Last night Abby Lee Miller put her threats into action on Dance Moms. Everyone is replaceable, and she set out to prove it with the first of her open auditions. Leslie arrives at the ALDC as if she didn't have a meltdown at the previous competition about disrespect. Abby explains to Leslie that she takes things too personally and her behavior ends up embarrassing everyone. Jill interrupts their pow-wow to butter up Abby with a new pair of earrings. That's a new low! At the pyramid, Abby touts her open auditions in Orlando, and all the girls and moms look like deer in headlights…except for Maddie, of course. Abby invites Maddie and MacKenzie to travel down early to help her with the auditions. Leslie then opens her mouth to inquire as to why they are the ones who Abby chose to assist her. Abby turns to Payton to tell her that her mom often speaks out of turn, and she should be embarrassed by her behavior.
Payton is on the bottom, but she fully expected to be there thanks to her mother. Kendall follows, and Jill is beyond confused. Why did she bother with the earrings? As Kendall is on the verge of tears, Abby reminds her that she needs to cut out the crying. Nia then Paige round out the bottom tier. Kelly is complimented for not causing drama. MacKenzie is in fourth, with Brooke in the third spot. Abby explains to her that she can balance dancing and singing as long as she's performing to the best of her ability. Chloe is in second for following Kendall when she was supposed to dance before her. Once again, Maddie graces the top of the pyramid. Maddie and MacKenzie both get solos, but MacKenzie won't be dancing in the group routine. Brooke will be leading a trio with Paige and Chloe as background dancers. Abby asks the moms to tweet about her open auditions, but Holly refuses to aid in finding a replacement for her daughter. Curses! Abby is foiled again. Not shockingly, Melissa promises to tweet the news.
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MacKenzie is rehearsing, and Abby is hoping that she can channel her older sister's talent. Holly notes that Abby seems more excited about the open call then the competition. Melissa wants to sink into the sofa being reminded that her daughters are the only "safe" team members. Jill accuses Christi of playing some part in Kendall dancing before Chloe and seemingly out of turn. She wishes Christi would play by the rules. Um, is she implying that Christi should get her daughter higher in Abby's good graces with good old fashioned bribery?
Abby is working on the lyrical group number, and she is all over Nia's technique. Once again, she reminds her troupe that all of them could be replaced. As the trio rehearses, Abby reveals that Brooke will be learning how to lip synch with a microphone. Kelly finds it hilarious that Abby wants to have some part in Brooke's music career. The next time Brooke has a stellar singing performance, Kelly knows that Abby will take full credit for it. As Maddie practices, Abby plans to have MacKenzie wait on her hand and foot…literally. Poor child has to give Abby a foot massage. Leslie tries to stir the pot by asking Melissa what will happen if her kids are replaced. What if Abby finds better talent? When Jill gets back on her tear about Kendall dancing first and accuses Chloe of being sneaky, Leslie shares with the moms that Jill gave Abby yet another gift. Sneaky is as sneaky does!
In Orlando, Abby addresses the throngs of dancers who have gathered to audition. Maddie and MacKenzie lead the girls as Abby plays the role of drill sergeant. Abby is cutting girls left and right and the tears are flowing like it's an auditorium full of Kendalls. When Abby asks the moms in the audience why the girls aren't dancing to par, one poor soul answers that she didn't think the girls heard Abby's instructions. Rookie mistake. Abby humiliates the mom and promptly kicks her daughter off the stage, reminding the poor girl that she was cut because of her mother's big mouth. Horrible. When another mom is crying over her daughter's fate, Melissa comforts her and reminds her that Abby likes her moms dumb and quiet.
After a successful open call, the ALDC heads to their competition. Abby considers it her troupe's own audition. Jill is late, and Abby is threatening to cut Kendall. Holly wonders if Abby found the caliber of talent she expected at the open call. Abby rips into Jill about priorities and yells at Kendall to remind her mother what "making a commitment" means. Kelly snarks that Jill would have been on time if Kendall had a solo, and Kendall whines, "I'm not doing a solo!" Abby thinks that Kendall sounds like a supreme brat, and Jill agrees. However, she's really just floored at the hateful things Abby is saying. I bet she's wishing she had those earrings back right about now!
Maddie performs her solo first. It's technically perfect, bur her facial expressions make her look like she's in pain. I like Maddie, but part of me wants her to trip up just once. I am so going to hell. MacKenzie follows in her sister's footsteps…literally. Personally, I think she out danced Maddie. Abby is hoping the trio will fail, you can hear it in her voice. The girls look precious. Please remember to lip synch, Brooke! She seems to get it most of the time. Abby calls MacKenzie's dance "okay" because of MacKenzie's lack of confidence. As the girls are prepping for the group dance, someone comes running in to say that Payton fell in the hallway and snapped her ankle. Payton is clearly in a lot of pain, and Abby urges the rest of the girls to re-block the routine as Payton is taken out on a stretcher. Abby reminds the girls that if they mess up on the spacing, it won't be Payton's fault…it will be theirs.
Backstage, Chloe reminds her teammates that they need to dance for Payton and prove to Miss Abby that they can be professionals. I love Chloe. The dance is beautiful, and the blocking is perfect. Abby reminds the viewers that the girls didn't do anything special…it's what they are expected to do. MacKenzie wins the mini solo division while Maddie takes the junior division. The trio nabs second place, and it's tragic that the girls are so disappointed in such an accomplishment. The group routines win first place overall. In the dressing room, Abby isn't impressed with the win…they should have won by more points. She declares Maddie and MacKenzie as the only ones safe from replacement. She doesn't even blink when someone asks how Payton is doing. Abby considers bringing in someone to replace Payton for the time being. She warns Kendall that she could be next.
TELL US-WHAT DID YOU THINK OF LAST NIGHT'S EPISODE? DID YOU FEEL SORRY FOR KENDALL?
[Photo Credit: Lifetime]
