America’s Got Talent Recap Season 15, Episode 14: John Dorenbos, Ed O’Neill

One of our favorite “America’s Got Talent” magicians, John Dorenbos, returned to delight and excite us all over again — and help pad an hour-long show that only needs to announce five acts advancing.

Sofia Vergara’s “Modern Family” on-screen husband, Ed O’Neill, also sneaked into an audience Q&A session with some hilarious insight into Sofia’s time on their show together, as well as a secret talent she has yet to reveal. So what’s the hold up?

Last night, we fell in love all over again with singers Cristina Rae, Sheldon Riley and Nolan Neal, as well as drummer Malik DOPE and dancer W.A.F.F.L.E. Crew. That means both Simon and Heidi had Golden Buzzer acts that stepped it up as they needed to.

While we allowed some wiggle room for aerialist Alan Silva or mentalist Max Major or Dance Town Family to spoil our picks, ultimately we decided to stand firm in predicting that you might agree with us one hundred percent. Is that what happened?

We know we went heavy on singers this round, but really felt that all three connected in different ways and would resonate with audience for those reasons. Will this be a singing competition or will it stray toward variety?

Who do I think I am? you ask. Well, I spent nearly a decade of my life sweating and bleeding to the music as a dancer. From a young boy learning a shuffle-ball-change to performing with the St. Louis Ballet Company, I experienced the ups and downs of one of the most difficult physically demanding sports on the planet. During this time, I was also a member of the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra, as well as a gymnast, writer and cartoonist. I had a lot more energy in my younger years. And I’ve spent the last eighteen years analyzing and critiquing reality competition shows for various media publications. I’ve got this.

During a legitimately fun segment that saw the audience get to ask the judges questions, Sofia’s “Modern Family” husband crashed the proceedings with some behind-the-scenes teases from their show together, including how Sofia used to fall all the time and an apparently ventriloquist trick she knows and now simply has to do. Finale night?

“It’s a great day to be alive” and it’s always great to see John return to this stage. We love that his performances are as much about motivational speech as about magic. We love everything he stands for. This wasn’t his most exciting trick — we’d have loved a last-second surprise — but it was well executed and we can’t stop rooting for his success because he makes us feel good to be here.

As always, the fourth through sixth-place finishers wound up in the Dunkin’ Save, with America insta-saving one of them throughout the night and the other two facing the judges. With only three of them now, there is no longer a possibility of a judge tie, so it really is up to them.

This week, the three acts facing America’s vote were W.A.F.F.L.E. Crew, Malik DOPE and Nolan Neal. All three acts are in our Top 5, which means there is at least one spoiler out there who crept into the Top 3. Who was it?

Even worse, this means we’re going to lose one of these acts, and despite how incredible he was, we were very worried about Malik DOPE. His art is so singular, it might not be wide-ranging enough. Or was W.A.F.F.L.E. a little two undisciplined? Nolan seems a sure thing.

The first glimpse of votes we saw presented nearly a three-way tie and Terry Crews later told us it was the closest vote of the season. It’s a testament to all three acts and the caliber of talent this week — which seemed weighted compared to the prior two.

One act didn’t have to wait long to find out, as Alan Silva and Dance Town Family all faced the spotlight together. Neither was in our Top 5, though both were spoiler contenders. Our pick at this point was that Alan would slide through for his likability and story — and nearly killing himself.

That’s exactly what happened, as Alan Silva took the first spot of the night. We can’t wait to see him step up the danger in the next round as the competition gets even tougher.

Annie Jones looked dejected (she knew) as she faced the final decision with Sheldon Riley and Cristina Rae. Three singers and only one advancing, which has to mean that poor Sheldon was just too avant garde for America.

Was there any doubt that Cristina Rae was going to sail through? She closed the show and was incredible.

Finally Bonebreakers, Max Major and Usama Siddiquee faced the judges and we didn’t have any of them in our Top 5. Max was our spoiler possibility and the most traditionally compelling. Did he do enough?

Well, it turns out America loves to have someone invade their minds as it was indeed Max Major who advanced. Did he already know it?

After several agonizing minutes for the contestants as we enjoyed all that filler, it was finally time to see who America saved out of the Dunkin’ Save acts, W.A.F.F.L.E. Crew, Malik DOPE and Nolan Neal.

After an incredibly close vote, the edge went to W.A.F.F.L.E. Crew, who danced their way into the next round. We wanted all three to advance, so we’re down with it.

But that left Malik DOPE and Nolan Neal for the judges to pick between — and we thought America’s vote was going to be tough. Honestly, as we got closer to the moment, we started to think Malik had this one. Nolan was better his first time out while Malik actually upped his game.

Plus, the show is always and forever overflowing with singers. Heidi Klum said she got more from Malik’s performance, while Sofia thought he was young enough to chase his dreams while Nolan might need his shot right now.

That left Howie Mandel to break the tie, which he did by advancing Malik DOPE.

We make fun of “AGT” viewers for always advancing kids and singers (and kid singers above all), but things appear to have changed, so we apologize. This week, we advanced more singers than you did, and no kids advanced at all and we love to see it.

“America’s Got Talent” continues Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.