Pod Meets Twirl'd: DWTS 3410

Summary

Pod Meets World – "Pod Meets Twirl'd: DWTS 3410"

Release Date: November 22, 2025
Hosts: Will Friedle & Rider Strong
Theme: Dancing with the Stars (DWTS) Season 34, Episode 10 Recap

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Overview of Episode (03:12)

This episode of the “Pod Meets Twirl’d” sub-series recaps the dramatic 10th episode of Dancing with the Stars Season 34, which aired just prior to recording. Will Friedle and Rider Strong – self-described as “two guys who can’t dance, don’t want to dance, but watch for Danielle Fishel” – provide candid and often comedic reactions to the post-Danielle DWTS universe. The focus this week is the shocking elimination of front-runner Whitney, analysis of the top dancers, the influence of offstage drama and social media, and how the final weeks might shape up. The hosts get honest about judging biases, dance performances, and journey arcs as the competition heads into the finals.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

Immediate Reactions: Shook by Eliminations (03:54–07:00)

• Hosts admit recording immediately after the live show for unfiltered reactions.
• Both express surprise ("I'm shook." – Will, 04:01) at Whitney's elimination, despite her strong performances.
• Will points out that the DWTS universe has factors — like social media influence and show politics — that remain mysterious to “outsiders” like them:

  “We have a good grasp on the show, but I don't think we have a good grasp on all of the internal, external, social media...politics that go into the vote.” (04:21)

The Whitney/Secret Lives of Mormon Wives Controversy (05:08–06:07)

• Speculation on Whitney’s cross-network appeal after her Hulu show ("Secret Lives of Mormon Wives") became #1, and the narrative that her participation in DWTS was contingent on signing on for another season.
• Off-show drama may have impacted her public perception and voting, but hosts admit it’s all rumor mill to them.

The Nature of Winning: It's Not the Best Dancer (06:08–07:15)

• Discussion of how performance and votes don't align straightforwardly:

  “It's clearly not the best dancer wins the show. That's clearly not what Dancing with the Stars is.” (06:08 – Will)

Prince Night: Music and Dancing (07:19–11:06)

• Split on Prince: Will is all-in (“Put them at the two coolest men who have ever arguably walked the planet”—09:01), while Ryder admits he just isn't into Prince or the style showcased on the episode.
• Will offers a music nerd tangent, describing Prince’s underrated genius, while Ryder likens the Prince experience to jazz — something he feels he “should” like but doesn’t connect with.

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Individual Dance Recaps & Analysis

Elaine & Alan (First Dance) (11:06–12:52)

• Ryder: Noted “Slinky quality” and overdue attitude.
• Will: Notices she’s dancing first often and queries about running order's impact.
• Both agree: “Nines across the board, which seemed totally fair.” (12:29 – Ryder)

Alex & Val (First Dance) (12:52–14:25)

• “Winners” and “tight competition.” (12:58–13:11)
• Some mismatch of song/dance energy, but superb technical performance.
• Noted for highlighting Alex as the “painting” to Val’s “frame.”
• “She is insane.” – Ryder describes Alex as a standout talent. (14:17)

Whitney & Mark (First Dance) (19:38–20:07)

• Whitney’s best solo work, displays independence as a performer.
• Speculation: Her professional dancer background may have worked against her regarding voters, especially compared to Alex’s journey.

Dylan & Daniella (First Dance) (21:28–22:33)

• Slight disappointment. “I could feel him gritting his teeth...No flow...deliberate.” (21:53–22:00)
• Daniella continues to be a standout partner.
• Noted presence of several “jive” dances this week — not a favorite for either host.

Judging, Voting, and Journey Talk (23:12–24:44)

• Questioning if Whitney was fated to go home regardless of her dance.
• Ryder: “I think Elaine danced her way into the finale tonight.” (23:46)

Proposed Show Tweaks (24:37–25:07)

• Will pitches a “Running Man/Squid Game” competitive twist on DWTS, much to Ryder’s mock horror.

Jordan & Ezra (First Dance) (25:12–26:38)

• Feedback from Derek (“missing punch” – 25:24) mirrors Ryder’s impression.
• All dancers come back stronger for their second routines.

Robert & Whitney (First Dance) (28:26–29:44)

• “Incredible.” “Coolest dance I’ve ever seen.” (28:40 – Ryder)
• Remarkable jive with standout flips; Robert called “dancer of the night” (29:05 – Will).
• Both hosts note minimal production/set design allows pure dance quality to stand out.

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Judges' Drama—Carrie Ann vs. Derek (29:45–36:12)

• Will highlights visible tension and inconsistent critiques by Carrie Ann:

  “How you look at Whitney and you say this was the best dance you've ever done and then give her a lower score than you've given her before. Obviously makes no sense.” (30:00 – Will)

• Recap of media article about Carrie Ann’s stricter judging style, the extra scrutiny as a woman judge, and her tendency to “have favorites.”
• Will’s take: “If she did that equally for everybody...I wouldn't have that big a problem with it.” (32:43)
• Both hosts acknowledge their own passionate bias when it comes to Danielle’s judging.
• Will wonders how much real impact the judges’ scores have compared to public votes.

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Second Round of Dances

Elaine & Alan – Paso Doble (41:15–44:30)

• Will’s “History of Dance” reveals the Paso Doble’s (surprise!) French roots.
• Elaine’s breakout: “I thought this was Elaine's best dance of the season.” (43:32 – Ryder)
• Perfect tens; timing for a surge into the finale.

Alex & Val (Second Dance) (45:10–46:57)

• Magical, soulful, fully committed—contrasted with Alex’s earlier “AI dancer” detached style.
• “She is in it. Body, heart, soul.” (46:13 – Ryder)

Dylan & Daniella – Cha Cha (47:18–49:34)

• “Not his best night overall,” but still solid. Placement of Zac Efron in the audience dominates camera cuts, to comedic complaints from Will.

Whitney & Mark (Second Dance) (49:34–51:11)

• “A little tame, but good.” (49:47 – Ryder)
• Carrie Ann’s praise versus her actual scores add to the judges’ inconsistency narrative.

Jordan & Ezra – Argentine Tango (58:36–61:17)

• Major “breakthrough moment” – both hosts in awe of Jordan’s technical and performative evolution.
• “Just perfect.” Ryder notes the increased technical challenge with legwork.

Robert & Whitney (Second Dance) (61:39–62:45)

• Phenomenal, but Derek dings him with a 9, possibly to avoid appearance of favoritism.
• Will and Ryder conclude Robert is the consensus likely winner; “no one’s gonna beat him” (62:01 – Will).

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Journey Analysis – Who Improved Most? (64:50–66:51)

• Will: “Based just on journey from where they started to where they ended, who do you think improved the most?”
• Ryder points to Jordan and Dylan for biggest improvements (“Dylan, I guess, just strikes me as the everyman...” 65:37).
• Will adds Alex as a case of the most profound dance-journey growth.

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Finale Predictions & Voting Speculation (66:51–68:23)

• The hosts agree that it’s shaping up as Robert (fan favorite, journey narrative) vs. Alex (pure technical ability).
• Discussion about how transparent the voting is with the public and whether judges know who the real favorites are.
• Comic digression about “water cooler conversations” and “semaphore dancing” for back-channel info.

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Elimination: Whitney's Exit and Shocks (68:48–74:13)

• Both expected Elaine or Dylan to go before Whitney; elimination order played to the suspense.
• Ryder: “Whitney gone...she didn’t seem shocked. She really didn’t.” (72:56–73:07)
• Will speculates Whitney probably knew, given the off-camera internet drama.

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Predictions on Winner and Show Dynamics (73:32–74:13)

• Both agree Robert not winning would be “the biggest shock of the season.”
• Robert’s journey: “He started at 11 ... and just kept it at 11.” (74:04 – Will)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the DWTS experience:

  “I think by this point, you're in the press for everything you do for weeks at a time. You're dancing for hours every single day. You've got to just be a raw nerve at this point.” (52:28 – Will)

• Summing up the show’s unpredictability:

  “If you expect the best dancer to win, you're going to be disappointed a lot of the time.” (06:14 – Will)

• Favorite Dancers vs. Technically Best:

  “Alex is gonna give him a run for the money… But I think Robert’s still gonna win.” (66:45 – Ryder)

• Judges drama:

  “When she's saying to people like Andy… your journey is amazing. And Danielle's flipping all over the stage and she's like, well, you're really not holding your shoulders back. It didn't come off as equal judgment.” (32:51 – Will)

• Dance education moments:

  “Where do you think the paso doble originated? ... France.” (41:48 – Will)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [03:12] – Hosts kick off post-show reactions: “Welcome to POD meets Twirl'd…right after the 10th episode…”
• [04:21] – Hosts puzzle over DWTS voting and social media influence
• [05:15] – Whitney/Secret Lives of Mormon Wives controversy
• [07:19] – Prince Night musical divide
• [11:06] – Elaine & Alan’s first dance breakdown
• [19:26] – Whitney & Mark praised despite elimination
• [23:12] – Voting system and Whitney’s predestined fate
• [29:45] – Judge Carrie Ann vs. Derek drama recapped
• [41:15] – Elaine & Alan’s epic paso doble; dance history lesson
• [58:36] – Jordan & Ezra’s Argentine Tango, technical marvel
• [64:50] – Debate on “most improved” dancer: Dylan, Jordan, or Alex?
• [68:48] – Shock elimination of Whitney
• [73:32] – Finale predictions: “Would be a bigger shock than Whitney leaving tonight if Robert didn’t win...”

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Closing Thoughts

The hosts blend dance analysis, inside-baseball TV speculation, and dry humor to cover the transition from Danielle’s emotional exit to a competition clearly hinging on personality, popularity, and journey as much as raw dance skills. They appreciate the dancers’ growth and call out the unpredictable nature and production savvy of DWTS, setting the stage for a dramatic finale.

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Note: All advertisements, product placements, and non-content sections have been omitted from this summary.

Transcript

[Will Friedle]

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[Ryder Strong]

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[Danielle Fischl]

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[Ryder Strong]

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[Will Friedle]

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[Danielle Fischl]

Okay, confession time. I tried to host a Friendsgiving last year with, let's say, questionable results.

[Ryder Strong]

Yes, we remember. You made mashed potatoes that somehow had the consistency of drywall.

[Danielle Fischl]

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[Will Friedle]

Same I got a no antibiotics ever Turkey for just 149A pound with prime and even snagged organic green beans and mushrooms for the casserole.

[Ryder Strong]

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[Danielle Fischl]

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[Ryder Strong]

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[Will Friedle]

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[Will Friedle]

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[Ryder Strong]

Welcome to POD meets Twirl. The Dancing with the Stars recap. Hosted by two guys who can't dance, don't want to dance, and have now seen 10 episodes of Dancing with the Stars. But since our best friend Danielle joined the cast for season 34, we're going all in. We are Will Friedle and Ryder Strong, AKA the two dudes standing next to Topanga, AKA Daniel Fishel's backup, AKA the. The Dan Yets. How's it going, Will?

[Will Friedle]

It's going well, Ryder. How you doing?

[Ryder Strong]

This is. This is the hottest off the presses we've ever recorded it.

[Will Friedle]

The press is so hot, I can't even.

[Ryder Strong]

It's.

[Will Friedle]

This is hot. This hot off the presses.

[Ryder Strong]

We are recording right after the 10th episode.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. Aired like, literally right after.

[Ryder Strong]

Literally right after. And are you shook?

[Will Friedle]

I'm shook.

[Ryder Strong]

I'm a little shook, too.

[Will Friedle]

I'm a little shook. I'm. I'm a little. Yes and no. Yes and no. Again, I think there's more that goes into all this that we're not really privy to. I think, you know, we've been hearing that apparently she had a big week with another show, and I don't know what the hell.

[Ryder Strong]

Don't you feel like we have a good grasp at least on.

[Will Friedle]

No.

[Ryder Strong]

How the judging works?

[Will Friedle]

No, no, no, I don't. I feel like we have a good grasp on the show, but I don't think we have a good grasp on all of the internal, external, social media, all that stuff. Politics that go into the vote.

[Ryder Strong]

Right.

[Will Friedle]

That I don't. I think you and I are woefully ignorant of. I really. Because neither of us are particularly good on social media or have. You have a much bigger presence than I do. I have none. But you have one. Danielle obviously has one. So you know the world a bit, but I think there's a whole micro world around Dancing with the Stars that we are just not privy to.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah. I mean, we're a part of it.

[Will Friedle]

Yes. Now.

[Ryder Strong]

Because we have this podcast. Exactly. And my feed has been a lot of Dancing with the Stars, although it tends to skew very Danielle heavy, so.

[Will Friedle]

Well, of course.

[Ryder Strong]

Right. Yeah. So I have no clue what's up with Whitney. I guess it's kind of.

[Will Friedle]

I didn't either, but I guess so. You know, her other show the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives is the number one show on Hulu, thus being the number one show on abc. And Amy, you know, it's like. Which is the same world as Dancing with the Stars. Right. So because it's on Hulu, it's all in the Disney family. So I'm sure there's people there that thought that Disney and ABC obviously wanted her to go as far as possible. But I guess something came out where she said she didn't want to do the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives anymore. She would only do that if she got a chance to do Dancing with the Stars, like they said to her. Well, if you do another season of the show will let you do Dancing with the Stars or you have a better shot at doing Dancing with the Stars something. It was intertwined. So because of that, she went on to do another season of the show, and I guess she's getting kind of roasted for that. I don't know what it was, but again, this is all stuff we don't know about, so.

[Ryder Strong]

Right.

[Will Friedle]

It's just part of the world we're not familiar with. It's clearly not. The best dancer wins the show. That's clearly not what Dancing with the Stars is.

[Ryder Strong]

No, no.

[Will Friedle]

So you know that going in. Yeah. Then you're fine.

[Ryder Strong]

That's the bottom line, is that Andy sticks around way longer. Probably should have in terms of just dancing skill. And Whitney, who I thought was a.

[Will Friedle]

Wonderful dancer, basically a professional dancer, she didn't have a bad performance that I can remember throughout the entire show, where you're like, right.

[Ryder Strong]

And.

[Will Friedle]

And she's gone and doesn't make the final. So you just.

[Ryder Strong]

Well, I didn't expect it.

[Will Friedle]

I didn't.

[Ryder Strong]

Surprise.

[Will Friedle]

Me too.

[Ryder Strong]

So I'm still feeling a little, like, wow. Okay.

[Will Friedle]

Shook.

[Ryder Strong]

I also love everybody who made it through, so.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, me too.

[Ryder Strong]

You know, I have no reason to dislike Whitney, I guess, but. So I guess I would have been happy no matter what because I like all these people. They're all good dancers.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. But again, it took a turn for us when Danielle wasn't on the show anymore.

[Ryder Strong]

Right.

[Will Friedle]

It kind of becomes, you know, the person you're really rooting for isn't there. So then you kind of go like, okay, now I'm just kind of watching a show, and I'm enjoying it.

[Ryder Strong]

The man.

[Will Friedle]

I'm like.

[Ryder Strong]

It was dramatic.

[Will Friedle]

Huge. Huge tv. Yeah. Yeah. Very much so.

[Ryder Strong]

All right. Our opening number was an homage to.

[Will Friedle]

Prince, I'd like to say, musically, by far my favorite episode ever. Okay.

[Ryder Strong]

Complete opposite oh, God, I love Prince. Complete opposite. Okay, so I was watching this opening number, not really cluing in that it was Prince night or whatever, right? And I was like, I just. I just don't like this. You know, I was gotta disagree. It was just like. I don't know the style of it. The. Everything was just like, this is fine. Everyone's dancing.

[Will Friedle]

Well, I just don't care.

[Ryder Strong]

And then I was like, oh, it's.

[Will Friedle]

Prince night and you're not a Prince fan.

[Ryder Strong]

Well, here's the thing. I always thought that Prince was just this gap in my musical knowledge. Like, I don't know. I didn't think I knew many Prince songs. I don't listen to Prince. I've never been into Prince. I don't know anything about it. And I always knew that that was just like a blind spot in my musical world. I have a lot of them.

[Will Friedle]

To be fair, most people do. I would imagine.

[Ryder Strong]

I'm very limited. I just don't. You know, I don't expose myself to the radio that much. I don't listen to popular music, so I'm usually out of it. And I always knew Prince as this, like, looming towering figure that I should someday give attention to. And then when they did the, like, Prince roundup where they showed his. A montage of his whole career, I was like, yeah, I don't. I don't like this.

[Will Friedle]

Oh, yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

I'm like, all. Everything he wears.

[Will Friedle]

Disagree.

[Ryder Strong]

All his style. I was just like, yeah, not for me. And then the music itself, I'm like, yeah, I. I know that song. Oh, I know that song too. I don't know if I really like any of these.

[Will Friedle]

I love it. He's. Prince was let Kravitz before Lenny Kravitz. Prince is the guy.

[Ryder Strong]

I also don't like Lenny Kravitz, but, oh, man.

[Will Friedle]

Put them at the two coolest men who have ever arguably walked the planet. Just put them in a feather boa and stretch purple pants that have shark teeth on them, and they pull it off. Like, yeah, love it, Love it. You know me, I'm not a style guy, but I love. I found Prince, like, in my early 40s because everyone was like, dude, you love music and you've never found Prince. And I was the same way. I was like, I'm not. I don't need to listen to Prince. Like, I got enough going on. And then I started to kind of deep dive Prince and it was like, holy.

[Ryder Strong]

Oh, so you had the exact opposite of me.

[Will Friedle]

Exactly.

[Ryder Strong]

Okay.

[Will Friedle]

Exactly.

[Ryder Strong]

I. I mean, maybe you could do it. But like, I watched the montage. I was like, do you want to.

[Will Friedle]

Do you want to get. You want to get a little. A little nugget, Just a very little nugget of Prince. What Prince is capable of. Go and Google. It's playing. I think it's My Guitar Gently Weeps is. I think the name of the song. I could. The song might be Wrong from the Beatles, and they're doing some kind of a retrospective, and it's some of the greatest musicians ever on stage. It's like Tom Petty and all these people, and. And Prince does the guitar solo, and it's all of them halfway through these towers of the industry, looking at this guy. Like, who the is this guy? He's. It's insane.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

So, I mean, he does certain things. I mean, the. The. One of the. He's also a prolific songwriter. So one of the famous stories is apparently he saw.

[Ryder Strong]

What'S.

[Will Friedle]

What's her name from the Bengals on the plane. He was flying on the plane with, like, the lead singer of the Bangles. This is a. A story that's like a Hollywood story. So I'm not sure if it's true, but it's. People have said it is. And he walked on and he saw her, and he. He was very big into female empowerment and music. And by the time the flight landed, he had written it was like just another Manic Monday and handed it to her on a napkin, like, one of the biggest things ever. He was like that guy where it was that kind of thing.

[Ryder Strong]

I mean, I get it. It. It's. I guess it's sort of like jazz, which we talked about, like, one of those things. I feel like I should. Like, everyone tells me you're a hipster. They're like, oh, you would totally like this. And I've never been able to get past, like, I just never got into it.

[Will Friedle]

No, me neither.

[Ryder Strong]

Feel like Prince is kind of that way. I feel like tonight was a deep dive into Prince land for me. And I came out, you were totally.

[Will Friedle]

Swimming for the surface. You were deep diving and swam for the service. I love them, so. I love the music. I really love the music.

[Ryder Strong]

All right, so first up, Elaine and Alan. I thought this was pretty great.

[Will Friedle]

I did, too. But I have a question. I have we asked anybody how they pick who goes first, because this is the second week in a row she's had to dance first. That's not true.

[Ryder Strong]

Robert went first, didn't he?

[Will Friedle]

No. I thought, what? Tonight?

[Ryder Strong]

No, last.

[Will Friedle]

No, Elaine went first last week. I thought Elaine went first again. Didn't she go first last week?

[Ryder Strong]

Interesting. Well, yeah, she. Tara said.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, she did.

[Ryder Strong]

Okay. Well, this week it almost doesn't matter because they all got to dance a second dance.

[Will Friedle]

I know, but we've talked about kind of being in the hole, starting in first position, and she's now gone twice.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

But I agree. I thought it was. I thought it was decent. It wasn't my favorite, but it started strong.

[Ryder Strong]

I thought she brought a, like, a slinky quality that she hasn't before that I thought was really good. She had, like, nice attitude without being cheesy. You know, like, all right, you're bringing some attitude. Obviously, she brought it way more for her second dance.

[Will Friedle]

Second dance was insane.

[Ryder Strong]

Oh, it was.

[Will Friedle]

She also looked great tonight. Both of the dresses she was wearing were. Were pretty great. Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

Even before the second dance, I was like, oh, Elaine has brought it tonight in a way that think she has before. And she was fantasy right in the. Yeah, she was really in it. And I was. I, I. I thought she brought a new attitude, a new, like, way of moving her body to this dance. I was like, oh, wow, she's come to, like, really dance. And.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

So I thought it was great. She got nines across the board, which seemed totally fair.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, I agree. Good start. Wasn't tens, but. Yeah. Kind of changing my tune a little bit on her just this week. I've had my problems with Elaine, obviously, but I thought she did really well this week. Like, really well. And you could tell she was focused and kind of ready to go.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah. Next up were Alex and Val. These two, man, just winners.

[Will Friedle]

They.

[Ryder Strong]

My God.

[Will Friedle]

I think with Whitney out of the way, I still don't think I stand by what I say. No one's gonna be Robert.

[Ryder Strong]

No, no one's Robert.

[Will Friedle]

Robert.

[Ryder Strong]

But it's gonna be a tight, tight, stiff competition from Alex.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

She could go really close. You know, it's funny, I wasn't convinced that the. The song and the dance went well together because, you know, this is the song felt kind of like a joyful release. And this. This dance is, like, a little bit more about control or, like, maybe even resisting control in a way. Like, it just felt like a little mismatch to me.

[Will Friedle]

Really?

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah. That was my only, like. But it was still so well done. It was, like, great. Of course. Yes. This is going to get nines and tens, which it did.

[Will Friedle]

And it did. And she also. That I, you know, apparently. So one of the things we're learning as we're Learning these dances is a lot of these dances are really there to highlight the woman. So it's like the. How did Danielle say it to us one time? She's like, the man is the frame and the woman is the painting. So it's like. It's kind of. That's what it's highlighting. And her in that red dress was stunning. I mean, it just. Everything about that visual, how long and lean she was when he, like, leans her over at the end and the slit up the side. I mean, it was. The whole look was pretty remarkable for this dance. Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

She's such a good dancer. I mean, she is insane.

[Will Friedle]

She is.

[Danielle Fischl]

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[Ryder Strong]

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[Will Friedle]

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[Danielle Fischl]

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[Ryder Strong]

Plus, if you send them in now, Legacy Box will have everything digitized and ready to share by Christmas. So you could actually watch Uncle Jerry barf from Nana's fruit salad instead of just talking about it.

[Will Friedle]

You've heard about Legacy Box all year, but now is the best time to digitize your memories. Hurry. This $9 deal won't last long.

[Danielle Fischl]

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[Ryder Strong]

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[Will Friedle]

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[Will Friedle]

Uh, Limu is that guy with the binoculars watching us.

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[Ryder Strong]

All right, next up, Whitney and Mark. I, you know, contrary to the fact that she got kicked off this week, I thought that this was some of her best solo work.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

You know, like it really.

[Will Friedle]

She had a bad dance. No.

[Ryder Strong]

And, and this was a chance for them to do some side by side. I don't know something about this. I was like, all right, Whitney's really like just coming into her own as a dancer.

[Will Friedle]

She.

[Ryder Strong]

It's like it. What didn't feel dependent on him to the same degree that I feel like, you know, they've always been great.

[Will Friedle]

Right.

[Ryder Strong]

But this was like a chance. I don't know. I was like, man, she's killing it. And I think the scores reflected that even better than Alex in some ways with their first dance.

[Will Friedle]

I agree. Now, do you think by this point, I guess you can't, you can't dissect the two because there she has this whole other Persona that I guess is driving some of her voting when it comes to her other reality show and her online Persona, which again, we're not privy to at all. So do you think the fact that people like us and a lot of other people have kind of said she's a professional dancer has heard her, has hurt her as the, the. I mean, because again, if you look at her and Alex now, it seems like they're kind of close to the same level. And Alex isn't a professional dancer.

[Ryder Strong]

Right.

[Will Friedle]

I mean, she's like a.

[Ryder Strong]

Well, she. I think she on Tick Tock. Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

Oh, it's the same thing. I thought she was just like a makeup influencer or something. Yeah, you're right.

[Ryder Strong]

She was introduced more as a makeup influencer. But I just assume if anybody's on TikTok and they' that's what they're.

[Will Friedle]

Dancer.

[Ryder Strong]

That's what they're.

[Will Friedle]

That's where we're wrong. That's where we so don't know anything about TikTok. I just assume it's food reviews and how to dance.

[Ryder Strong]

Right. It's.

[Will Friedle]

I have no idea what it is.

[Danielle Fischl]

You're right.

[Ryder Strong]

She. She does makeup tutorials, right?

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

Ever.

[Will Friedle]

Alex never really danced on Tik Tok, apparently. That's what it's saying. So. Yeah, it seems like that to me. Seems more of the show. We've talked about that with Dylan, who I did not think had a great night, but we talked about that with Dylan, where, you know, there's something to. You're not a dancer now you're a dancer, as opposed to you're a dancer and now you're a slightly better dancer. Right.

[Ryder Strong]

That's.

[Will Friedle]

It's two different journeys.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah. Yeah. She got nine, ten, and ten. So a little. Little higher than Alex and Val. And then we went on to Dylan and Daniella, your favorite. She's. You know, I'm still really rooting for both of them.

[Will Friedle]

Me, too. Me, too.

[Ryder Strong]

This one did not. Did not do it for me. Me neither.

[Will Friedle]

I felt like he was a little stiff tonight. I felt like he was a little off tonight.

[Ryder Strong]

The note I took was. I could feel him gritting his teeth a little bit during this one.

[Will Friedle]

You know the word that I used when I was watching it? Deliberate.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

It seemed. There was no flow to it. It seemed like he was in his head, and it was kind of 1, 2, 3. Like he's trying to keep up with it in his mind.

[Ryder Strong]

Right. But she's.

[Will Friedle]

I. I have to remind myself to watch him because she's so good.

[Ryder Strong]

She's astounding.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah. But, yeah, I was, you know, I was glad they came back out for another dance, but this was. Yeah, I was like, oh, Dylan, come on, man. After last week, you could bring it. You could do it. But I also, you know, and this was an overall for the. This week, a lot of jives, which I just. Still not my favorite dance.

[Will Friedle]

Nope. I don't either.

[Ryder Strong]

Nope. And so, you know, there were a lot of choices being made in terms of dance that I was like, really? This is what, you're gonna do this now? You're gonna bust out the Viennese waltz? I. Everybody was still good, but it was like, I don't know, I wanted a little. I'm very curious how the finale is going to go. Like, what, their dance.

[Will Friedle]

Three dances each, apparently.

[Liberty Mutual Announcer (Doug)]

Is it?

[Ryder Strong]

And so.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. And there's five. There's five couples left in the finals. Is that right?

[Ryder Strong]

Is there any theme for the finale or is it just a free for all finale?

[Will Friedle]

I don't.

[Ryder Strong]

Finally.

[Will Friedle]

Finally. No, just finale. Just finale.

[Ryder Strong]

All right, Final songs. Cool. All right, so they got nine. Nine and nine, which seemed fair, actually.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I don't disagree. I, I, I, I, I thought he was off a little tonight.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

Now, I have a question for you. Since we are talking about the. It's clear that the best dancer doesn't win. And I, I imagine this is something that everybody who's ever watched Dancing with the Stars ever knew and we just didn't. That it's not like if you, if you expect the best dancer to win, you're going to be disappointed a lot of the time. Do you think Whitney had lost before she even stepped foot on the dance floor tonight?

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. I kind of feel the same way. They were, they just. That was it. She was just. She was done already.

[Ryder Strong]

No. You know what? If Elaine hadn't blown everybody away, especially with their second dance, I think she could have been eliminated. I think, I think Elaine danced her way into the finale tonight, but I think it was on the bubble coming in.

[Will Friedle]

I don't know how it works, but I feel like with whatever was going on in the Internet, it was like she's done before she ever had a chance.

[Ryder Strong]

But see, this is why the show is so well produced, right? Because. Because if it was just about who's the best dancer, and the judges sort of had, like, robotic answers of, like, technical stuff, but, you know, but that human element is still there, and the journey and the narrative of the season, it still has a huge impact, and that's those ups and downs, man.

[Will Friedle]

Right.

[Ryder Strong]

This elimination, I, I have to, I.

[Will Friedle]

It shocked me, too. But I have to tell you that I, I've expanded on my idea from last week.

[Ryder Strong]

Okay.

[Will Friedle]

Remember, I talked about how a cool version of the show would be if both were celebrities and they dance as a couple.

[Ryder Strong]

Right.

[Will Friedle]

What it should be is that. But each week, one of the two of that couple is kicked off and has to then partner with somebody else. And so the final comes down to two celebrities dancing together, but only one of them can win.

[Ryder Strong]

That's not a bad. I think it'd be cool.

[Will Friedle]

And, yeah, I just saw Running man this week, so I'm just trying to think of other ways to up the up the game, and then they get killed. Well, I'm just saying, you know, I'm just.

[Ryder Strong]

You're eliminated. Squid games. Dancing.

[Will Friedle]

Dancing with the squid games.

[Ryder Strong]

All right, next up, Jordan and Ezra. And this is where I was like, man, the jive just kind of sucks.

[Will Friedle]

I agree. I don't like it. I don't like it.

[Ryder Strong]

But we'll get to. In our next dance. I was surprised. So Derek. Derek gave the feedback. You know, he gave really great feedback. He's. He's like, jordan, I just feel like you're. You're missing some of the bite or. I think he said punch. You know, like, I felt that when he said that, I was like, yeah, that's what it was. It was. She wasn't, like, hitting, like, landing into her. Her moves as much. And this is when I started to get worried, because I love Jordan. I love Jordan and Ezra. And I was like, oh, no, it's not looking good for them. So when it came down to the. The fight, the bottom three, who aren't really even. Maybe the bottom three.

[Will Friedle]

Right. You don't know.

[Ryder Strong]

I was pretty convinced that Jordan was out, but I thought this was a good dance.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, I don't think it was one of her best or her best, but it was good. I mean, I thought she was good tonight.

[Ryder Strong]

As an overall, everybody upped their game for their second dance. It seemed like.

[Will Friedle]

Yes.

[Ryder Strong]

I wonder if they got to choose which one went first. I mean, I know that I'm so confused as to how. What choices they have, but it seems like they were all pretty strategic in, like, whatever they thought was their best dance. If they had the choice, they put second. Because everybody's better. Yes.

[Will Friedle]

I also have to imagine, though, like any other. Whether it's the second half of a game or something like that, you're also warmed up.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

Like, you know, you're. I know. I know. You can warm up a bit beforehand, but once you've already danced and that first adrenaline rushes off, I have to imagine that second dance you can kind of sink into a little easier.

[Ryder Strong]

What are your. How do you warm up your voice for cartoon work? What are your. What are your vocal exercises?

[Will Friedle]

I usually wake up and cough.

[Ryder Strong]

You don't do anything?

[Will Friedle]

No.

[Danielle Fischl]

Really?

[Will Friedle]

No.

[Ryder Strong]

Red leather, yellow leather. Red leather, yellow leather.

[Will Friedle]

I've never done any of that unique New York in my entire life. No. At least now I'm not waking up and smoking half a pack of cigarettes. Nope, none of it.

[Ryder Strong]

Oh, my God.

[Will Friedle]

I exercise nothing with my voice.

[Ryder Strong]

That's actually pretty rare. Right. In your history.

[Will Friedle]

I've never been with a voiceover actor I've ever seen warming up their voice. Next to me, you just kind of sit down and you just go.

[Ryder Strong]

So.

[Will Friedle]

I mean, maybe. I think it's just. Again, it also depends on what you're doing.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

If. If. You know, when I. I remember doing a medal of honor video game Where I had to scream at the top of my lungs for 16 straight sessions or something like that. And it was. That was because everything. Don't forget, there's gunfire going on. So you're just yelling the whole time. It's like you couldn't warm up for that. It was just your. Your. Your throat is bleeding by the end of the. So. But no, but normally, no, I don't. What do you. What do you. Do you warm up theater before you do?

[Ryder Strong]

Oh, well, yeah. When I was. I've done, like, you know, eight shows a week where I've had to, like, steam, like, you know, I'll be inhaling, like, whatever, you know, just because, like, the throat gets so tired. But I'm horrible with my throat. Like, I use it.

[Will Friedle]

Oh, yeah, me too.

[Ryder Strong]

Horribly.

[Will Friedle]

Me too.

[Ryder Strong]

Like, I don't. Yeah. I don't, like, project correctly from my diaphragm or any of that.

[Will Friedle]

I do that. I'm pretty, but I don't treat my throat well. You just gotta be careful of the stuff you put in your body.

[Ryder Strong]

Right. Are you having a whiskey right now?

[Will Friedle]

No, it's a bourbon.

[Ryder Strong]

Good for you. All right. Then out came Robert and Whitney. And my note was, Jesus. I guess I like the jive, so maybe that's all I need to say. It's incredible.

[Will Friedle]

It's so good.

[Ryder Strong]

I was like, oh, dude. And suddenly the most coolest dance I've ever seen.

[Will Friedle]

I said the same thing. When she flips him over. I was like, okay, okay, we're done. Thank you.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah. Absolutely crazy. There were, like, two moves that flip, and then there was one earlier one. I was like, well, what they're making so cool and so interesting. So, like, I feel like it had great big set pieces. Still was a jive. Technically wonderful.

[Will Friedle]

There were some. There were some different dances going around that you could argue were dance of the night. But dancer of the night, Robert killed. Killed it. And. And we talked about last week about him against Dylan, where it was like, Dylan stole it last week and he's as good as. They were two different categories tonight. Robert absolutely crushed it tonight. Crushed it tonight.

[Ryder Strong]

Did you notice that, like, nobody had sets?

[Will Friedle]

Yes.

[Ryder Strong]

Like, all of the production design has just stripped down now.

[Will Friedle]

It's just. I love that whole dance. I do, too. I love that.

[Ryder Strong]

And it seems like everybody made the same choice. It was like, no, no. Now it's just about the dancing. We're not going to have any props. We're not going to have any extra stuff. And I thought it was really cool.

[Will Friedle]

Me, too.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

Do you want to take a moment here or towards the end to talk about the judging tonight and what was actually going on at the judges?

[Ryder Strong]

Well, I kind of missed all of it because, yeah, we were texting while watching. So let's talk about it. Cause I, I, I, you can tell.

[Will Friedle]

Derek was going at Carrie. Carrie. And I thought tonight, frankly, some of the stuff she did made no sense whatsoever. How you look at Whitney and you say this was the best dance you've ever done and then give her a lower score than you've given her before. Obviously makes no sense. Right? That being said, I thought a lot of. She's like, we're going from the semifinals to the finals. Our job is to judge. We have to nitpick a little bit. And that's what I thought she was doing. I didn't think it was horribly unfair. I thought getting down in front of, of Elaine and bowing to her was a bit much.

[Ryder Strong]

But, I mean, she loves Elaine. She does, so obviously she does.

[Will Friedle]

She's one of her faves.

[Ryder Strong]

Like, Elaine, we've talked about it. One of her faves.

[Will Friedle]

But the, the, then Derek obviously was, like, looking at her. She mentioned something about you. You missed two different hops in. I forget who she was talking to, but she said, you missed two different hops. And Derek kind of looked at her and looked, he was like, no, she, what the hell? And she's like, look, I saw what I saw. And they were going at it. And then apparently we have, we have some insider knowledge of some people that were there that apparently she was super pissed at the table. And then when they cut back to them and he's like, oh, bring it in. And he went to hug the two of them, she was pissed. I mean, like, you could tell it was bad. So there's, there's going to be. That's an interesting. In my head, they all drive to the show together. So in my head, that's going to be an interesting car ride home, the three of those judges sharing the Volvo they drive.

[Ryder Strong]

You know, I, I wonder about this. So our friend of the podcast, variety writer Emily Longretta, did an interview with Carrie Anne that she sent to me and said we should read before we recorded last week. And I did read it. It was a really.

[Will Friedle]

She sent it to me. What's up, bro? Thanks, Emily.

[Ryder Strong]

You're not on social media. She sent it to me through Instagram.

[Will Friedle]

There you go.

[Ryder Strong]

But it was a really good interview. And they, you know, they sort of covered the fact that Carrion gets a lot more crap than other judges. And in the interview, you know, Carrie Anne was sort of, you know, connecting it to being a woman and that she's in some ways harder on women dancers than the guys are. And then unfortunately, that kind of comes back on her, which, you know, it was. It was a good point. But I also think, even beyond the fact that she's female, I think that she does put herself into a more serious position often, like, by the way she talks. You know, I feel like Derek and Bruno have a much more sort of like, even when they're critical, there's always this sort of like, but we're all just having fun. And it's all about positivity where she can come off a little more like, I am here to judge. This is my job, and I'm going to take it seriously. And as a result, she kind of gets more blowback. She, you know, and I think if.

[Will Friedle]

She did that, though, equally for everybody, then most people, I won't say most people, I wouldn't have that big a problem with it.

[Ryder Strong]

Right.

[Will Friedle]

But when she's saying to people like Andy, who, for some dances, let's be honest, we all liked him, but was kind of sitting there in the middle and moving his arms and moving his legs a little bit while she danced around him and going like, oh, my God, your journey is amazing. And Danielle's flipping all over the stage and she's like, well, you're really not holding your shoulders back. It didn't come off as equal judgment.

[Ryder Strong]

Right.

[Will Friedle]

So it's one of those, apparently, because again, we've. We've talked about this now. We've been deep diving it a bit, or I've been deep diving it a bit. Everyone seems to say that from the beginning. While, yes, she does put herself in that more serious kind of category, she also definitely has her favorites.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

And when she picks her favorites, they're her favorites. And when anybody else comes up, she's. She judges them as opposed to praising the people that are her favorites. So, again, I. I would say, at least from the two guys that I've seen, and I'm sure she does get some for being a woman and putting herself out there. Don't doubt that at all. But the guys seem to be consistently consistent with everybody, whereas she seems to kind of. Again, I'm going to say this to this person, but this to this person and this to this. And again, the good example is tonight, I mean, looking at Whitney and going, this is the best dance you have ever done here.

[Danielle Fischl]

9.

[Will Friedle]

It's like but you gave her a 10 last week, so how can you say this is the best she's ever done and give her a 9? It just. A lot of what she needs.

[Ryder Strong]

Some of that Flavor Flav consistency.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. Yeah. Yes. I don't know if you heard. I read it yesterday. He just found his paddle, so congratulations.

[Ryder Strong]

He was just told he was there. He just found out that he did Dancer with the Stars. So.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, no, again, I, I, I can see. And I look back on some of the stuff you and I said about her, and we got some press about it, and maybe we're a little harsh, but again, it's like I become Big Brother when I see what you're doing to a friend of mine. But again, I just don't think she's overly consistent. And I think there's, there's drama going on. I mean, if you could go back when it goes on Hulu and you can watch it again. Just watch when Derek grabs her and grabs him and pulls him into a hug and she is livid. Like, livid. So, yeah, super, super interesting week. It'll. It will see if. Because that's gonna make the press. It obviously absolutely will. So see what happens.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah. I feel like I've gone through a full journey with Carrie Anne. Yeah. Cause now I really kind of like her. I really appreciate it.

[Will Friedle]

I don't dislike her.

[Ryder Strong]

I know, and I know, but I'm saying, like, I know what you're saying about inconsistency, and that's, you know, a problem sort of across the board with this whole system. It's like I, like I said a couple episodes ago, I would love it if they stated their intentions at the beginning of the season. Like, this is what I care about and this is what I'm going to be looking for. And sort of. We could then judge them. Judge their judging by holding it to whatever standard they set out to. But I like that she takes it so seriously. I really do. I do, too. In a way that, as much as I know Derek and Bruno are obviously just as knowledgeable and have just as, like, have their opinions. Their presentation is a little more light and a little less, like, you know, just intense and severe and actually kind of. Or not intense and severe, just like, maybe rigorous or. There's something about her presentation that is just. It's a different mode. And I actually kind of appreciate it now. So I've gone full circle.

[Will Friedle]

That's great. No, again, I don't dislike her. I don't think she's particularly consistent. And I wonder I still want to know because I don't think we've gotten a sufficient answer. People have told us a quote unquote answer, but I don't believe it, frankly. I just don't. How much sway the judges scores hold as opposed to the popular vote, because that's what they say. But I don't. I'm not sure I buy that. So it's, it's one of those things where you wonder if, if, if they're kind of like, hey, we're here to go. You were great. But maybe hold your arms like this and then know that the public's going to vote them through or not vote them through. And that's just kind of how it is.

[Danielle Fischl]

Okay, I've got a question for you. During the holiday season, how much is too much to wear your pajamas? This is a serious question because the holidays, let's be honest, are the coziest time of year and pajamas the coziest thing you can wear. So according to, like, math, shouldn't you wear pajamas all the time? You know, every minute of every day. And if you're going to do that, which obviously you should, you will need to grab some new PJs. Good thing old Navy just dropped its new jingle jammies collection. It's their biggest ever. We're talking 20 different prints in tons of traditional styles like classic plaids. So it's easy to find something for the whole family. From your giant Uncle Bob, who always eats all the turkey, to your newest niece, Nellie. And everyone can get exactly the print they want or go matching, then strike a pose and make it your ultimate holiday card moment. Whether everyone makes their own statement or you go matchy matchy, these jingle jammies are seriously soft. Perfect for lounging all day, sitting toasty by the fire, unwrapping gifts, or even, you know, sleeping. Basically, like I said, you'll want to wear them all the time. But society, for reasons I still can't understand, frowns on 247 pajamas. Fortunately, old Navy solved that problem with coordinating graphic tees, sweatshirts, socks, and fleece blankets. It's cozy, layered on cozy. They even have pet sweaters. So go ahead, maximize those feel good vibes and crank up the cheer. It's going to be the best season ever. Find your jingle jammies and all the holiday goodies now@old navy.com.

[Will Friedle]

And Doug.

[Liberty Mutual Announcer (Doug)]

Here we have the Limu Emu in its natural habitat, helping people customize their car insurance and save hundreds of with Liberty Mutual. Fascinating. It's accompanied by his natural ally, Doug.

[Ryder Strong]

Uh, Limu is that guy with the binoculars watching us?

[Liberty Mutual Announcer (Doug)]

Cut the camera. They see us.

[Will Friedle]

Only pay for what you [e-mail] Liberty Liberty Liberty Liberty Savings Very unwritten by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company and affiliates excludes.

[Pandora Jewelry Announcer]

Massachusetts Get Festive with Fossil this holiday season. As a proud sponsor of Jingle Ball, Fossil has unforgettable gifts for everyone on your list. Surprise them with a limited edition watch designed in collaboration with Nick Jonas. Inspired by Nick's distinct personal style, every timepiece in this collection is a standout. Expertly crafted with statement shaped cases, genuine stone dials and etched with limited edition numbering. You can also shop the Nick list for his favorite Fossil gifts handpicked by Nick himself. Explore Statement jewelry for everyone, coveted handbags, giftable wallets and of course timeless watches. From elegant Raquel for her to rugged machine for him and meticulously made automatics, there's nothing like a Fossil watch and there's a style for everybody. Add a personal touch, customize their gift with free engraving and embossing. And don't forget to put yourself at the top of the gift list. Get decked out with party ready styles sure to wow the holiday scene. Shop it all now@ fossil.com hey, it's.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons N. Safeway. Flu season is here and our pharmacies have you covered with a free flu shot with most insurance plans. Plus it's cough and cold season and now through December 2nd. Stock up on all the season's essentials and get ready for relief with discounts on items like Mucinex Cold and Flu Kickstart, Mucinex Fast Max Products, vicks Dayquil and Nyquil combo pack, Alka Seltzer plus also airborne and Afrin offers end December 2nd. Restrictions apply and offers may vary by location. Visit Albertsons or Safeway.com for more details.

[Danielle Fischl]

Big things are happening at your local cvs. Extra big.

[Will Friedle]

So hurry on over because extra big deals are here.

[Ryder Strong]

These are deals so extra that they absolutely cannot be missed. And every two weeks there's gonna be more.

[Danielle Fischl]

So you've got to keep coming back so you can keep saving on all the brands and products you and your family use every day.

[Will Friedle]

And speaking of saving, extra care is the way to save at cvs. So use your extra care card to unlock savings every time you shop.

[Ryder Strong]

And if you're not a member yet, now is the time to join.

[Danielle Fischl]

And the best part? It's completely free. Just sign up online or in store and you'll start saving instantly.

[Will Friedle]

And always be sure to check the CVS Health app For deals and savings.

[Ryder Strong]

Visit your local CVS store or cvs.com Extra big deals to shop this week's deals and stock up on your favorite products. All right, second round of dances began with Elaine and Alan. The paso doble strikes again and strikes hard.

[Will Friedle]

So good. Oh, before you start, we're gonna very quickly because it is one of your favorites. Do Will's history of dance.

[Ryder Strong]

Will's history of dance.

[Will Friedle]

Oh, we should do it together at some point. And for you, the writer strong edition, we're gonna do the pasa doble tonight. Nice. Where do you think the paso doble originated? Right. Spain. Wrong.

[Ryder Strong]

Really?

[Will Friedle]

France. What? Swear. Bull fighting originated in France in the 16th century, drawing inspiration from the drama and movements of Spanish and Portuguese bullfights and was popularized in Spain, but started in France. The dance spread throughout Europe and became a ballroom dance style in the 1930s, where it is characterized by a man portraying a matador and a woman portraying the role of his cape or a Spanish dancer. Ah, we got to love the French. You know what we are gonna do? We are gonna make something Spanish. So that's your parent. It's so funny.

[Ryder Strong]

Now, for the record.

[Will Friedle]

The croissant and.

[Ryder Strong]

The passa double croissant wasn't French, was it? I think croissant. Croissant.

[Will Friedle]

Of course it is. Well, it's like the national croissant of France. Say it like that. It's a question.

[Ryder Strong]

You're just a horrible person. I have a crescent.

[Will Friedle]

Can I have a crescent, please? By the way, sue and I now, if they. The second they say, like and dancing the Argentine tango or dancing the paso doble, we look at each other. All right, well, Ryder's gonna love this one because we just know these are your favorites now.

[Ryder Strong]

And look, they save them for the end of the season.

[Will Friedle]

I.

[Ryder Strong]

Everybody has their breakout moment with a paso doble or an Argentinian tango. Ah, I saw it. You know, we saw it tonight with. With Jordan coming out.

[Will Friedle]

It's like the tango going at the top, but kind of the jive legs sometimes at the bottom. So you can you get the leg movement, but it's still the statuesque.

[Ryder Strong]

It's.

[Will Friedle]

They're great. They're great.

[Ryder Strong]

All right. So I thought this was Elaine's best dance of the season.

[Will Friedle]

Agreed. 100.

[Ryder Strong]

Hands down.

[Will Friedle]

She was great.

[Ryder Strong]

She was fantastic. She committed. Her body was doing incredible things. She had such perfect attitude. It's like, yes, yes. Give it to her.

[Will Friedle]

Yep.

[Ryder Strong]

Tens across the board.

[Will Friedle]

Rightfully so. She deserved. Deserved.

[Ryder Strong]

Yes.

[Will Friedle]

100.

[Ryder Strong]

And this is why I think she just danced her way to the finale because this was so damn good. Everybody was like, oh, and she timed it perfectly. You. You know, you hold on to the show. You stay in with your eight sevens, nines, and then you. You bust out your big ten dance.

[Will Friedle]

You crush. And she was great. Yeah, she. This was a very, very good dance. Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

And I wonder how much she also is getting a bump from the Andy factor, You know what I mean? I think it's possible they're gonna vote for an actor or somebody who has had a good journey. All those votes, all those people are probably gonna right now be channeling those votes to somewhere, Right?

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, I. I would agree. I also think one of the things that you and I have not talked about and. And it seems to kind of, I think, probably be par for the course for this guy a little bit, especially this season, is her partner, Alex, who I don't think we've ever really talked about. Alan, he's dealing with somebody who's slightly older and injured. And to be able to go this far with her with the court, I mean, again, if you're doing choreography and it's like, you've got a bad toe, you've got a bad hip, you've got this. You've got to tailor what you're doing to your partner. So to be able to get out of her what he's been able to.

[Ryder Strong]

Get out of her.

[Will Friedle]

I don't think we've certainly not given him enough credit throughout the season.

[Ryder Strong]

That's a really good point.

[Will Friedle]

And he's, I think, been really killing it, frankly. Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah, it's a good point. All right, next up, Alex and Val. I thought this was pretty magical.

[Will Friedle]

I agree with you. 100.

[Ryder Strong]

It was this. Yeah. I mean, for me, this was when, like, Alex really, you know, Bruno had this note about her connection with. With Val, and it was so true. When I think about her first dance. Remember the circus dance when we were there?

[Will Friedle]

Oh, yes. Right. With the whip. Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

And I feel like the first couple weeks, she was always a good dancer. Like, her body was always doing the right things, but it just never felt it was kind of like an AI dancer or something. Like, there was something a little, like not connected in her eyes.

[Will Friedle]

Soulless.

[Ryder Strong]

A little bit soulless. Right. That is not the case anymore. Like, she is in it. Body, heart, soul. Like, you're just with her. And so she's become one of my favorites. Like, I agree about A Journey because I. From the first episode, I was like, yeah, she's good, but it's not gonna speak to me. Yeah. But this, like, spoke to me. She was beautiful.

[Will Friedle]

I agree. I think. I think Dylan kind of said it best in one of his pre show packages where he was like, only part of this show is about dancing. The other part of the show is about believing in what you're doing when it's like believing in yourself and what you're doing when you're out there, because that's. You and I have talked about that. The hardest part we would have is be like the. The. The comedy version would be saying committing to the bit, which is obviously, this is not a bit, but this is commit going out there and giving 100 and believing in what you're doing. That would be a difficult barrier for you and I to break through.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah. Where dance for sure. Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

With dance. Where. I agree with you. She got out there and she could definitely do the steps, but she's now to the point. It was like Dylan last week where it's like, oh, you. You believe you're a dancer now.

[Ryder Strong]

Yep.

[Will Friedle]

And I can see I'm a dancer. Yeah. So it does. It makes. It makes a very big difference watching them. And the only thing I was thinking the whole time, and I know she's married to Pasha and they have a little kid and they're happy as hell, but I want to see Daniella and Val dance together.

[Ryder Strong]

Oh, yeah.

[Will Friedle]

That to me, would be something pretty remarkable.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

Dylan and Daniela up next. Oh, well, they got tens across the board. Of course. Rightfully, though, Dylan and Daniella doing the cha cha, if I'm remembering correctly.

[Will Friedle]

Yes.

[Ryder Strong]

And right at the beginning. The way he started reminded me of his first dance too. Remember when he started on the. The judging table doing his little sp.

[Will Friedle]

Doing the hip thing. Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

I don't know if this was the right choice at this time.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

Like, this is precisely his weakness. Right. Latin dancing hips. He's better in the. More like, you know, partnered.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

More tangly, more tangled. Where anything where he can be the sort of leading man without having to dance on his own.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

That said, I still thought it was great.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, it was good. The cha cha is also not one of my favorite dances.

[Ryder Strong]

Nope.

[Will Friedle]

I do prefer the tango y stand up kind of sexy kind of dances, but, yeah, he wasn't. It wasn't bad. Certainly wasn't bad. This was not his best night overall. No. But he was not. It wasn't like, oh, my God, that was a terrible dance by his brother.

[Ryder Strong]

Being in the audience threw him off his game.

[Will Friedle]

I don't know, I can tell you that if the drinking game was take a shot. Every time they cut to Zac Efron, they were dead by the third commercial. I felt bad because that's why the guy doesn't go anywhere. He's like, this is about my brother. Stop. Cut. At one point, it was like. They literally were like, and Jordan Childs gets 10, 10, 10. And they cut to Zac Efron.

[Ryder Strong]

I know.

[Will Friedle]

Like, oh, wait, he's not part of her family. Why you keep cutting to Zac Efron? So I just felt bad that they kept cutting to the dude when it was. It's supposed to be about Dylan. And, you know, that's why he doesn't go places with his brother.

[Ryder Strong]

It's like, I wonder what the conversation was. Like, Zach was like, wait, when do you want me to come to the show? Dylan's like, never, never.

[Will Friedle]

Or Zach was like, you know what? You know what I'll do, little brother? Yeah. Here's what we'll do, little brother? Make it to the semifinals, and I'll come walking away going like, he's not getting.

[Ryder Strong]

It'll never get there.

[Will Friedle]

That's never gonna happen. But no, it was, again, not his best night.

[Ryder Strong]

No.

[Will Friedle]

Think he has more in him. We've seen more in him. He's so likable. She's amazing. Still totally rooting for them. Excited to see what next week Totally. Should be through to the finals. Excited to see what. What next week has in store.

[Ryder Strong]

All right. Nine, nine, and ten from the judges. And then Whitney and Mark. Yeah. I thought this was a little tame, but good.

[Will Friedle]

But good. Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

And this was the one where Carrie Ann said, this is the best dance you've ever done.

[Will Friedle]

Seven.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah. But I was. I was surprised she said that to begin with, because me too.

[Will Friedle]

Really?

[Ryder Strong]

I think Whitney's done a lot of great work. But then I remembered that actually the ones that I liked the most, the two dances I liked the most, were her dedication. And then the night, like, the next week. And I. I think in both cases. Yeah. Halloween.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

You pointed out that she was out of sync.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

Remember? Yeah. And so I think that's why those weren't her best dances. But as far as, like, expressive capacity and, like, emotional connection, I thought she's done better, but I thought she was good.

[Will Friedle]

But I did not say this was the best dance she's ever done. But again, it was. And now I feel a bit like I'm.

[Ryder Strong]

I'm.

[Will Friedle]

I'm bashing the person who was just kicked off or, you know, but, you know, professional dancer dance as well. Film at 11. That's. I mean, that's what, you know, that's kind of what was with me with her journey this year. She started as a really good dancer, and she ended as a really good dancer. That's great. And I love the fact that this was one of her dreams and she wanted to be on the show and all that journey, all of that is great. But if I'm watching somebody learn how to dance, then I didn't watch a whole lot of her.

[Ryder Strong]

Is she going back on Mormon Wives now?

[Will Friedle]

I don't know how that works. I think the third season just dropped. So my guess is that they've already.

[Ryder Strong]

Shot it and she's not in it.

[Will Friedle]

No, she is. She was in the third season. She had to do that third season to do Dancing with the Stars because she didn't want to go back to the show, apparently. And then they said, well, if you go back to the show, you can be on Dancing with the Stars.

[Ryder Strong]

And her admitting that pissed people off. I know it was.

[Will Friedle]

That's. Somebody said that she was, like, raked over the coals this week for. I don't know if she's the villain. Don't they have, like, a villain on?

[Ryder Strong]

The villain on Mormon Wives is Satan. That's it. There's only one villain. And alcohol. Take another sip of bourbon.

[Will Friedle]

Satan and caffeine.

[Ryder Strong]

Satan and caffeine. No, I think soda's okay now.

[Will Friedle]

Is it okay? Tara's not on, unfortunately. But because she would know all this stuff, I.

[Ryder Strong]

This was the third person to cry in their pre dance package. It's a lot of tears, a lot of emotion, which was like, okay, we're just getting to the finale, I guess. But it also. It did lend a little bit of, like, attention to. Especially with Alex and Whitney. It made them a little more human for me. I agree. I've taken them for granted. I think, you know, that. That they're. Because that they're both good dancers and they. And so to see them both break down in their pre dance package, I was like, oh. Oh, wow. Yeah. Yeah. There's working really hard.

[Will Friedle]

I. I have to imagine that the stress is cumulative. So by week 10, you're a frazzled mess of a raw nerve. You also forget by looking at them that I think. I mean, we googled it. Sue and I googled it. Alex is 24. She's a kid. I mean, she's a kid. So that compare. I think Whitney's like 32 or something like that. And the difference between 32 and 24 is very big. So, I mean, you've got somebody like Robert, who's 22. You've got somebody like Whitney, who's 24. These are children. So it's. You know, I think by this point, you're in the press for everything you do for weeks at a time. You're dancing for hours every single day. You've got to just be a raw nerve at this point.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah. I mean, I also imagine that there's this weird thing that must happen where you get on Dancing with the Stars and it has to feel somewhat like a lark, you know, like, oh, my God, I'm gonna do this thing and I'm gonna. And then somewhere in there, you really start to care about winning.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

You know, in a new way, like, because it becomes more and more possible and it becomes less and less like it's an honor to be nominated and more like.

[Will Friedle]

Right, exactly.

[Ryder Strong]

I want to win this freaking thing.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

I also think it's. It's one of those things, too, where my guess is like. Like a lot of things in life, but especially things like this.

[Ryder Strong]

You.

[Will Friedle]

You have no idea what you're getting into when it comes to the press, when it comes to the dancing, when it comes to the physicality, when it comes to the live show nights, when it comes to your entire life being these 11 or 12 weeks. My guess is until you do it, you have no idea what it's like.

[Ryder Strong]

No clue.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

Do you think she regrets dropping the F bomb afterwards or whatever she said? I don't even know why she said it.

[Will Friedle]

I asked. Yeah, they. They definitely. They bleeped it. But, you know, you're on live TV and you're a Mormon and you're throwing out the F bomb. That's. That's a big one. But, no, I think she'd already been kicked off. I think we were right. I think apparently she just had a rough week. So. But it's. Again, it shows that it's not about the best dancers making it to the finals because whether she would win or not, again, I don't think anyone's going to beat Robert. But if it's just about the dancing, she deserved to be in the finals.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah.

[Danielle Fischl]

Okay. I've got a question for you. During the holiday season, how much is too much to wear your pajamas? This is a serious question. Because the holidays, let's be honest, are the coziest time of year and pajamas the coziest thing you can wear. So according to, like, math, shouldn't you wear pajamas all the time, you know, every minute of every day. And if you're going to do that, which obviously you should, you will need to grab some new PJs. Good thing old Navy just dropped its new Jingle Jammies collection. It's their biggest ever. We're talking 20 different prints in tons of traditional styles like classic plaid ads, so it's easy to find something for the whole family. From your giant Uncle Bob who always eats all the turkey, to your newest niece, Nelly. And everyone can get exactly the print they want or go matching, then strike a pose and make it your ultimate holiday card moment. Whether everyone makes their own statement or you go matchy matchy, these jingle Jammies are seriously soft. Perfect for lounging all day, sitting toasty by the fire, unwrapping gifts, or even, you know, sleeping. Basically, like I said, you'll want to wear them all the time. But society, for reasons I still can't understand, frowns on 247 pajamas. Fortunately, old Navy solved that problem with coordinating graphic tees, sweatshirts, socks and fleece blankets. It's cozy, layered on cozy. They even have pet sweaters. So go ahead, maximize those feel good vibes and crank up the cheer. It's gonna be the best season ever. Find your Jingle Jammies and all the holiday goodies [e-mail].

[Will Friedle]

And Doug here we.

[Liberty Mutual Announcer (Doug)]

Have the Limu Emu in its natural habitat, helping people customize their car insurance and save hundreds with Liberty Mutual. Fascinating. It's accompanied by his natural ally, Doug Limu.

[Will Friedle]

Is that guy with the binoculars watching us?

[Liberty Mutual Announcer (Doug)]

Cut the camera. They see us.

[Will Friedle]

Only pay for what you [e-mail] Liberty Liberty Liberty Liberty Savings Ferry unwritten by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company and affiliates excludes Massachusetts.

[Pandora Jewelry Announcer]

Get festive with Fossil this holiday season. As a proud sponsor of Jingle Ball, Fossil has unforgettable gifts for everyone on your list, including a limited edition watch collection with Nick Jonas, plus statement jewelry, giftable leather goods, and of course, timeless watches. From elegant Raquel for her to rugged machine for him, there's nothing like a Fossil watch. And there's a style for everybody and a personal touch. Customize their gift with free engraving and embossing. Shop it all now@ fossil.com.

[Will Friedle]

Hey, it's.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons and Safeway. Flu season is here and our pharmacies have you covered with a free flu shot with most insurance plans. Plus it's cough and cold season and now through December 2nd. Stock up on all the season's essentials and get ready for relief with discounts on items like Mucinex, Cold and Flu, Kickstart, Mucinex, Fast Max products, vicks Dayquil and Nyquil combo pack. Alka Seltzer plus also airborne and Afrin offers end December 2nd. Restrictions apply and offers may vary by location. Visit Albertsons or Safeway.com for more details.

[Danielle Fischl]

Big things are happening at your local cvs. Extra big.

[Will Friedle]

So hurry on over because extra big deals are here.

[Ryder Strong]

These are deals so extra that they absolutely cannot be missed. And every two weeks there's gonna be more.

[Danielle Fischl]

So you've gotta keep coming back so you can keep saving on all the brands and products you and your family use every day.

[Will Friedle]

And speaking of saving, extra care is the way to save at cvs. So use your extra care card to unlock savings every time you shop.

[Ryder Strong]

And if you're not a member yet, now is the time to join.

[Danielle Fischl]

And the best part, it's completely free. Just sign up online or in store and you'll start saving instantly.

[Will Friedle]

And always be sure to check the CVS health app for deals and savings.

[Ryder Strong]

Visit your local CVS store or cvs.com Extra big deals to shop this week's deals and stock up on your favorite products. All right, then came Jordan and Ezra with the Argentine Tango. And once again, breakthrough moment.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

She just dance in with her, walks.

[Will Friedle]

In with her upside down like in that, that position. Crazy.

[Ryder Strong]

Just perfect. I just. This dance just brings out the best in everybody. And again, love it. Just like Danielle Vishel her legs, she's a very small person and yet manages with this dance to seem like long legged and all the things, the kicks, it's just so fun.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

And man, technically just challenging as hell. This might have been one of the most. The way that they were kicking their legs around each other which is always complicated in the Argentinian tango. This time I was like, this is even more. They were doing it on like another level.

[Will Friedle]

Did it. Can I ask you a question? And it might have just been my feed or I might have been wrong. But did it seem like their kicks and the stuff they were doing were a bit slower than everybody else's?

[Ryder Strong]

No.

[Will Friedle]

Okay, then I'm wrong. Then again, my feed could have been glitching because it seemed like there were times that, that it was like kind of a slower version than some of the other ones we've seen.

[Ryder Strong]

Oh, maybe that's true. You know, but I just know that I was watching it they were doing because like there were always be moments where you know, one partner's kicking in between the legs.

[Will Friedle]

Right.

[Ryder Strong]

And then There would be, like, one moment where they're both kind of doing it. They had, like, multiple moments where they were just. I was like, oh, they're going to trip each other. Oh, somebody's going to mess up.

[Will Friedle]

It must have been my.

[Ryder Strong]

This is now a jujitsu move. Yeah, this is.

[Will Friedle]

And it's a takedown.

[Ryder Strong]

It's a day. She's tapping. She's got him.

[Will Friedle]

So I have to ask you a question. I'm going to throw a real Sophie's Choice at you here. Something. Yeah, yeah. You've got one dance to save your life. Are you picking the paso doble or are you picking the Argentine tango?

[Ryder Strong]

I could do that. I could. I could do the paso doble. More attitude.

[Liberty Mutual Announcer (Doug)]

Oh, I could.

[Ryder Strong]

I could stand in front of the bull. I could fling that woman around as my cape.

[Will Friedle]

You'd be a Ryder. I like it. That's great. Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah. As much as I like the Argentinian tango, that seems harder. I think I could come in with some attitude and command the stage. Oh, yeah.

[Will Friedle]

Happy trail blowing in the breeze.

[Ryder Strong]

All right, Robert and Whitney bringing it out.

[Will Friedle]

Oh, wait, what did. What did they get?

[Ryder Strong]

What did the last tens across the board. Jordan's first 10. 10, 10. Which apparently she's never gotten a perfect score in gymnastics either, which seems crazy.

[Will Friedle]

It does. But I think it's way harder. Harder perfect scores in gymnastics at the Olympics than it is to get Denzel density at the start again. I haven't done either one, but I'm gonna thr. There. That is probably more difficult. Let's be fair. Both are important and important in her life, but I'm guessing tens across the board at the Olympic Games more difficult than tens from Carrie and Derek. You know what I mean? It's like, come on. So. Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

All right. Robert and Whitney came out, I thought, did a phenomenal dance.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. Another one.

[Ryder Strong]

Once again.

[Will Friedle]

Yep.

[Ryder Strong]

Derek gave a nine.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, I didn't understand that either.

[Ryder Strong]

Do you think he just felt a little like he was playing favorites too much with Robert and finally was like, I'll just give him a nine.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, he's gonna be safe. I'm just gonna.

[Ryder Strong]

He's gonna be safe. I'm just gonna give him.

[Will Friedle]

Maybe. I don't know.

[Ryder Strong]

It.

[Will Friedle]

It. I didn't see why there was a nine thrown in there. It seemed. Yeah, but it did. This was this kind of cemented it for me with Robert. He's just. No one's gonna beat him.

[Ryder Strong]

I went to a baby shower this weekend and met a woman who is a dancing with the Stars fan. And we got into it, of course, as you do when you're podcast hosted, Dancing with the Stars, and you have to explain that to everybody.

[Will Friedle]

Did she know. Did she know that you were doing.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah, no, she knew.

[Will Friedle]

She.

[Ryder Strong]

She was a Boy Meets World fan too. And, you know, she's great, but. But she, you know, it was interesting.

[Will Friedle]

She just loves Robert.

[Ryder Strong]

I told you. I sort of. I know. I mean, I knew, but I was, you know, trying to, like, feel her out, like. But don't you feel like he's kind of destined to win and. And he doesn't need your support? She was like, no, I love him so much. Like, yeah, okay. I guess he's just. He's won everybody's hearts for some reason. I'm taking it for granted. Or I'm just. Yes, I'm a little less.

[Will Friedle]

My favorite, though, is. So they put up our clip on the Instagram feed. And first of all, I will say to all of our fans out there who are. Who are following our POD meets Twirl Journey, Love the passion.

[Liberty Mutual Announcer (Doug)]

Love.

[Will Friedle]

There's people that hated us, that loved us, that couldn't play. But to a person, because we criticized Robert, people were like, you don't know how difficult it is to work with animals. And I'm like, no, I. I do. Believe it or not, I understand.

[Ryder Strong]

I thought you were gonna say father. No, no, no. They're like, how?

[Will Friedle]

And I'm like, I. No, I get that. He's 22 years old and in phenomenal shape. He kind of alluded tonight to the fact he's like, when I was 11 years old and watching my sister, if you told me, I would have been. Been here. Like, he's wanted to do this forever. So the idea that he's never danced from that moment to now until he started Dancing with the Stars, I don't buy that. I'm not saying he went out there and had dance lessons left and right, but. But he's done some dancing, I will bet. Yes. Not taking away from anything. And yes, I understand wrestling crocodiles is a very difficult and. And tough job. Not saying that at all. What I'm saying is it seems like everyone wants him to win. That's. That's all I'm saying. And. And I don't disagree with that. I think he frankly deserves to at this point.

[Ryder Strong]

Does he actually wrestle crocodiles?

[Will Friedle]

I think so. Don't you? Well, I think, you know, he does a thing where he's like, all right, crikey, just everyone quiet, quiet. And then he Jumps up behind him and puts his hands over their thing and like, no, I've got him. This is big, Nigel. Like that kind of. Yeah, I think. I think he does that kind of stuff. So it's what his dad used to do, you know, So I think he does the same kind of stuff. And yes, I get that's very difficult. I wasn't saying he's in bad shape. I'm saying that I think he's probably been doing something.

[Ryder Strong]

Why do you hate animals, Will?

[Danielle Fischl]

Exactly.

[Ryder Strong]

Why do you hate animals?

[Ryan Seacrest]

Exactly.

[Will Friedle]

That's why I was like, wait, what? Yeah, so, no, I get. I just think they. A lot of people want him to win. They love him. Everyone loves him. And frankly, rightfully so.

[Ryder Strong]

He's a super likable dude. He's.

[Will Friedle]

Now, here's my question. Based just on journey from where they started to where they ended, who do you think improved the most as a dancer so far?

[Ryder Strong]

That's really hard, I think. I think it's between Jordan and Dylan for me, really. And I think Jordan obviously had the athleticism, so she had to learn the sort of emotionality, you know, she had to learn how. The expressiveness and how to adapt to choreography, I think. And I love that journey for her, and I don't think it's really been appreciated enough. And Dylan, I guess, just strikes me as the everyman who made.

[Will Friedle]

Right.

[Ryder Strong]

Do you know, in a way that, like what you're talking about Robert, I don't feel. I don't feel like Robert's an every man. I agree the same to the same degree that I do with Dylan. With Dylan, I feel like I'm watching somebody who's also very athletic has, but is not. You could tell when he started is just like not super comfortable with dancing as a. As a form. Like, it's not. Doesn't come naturally to him.

[Will Friedle]

When they showed that clip of his first dance, the one that we were. We were at, it was like, oh, oh, my God. That's right. That's where he started. So I just.

[Ryder Strong]

Journey is rooted.

[Will Friedle]

Who.

[Ryder Strong]

Who would you say?

[Will Friedle]

I would say Dylan and Alex. Yeah, I would say Dylan and Alex really had. Because I think you're right. At the beginning with Alex, she had the steps, but was kind of didn't buy it or was a little soulless when she was doing it. And then to throw in the fact that she is 24 to just see, like where she ended up tonight and last week with what she did, that's a. That's a big step for me. Those so I think those two so far have had the big.

[Ryder Strong]

The biggest progress, but I think. I think the finale is going to come down to Alex versus Robert.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, right. Yeah, I agree.

[Ryder Strong]

Alex for just pure dance ability, consistently insane numbers all over the map.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

And then Robert is beloved. I think Robert's still gonna win, but I think Alex is gonna give him a run for the money.

[Will Friedle]

I would love to be able to look at the scores from the weeks. Like, I mean, is it one of those things where it's like, I'm making up a number. We got 25 million votes. You know, 22 million are for Robert, and the other three are scattered out through the rest of the people. I mean, is it like. Is it so close? It could be so far. Is it. Is it one of those things where there's three people in the world that already know, like, he gets 15 million of the 17 million votes a week we get, like, he's already won, essentially. Do you think there's one or two people that already know that? I don't know.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah, probably, man.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. I mean. I mean, who knows? You could be super close. I don't know.

[Ryder Strong]

And what I want to know is do they share that information with the judges? Is they must. Whether they officially do or not. You know, they're just like, Robert did really well last week.

[Will Friedle]

Maybe it's that. Yeah, really.

[Ryder Strong]

And they'll be like, surprisingly, Andy's still holding his own. You know, they're. There's back channel information. Right. In little, you know, conversations at the urinal.

[Will Friedle]

Exactly, right. Exactly. The. The water cooler conversation. Oh, God. The Dancing with the Stars water cooler conversation.

[Ryder Strong]

Oh, that's a skit you want to write, right? Oh, my God.

[Will Friedle]

I'm already writing in my head right now.

[Ryder Strong]

Are they doing Argentinian tango of, like, their leg.

[Will Friedle]

The legs are flicking as they're trying to talk about what's going on.

[Ryder Strong]

Or they're speaking in code with the legs. It's like semaphore. They're like, communicating with leg. I'm not going to tell you who won, but.

[Will Friedle]

But yes, it's.

[Ryder Strong]

It's.

[Will Friedle]

It is. It's like that. And then he. The one of them walks up to ask the other one out. He's like, hey, can I get your number? She's like, sure.

[Ryder Strong]

Seven.

[Will Friedle]

Like that kind. So. Oh, my God, there's so many different jokes going through my head.

[Ryder Strong]

It's a ten. It's a ten. It'S a ten.

[Pandora Jewelry Announcer]

All right.

[Ryder Strong]

Then we came to elimination, which seemed kind of predictable until it was. And I was.

[Will Friedle]

Oh, wait, I'm sorry. Did we say what Robert got? Because I cut you off.

[Ryder Strong]

He actually got one nine.

[Will Friedle]

Oh, yeah, we did. Because Derek gave him a nine. We talked about.

[Ryder Strong]

Derek gave him a nine.

[Will Friedle]

See, these are my callbacks. Sometimes they don't work.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah. So, man, I was pretty convinced Jordan was going home when it got down.

[Will Friedle]

Really? You thought when it got down? How about when they were all just standing there? They hadn't sent a single name yet. Who did you think was going to home by that point?

[Ryder Strong]

Elaine.

[Will Friedle]

Me too. I thought it was Elaine or Dylan.

[Ryder Strong]

Frankly, man, everybody thought Dylan at this point.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. But I thought Dylan had the weakest dancing night tonight.

[Ryder Strong]

But think about consistency. Like, Elaine did have some sixes and sevens throughout the season that and didn't dance one week. Right. And I feel like has Dylan, like, I guess he's had. He had some early sevens and sixes, but like he's been like eight plus for weeks now.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

I just feel like everybody else was in a different category and, you know, Elaine is there for the journey and her story and. But I was pretty sure she was going home.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

When she got through right off the bat, it was like, well, okay.

[Will Friedle]

And you know, they did that on purpose. They know everybody, like you and I were sitting there going, well, they know. They know know Elaine's going home. So we're. The first one we're going to announce is that Elaine is safe.

[Ryder Strong]

And it is, you know, it's interesting. Like, I'm trying to think how I felt because I've watched American Idol. Like, that's a show I've watched start to finish through seasons many times.

[Will Friedle]

Me too.

[Ryder Strong]

And enjoyed a lot. And I'm. I don't like Dancing with the Stars. I feel like I want to keep watching even if everybody I like gets voted off. I don't know if I'd say the same thing about American Idol. In other words, interesting. I don't know why that is. Maybe I just still watch American Idol for the. The singing a little bit more. And so if like all my favorite singers get off, I'm like, I don't care anymore. You know, Whereas with this, like, I want to keep watching, like, I'm right. So I don't know what that speaks to.

[Will Friedle]

I don't know. But I watched old school Idol. I haven't watched in a while. But the one thing I did like about Idol that. That throws me about Dance with the Stars still is the judging. Meaning, like the judges on Idol, they're going to be harsh or they're going to not be harsh. They're going to take. But their. Their feedback and their scores don't matter.

[Ryder Strong]

Well, they don't actually have scores.

[Will Friedle]

That's what I mean. They don't matter.

[Ryan Seacrest]

They're just.

[Ryder Strong]

These are our opinions and coaching and feedback. Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

And maybe some people are going to agree with Simon and vote against somebody or something like that. But for the. They just know it's a popularity contest and they're gonna vote somebody through. And so they at least don't try to hide it under the fact that it's like. And the judges scores get 45.2%.

[Ryder Strong]

But actually, maybe that's why I like this more is because I feel like I will learn something about dancing even if all of my favorite dancers get kicked off. So actually, I think that might be it.

[Will Friedle]

You can learn something about a discipline that we know nothing about, whereas Idol, you can't really learn anything about singing.

[Ryder Strong]

That's what I'm saying. Yeah, like, that's what I mean. Like, so I. I think if all my favorite singers get kicked off of Idol, I don't keep watching.

[Will Friedle]

Right.

[Ryder Strong]

Because there's no reason to. I'm like, oh, the entertainment factor is gone for me and the education factor is not really there.

[Will Friedle]

How do you do that as a TV show? How do you shut off a show with, like, weeks left to find out? How do you not complete that?

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah, I don't know.

[Will Friedle]

That would kill me.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah, I. I don't complete most TV shows. I still, ugh.

[Will Friedle]

I have to complete everything. I'm in the middle of a horrible book right now.

[Ryder Strong]

I have to. I can't. TV shows, I tap out pretty consistently. Episode three or four, I'm like, all right, I'll wait to see if anybody tells me this is worth it. Even if I love it the first second, I'll be like, cool. By the third one, I'm like, well, now they're dragging this out. They couldn't wrap it up like a movie, so they're just gonna keep it going. Every week it's like Lost. Oh, you have polar bears we forgot about. Oh, dude. Now it's a time travel thing.

[Will Friedle]

And every season of Lost just going, what the is happening right now? Now there's a smoke monster. What the hell is going on? Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

So came down to the bottom three, which are not maybe technically the bottom three.

[Will Friedle]

3. Three couples standing, which who were.

[Ryder Strong]

Who. Who wasn't in this case. It was Jordan.

[Will Friedle]

It was Jor. It was Whitney. Whitney, Jordan and Dylan.

[Ryder Strong]

Right.

[Will Friedle]

Is that Right.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah, maybe.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

And I. I was. Yeah. I was like, oh, Jordan's going home in that situation. I was.

[Will Friedle]

I thought there was a chance it could have been Dylan. I thought there was a chance it could have been Dylan. I just thought that. I figured his weakest night.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah. But I figured his popularity was. Would override. But, man, Whitney gone.

[Will Friedle]

If you go back and watch it again, she didn't seem shocked. She really didn't see. So, I mean, my guess is the stuff we've heard about all the stuff going on on the Internet this week obviously watches all that stuff, too. She's a young, so she's on all this stuff. So she was probably like, I'll bet you at some point this week I would. I would bet all the money in my pockets right now. At some point this week, she looked at her partner and went, I'm going home this week. You watch. Doesn't matter how good we dance. They're going to send me home this week. I will guarantee you that conversation took place.

[Ryder Strong]

Well.

[Will Friedle]

Who do you think's going to win it all? Robert, there's right.

[Ryder Strong]

What are we doing? What are we doing? I guess we'll just. We'll get to watch one final would.

[Will Friedle]

Okay, so then let's. Let's reverse it. Would the biggest shock of the season for you be Robert not winning the show?

[Ryder Strong]

Yes.

[Will Friedle]

At this point, me too.

[Ryder Strong]

It would be a bigger shock than.

[Will Friedle]

Whitney leaving tonight would be Robert not winning the show. I agree. Yes, 100%. Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

And it's been like a straight shot to the bullseye since his first dance.

[Will Friedle]

We kept saying, where do you go from here? He started at 11. You and I were five feet away when he. When he did that dance. We're like, nope, that's it. Where are you gonna go? Shot yourself in the foot. Nope. You just kept it at 11.

[Ryder Strong]

Kept it at 11.

[Will Friedle]

Pretty smart. It's like the thing that Pam says in the office where he's like, hey, how are you gonna run that race today? She's like, well, I'm gonna start fast, and then in the middle, I'm gonna go fast, and then I'm gonna end fast. And he's like, wow, why don't more people do that? And that's what it's like. That's Robert. He's like, I'm gonna start at 11, and I'm just gonna keep it there. Great. Good plan.

[Ryder Strong]

All right, that's it for this episode of Pod Meets Twirled. Join us next week as we finish watching season 34. Of Dancing with the Stars. We may not know a paso doble from a pastrami on rye, but we know what we learned way back in Feeny's class. Daniel Fishel was the star of the show. Podmeetes World is an iHeart podcast produced and hosted by Danielle Fischl, Wilfred L And Ryder Strike, executive producers Jensen Karp and Amy Sugarman, executive in charge of production Danielle Romo, producer and editor Tara Sugbash, producer Maddie Moore, engineer and Boy Meets World superban Easton Allen. Our theme song is by Kyle Morton of Typhoon. Follow us on Instagram odmeatsworld show or email us at podmeatsworldshowmail.com.

[Will Friedle]

I've got a holiday hack for you. Three words triple treat box.

[Ryder Strong]

That's right, Pizza Hut's triple treat box is back. Three courses in a festive holiday box.

[Danielle Fischl]

Get two medium pizzas, breadsticks and dessert starting at $19.99.

[Will Friedle]

It's the only meal that holidays as hard as your favorite ugly sweater. You know, the one with all the bells and ribbons. Same vibe. More cheese.

[Ryder Strong]

Pizza Hut's Triple Treat Box is back for a limited time order now online or through the app.

[Will Friedle]

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[Ryder Strong]

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[Danielle Fischl]

Like to eat their eggs, and this.

[Pandora Jewelry Announcer]

Was their primary tool for cooking them. Let us teleport and put this device.

[Danielle Fischl]

In the Milky Way exhibit.

[Ryder Strong]

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[Will Friedle]

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[Ryder Strong]

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[Will Friedle]

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[Will Friedle]

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[Danielle Fischl]

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[Will Friedle]

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[Ryder Strong]

This is an iHeart podcast.