By Sabrina Rojas Weiss
A stunning upset by the underdog! A come-from-behind victory that changes everything we ever thought about dance, art and reality television! And a totally believable attempt by Jennifer Lopez to convince us that she wasn't lip-synching! Absolutely none of these things happened on "So You Think You Can Dance" last night. And I don't think anyone's exactly complaining.
Just about everyone with eyes could have predicted that Jakob and Russell would be the top two dancers since, oh, the first top 20 competition. OK, I predicted that Jakob would take the title in the end, but Russell's smile always held a magical power — and when he also pulled off some amazing pirouettes, a decent paso doble and showed off a bit of krumping on Tuesday night, he clinched the votes he needed. And I don't think anyone's sorry he did.
Highlights
» Jakob got a hint of what his future may be, with a number by Complexions choreographers Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson. That moment at the end when he practically flew horizontally took my breath away. I hope Jakob takes Nigel's advice and joins a company. (Maybe not the company I saw in Brooklyn last night, who did an amazing dance involving hundreds of water bottles that somehow represented the Bible, the Congo and the Mississippi. I'm not sure Jakob's jetés would mesh.)
» Ryan finally won my heart and made me regret being biased against his eyebrows all season. Seeing him do the samba, an insanely intricate robot-jazz piece and a very tender contemporary number all in one night really showed how well he combines strength and grace. He doesn't have that hard, over-cheery competition facade that Ashleigh never managed to shed. And he stood there so solidly, supporting the injured Russell and still beaming as Cat rushed through his elimination.
» Adam Lambert reminded us he could sing, despite carrying a load of elephant droppings on his shoulder. And J.Lo reminded us she could dance. I wish I could have seen the "SYTYCD" alums she said were dancing with her — in those Rockette-ish get-ups they were indistinguishable.
» Mollee and Nathan killed their Bollywood number from early in the season. I think they first did this back when there were too many dancers to pay attention to one number. It was great to see why people loved them in the first place.
» Kathryn showed us just how versatile she can be. Much as I loved seeing her reprise Tuesday's dances with Jakob and Russell, I really wanted do see her and Legacy do their paso doble again.
» Ellenore got major props as a "muse" in that crazy jazz number with Ryan. I'm counting down the days until I get to see her on a New York stage.
» Russell screamed himself raw in an unbridled display of excitement when he was announced as the winner. Love how in the midst of his moment, he invited his buddy Kevin (remember him?) onstage for "being with me all season." And love even more how Cat wound up kneeling on the ground with him. She rules.
Lowlights
» How lazy of the choreographers to choose all those non-competition numbers from the top 20 "preshow" as their favorites, instead of some of the more challenging routines from later in the season. And I really hope Russell didn't do any serious damage to his leg while showing those too-polished Groovaloos what real street dancing looks like.