Brooke and Brandon, another dancer, were set up on a date.
The girls were told that their dance would be called Snapshot and they'd be playing models. In the dance, they'd have their photos taken by a dancer named Brandon. (Brandon and Brooke used to dance together until they started liking each other and it destroyed their dancing compatibility.) When Brooke and Brandon danced, Abby tried to make them have chemistry, but the dance lacked it - probably because the pair looked uncomfortable with each other. Abby decided that she needed Brooke and Brandon to have chemistry, so Abby forced them to go on a date.
Brandon and Brooke went on the date to an amusement park. Brandon seemed into Brooke, but she didn't seem to be interested in Brandon. Brooke was so funny - she said that she thinks Brandon still likes her, but she's over it - she's not the same person she was at nine years old.
Holly did what she had to do for Nia, but Abby still made it difficult.
Abby Lee told Nia's mom Holly that she didn't want to hear any more altercations from her, despite the fact that Holly's mom had shown her disapproval even before the actual competition.
Abby brought Holly in to watch Nia dance because she said Nia can't correct her dancing. Holly was happy that Nia was getting individual attention, even though it was a setup by Abby to show Holly that Nia makes mistakes. She also chose another ethnic number, which Holly didn't like.
While at the hotel for the competition, Holly put her work aside to watch Nia practice dancing. She was completely open to helping Nia improve, although the best move may actually have been to pull her out of Abby's studio.
Cathy caused trouble, as usual.
After two days of not showing up for dance, Abby called Cathy to talk at the competition. Abby told Cathy that she was done with her. Cathy said she wasn't a team player, which is a bit unfair considering what all of the moms have to work together on things. Cathy said Abby was trying to make an example of her to see what happens if you defy Abby.
Cathy apparently wouldn't answer phone calls from the other dance moms, but nonchalantly showed up at dance practice as if nothing was wrong. Melissa stuck up to her, saying that Mackenzie was devastated that her dance partner disappeared. Cathy said she thought her absence wasn't a big deal, especially because she missed her flight. However, the flight was two days ago, so Cathy had no excuse for not showing up after that. Cathy went on about how her absence doesn't affect people, blah, blah, blah. Cathy said she's so sick of everyone saying that they're a group, especially when Vivi's often not involved in many of the group numbers. Here's a hint - Vivi can't dance. That's why she's not involved. Kelly called Cathy out, saying that Vivi can't dance, and Cathy refuted by saying she's six. The thing is, it's not that Vivi's six - it's that she's untalented.
Abby gave us a hint about why she is the way she is.
Abby said that her mom, Maryen Lorrain, is a gracious lady to everyone in the world...but her. This speaks volumes about why Abby's so hard and tough - her mom probably focused on being her dance teacher (which was her profession) and not her mother.
Christi commented that even when the kids are having fun, Abby turned things into a competition. Abby brought the girls to her house in Orlando and had them play a game where they had to pick up a watermelon and carry it out of the pool. This is also indicative of Abby's personality - she wants everyone to fight to be the best at all times.
The competition began.
There was a girl Juliana in the Starpower competition who was said to be Maddie's biggest competitor. Maddie, Melissa, Juliana and her mom met up and talked for a few minutes, discussing the fact that it doesn't matter who wins, as long as they have fun. I'm not sure how much any of the four believed it, but it was a nice sentiment.
It turns out that Maddie was the only girl to qualify for the pageant portion of the competition, for which Abby coached (and scared) all of the girls about their interview skills just in case they qualified. Her dance for this section was really beautiful, as usual. Next, we saw Juliana dance, and the girl was fantastic. Her dance seemed to be slightly more energetic than Maddie's, but that could just be because of the type of dance.
Each girl had to give a short speech. Juliana's was good, but sounded very rehearsed. Maddie messed up a bit, but was more conversational. As it turned out, Maddie's real speech must have been preferable to Juliana's rehearsed one, because she took first place and Juliana took second.
Next up was the group number, featuring Brandon and Brooke's dance. The connection was just not there. According to Brandon, Brooke would just not connect with him. This was evident during the dance. Brooke's performance was off and the connection wasn't there. The thing is, Abby put Brooke in a compromising situation - she was clearly uncomfortable and upset. After the dance, Brandon's mom took him out of the place because she knew Abby wanted someone to blame, and it could be Brandon, despite Brooke's mistakes. The dance did not even place, and aside from the Brooke and Brandon thing, I think it was also because of the boring, weird bathing suit costumes.
Nia's solo was next, and when she practiced, it seems that Abby took out her frustration about the group number on Nia. When Nia's mom stood up for her, Abby flashed the sentiments back at Holly, saying that Holly should trust her. I can see both sides of this - Abby wants her choreography performed perfectly, but if she wants Nia to have all of this 'ethnic' attitude, she needs to let Nia explore her creativity. (Note that I use 'ethnic' in quotes - I think Nia should have her own attitude because of who she is, not due to ethnic background.) When it came down to it, I really liked Nia's dance - and her talent. This dance seemed to fit her pretty well - she had fun with it, she had flair, she had attitude. It showed off her dancing skills (which she does have - maybe not the same ones as Maddie - but equally good and different ones.) The girl has talent, and I hope that Abby takes a step back and realizes that. Nia took first place in her category, and the girl absolutely deserved it.
At the end of the episode, Abby dropped a bomb: the girls were going to Vegas, then Los Angeles, then Lake Tahoe. The moms did not seem excited about traveling - I think they needed a break. While the moms grumbled, Cathy had a straight up hissy fit. She said that she couldn't go to Vegas. Abby told her that anyone's replaceable - and Cathy said "Even dance teachers." I hope this is the end of Cathy's run on Dance Moms. The woman is entertaining, but she is hardly a team player, and her kid just can't dance.