(Almost) everyone gets a 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 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 praise from the judges for his “spectacular” and “dangerous” performance as the boogeyman who terrorizes his partner Daniella Karagach in a contemporary set to District 78's “Ring Around The Rosie.” He received the first 10 of the season (awarded by the cat). -costumed Carrie Ann Inaba), while the other two judges rewarded him with 9 points. The athlete was touched after receiving 28 points out of 30, his best result to date. (The 10 that Brooks Nader received from guest judge Gene Simmons, as you may recall, was later rounded down to a 9.)

Despite all the 10s, one celebrity still had to go home in Week 7: Of the three couples in danger – Jenn Tran, Stephen Nedoroscik and Chandler Kinney –
It was Tran who was eliminated from the competition, despite getting her first 10 (also from Inaba) and winning her salsa dance-off against Nedoroscik.

“Bachelorette” Tran received her first 10 points (also from Inaba) for her gothic contemporary routine to “Vampire” by Olivia Rodrigo. The reality star received praise and 9 points from the other two judges, putting him level with Howard and Amendola. She also won her dance-off, but was still eliminated from the competition. In her farewell speech, she said she was “so, so grateful for everyone here and for everything I’ve learned.”

Amendola was asked to handle a live snake before performing a sexy snake-themed tango with her partner Witney Carson. The song was, fittingly, “Poison” by RAVN. Derek Hough called it “sweeping, seductive and captivating” and praised Amendola's partnership as “insanely impressive”. Bruno Tonioli had to outdo his colleague with a rave: “That was so intoxicating, I need an antidote. “You can bite me at any time.” Inaba dished out her second 10 of the night, leaving Amendola tied with Howard.

Joey Graziadei was afraid of ventriloquist's dummies, so his partner Jenna Johnson became a breakneck puppet in an Argentine tango to “Ramalama (Bang Bang)” by Róisín Murphy. Hough and Inaba gushed about how the “Bachelor” star took on the role of a mustachioed impresario, while Tonioli called it “a spine-tingling thriller of a tango” and raved that Graziadei “captured the rhythm like a Hitchcock film.” “. The duo received two 10s and one 9, which corresponds to a high of 29 on the leaderboard.

Olympic gymnast Nedoroscik became his own fear, the dark, in his contemporary routine to Hidden Citizens' “I Ran (So Far Away).” Inaba called it the best of the night and gave the duo another 10, while Hough and Tonioli awarded 9 points each, for a total score of 28.

Chandler Kinney danced a spooky Viennese waltz to the “Pretty Little Liars” theme song as a tribute to creepy dolls. The actress was one of the few who didn't receive a 9 from Inaba on Tuesday night, but Hough and Tonioli made up for it by handing out their first 10 of the night, for a total score of 29.

Fellow Olympian Ilona Maher and pro Alan Bersten performed a tango to “Psycho Killer,” swinging a bat wrapped in barbed wire like “Walking Dead” villain Negan.

In the three-point dance-off, Howard joined Maher in a cha-cha set to the “Ghostbusters” theme song, with the judges favoring the basketball star.

Amendola and Graziadei both performed spirited, shirtless jives to “Time Warp” from “The Rocky Horror Show,” with the judges favoring Graziadei.

Based on the leaderboard of last week's results and the season's cumulative results so far, Kinney and his partner Brandon Armstrong had immunity and were not required to participate in the dance-off.

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