If you were one of the unhappy Comfort fans who swore off So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD) when the judges voted your girl off last week, you’ll be sorry to have missed last night’s show!

Jessica Sits Out

During last night’s intro, Jessica was missing. After the opening performance, Cat called her onto the stage to explain her absence. The story: Jessica had been experiencing cramps in her side for several weeks, and it turned out that she’d broken, and otherwise injured, several ribs. To recover in time for the So You Think You Can Dance top-10 tour, she will have to stop dancing for several weeks. To replace Jessica, the judges had to call back the last girl to be eliminated: Comfort!

Comfort’s words last week now seem strangely prophetic. “This is not the end of me,” she said after her elimination. “I’m not gonna stop.” Of course she was referring to her career as a dancer, not her run as a SYTYCD contestant. So, I’m sure that the hip-hopper was shocked to receive this second chance.

More Twists

Another fresh element for this week: brand new couples! For this week, each girl picked a name out of a hat with the name of a new partner. As if learning a new routine wouldn’t be hard enough, for this week each dancer needed to learn to trust, and work with, a new partner.

The format for this week was also different. Over the past two weeks, each couple has performed twice. This week, each couple again performed twice—and in addition, each individual dancer performed a solo.

Can They Dance?

From this point on, the judges no longer need to eliminate any performers—that job belongs to the viewers who must now vote for their favorite individual dancers. But the judges are still there to critique, and the comments from last night might have led some of the contestants to wonder if they really could dance.

The first new couple included Courtney and Joshua performing a very fun hip-hop routine. Joshua, portraying Dr. Frankenstein, wore something like a lab coat, and Courtney, portraying the bride of Frankenstein, began the routine strapped to an upright lab table. The music, the choreography, and the costumes were outstanding—the dancing, by the judges’ standards, was not so electrifying. Lil C, joining Mary and Nigel at the judges’ table, began his critique thoughtfully and slowly, as he so often would. He complimented Joshua’s performance, and he commended Courtney, hinting that she’d done a better job than he might have expected. Mary and Nigel agreed with Lil C’s comments on Joshua’s work. Overall, the judges weren’t thrilled.

Kherington and Mark made up the second new couple for this week. They performed, in a SYTYCD first, a country-western two-step. When the music ended, Lil C began with, “Well, it was a fun routine.” He, Mary, and Nigel, delivered a series of lukewarm comments. Nigel finished by saying, “It not going to win you any prizes.”

The third new couple put Comfort back onstage, who sought redemption in a smooth waltz. She performed with her new partner Twitch. After the first two routines, the judges wanted a powerful performance. They didn’t get it from Comfort and Twitch. “Sorry,” Mary said, calling their performance “clunky.” “It’s just lacking so much power. It’s not going to cut it.”

Like Old Partners

After expressing disappointment in the first three routines, the judges finally became excited when Katee and Will, Chelsie and Gev, and Courtney and Joshua all delivered performances fit for the top-ten.

Katee and Will’s Broadway number, choreographed by Tyce Diorio, required them to dance on, and inside of, a rowboat. But, as Nigel commented, even though they were physically “contained with a very small area,” their performance was still “as big as Tyce wanted.”

Chelsie and Gev continued to please with their contemporary performance, which portrayed two lovers aching to be together. “I love,” Lil C began, “how certain routines, when you watch them, they make you feel something.” Mary agreed, complimenting Gev’s technique.

Success came for Courtney and Joshua in their second routine, a Rumba choreographed by Jean Marc Généreux and set to Enrique Iglesias’ “Hero.” “This darn rumba is so difficult,” Mary said, admitting that many professional dancers shy away from it. “You really went beyond… overall, the whole thing was fantastic.”

Welcome Back, Comfort

All of the judges gushed forth praise for Comfort and Twitch’s second performance, a “futuristic” hip-hop routine by Dave Scott.

“Buck,” was Lil C’s adjective of choice, which he felt obligated to define. “It’s when internal artistry meets physical expression,” he said. “Comfort, I think that was the best I’ve ever seen you do a hip-hop routine.”

Mary tried to use “buck” as well—but, admitting that it didn’t sound right coming from her, she settled on, “holy smokes!” And Nigel offered a genuine “Welcome back!” to Comfort.

Perfect Pas de Deux from Desmond and Dwight

This week, Katee and Will were lucky enough to perform, in another SYTYCD first, a pas de deux, choreographed by Desmond Richardson and Dwight Rhoden, artistic directors of Complexions Contemporary Ballet. Before commenting on Katee and Will’s performance, Nigel took a moment to thank Desmond and Dwight, saying that when such living dance legends participate in a show like SYTYCD, it shows how to “share your art of dance wherever you go.”

In performing the pas de deux, Katee and Will didn’t let down the judges, the audience, or their choreographers. If it hadn’t been for a single mistake—which the judges easily overlooked—Nigel said that this performance might have been the best in both their careers.

The Audience’s Assignment

Tonight, we’ll see how viewers judged our top-ten dancers. Again, one male and one female will be leaving, but this time the judges won’t be responsible.

Tune in to Fox tonight at 9/8c, and find out which dancers will continue into next week’s show. If the viewers agree with the judges, this week’s cut might include Kherington, Mark, or Gev. But after last night, anything goes, so feel free to make some predictions!