The scariest thing on Halloween Night, for the couples anyway, was having Len Goodman back as judge.

DWTS never does its themes half-heartedly, but from the moment Michael creepily welcomed Derek into the Haunted House of Mirrorballs in a fantastic opening number, it was clear DWTS was going all-out for Halloween Night. Between that, having Erin back as our vivacious co-host, having Len back to judge, and featuring the crowd-pleasing team dances, it was a good night on Dancing with the Stars!

First and foremost, I cannot express how much I’ve missed Len Goodman as judge. As the routines got more and more ridiculous in the weeks of his absence, I could not wait for him to condemn the couples for their messing about. And he did not disappoint. After an hour and a half of couples who were used to slacking off, Len finally cried, “It’s like an arms race to get the most dancers out there! You’ve all lost sight of what the competition is about – doing a paso or a jive or whatever dance.” He was totally right – most couples went completely overboard, transforming every dance into a Super-Size Freestyle.

One such couple was Antonio and Cheryl, who were eliminated at the end of the show in eighth place – the same place Cheryl took last season, but well below her average. Antonio and Cheryl had a lot going for them, but somehow never clicked. This week’s number was a perfect example of that – a fun Viennese Waltz set to “I’ll Put a Spell On You” that was well themed but poorly danced. It was fun to see them dancing around a giant cauldron, but the technique never materialized. Before the dance, Antonio dedicated the dance to Len. After receiving the judges’ comments, Antonio said they were dancing “for the fans.” Riiiiiight.

Aside from Len being a terror, the rest of the cast also took the Halloween theme to heart, scaring each other throughout the week. Sasha was the most dedicated, hiding in the fridge to freak out everyone who came into the kitchen. There were some mighty impressive shrieks going on, while Alfonso actually smacked his costumed assailant. I could have watched these backstage shenanigans all night!

The final dances were the Team Dances, with Team Itsy Bitsy triumphing over Team Creepy.

Team Itsy Bitsy (Bethany, Janel, Lea, and Michael) extended Derek’s undefeated streak yet again. With three of the best dancers (all of whom are female) and Derek on one team, this was obviously going to be awesome. Even Michael held his own weight, and the beginning in particular was very cool with the group choreography. That said, I felt that this did not compare favorably to team dances of seasons past. The song didn’t help – I don’t know what that abomination was, but seriously, they couldn’t pick something better? The solos had a lot of shapes that were not particularly pretty. I thought the nines were fair, and was glad the whole team was safe.

Team Creepy (Alfonso, Sadie, Tommy, and Antonio) were the underdogs. One old man barely able to move, one guy falling apart from injuries, a girl too chaste to do half the dance moves, and Antonio. There was a fun anarchic energy to their Time Warp, but the little group dancing they did was entirely out of sync, so eights it was. Now, let’s welcome our stars!

First Place, 75 points (39 + 36): Bethany and Derek. Len, making his triumphant return, was absolutely right – Bethany got completely lost in this number. Derek is usually excellent at highlighting his partners amid theatrical dances, but Bethany seemed like the least important thing here among all the drumming and dancers and fabrics. What paso doble I noticed was good, but this dance was grossly overscored, especially on a night when most of the scoring was quite reasonable.

Second Place, 70 points (34 + 36): Lea and Artem. I call total BS! If Janel or Alfonso had performed a routine like this, they would have gotten straight tens – maybe 39 if Len was feeling cranky. Lea’s Argentine Tango was flawless – incredibly sharp, and completely in sync with Artem. I appreciated that it did not devolve into gymnastics as these dances so often do, and instead was filled with a lot of actual tango. Lea and Artem are cracking under the pressure – no wonder, if they’re doing routines like this and getting gypped by the judges. I really hope they can pull it together. Bruno was so animated during his critique, he fell over, with Julianne toppling on top of him. Is this perhaps symbolic of the judges’ recent fall from grace?

Third Place, 68 points (36 + 32): Alfonso and Witney. For the first time in weeks, Alfonso lived up to the hype. Occasionally shoddy footwork aside, Alfonso and Witney did a “proper” rhumba and were lauded for it. Their storyline is the Injury Storyline, where they’re coming apart at the seams week by week. This week, Alfonso’s list of injuries expanded to include jaw, nose, and mirrorballs. Witney helpfully offered a snack – she is adorable! Will this couple fall apart before the finals?! Stay tuned…

Fourth Place, 67 points (31 + 36): Janel and Val. I was surprised how hard the judges came down on Janel and Val, even though the criticism was justified. I absolutely LOVED this number from an entertainment standpoint – Pretty Little Liars is a guilty pleasure, so seeing a dance thoroughly dedicated to it was great. Janel didn’t even bother trying to explain the plot of PLL – I don’t think anyone can – but summed up that her character is crazy and villainous. The dance was very atmospheric, and Janel had great fun killing Val (even if the staging was derivative of Derek and Ricki’s Psycho-themed tango from Season 13). Appropriately, at the end of the dance, Janel peeked out from the curtains and shushed us, which made me actually applaud with glee.

Fifth Place, 62 points (30 + 32): Sadie and Mark. Give Mark a Halloween theme, and you know he’ll run with it. He ultimately went with zombies, with him leading a crew of zombies to attack poor innocent Sadie. The dance had content, but it was not executed as well as it could have been because the theme got in the way – paso is supposed to be about power, running away from zombies isn’t. I felt like the judges were harsher than they needed to be with scores, but the criticism was valid.

Sixth Place, 60 points (28 + 32): Tommy and Peta. We got Tommy out of the way first, thank heavens, but I was so incredibly disappointed when he emerged unscathed from Not Necessarily the Bottom Two. Makes sense that he would kick things off, since he’s by far the creepiest person on the show. He did a bad Quickstep, got sevens for the effort, and we can all move on.

Last Place, 56 points (20 + 36): Michael and Emma. If any dance was going to be Michael’s undoing, it was going to be the jive. It’s a dance that requires speed, sharpness, and stamina… none of which are Michael’s fortes. Emma was very aware of her dilemma, and really truly tried, but the number was abysmal. Michael was off timing, missed most of his steps, and accomplished only four triple-steps through the entire routine. I think adding Troupe dancers was a bad idea, since it only highlighted Michael’s comparative inadequacy, but there was no salvaging this number. The judges are no longer rewarding Michael merely for trying (hello, double standard!), and gave fives across the board. Much as I like Michael, I can’t argue that they were undeserved.

Which couple scared you most? Are you Team Creepy or Team Itsy Bitsy? And what are you dressing up as for Halloween?