‘Dancing’ finale remains too close to call

All together now: This week brought a group paso doble and a freestyle performed individually. And nothing could have benefited Gilles Marini and Cheryl Burke quite as much as a group paso doble. While all three couples performed well, Gilles has a brand of confidence and assurance — he’s the only actor, remember, in a dance that’s all about projecting theatrical intensity — that was particularly conspicuous when he danced next to Shawn Johnson, who’s always battling a little bit of teenager shyness, and Melissa Rycroft, who’s always battling the desire to be a ballerina or a cheerful cheerleader. Ultimately, Shawn and Mark Ballas received two 9s and a 10 (from Bruno), Melissa and Tony Dovolani received two 10s and a 9 (from Len), and Gilles and Cheryl received predictable straight 10s.

Sticking the landing: The first freestyle performance came from Shawn and Mark. After starting in black jumpsuits and sparkle masks that host Tom Bergeron quite accurately described as making them resemble “Las Vegas bank robbers,” they stripped them off and did a speedy, joyful, marvelous dance that showed Shawn looking 100 percent happy and confident for the very first time. It was by far her most appealing and infectiously likable performance. While it was pretty clear that Mark had given up on the idea that they would ever get unqualified praise from the judges no matter how hard he tried, they did — along with straight 10s.

Good, but not perfect: Melissa and Tony’s freestyle was also fast and acrobatic, and Melissa had her best opportunity yet to take advantage of her cheerleading background. But while Shawn’s dance had looked really happy, this one looked like an overcranked hip-hop routine delivered with an extra-toothy smile, and the judges made it clear that Tony’s choreography let them cold. Melissa’s straight 9s put her two points behind Shawn, with Gilles yet to perform.

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The favorite takes the stage: Gilles has been the favorite for weeks. Nevertheless, Cheryl, who has skillfully choreographed past freestyle routines (most famously, “Save A Horse, Ride A Cowboy” with Drew Lachey) blew it with a “Flashdance” routine that was cheesy even for this show and that, as Carrie Ann quite correctly pointed out, highlighted Cheryl, not Gilles. Gilles and Cheryl were fortunate to wind up with a 10 from Len and 9s from Carrie Ann and Bruno.

So where do we stand?: Gilles and Shawn are tied, two points ahead of Melissa. It’s a very small margin, which isn’t surprising, since the judges often like to leave the final decision to the voters. If the vote is extraordinarily close, those two points could lift Gilles or Shawn over Melissa, and there's always the possibility that someone will flop in Tuesday night's final dance (scored by the judges, but never voted on). But in all likelihood, the viewers will rule. Who has the strongest fan support is anyone’s guess, but if you were forced to bet, you’d be wise to bet on the sex appeal of Gilles, with the possible upset coming from Melissa’s “Bachelor” cheering section. But then, of course, Shawn had the most electrifying dance of the night...

Linda Holmes is a frequent contributor to msnbc.com

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