Pod Meets Twirl'd: DWTS 3411

Summary

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Pod Meets World: Pod Meets Twirl'd – DWTS 3411 (Nov 29, 2025)

Episode Overview

This special episode of Pod Meets Twirl'd is the grand finale recap for Season 34 of Dancing with the Stars (DWTS). Ryder Strong and Will Friedle, recounting the journey as self-proclaimed "two guys who can't dance, don't want to dance, and have now seen an entire season of Dancing with the Stars" recap the show’s high-energy final episode, share opinions on the results, discuss memorable performances, and reflect on the evolution of both the celebrity dancers and themselves as reality TV watchers. The episode is a spirited, insightful, and often humorous debrief with genuine admiration for the finalists, with plenty of in-jokes, light teasing, and a focus on what sets each finalist apart.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Finale Structure & Format

• [05:13] Ryder: "That was a long finale… it was really a lot, I feel like could have been a two hour episode."
• Both hosts agree the finale (which included three dances per finalist, multiple packages, and flashbacks) felt overlong and at times padded, especially with the addition of the "instant dance" component.

The 'Instant Dance' Debate

• [05:40] Will questions the legitimacy of the "instant" aspect since contestants practiced all four possible dances, and only the music was a surprise.
• Ryde and his family discuss the need for pre-picking for editing convenience, but note it diminishes tension.
• Both feel that true spontaneity is lacking, suggesting a format where dance style and music would be assigned live.

Who Deserved to Win?

• [07:12] Will: "It's no secret. Everybody knows Robert won by this point. Deserving? You think he deserved to win?"
• Ryder expresses he wasn’t on the “Robert train”—feeling Robert’s win was foreseeable and lacking in underdog narrative.
• [08:15] Will: Thinks Alex showed the most growth, going from "a scared 22-year-old" to a Super Bowl-worthy freestyle, arguing: "If they're doing the journey and then the finale… She won tonight."
• Both agree any finalist deserved to win, but Alex's journey stood out in the finale.
• Will: "When it came down to the two of them...we're happy for whoever won, really. By the time Danielle was gone, we weren't really rooting for anybody." [09:09]

Judges’ Role and Scoring

• [19:28] Ryder praises seeing judges work directly with the dancers on their Judge's Choice routines—wishing for more of this hands-on mentorship.
• [20:25] Will: "The more interaction, the better...it was great to watch them."
• Both repeatedly find the scoring unclear or question 10s given for dances with errors—a season-long gripe.
  • [31:05] Will, on Robert's not-quite-perfect dances: "If that's the case, how do you say that's a 10? A 10 means perfect."

Standout Freestyle Performances

• The freestyle (final) routines were a highlight:
  • Alex: Praised for her transformation and confidence, "went from being kind of a scared 22 year old...to being a dominatrix." [49:22]
  • Dylan & Daniella: Both hosts found it deeply moving and artistically rich, calling it "just the coolest dance ever." [50:07]
    • Ryder: “I got super emotional. I teared up and I'm like, inside, so…But I just thought it was cool.” [50:45]
  • Jordan: Her solo, hip-hop inspired number is celebrated for individuality, though Will notes the risk in song choice (“repeating a swear word...guaranteeing you that certain people in the middle of the country are not going to vote for you?”) [60:38]
• Consensus: Freestyles should let personalities shine, and both hosts advocate for more self-expression and contemporary/hip-hop in future DWTS seasons.

The Danielle Fishel Factor (and DWTS Experience)

• Hosts noticed Danielle was conspicuously absent from many finale recaps/montages, speculating on possible reasons but choosing not to dwell (with some friendly teasing).
  • Will, tongue-in-cheek: "Danielle's on my list. For the record, I don't care how long she is." [38:04]
• Both reflect on Danielle’s journey, her breakout Argentinian tango, and her declared intent to keep dancing beyond DWTS.

Reflections on DWTS and Reality TV

• [72:44] Will: "It was fun. It was maddening. It was awesome. It was annoying…It was so many different contradictions…Awesome to watch this journey from an insider's view through Danielle."
• Both express new appreciation for the rigors of live competition TV, the unpredictability of results, and how reality shows connect them to a broader American experience.
• They tease possible next moves: continuing recaps for other reality shows, or perhaps auditioning together for The Amazing Race.

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Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• [05:19] Will: "I mean, we went from finale to finally.”
• [09:54] Will: “If they're basing it on the entire season, then certainly Robert deserves to win…If they're doing the journey and then the finale. Just the finale. She [Alex] won tonight.”
• [20:11] Will: "You get 30 seconds to talk about what you think of the dancer...the more interaction, the better, frankly."
• [21:37] Ryder: "Where do you go from here…is there a professional dancing career that is better than being on Dancing with the Stars?"
• [31:05] Will: "If that's the case, how do you say that's a 10? A 10 means perfect."
• [44:29] Will (on Dylan): "The best dance he's ever done. And that's saying something."
• [48:47] Will (on freestyle): "That's why I knew you were going to love the freestyle because…it's story after story."
• [50:36] Will (on Dylan & Daniella): "Coolest move of the night where he…slides right into her lap with, like, his head in her lap."
• [66:01] Ryder: "She kind of has a little bit of, like, a punk rock attitude, like she does. You know what I mean? Like, there's a little bit of, like, I'm a bad, take it or leave it."
• [72:44] Will: "It was fun. It was maddening. It was awesome. It was anxiety inducing. It was stress release…it was so many different contradictions."
• [73:41] Ryder: "I find watching reality television with you immensely entertaining."
• [75:11] Will (pitching Amazing Race): "What about you and I together trying to get on the Amazing Race?"

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [04:18] Introduction to the recap and hosts' tongue-in-cheek self-descriptions
• [05:40] Finale structure & the instant dance debate
• [07:12 – 09:54] Who deserved to win? Discussion of Robert’s win vs. Alex’s growth
• [11:06–12:50] DWTS finale montage and Danielle’s absence from recaps
• [19:28–21:37] Judges' direct involvement and the Samba pants diversion
• [24:23–25:23] Was Robert’s win inevitable? Audience favoritism vs. best finale performance
• [29:06–29:37] Anecdotes about “Take My Breath Away” and Berlin (Will’s friend)
• [31:05–32:17] Scoring critiques after Robert’s quickstep
• [36:55–38:04] Danielle performance & "Danielle on my list" joke
• [44:09–44:40] Dylan’s standout instant dance
• [48:01–51:34] Freestyle routines and emotional resonance
• [60:38–62:16] Jordan’s solo, hip-hop in DWTS, and song choice controversy
• [66:01–66:54] On Jordan’s attitude and public perception
• [72:44–74:51] Hosts' overall takeaways and plans for post-DWTS podcasts
• [75:11–78:54] “Amazing Race” pitch & friendly banter

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Episode Takeaways / Flow

• The recap is warm, lively, and full of good-natured banter.
• Both Will and Ryder approach DWTS as somewhat “outsiders” to dance, but bring curiosity, humility, and thoughtful criticism.
• A recurring theme is the value of the journey: celebrating both incremental growth (Alex, Dylan) and technical excellence (Robert).
• They call for more transparency in judging and scoring and propose DWTS evolve to include more expressive and contemporary styles.
• The hosts' genuine affection for each other, Danielle, and the cast shines through, as does their willingness to poke fun at themselves.
• Looking forward, they invite listeners to help choose the next show for Pod Meets Twirl'd, with “The Amazing Race” floated as a serious option.

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Final Words

Pod Meets Twirl’d closes this DWTS experience with gratitude and excitement, declaring:

"We may not know a jive from a drive-thru, but we know what we learned way back in Feeney’s class: Danielle Fishel was the star of the show." [79:38]

The journey through DWTS has inspired them to keep recapping, whatever the next genre or show—proving the true heart of the podcast remains laughter, friendship, and connection with their audience.

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Transcript

[Will Friedle]

This is an I Heart podcast. Guaranteed human.

[Danielle Fishel]

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 Fishel]

Well, this year I'm taking notes from you both. I'm stocking up at one of my favorite places in the world, whole foods market. Their 365 brand has everything I need without wrecking my wallet.

[Will Friedle]

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

[Ryder Strong]

Now I'm hungry. I'm all about their frozen appetizers Quiche trio Butterfly Shrimp. It's like hosting with cheat codes.

[Danielle Fishel]

See Friendsgiving redemption arc in progress.

[Ryder Strong]

Enjoy so many ways to save on your Thanksgiving spread at Whole Foods Market.

[Danielle Fishel]

I'm Danielle Fishel, Ryder Strong and Will.

[Will Friedle]

Friedle from Pod Meets World.

[Danielle Fishel]

Whether you're a seasoned small business owner or thinking about getting started, check out season four of Mind the Business small business success stories from iHeartMedia's Ruby Studios and Intuit QuickBooks.

[Ryder Strong]

In this latest season, hosts Austin Henkowitz and Janice Torres are talking to self starters about the ins and outs of entrepreneurship and how QuickBooks helps you to get more done in less time. You won't want to miss it.

[Will Friedle]

Listen to Mind the Business Small Business Success Stories on the iHeart app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Danielle Fishel]

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[Will Friedle]

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[Danielle Fishel]

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[Will Friedle]

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[Ryder Strong]

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[Danielle Fishel]

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[Ryder Strong]

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 an entire season of Dancing with the Stars since our best friend Danielle joined the cast for season 34. We were all in. We are Will Friedle and Ryder Strong, AKA the two dudes standing next to Topanga, AKA Taylor, Daniel Fishel's backup, AKA the Dan Yets. Hi Will. Danyette.

[Will Friedle]

Hi Ryder. Dan Yet.

[Ryder Strong]

How you feeling?

[Will Friedle]

I'm sick, but other than that, I feel fine again.

[Ryder Strong]

So.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. How are you feeling? Are you shocked?

[Ryder Strong]

Shocked. Just like to the core.

[Will Friedle]

Right. The guy we thought that was gonna win for the whole season.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah. Ended up from episode one on.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

No, you know what?

[Will Friedle]

Really?

[Ryder Strong]

I'm. I'm kind of exhausted.

[Will Friedle]

Me too.

[Ryder Strong]

That was a long finale.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. I mean, we went from finale to finally.

[Ryder Strong]

I don't Want to belabor the point? Much like this episode belabored the finale, but it was really a lot, I feel like could have been a two hour episode. And I don't disagree. Yeah. I'm not sure if the instant dance was the most successful. I mean, what do they normally do? Do they normally do a three hour finale like this?

[Will Friedle]

I don't know. I also, here's the thing I didn't get about the instant dance because they said you could pick from four dances and then they all practiced the four dances. Right. So the only thing that, that you didn't know was your music, which again, obviously has a huge part of the thing. And I know you have to choreograph it to the music, but it's not like they're just. I feel like the. On stage, if it's an instant dance, they should walk in with cards. You should pull a card and it goes, oh my God, I'm. I'm dancing the foxtrot to this. Go. Well.

[Ryder Strong]

But what we figured, because we started talking through because I was watching with Alex and Indy and my parents and we were like, oh, they needed to know because they cut the package based on which dance they had picked. So if you notice.

[Will Friedle]

So they talked about all four of them.

[Ryder Strong]

Exactly. No, so they would talk about. Yeah, so they talked about like, I hope you get the foxtrot. I hope we don't get the foxtrot. And then they edited that because they had picked it ahead of time. Yeah, it was weird. I mean, I was nervous for them, which is kind of a good feeling maybe. So, like it was dramatic. But then when it was all said and done, I was like, well, they're just giving tens. Elaine got nine, which was a bummer.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

Because it was like everybody else is just getting a, you know, a thumbs up, basically like, you did it. You did this incredible hard thing. Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

I think that's more what this night was about, was more like, congratulations to everybody. Here's an attaboy to everybody for the journey you had is essentially what I think what the entire night was about because there were no real surprises. Now let me ask you this because obviously it's no secret. Everybody knows Robert won by this point. Deserving. You think he deserved to win?

[Ryder Strong]

I mean, I'm the wrong person to ask for some reason. I've just not been on the Robert train.

[Will Friedle]

Really.

[Ryder Strong]

I'm just.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, it's just not a Robert fan.

[Ryder Strong]

You know what it is? Maybe it's because it seemed inevitable. So. Right. I'm just there's no drama. I'm just the guy who's always gonna take the other side maybe. But also, I don't know, there's.

[Will Friedle]

He just.

[Ryder Strong]

I like the depth of other people's journey, like a little bit more, which is maybe unfair because he's had just as big of a journey I get. But I didn't know who he was at all, you know, and so it felt like. It felt like he was already Dancing with the Stars royalty.

[Will Friedle]

Yes.

[Ryder Strong]

It felt like he just did the journey and he had like, already started at 11. And so that just felt a little different than everybody else who kind of came at it with a. I don't know, for me, a little bit more of an outsider status. But yeah, that's so. I don't know. I really, by the end of this episode, I wanted Dylan to win.

[Will Friedle]

Oh, Dylan, really? Oh. See, to me, I thought the person who. To me, Alex. Robert started at 11 and to me he ended tonight at like a 9 or a 10. Right, right. Whereas to me, Alex started at a 7 and ended at a 10.

[Ryder Strong]

She. I totally agree with that.

[Will Friedle]

Everything. And so the I I get deserves the wrong word because of course, any of them deserve to win because they've all worked their butts off from beginning to end. But the one I wanted to win by the end was Alex.

[Ryder Strong]

Interesting.

[Will Friedle]

It's like you got to see the wow. Like, because when they're showing where she started to where she ended, it's right. She went from being a kind of a scared 22 year old, which Robert is too, but didn't certainly start in that position to then, you know, we were there that first night and there we walked away going, God, Robert Irwin, man, that was. And it was like, what about that girl with the bullwhip? Like, that's kind of what. What we were doing.

[Ryder Strong]

Right.

[Will Friedle]

And then now she finished. When she finished that freestyle dance, I was like, oh, that could have been in the Super Bowl. Like, that was totally. That was amazing. So when it came down to the two of them and I, I, sue and I both said the same thing. We're happy for whoever won, really. By the time Danielle was gone, we weren't really rooting for anybody.

[Ryder Strong]

Right.

[Will Friedle]

So it was kind of like we knew Robert was going to win, but I was like, hey, it also. Here's the other thing. And I do this a lot of times with some of the other, like cooking reality shows I do and stuff like that that I, that I like to watch. I don't know what they're basing it on. So if they're basing it on the entire season, then certainly Robert deserves to win. He started at an A and he ended at an A. If they're doing the journey and then the finale. Just the finale. She won tonight.

[Ryder Strong]

She won.

[Will Friedle]

So I mean, she even won on the judges scorecards. I mean, she literally won. So it was. She was by herself at the top with three perfect dance scores. So I, you know, I'm happy he won. That's great. The guy who we thought was going to win for 10 weeks ended up winning. That's great. I was pulling for her by that second dance. I was like, oh, my God, that's. Wow. She's a different human being. So I was really pulling for her by that point.

[Ryder Strong]

Interesting. Yeah. I mean, they were all so good.

[Will Friedle]

They were.

[Ryder Strong]

That's why this finale felt a little long to me probably because it was like, well, we're all great here. Like really? I just wanted to see their freestyle more than anything. And I felt like it was really fun. By that time I was so. I would love to have. I would have loved to just let them go a little like that. The entire finale just been like, hey, you get to do whatever you want to do to convince the audience that you're the person and to, you know, win the judges highest scores. Like I just putting them through the wringer of this like instant dance thing.

[Will Friedle]

I know.

[Ryder Strong]

And then even. Even the opening where, you know, they're having to dance something that they don't get to pick. I was a little like, why are we doing this to them? They've been through so much. Let them express themselves.

[Will Friedle]

I have to ask. Here's the other thing is watching the show, they're cutting together all these packages. Let. Let us. Let us show you the journey so far.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

They barely showed Danielle. I mean, like they would.

[Danielle Fishel]

They.

[Will Friedle]

They never cut to her in like any of the. Any of the stuff. It was unbelievable how little they showed Danielle tonight.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

Which I. I found odd. And again, I don't think it's anything personal. I don't know what the hell's going. But it was just. I found it weird where it was like they kept cutting. It's like, and now wicked night. And I'm like, oh, that was a great one for. Oh, didn't cut to her at all there. Oh, her Halloween.

[Ryder Strong]

I did. I definitely noticed that they didn't show. Yeah, I definitely noticed that they did because her breakout dance was Argentinian tango.

[Will Friedle]

Right, Right.

[Ryder Strong]

Halloween.

[Will Friedle]

No, Halloween was the Bride. The Bride. One with the blood.

[Ryder Strong]

That was also really good.

[Will Friedle]

It was really good.

[Ryder Strong]

Show it at all. No, they showed everybody else the Argentine tango. That was wicked.

[Danielle Fishel]

Night.

[Ryder Strong]

Oh, my God. I've already forgotten the whole season.

[Will Friedle]

Well, it's not dedication. That was Feeney. It's not Halloween. Yeah, I think it was. Must have been wicked. It must be.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah. Okay. Yeah, Right. I didn't. I didn't quite notice that, but now that I did, I'm like, what? Really?

[Will Friedle]

You're cutting everybody else? And they come back to Zac Efron at one point, I'm like, really? He's not even there. What the hell?

[Ryder Strong]

I got to see Alec Baldwin walking around. We did Disneyland a little bit. We did.

[Will Friedle]

And everybody came back.

[Ryder Strong]

You know who. Who did get more of the eliminated people? Who got most of the. I mean, they were all kind of.

[Will Friedle]

Andy. Andy got a lot. He did. And again, there's nothing wrong with that. It's just once again, I'm like, why? What is it about Danielle that they're hesitant to show? It's just. I didn't know what. I didn't understand what it was. I. If you go back and watch it, it's kind of weird, but.

[Ryder Strong]

Well, we started with an opening number that included all the eliminated celebrities and. And the pros, which was nice to see every. And be like, God, we've been through a lot.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, that's right.

[Ryder Strong]

Corey Feldman was on this show.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

It's only been 10 weeks or whatever, but it's.

[Will Friedle]

It feels like a lifetime. It feels like a lifetime.

[Ryder Strong]

It does. Yeah. No, that was cool to see everybody. And, like. I mean, that was the feeling of this whole. All the. And then they did their, like, flashback packages later on. I was like, oh, my God. This is. Yeah, this has been quite a journey.

[Will Friedle]

And it feels a lot longer. Imagine if had we actually danced. Oh, it would have. Would have felt probably almost twice as long had we actually danced.

[Ryder Strong]

I mean, are these people gonna sleep now, or do you think they're just gonna wake up tomorrow and be like, gotta dance again. Gotta just keep it going?

[Will Friedle]

Well, the thing they're talking about is they keep announcing them on Good Morning America. I'm hoping that's by Zoom. And they're not gonna now hop on a plane and fly to New York and actually be at the Good Morning America studio tomorrow? Because that's insane. So it's. Yeah, we'll see. But that's a lot going on.

[Ryder Strong]

All right.

[Will Friedle]

Nope, it's in person. According to Easton, they're copying on a plane and flying to New York. Okay, that's. Yikes. Same yikes. Okay, they're gonna finish with the press line in what, two hours from now? Probably take a midnight flight, get there five. So that'll be 3am There to yeah. Oh my God. Yeah. Wow.

[Ryder Strong]

Yet another reason why I will never do Dancing with the Stars.

[Will Friedle]

Forget that black Lotus card. Just chuck it in the Chuck it in the drain. At this point.

[Danielle Fishel]

I'm Danielle Fishel Ryder.

[Will Friedle]

Strong and Will Friedle from Pod Meets World.

[Danielle Fishel]

Whether you're a seasoned small business owner or thinking about getting started, you will definitely want to check out season four of Mind the Business small business success stories from iHeartMedia's Ruby Studio and Intuit QuickBooks.

[Ryder Strong]

Mind the Business is part entertainment, part instruction manual, part inspiration. Each episode features practical tips and success stories that will resonate with entrepreneurs in any industry.

[Will Friedle]

In this latest season, hosts Austin Hankwitz and Janice Torres are covering topics on the forefront of running a small business.

[Danielle Fishel]

They're talking to self starters about everything from how AI helps them work smarter to weathering market uncertainties and enjoying the benefits of being your own boss. And using Intuit QuickBooks to help you get more done in less time. You won't want to miss it.

[Will Friedle]

Listen to Mind the Business Small business success stories on the Iheart app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Danielle Fishel]

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[Will Friedle]

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[Ryder Strong]

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[Danielle Fishel]

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[Will Friedle]

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[Will Friedle]

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[Ryder Strong]

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[Ryder Strong]

All right, so we began our first of three dances that everybody was doing. Tonight was Judge's Choice. Alex and Val started us off. We got a little recap of the season that they've had and then their Judge was Carrie Anne. Got to come in and choose the samba. Thought this was really cool to see the judges interacting with the dancers and the pros.

[Will Friedle]

Me too.

[Ryder Strong]

I kind of wish there had been more of this. I don't know how, but I feel like the feedback of the judges, it feels distanced from the dancers often. And it feels like there's a lot of potential drama for misinterpretation or throughout the season. Oh, Carrie Anne having to apologize to Danielle. And I'm like, you know, a lot of this could be avoided if they actually got together a little bit more.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, I agree.

[Ryder Strong]

It's such a machine that I feel like the judges are on one side and the dancers on the other. And I guess that's intentional. So they can be more objective, but it's not that much of an objective thing. It seems like it's a very personal, human thing to be a judge and to be a dancer.

[Will Friedle]

So it's also. I mean, you get 30, what? 30 seconds to talk about what you think of the dancer.

[Ryder Strong]

Exactly.

[Will Friedle]

And then hold up a paddle. I mean, that's it. So it seems like the. The more interaction, the better, frankly. I agree. I agree 100%. It was. It was great to watch them.

[Ryder Strong]

All right, well, these two came out with the samba and. Big fan of those pants.

[Will Friedle]

The greatest pants.

[Ryder Strong]

The greatest pants I'd wear twice tonight.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

Because there have been a couple dancers who have worn a version. Danielle did it one. One night or maybe even two nights. And it's just. They're great.

[Will Friedle]

They're great pants.

[Ryder Strong]

Great way.

[Will Friedle]

We need samba pants.

[Ryder Strong]

Always a winner. Always a winner.

[Will Friedle]

You and I need samba pants.

[Ryder Strong]

I don'. I just don't think anybody cares about me and samba pants.

[Will Friedle]

I care about you and samba pants. So instantly, I know you're wrong 100% of the people.

[Ryder Strong]

Pants edition.

[Will Friedle]

I love it.

[Ryder Strong]

My comfy pants. I'll wear them at home on my couch. I'll never dance. I love them. But if you buy me a pair of dance to them or move to.

[Will Friedle]

Whoville, that's all you can do with those pants.

[Ryder Strong]

Now you know what to get me for Christmas, my friend.

[Will Friedle]

Yes. I love that I'm finding you samba pants.

[Ryder Strong]

This was tens across the board.

[Will Friedle]

Rightfully so.

[Ryder Strong]

No surprise. No, I'm with you, man. Like, he is probably the best male dancer of the pros lutely and a great choreographer. And she is just. Just phenomenal. I mean, she's just made for this. It's like, yeah, you're a dancer now. Like, just go Be a professional dancer.

[Will Friedle]

Which is another thought I had.

[Ryder Strong]

Like, where do you go from here? Like, let's say you. You are. Because it seems like Jordan really wants to try and make a career out of being an entertainer, a dancer, and it seems like Alex is destined to be. But what happens after this? Like, has anybody gone from the celebrity side to being a pro on Dancing with the Stars?

[Will Friedle]

I don't think so.

[Ryder Strong]

Has anybody gone from the celebrity side to being a professional dancer in, like, a capacity beyond Dancing with the Stars?

[Will Friedle]

I honestly don't know. I had to Google the guy that won last year because even when he came out and danced again, their podcast host, I still didn't know who he was.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah, who is he? He was a celebrity.

[Will Friedle]

He was on the Bachelor.

[Ryder Strong]

Oh, okay.

[Will Friedle]

And again, stuff we don't watch. So I was like, who's this. Who's this guy? So, yeah, I don't. I don't know. Who's become a professor? I doubt it. I'm sure people still like to dance. Or you're like Whitney, where you just go back to being a professional dancer, essentially. So. Yeah, I don't. I don't know.

[Ryder Strong]

It was a question I asked myself, and then I was sort of, like, a little sad because I was kind of like, is there a professional dancing career that is better than being on Dancing with the Stars?

[Will Friedle]

Like, no. Maybe Broadway. I don't know. I mean, you get some big Broadway show. You're in Hamilton or something like that, but.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah, but then you also have to be able to sing and act. Right. Like, I'm wondering, like, if you're just a really great dancer, like Alex. Right. Like, she's coming out of here.

[Will Friedle]

Probably the pinnacle.

[Ryder Strong]

Right? This is the pinnacle. That's what I'm saying. It's like, weirdly, I. It's almost like whether you win the mirror ball or not, you've already reached the pinnacle because.

[Will Friedle]

Right.

[Ryder Strong]

If you're a dancer for Taylor Swift. Right. Which yon was. Right. Or. Yeah. It's like, does anybody really know who you are? I mean, I'm sure it's a great job. And if you love these. Do.

[Will Friedle]

But regular people know.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah, but regular people. I feel like, really to be a famous dancer these days, you kind of got to be on dance.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, Well, I think. I think a lot of time. I think mostly what it is is that's the other thing is dance is. So it's such a team sport, right. That. That Dancing with the Stars is one of the few places where you are singled out as A single dancer. It's like.

[Ryder Strong]

Exactly.

[Will Friedle]

I can name 10 dancers in my entire life, and all 10 of them are the pros from Dancing with the Stars. Like, I don't know any other dancers.

[Ryder Strong]

Right.

[Will Friedle]

So it's like, those are the dancers that I know are the ones on Dancing with the Stars. So. You know, I used to know Barishnikov. I used to. You used to know the big names. Gregory Hines. I used to know, like, names like that, but then nobody. You know, Donald Glover for a while. I mean, there were certain. Certain people that would pop out as dancers, but then it was like, nobody. And now it's like, oh, I know the names of 10 dancers. And that's totally because of Dance with the Star. So. Yeah, my guess is you're right. This is like the super bowl or the major leagues is Dancing with the Stars. All right, I have a question for you. Wait. I have an overall question for you.

[Ryder Strong]

Sure.

[Will Friedle]

Do you think anybody came into the show tonight that the dance. Whatever dance they did could have beaten Robert? Meaning was it a foregone conclusion that Robert was going to win and no matter what happened, it wasn't going to change that? I kind of.

[Ryder Strong]

I think that's pretty obvious because, like, I really think Dylan gave the best dance of the season for me. Dylan and Daniella with their freestyle.

[Will Friedle]

With the freestyle.

[Ryder Strong]

And then I thought Jordan's freestyle was insane. And, like, I just. I just don't think it mattered, you know? I mean, they got tens, but at this point, it was like the audience was just so in love with Robert and. Right.

[Will Friedle]

So. And again. And I thought this was, frankly, Robert's weakest dancing night.

[Ryder Strong]

I agree, but I also feel like it's been that way a little bit for. He sort of stayed, like you were saying, like, he's just came in an A and stayed an A, but I.

[Will Friedle]

Feel like he went from like, an A to maybe like an A minus.

[Ryder Strong]

I agree.

[Will Friedle]

I feel like somebody like Alex came in, like, a B minus and ended in A plus.

[Ryder Strong]

Yep.

[Will Friedle]

So, yeah, I don't. It all depends on what you want to vote for, what kind of journey you want to vote for. They're both deserving, obviously, but.

[Ryder Strong]

Right. Yeah. All right, then we got our season flashback, part one, which, like I said, was a whirlwind of like, oh, wow. We've.

[Will Friedle]

We've.

[Ryder Strong]

We've consumed a lot of content.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. For this podcast.

[Ryder Strong]

Yikes. Man, can you imagine dancing? Jesus, I'm exhausted so much. Get another cup of tea. All right, then Dylan and Daniela and Bruno came In and gave them the passo doble, which I was very excited about.

[Will Friedle]

The second that came out, I was like, oh, Ryder's gonna love this.

[Ryder Strong]

One of my two favorites. And thought it was a great call. Great call, but actually not the most amazing dance.

[Will Friedle]

It wasn't the most amazing dance. It was great. It felt him very stiff in this dance. Like, there was. There was no flow to this one. I felt like it was just a little. And again, he's probably nervous as hell and all, but I felt like this one was a little bit stiff.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah. Yeah. But I also think if this had been any other week, it would have stood out. Yeah, exactly. But the fact that it's the finale and everybody's so damn good, there's a little bit of, like. Well, okay. Yeah, you did. You did apostle Doble really well.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. You're also coming off of Alex, who. I mean, that opening number was like, yikes. It was really good. Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

All right. So they got 9, 9, and 10, which I thought was pretty accurate.

[Will Friedle]

I agree. Fair.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah. Then we saw Corey, Jenna, and Baron and Britt perform.

[Will Friedle]

Nice to see everybody back.

[Ryder Strong]

To see everybody back.

[Will Friedle]

Everybody back.

[Ryder Strong]

And be like, oh, right, they were on the show.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. Yeah. You do kind of forget it. Does it seems like a lifetime ago that we started this show? We were there that opening night. It seems like forever ago.

[Ryder Strong]

And then Elaine and Alan told the story of her season, her injury, all the ups and downs, and they got the rumba with Take My Breath Away.

[Will Friedle]

Have we seen a rumba?

[Ryder Strong]

I feel like I would remember that because it's a fun name.

[Will Friedle]

You'd remember a rumba.

[Ryder Strong]

It's a fun name.

[Will Friedle]

I'd remember.

[Ryder Strong]

I actually don't know what a rumba looks like. Even after I saw it. I couldn't describe it.

[Will Friedle]

I don't either.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah. You know, I actually thought this was a fantastic dance. Me too.

[Will Friedle]

I thought you did really well tonight.

[Ryder Strong]

Frankly, I thought well. But I thought, you know, this might. Yeah. This one. It didn't seem as. As hard as some of the other dances, but also, that's not always the thing. Right. Like, sometimes it's just about nailing the dance technically. And, you know, based on the scores they got, it seems like they did that two.

[Will Friedle]

Two people that are hugely athletic, that are in their 20s that went first.

[Ryder Strong]

I know.

[Will Friedle]

And so it's one of those things where you'd love to. She killed it, but you don't. You don't ever want to couch that by being, like, for her age, because she just killed It. But you can do only so much at 54 that you could do a lot more 22 physically than you can at 50.

[Ryder Strong]

Well, did you notice that the. The finale, like, the results went basically by age?

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. No, I didn't. Oh, no. I thought you meant, like, the way we were expecting.

[Ryder Strong]

No, the way they eliminated people at the end. Oh, yeah. Was in order of their age, I think. Pretty. Exactly.

[Will Friedle]

And it's like.

[Ryder Strong]

Okay. Right. The two youngest people. Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

Who are, like, both 23. 22 or 23.

[Ryder Strong]

I mean, I actually don't know how old Jordan is. She's pretty close to that, too. She's. She's.

[Will Friedle]

I think she's older than that, isn't she? 28 or 9. I don't either.

[Ryder Strong]

No.

[Will Friedle]

She's also in phenomenal shape, though. So it's. Right. You're in a different category when you're literally a world elite. She's 24. Okay.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

Same age and a world elite athlete. So, I mean, you're. You know, she'll be able to do everything she did tonight ten years from now.

[Ryder Strong]

Right.

[Will Friedle]

Because it's just that's. She's trained her whole life.

[Ryder Strong]

All right. So I also. I like the song Take My breath Away. I thought it was nice interpretation of this song, like.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, it was. It was a.

[Ryder Strong]

It was a. It was a sweet moment. Have you.

[Will Friedle]

Across the board. Have you gone and seen them play Berlin?

[Ryder Strong]

Play right up the street all the time.

[Will Friedle]

Terry Nun. Terry Nun's a friend. She's been to the house.

[Ryder Strong]

Dinner. Wonderful.

[Will Friedle]

What? Yeah, She's a good friend of Jeff Sherman's. Like, one of Jeff Sherman's best friends. So they all came over a couple times. We had some dinner. We went to go see her concert. Terry Nutt, Take my breath away. Top Gun. Come on.

[Ryder Strong]

I had no idea.

[Will Friedle]

So I learned about French kissing from watching Top Gun. Top Gun. Remember, they're both in silhouette and you just see their tongues going at it. It's just tongues in the moonlight. Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

And you were like, that's what French kissing is. Oh, I guess now I know what to do.

[Will Friedle]

Exactly.

[Ryder Strong]

All right. Then we got a performance by Brandon, Lauren, Elaria, Gleb, Scott Riley, and Jen and Yan. And some more season flashbacks.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. Very little.

[Ryder Strong]

Remember us? We were here. Lots of that. Yeah. And Robert and Whitney came out. So Derek came to the rehearsal, told them they're doing the quick step. And then we learned about Robert's injury.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

Which is news. Guy was having some kind of, like, rib rip. Muscle. Rib trauma. Oh, my God. Maybe that helped him, too. You know, maybe that story added a little.

[Will Friedle]

I mean, it's added a little zest and a little.

[Ryder Strong]

A little drama, a little bit of edge.

[Will Friedle]

Right. But it also. And okay. Oh, my God. I'm getting so much. So much for this. And I'm not saying. Not saying that this is what has happened at all. At all. So please don't come for me. But if you announce before the big three dances that you're slightly injured, it gives you kind of an excuse for not being awesome in the finale.

[Ryder Strong]

I agree.

[Will Friedle]

So not saying that he wasn't injured. Not at all. Not saying that. But it's kind of like, hey, if I do bad tonight, there's a reason.

[Ryder Strong]

Yep.

[Will Friedle]

So I don't know.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah. Well, we'll just trust that he was in a lot of pain. And it was, in a sense.

[Will Friedle]

And for being in a lot of pain, did. Did great. This was. This was not a 10 dance. He bobbled several things. And so it was one of those things where it's like, I still don't get some of the scoring, and I get tonight's just supposed to be special, but if tonight's supposed to be special, then just give everybody tens across the board and forget it.

[Ryder Strong]

That's what I'm saying. That's why I think it should have just been a free for all. It's like, hey, everybody gets to do whatever they want.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. And we're not scoring tonight.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah. Or we're going to score, but, you know, we're not going to assign you, like, a difficult. We're not going to create a difficult project for every. I mean, making them do that instant dance thing felt so painful. It was just like, oh, my God.

[Will Friedle]

I was having to run and get dressed, too. Like, it's like the. The. What is it? The Grand Prix, wherever it is, where you have to run to your car first and start it. You can't just start them in the cars and drive around the. Around the thing. So, yeah, it did. It seemed like a lot, but he had several noticeable bobbles, which, again, injury or fatigue for whatever. But if that's the case, how do you say that's a 10? A 10 means perfect. A 10 means you can't have done it any better than that. So I, frankly, I agreed with Carrie in this one that to me, this was a nine.

[Ryder Strong]

Yep. I. I'm with you, man.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. And, Doug, here we have the Limu.

[Ryder Strong]

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[Will Friedle]

Is that guy with the binoculars watching us?

[Ryder Strong]

Cut the camera. They see us.

[Will Friedle]

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

[Danielle Fishel]

I'm Danielle Fishel, Ryder Strong and Will.

[Will Friedle]

Friedle from Pod Meets World.

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Whether you're a seasoned small business owner or thinking about getting started, you will definitely want to check out season four of Mind the Business small business success stories from iHeartMedia's Ruby Studio and Intuit QuickBooks.

[Ryder Strong]

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[Will Friedle]

In this latest season, hosts Austin Hankwitz and Janice Torres are covering topics on the forefront of running a small business.

[Danielle Fishel]

They're talking to self starters about everything from how AI helps them work smarter to weathering market uncertainties and enjoying the benefits of being your own boss and using Intuit QuickBooks to help you get more done in less time. You won't want to miss it.

[Will Friedle]

Listen to Mind the Business Small business success stories on the Iheart app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

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[Danielle Fishel]

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[Will Friedle]

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[Ryder Strong]

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

[Danielle Fishel]

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[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]

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[Danielle Fishel]

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[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. Then we got Danielle and Pasha, Andy and Emma and Whitney and Mark doing a performance, which is nice to see. It was Danielle. I wonder how much she's still been rehearsing.

[Will Friedle]

Actually, just this week, I think.

[Ryder Strong]

Right. I just, just. They came back for one more week.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, I think that. I think they went, you know, because they had. Everybody else still had to rehearse for the show. So she came in and just did. I think this last. I think. I don't. We haven't spoken to her anymore. It's like we don't even know the girl. And she's on my list right now anyway, so. Why. Oh, dude, she put up on her Instagram tonight. She was following around one of the dancers with a pad and paper. And the caption is taking notes on the funniest person I've ever met. Oh, yeah. So Danielle's on my list. Totally on my list and rightfully so.

[Ryder Strong]

Who is she talking about?

[Will Friedle]

I think it was Jan, but I don't care who she was talking about. It was. Yeah. Easton says, yeah, it was Jan.

[Ryder Strong]

So, yeah, funniest person.

[Will Friedle]

Can you. Here, you want to hear? I'll show you how funny I am. Watch this. Ready? Knock, knock.

[Ryder Strong]

Who's there?

[Will Friedle]

I'm funnier than Jan. There you go. Thank you very much. Never met the guy, by the way. And I know I am. He can dance me under the floor. But I'll dad joke him six feet under, so don't even start with me. So, yeah, Danielle's on my list. For the record, I don't care how long she is.

[Ryder Strong]

What would be the thing that Danielle would tweet that would make me upset if she was walking around, following around. The blankest person, the most miserable, the most self loathing person I've ever met.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, following, following around the.

[Ryder Strong]

Following around. The most pretentious person I've ever met.

[Will Friedle]

No, the best screenwriter I ever met. Something like that. But yeah, she went out of her way. That was a personal you at me is what it was.

[Ryder Strong]

So, yeah, she's on get him on our other podcast.

[Will Friedle]

Big old muffin basket from her and it better be funny.

[Ryder Strong]

All right, Jordan and Ezra were next. Kian gave them the paso. So I was excited for this. You are.

[Will Friedle]

You had a couple doubles tonight. Yeah, double dobles.

[Ryder Strong]

You know, I thought this was a really. This like, only highlighted how much like I felt like Dylan's paso double did not live up to the pasta potential because this one was so.

[Will Friedle]

He was sandwiched between two great dances. Yes.

[Ryder Strong]

But this was insane. And it's also cool because I always, based on what we've seen before, like, I always think of the paso doble as more of like the guys dance.

[Will Friedle]

Well, it's supposed to be right.

[Ryder Strong]

Don't they say that she's the cape?

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, he's the matador and she's the cape. Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

But man, Jordan just killed this dance. I was like, damn good cape. I could not believe it. Yeah. But then like, I mean, with the Carrie Ann thing, she gave her a nine. It's like you picked it.

[Will Friedle]

How is that a nine?

[Ryder Strong]

But also it's like everybody who, who went in and worked with them, they gave them 10.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

And it was like, she's like, this was incredible. This was amazing. You a little, little off right here. So I'm going to give you a nine.

[Will Friedle]

Exactly. It was unfortunately the wrong dance choice for you. Nine. Like, wait, what? Wait, what?

[Ryder Strong]

Whoever chose Apostle Dole should be shot.

[Will Friedle]

Nine, nine. Right. I don't know how that was not three. Ten. That, that was.

[Ryder Strong]

That was like to me, I Was like, come on. This is maybe the best paso doble we've seen this season.

[Will Friedle]

Oh, I don't know. I think. I still think Alex and Vals was. No, just.

[Ryder Strong]

I know I said it.

[Will Friedle]

I said it.

[Ryder Strong]

I take it back. Okay.

[Will Friedle]

Unlike Danielle and who's funny Just going.

[Ryder Strong]

To live with this. Next up, Alex and Val doing this instant dance thing, which man.

[Will Friedle]

I switched the rules.

[Ryder Strong]

I didn't. Didn't quite understand what they were doing. And then I was like, this seems really unfair for the men because.

[Will Friedle]

Why would you say that?

[Ryder Strong]

Because they have to lead.

[Will Friedle]

Oh, yeah, I guess that's true.

[Ryder Strong]

Whereas if you're following a pro who probably knows, you know, 15 different, like, cha cha moves just off the top of their head.

[Will Friedle]

Right.

[Ryder Strong]

And you've only been doing this for eight weeks or ten weeks or whatever. Like, I. It just seemed unfair because, like, they, like the women can. Can be sort of cued by the physicality of the men. Right.

[Will Friedle]

That's true. Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

Push them here. Pull them. And I think somebody even said it. I think Carrie Ann or one of the judges actually point that out because I was like, I was worried.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

When it came to Dylan, I was like, oh, God, this is going to be hard. But actually, they were amazing. We'll get to that. But so Alex and Val did their insta dance. Watching them run off to pick their outfits and go behind it, it was like, oh, my God, this dressed. Yeah. Just got to show them in their. Their robes. Yeah. And it stressed me out. Made me think of, like, having to quick change on our sets.

[Will Friedle]

Yes.

[Ryder Strong]

Before we went out for the next scene. While the audience is waiting, it just.

[Will Friedle]

Seems like they, like, they're trying to add one more layer of drama that wasn't necessary. Like, now you got to run and get. And it's like as Dylan was running for his clothes, I was like, dude, just stay in your tighty whities. Just do that and go dance. Like, just go. So the whole just running for the clothes, I thought, and then. And then getting dressed in the. Where you see the silhouette of the person getting changed, it was all just. It was so unnecessarily theatrical, I think.

[Ryder Strong]

And I also think that what you said earlier is really apt. That all they did is really. They just had to rehearse four different dances. Right. Like, so basically.

[Will Friedle]

And then fit it to a song they didn't know.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

Which can't be easy, obviously. But it's not like you didn't know what you were gonna do and you couldn't rehearse it, and they give it to you right there on the dance floor. Like, hey, guys, between the 15 dances that are out there, we're gonna pick one for you on the spot. While you're there, start a song. Go.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

You know, which. And again, I don't even know, as somebody who is a total neophyte to this, I don't know if that's even possible. Pro on pro.

[Ryder Strong]

Right?

[Will Friedle]

I mean, if you put two pros together and you go pasa doble right now, press a button and the music starts, are they gonna go out and kill it? I don't know.

[Danielle Fishel]

I mean.

[Ryder Strong]

But that's what was interesting, because the judges were kind of reacting as if they wouldn't know what to do. They were like, we don't know what this is. We don't really know how to judge this. But that was great. What you did with this weird assignment was cool.

[Will Friedle]

This is the first time they've done it. Right? Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah. Okay. Yeah, yeah. And work out the tweaks, maybe.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. See, I think what I would do is, I would do. You're allowed to rehearse what dances you are, but the dance floor opens up, and there's something deep underneath that can kill you. So it's either a pit of snakes or spikes. It's fire.

[Ryder Strong]

Just crocodiles now.

[Will Friedle]

Crocodiles. There you go. There you go.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

It's a foxtrot over fire or, you know, a tango over tangle, vines. Like that kind of thing. Like, have some fun with it.

[Ryder Strong]

Right. Or even if it was more expressive. Right. Like, you had to do a dance based on this prop or this theme, like, you know, I don't know. Yeah, there was something.

[Will Friedle]

Or you have to switch your partner for this one dance. I know you have to go with a different pro or something like that. Like, it's. It's an instant tango with somebody you've never danced with before. Like, something like that. I know, but that's kind of the point is maybe it wouldn't be. Who knows? Again, it's. I know they're trying to make it more, but you're right. It's like they have to, hey, here's the four possibilities. So we're going to rehearse four things, and we'll see which one gets picked. All right.

[Ryder Strong]

Well, they gave him tens across the board, which I was like, okay, are we just going to give tens to everybody?

[Will Friedle]

Which pretty much.

[Ryder Strong]

Pretty much what they did. Yeah. And then Dylan and Daniela.

[Will Friedle]

Wow.

[Ryder Strong]

Like I said, I was nervous for him because I was like, this Seems like he's got to lead this. Can he do this foxtrot? I don't even remember what a foxtrot is, but this was incredible. Yeah. Yeah. And, like, watching the judges react, I was like, okay, I'm not crazy. This was really good.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. Which is what I think the best dance he's ever done. And that's saying something because there's. He's done some other really good ones, but this was just talk about in the clutch and pulling it out when you need it. I mean, it was great.

[Ryder Strong]

Well, I think it goes to show that he's always been his worst enemy, you know, like, which he talks about. You know, he's. He's like, I came in here thinking, I can't do this, and I've got to just make him laugh or figure out how to. And when he trusts himself and. Or just gets out of his head. He's a great dancer.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, he really is good.

[Ryder Strong]

And he's got the best partner in the game. I think so.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

It was so good.

[Will Friedle]

She's really phenomenal.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah. And the tens across the board. And then Elaine and Alan, you got the. The quick step. Which quick step is a weird dance. I'm just gonna say it. Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

Again, it's not my favorite. Quick step and jive are not my favorite dances. No, just they. They aren't.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah. This was okay. You could feel that they didn't know quite what they were doing. She definitely had some missteps, but it's hard to fault them. I'm like, what do we expect from these people?

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

So, yeah, they ended up getting nines, which was the only. Yeah. Non10 given for this whole. Probably.

[Will Friedle]

Probably fair. But it's still like, I still don't get the judging. And I never.

[Ryder Strong]

I don't either.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

Robert Irwin and Whitney came out. They got the cha. Cha again. Injury potential reference. Is this guy gonna be okay?

[Will Friedle]

Is this the one where they end where he's holding her flat?

[Ryder Strong]

No, this is. This is where he ripped open his shirt.

[Will Friedle]

Right.

[Ryder Strong]

Coming in.

[Will Friedle]

We already see the one where he's holding her flat. Or was that the end?

[Ryder Strong]

No, that's next. I think that's okay. Freestyle. I think that was during the freestyle.

[Will Friedle]

Because that seemed like a direct ripoff of Daniela's move.

[Ryder Strong]

Okay. But no, I thought when he ripped his shirt open, I was like, oh, we're really just pulling out all the stops here.

[Will Friedle]

It's a. Yeah. Doing what you got to do, bro. I love that you're right at the end.

[Ryder Strong]

All right. Like you gotta just come in. What else can I add to this? My abs.

[Will Friedle]

There you go. There's a ton of abs on display tonight, by the way. It was like an ab fest tonight. It was like an Abercrombie store in 1998 out there tonight. So. Yeah. Crazy. Crazy.

[Ryder Strong]

All right, next up was Jordan and Ezra. I love seeing their reaction when they got the tango because I guess they. They wanted the tango fell to the ground. But I love that they both did it. And that's when I was like, these two are so in sync, you know, like that's. It was so cool to see that they're just having fun.

[Will Friedle]

Still clearly friends.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah. So fun. Yeah. And I thought this was great. Definitely cool to see. Like. Yeah, okay. You can. You can pull a dance out of thin air.

[Will Friedle]

Yep.

[Ryder Strong]

Tens across the board. Then we got a performance to a Taylor Swift song.

[Will Friedle]

Can't dance to anything with Taylor Swift. Apparently every time he's up there by his. By himself they put him because he was a Taylor Swift dancer. It's a Taylor Swift.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah, yeah.

[Will Friedle]

But it's also cuz they're tonight. It was also really on display the synergy of Disney and Hulu where it was just like Zootopia is coming out and we got, you know, the. All our dance stuff is coming out. The eras tour thing is coming out on Hulu. It's like everything is now being funneled through Dancing with the Stars. So it was, it was interesting to see the, the. The Disney fam on full, full alert tonight.

[Ryder Strong]

Totally. Then we entered what I think should have been the whole finale, the freestyle. This was just so cool. It seems like the celebrities got to choreograph almost as much. Do you know what I mean? Like sure. Or at least insert their personality and their style and their taste. Yeah. And that was just really cool. Just across the board. Even if I didn't like love every choice, I was like, well, this is an expression of you in a way that I wish this show had a little bit more of. Not just in the finale. But I. I just think it's always best when it's more about like self expression or some kind of storytelling or something that, you know, feels love.

[Will Friedle]

That's why I knew you were going to love the freestyle because I mean there's. It's story after story after story.

[Ryder Strong]

Totally. And which is personality. You know, actually to that point like Alex is. I mean Alex, the dance was so good.

[Will Friedle]

Like phenomenal.

[Ryder Strong]

Phenomenal.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

But I will say the choice to go like sexy, sexy dominatrix yeah. Was a little like, that's really. That's all. That's all we got, really. Oh.

[Will Friedle]

See, I thought it was great.

[Ryder Strong]

It was good. It was great. It was cool. But, like, as a self expression, like, and that's, you know, I was like, okay. Like, I don't know. I just.

[Will Friedle]

See, I loved that part of her journey because she said something in her. In her pre show package, which was interesting, where she's like, we. When I met you, Val, we were the only couple that didn't hug.

[Ryder Strong]

Right.

[Will Friedle]

So she went from, like, she had her sleeves up over her hand. She went from being kind of like this wilting flower.

[Ryder Strong]

That's a good point. Right.

[Will Friedle]

I'm just gonna shake. To being a dominatrix. And then when there's the five of them on the fence with the blue light behind them, forget it. That was awesome to be.

[Ryder Strong]

All right. That's a good point, man. You're right. You're right. I guess I was just kind of like, this is. Yeah, but you're right.

[Will Friedle]

Had she started on a stripper pole and ended on a stripper pole, it would have been like, come on. But I mean, like, it was. That, to me, was like that empowerment of, like, she was like, woke up. It was cool.

[Ryder Strong]

Right? Right. No surprise. 10, 10, 10.

[Will Friedle]

Rightfully so.

[Ryder Strong]

And then Dylan and Daniela, and this is like, for me, I mean, this was just the coolest dance ever. I thought, you know, hearing how Daniello was choreographing it based on her being dance and him being in love with it. Yeah. Oh, my God.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

What? And you could see that in every move. You could see all the, like, ups and downs of that.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

And it was just beautiful and coolest.

[Will Friedle]

Movement to coolest move of the night where he. They're both on the floor, and she grabs him and pulls him, and he slides right into her lap with, like, his head in her lap.

[Ryder Strong]

Dude. I just. I was so, like. I mean, I got super emotional. I teared up and I'm like, inside, so.

[Will Friedle]

But I just thought it was cool. But. Yeah, it's super cool.

[Ryder Strong]

Just beautiful.

[Will Friedle]

It was great. It was great holding her up and then she flips. She's, like, laying next to him. And. Yeah, it was.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah. And I think because of. Because of the emotionality of this one, I was. That's why I was sort of like, judging everyone else's freestyle. It's like, versus, you know. Well, kind of, you know, because, like, when Elaine in particular came out next and, you know, did a sort of musical theater Number about wanting to be a star. Yeah. I was like, okay, yeah. Like, I don't know if this develops what we've known about you. Like, you know, but it's clear that that's her taste, right? Like, that's her style. Like, she is a Broadway fan.

[Will Friedle]

She's got theater kid energy.

[Ryder Strong]

She's theater kid energy. And, you know, that's. That's what she. That's her self expression. Like that's the story she wants to tell. And it was good, you know? Yeah, of course it was good.

[Will Friedle]

It was good.

[Ryder Strong]

They're all good.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, they were all good.

[Ryder Strong]

Did everybody get 10 for their freestyles? Yeah, yeah. 10's across the board for everybody on their freestyle.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. And rightfully so.

[Ryder Strong]

Rightfully so.

[Will Friedle]

How do you do that? How do you say. It's like, this is my biggest self expression. My entire season comes to this. And then you're like nine. Like, no, but couldn't do that.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah, totally, totally. Anyway, going back, Dylan and Daniela got tens. Elaine and Alan, they came out, like we said, did this sort of, you know, the. The story of a young ingenue dancer actor. Got tens there. And then Robert and Whitney came out. He brought up his dad, wishing his dad could see it. His ribs again, a lot of pain. Is this going to. How's this going to go? Yeah, and it went great. It was a fantastic dance.

[Will Friedle]

They were.

[Ryder Strong]

They were great.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. Again, compared to any other. Robert Knight, though, I thought he was. He was good. But this to me, was not his best night of dancing. I thought there was better, several better dances than his tonight.

[Ryder Strong]

Well, the weird part about this dance for me was that I kind of lost track of him a couple times.

[Will Friedle]

I don't know if it's the way they were directing it or what was going on.

[Ryder Strong]

So many dancers. I think it was just a lot of dancers agreed.

[Will Friedle]

It was. It was. He got lost in the shuffle.

[Ryder Strong]

Yes, but.

[Will Friedle]

Yes, no, I agree with you. 100. There was times that I was kind of like, wait, is this. Is this the choreography? Is this the director? What's going on? Because he's lost in the shuffle. Then at one point, it looked like they dropped her. Like, like it was like she actually fell down. But she didn't. She was going where she was supposed to be to reappear back on stage. But with the way it was shot, it almost looked like both sue and I were like. Like we thought, oh, wait, did she just fall?

[Ryder Strong]

I didn't catch that.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, so we. So it was it. But she didn't it was just the way that it was shot. They were like, move. The whole group was moving her to the back to reappear on the backstage. But with the way it was shot, it almost looked for a second like she fell. So there was a couple things that I was like, oh, maybe the direction of the choreographing was fine, the choreography was fine and the dancing was fine.

[Ryder Strong]

But I was like, no mansion. It felt like there was a lot of other people, you know, around and, you know, especially compared to, like, Alex and, and Dylan, it just didn't. Yeah, just didn't have the thing that I kind of wanted. So I don't. At this point of the night, I was like, dylan, give it to him.

[Danielle Fishel]

Come on.

[Will Friedle]

See, I was, I was, I was team Alex at this point. But then this is the one where they end with her bent over and he's like holding the back of her head. And I'm sorry, but that, to me hearkens to the Dylan move, where that went viral that everybody did. And it seems like she kind of went, we need to do something like that, and basically did the same kind of move. And I was like, really? You're gonna, you're gonna. That was like their signature. This wasn't something that slipped by. This was. There was people recreating this on the Internet. It's like, it just felt a little like, really, you're going to do that? We're going to change it slightly and then be like, look what we're doing. It was a little, I don't know, it wasn't. That wasn't kind of cool to me.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah. Interesting.

[Danielle Fishel]

I'm Danielle Fishel, Ryder Strong and Will.

[Will Friedle]

Friedle from Pod Meets World.

[Danielle Fishel]

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[Ryder Strong]

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[Will Friedle]

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[Ryder Strong]

All right, then. Jordan and Ezra. And this was just Jordan on full display. It was so cool for her to just be like, well, this is my style. And to think back from all this ballroom dancing gown stuff to this.

[Will Friedle]

She almost never dances with him, though.

[Ryder Strong]

I know.

[Will Friedle]

I mean, it was like she was by herself. Now, I have. I have a question about this dance. I loved it. She was phenomenal. That being said, you and I watched the east coast feed, so we can do this podcast right afterwards. Whether you watch east coast feeds or you watch the west coast feed, usually you can tell by the ads, your audience. 80% of the ads are for medicines that you can take for something. And you just have to. There's then 30 minutes of this. This will all also kill you. And you're going to taste the color blue and your eyes are going to bleed and all that kind of. It's one after another, and then it's aarp. So my question is, is picking a song that keeps repeating the word over and over and over again guaranteeing you that certain people in the middle of the country are not going to vote for you?

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

Do you think she just walked in and went, I'm. I'm just throwing it out there? They're not. I'm not gonna. No one's gonna beat Robert, so I'm gonna do what the hell I want to do, and that's just gonna be the way it is?

[Ryder Strong]

Absolutely. And that's. I actually totally appreciated that. I did not.

[Will Friedle]

It wasn't a bad thing. I was just like, ooh, that's risky.

[Ryder Strong]

No, I. I think it was. And I But I think, like, she was just like, all right, the stage is mine.

[Will Friedle]

Right.

[Ryder Strong]

For I'm going out three minutes and I'm gonna do what I care about and how I like to dance. I mean, I got the feeling like this is how she would dance and if she were to move into entertainment or, you know, I don't know if she has her own music like, aspirations, but it seemed like she was like leading a full on dance number that was centering her and her taste and her music and what she likes to listen to and how she likes to move. And it definitely felt like a departure for the show, but it made me.

[Will Friedle]

Want to see more of that. It may. It's like, why isn't there more hip hop style dancing? Which is hugely entertaining.

[Ryder Strong]

Yep.

[Will Friedle]

And it's like, so athletic. So athletic. I get that you have a bunch of things you want to hit. Of course everyone wants to do a foxtrot. Everyone wants to do a tango. Of course you get all that stuff. You can't tell me that the jive and the quick step are kind of similar. You can't remove one of those and put in hip hop night or.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah. What?

[Will Friedle]

You know, some. I don't know, but some other style that's like that because it was so entertaining.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah, I guess, I guess. Yeah. I mean, like, the ballroom dancing styles are just like. It's a canon that's already established. Like, you can't add things to it unless it's contemporary or freestyle.

[Will Friedle]

Right. Maybe. But it seems like they should add that because it was. As a viewer, I was all in. Just as it would just be a.

[Ryder Strong]

Dance competition show, not a ballroom dance.

[Will Friedle]

Right, right.

[Ryder Strong]

But you could expand.

[Will Friedle]

Dancing with the Stars. So you're trying to hit a bunch of different dance styles. You know, again, when you go on Top Chef, if you're an Italian chef, at some point they're going to throw an Asian night at you.

[Ryder Strong]

Right.

[Will Friedle]

Like, because you've got to be able to do everything. That's what makes you the Top Chef. So if you're the best dancer, shouldn't you be, hey, foxtrot. And then now you got to do hip hop and now you got to do. It just seems like you should kind of get everything.

[Ryder Strong]

I wonder, man. Like, I, I mean, are other. Here's the question, actually, are other forms of dance, like hip hop, as formalized and sort of codified and like. Yeah, I feel like there's a. There's a tradition of competitive ballroom dancing that is. You know what a lot of the judging in the show that we didn't understand from the beginning probably still don't.

[Will Friedle]

Right.

[Ryder Strong]

Is based upon. Right. Like that there's certain techniques, there's certain moves, there's certain rules.

[Will Friedle]

Right.

[Ryder Strong]

And, you know, I don't think. I mean, hip hop is just a much more wide open category. It also might be a dancing show. Right? There should just be a. Like.

[Will Friedle]

Well, there is. There's. So you think you can dance, right?

[Ryder Strong]

And that's just anything goes.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, I think so. But it's also. Maybe the other thing is in hip hop. And again, this shows you how little I know about the art form. Maybe there's not a whole lot of partner work in hip hop. Like, it's just. You're just by yourself.

[Ryder Strong]

Not.

[Will Friedle]

So it's. That might be another thing that would be a difficult thing is it's just like, you can't. How do you. How do you do that alone?

[Ryder Strong]

I. I think that's a big component of it. Right. So especially for a show that's built on partnering people.

[Will Friedle]

Right. And the question is, grow.

[Ryder Strong]

Are.

[Will Friedle]

Will the judges ding you for going away from something? Like if in the middle of your foxtrot, you do your side by side and you throw in some hip hop, is that a big no?

[Ryder Strong]

No. Oh.

[Will Friedle]

Or is that, like, crazy?

[Ryder Strong]

No, that's why they haven't done it. Except for when they did their contemporary, they haven't really been able to do that. They, you know, even they've had to show that they can do the kicks and the things that are specific to that dance.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

So, yeah. Yeah. It's interesting.

[Will Friedle]

But that's what that was. My question is. It's a. It's a. It's a. From an entertainment point of view, it was a question of knowing your audience. And did you. Did you turn your audience off by having a song that constantly was repeating a swear word? And then at the end of the day, it was like, I agree with you. Where it's like, oh, she obviously just didn't care and was like, this is now me here. This is me. But, you know, I think you're right. I think it was. I think Robert won before the night even started. So I don't think anybody could have come and danced their heart out and won tonight other than Robert, because Alex did. Right. So, I mean, we literally saw it. She had the best score of the night. She had three. Three dances with three perfect scores.

[Ryder Strong]

Right.

[Will Friedle]

So she. Even the judges said, you had a perfect night of dancing, whereas Robert didn't. So it was obviously the Overall, you know, the over the cumulative dancing as opposed to just tonight, because just tonight, to me, Alex won.

[Ryder Strong]

Wow.

[Will Friedle]

Jordan was great.

[Ryder Strong]

All right. So really, at this point, what. Were you surprised by any of the revelations of who no got eliminated? Were you, I guess, the order.

[Will Friedle]

Were you really? We were calling them out as it happened.

[Ryder Strong]

I, I, I like to, to your point about Jordan, I thought she might get eliminated earlier.

[Will Friedle]

Oh, really?

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah, I, I, as much as I love her and everything, and obviously I guess everyone else did too, but I was like, I could see this turning off some people and I think, like, their Halloween dance wasn't that great.

[Will Friedle]

No, with the, with the. Was it rope gate. What did he call it?

[Ryder Strong]

And she kind of has a little bit of, like, a punk rock attitude, like she does. You know what I mean? Like, there's a little bit of, like, I'm a bad, take it or leave it. I'm gonna do my thing. And, you know, she's always kind of mugging the camera and doing stuff. So I was like, I wonder how popular this actually is. Is. So there was part of me that was like, she could be eliminated.

[Will Friedle]

Well, that's my other question. And again, knowing your audience, when you say, and again, I didn't have a problem with it because I get what she meant, and it's more hyperbole than anything else. But sitting there and saying, winning the trophy is more important to me than winning a gold medal for my country, I can see how people might be.

[Ryder Strong]

Like, ooh, oh, that's interesting.

[Will Friedle]

I didn't even think about that, where it's just like. And again, this is her personal thing. She's like, I've been watching this show since I was 5, and this is all I've ever wanted. So I get it, and I can take it with a grain of salt, but there might be some people, like, how could you want to win this dance show more than a medal for your country?

[Ryder Strong]

Right.

[Will Friedle]

So, yeah. But again, I frankly, I dig her attitude. I thought it was great. I thought the dance was great. I thought she killed it tonight.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

But I just. No one was gonna beat Robert.

[Ryder Strong]

Well, I was still kind of hoping for an upset, but then it went Elaine, Then Dylan was next, which I was super bummed about, but I guess I shouldn't have been that surprised. And then the final three. Jordan was out, left with Robert and Alex. And at this point, I was kind of like, you know, it could be. She could win because.

[Will Friedle]

And they said it was the closest ever.

[Ryder Strong]

The closest ever. So that's super Interesting. She was so. She was very close.

[Will Friedle]

I have a pitch for you.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

For the next season, get rid of the. The insta dance.

[Ryder Strong]

Yep.

[Will Friedle]

The. Whatever. The. Whatever they call it. The instant.

[Ryder Strong]

The Just Add Water dance.

[Will Friedle]

The Just Add Water dance. The Instapot1 button dance. Have everybody dance again. However, pick a. Pick a new category. Everybody gets to dance, do an elimination. Then that gets you down to the final two. Then you have a dance off between the final two and another round of voting.

[Ryder Strong]

Well, they've done past seasons with less people in the finale, right?

[Will Friedle]

I think so.

[Ryder Strong]

I mean, this seemed like a lot of people to have in the finale. But that said. But that said, you. Yeah. I mean, it would also just get kind of boring to watch if it was really down to, like, two people. Like, could you do a whole episode or even, like.

[Will Friedle]

No, no, I'm saying. No, no. I'm saying in the course of the night, and then you just do one more dance with just the final two and you do a vote right there. That's it. It's the two. You get to dance. So again, you. You have to prepare another dance as if you're going to be in the final two, and you either get to dance that dance or you don't get to dance that dance. And at that point, it should be, you get to pick your dance, you get to pick the style, you get to pick the song, you get to pick whatever you want you have. Maybe. Maybe the thing that's cool is the pro. The. The celebrity has to choreograph it.

[Ryder Strong]

Mm, I like that.

[Will Friedle]

Which could be cool. It's like you have one final dance that you get. You can get help. You can get help, obviously, but you kind of have to choreograph the dance.

[Ryder Strong]

But, I mean, that's kind of what I felt about the freestyle, to be honest. I felt like it was more. It was more because.

[Will Friedle]

More personality than I'm guessing they were. They were. Their pros were still all right, mostly responsible for the choreo.

[Ryder Strong]

So I haven't really thought about this, but I'm just going to throw it out there. Like, what do you. Where do you think everybody's going to go from here? Like, is a. Is Elaine Hendricks have, like, a resurgence in her acting career? Do you think she's going to.

[Will Friedle]

I don't. I don't necessarily know. I mean, again, we. We did not know the last three or four winners of Dancing with the Stars.

[Ryder Strong]

Right.

[Will Friedle]

So that, again, is not a good benchmark, since you and I are very, very pop. Culturally Illiterate when it comes to this kind of disabled. Right. So. So that there's. I mean, but again, I had to Google the guy who was last year's winner, who's the host of their podcast. Like, I don't watch the Bachelor, so I don't know any of that kind of stuff.

[Ryder Strong]

Right.

[Will Friedle]

So I, I hope so. I mean, again, it certainly helps in social media. We've seen Danielle's followers kick up by like half a million. Other people's kicking up by half a million to a million. So, I mean, in that sense, which is what it is today to be a celebrity, I mean, that. It certainly helps there. I don't know if you're going to get more jobs or anything. Who knows?

[Ryder Strong]

I mean, Robert Irwin is obviously going to be a, A force to be reckoned with as a. As a conservationist. And I wonder if, you know, that will lead to. I don't know what. I guess, like.

[Will Friedle]

Well, did it with Bindi. It's a per. It's. It's the perfect example because his sister, it literally happened to. So did. Did her life.

[Ryder Strong]

Conservationist, though?

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, yeah, she hosted. She was the first host. She hosted like, Bindi as a kid. She was like a little. Little like three or four, hosting a show after her father.

[Ryder Strong]

Interesting.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. She might not have been four, but right after her dad passed, she started hosting like Bindi Jr. Or whatever. And they, they really built that family, really got together and. And like, made something because their father made a lot, but he was like the man. Like, everything was on this guy's shoulders. And then when he passed, they were like, what are we going to do? And the whole family really just picked up the, the slack and the mantle, right? Yeah, they picked up the man and like, expanded on it. And I mean, they're. They're royalty in, in Australia and rightfully so. I mean, they've. They've done. Seems like as really wonderful people, so. But yeah. I don't know. Do you think it will.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah, I mean, I don't know. Yeah. I'm. I'm wondering what somebody like Alex, like, now that she's proven that she's this amazing dancer, like, what do you do with that? Like.

[Will Friedle]

Right.

[Ryder Strong]

Is she going to, you know, I mean, she have a huge TikTok following. She already had one, so. Right. Does this translate to being a professional dancer in some other capacity? That could be really cool. I mean, she's obviously proven herself and she's so good. Do you think moving into choreography? I don't know.

[Will Friedle]

I was Gonna say, do you think the pros would be super happy if just all these people just kept dancing? Like, however, hey, man. It's just like, Dylan, I'm starting to take a ballroom class, and my girlfriend and I are just dancing together. I mean, it's like, yes, I think so, too. I think there, it's like, they introduce you to dance, and now it's a part of your life. And so I think they'd be happy if it was like, they continued just dancing. Well, Danielle told us that she's like, I'm gonna dance forever. It's like, great. That's awesome.

[Ryder Strong]

We're gonna have to check in in, like, six months. See?

[Will Friedle]

Well, that's when I'll speak to her next. After her, her latest post. So it's gonna be. It's gonna be a sad pod meets world the next time because it's just gonna be the two of you because I'm not talking to her.

[Ryder Strong]

Oh. All right. Overall feelings. Last thoughts on a season of Dancing with the Stars.

[Will Friedle]

You know, it was fun. Yeah, it was fun. It was maddening. It was awesome. It was annoying. It was anxiety inducing. It was stress release. It was. It was so many different contradictions. I loved being able to go there. I loved some of the people that I've met and seeing kind of how the machine was working. Getting to watch this journey from an insider's view through Danielle was really outstanding. I fully enjoyed it. You know, I can see us for a number of reasons watching next season.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

Well, I think we should also probably tell people that we're not planning to end Pod meets twirled just because Dancing with the Stars is done.

[Ryder Strong]

We're just going to keep watching stuff.

[Will Friedle]

We are, but we don't know what yet.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah. I. I find watching reality television with you immensely entertaining.

[Will Friedle]

I feel the same way.

[Ryder Strong]

I feel exactly the same way.

[Will Friedle]

Exactly the same way.

[Ryder Strong]

And I think. I think coming as a pop cultural noob and not feeling bad about that because you're on the same boat. Exactly. It was nice. So the question is, do we stay on even ground and watch something that we also don't know anything about, or do we pick something that one of us has seen before and knows?

[Will Friedle]

No, I kind of like neither of us knowing what's going on. I also. The question I have is, I think people like us watching something that's currently on.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

Where it's not like, hey, we're going back and watching season two of the Bachelor. It's like, no, we're watching one a week of Whatever the hell is on. Yeah.

[Ryder Strong]

That's part of the excitement.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. Right.

[Ryder Strong]

And it's part of what has, you know, maybe connected me to America in a way I've never been before. Yes.

[Will Friedle]

Well, maybe we should ask our fan who listens to this podcast. What we should. What we should.

[Ryder Strong]

Our tens of fans.

[Will Friedle]

Our tens of fans.

[Ryder Strong]

Tens of fans. We have.

[Will Friedle]

We can literally send out thank you cards to everybody.

[Ryder Strong]

No, to be fair, we've.

[Will Friedle]

We've.

[Ryder Strong]

We've had a great run here.

[Will Friedle]

This has been awesome.

[Ryder Strong]

A lot of our have come along and given us amazing feedback. This has been way more fun than I ever expected. And who needs Danielle? I mean, she had to be competing in the show.

[Will Friedle]

Of course. I have another suggestion for you.

[Ryder Strong]

Okay.

[Will Friedle]

I can't even believe I'm going to throw this out into the atmosphere, but what about you and I together trying to get on the Amazing Race?

[Ryder Strong]

Oh, my God, you son of a bitch.

[Will Friedle]

I think I would do it.

[Ryder Strong]

I think I would, too. I actually. Oh, God.

[Will Friedle]

Right? I could see you and I stuck somewhere in, like, South America or whatever.

[Ryder Strong]

Like, what if we had one of our moments? Because we've had our moments. Like, we definitely have had our debates and our actual very emotional, very personal moments moment. I don't know if I can handle having that on camera.

[Will Friedle]

I think we'd have to. What we'd have to do is we would. We would find a time to take off the bikes, go fist fight behind a porta potty somewhere.

[Ryder Strong]

All right, well, who's doing the, like. Well, they always start with a big jump. Like, dude. Like skydive or bungee jump. Oh. The first episode is always.

[Will Friedle]

I've never seen it. I've literally never seen.

[Ryder Strong]

You haven't?

[Will Friedle]

No.

[Ryder Strong]

Well, definitely. We should watch it. I actually have. That's one of the first few. The Amazing Race and Survivor were when Alex was pregnant. That's what we started watching. And. And then we. I. I've watched a few of the newer seasons, too. Amazing Race. Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

It's no joke, right?

[Ryder Strong]

Well, it's. It's changed a little bit. Like, now they used to, like, not have flights and, like, have to. And. But now they've made it, like, a little more streamlined so I. They don't make a drama out of them catching flights in the airport anymore.

[Will Friedle]

Okay.

[Ryder Strong]

If I, If I'm. If I'm remembering. Remembering the last season I watched, I was surprised, like, because it used to be they were just full on, traveling the world. They only had a certain amount of money, and if you Missed a flight. Then that were completely out of luck for the next leg. But now I think they've made it that they've eliminated that aspect. So it's much more. It's much more like puzzles and, like, local adventure things. Like, you have to figure out this local tradition, you know, make haggis or whatever it is that's, like, in the country you're in. And they have to do it in a. You know, you have to beat these other teams.

[Will Friedle]

I mean, meat and barley wrapped in a sheep stomach.

[Ryder Strong]

You and I would be really good at it. You. You and I would be really good at it.

[Will Friedle]

I, again, I think it would be. I'd be fine. Also, I wonder if they've ever had somebody, like, had two people where as they're doing it would podcast about it.

[Ryder Strong]

We just be podcasting from the back of a taxi in Dubai.

[Will Friedle]

Oh, God. I think it would be great. I want to see how many different foreign jails you'd have to bail me out of.

[Ryder Strong]

You wouldn't be the problem. You. You. I mean, yeah, it's. It's you and me in Amsterdam when we were 16. Yeah, that's 16 and 18. Yeah. No, that's true. Minus the drugs. All right.

[Will Friedle]

I think. I think so. Yeah. I don't mean to throw that out in the ether, but I thought. Thought that the other day, I was like, oh, man, that. That could be fun.

[Ryder Strong]

I mean, you know, I hate the idea of being on camera, but Amazing Race sounds pretty. It's.

[Will Friedle]

It's so.

[Ryder Strong]

It's just.

[Will Friedle]

Are you guys. Are you filming yourself as you're doing everything, or is there a camera person?

[Ryder Strong]

There's people with you. And that's the thing. It's still reality tv.

[Will Friedle]

Right?

[Ryder Strong]

And that's why, like, if there was any drama between us, it's out there in the world, my friend.

[Will Friedle]

I love it. I love it.

[Ryder Strong]

But, I mean, you would kill. Because you're so funny. It would be amazing.

[Will Friedle]

But you're also really good at traveling. That's why I think the two of us together.

[Ryder Strong]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

But, you know, the funny thing is, we let. Danielle would do a podcast about watching us on the Amazing Race, and it would start with something like, okay, I've known them for 30 years, so in this scene, they hated each other.

[Ryder Strong]

Ryder is so pissed at Will right now, and he is gritting his teeth.

[Will Friedle]

That's what it would be. That's totally what it would be, too. Oh, God. It would be fun, though. Oh, man.

[Ryder Strong]

All right, well, what a journey. We'll see where we're going.

[Will Friedle]

What do you guys think we should watch? It's a great question. What does everybody out there think we should watch? Let us know because we really don't know. But we are going to tell you because we've gotten a lot of people asking that this won't be the end of Pod meets Twirled. It probably won't be called Pod meets Twirled though, right?

[Ryder Strong]

No, I guess it'll be Pod meets Racerwed.

[Will Friedle]

That doesn't.

[Ryder Strong]

Well, that's it for this episode of Pod meets Twirld and potentially this season. And maybe the name of that show.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, the amazing Pod.

[Ryder Strong]

The amazing Pod. That's pretty good. That's pretty good. It's actually not bad. All right, this wraps season 34 of Dancing with the Stars.

[Will Friedle]

Congrats.

[Ryder Strong]

We may not know a jive from a drive through, but we know what we learned way back in Feeney's class. Danielle Fishel was the star of the show. We love you all. Pod dismissed. Pod Meets World is an iHeart podcast produced and hosted by Danielle Fishel, Wilfred L. And Ryder Strong, executive producers Jensen Karp and Amy Sugarman, executive in charge of production, Danielle Romo, producer and editor, Tara Sugbash, producer Matty 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.

[Danielle Fishel]

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[Danielle Fishel]

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[Will Friedle]

What a matchup we got, y'. All. This is that classic HBCU vibe. Non stop action. The band is rocking and the crowd lit. Chance echo, drum beat, everybody showing that school pride.

[Ryder Strong]

A game like this.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, it calls for an ice cold Coca Cola. Ah, crisp and refreshing.

[Ryder Strong]

That's a game changer right there. Yeah, that taste always hits the right note.

[Will Friedle]

Just like the band at halftime. And just like that, we're back at.

[Ryder Strong]

Passionate fans, school colors everywhere.

[Will Friedle]

And an ice cold Coca Cola. That's a winning combo. No matter the sport, no matter the yard. Everybody knows fan work is thirsty work. So grab a Coca Cola and keep that HBCU pride going. The day begins at the Chase Sapphire Lounge by the club. At Boston Logan Airport, you get the clam chowder. In San Diego, it's Tostadas New York Espresso Martini. It's 10:00am why not? It's the quiet before your next flight, the shower that resets your day, the menu that lets you know where you are. This is access to over 1300 airport lounges and every Sapphire Lounge by the club. And one card that gets you in Chase Sapphire Reserve the most rewarding card. Learn [e-mail] Sapphire Reserve cards issued by JPMorgan Chase bank and a member FDIC subject to credit approval it's finally here.

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[Danielle Fishel]

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[Will Friedle]

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