I had no idea how they were going to stretch four dancers over two f'ing hours of television. The finale was held at the Kodak Theatre - is it usually there? I don't think so. "Idol" yes, "Dance" no. We were down to Jeanine, Evan, Kayla, and Brandon. Adam Shankman was the guest judge this week (good, I like him). Mary Murphy looked AMAZING. The color, the cut, the make-up - that bitch looked like a million bucks. (It should be noted that Cat's skin looked amazing too.) During the introductions, Mary riled up the crowd like a WWE announcer. It was a little out of place, but I love her; I'll overlook it.

Top 4 group number to choreography by Wade and Amanda Robson. Evan and Brandon were football-playing jocks hitting on Kayla and Jeanine, who were portraying cheerleaders. To "Boys Boys Boys" by Lady Gaga. There was spanky-pants flashing! GIRL! The girls completely dominated the number. They were both totally ferocious, and kind of charming. But it was awfully straight for a Wade number, you know?

Jeanine and Evan got a jazz routine by Sonya Tayeh to "Heartbreaker" by MSTRKRFT feat. John Legend. It was about a guy and girl breaking up; she's over it, he still wants her. Jeanine really controlled the stage. That may partially be because her character was so much dominant in the routine. But she just popped on the stage. Adam said she never saw Jeanine coming, but she "dominated week after week," which is totally true. He called Evan "the molehill that became a mountain on this show." Also true. Mary said that Jeanine stood out a bit more, and keeps "emerging" every week. Yup. Poor Evan got virtually ignored by Nigel. He really IS a punching bag, isn't he?

Cat interviewed Brandon, and many of his answers were fairly obvious (he misses Jeanette the most, of course). But again my bullshit detector went off with him when he claimed he never expected to make the show. Come on. He was a surprise cut last year right before Top 20. He was practically a shoe-in this year. How did he really not expect to make the show? I feel like he lies all the time. ("I've never been to the gym a day in my life!" "I have no self-confidence!") He did his solo to "Dies Irae" and it was very similar to his routine from last week, and at the initial auditions. Lots of incredible twists and turns and physicality. I mean, yes, it's hugely impressive - but once again I didn't see any connection to the music. And I put a lot of stock in musicality.

Kayla and Brandon got stuck with Broadway by Tyce Diorio to "Bye Bye Love" from "All That Jazz." It was less Broadway and more disco at first. I'm guessing Brandon was dying, and Kayla was playing death. Loved the costuming; Kayla in this almost S&M-type thing, Brandon in a disco ball jacket. Once again, Kayla completely stole my attention. I realize it's favortism, but I don't care. I will say that the two were doing prolonged side-by-side pirouettes, and Brandon actually showed her up. Some cool tricks in it, like when Kayla stood on one leg and Brandon flipped her right around. Super fun. The judges basically said they were the obvious frontrunners since the beginning, and they proved why. Agreed.

Cat chatted with Jeanine. Jeanine's story was actually quite interesting; her mother wanted to be a dancer but didn't become one, and pushed Jeanine into it. She hated it at first and wasn't good at it, and then she finally clicked with it. Her favorite piece was that great contemporary routine with Jason. Gosh, she has pretty hair. For her solo she chose "Por Una Cabeza," that classic tango number. It was her best solo by a mile, lots of sexiness and control, including one brilliantly executed slow-mo pirouette. Mary said that she is peaking at the right time, and I agree wholeheartedly. Going in, she was the person I figured would come in fourth. But after that solo, she's a real contender.

Evan and Brandon doing a pop/jazz routine by Laurieann Gibson to "Nasty" by Janet Jackson. OMG, I LOVE that song! Brandon hit it harder. Sorry, Evan shippers! I love him, But Brandon destroyed him. Evan seemed slow and oddly weak, at least until the dance off at the end. Then he seemed to get into it. Shankman told Evan that he got totally dusted out there. Yup. Mary asked Evan what the nastiest thing he'd ever done. Evan's response was, "That's a toughie; the list is so long." HA! Nigel said that Evan doesn't have a nasty bone in his body (I would personally like to have the opportunity to debunk that theory...), and that he has a "choochee face." What does that even mean?

Kayla and Jeanine got Mia Michaels for a contemporary piece to "The Four Sections IV." It was a high concept piece representing their journey through the entire competition, and started on one side of the stage and proceeded to the other, with one step forward, one back, shedding layers of skirts the whole time. It was really beautiful and moving. The two of them had fantastic facial commitment. Jeanine had a bit of a wardrobe malfunction toward the end, and her final layer didn't quite come off on cue. Shankman said it was like two thoroughbreds racing, which is an astute comparison. Mary said that they are evenly matched, and the strongest two women they've ever had in the finals. I actually disagree; I think Sabra and Lacey were probably on a whole stronger.

Cat sat down with Evan, who said that he wasn't planning on auditioning again for this season. It was hard watching his brother, Ryan, get eliminated again; they were just so adorable with one another. Evan's favorite routine was the butt routine (totally). Evan said he was going to bring the thunder this week. For his solo he chose "The Best is Yet to Come" by Michael Buble. Started off with a big flip, but then went to some pretty restrained moves. That's not dancing for a title, my wee Broadway friend. In his interview Evan said that he thinks people voted for him because he's different on the show - there's never been another Broadway dancer in the Top 20. Shankman called out his solo as being something very similar to solos he's done before. I'd say that's true. Nigel says that Evan has the "aww" factor. Which is true. And he also said that Evan hasn't grown as much as he'd liked for him to, and said that the solo wasn't good enough. Again, sorry Evan fans, but that's the truth. I wish I could figure out what he was thinking for the last half of this competition, because he just seemed so totally checked out...

Kayla and Evan got a jive from Tony and Melanie to "TROUBLE" by Travis Tritt. Oh, Kayla looked fierce in a bright blue tutu and cowboy boots - this was a decidedly countrified jive. It was so good! They were both good. But man, Kayla was just on fire. There were some really exciting flipsEvan did a really cool under the leg shimmy. It was so much fun! Shankman said it wasn't a "finale-level routine" for him. I thought it was super fun! He just didn't feel that it was competitive. Mary slammed Evan for being too weak, and both of them for not jamming the moves as much as they should have been. But she did say Kayla stole the show, and I agree. I whooped during her leg flips. Weirdly, the entire crowd broke out into an "Evan" chant - I guess they're as tired of him getting shit on as I have been the past few weeks.

Cat chatted up Kayla, and we got to see her adorable crying granddad. She's now going by Debbie Allen's nickname for her, "White Lightning." Her favorite piece was the addiction number, which again makes total sense. Kayla says that she's not just a dancer, she's a performer, and that's completely true. For her solo she chose "Sweet Dreams" by the Eurythmics. It was a jazzier solo than we've seen from her in the past, and the movements weren't nearly as sharp or as impressive as we've seen from her either. I suspect she was probably totally exhausted at this point. Adam said the solo was fine, but didn't show her off (yep), he said that no matter if she wins, she's certainly one of the best dancers they've ever had on the show. Abso-fuckin-lutely. Nigel revealed that she was the first person the judges put into the Top 20, and that every one of the judges put her through. That's cool.

Jeanine and Brandon got a paso doble by Louis Van Amstel to "Tetsujin" from "The Matrix Revolutions." The costumes were totally bondo-licious, with Jeanine especially looking like slave Princess Leia but without the color. They're two very sexy dancers, and so I was excited to see what they'd do with this -- we haven't had a good paso all season. It was a little too laborious for my liking, and the music didn't help at all (again, lack of musicality). There were some cool spins, and one totally bitchin' jump/slide move, but it was largely devoid of tricks or big moves. It just left me completely cold. Jeanine seemed as though she was hesitating in a couple instances, executing moves a few seconds after he would. The judges were falling all over themselves saying how awesome it was. I bet it was much more intense in the theater, but to me, it didn't do a thing. I certainly never saw them in the traditional cape/matador roles.

Predictions:

Evan might actually be helped by all the bashing - I don't think we've ever had anyone in the finals get so routinely thrashed by the judges for weeks and weeks. The voters obviously love him (he IS lovable). Jeanine did emerge as the dark horse, and is very much still in the running. Brandon is a dynamic, strong dancer, and has been basically flawless all season - but I don't like him as a person. And I have been partial to Kayla since the beginning, and she has never taken a single misstep, so I'm still rooting for her. I desperately want her to win. We need another girl winner. But at this point I'd be happy with anybody but Brandon. (Although an Evan win would really piss off a lot of viewers...)        

Join us tomorrow night at 8 p.m. as we liveblog the finale (assuming out fancy new technology works out...), and we crown a new winner. Until September 9, when we start the whole thing over again...