The season 18 quarterfinals featured a new twist: Celebrity Dance Duels. As far as recent Dancing with the Stars innovations go, this was the most successful, and will hopefully become a staple in future seasons.

A shocking thing happened this week: a guest judge actually contributed valuable insight! The guest judge this week was Abby Lee Miller, a choreographer from Dance Moms. She spoke more about technique than any of the other judges, offered constructive criticism, and gave the same scores I would have given throughout the night. Tom sounded genuinely shocked after her second critique, as if it’s inconceivable to have such a knowledgeable guest judge. Can we please replace Carrie Ann with Abby? It was so refreshing to have a new voice of reason at the judges’ table alongside the usual trio of The Incompetent, The Incorrigible, and The Incoherent.

But putting a damper on my good mood was the unfortunate and undeserved elimination of… Danica and Val! They leave in sixth place. This stinks – I honestly thought they would likely end up in the final. Danica was an absolute joy to watch, both on the dance floor and in rehearsal, where she let her inner math nerd out. Her chemistry with Val was great, and I really hoped this would be the season Val finally got a Mirrorball, after he was robbed last season with Elizabeth Berkley Lauren (they were also eliminated in sixth place).

In a bit of ironic (or just plain cruel) editing, Danica’s rehearsal segment began with Val assuring her that she has what it takes to make it to the final. Ouch, DWTS producers, ouch. In fact, the entire segment for Danica’s solo dance is now wreathed in irony: Bruno said he’d “be devastated” if she went home, and Erin asked her how badly she wants to make the finals. Danica said that dancing while in jeopardy is a good omen, and it certainly is for her scores – she received her second-highest individual score, 38, for her tango (second only to her Disney Quickstep three weeks ago). Her fabulous tango and the way she committed wholeheartedly to such an over-the-top production are a testament to what we lost this week. In perhaps the most bitter irony of all, her tango centered on her procuring a crown, a small consolation prize because the Mirrorball will never be hers.

While I’m happy James and Peta stayed, I wish one of the ice dancers had gone home. Preferably Meryl – Charlie has at least shown some personality as of late, and actually delivers good performances sporadically. Meryl still has as much personality as a wall decal, and with Maks not bothering to even attempt proper dances. Instead she just cruises by on her dance experience in half-assed routines. Oh well, hopefully she’ll be gone next week. We know she won’t win – of all the pros remaining, Maks is the only one with no victories, despite having had plenty of opportunities.

Fun with numbers: this week marks Derek’s record-setting twelfth appearance in a quarterfinal (in other words, he’s been in two-thirds of them; when competing, he’s only missed it once). Maks is there for the ninth time, Mark for the seventh time. Peta is there for a fourth time; she’s only missed it twice since joining the show. This is Sharna’s first appearance in a quarterfinal, hopefully the first of many! Now, before going through individual dances, let’s look at the Dance Duels!

Duel #1: Danica and Val & Meryl and Maks (Samba, 34). Nothing about this Dance Duel worked. Samba is hard to stay in sync on, and the girls were entirely out of sync. At rehearsal, Danica called Maks out on his crap, advising Meryl to filter out the insults, leading to some infighting in the group until Grandma Chmerkovskiy showed up to get everything in order. She is utterly adorable. The Chmerkovskiys both seem to clash with Abby, since Val cut off her criticism mid-sentence. Things got so out of hand, Bruno actually told the audience to shut up so he could get his critique out. Honestly, the audience has just gotten obnoxious lately – the judges are there to judge! I will say that seeing the girls dance side by side, I saw directly how much more energetic and out there Danica is compared to Meryl. Danica lit up on the dance floor and drew every eye to her.

Duel #2: Charlie and Sharna & Candace and Mark (Contemporary, 38). While contemporary is easier to sync than a samba, these dancers’ synchronicity is still an achievement. Carrie Ann and Len noted that there was some slipup with Sharna that I didn’t catch. I was amused that while Mark and Sharna were choreographing their group stuff, Charlie and Candace (read: Charlie) decided to choreograph the solo themselves. What they came up with: Candace likes being lifted and Charlie likes to lift, so there’s a way to make them both happy! Candace’s feet wouldn’t touch the ground for the entirety of their twenty-second solo, as Charlie twisted and spun her around his body every which way. It was pretty cool, and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed these two couples together.

Duel #3: James and Peta & Amy and Derek (Jive, 39). The clear winners of the Dance Duel by miles! I could not believe my eyes – this honestly looked like a pro number. James kept up with Derek (as Abby said, “big shoes to fill”); and Amy kept up with Peta (no small feat either). All four dancers were so perfectly in sync, it was unbelievable, as were James and Amy during their impressive solo. Even more impressive is that this was a full-on jive, one of the fastest dances of them all. Amy and James are my favorites, and this whole number was a dream come true for me. What a way to end the night!

Now, in order of their combined scores, let’s welcome our few remaining stars!

First Place, 79 points: Amy and Derek (Argentine Tango, 40 + 39). Excuse me while I go pick my jaw up off the floor. Amy and Derek delivered an Argentine tango for the ages, and deservedly received a perfect score. If there had been 11 paddles, they would’ve been busted out – this dance was absolutely phenomenal. Derek incorporated a stool into the routine to maximum effect, and then found a way to ignore gravity with it. Abby commended him for his choreography, and Amy talked about how he’s an inspiration. But talk of inspirations, Amy has a rib popping in and out of her back, and still executed a perfect Argentine tango. What more is there to say?

Second Place, 78 points: Charlie and Sharna (Quickstep, 40 + 38). Charlie wisely realized that if he obsesses about scores, he’ll never get a perfect one. So, he decided to just have fun… and promptly got a perfect score. I can’t argue that it was undeserved – Charlie delivered one of his best dances, an excellent Quickstep. Abby and Bruno had a tiff over whether Charlie did a shoddy arabesque or a proper attitude, but either way he got all tens. Charlie is finally getting his act together, and is (very slowly) beginning to grow on me.

Third Place, 75 points: James and Peta (Viennese Waltz, 36 + 39). From the sexiest dance ever last week, to one of the most romantic dances ever this week! James and Peta’s Viennese waltz underneath cherry blossoms seemed straight out of a Nicholas Sparks movie. Good thing James and Peta’s bodies are too perfect to have allergies. The only problem was James’s butt sticking out, something all the judges commented on – but I appreciated that as Bruno said it, the camera shot James from behind as if to illustrate the point. James’s bandmates dropped by a stressful rehearsal to make it less stressful, and when they asked the couple if they’re dating, James and Peta didn’t even try to deny it (that we saw, anyway). Any bets on when they’ll end a dance with a kiss? It’ll either be their freestyle or their favorite dance, I say.

Fourth Place, 74 points: Candace and Mark (Foxtrot, 36 + 38). The judges have finally acknowledged Candace’s breakthrough this week after a delightful foxtrot, and gave her her highest score yet. There are still minor quibbles about her posture and extensions, but nothing major. And even her rehearsal package was enjoyable, just watching her goof off with Mark. Sure, it ended with a non-sequitur about her relying on her faith, but I just tuned it out as usual and didn’t mind. Candace remains the only contestant without a perfect score to her name; she has never even gotten a ten in an individual dance. I figure she’ll at least get a ten next week, but might have to wait until the finals for a perfect score (assuming she makes it).

Last Place, 70 points: Meryl and Maks (Rhumba, 36 + 34). A fitting place for this couple. Much like Charlie some weeks ago, Meryl did a rhumba that was actually a contemporary routine. I kept an eye out, and the only rhumba move I saw was the cucarachas. And much like Charlie, the judges refreshingly called them out on this. The number was a beautiful production, and we got to see some good acting from Meryl… but a rhumba it was not. Abby went further, and told Meryl to stop sickling her feet the way she does in ice dancing. Maks (who had just been likened to a teddy bear by Meryl) said he doesn’t “care about anything she has to say.” Abby, supremely disdainful, ignored the boos and held up an eight. You go Abby! This alone made her one of the best guest judges we’ve had. Made even better when she gave out her only other eight to Maks during the Dance Duel.

Did you enjoy the Dance Duels? Are you sad to see Danica and Val go home? Do you want to acknowledge Mark Ballas the Singer, as witnessed in the show’s opening, or is that best forgotten?