Dancing With the Stars recap: Did the Right Couple Go Home on Vegas Night?

Dancing With the Stars took a major gamble in its second week of competition, and I don’t just mean the Las Vegas theme that dominated Tuesday’s broadcast. No, the ABC series also took a more literal risk by asking its contestants to perform two routines in one week — even though most of them are still learning what an eight-count is.

Fortunately, the Season 27 bench has proven to be shockingly deep, which made Vegas Night equally as impressive as Monday’s New York-themed episode.

Of course, luck wasn’t a nice dame to everyone in the ballroom on Tuesday: Before Week 2 came to a close, one couple had to say goodbye. Before we get to the results, let’s recap the highlights and lowlights of the Sin City-centric installment:

BEST OF THE NIGHT
Tinashe and pro Brandon Armstrong (Cha-Cha) — Did I partially love this dance because of Tinashe and Brandon’s fabulous purple costumes? Yes. Yes, I did. But their cha-cha was also completely electric, with a speed and precision that no one else matched during Tuesday’s episode. Plus, Brandon deserves his fair share of props; first-time pros aren’t always this impressive right out of the gate, but his clever (and risky!) choreography is consistently impressive. Judges’ Score: 26/30

DARKEST HORSE
Evanna Lynch and pro Keo Motsepe (Jive) — Luna Lovegood, look at you go! After her so-so showing in last week’s premiere, I assumed Evanna would be overshadowed all season by bigger names and flashier dances. But in Week 2, the Harry Potter alumna has made it clear she shouldn’t be counted out. Not only could she handle Keo’s fast-paced choreography, but Evanna brought more personality to her routine than some of the contestants at the top of the leaderboard have been able to do. Judges’ Score: 24/30

MOST ENTERTAINING
John Schneider and pro Emma Slater (Jive) — I am officially part of the John Schneider Fan Club, and I’m looking forward to receiving my membership card in the mail. From a content standpoint, there wasn’t enough actual jive choreography for John to really wow us, so the fun of this routine came from the storyline and John’s commitment to the character. But even if this dance wasn’t the night’s most intricate, it was certainly the best pick-me-up. Judges’ Score: 20/30

WORST OF THE NIGHT
Joe “Grocery Store Joe” Amabile and pro Jenna Johnson (Jazz) — Season 27 has rapidly become so competitive that even the weakest performances are still pretty decent. Case in point: Joe and Jenna’s jazz number, which wasn’t the strongest of the night, but still showcased Joe’s massive, massive improvement from Week 1. Given how many couples are stepping up to the plate so quickly, I’m not sure Joe’s Dancing career will last much longer — but it’s still heartening to watch him get better and better. Judges’ Score: 18/30

And now, the results:

COUPLES IN JEOPARDY
John Schneider and pro Emma Slater
Danelle Umstead and pro Artem Chigvintsev

ELIMINATED
Danelle Umstead and pro Artem Chigvintsev