This wee on Battle of the Blades the pairs had to skate to a duet, not only that but the hockey players had to have a duet that lasted between 20 and 30 seconds. Seeing as how there were only four pairs left, there was some extra time to fill in. Ron MacLean and Kurt Browning did a little performance. It was cutesy, but there wasn't much to it. As usual, I'll start with the ones that got the top marks by the judges.
This week Bryan Berard and Marie-France Dubreuil were the best. They skated to "If I Can't Have You" by Etta James and Harvey Fuqua. The performance was flawless, and Bryan was superb in his solo. The judges all agreed, they got 6.0's across the board. The first time this has happened this year! And it was deserved.
Next up was Tanith Belbin and Boyd Devereaux they skated to "Falling Slowly" by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova. Boyd had the best solo of the night. He *looked* like a figure skater. Boyd caught his toe pick at the beginning of the program, if it wasn't for that, the judges said they would have given him 6.0's as well. As it was, he finished the night with a total of 17.7.
Next was Tessa Bonhomme and David Pelletier. They skated to "It's Only Love" by Brian Adams and Tina Turner. They had a throw in the performance, and Tessa wasn't able to land it. Her solo was, to be nice, boring. Their finishing move was fantastic though. Because of their finishing move, they were able to have a 17.6 for the week. The juges said that they were "ignoring" her fall.
In last place this week was Curtis Leschyshyn and Elena Berezhnaya. They performed to "Don't let the sun go down on me" by Jeff Jenkins & Casey Desmond (as performed on The Voice). I really enjoyed the skate, his solo was stronger than Tessa's but worse than Boyd and Bryan's. He had a somewhat shaky lift, and the judges mentioned it during the judging. They finished the night with a 17.4.
Monday night came, and Ron was going at a fast clip, which made me think something was "up". And it sure was. Yet again, the votes were so close that there was going to be a Bottom Three instead of Bottom Two. The only safe couple was Boyd and Tanith. I was surprised to see Bryan in the bottom. All three came out and skated better than the night before. Curtis was more confident, and at ease, and seemed to enjoy himself. Tessa barely landed her jump, but she did land it. And Bryan was even more phenomenal than the previous night. Unfortunately someone has to go. Curtis Leschyshyn was the one that the judges let go. The only bright side is that Curtis will be back next week because all the competitors come back together for the last week! I'll be there for both the Finale Sunday and when the winner is crowned on Monday.