DWTS 5th Judge: Halloween Shocking Upset Sends Home Celeb Near Top of Leaderboard

Halloween Nightmares brings the biggest scare of the night on Dancing with the Stars when a contender flies from the top of the leaderboard right out of the ballroom in the season's first and biggest upset.

Never underestimate the power of bonus points to shake up a season. They were on the line again this week as Dancing with the Stars offered three of them in a Dance-Off round that paired comparably-leveled competitors.

Three points is a lot when 30 is the highest possible score on the night, and it can really shake up a leaderboard. Pairing couples with similar season trajectories really creates an instant divide between them as even a tie tonight gets immediately broken by those bonus points.

The result for this spooky-themed night was a shocking upset in the ballroom that was great news for the couple riding the bottom of the leaderboard -- but much scarier for those at the top, as it was the end of the road for one of them.

After Bobby Bones' upset win several several years ago, we've learned never to underestimate the power of the vote, which makes up half of each couples' total scores for the week. But that doesn't mean we can't get upset with them when they get it so wrong!

Fair warning, since I'm safe at home, I'm probably going to be a little harsher than my colleagues Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough, Gene Simmons, and Bruno Tonioli. But I might be nicer, too. Maybe.

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ROUND 1: HALLOWEEN NIGHTMARES

Ilona Maher & Alan Bersten

(Tango - "Psycho Killer," Talking Heads [as performed by Miley Cyrus) Great characterization from both Ilona and Alan on this one, with both really selling the "psycho killer" of the whole piece. Ilona needs to be a little lighter on her feet and looser with the hip swivels, but we really did see some nice framing (watch the shoulders creeping up) and light footwork (but watch those toe leads) from her throughout this tango. Alan put her through her paces on this one, but we could see how hard she worked to put the pieces together, and we saw growth.

Judges Scores: 8, 8, 8

My Score: 7

Dwight Howard & Daniella Karagach

(Contemporary - "Ring Around the Rosie" District 78) "Since the beginning of the season, you have yet to do a dance routine from beginning to end correctly," Daniella told Dwight candidly, and we respected her willingness to say it, and his to hear it and internalize it. You can tell the ones who are willing to put in the work and take this seriously. We also loved that he was in character every time we saw him before their dance began.

Once again, they definitely took some creative advantage of their size differences to create a scenario where little Daniella was terrified and trying to escape the clutches of Dwight -- but those clutches are huge! The creativity and choreography was great, but we didn't see Dwight successfully pulling off everything she put in front of him, and the actual dance she asked of him was pretty light. This was a character piece through and through, and they both definitely came thorough on that front. And that backwards leap off the stage? Daniella trusts her partner!

Judges Scores: 10, 9, 9

My Score: 8

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Danny Amendola & Witney Carson

(Argentine Tango - "Poison," Bell Biv DeVoe [as performed by RAVN]) Sometimes, all you have to do is get out of Witney's way. She is absolute dynamite on the dance floor, and she was electric here tonight. Danny did an admirable job of letting her shine with some great (and crazy complicated) lifts, but he struggled a bit with his time; especially at the beginning. This was a bit of a misfire for us when it comes to Danny's part. He looked a bit hunched in his framework and we weren't seeing the sharp footwork from him, but the fancy tricks were freakishly fantastic.

Judges Scores: 10, 9, 9

My Score: 8

Jenn Tran & Sasha Farber

(Contemporary - "Vampire," Olivia Rodrigo) Jenn got a visit from Season 32 finalist Alyson Hannigan, who definitely knows a lot about vampirism (with all that Buffy the Vampire Slayer experience). All of that acting training helped because this was Jenn's most fully committed performance yet. We saw those sharp movements, the angry attack. We believed this vampire character from her. On top of that, her movements were sharp, precise, and really painted the picture Sasha gave her.

Judges Scores: 10, 9, 9

My Score: 9

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Joey Graziadei & Jenna Johnson

(Argentine Tango - "Ramalama (Bang Bang)," Róisín Murphy) Joey is such a strong dancer, we were really excited about where this piece was going to go. His footwork is sharp and he's such a great partner for Jenna, who can trust him to help create the right shapes with each lift. We'd have liked a little stronger frame from him on this Argentine tango, and we actually thought the story -- which seemed pretty obvious from the start -- got a little muddled in the middle. His footwork continues to be precise and he continues to impress as a frontrunner.

Judges Scores: 10, 9, 10

My Score: 9

Stephen Nedoroscik & Rylee Arnold

(Contemporary - "I Ran (So Far Away)," A Flock of Seagulls [as performed by Hidden Citizens]) Stephen lost his energy toward the end, but until that point, we were blown away by the kinetic energy he was carrying from one motion right into the next. That creepy, sinister character was so consistent, with some genuinely creative moves. His physicality was so great, until they separated toward the end. The side-by-side portion betrayed his lack of energy by that point, and he suddenly wasn't selling the character anymore. He had the moves, but it felt lighter and less spooky. So this was three quarters of a fantastic moment for him.

Judges Scores: 10, 9, 9

My Score: 8

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Chandler Kinney & Brandon Armstrong

(Viennese Waltz - "Secret," Denmark + Winter [from Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin]) Thanks to carrying the highest score throughout the season (giving her the tie-breaker), Chandler didn't have to compete in this week's Dance-Off. It's a benefit to her as she gets those three bonus points automatically, but it also means this was her only opportunity to impress viewers at home this week to earn some votes. She needed to really pull something special out.

Well, she did just that. Chandler has been one to watch since the beginning, but we're not sure she's ever been quite this lyrical and beautiful in her movements. She flowed through this dance with incredible grace, painting beautiful pictures. It's the little details (like that slow extension during the spin sequence) that elevate a well executed dance into artwork. Chandler nailed every moment of this performance to earn our first perfect score of the season!

Judges Scores: 9, 10, 10

My Score: 10

ROUND 2: DANCE-OFF

Dwight & Daniella v Ilona & Alan

(Cha-cha-cha - "Ghostbusters," Ray Parker Jr. [from Ghostbusters]) Daniella did everything she could with lots of great content in her choreography, while Alan put a bit more character work into his. Nevertheless, Ilona delivered a stronger routine in those cha-cha moments. Neither of them totally nailed the technique, but we saw a little more from Ilona in the hip action and the footwork. Dwight seemed to stick to the choreography this time -- we remember! -- so it was an improvement for him, but we give the win to his opponent.

Judges Winners: Dwight & Daniella

My Winners: Ilona & Alan

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Jenn & Sasha v Stephen & Rylee

(Salsa - "Jump in the Line," Harry Belafonte [from Beetlejuice]) Keeping it real, neither partnership was considerably strong on this routine, but we definitely saw more consistency in the performance from Jenn and Sasha. Stephen and Rylee seemed to have the giggles, which didn't help when he would slip and fall out of technique or lose the timing, or just almost fall over altogether. Jenn was a little hesitant in her movements, not committing fully, but what she did give was far closer to what we want to see in a salsa -- especially at this stage when they should be better prepared to embrace something new.

Judges Winners: Jenn & Sasha

My Winners: Jenn & Sasha

Danny & Witney v Joey & Jenna

(Jive - "Time Warp," Little Nell, Patricia Quinn & Richard O'Brien [from The Rocky Horror Picture Show]) This was just a fantastic battle from start to finish. We love how they appeared to plan the opening to be the same before breaking in different directions. Danny and Witney brought more tricks and some really powerful visuals, while Joey and Jenna focused on dense jive content and lots of hops throughout. Both dances were executed extremely well, with both stars committing fully and proving why they're battling with Chandler at the top of the leaderboard. We started with giving Joey the edge, but changed our mind by the end with Danny's relentless athleticism and poise. But it was so-o-o-o-o close!

Judges Winners: Joey & Jenna

My Winners: Danny & Witney

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ELIMINATION

Poor Ilona Maher has the biggest battle of her season yet to stay alive in this competition. She's so beloved by the public -- and even had that sweet viral moment this past week when she helped two women feel safer at a nail salon just by being there for them -- but can she overcome a four-point deficit?

Thanks to the judges once again delivering the same scores over and over again, we went into the Dance-Off with only three different scores for seven different couples. The bonus points didn't really change the order of these dancers, but it did create a more clear divide from top to bottom, which was bad news for those who didn't get them.

All three couples who failed to get the bonus points wound up at the bottom of the leaderboard, which means bad news for Danny Amendola and Stephen Nedoroscik. At the same time, it's hard to imagine that Danny -- who's been a front-runner these past few weeks -- could get the boot?!

It feels like Dwight Howard had that breakthrough moment he needed to stay alive, so it really might come down to the Olympic athletes. It feels like everyone has their fanbase at this point, and everyone has earned their spot in the competition. We feel like Ilona is finding her wings as a dancer, but we had a feeling they'd get clipped tonight after she missed the judges' bonus points. You could even see the anguish on her face before results were read.

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Dwight & Daniella were first to get the good news, followed by Danny & Witney, which would seem to immediately put the elimination conversation on those Olympic athletes. Next off to safety were Joey & Jenna, followed by the biggest shocker of the night, Ilona & Alan.

That left a couple tied for first, a couple tied for third and poor Stephen & Rylee, tied for fifth. There's no way this competition should be ready to say goodbye to Chandler & Brandon or Jenn & Sasha, but we've seen stranger things happen. Jenn & Sash is a partnership people have fallen in love with, while Chandler & Brandon have practically owned this season.

Any result other than Stephen getting eliminated at this point would be a huge shocker ... and so we were shocked.

Jenn Tran wasn't the most beloved Bachelorette, and it would appear that lack of love has carried into her DWTS journey, which came to an end this week. Jenn was tied for the second-strongest score of the night even before she picked up bonus points.

She's grown tremendously these past couple of weeks into a real contender who's just now finding her footing. Plus, she and Sasha have one of the most delightful partnerships of the season. America definitely got this one wrong (though there are no easy answers from this point forward).

Dancing with the Stars takes an Election Day break next week, returning November 11 for its 500th episode where the stars will have to face the Instant Dance Round (5 minutes to prepare live), with the show starting at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and Disney+.