TC: So close! But Zoi needed to go soon too.

Yeah, happy with who got sent home - not as happy as I would have been if stupid fucking stupid hat Spike had gone - but still happy.

Also, any goodwill Dale engendered the last couple of weeks just went bye bye. You fucking sliced vegatables, dude - maybe the winner of the trip to Italy "only" cooked bacon, but she cooked bacon in a way that fucking Ming Tsai had never thought of! Stop being such a whiny little bitch. If anybody has a right to be pissed, it's the one who cooked the shrimp that seemed to be the central ingredient, but she's not throwing a monster hissy fit, douchebag. (and I'm using pronouns because I can't keep the women straight on this show, for some reason, apart from, ahem, Zoi).

Why are so many of these chefs so unpleasant? I can't remember past seasons of Top Chef with so many tools and douchebags. Zoi was a pain in the ass and I'm not sad at all that she went tonight. But that still leaves us with Spike, Dale, and I'm sorry, Zoi's partner is no pearl. I'd rather be talking about their cooking. Save all the drama for The Real World.

I can't remember past seasons of Top Chef with so many tools and douchebags.

I see you have repressed any memory of Season 2. I envy you that.

I don't mind Zoi's partner - I think tonight she was in a tough spot but I suspect she'll be on a more even keel without Zoi around.

As a for instance - remember last week's bizarre ranting about the winning dish and how it couldn't possibly be good? Pretty sure it was Z's P (why can't I remember her name?) who started the whole thing off. Except that when she was saying she would never in a million years have come up with that, she was being sincere, was genuinely baffled at how they did that and made it work. It was Zoi (and Spike?) who turned it into an ignorant bitchfest.

It was Zoi who was being a douchbag about Richard's dish.

Really, Spike and Zoi should have stomped on Antonia. She had immunity and Spike KNEW it would be an issue and still didn't stand up for the squash soup. They needed something warming and earthy and they did carpaccio? WTF??? With poorly seasoned everything.

I was very pleased that Fire won but agree that Stephanie should have been more pissed off than Dale.

I don't know why they didn't do something truffle-oriented for earth.

Also, I liked Dale's line about Lisa being "observationally negative" or whatever that was.

Also, I liked Dale's line about Lisa being "observationally negative" or whatever that was.

Yes! I actually was really digging Dale this episode. Lisa (ugh! HATE that she has my name!) was being a total pill! However, she did make fancy bacon and bacon is always a winner. But

Also, any goodwill Dale engendered the last couple of weeks just went bye bye. You fucking sliced vegatables, dude

I really don't think that's fair. It sounded like the judges also loved the relish or whatever it was he made. It was pickled, right? Not that he should have been the winner but still it's not like he didn't add something substantial to the dish. Really Stephanie should have won though.

She had immunity and Spike KNEW it would be an issue and still didn't stand up for the squash soup.

And Antonia was right when she said she'd never said they couldn't do the soup!! Spike is just a whiner stupid hat wearer and needs to go.

I don't know why they didn't do something truffle-oriented for earth.

Seriously!!! The beef made no sense at all.

As for the water team, sheeeesh. I'm no chef at all and I predicted that preparing the salmon that way would make it mushy.

they did seem to love each piece of the Fire dish, but from the conversation at the table, even more than what we saw of the judging, I do think the bacon was the part that really wowed them.

And Antonia was right when she said she'd never said they couldn't do the soup!!

I remember her being pretty emphatic about the point though. But yeah, they should have just shut her out of this conversation. You don't have to be okay with it, you're not on the block.

I have to say, I was with Antonia, though. Butternut squash soup? It just didn't say "earth" to me. My first instinct was truffles, too, but maybe that would have been too obvious?

Either way, the beef was a bad choice.