I think that's why Jeanine's solo stood out for me.

Without a doubt hers seemed the least frenetic and desperate. Very controlled and overall very awesome. I really hope she wins. She is my favorite, with Brandon a close second.

Restaurants are pretty difficult, though.

I would think film sets would be tough too, especially the indy ones she seems to work on the majority of the time.

I agree. He really rubbed me the wrong way in his first episode, but since he's shown so much respect to the other chefs, he has won me over. He can't be that big of an asshole and be liked by the other chefs and like the other chefs so much.

This. Asking Keller if he needed help sealed it.

Overall, I was in love with the chefs last night, except Art. Given the histories of the other chefs, Art was definitely at a disadvantage, but, since I think he was completely out of his league anyway, I didn't care.

I'm just finding Anita a little blah to watch. She is so low-energy, which must be calming in her kitchen, but she's not making great TV for me.

Oh my god, I was thinking of the 3 guys; I completely forgot about Anita. Yeah, her food generally seems good, but she is not interesting TV.

The Salon recapper is convinced Evan's fanbase will get him the win. I did agree with this about Kayla:

Kayla does her solo, It's not the greatest solo ever done on this show. But that also doesn't matter because Kayla is still one of the best dancers they've ever had. She's not the athlete Brandon is. She doesn't have Jeanine's charisma. Obviously she doesn't have Evan's goofy white people fan base. She's not going to win, but choreographers are going to be cat fighting each other to hire her. They probably already are, which explains the huge smile on her face that says, "America knows shit about dance, and that's okay because America is not actually going to be hiring me, or giving me lucrative modelling contracts for dancewear." She'll be making her first million before Evan has spent his $250,000 and is still chasing after his wedding dance fees.

And this sum-up I also agree with:

Any other year Brandon would win this season. This year, I wouldn't bet on it. It would be nice to see a girl win. Male dancers winning four out of five seasons is not going to do much to nurture this clearly eroding young girl fan base. So I hope it's Jeanine.

Top Chef:

He can't be that big of an asshole and be liked by the other chefs and like the other chefs so much.

Yeah, I agree with this. I really like the respect the chefs have shown each other, Art excluded. And I'm super glad Art is gone. I like Anita a lot, but I wish she would excel more at this point. However I can see how this challenge was particularly difficult for her. If you take away soy, it pretty much takes out the whole of Asian cooking.

I am hoping for Keller for the whole thing, though. I have really enjoyed getting to know the chefs better, but him in particular. It'll be fun to see their more competitive sides come out as the challenges progress, but I love the camaraderie.

Definitely none of those six are assholes. They are having too good a time with each other!

SYTYCD:

Yeah, I agree with that assessment. Kayla is going to have no problem finding work. And neither is Brandon in all likelihood. Plus half the SYTYCD alums are making their livings doing master classes anyway. I like Kayla's weepy gramps, so I guess I wouldn't be traumatized if she won either.

It's funny, though. There's just no clear pathway to stardom for the dance world. There's no AI equivalent to signing with a major label, no individual marketing, publicity. Dancers' career paths are just so different.

About the solo choreography, I think a certain amount of reuse is inevitable. I mean, I see elements of the show's choreographers that recur consistently. But Evan's routine seemed like it was almost exactly his audition routine.

That's one of the reasons I'm more excited about seeing the other Kasparzak next season. As a choreographer, I think he'll have much more interesting phrasing to bring to his solos.

Kayla is a beautiful dancer, but I think I don't find myself being sucked into her performances because (warning: what follows is very shallow) with her coloring she's so washed out on stage. Janine's features aren't, so I connect as well to the emotions being expressed.

That's one of the reasons I'm more excited about seeing the other Kasparzak next season. As a choreographer, I think he'll have much more interesting phrasing to bring to his solos.

I wonder if Nigel is regretting the decision, actually.