Dancing with the Stars Episode Recap: Monday, Nov. 21, 2011

Dancing with the Stars' remaining three couples face off in the first part of the finals with two dances, including the all-important freestyle. Did J.R. recover from his ankle injury? Did Ricki maintain her momentum? Or did Rob surprise again?Here we go, guys! Tonight we get the first two of four dances: each couple's last unlearned dance and the freestyle. But the best news of all? It's a one-hour show! Yay!Ricki Lake and Derek Hough: cha-cha"Talk show, actress and host Ricki Lake," as Brooke, wearing her best Jessica McClintock, calls her is up first. Didn't know Ricki was that versatile. She's a talk show too, huh? Carrie Ann drops by rehearsals to tell Ricki to stop thinking about overweight Ricki and channel sexy Ricki. Sexy Ricki is out in full force, but this cha-cha is only, like, 90 percent there. It's technically sound, flirty and fun, and Ricki ishitting herfoot placement, but there's no sizzle. Plus, she's still in her own head about the routine. Maks and Kirstie like it! Len calls it action-packed. Bruno says it was a cha-cha at full steam, but thinks there were lapses in passes. Carrie Ann says she was living the dance and mumbles something about hands.Score: 27Rob Kardashian and Cheryl Burke: waltzRob is struggling with the waltz, so naturally Bruno comes in and tells him that it's all in the walk. As are most things. Dare I say Rob looks dapper? Maybe it's the baby pink tie. It's a sweet, graceful routine, and Rob's upper body and posture are on point. He gets a little off on the footwork during the fast sequences and they overdo it on the swooping arm motions, but it's a job well done when you consider how stiff and stomp-y he was in the first week with the Viennese waltz. A tuxedo-ed and non-smiley Kim gives him an unprompted standing O! Let's drink every time the camera's on her, OK? Bruno says Rob was glowing, but says he messed up on the crossovers. Carrie Ann calls him the male version of Cinderella. Len says he had more rise and fall than Pamela Anderson jogging. On the beach, right?Score: 27J.R. Martinez and Karina Smirnoff: cha-chaJ.R. got an X-ray last week on his ankle, which showed no swelling, so he can dance! Obvs. Len comes to rehearsals to basically grab and point at J.R.'s ass. They each start off with a brief solo before intertwining... and it's all kind of underwhelming. Is the ankle still bothering him? Because this is also terribly slow and off-pace. It's a decent performance, mostly because J.R. is still selling the character, but it's nothing outstanding or memorable, let alone finals-worthy. Carrie Ann says his musicality was off and wants him to watch his arms. Len calls him brave for dancing most of it solo, but says it wasn't that good. Bruno loves the mood, but concurs about the arms. J.R. tells Brooke that he missed a step at the beginning and wound up one step ahead.Score: 24FreestyleRicki Lake and Derek HoughRicki has qualms about being thrown around by Derek, but mostly doesn't want to be the one to ruin his perfect finals record. "Just shut your face," he tells her when she talks about to him. I think this is the most anger we've ever heard from him. It's a salsa-quickstep hybrid (weird?) and fittingly Ricki looks like she's in the middle of a black/white swan metamorphosis with that feathered skirt. There's a lot of twirling, spinning, dipping and shaking. Ricki looks like she's about to lose it five different times, but manages to keep up for the most part and lets Derek hides her flaws. I'd rank this the worst (and by "worst," I mean still pretty damn good) of Derek's freestyles, but it's still an entertaining and supremely difficult number that has be exhausted just watching it. Len says she lost it a bit during the quickstep, but loves it. Bruno says it was the most demanding dance since it combined two polar opposite types. Carrie Ann concurs with Bruno and hearts the lifts.Score: 27Total: 54Rob Kardashian and Cheryl BurkeCheryl wants to start off slow because Rob has excelled with the slower dances. So he starts off with a fedora and a trumpet. How roaring '20s. My only complaint about this whole look is Rob's oversized jacket that looks like it was made for The Penguin. Where's Carson when you need him? The routine is not in the typical energetic, fast-paced vein, which may hurt them if that's what some fans are looking for, but it's pretty snazzy and sophisticated. Rob is in full leading man mode and attacks the steps and lifts with confidence, thought it's kind of uneven at parts. Bruno loves the content and calls it brilliant. Carrie Ann reminds us that couples need to blow the judges away with the freestyle. "Consider me blown," she says. I'm gonna stay away from that one. Len loves it too. And Rob gets his first 30. Really, guys? It was good, but not perfect. Still, who would've guessed this two months ago? Kim, Khloe and Kourtney are jumping like little girls. Because of the 30. But mostly because the camera's on them again.Score: 30Total: 57J.R. Martinez and Karina SmirnoffThey're doing a salsa-inspired routine to honor his Latin roots. Two salsa-inspired freestyles?! What are the chances? Karina was to do some crazy neck-hooking move that J.R. wants to poo-poo because of Karina's past neck surgeries and the injuries he's seen on the show. During rehearsals, she freezes up and can't do it. What's gonna happen?! They do it! And it's all goes fine! OK, this is more hip-hip than salsa, which is just as well. This is an awesome comeback for J.R. It's dynamic funky, vivacious with crazy lifts and reminiscent of the eye-popping, Mirrorball-winning freestyles of Dancing lore. It gets kind of weird at the end when they prop themselves up and are more or less dancing on top of Maks aka Karina's ex-fiance, lest we forget. Awk-ward! And yet awesome! It also looks like they're doing an exercise video. Carrie Ann says those were the sickest lifts she's ever seen. Len loves Karina's body and J.R.'s talent. Bruno purrs after his animal physicality.Score: 30Total: 54So Rob and Cheryl top Night 1 with a 57, while Ricki and Derek, and J.R. and Karina are tied with a 54.What did you think? Did Rob deserve the top score? Did you ever think Rob would get a perfect 30, let alone top the night? How surprising is it that Derek got the lowest of the freestyle scores? Is J.R.'s freestyle comeback enough to overcome his dull cha-cha? How many Kim sightings did you spot? Who do you think will win? show less