Nobody's Fault but Mine The Next Step

Previously...

If one more team beats us, we're out.

Good luck at the next qualifier. Only two left.

Let's do something about this.

-About what?

-This chemistry.

I do like you.

Let's work this thing out.

I'm not really ready to be friends with Amy or LaTroy just yet.

Yeah.

Just had my heart broken.

Me and Thalia, we had something really special.

There's something wrong with my back. You can't tell anybody.

That's not fair, Noah.

I'll get it taken care of.

I love James.

-Yeah.

-Which is why I think we should just stay friends.

My feelings for Alfie have just been getting stronger and stronger.

-Friends.

-I know this is wrong, but I can't help it.

MUSIC: The Unparallels (Remix)

I'm so excited to dance at the qualifier tomorrow.

I haven't danced on stage in a long time.

And I just can't wait.

We are all working very hard.

And honestly, it's nice to have something

to think about besides Riley.

My back is still sore, but I can't mark any more.

I need to redeem myself after the last qualifier.

Nothing's going to stop me this time.

LAPTOP CHIMES

"Greetings, fellow studio heads.

"This year promises to be the most competitive

"Absolute Dance regionals yet".

'I'm reading this e-mail from the Regionals Board, and I'm shocked.

'I was prepared for a twist, but this?'

This doesn't just affect a dance, this could affect our whole team.

Guys, stop, stop for a second, sorry.

Can I just talk to you for a second?

I just got an e-mail from the Regionals Board

-about the big twist for the next qualifier.

-And?

Well, whichever team wins tomorrow

gets to steal a dancer from another studio.

-What?

-'This is insane.'

How is stealing other people's dancers even allowed?

'If we lose the qualifier, we could lose a dancer.'

If I mess up again, it could cost us someone on our team.

This twist changes everything.

# We

# We're gonna show the world

# Everything we're made of

# We're gonna tear the roof off this place

# Stand up! #

Dude.

You know your feet are by my pillow where my head goes, right?

Both of them.

'West needs to loosen up.'

We're in London, man, this is practically a vacation.

I'm not allowed to relax?

Manners, James.

I don't come to your house and put my dirty shoes on your pillow!

Except for that one time.

What's going on? Are we opening up like a magazine shop, or something?

Man, these are authentic British magazines.

You know, I want to put my finger on the pulse of

what is hip-hop-happening in London.

-Wow!

-All right, come and take a photo of us.

I want everyone to see what cultured lads we've become

-in jolly old England.

-Jolly old...?

Hey, man, come on, let's take a photo.

My phone!

It's gone! I always put my phone in my left-hand pocket!

Every picture I have of me and Thalia is on that phone.

I can't lose that!

Yo, it's got to be here somewhere, man.

But it's not, James!

It's not here! Call it.

All right.

-Call it!

-All right, man.

Don't even worry, man, you'll find it.

Shh, shh! I need to hear the phone ring.

Oh, yeah, it's your voicemail, man.

Yo, Eldon. You lost your phone.

'I don't know why Eldon is so stressed out about this phone.'

He loses things all the time.

Lucky coin, girlfriends.

Seriously, he should be used to it by now.

OK. You just need to retrace your steps.

Where was the last place you were at?

When Eldon freaks out like this, it can be hard to calm him down.

The bus stop with the double-decker bus.

-You know those...

-Yeah, that's almost every bus stop in London.

But OK, we can start there.

-Cool.

-It's going to take forever, man.

James?

-Yeah?

-I don't care if all of existence has ceased to be.

I don't care if every peach on the planet has dried up,

I don't care if every glacier on the planet has melted.

I need that phone!

If every glacier on the planet melted,

there'd be a lot of water for the peaches,

-so I don't think they would...

-I don't care!

I need the phone.

I can't lose my phone.

This is a five alarm, all hands on deck disaster.

All right, I've had enough of this, let's find it.

'This obviously means a lot to Eldon, so we'll look.'

Even though the odds of finding his phone are zero.

-Ready?

-Yeah.

Seven, eight...

One and two and three, watch your landing...

'I'm really worried about the qualifier twist.

'I think the best remedy to calm my nerves is more practice.'

Two, three, four,

five, six, seven, eight.

One, two, three, four, five.

Good, watch your timing there.

Nice routine.

'We're working on the qualifier routine,'

when the Geminis just walk in here like they own the place.

-What are you doing here?

-We're just doing some window shopping.

I'm wondering who we're going to steal.

We're planning to win tomorrow.

And we want to try to figure out who we're going to poach.

Wait, what?! The Geminis already made it to regionals,

why are they competing again?

'They wouldn't give up their win just to mess with us.

'Would they?'

Alfie! You look like our dancer Georgie.

He helped us beat you at the first qualifier.

This twist gives the Geminis the perfect opportunity

to improve their team.

At our expense.

Don't look so concerned, Miss Riley.

You've got nothing to worry about.

If you win.

'The Geminis already beat us once.

'If they're competing again, they could win.

'That means we could actually lose Alfie.'

This can't be happening.

'I've been dancing really hard the past few days,

'and my back is really acting up.'

I don't want anyone else to know about my back,

so I've been hiding out here just to take care of it.

I heard about the competing team.

The twins, they're threatening us.

Everybody's freaking out, what are you doing in the lounge?

It's just, this is what I do.

I like to lounge after a dance, you know?

-You're icing your back?

-Not just my back.

I like icing my face and my ears.

'Noah promised me he would see a doctor if his back got worse.'

He better not be lying to me.

Touch your toes, Noah.

-What?

-Touch your toes.

OK.

-The real way.

-All right.

HE MOANS GENTLY

You know, I've only got to go all-out at the qualifier,

and then I get to rest it before regionals

-when they work through the routine.

-Keep going.

'If you can't even touch your toes, how are you supposed to dance?'

Noah isn't taking this seriously.

See, I did it!

-I totally did it.

-Not at all!

That's just because you have higher standards than me.

Noah...

Promise me you'll tell me if your back gets worse.

-I promise.

-Do you know what a promise means?

-Yes.

-That means you have to tell me if it gets worse!

OK! I will.

I have to go talk to Riley and Michelle.

-Goodbye.

-Bye.

'I promised Noah I would keep his back a secret.'

But I'm really worried.

I wish he wasn't dancing in the qualifier tomorrow.

Yeah, that's it, right there.

I asked LaTroy to watch me rehearse the qualifier's dance.

After what happened with the Geminis,

our dance needs to be perfect.

-Perfect.

-Come on, you always say that.

-No, seriously, Amy, it was perfect.

-Even when I do this?

What?!

The last time I saw Amy rehearse this dance,

we were working on it together.

It's hard seeing her dance it now.

-Hey, Sloane.

-Hey.

Um... I didn't know you guys were in here. Sorry.

Do you need this space? I was just practising.

Yeah, we can go. Amy's perfect, she doesn't need any more practice.

Oh, well...

-Never mind.

-Do you have any feedback?

Sloane always gives me great feedback.

I really miss being able to work with her.

Well, I was just going to say, you still need to releve your turns,

like we talked about before.

But it looks great.

I've got to go.

What was she on about? Your turns were amazing.

No, she's totally right.

'This is too weird.'

Sloane's our friend, and now she's practically a stranger.

I just wish things would go back to the way they used to be.

OK. Excuse me, have you seen a cellphone?

A cellphone?

I think, uh... Mobile, mobile, mobile.

Excuse me, have you seen a mobile cellphone?

No, you...

Mobile cellphone? Mobile...

No?

'I documented my entire life with Thalia on that phone.'

If I lose it, I'm going to be heartbroken all over again.

-Have you seen...

-We're never going to find my phone!

OK, just chill. Chill.

-We're not going to find it, man!

-Chill, chill, chill.

When this happens to me, I calmly retrace my steps

until I can visualise where I saw it. OK?

Close your eyes. Breathe.

Where did you last see your cellphone?

What image pops up in your head?

-Chip Buddy.

-What's a Chip Buddy?

-What's...what's a Chip Buddy?

-A restaurant.

A restaurant, yesterday...

-Let's go!

-Across the street.

'I hope for London's sake that we find the phone at this restaurant.'

Because if not, he might tear this whole city apart, brick by brick.

I can't believe this is happening.

I don't want to be responsible for losing a dancer.

I asked Michelle and Amanda for coffee because I need some advice.

I can't stop thinking about the Geminis stealing one of our dancers.

Our quintet is ready to rock.

We are going to come in first place.

What you should be thinking about is who you'll poach when we win.

OK, but you're avoiding the question, Michelle.

We could lose Alfie, or anyone.

We could lose you.

Are you seriously OK with that?

Riley, maybe you should consider pulling the team from the qualifier.

I know if it was me, I would rather have the team intact

-than risk losing a dancer.

-No way.

The Next Step does not back down from a fight.

There's another qualifier.

We still have a shot at making it to regionals.

Honestly, I think you're being very selfish.

You probably just don't want to risk losing Noah.

I'm not worried about losing Noah, I'm worried about his back.

If Riley pulls out of the qualifier,

then he'll have more time to recover.

Michelle, I think YOU'RE being selfish.

All you want to do is compete.

Sure, Amanda's right.

I am being selfish.

But I don't really care,

because I have worked so hard to be on this team,

and no-one is going to take this away from me.

There's another qualifier.

Yeah, and it's duets.

They only take one studio.

-We're putting all of our eggs in one basket.

-OK, guys, thank you.

You've given me a lot to think about,

but I have to make this decision on my own.

The qualifier's coming up, I just need to figure it out.

You'll make the right one.

You know what to do.

'I thought that talking to Michelle and Amanda

'would help me see things more clearly, but now'

I'm even more confused.

'We found Chippy's pub'

but we didn't find Eldon's phone.

I'm going to ask him again.

Oh, my goodness, you've already asked him three times.

Look, I need my phone, but actually...

I need my phone. So I'm going to go ask him again.

Peace out.

'The phone is not here.'

But Eldon keeps asking the bartender for it.

He's going to get us thrown out.

Can I bother you again?

Again? What's up this time?

I was wondering, can you check for me one more time?

Look, the phone is not here. If the phone was here, we'd have found it.

Most likely, but have you checked every little nook and cranny

and crevice, because, like, see this stuff...

You know what, I've got a business to run, and this is really annoying.

I'm just fed up with you kids and your emojis

and your Wi-Fis and your texts... The phone's not here.

If the phone was here, as I said, I would have seen it!

£50 if you go and look for it right now.

Done.

Here you go.

-Thank you.

-£50...!

That was our lunch money, Eldon!

He's going to go look again.

Ahhh! I'm so excited.

Wow.

I have to pee.

Yo, if we don't leave here with his phone,

we're going back to the hotel.

We've stuck with him this entire time, why are you going to bail now?

Man, I feel it,

but nah.

Enough is enough. When Eldon gets back, we're done.

We're out a phone, we're out £50, it's time to cut our losses.

'Riley called us all together because she said

'she has an important announcement to make about the qualifier.'

And to be honest, I definitely think the team could use

a morale boost right now.

You guys can sit down.

I've been doing a lot of thinking about the qualifier.

And...

If we lose one of our dancers,

it could disturb the amazing chemistry we've created.

'This is the hardest decision I've made so far. But...'

I know it's the right one.

My decision...

is The Next Step will not be dancing at the qualifier.

-What?

-We need to dance at that qualifier.

What is Riley thinking?

'I know that everyone's upset'

but we just can't afford to lose one of our best dancers.

We just can't.

I'm in disbelief that Riley's pulling the team from the qualifier.

She knows how much I want to dance on stage.

How could she take this away from all of us?

Have you lost your mind?

The only reason that we all dance at The Next Step is to compete.

I thought we talked about this?

This would be my first big dance.

OK, look, I understand you guys are upset,

but you have to see it from my side.

Oh, we see it from your side all right.

You have no faith in us at all. You just think we're going to lose.

That is not true, Richelle.

I do not think we're going to lose.

I can't believe this!

This never would have happened if Miss Kate was in charge.

I thought A-Troupe was about winning.

Guys, look, there's still one more qualifier, OK?

-One more chance.

-Yeah, exactly one.

You know they only take one team from the final qualifier.

They take three teams from this one.

Riley's job is to get us to regionals.

So why are we skipping the easier qualifier?

I understand your concern,

but this was the decision that I made for the better of the team.

ALL ARGUE AT ONCE

I guess I won't be able to redeem myself after all.

ALL ARGUE AT ONCE

PIERCING WHISTLE

Hey! Settle down!

She made a decision. It's not an easy one.

But someone has to, right?

She's studio head.

Captain of this ship, and whatever decision she makes,

we have to respect it.

I'm so grateful to Alfie for backing me up on this decision.

This just proves why we need him here at the studio.

You know, London is the premier location for theatre.

Theatre was invented here. It's like guerrilla theatre.

Yeah. I know exactly who the guerrilla would be...

Hey, guys, look what I found.

-OK, here's your phone.

-No way.

All right? Are you happy now?

-Yes, thank you.

-Cheers.

That's amazing, man!

-PHONE RINGTONE CHIMES Oh.

-What?

-It's...

-Does he have another photo...?

-No, it's a text message from Thalia.

"Are you in London?" Delete that.

-Delete it?

-Delete it.

-I'm not going to delete this.

This is not, that's not... That's not honest, it's not true.

You've got to show him.

West, there is not enough chocolate in the world right now

for this text message. OK? Just delete it.

I guess that's true. OK.

-Delete it.

-All right, fine, fine.

-OK, deleted.

-'I tell West to delete the Thalia text on Eldon's phone'

because he can't have that right now.

We're here to win a hip-hop competition,

that's going to throw his focus off,

he'll be eating chocolate, we don't need that.

-Ohhh!

-Buddy!

-I feel so much better.

-Look what I found.

-Check it out.

What?

-Oh, my gosh!

-Yeah, man.

Oh, my gosh, we found it!

Definitely no text messages from Thalia.

-No.

-No.

I mean, there was, but it's not there any more.

-West! Are you serious?

-It's just gone.

What do you mean it's not there any more?

James told me to delete it.

I told him no, but he, you know, just insisted, and I...

-Really?

-Yeah.

-Yes.

Yes, yes, I told him to delete it, OK?

Because Thalia is in Poland with some tech bar guy.

-Bar tech.

-Sorry, bar tech.

Regardless. They're in Poland,

probably feeding each other Polish food right now on a date.

I'm sorry, you wanted honesty?

Let's be real. OK? You need to move on.

OK, you know what, James is right.

Eldon, there's a saying,

"A donkey doesn't hit his hoof on the same rock twice."

Don't be more stupid than a donkey.

That's accurate.

-Yeah.

-The boys are right, I've got to get over Thalia.

But why would she text me?

I've got this.

-OK, so where are you going?

-I need chocolate.

Hey.

Hey.

I just wanted to say thank you for standing up for me

about the whole qualifier thing.

If it wasn't for Alfie,

I could have had a real disaster on my hands.

It's nice to know that there's someone I can count on.

I don't think you made the right decision.

I'm as heartbroken as the rest of the team,

but fighting amongst ourselves doesn't help.

We need to stick together.

If you didn't think I made the right decision,

then why did you stand up for me?

I didn't like the way they were ganging up on you.

Whatever you say, goes.

That's how A-Troupe works.

I can't believe you don't get it.

I did what I did because the other team said

they were going to take you.

You're our best dancer, I can't lose you.

'We need Alfie.'

I need Alfie.

I don't want you to lose me either.

I could never leave...you.

'If this is the right decision for the team...'

..why do I feel like I just made a huge mistake?