Dance Moms season 7, episode 18 recap: Chloe Lukasiak still has it

INGLEWOOD, CA – MARCH 28: TV personalities Chloe Lukasiak (L) and Christi Lukasiak attend Nickelodeon’s 28th Annual Kids’ Choice Awards held at The Forum on March 28, 2015 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

In Dance Moms season 7, episode 18, Chloe Lukasiak reminded fans of exactly what made them fall in love with her in the first place. And then, of course, there were the moms’ antics…

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Picture it: It’s a Tuesday night at 9/8c, you’re flipping through the channels and land on Lifetime. Christi Lukasiak and Jill Vertes are in a screaming match at a dance competition. No, you haven’t hopped in a TARDIS and taken a trip back to the reality series’ earlier seasons. This is actually Dance Moms season 7, episode 18.

With Christi and Chloe back on the scene, there was bound to be tension. And with Abby Lee Miller gone, dance mom Jill, the ALDC’s resident Regina George stand-in, was the perfect person to get in Christi’s face.

Picking up the argument the dance moms started in the previous episode, “Out with Abby, In with Chloe – Part 2” featured all sorts of back and forth about whether or not Jill and Kendall Vertes had called the Lukasiaks when they left the team.

This was three years ago, but nobody seemed to care about history being, you know, history. Other things that nobody cared about: Jill’s utter hypocrisy.

"It’s not about you, Christi! It’s about the kids!"

It’s not about Christi, but hasn’t it always been about Jill? Wait. Maybe she’s one of the kids.

As Laurieann Gibson watched on a mixture of horror and amusement, she tried to teach Jill about knowing when and how to “clap back.” Holly took Laurieann’s advice and stood quietly against the wall, refusing to engage.

Jill, on the other hand, didn’t know when to stop. As usual.

The moms took the drama to the dressing rooms, as they do. But Chloe proved in Dance Moms season 7, episode 18 that she was still the sweet little girl we met when the series premiered.

In the Abby Lee Dance Company’s dressing room, everyone supported Jill. Because nothing says “team” like standing behind the woman who’s made all of your lives miserable, right?

While everyone agreed that Christi shouldn’t have accused Kendall of being a liar right in front of her face, nobody seemed to agree on whether or not Jill should’ve questioned Chloe’s dancing as a way of dragging her mother.

Spoiler alert: That was wrong. Also wrong? That time Jill kept up the drama, even though Kendall was clearly upset and asking her to drop it. But please tell us all how much you worry about your daughter’s feelings in all of this, Jill!

Meanwhile, in Murrietta Dance Project’s dressing room, Christi Lukasiak was in tears because she was so ashamed of her behavior. Awesome dancer and budding superhero that she is, Chloe comforted her mother.

"I’m not crying because I know it’s not important."

Take that, Jill. Even after Chloe assured her mother that Jill’s drama wasn’t important, though, Christi continued beating herself up. Christi apologized to Erin Babbs for her behavior, but Chloe still had to be her mom’s savior.

"We’ve got this! We’re Christi and Chloe. Nobody makes us cry!"

Put that on a shirt. Also, this:

https://twitter.com/DanceMoms/status/900162384513380354

Before Dance Moms season 7, episode 18 could actually show us some dancing (what’s that?), it was time to take another trip to the ALDC’s dressing room.

This time, Yolanda Walmsley and friends gossiped about Abby Lee Miller’s refusal to answer her phone. I guess we’re all supposed to be shocked that a woman, who was enjoying her last weeks of freedom, didn’t want to talk to a bunch of moms who made her life miserable.

Anyway.

When Laurieann showed the soloists their costumes, they weren’t exactly impressed. Camryn Bridge’s reaction to her muscle unitard was an epic cringe, and her mother’s side-eye could have lit the thing on fire. When Camille started to say that Camryn might not be comfortable dancing in that…thing…though, Laurieann said she wasn’t ready for the real world.

Technically she’s right — professionals wear what they’re told to wear — but as Christi Lukasiak later snarked, that thing was weirdly similar to Chloe’s meat costume of yesteryear.

Tragic.

After some words of encouragement from Laurieann Gibson and a rude comment from Christi about 2007 wanting Jaime Caes’ hair back, it was (finally) time for some solos.

Dance Moms season 7, episode 18: the solos.

“Black Sheep,” hip hop solo performed by Maesi Caes

. Speaking of bad costumes, that hat was awfully distracting. In fact, let’s assume it’s to blame for Maesi’s forgetfulness. Once you get past the hat and the mistake, though, Maesi was kind of awesome. This style has always worked for her, and that seat drop to straddle will never not be impressive.

Result:

No placement. But, um, Laurieann Gibson wins at everything because of pep talks like this:

"I don’t care if you missed every single step. Maesi, can’t nobody dance like you. The dance steps and the choreography don’t make you. They don’t make you. You make them when you dance."

I’m just going to leave this here. Cold, dead heart status: Melted, alive, thriving.

Before the group performances, Dance Moms season 7, episode 18 took a trip back to Chloe Versus Jill Land.

Forget the fact that Chloe and Kendall had this really sweet moment backstage, where they agreed that the “mom stuff” belonged to Regina George and Cady Heron. Jill and Christi just weren’t finished.

(Christi’s totally the nice one who gets turned into a monster to out-monster Regina, get it?)

Christi, like, totally didn’t get what Jill and the others had been through for the past three years. Jill forgot that Christi was there for thirteen yeas before her. Something about Christi playing the victim?

"Oh, my god! The victim is back!"

Throughout all of this, Holly was awkwardly standing off to the side with a look on her face that screamed “honeys, no.” Maybe it was because the whole argument boiled down to Christi and Jill fighting over whether or not phone calls were made after Team Lukasiak left the ALDC. As a reminder, Abby was awful to Chloe on a day that Christi was standing up for Jill’s daughter (and for at least 84 years before that).

So, the whole thing boiled down to a bad breakup or lovers’ quarrel, I think?

Dance Moms season 7, episode 18: the group numbers.

1. “Devil’s Playground,” MDP group jazz performance. Real jazz? Pulled up, controlled pirouettes? Abby Lee Miller will never, ever relate. Add to that Chloe’s little smirk in the ending pose, and this was definitely a great performance. With that being said, any team that has so many excellent displays of flexibility in a single piece should not, under any circumstances, have sloppy knees in split leaps. Result: First place overall.
2. “Judgment Day,” ALDC group jazz performance. My aesthetic is Kalani Hilliker, throwing that hat off and getting sassy while she whips her hair around. Weirdly enough, I’m usually the first person to hate on loose and/or messy hair in dance, but Laurieann Gibson’s choreography made it work. The ALDC did an admirable job with this obviously difficult, complex piece; but there were some moments when the dancers were just not quite sharp enough to pull it off. Result: Fourth place overall. Insert rude commentary from Christi here. (Please do better, Mama L.)

Obligatory “Dance Moms Being Awful Post-Competition” segment.

Although Yolanda thought the team wouldn’t have lost if Abby had been there, the moms pressured Laurieann Gibson to say she’d return. After some fake dramatic buildup, Laurieann agreed to stay on as the ALDC’s (temporary) leader.

She has unfinished business, y’all.

Of course, even if Dance Moms season 7, episode 18 ended on that positive note, the post-awards nastiness still had to happen.

After Laurieann stooped to congratulate her, Christi fired back with some fake-nice and fake-confused “questions” about why the ALDC’s soloists failed to place. But then she wanted to know why nobody went out of their way to make a show of praising Chloe.

As I pointed out at the top of this recap, though, Chloe Lukasiak reasserted her awesomeness at this competition. It wasn’t just because she happened to be on the winning team, either.

Chloe’s the biggest winner of all because, even after even more fighting, she stopped by her former team’s dressing room to tell everyone she still loved them. The moms, even Jill, all welcomed Chloe with (literal) open arms. The best moment? After a hug from Nia, Chloe received these words of support from Holly:

"We love you! Whether you’re on this team or another team, we would always want the best for you. Regardless."

Next: The Dance Moms kids aren't the only dancers getting big Hollywood opportunities.

So, will Chloe go back to the ALDC?

As mentioned in the spoiler post for this episode, that’s an obvious yes. In fact, just to make things even more obvious, the closing moments of Dance Moms season 7, episode 18 loaded on the heaviest foreshadowing in reality tv history.

"Maybe one day, I’ll be dancing with you guys again."

Yeah. Maybe.

Dance Moms airs on Lifetime Tuesday nights.