Dancing With the Stars Finale Recap: Did the Right Couple Win Season 28?

Rebecca Iannucci

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The Mirrorball trophy left Bobby Bones’ living room and made its way back to the Dancing With the Stars ballroom on Monday night, as the highly polarizing Season 28 came to a close.

After 11 weeks of contestant injuries, perplexing eliminations and the enigma that was Sean Spicer, only four celebrities — Lauren Alaina, Ally Brooke, Hannah Brown and Kel Mitchell — remained in the running for Dancing‘s big prize.

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But which contestant promenaded his or her way to the winner’s circle? Ahead of Monday’s finale, 43 percent of TVLine readers predicted Hannah as the winner (and she also narrowly led the poll of who should win, with 33 percent of the vote). Still, the former Bachelorette and her fellow amateurs had to perform two more scored routines before a winner was crowned; the first round featured encores of dances they’d already done this season, while the second round delivered each couple’s highly anticipated freestyle. Here’s how the scores shook out:

Ally Brooke and pro Sasha Farber
For their repeat dance, Ally and Sasha reprised their Week 4 jive set to “Proud Mary,” which earned a 30 out of 30 from the judges. In order for Ally not to get a perfect score on her freestyle, I suspect she would have had to come out and dance The Very Worst Routine in DWTS History, which obviously did not happen. Thus, the judges made nary a mention of Ally and Sasha’s multiple shaky and/or poorly executed lifts (they barely eked out their first big trick, y’all!), resulting in a 30 out of 30 once again.

Lauren Alaina and pro Gleb Savchenko
First up, Lauren and Gleb repeated their Week 4 foxtrot, featuring Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” and the most gigantic swing set I’ve ever seen. They received a 27 out of 30 for the encore, while their honky-tonk freestyle gave Lauren not only her first 10s of the season, but her very first 30 out of 30. Better late than never!

Kel Mitchell and pro Witney Carson
Kel and Witney chose to perform their High School Musical-themed Disney Night jazz again, and it paid off with a 30 out of 30 from the judges. Next up, their hip hop-infused — and lightning-fast! — freestyle received a 29 out of 30, because Len Goodman just had to be like that.

Hannah Brown and pro Alan Bersten
After coyly playing off her appearance in that new Bachelor promo (girl, Pilot Pete does not deserve you!), Hannah reprised her Week 2 Viennese waltz set to Taylor Swift’s “Lover,” which earned a 28 out of 30 from the judges. Later, her marvelous freestyle resulted in a 30 out of 30, which was also her first perfect score of the season.

And then, after appearances from Ne-Yo, Pitbull and Cher (quite a mixed bag!), the wait was over. Your Season 28 champions are… Hannah and Alan! Kel and Witney scored second place, while Ally and Sasha claimed third and Lauren and Gleb finished fourth.

That’s a wrap, Dancing fans! Do you agree with Hannah and Alan’s victory? Cast your vote in our poll below, then drop a comment with your reactions to the finale!

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