“Dancing With the Stars ”recap: Halloween Nightmares Night scares up first 10s of the season

You get a 10, you get a 10, and you get a 10!

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Dancing With the Stars season 33, episode 7, "Halloween Nightmares Night."

It was a spooktacular night of dancing on Dancing With the Stars!

Most of tonight's stars experienced their breakthrough moment, earning their highest scores to date. But things got a little peculiar — and not just because it was Halloween Nightmares Night.

We all know what Daniella Karagach can do when she's given a partner who's more than six feet tall on Halloween night of DWTS. So it comes as no surprise that she and Dwight Howard pulled out a show-stopping — and truly nightmare inducing — contemporary dance. But what was surprising was when Carrie Ann Inaba pulled out her 10 paddle, awarding Dwight and Daniella with the first of the season!

Related: Dancing With the Stars recap: Judges dish out tough love on Disney Night

And the 10s just kept coming! Carrie Ann then continued to give a 10 to three more couples, who each ended up with a 28 out of 30. Some of these couples hadn't even received a nine in past weeks, so Carrie Ann's symphony of 10s came as a shock.

Danny Amendola attacked his venomous Argentine tango with passion and the judges applauded his improvement. Jenn Tran said her nightmare is vampires, so who better to call for help than the bestie of a vampire slayer and DWTS alum Alyson Hannigan? The judges praised Jenn's dedication to getting into character for her bloody good contemporary to "Vampire" by Olivia Rodrigo. The usually jolly Stephen Nedoroscik performed a contemporary inspired by his fear of the dark, and he might have spooked everyone in the ballroom and at home a little more than expected. His creepy makeup and dedication to the character earned him his highest scores yet.

But it was the creepy doll-themed dances of the night that earned the highest scores. Joey Graziadei and Jenna's Argentine tango, as well as Chandler Kinney and Brandon's Viennese waltz, received 29 out of 30 and landed them on the top of the leaderboard. Bruno gave nothing but high praise to both couples. “I was totally hypnotized. Slick, clean, brilliant,” Bruno said to Joey. And as for Chandler, “The quality of movement was exquisite,” Bruno said.

Related: Dancing With the Stars judge Carrie Ann Inaba says Chandler and Brandon finally had their 'shatter the glass ceiling moment'

Then came the head-to-head dance-off round, where sets of couples danced the same style, to the same song, at, you guessed it, the same time! Chandler and Brandon ended up on the top of the leaderboard last week, so they received immunity from this round, as well as three bonus points added to their score this week.

First up in the dance-off was Dwight and Daniella versus Ilona and Alan in a cha-cha to "Ghostbusters." Dwight edged out Ilona ever so slightly and won the round and the bonus points. Then, it was another close match-up with Jenn and Sasha and Stephen and Rylee, who performed salsas to Beetlejuice classic "Jump in the Line." It was Jenn who won over the judges for those extra points. And lastly, it was Danny and Witney and Joey and Jenna jiving it up to "Time Warp." “It was literally like a ping pong match," Derek Hough said. "That was a true battle.” To which Bruno quipped, "a battle of the six-packs!"

And who won the battle of the six-packs? None other than Joey. But in the end, the scariest thing of all was the fact that someone had to go home. Jenn Tran made her exit and thanked her pro partner Sasha. "I can't even imagine my life without Sasha and we just met 7 weeks ago," she said.

Related: Marilu Henner reveals 'one of the hardest things' about partnering with Derek Hough on Dancing With the Stars

DWTS season 33 episode 7 scores

Here's where each couple landed on the leaderboard (after the bonus points were added from the dance-off round):

Chandler & Brandon - Viennese waltz, 32
Joey & Jenna - Argentine tango, 32
Dwight & Daniella - Contemporary, 31
Jenn & Sasha - Contemporary, 31
Danny & Witney - Argentine tango, 28
Stephen & Rylee - Contemporary, 28
Ilona & Alan - Tango, 24

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Next week, there's no new episode as it's Election Night. But on Nov. 12, the stars will be back to celebrate the 500th episode of DWTS and compete in the hardest challenge yet, the Instant Dance Round.

Dancing With the Stars airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and Disney+.