll on a lot of these pairs, and some were not able to score high enough to keep them in the competition.

As the season carried forward, Carrie Ann Inaba received backlash for her disputable scoring. For example, Chandler Kinney was judged more technically coming from her experienced background. This left the audience upset and unsatisfied with Carrie Ann’s decisions with scoring.

“I thought that most of the scoring was good, but Carrie Ann’s were a little odd. Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli were mostly okay, but overall some of the scores were fluctuating,” Keira McCarthy ‘26 said.

Final Five: 

Approaching the finale, the judges’ scores and the votes from the fans locked the final pairs in their spots for the end of the show. The five contestants that were left to compete for the Len Goodman Mirrorbakl trophy were Danny Amendola, Joey Graziadei, Chandler Kinney, Olympic rugby player, Ilona Maher, and Olympic gymnast, Stephen Nedoroscik.

Many were surprised that these five couples made their way into the finale, and disappointed that their favorite pair did not make it to the final round. For example, fans were upset that Jenn Tran and Sasha Farber were voted out two episodes before the finale.

As season thirty-three comes to an end, there were many moments that will go down into the history books of Dancing With The Stars. Through actor Reggie VelJohnson’s spirited and loving attitude, NBA basketball player Dwight Howard’s sensational height and entertainment, and reality TV star Phaedra Parks’ spunky character, the show produced another successful season.

In the wise words of the contestant Anna Delvey, a “fashion influencer” and con-artist, the show has left “nothing” but excitement for the season premiere next fall.