It’s finale week on Dancing with the Stars, which means two nights of action and the awarding of the Mirror Ball Trophy. Four couples remain, but only three of them will make it to Tuesday’s two-hour finale.

All four couples will perform on Monday’s show, which will feature the fan-favorite Freestyle routines, but at the end of the night, the dancer with the lowest total from last week’s judges’ scores and viewer votes will be eliminated. Who will that be?

DEFINITELY SAFE

I should be more careful since I placed Charlie White in my “Definitely Safe” list last week, but I feel confident that Meryl Davis and Amy Purdy are guaranteed the top two spots for the season. Meryl survived being at the bottom of the leaderboard last week, so now that she’s at the top again (with a perfect 80), safety is guaranteed.

And while I may not approve of Amy’s continued success (which is due largely to Derek Hough’s inventive choreography and Amy’s inspirational story, not her dancing), she has everything going for her. She scored a 78 out of 80, she got Oprah’s seal of approval and guest judge Kenny Ortega shamelessly implored viewers to vote for her. Though I have seen a growing backlash against Amy’s unfairly high scores, that won’t stop her supporters.

IN DANGER

James Maslow and Candace Cameron Bure are basically competing for third place at this point. Both have their pros and cons. James has better scores, the appeal of his potential romance with partner Peta Murgatroyd and he’s the last man standing. Bure, on the other hand, talks a lot about her religious beliefs and the importance of being a mother, which no doubt earns her the same support that helped get Bristol Palin into the finale.

One of them will almost certainly be eliminated on Monday’s show and the other will finish in third place the following night behind Meryl and Amy. It’s really a coin flip at this point, but I guess I’ll give the edge to the one with a stronger base.

MY PREDICTION

I predict that James Maslow and Peta Murgatroyd will be eliminated. As much as I may love them and would even like to see them win, I can’t help but feel that their time is up. I give them credit for making it farther than Peta has in recent seasons (this will be her best finish since winning with Donald Driver in season 14), but you can’t beat the inspirational story of a God-loving mom.

Who do you think will go home in fourth place on DWTS season 18?

(Image courtesy of ABC)

John Kubicek

Senior Writer, BuddyTV

John watches nearly every show on TV, but he specializes in sci-fi/fantasy like The Vampire DiariesSupernatural and True Blood. However, he can also be found writing about everything from Survivor and Glee to One Tree Hill and Smallville.