(Almost) Everyone gets 10 for Halloween routines

This article contains spoilers for the October 29 episode of “Dancing With the Stars.”

The remaining seven couples faced their fears — from snakes to vampires to dolls — on Tuesday night’s Halloween-themed episode of “Dancing With the Stars.” The first real 10s of the season were handed out to, well, almost everyone, starting with NBA champion Dwight Howard and NFL star Danny Amendola.

Howard earned raves from the judges for his “spectacular” and “dangerous” performance as a boogeyman who terrorizes partner Daniella Karagach in a Contemporary to “Ring Around The Rosie” by District 78. He earned the season’s first 10 (given by the cat)-dressed Carrie Ann Inaba), while the other two judges awarded him 9s. The athlete was emotional after being awarded 28 out of 30 points, his best score to date. (The 10 awarded to Brooks Nader by guest judge Gene Simmons was, as you recall, later rounded down to 9.)

Despite all the 10s, one celebrity still had to go home in Week 7: Out of the three couples in jeopardy — Jenn Tran, Stephen Nedoroscik and Chandler Kinney —
it was Tran who was cut from the competition, despite getting her first 10 (also from Inaba) and winning her Salsa Dance-Off against Nedoroscik.

“Bachelorette” Tran earned her first 10 (also from Inaba) for her Gothic Contemporary routine to “Vampire” by Olivia Rodrigo. The reality star received raves and 9s from the other two judges, along with Howard and Amendola. She also won her Dance-Off but was still cut from the competition. She said she was “so, so grateful for everyone here and everything I’ve learned” in her farewell speech.

Amendola was asked to handle a live snake before performing a sexy snake-themed tango with partner Witney Carson. The song was appropriately enough “Poison” by RAVN. Derek Hough declared it “sniffing, seductive and spellbinding” and praised Amendola’s partnership as “crazy impressive.” Bruno Tonioli had to top his colleague, snarling, “It was so intoxicating, I need an antidote. You can bite me anytime.” Inaba dished out his second 10 of the night, leaving Amendola tied with Howard.

Joey Graziadei’s fear was ventriloquists, so his partner Jenna Johnson became a neck-twirling dummy in an Argentine tango to “Ramalama (Bang Bang)” by Róisín Murphy. Hough and Inaba raved about how the “Bachelor” star got into character as a mustachioed impresario, while Tonioli called it “a spine-tingling thriller of a tango” and stated that Graziadei “recorded the rhythm like a Hitchcock film .” The duo got two 10s and a 9 for a top score of 29 on the leaderboard.

Olympic gymnast Nedoroscik became her own fear, darkness, in her modern routine to “I Ran (So Far Away)” by Hidden Citizens. Inaba called it best of the night, giving the duo another 10, while Hough and Tonioli both gave 9s for a combined score of 28.

Chandler Kinney danced a spooky Viennese waltz to the “Pretty Little Liars” theme song in his homage to scary dolls. The actress was one of the few not to receive a 9 from Inaba on Tuesday night, but Hough and Tonioli made up for it by handing out the first 10s of the night for a combined score of 29.

Fellow Olympian Ilona Maher and pro Alan Bersten performed a tango to “Psycho Killer,” which saw her swing a barbed wire-wrapped bat as “Walking Dead” villain Negan.

For the Dance-Offs, which were worth three points, Howard competed with Maher in a Cha Cha set to the “Ghostbusters” theme song, with the judges favoring the basketball star.

Amendola and Graziadei both did lively, shirt-baring Jives to “Time Warp” from “The Rocky Horror Show,” with judges giving the edge to Graziadei.

Based on the rankings from last week’s scores and cumulative scores across the season so far, Kinney and partner Brandon Armstrong had immunity and did not have to participate in the Dance-Off.

“Dancing With the Stars” airs Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. on ABC and will be streamed the next day on Disney+.