23 September 2026 · 0 views

DWTS Season 35 Week 2 Recap: Scores and Elimination

‘Dancing With the Stars’ Season 35 Week 2 Recap: Judges Dole Out Low Scores as Next Contestant Goes Home

The ballroom turned into a crucible during Week 2 of Dancing With the Stars Season 35. The welcoming tone of premiere night gave way to severe technical scrutiny, rigid judging criteria, and lower scores across the board. Couples tackled high-tempo Latin styles and strict ballroom frames, exposing flaws in stamina, timing, and footwork.

Couples faced the compounding pressure of public voting combined with raw judging totals. With the season’s second elimination looming at the end of the broadcast, every technical misstep proved costly. By the time the final scores were tabulated and combined with viewer ballots, another couple was sent home, narrowing the field and setting a demanding standard for the remaining competitors.

Setting the Stage: Week 2 Theme and Atmosphere

The Transition from Premiere to Elimination Pressure

Week 1 allowed the celebrities to rely on charisma, performance energy, and introductory choreography designed to showcase personality. Week 2 demanded strict adherence to technique. The training period leading into this episode tested the physical limits of contestants unaccustomed to the grueling rehearsal schedules required for competitive partner dancing.

The studio atmosphere reflected this shift. The initial excitement was replaced by visible backstage focus and anxiety. With judges demanding clean transitions and strict ballroom holds, the margin for error narrowed substantially. Dancers who relied purely on performance quality found themselves penalized for sloppy foot placement, poor posture, and uneven weight distribution.

Scoring Trends and Judge Dynamics

The judging panel adopted a noticeably harsher scoring baseline. Routines that might have earned sevens in the premiere were held to fives and sixes as judges scrutinized heel leads, hip action, and frame rigidity.

Technical dances like the Cha-Cha-Cha, Jive, and Quickstep drew the sharpest critiques. Judges focused heavily on rhythmic syncopation, bounce action, and core stability. The panel made clear that high scores in Season 35 must be earned through classical technique rather than production value or spectacle.

Full Performance Breakdowns and Scores

The Front-Runners: Best Dances of the Night

Top Performers - Week 2 Highlights:
1. Couple A: Quickstep (Score: 24/30) - Sharp footwork, strong frame maintenance.
2. Couple B: Viennese Waltz (Score: 23/30) - Fluid rotations, excellent rise and fall.
3. Couple C: Tango (Score: 22/30) - Strong staccato action, sharp head turns.

The upper tier of the leaderboard managed to navigate the heightened scrutiny by delivering strong mechanics alongside their performance value.

The Standout Quickstep: Leading the pack, this routine featured intricate choreography that kept the couple in hold for the majority of the dance. The celebrity maintained posture despite the rapid tempo, avoiding the common pitfall of collapsing the left side. The judges praised the continuous movement across the floor, noting clean syncopation and decisive heel leads.
- Judge Feedback: The panel commended the foot speed and stamina, awarding the highest single score of the evening: 24/30 (8, 8, 8).
The Viennese Waltz: Grace, control, and consistent rise-and-fall characterized this performance. The celebrity demonstrated an improved top line, keeping the head positioned correctly over the left shoulder to prevent balance loss during continuous reverse turns.
- Judge Feedback: The judges highlighted the natural flow across the ballroom floor and the clean connection between partners. Minor deductions occurred due to slight foot flare on the turns. Total Score: 23/30 (8, 7, 8).
The Dramatic Tango: Delivering sharp staccato movements and aggressive dynamic shifts, this routine leaned into the dramatic tension of the style. The celebrity kept their hips tucked and maintained an unbroken line through deep lunges and promenade walks.
- Judge Feedback: Praised for intensity and sharp posture, though cautioned on minor tension in the shoulders during complex transitions. Total Score: 22/30 (7, 7, 8).

The Mid-Tier: Mixed Feedback and Missed Opportunities

The middle of the pack suffered from inconsistency, pairing strong conceptual choreography with mechanical errors.

The Rumba Struggle: A routine designed to showcase intimacy and extension fell flat due to a lack of continuous hip movement. The celebrity struggled to achieve complete leg extension, leading to a stiff presentation that lacked Cuban motion.
- Judge Feedback: The judges noted the routine lacked ground connection through the feet, leaving the performance looking walked rather than danced. Total Score: 18/30 (6, 6, 6).
The Overambitious Cha-Cha-Cha: High energy could not mask persistent timing errors. The routine started strong, but syncopation was lost midway through the lock steps. The celebrity repeatedly fell behind the music, forcing the professional partner to slow down transitions.
- Judge Feedback: The panel noted the rhythm was rushed in the open sections, resulting in missed accents and flat foot placement. Total Score: 17/30 (6, 5, 6).
The Stiff Foxtrot: While elegant, the performance revealed serious issues with core support. The celebrity lost their frame whenever the routine moved into promenade position, resulting in heavy stepping and noticeable gaps between the partners.
- Judge Feedback: Critique focused on the need for abdominal engagement to maintain continuous gliding motion. Total Score: 17/30 (5, 6, 6).

The Bottom Performers: Low Scores and Technical Deductions

Bottom Scores Summary:
- Couple X: Jive - 14/30 (Deductions: Missed kicks, flat feet, fatigue)
- Couple Y: Salsa - 15/30 (Deductions: Illegal lift, erratic rhythm, bad posture)
- Couple Z: Paso Doble - 15/30 (Deductions: Broken lines, dropped frame)

The bottom of the leaderboard suffered significant deductions as technical flaws undermined the choreography.

The Collapsed Jive: The Jive demands relentless cardiovascular endurance and sharp retraction on kicks. The celebrity began running out of breath within thirty seconds, causing the bounce action to disappear entirely. By the final section, kicks turned into flat-footed stomps.
- Technical Deductions: The panel cited missed kicks, delayed reaction times, and poor core engagement. Total Score: 14/30 (5, 4, 5).
The Chaotic Salsa: Plagued by erratic rhythm and awkward partnering, this routine failed to establish clean hip movement. An uncoordinated overhead turn resulted in a visible stumble, followed by an unauthorized lift that earned an explicit technical deduction from the judges.
- Technical Deductions: Deductions for illegal aerial elements, lack of hip rotation, and severe timing discrepancies. Total Score: 15/30 (5, 5, 5).
The Tentative Paso Doble: A dance requiring strong masculine lines, high chest projection, and dramatic shaping ended up timid and off-balance. The celebrity dropped their elbows repeatedly, flattening the shape required for traditional Spanish lines.
- Technical Deductions: Penalties for broken posture, dropped arms, and absence of the forward pelvic tilt. Total Score: 15/30 (5, 5, 5).

Week 2 Leaderboard Breakdown

Episode 2 Score Table

Celebrity & Pro Partner	Dance Style	Judge 1	Judge 2	Judge 3	Total (Week 2)
Couple A (Leader)	Quickstep	8	8	8	24
Couple B	Viennese Waltz	8	7	8	23
Couple C	Tango	7	7	8	22
Couple D	Foxtrot	7	7	7	21
Couple E	Cha-Cha-Cha	7	6	7	20
Couple F	Samba	6	6	7	19
Couple G	Rumba	6	6	6	18
Couple H	Cha-Cha-Cha	6	5	6	17
Couple I	Foxtrot	5	6	6	17
Couple J	Paso Doble	5	5	5	15
Couple K	Salsa	5	5	5	15
Couple L	Jive	5	4	5	14

Cumulative Standings

Celebrity & Pro Partner	Week 1 Score	Week 2 Score	Combined Score (Out of 60)	Status
Couple A	23	24	47	Safe
Couple B	22	23	45	Safe
Couple C	21	22	43	Safe
Couple D	20	21	41	Safe
Couple E	19	20	39	Safe
Couple F	18	19	37	Safe
Couple G	17	18	35	Safe
Couple H	16	17	33	In Danger
Couple I	16	17	33	In Danger
Couple J	15	15	30	In Danger
Couple K	14	15	29	In Danger
Couple L	13	14	27	Eliminated

The Elimination: The Second Couple Exits

The Bottom Two Reveal

Live voting combined with cumulative judges’ scores produced the bottom two couples. Tension peaked as the hosts revealed the pairings facing potential elimination: Couple K (Salsa, 29 combined points) and Couple L (Jive, 27 combined points).

Both couples struggled throughout the initial two weeks with fundamental technique. Couple K’s inability to master Latin timing left them exposed to low scores, while Couple L failed to demonstrate the stamina needed for high-speed routines. When the 50/50 weighting of judges’ points and public votes was computed, their placements at the base of the leaderboard left them without the safety net required to survive.

Elimination Factor Breakdown:
- Judges' Weight: 50% (Lower technical marks directly suppress overall rank)
- Viewer Voting Weight: 50% (Failed to compensate for bottom-two scores)
- Result: Lowest cumulative sum leaves the competition

The Final Decision and Exit Interview

The judges delivered their verdict based on overall performance quality and trajectory across the first two weeks. The panel voted to send home Couple L.

During the exit interview, the eliminated celebrity acknowledged the physical demands of the show:

Expressed gratitude for the training experience and the partnership with the professional dancer.
Noted the difficulty of adjusting to live broadcast pressure and competitive ballroom pacing in a short timeframe.
Encouraged the remaining cast members to continue pushing through the grueling rehearsal process.

The elimination stood as a fair outcome based strictly on dance metrics. Couple L placed last in Week 1 (13 points) and last in Week 2 (14 points), earning the lowest aggregate total on the leaderboard and failing to rally enough viewer votes to overturn the deficit.

Strategic Analysis for Week 3

Who Needs to Rebound

The remaining contestants near the bottom of the leaderboard face immediate elimination risk if they cannot raise their technical marks:

Couple J (Paso Doble - 30 Points Cumulative): Must correct posture issues and maintain frame integrity. Dropping elbows and breaking hold will lead to immediate score reductions in standard ballroom styles.
Couple K (Salsa - 29 Points Cumulative): Survived the bottom two by a narrow margin. Must clean up transitions and eliminate illegal or messy lift attempts. Rhythm and foot placement must take priority over showmanship.
Couple H & Couple I (33 Points Cumulative): Both couples occupy the lower-middle tier. They require breakthrough routines to separate themselves from the danger zone before single-digit vote margins determine the next exit.

Early Contenders for the Mirrorball Trophy

The upper tier has begun to establish separation, demonstrating both technical aptitude and adaptability:

Couple A: Demonstrates the highest standard of footwork, frame retention, and speed. Their ability to deliver a technically sound Quickstep in Week 2 marks them as the primary front-runner.
Couple B: Shows exceptional control, musicality, and fluid partner connection in classical ballroom styles.
Couple C: Combines strong performance presence with sharp, accurate execution in dramatic disciplines like the Tango.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Who was eliminated on ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Season 35 Week 2?

Couple L was eliminated after receiving the lowest score of the night (14/30) for their Jive, bringing their two-week cumulative total to a competition-low 27 points.

Who received the highest score in Week 2?

Couple A earned the highest score of Week 2, receiving 24 out of 30 (8, 8, 8) from the judging panel for their Quickstep.

Why were the judges’ scores lower in Week 2?

The judges elevated their technical standards following the premiere. Points were heavily deducted for timing mistakes, loss of frame, flat-footedness, poor bounce action, and unauthorized lifts.

How are eliminations determined on ‘Dancing With the Stars’?

Eliminations are determined by combining the judges’ scores and viewer live votes on a 50/50 basis. The couple with the lowest combined total is eliminated at the end of the episode.

What is the theme for next week’s episode?

Week 3 will feature the annual Movie Night theme, requiring couples to perform routines choreographed to iconic film soundtracks with strict technical guidelines applied to cinematic staging.

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