'DWTS' recap as the finals begin

On the first night of the "Dancing with the Stars" finals, Sadie and Mark took the freestyle round to the, ahem, next level.

The judges were crazy about the performance - and so were several media outlets.
Gossip Cop called the Super Mario-themed performance "amazing," and they weren't at all surprised by their perfect score of 40.

And Wetpaint noted that the routine was "unorthodox" for a typical freestyle but loved it nonetheless.
"This dance is pretty darn cute, and it has the nostalgia factor going on ... It's kind of crazy, but hey, Freestyle right? Is it good, or insane? Do we even know anymore?"

Even video game blogs like SideQuesting couldn't get enough of the fun routine.

But a perfect score wasn't the only exciting thing to happen to Sadie this week. As E! mentioned, Sadie met One Direction's Liam Payne this week during rehearsal, and needless to say, the teenage Directioner was pretty stoked about it. Best of luck to Sadie and Mark as they compete in the finale on Tuesday night.

It's safe to say Alfonso Ribeiro and his partner, Witney Carson, totally killed their repeat of the jive routine they already rocked during week one.

Alfonso and Witney earned a score of 36 out of 40 for that same routine during the first week of the season.
But as WetPaint pointed out, the performance was even more awesome this time around, and Alfonso was "even sharper" this time.

And that sharper rendition earned Alfonso and Witney a perfect score and some rave reviews from the judges, who called the routine "amazing" and "so on point."

Which is all the more impressive considering Alfonso is still recovering from a painful back injury he suffered during a rehearsal last week.

Alfonso said in an interview with Access Hollywood Monday, "We've strained ourselves physically, mentally, emotionally. But the great thing is when you know you've only got a couple days left that you know you can make it. When you see the finish line, you know you can get there."
But can Alfonso and Witney make it to the end of that finish line?

They certainly are many media outlets' favorites to win the competition despite Alfonso's reportedly severe injury.

And they have Will Smith in their corner too. Alfonso's "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" co-star showed some love for the duo on social media both before and during Monday night's show.

To see if Alfonso and Witney have what it takes to win it all, you can check out part two of the "Dancing With the Stars" finals Tuesday night on ABC.

Check out Alfonso and Witney:

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