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Why did Wade Cota remind me of Lee Dewyze tonight (aside from the song choice)?

Overall I'm happy because my favorites made it through but there's a lotta filler in this group. At the same time, I don't think I've had as many favorites at this point as I do this season!

Where was the apology Jeff kept promising? What was he going to apologize for??

I wouldn't be surprised if he actually knew the words...the song is so catchy, I've already memorized them myself! That was a great finale. Minus the filler video packages and skits, the performances were all great and Maddie and Caleb's reveal was so sweet. You could tell how close everyone this season has gotten, it's so awesome. Definitely needed the joy this show brought after a pretty terrible past week. Congratulations to Maddie, a super deserving winner. I even got people who didn't watch the show to vote for her after telling them about her! Bring on Season 2!

I liked when Katy respectfully disagreed with Bobby. I didn't think the judges were harsh at all. If anything it was better than the non-helpful mentoring he was doing. With Maddie, all he did was tell her she seemed more confident. I miss the old finale format. Seemed more like an event (although it doesn't help the Billboard Awards are on tonight). Also the audio mix was not good--the backup singers were so loud!

What was up for those random minutes when they came back from commercial? "Are we live? I think we're live. Katy, your mom is pretty. We're live? Who do you guys think did well? Huh. Yeah. Oh are we live?" Weird!!

Richard actually showing some self-awareness? Richard actually being savvy? The team actually communicating with each other?? This episode was a win in so many ways. It may not have had as many laughs, but it was very satisfying. Can't wait for next season.

The part where Monica asks Richard why he thought they were friends was really poignant to me. "Do you even know if I live in an apartment or a house?" I think this happens a lot in real life, where you may think you're friends with someone but actually it turns out you're just friendly with each other.

Can't wait for the

As a Ponderosa fan, I was highly annoyed that Chris didn't greet Libby at the door with her favorite drink. I liked Libby's attitude.

This episode left me with many questions. How many times can Madison mess up without being fired? How many times can Rachel tell Serena she didn't know x was going to happen, she swears? Is this show still feminist, y/n? What was the point of Tracie Thom's character? Why did Jay think Alexei was ever pursuing a relationship with him? How gross was Rachel's mom's victim blaming and protecting a pedo? (OK answer is: very) Is this show live? How will they edit Rachel's part out of Jasper's interview? Why are we supposed to care about Gary, really? Lastly, will Grant ever find love?

Dang, good memory! I stand corrected.

Adam has been to a Phillies game before (where he got lost in the stadium) so I don't know why he was all anti-sports for this episode. But as one poster said in TWoP ages ago, this show "has the continuity of an Archie comic."

I don't know why I found "smoking bun" so funny but I did. That scene showed me this cast really found its chemistry.

No words for this Ponderosa. Wow.

Why would Serena let Zach kiss her after he told her she would "come crawling back to him"? Gross. Wtf.

I knew what was gonna happen but I was still disappointed. The best thing about this cycle was being introduced to Khrystyana. :(

Clay should have won. "Your sails are wonky, there's no pepper shading, but omg you left some skin between the color and the line so you win." Nah, dude.

Why did the judges not comment on the similarities between Eureka and Yuhua's Crow queen dresses?! I liked a lot of the looks though.

When the judges kept telling the girls "This wasn't your best photo", that's because Tyra picked the worst ones. Shanice and Khrys both had some really good shots based on the footage and I was surprised by how bad the ones she chose were.

Thanks for that rundown @PhD-Purgatory15 It helped me realize that there are more girls in this Top 24 I'm more hyped about than guys. Who is the oldest contestant this year, I wonder?

This did not feel like Unreal. It was surreal. Remember how sensitively they treated LGBT issues the first season? The Pulitzer-winning stuff? This was...a choice.

Wow, it's a real testament to this season's talent that I simultaneously was angry with who got cut and satisfied by who was left (minus a few). I will say, though, that a lot of the performances tonight were disappointing. Glad Trevor Holmes was cut, though. It still confuses me how his performance videos on the American Idol YouTube channel regularly got some of the most views.

There are quite a few people I am super excited about, which is awesome. And there are some memorable contestants that I wish they had featured tonight, but I think they got most of them. Standouts tonight for me were Maddie Pope, Caleb Lee Hutchinson, and Brittany Thompson (I actually clapped after her performance). Was pretty obvious Group 2 was going home though. Switching that one guy between rooms was just a mindfreak I guess. I am so happy they didn't play with the Hollywood Week formula for this reboot.

I thought the actor playing the dad did a great job. Made him very sympathetic. I think I enjoy Madison now...?!