Taeolas

From their initial tastes of the dishes, I was pretty sure Shane was going home. They liked Lisa's dish, said they would even like having it for lunch daily. They just found it a bit 'plain' for a Top Chef dish. Shane on the other hand, missed the point of the challenge, which was sustainability. And they didn't seem overly thrilled wiht his dish either even after acounting for the tropical elements. So him going was basically writ in stone from the begining.

So the "Finale" is 4 hours split over 2 nights across 2 weeks.... Then wouldn't the actual "Finale" just be the 2 hours on the second week and the first 2 hours just an extra padded episode? Feels like they're playing semantics to try and drum up excitement or something. Or hiding that they trimmed the actual finale back to 2 hours.

Lots of swear beeping in tonight's ep. On a different note. Kyra's giving me really "Agatha all Along" vibes with how she acts and presents herself. Nothing major but man, the over gesturing really reminds me of how Agatha was in the series.

Just watched the ep. I think this is setting up the female finalist, both Shortcake and Knight are strong singers. The two men and Macaron were decent enough but not on the level of the other singers. Any of those three could probably have been eliminated; and I almost wish one of the men had gone instead. At least with Macaron gone, we won't have the misspeak between Macaron and Macaroon for the rest of the season. (And I'll admit, until maybe 10 years or so ago when Macaron's became more popular I never knew there was a difference; I love Macaroons and the frist few times I started hearing about Macarons I was confused/thought someone was misspeaking. Now I know the difference... but for some reason I don't think I've ever actually had a Macaron yet). Nick seemed to have been briefed on the difference in terms and made sure to always say Macaron. It was only Rita and Jenny that seemed to constantly say Macaroon. Now I want someone to be Macaroon next season just to really confuse the judges and people. :) As for Macaron herself, I recognize who she was but didn't really pick it up from the clues; just from the discussion. When they were talking about their guesses I remembered her story vaguely. And her costume makes more sense too, with her left arm being fake (on the costume); a nice subtle clue that is obvious in hindsight.

As I said in the Group A finals, the Ding Dong Bell should be removed, and all the round finalists should face off against each other for the 4th spot in the Quarterfinals. That would give them an extra episode (instead of a recap episode), and would let all three second place singers face off properly to 'decide' who deserves to move on. As is, the DIng Dong bell is obviously 'unfair' because the judges technically don't know who the other Group finalists are to judge who is worth keeping or not. So we now have 3 men in the quarterfinals. The fix is certainly in to have a male winner this time around. I think the Buffalo might be the leaders at the finals so far. We'll see how Group C goes this week.

Hehe my bad. I misread someone's comments and assumed novelty. I watch so many competition shows, I generally lose track of who's judging where and for how many seasons. (Other than the "big" judges like Ron-Ben Israel here, or Duff, Carla and Nancy on the Baking Championship shows, etc... I guess the first part of my comment still applies. Her volume is at about an 8 or 9 whereas everyone else is at a 6, so it's rather jarring when she was speaking. Guess it was just New Season Excitement. :)

True but the category was IIRC, "Pop STARS" not "Pop Music". "Pop Music" I would expect to be more akin to Name that Tune, possibly even an audio category like musical instruments was (that was a fun one. I got most of those ones). "Pop Stars" I'd avoid because I may recognize some of the songs and maybe artists, but I'd have no idea what they look like. So safer to leave them alone.

From reading CustomersSuck and NotAlwaysRight for years.... The abuse Hayley faced at Subhub was the barest tip of an iceberg of what those retail workers tend to face. I'm impressed she's enduring so well in general.

Yup, Popstars (and any "recognize this person" category in general) I would avoid like the plague. Especially if I'd be going against a time boost to boot. I'd be like the other guy that night who said "I'll let someone else take on Popstars and just wait until that whale category has a better theme." THinking more on Strategires, I think if I was a whale, I'd probably stay up long enough to get a time boost... and I'd be working to better protect my territory. The way to do that would be to nibble away at the 1-square categories around me, preferably in the directions closer to the edge of the floor. One-square categories are randomizer targets so they're more likely to be able to challenge me. If I can reach the edge of the floor, then that's an edge that I won't be challenged on, so it's a way to minimize my threat profile. If I have another whale against me, we can become a pod together and go after the smaller fish around us.

Yeah, Danni's voice was just on another level from everyone else; like they were speaking at a 6 and she was louder at an 8 or 9. I wonder if it's just new judge nerves mainly and hope they can find a better balance. The Theme was fun, and always love the judges mid-bake visits in costumes and on theme. Like many Canadian Baking shows (See Great Canadian Bakeoff), the judges and contestants just seem so much friendlier in general. Sure they're competing, but they aren't demeaning or antagonistic towards the others as much.

I was a bit of an astronomy buff growing up, but I could never find the constellations in the sky, even when my eyes were better (despite growing up in hte country with almost pristine skys for skywatching). I did recognize some of the star patterns, since there are two I readily recognize. Orion (Orion's belt) and the Big Dipper/Ursa Major. If I try really hard I can find the Little Dipper/Ursa Minor. Beyond that, I'd be lost. That said, you would probably be good if you just started rattling off the signs of the Zodiac as guesses. Libra was pretty obvious to me I think. But yeah, beyond that I'd be lost.

I had expected Chess Piece to go further, but I was wrong. She did a good showing so it was a harder choice. Really, none of the songs appealed to me that much so picking "good" and "bad" ones was a challenge. Goo and Bluebell both gave a strong performances and I think that edged them out. My initial take on her was somewhat right, though I hadn't realized she was actually transgender. Her clue having a barbie facing away from the camera, and her statements that "I have a Barbie made jsut for me" made me assume they were using her actual Barbie for the clue, and I was right. I still think Wasp will take this one, but don't think the DingDongBell will be used now. Which would put 2 men in the finals this season. I think they really want a male singer to win this year, since they've had s streak of female winners lately.

This show does raise some interesting strategy thinking. You know what your category is. You know the categories around it. You also know what the whale categories are. You know who has time boosts, who has won money. You also know how many duels are per episode. (Usually 8, sometimes 9), so you know how many attempts there are to get the episode prize. * At the end of the episode, you have a day to cram up on the categories around you. (Something that is much more obvious this season than last. Like the constellation guy saying "Surely they'll give us cute pictures, not just points in the sky... Nope!) Strategically, whether I stay or go would depend on a variety of things: * How well I know my category. * How confident am I in winning the categories around me. * Can I reach a whale and if I do, can I take their category? Getting the Time boost is a goal, especially if you already have one in hand. Getting the most territory probably isn't a goal early in an episode (first 4 duels) but should probably be a goal later on (later 2-3 duels) If you have 2 duels in hand, you certainly should go for a time boost. Pick a strong category and grab it. Especially early in the episode. Early in the season, you're better off not being noticed/picked. So winning a duel and dropping back with only 2-3 squares is a valid strategy. Especially if you can snag a pair on the edge or in a corner. People will generally focus on going for the centre so you're less likely to be picked on the edge (and if you have more than 1 square you won't be picked by the Randomizer). If you become a whale, stay up there long enough for a Time boost. It's basically a shield you'll want/need to discourage people from challenging you. If you inherit a category you don't know and you aren't a whale, stay on the offensive, at least until the end of the episode, so you can get cram time later. But try not to become a whale, otherwise you might be put on the spot before you can cram. I'm sure there are other strategies; but that's my general thoughts on how I would play it out. A lot depends on the territory, when in the episode I'm active, and when in the season I'm active. So a lot of factors to consider and evaluate.

My thoughts as I'm watching the ep a few days later. Wasp was good. I can see him going far. He's got the moves and the range for the show and his costume is quite good. I suspect he'll make it to the end or get the ding dong bell save. He seems to be youngerish, maybe in his 30's. Chess Piece, I'm not even sure if she's a woman. I got falsetto vibes from her singing, so it might be a male in drag again. But it could also be a woman. She seems older too in any case, both in her movements and her singing voice. (Speaking of Falsetto singing, Robin's singing of Rock you like a Hurricane was horrendous. He should've pitched it an octave lower and just belted it out) Considering her ambassador was present for the episode, I expected her to be the one to be first out, but she sung quite well. BlueBell is certainly a woman. She also seems a bit on the older side, but not as old as Chess Piece; maybe in her 40's. She sung well but probably not as good as the first two. Dust Bunny feels like it's the easy elimination one. Probably someone famous, but swinging a crowd pleasing song like Sweet Caroline is a giveaway. He does sing well, but I think he's only in for a one and done. His costume is decent but also pretty basic. Definitly an older guy, probably the oldest of the season I'd say. (once again see the Van Dyke ambassador and who he's costarred with). Great humour and showmanship though. First impressions, Goo seems to have a more awkward costume, more like a one and done as well. I expect the first two elims from this group will be Goo and Dustbunny in some order. Once he starts singing though, wow... I think he'll make it to the next ep or two, but not till the end. But he's got a good voice that should be good for 2-3 eps. An older performer likely, 40's or 50's maybe, but the bulkiness of the costume may make him seem older than he actually is. The Voting is always rigged of course. But Chess Piece and Wasp are absolutely safe. BlueBell and Goo are probably safe, and I'd say DustBunny will be the first to unmask. Predictions going forward: Goo and BlueBell will have the Battle Royale next week, and it will be Chess Piece and Wasp for the finale, probably with the Ding Dong Bell used. And while Joel's in everything; I'd still prefer him to Ken as usual. Though he also seems to be making a career out of riffing on Ken every time he guest hosts on anything Ken's involved with too.

You know, instead of the Ding Dong Keep It On Bell, I wish they would just add another episode (or replace the recap episode). Each group's First Runner ups will come back and challenge each other for the 4th spot in the finals. As it is, it feels wrong that they "have to chose" who the 4th finalist is before hearing any of the other groups, and we get a situation where a singer like Ship gets booted when she probably should have been saved. It's just a hard call to make without knowing the others. Anyways, as the ep went on, while Woodpecker was good, I knew she'd be the first to be gone. But between Bison and Ship, I didn't know who was going to go, and would have been happy with either saying around. At least with Bison going forward we have at least 1 guy (well 3 guys) in the finals this time.