mlp

I'm not a baker and I've never even heard of a couple of the things they've made this season but most of the contestants seem to know them so I guess they're not as obscure as I think. A yeasted bread with a curd sort of filling seems very odd to me. Lanusz and Kieran are my favorites but they need to calm down and think things through a little better. I'm afraid they're going to miss something big which will get them eliminated.

Yes. I've always assumed that the judges look at all bakes prior to the judging we see for exactly those reasons. They often comment on little details they can't possibly see from where they're sitting.

I don't pretend to know what actually happens behind the scenes but it has seemed to me for years that the FN producers ask/tell/require the contestants on every competition to act deliriously happy for every winner of every episode and to participate in a group hug of the loser even when there are seven or eight people left and the pile on looks ridiculous. I was very relieved when they stopped doing it during the pandemic but they went right back to it when it was over. It's nice for winners and losers to look like good sports and all but I don't need to see them absolutely overjoyed when they're probably not.

After seeing all four final cakes and hearing the judges' comments, I figured either Manny or Aaron would win. Both met the challenge and were delicious but Manny's cake was stunning so I was leaning toward him and wasn't surprised when he won. I felt a little bad for Aaron coming so close and losing once again but Manny deserved his victory. Carla's chicken costume was a riot. She's such a good sport and she was cracking me up. She can carry off anything.

Most of the final displays looked good to me. I wish the judges would give more explanations of why one is better than another. I suppose that would be hard to do without embarrassing the losers but I'd like to understand what they look for better.

It depends on what kinds of things you tend to know. I got all but two of the constellations immediately and none of the movie stills and sports people. Wait - I did get West Side Story at the very end of that category. I know musicals but not movies in general.

I agreed with the judges' decisions every week this season until the finale. I was paying close attention to the judging and I have no idea how the winning team beat the Shriek Squad whose display looked much better - to me anyway. The winners' tasting elements didn't seem like they were better either.

Overall, I really like this show and I think Rob Lowe does a good job as host but it does seem to me like it's noisier this season with more typical quiz show behaviors by contestants. I'd prefer an atmosphere more like Jeopardy. I've always been good at trivia - or so I thought. I'd be a disaster on this show. It seems like many of the categories are some variety of popular culture, something I know little about. And don't care about. I wonder how much time they have between episodes. Several people have mentioned cramming for a subject they inherited.

I thought about that when I was writing my comment. I'm not sure either.

That made me laugh but, honestly, I don't understand why people showing up on other shows bothers anyone. Being a past contestant on one show doesn't guarantee a win on a different one. I actually like to see people I "know." The old FN Challenge had regulars who appeared time and again - Bronwen Weber, Richard Ruskell, Vinny Garcia.............. I don't remember anyone complaining about it back then. Quite a few people have been on Halloween Wars more than once. I'm not sure why the baking show is different.

I just loved Lillian but I knew she wouldn't make it until the end right from the early episodes. In fact, I was surprised she got as far as she did. I'd ike to be her friend though. I haven't been crazy about Hollie and I was hoping she'd be eliminated instead of Lillian - until I saw her entremet. It looked great and Lillian's, sadly, was a mess. Joel's goat was terrific too. At this point, I think all of them have the ability to succeed although Manny seems a bit weaker overall. Aaron is very, very good but he hasn't endeared himself to viewers. I think I'm rooting for Joel although I won't argue with Aaron winning if he does so on merit.

The only one I'm invested in is Jonathan - the pastry chef, not the host. I never seem to retain the team names. Anyhow, I thought he should have won the early season of the Halloween baking show he was on so I'd like to see him win now. He seems to be very good at what he does and I just like him. That tornado looked much better when it was done than I thought it would although I wasn't crazy about it.

I was going to make the same comments. I didn't believe for one second that each chef was somehow skillful enough to hit a ball into an unused barrel. I also don't believe that it took one person something like 19 tries to succeed. Every team challenge on HK comes down to the last two chefs. Every one. Amazing how that happens. I feel the same way. Gordon's no fool. Egypt is dead serious about this opportunity. He came on too strong at first but he seems to have realized that and toned it down. I also hope he does well.

Interesting thought. I don't suppose it's likely but it's not impossible. I don't know what they could do except pretend they don't notice, keep the cameras off it and do the next battle and change it as soon as possible.

LOL I'm not sick of the show but I take your point. I also would much rather see a clean, polished, professional looking dessert than whatever that mess was that Hollie presented. I also agree withh everyone who has said that not all cakes need two fillings and a crunchy layer. I can't recall ever having a cake with crunch - unless it was burned on the bottom. I've been saying the same thing since Cupcake Wars. There's no way anyone comes up with a complex plan in 5 seconds while running for utensils and ingredients. Even the running is silly because they can't see the back of the whatever where the info is until they grab it.

I liked Thierry and thought he'd make the final four at least but I can't argue about him overdoing the use of blown sugar. Still, I was surprised they eliminated him for a too tart dessert when Hollie served a mess on a plate that didn't look like anything at all and they agreed her cake part was wet. I like Lillian a lot but I don't think she'll make it past final four. I was happy for Joel. Aaron, like him or not, is doing very well. Now that Thierry is gone, I think he may very well win based on merit.

I agree with all of that. That's why I said I don't think his approach is doing him any favors. I agree with most of that too. I don't think he's causing any confusion. He's causing the others to not want to work with him. That's unfortunate because he seems to know what needs to be done but he's going about it all wrong. Exactly. It's ridiculous. Yes and yes. That's exactly what I meant in my comment.

Agreed. I think that's why Gordon is always so nice about it when these things happen. He's thinking about liability. As he should BEFORE they happen. Having big egos seems to go with the territory among head chefs. Egypt is just loud and IMO more serious about doing well than some of the others. I don't think his approach is doing him any favors but I think he's been right more often than wrong. The other men are going to gang up on him and try to eliminate him because they don't like him, not because he's a poor chef. I agree with the rest of your comments too.

That did feel unfair. Those usually need to be chilled between rolling out and folding and so on and really should need more time than they were given and that doesn't even count baking time. I'm glad she wasn't chopped for that. Burnt brownies are worse anyway. I am too and not because he is a returning contestant. He seems to be getting more arrogant and snotty as the show goes on. I suppose he and Thierry will make it to the finale but I have no guesses at this point who else is a front runner. I like Lillian but I don't think she has the skills of the professionals. I'm going to hate to see her go though.

The all-stars are doing some great work. It's amazing what they can do with pumpkins. I can't imagine what the losing team could have been thinking when they made a library with one book. Instead of putting all that work into a fireplace they should have made book shelves. They went home for a poor decision, not poor work. I was happy to see Dan Langan. I remember years ago when he first showed up on Cupcake Wars. He was very young, maybe 19 or 20, talented and just starting out in business. Over the years. he appeared on various shows and it was sort of like watching him grow up. He even judged on the Christmas cookie show and a couple others. I'm glad he's dong well.

I thought all the displays were good tonight and the loser was just less good as opposed to being awful. I was sorry to see Al leave as I've always liked him. This show is a lot better with larger displays and no Zac Bagan.

I thought Magali's response about taking responsibility was a factor in Gordon's decision although Amber did seem like the weaker cook. Egypt isn't doing himself any favors by annoying the other chefs with his bossiness but, overall, he's been right most of the time. Maybe they'd pay more attention if he toned down his approach. Whit is on the red team but has a five o'clock shadow. Am I the only one who is seeing this? It's confusing.

Is it my imagination or is there a lot more noise and excited carrying on by contestants this season? I'm glad they started out with more people because the season should last longer - unless they start doubling up hours.

I've liked Lillian since the beginning. She's a bit quirky but she's not putting it on for the cameras. It's who she is. I figured she'd win based upon the effusive praise from the judges but I didn't understand why her sheep didn't have ears or why none of them mentioned it. I would never have guessed "sheep" just by looking at it. Thierry is going to get himself chopped if he doesn't get with the Halloween/creepy themes. He's immensely talented and I don't want to see him go.

Yep. I often think that when I see cooks on Chopped introduce themselves that way. It reminds me of one chef who introduced herself as a head chef but was from a town near me and I happened to know she cooked at a truck stop. Judging from the dishes we saw in the first episode, I think this crew is at least a couple steps above that.