Power, takedowns, and an adorable little blonde girl in the role of Satan

Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition, S02E03 episode recap

This week's theme on Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition was "Gods and Mortals," with the skill focus on power. Ally won the initial challenge (a dance battle), which granted Ally and her mother Tiffany the right to assign all the dancers to their respective dances this week.

Tiffany deliberately placed everyone in the type of dance in which they are the weakest. This seemed like a canny move, but judging by the amazing results of the competition, it may have backfired. In hindsight, if you think about it, you always try harder if you're forced to do the thing you're the worst at.

As the dancers practiced their routines, Abby prowled around the rehearsal spaces, firing off criticisms and generally making everyone nervous. Meanwhile, the moms engaged in several brutal scraps. Melanie (the overbearing mother of Haley, the girl with the perpetually frightened eyes) seems to have taken a particular dislike to Tiffany.

If last week was The Week When Everyone Was Terrible, this week was the opposite. The judges even exclaimed at how well this week's performances went.

First out of the gate were Haley and Kalani in a jazz number called Birth of a Goddess. Kalani got a piece of her costume caught up over her face, but kept dancing like a trooper until she could correct it. In the final review, Abby complimented Haley's performance and her feet.

Next were McKaylee, Ally, and Tyler in a contemporary dance about the Sirens. This performance was amazing, I forgot to take notes, because I was too engrossed in watching it. (Sorry!)

Third on the stage were Trinity and Travis in a lyrical dance number called "Medusa's Tragic Romance." This number was amazing, easily the best performance we have seen this season so far. The choreography, storytelling, costuming, and the dancing were all top notch, even earning the famous "double wagging pointed fingers" from Richy. (You could tell they did well, because all the other mothers looked really ticked off as they watched the performance.)

I had my fingers crossed as this routine built to the trickiest moment: a move where Trinity had to take a running start and fling herself onto Travis' back. In rehearsal, she repeatedly took him down with this move, like a lion taking down a baby gazelle. (P.S. Trinity definitely gets my vote for Dancer I'd Most Like To Have On My Side For The Zombie Apocalypse. Power? She's got it.) But on stage, Travis held up.

Finally on stage we had JoJo, Gianna, and Chloe in a modern funk routine called "Hades and the Lost Souls." In a truly inspired bit of casting, JoJo played the part of Hades, god of the Underworld (a.k.a. Satan).

The judges criticized JoJo's performance for being a little too toned down, but I thought she sold it. I would like to see her push herself more into these roles that channel her charisma and energy into weird directions, rather than the pink fluffy bubblegum princess role that she has carved out for herself.

Last week if you'll recall, Richy used his Callback Card to save Chloe from elimination. Alas, this week he did not have that option, and Chloe was eliminated. She took it better this week, kept her chin up and stayed strong on stage. Good for her, and I wish her the best.

Worst Thing Said By A Mom: Once again, no contest. Melanie told one of the moms, "I should take the sword and whack you across the throat with it." That's… really disturbing, actually.

Image copyright Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition/Lifetime