Last week’s “Dance” competition was kind of ho-hum, as the start of these contests usually are. Was anyone really sad to see Rayven and Jamie go? Nah, we hardly knew ‘em.

Now, we’re starting to see more personality from the finalists, both on and off the stage. And for some —Jessica, I’m talking to you—they’d better bring some of that off-stage pizazz to their performances, or they’ll be saying sayonara really soon.

That said, even though it’s still early stages, the judges officially anointed two front-runners last night: Will and Joshua. Nigel announced that he’d be surprised if these two aren’t in the Final Four, and from their work last night, I’m inclined to use Mia Michaels’ new terminology and deem them “banoodles.”

The judges went crazy over the Broadway show-stopper done by Katee and Joshua, saying they were hands-down the best pair of the night.

I wasn’t quite as bowled over, but maybe that’s because I’m no fan of the genre. Still, it was obvious at how much stamina it took for the two to get through that marathon dance—and they did it with genuine smiles on their faces.

It didn’t go quite as well for Thayne and Chelsea, who were—in my opinion,—the worst of the night.

Maybe there’s something about snagging that first slot that’s the kiss of death, but the Henry the Eighth meets the ‘80s routine was awful.

Their jazz dance was supposed to be about passionate, forbidden love? Chelsea came off more as the royal in that number, rather than Thayne. And she seemed more like a queen who was dismissing a mildly interesting pageboy.

So here’s my take on who SHOULD be in the bottom three couples tonight, though we all know that America has its own ideas:

• Thayne and Chelsea

• Susie and Marquis

• Comfort and Chris

Find out my reasons why when I break it down, couple by couple…

COUPLE ONE: THAYNE and CHELSEA
(Jazz, choreographed by Mandy Moore)

I said it all above: If these two aren’t in the Bottom Three tonight, I’ll be shocked. To me, they were mediocre last week, even though Mary Murphy put them on the hot tamale train. But that performance must have sucked up all their chemistry, because last night, they had absolutely nada.

COUPLE TWO: CHELSIE and MARK

(Argentine tango, Alex Da Silva)

This has turned out to be a really beautiful pairing, with Chelsie and Mark nailing Mia Michaels’ wedding dance last week as well as this fiery tango. Mia proclaimed that she’s “in love” with the duo, and Mary said Mark looked like a movie star. Nigel would have liked to have seen a bit more “sleeze”—loved that!—and a bit more passion from Chelsie. Otherwise, these two seem to be one of the couples to beat.

COUPLE THREE: JESSICA and WILL
(Hip-hop, Cecily and Olivia)

Let me digress for a moment to wonder whether Nicole Scherzinger of the Pussycat Dolls is paying anyone on the “Dance” staff to be constantly featured on this show. She sang this tune—one of her solo efforts—on last year’s finale, and the Dolls were just on last week. Enough already!

That said, this pairing—unlike the one that performed before them—is completely uneven. Jessica isn’t terrible, but as Mia said, Will is just so “genius” that he completely blew her off the stage. Nigel had it right: She did a really “good job,” but Will is the stand-out. At the moment, she’s dragging him down, which is the ONLY reason they might be in jeopardy tonight.

COUPLE FOUR: KOURTNI and MATT

(Foxtrot, Jean-Marc Generaux)

My favorite crazy Frenchman saved his best, and most emotional work, for Twitchington, but this number was nice, too. But that’s exactly what it was: Nice. They were easy, breezy, light on their feet, and that fall where Matt caught Kourtni by the neck just before she hit the floor was amazing. But they were totally forgettable. Mary was unhappy with their footwork, given their technical training, and Nigel thought they had to put more feeling into their facial expressions. Since they were in the bottom three last week, they might be there again—but I’d personally put them in slot No. 4, right behind Comfort and Chris.

COUPLE FIVE: COURTNEY G. and GEV

(Contemporary, Mandy Moore)

If I didn’t know Mandy Moore was the choreographer, I would have thought this was a Mia routine. Which is why I was surprised to hear her say she thought Courtney “jazzified” it a bit. I agreed with Mary: The chemistry between these two is definitely killer. They delivered a sweet, lovely routine that looked simple – but clearly wasn’t. Gev really stepped it up, proving to be an able partner, and Courtney’s expressions showed emotion without going overboard.

COUPLE SIX: KATEE and JOSHUA

(Broadway, Tyce Diorio)

If the judges’ reaction is any indication, this couple is super-safe tonight. Like I said before, I wasn’t quite as wowed by this “Godspell” routine—I felt it seemed a little frenetic towards the end—but Nigel’s right: They were entertainment at its best. Mary said Katee’s broken out of her shell a bit, which may have been helped by having the charming Joshua as a partner. And Nigel seemed shell-shocked by Joshua’s ability to transform his skills as a “pop-ah” into Broadway magic.

COUPLE SEVEN: SUSIE and MARQUIS

(Salsa, Alex Da Silva)

Because of Susie’s expertise in this area, the judges had high expectations for this routine—and they let them down. Unlike Comfort—who I think got lazy—Susie realized this early on and tried hard to nail the routine. But for whatever reason, nerves perhaps, she just couldn’t get it together. To be fair, this number was whip-fast and seemed difficult, but Susie’s legs were just heavy. And she and Marquis had no connection whatsoever. (Plus, I hate to keep harping on her wardrobe, but those black bangs kept distracting me: It looked like a sick bird did his business on her head.) They deserve to be in the bottom three tonight, but Susie seems to have a hard-core fan base already, so that could pull them through.

COUPLE EIGHT: KHERINGTON and TWITCH

(Viennese waltz, Jean-Marc G.)

In one word: Beautiful. These two were graceful, elegant and effortless, everything you’d want in such an emotional dance. (And I loathe Celine Dion, so it’s saying something that I was able to get past my hatred for her music to love, love, love this number.)

Twitchington did Jean-Marc proud, and there was a lot of pressure on this couple, considering the routine’s inspiration came from the choreographers’ disabled daughter. Mary was moved to tears, and I echo her disbelief in Twitch’s performance: Where did those lines come from?

Personally, I thought they were the best of the night, but I think Mia’s nitpicking may have put a damper on the audience’s enthusiasm. She didn’t think that Kherington needed to smile throughout the entire dance, because it wasn’t “reality.” And I liked that Nigel stepped in to say that Jean-Marc’s daughter was the inspiration, but it was supposed to be uplifting.

Mia aside, I’m thinking Twitchington is going to be going a long way in this competition.

COUPLE NINE: COMFORT and CHRIS

(Krump, Lil C.)

Sure, I thought Lil C’s choreography was lacking, but wow, did Comfort get lazy or what? This was her THING, man, the one she should have knocked out of the park. Poor Chris probably wasn’t going to get gansta no matter how hard he worked, but Comfort? The judges were right, she was expected to bring it—and she didn’t.

Was she toning it down to match Chris a bit better, considering she blew him off the stage last week? Maybe. But it wasn’t a smart move, because it obviously brought down the entire performance. They should be in danger tonight, but Comfort’s charisma may be enough to move the audience to vote.

That’s it til tomorrow, everyone. Who do you think will be going home tonight?

And more importantly, what will Shane Sparks wow us with in his first group number of the season?

(Photos courtesy of FOX)