But enough about everyone else; let's talk about our final four. Even though the producers thought ahead this season and made sure each finale elimination had some real suspense to it — remember how last year poor Heidi was anticlimactically dragged out on stage alone just an hour into the finale to be told her fate? — I was still left to wonder how Lacey seemed so sure she was out of the running before Cat had even excavated the first elimination card from the folds of her dress. (Also stuck in there: Grandma's just-in-case-company-comes goodies tin filled with the oatmeal cookies she baked fresh last week. Oh, and her backup can of Mace. Don't think she didn't notice they're both gone, Cat. Sharp as a tack, Grandma is.)
Lacey came across as honestly sad that her time on the show was over — but not that she'd lost the competition, which is interesting given that on Wednesday night she'd revealed herself to be ambivalent about dancing. (My viewing party's consensus, meanwhile, on what was running through her brother's head as he politely clapped and smiled for his little sis: ''Yaaaaaay, I'm the only America's Favorite Dancer in the family. Yaaaaaay.'' Hmm. I tend to watch TV with some exceedingly catty people, huh?) When Neil got the bad news, by contrast, it was kinda riveting to watch him realize that he actually did want to win after all. I just hope he's also learned to use a comb more often.
Finally, if anyone after last night still thinks Danny is somehow a mere cocky kid who believes he's above it all, then they weren't paying attention. It was fascinating, first of all, to watch him dance his routines from this past season with a newfound joy, not to showcase his own talent but for the sheer thrill of the dance itself. His praise at the end for Sabra felt entirely genuine, too, as was his excitement that she'd won.
And though I still feel Danny deserved it more, Sabra earned her title of America's Favorite Dancer with the kind of ego-less excellence, high-spirited pluck, and uncomplicated warmth that is all too rare these days in any form of popular entertainment, let alone reality television. Now if Sabra can just refrain from buying any more castoff I Dream of Jeannie costumes with her $250,000 prize money, she'll be set for a very long, rewarding career indeed.
What do you think? Were you happy with the outcome? Which top 20 dancer were you most happy to see return? Are you planning to catch them on the tour, especially now that Hok, Anya, Jesús, and Shauna are joining them? Any routine from this past year you would've liked to have seen again (like, say, oh, I don't know, Lacey and Kameron's top 20 Mia Michaels number)? And were you as livid with your television set as I was when the much-promised Nigel-and-Cat routine turned out to be a beyond inane cut-and-paste cartoon ''Cucaracha''?
Click here for EW.com's post-show interview with Sabra.
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