The closer we get to Nationals, the closer we get to the season finale of Dance Moms, and you know what that means! We’re one episode closer to a (fingers crossed!) a break from Abby Lee Miller. She’s been pitting her girls head-to-head in solos, and last night Maddie faced off against Kendall for another week in the running for Nationals. Y’all know Jill was on pins and needles watching her daughter’s dreams unfold!
The ALDC and the moms are excited to arrive at Abby’s new studio. There’s a dumpster outside, so that means progress! As everyone enters for the first practice in the new space, they are thrilled to see all that has transpired. Abby is in an amazing mood (for once), and she plans to have her grand opening the same time as Nationals so that the girls will be around to meet people and sign autographs before heading back to Pittsburgh. Jill worries that her focus will now be more on the studio and less on the important competition. While Abby is glad about last week’s win, she hasn’t seen any improvement from her team in the last year. She’s worried they’ve been blinded by the bright lights of Hollywood. Someone on this show has…that’s for sure!
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Kalani is on the bottom of the pyramid for not being in the group routine with JoJo following for forgetting her dance. She’s out of the running for a solo at Nationals. Nia rounds out the bottom for being good…and being someone that Abby will never grant a Nationals solo to even if she beat Maddie thirty times in a row. Kendall is in the third spot for her third place finish, with a shocked Maddie in second. Abby reminds Maddie that she was eclipsed by the dancer at the top of the pyramid…sister MacKenzie. This week’s competition is in Washington, and Kendall and Maddie are given competing solos. MacKenzie will also be performing a solo. Kendall’s number is inspired by Little Red Riding Hood, Maddie is dancing a darker number, and everyone cackles when they learn MacKenzie’s solo is entitled Bat-Sh*t Crazy. The group number is a play on the movie Bridesmaids. So basically, MacKenzie isn’t allowed to say her solo title or watch the movie on which the group routine is based.
Jessalyn inquires whether Kira will be marrying her boyfriend, but Kira is fine without a ring on her finger. She summons Abby and reveals to the adults that she is five months pregnant, but waited to share her news because she had complications. Abby plasters on a fake smile while Holly muses that a pregnancy certainly helps explain Kira’s moodiness of late. Abby pulls Jill and Melissa aside to say they need to plan a shower…a bridal shower because hopefully Kira will get married before her baby is born. Holly announces a phone call from Nia’s video producer and quickly scuttles out of the studio. He states that Nia will be filming another music video next week, and Holly notes the iciness when she rehashes Nia’s excitement to the other mothers. As MacKenzie practices, Holly quips that regardless of Abby’s in-house competition, she knows Abby already knows who will be competing in Nationals. The mothers agree that MacKenzie has a great shot, but Melissa bristles at the reminder that MacKenzie is the only one who has recently beaten Maddie. Melissa can’t hide her frustration as MacKenzie starts to cry. Abby goads her about being a baby because only babies cry. She’s so sweet.
As the moms pepper Kira with baby questions, Melissa admits that Kira doesn’t seem super excited yet. She’s hoping their surprise baby shower at the competition will help lift her spirits. Abby starts defining each girl’s role in the group number from maid-of-honor MacKenzie to superstar Maddie to “old hag” Nia who has been in more weddings than she’d care to admit. Lovely. When Kendall begins practicing her solo, Jill is peeved to see that her daughter is forced to dance with a prop yet again. Melissa tersely clams up when the conversation returns to MacKenzie winning at Nationals more often than her sister. Jessalyn notices that Abby is out of her chair and dancing with Maddie. Jill is confident that Maddie will be going to Nationals unless she has a job. Instead of pulling Jessalyn aside to share some fun news, Holly announces to the group that JoJo has been invited to have a cameo in Nia’s new video. She’s surprised that the other moms aren’t more supportive. Really?
At the competition, the moms learn that Kira is in the hospital after bleeding that morning and they are concerned for their friend. Nia approaches Abby to tell her about the video shoot, and Abby dismisses her, asking if she’d be fine if something happened and she wasn’t in the group number next week. Nia maturely responds that she understands, but Holly takes it a step further and asks if Abby wants to hear the new song. Um, no. MacKenzie is first to perform, and even though her music starts early, she executes her difficult routine like a professional. Maddie follows her sister with an impeccable solo. Kendall’s solo is beautiful, but she drops her scarf. Kalani meets her in the wings to offer her teammate a hug. Backstage, Abby sings Maddie’s praises and tell Kendall she needs to show more emotion. Kira arrives and everyone is over the moon to hear that she and the baby are fine.
The group number is absolutely adorable–loved it! At awards ceremony, MacKenzie’s solo wins the junior solo division. In the following age group, Kendall places second to Maddie’s top spot. Jill is seething. She thinks that Abby set Kendall up to lose to Maddie. The ALDC sweeps with a first place group routine, and the moms surprise Kira with her baby shower after the competition. The girls douse Kira with cake, and it’s nice to end on a somewhat high note…until Abby tells the mothers that the girls are expected to stay longer than initially anticipated. Jill has already planned to head home, and Abby snarks that it’s a good thing Kendall lost and won’t be competing in Nationals. The episode ends with a blow up between Melissa and Jill after Jill claims Melissa only tells Abby what she wants to hear. This is new?
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[Photo Credit: Lifetime]
