‘Dance Moms’ Season 5 Finale Recap: Abby Lee Miller Storms Out Of Nationals After Shocking Awards Ceremony

"Dance Moms" star Nia Sioux Frazier said the Season 5 finale would be nothing like viewers had ever seen before, and she wasn't joking! The Lifetime series ended its stormy season with an equally dramatic ending Tuesday. Episode 31 of the dance competition show concluded with an epic explosion from star and coach Abby Lee Miller.

The finale, aptly titled "Chaos at Nationals," kicks off with Abby preparing to open her West Coast dance studio, ALDC LA. But before she can open the school’s doors, she has to hand out the weekly competition numbers. The group is given a contemporary routine, titled “The Waiting Room.” Unsurprisingly, Maddie Ziegler is gifted a solo for nationals. Despite threatening the idea that she may not be given the chance to shine at nationals, Nia Sioux Frazier is also given a solo.

But their routines are not shoe-ins for first-place. Ahead of the big day, the ALDC (Abby Lee Dance Company) group learns that they will be competing against their newest rivals, Jeanette Cota’s BDA (Broadway Dance Academy). Not only will the team be competing a group number against the ALDC, Jeanette’s daughter, Ava, will also be going head-to-head against Maddie in the solo division.

At the competition, Nia takes the stage only for her song to skip mid-way through her performance. She tells her teammates that the skip resulted in 30-seconds of her dance being cut. Maddie and Ava also perform, earning equally exuberant reactions from the crowd.

When it comes time for the group routines, the BDA storms the stage with a number titled “Moving Target.” Jeanette says the number is an ode to Abby’s constant criticism of her daughter and her students. The ALDC pulls out an impressive contemporary routine, which tells the story of a group of individuals waiting in a hospital waiting room.

During the awards ceremony, the ALDC does not receive the big wins they were hoping for. Nia, dancing at her first nationals in “Dance Moms” history, places second in the teen division. Her mom, Holly Frazier, is elated. In the junior division, Ava places first with Maddie as her runner-up. As fans might be able to anticipate, Abby is not thrilled by the outcome.

When it come time to announce the group routine placements, the BDA comes out on top. Their number scores first-place and the ALDC’s comes in second. After the announcement, Abby calls the competition "a joke” and tells her dance moms to request their money back from the event organizers.

"The first moment that man opened his mouth, I knew this was a s--- show and we were in big trouble," Abby says of the awards show announcer. "I cannot sit there one more second and have our work that we put in all year long, all season, go down in flames like this."

Abby tells her students to exit the awards stage. When the announcer tells her they “can’t leave,” she informs him that “you can't hold children against their will in the state of California."

“I'm sure the whole world is going to think poorly of me, but I'm out here in LA and I feel like I'm just flying by the seat of my pants,” Abby later tells the cameras, breaking down into tears. “My kids worked their butts off to be the best that they could be and then this happens? The journey that we have been on has been overwhelming and I just opened a brand new studio here. What's going to happen with us? I am scared to death."

What did you think of the “Dance Moms” Season 5 finale? Sound off in the comments section below! The “Dance Moms” Season 5 finale premieres Tuesdays at 9 p.m. EDT on Lifetime.