Hmm, was only on the SD channel for me, with Real Housewives showing on the HD channel. Interesting episode, though, with an unexpected outcome.

I liked that the girls killed it.

I thought Tiffany was going to win, but glad that stoner Antonia won. I wished Isabella had gone home, but to his credit he at least knew he effed up.

In addition to the writing on the table, the inability to spell crocodile correctly probably didn't help Angelo in the quickfire! (Did anyone else notice that?)

So what's everyones bet for final 3? Blais and Angelo have to be favorites to get there, I think Dale might be the third.

I think I earlier guessed Blais, Angelo and Carla, but Dale is certainly a good bet too. I picked Blais to win from day one and I still pick him.

Dale should have smacked that fashion snob. The guy tried to be nice to most of the contestants, but when he got to Dale's dish he really bad mouthed it and did his sassy finger snap *NEXT!* gesture. I thought it was pretty damn rude.

I thought Dale was gone for sure. They said his dish tasted bland and the pasta wasn't cooked properly.

I thought it would be Isabella, but in the blogs, it sounds like both the winner and loser were unanimous picks.

I was guessing Isabella too. No stopping Blais this season.

EDIT: Isabella was much more likeable when he thought he was doomed instead of his usual cocky self.

so true.

Except that I would have said the same thing, even more so, during his original season!

If I had to pick a dark horse, it would definitely be Carla. She's definitely capable of winning it all.

I think Carla would have won her season if she had cooked her food in the finale instead of listening to Casey.

Blais was getting a bit snarky there after Carla won again.

He's good but unremarkable. He might skate into the finals because of that, but he won't win.

It would have been great to see Stefan come back for this season. Seriously, he was the funniest competitor of all time.

I'm glad to see Fabio go. I was really tired of him by this episode, with his constant whining. He complains when he has to cook anything outside his repertoire, but he got eliminated his season when he cooked Italian food.

Compared to the other contestants, he definitely has the best potential to win going into the finale. He can cook any kind of food.

That doesn't help you when no one remembers that they even ate your food.

People underestimate Carla. She made it to the finale of her season, and probably would have won if she hadn't let herself be influenced by her sous chef. She's won three challenges this season. What has Blais done?

I agree. He isn't the culinary god that he thinks he is.

He was, but I think a lot of that was editing. I felt like they were setting him up for something, just don't know if it was for this episode alone or for down the road.

I agree that Carla is a real threat. I called her a dark horse at the beginning of the season, but I think the dark horse label is gone, anyone who doesn't see her as a very real possibility has their head in the sand. I like Carla, she's fun, I'm rooting for her (though I like Blais too, this episode notwithstanding).

As for him, he has won 2 challenges this season and would have won the first one if not for his time limit infraction. So it's not like he's done squat. I still think he has to be the favorite, and Angelo is probably next. But I'd say the odds on Carla have improved to the point where she should at least be third. Dale fourth.

I thought Tiffany was going home last night.

He has? I didn't even remember that.

Blais is like wallpaper.

The only thing about Carla is I'm not sure how the comfort food approach (and making it with 'love') will fare in a final multicourse meal, unless her competition screws up. Both Angelo and Blais seem to be able to producer higher highs (in terms of creativity and quality), and while Carla may be less prone to bad dishes, her style seems better at getting to the finale as opposed to winning the finale.

While Angelo and Blais are definitely capable of screwing up, I think if all of them cook their best Carla is a distant 3rd. Dale's been screwing the pooch of late, but I still wonder if he sneaks into the top 3 if there is a later challenge which takes Carla out of the comfort food style.

Did you see her season? She would have won it if she hadn't listened to to Casey.

True. And, I was rooting for her but it's still her fault in not trusting herself. Hopefully, she won't make the same mistake twice. Still, I'm hoping for a Richard win this time. I think he deserves it the most.

Yes, and she was up against less talented chefs. I think they all made mistakes with the final meal (though I don't remember very specifically) - I remember Carla messing up the desert, but I thought one of her other courses was deemed to be not that great too? And I think with Stefan it was his desert as well, and Hosea kind of got a leg up by cooking a meat dish instead of a desert? Carla was de facto 3rd and it came down to Hosea or Stefan?

I'm not saying she won't win this season, but if everyone cooks to their best, at best she'll finish 3rd. I just think the other 2 chefs have more range and creativity.