In no time at all, another season of DWTS has gone by! Prepare your tissues and ten paddles, because it’s the finals this week.

Each season, the hosts and judges love to talk about how it’s the “most competitive season ever!” and “anyone can win!” But, let’s be honest, that usually translates to “either X or Y will win, and everyone else doesn’t suck too bad.” This season, we find ourselves in the rarest of situations: three finalists, each alike in dignity, in the ballroom where we lay our scene. They are all good dancers, they are all personable and likable, and they all did a good job tonight. We would honestly be cool with however the finals turned out.

When was the last time the finals were faced with such equanimity? For us, it was season 16, where Amber Riley edged out Corbin Bleu and Jack Osborne. Before that, you’d have to go back to the Golden Age (seasons 8 through 10) – during her final, Melissa Rycroft actually said, “I don’t care who wins at this point.” That’s the feel-good standard by which finales are judged.

The finals were unusual for another reason: for only the second time in the show’s history, all three of the final pros standing were former champions. The other time was season 16 – and that contributes to the feel-good factor, when none of the pros are “due” for a win. This season marked Mark’s ninth time in the finals – good for second place all-time, but one short of Derek’s record. Val tied his brother for the fourth-most finals appearances – five. And Peta was in the finals for a third time, becoming only the ninth professional to achieve that.

Each couple danced two dances: a Redemption Dance (self-selected) and the much-hyped freestyle (which got a perfect 30 for everyone). Perhaps it was us, but the freestyles didn’t seem quite as special as they have in seasons past. They seemed like by-the-numbers routines – an homage to a classic dance, and two weepy contemporaries. Perhaps it’s Derek’s absence (he could craft an epic freestyle like nobody’s business), or perhaps these stars still have a lot of feelings they need to explore (in fairness, there’ve been much fewer waterworks than usual this season). Either way, let’s welcome our stars!

First Place, 59 points: Paige & Mark. Mark used the Redemption Dance for his own redemption – to do the salsa that he was too injured to dance with Paige in Week 2. Paige’s salsa needed no redeeming – she and Alan kicked ass and landed at the top of the leaderboard (and perhaps started a showmance while they were at it). But we don’t mind Mark making this about himself, because this salsa was phenomenal, and this writer’s favorite dance of the night. As Bruno said, the armography was amazing, though he said it with much more hip-thrusting. Len was curmudgeonly about Paige’s hips and gave a Nine of Disapproval, but even he singled out Mark’s choreography for praise, because it’s been really on point this season.

Mark went for a tried-and-true classic in Paige’s freestyle – showing in an emotional contemporary how she overcame bullying. Of course, it was beautiful, technically superb, and reduced everyone to tears – even Bruno, and even Mark. Alas, there was no time to talk about their feelings, because the show was running over (when is it not?). Paige has been one of the contestants who grew the most on this show, and she and Mark are now cashing in that growth for all the feels. Full disclosure: this writer voted for them, so here’s hoping they take home the mirrorball.

Second Place, 58 points: Ginger & Val. Val pulled a very Derek-like move, and used Ginger’s Redemption Dance as a medley of her greatest hits from the first half of the season by including all the sets from weeks 2 through 4. The judges were rightly impressed with this tactic – not only does it remind viewers that we liked Ginger two months ago and still like her, it also shows how far Ginger has come. Despite her pelvis facing the wrong way (egad!), Ginger’s pain never showed in the dance, and she combined beautiful flowy movement with some cool lifts to kick the night off strong. Unfortunately, kicking off the night is never where one wants to be, since the emotion tends to build through the show.

Her freestyle was an homage to Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire. It was very good, technically clean, and the judges raved about it. But it honestly didn’t feel like anything special – we’ve seen plenty of homages and plenty of good dance technique on the show. Freestyles need to wow us, and if Ginger doesn’t win, we can point to this freestyle as the cause. While a “back-to-basics” freestyle sometimes works, it either needs an emotional hook or vastly superior technique to the other dancers. Ginger has neither, so it came off as nothing to write home about.

Last Place, 57 points: Nyle & Peta. The routine that needed most redemption was Nyle’s quickstep (and it’s no coincidence that the two dances he faltered on were quickstep and jive, the fastest ones). That dance was great – it’s amazing what Nyle can accomplish when he doesn’t have a mask obscuring his vision, and when Peta is cracking the whip. Despite a flub that all the judges pointed out, this felt like more of a redemption than the other two.

For the freestyle, Peta and Nyle did the contemporary to end all contemporaries, a representation of deafness that was as beautiful as it was emotional. A weepy CA declared it the best dance she’s ever seen, and Tom’s quip about burning pianos didn’t fool us – he was totally wiping away a tear! Did anyone else feel just a smidge judgy at Peta for not choreographing her own freestyle? Or were you too busy having your soul reached into by Nyle?

So, who do you think will win? Who do you think should win? And how do you think this season measures up to others?