Feeling emotional about the imminent end of So You Think You Can Dance‘s 14th season? Well, Monday’s penultimate episode made it clear that you are not alone.
Only seven days remain until the Fox competition series crowns its newest champion, and at least one All-Star was feeling very sentimental during the performance finale. Just after she reprised her Top 9 contemporary routine with Kiki, Jenna Johnson burst into tears, revealing to Cat Deeley between sobs, “I’m just so sad… because I love dancing with him!”
Suffice to say, Monday’s broadcast was packed with similar nostalgia, as the Top 4 and their All-Stars reminisced on the season, performed their favorite routines from the summer for a second time and gushed about each other in endless teary-eyed interviews. (The moment that got me all misty? When Vanessa Hudgens told Lex that he must have a guardian angel who had given him wings, and he immediately pointed to the audience, presumably to a family member. Get me some Kleenex, stat.)
The four finalists also performed new duets with one another, which viewers will vote on to determine the Season 14 winner. Let’s break those routines down:
* Lex and Taylor (Contemporary) — This was actually the last performance of the night, but I have to talk about it first for two reasons. Not only did it mark the return of Mia freakin’ Michaels (who, of course, was responsible for routines like this before stepping away from Dance), but it also delivered the enormous reveal that Taylor and Lex are in love! Like, in real life! Am I the only one who didn’t pick up on their relationship at all during these past few weeks? Because I feel a little silly for not realizing they had a thing.
Fortunately, Lex and Taylor’s IRL romance allowed them to deliver a truly gorgeous routine. They seemed to feel so safe in one another’s arms, so happy to finally reveal their relationship to the audience and so comfortable being vulnerable in the way that Mia’s choreography required. Plus, those kisses that went on forever, even while they spun around on the stage? That’s some chemistry you just can’t force.
* Kiki and Taylor (Cha-Cha) — If Taylor had been paired with anyone else for this cha-cha, she would have come out of it looking like a ballroom pro. Unfortunately, she was partnered up with Kiki — and this style is, y’know, kind of his thing. Though Taylor was by no means unwatchable, she didn’t quite have that necessary swivel in her hips, even when the dance was at its sexiest. Plus, even though Taylor’s height is a benefit in most other styles, it prevented her from pulling off seamless lifts with Kiki; instead, they looked clumsy.