Lee Anne won a quick fire and was sent home in the exact same episode. Bryan Voltaggio continues to be on the bottom of the quick fires, but managed to win his first elimination challenge. And Melissa was on the bottom? This may be transforming into a very different narrative. Either that, or this was an outlier. Let’s rank.
6. Stephanie Cmar- Stephanie wasn’t terrible this week, but she wasn’t necessarily on top either. I really don’t know what Stephanie’s overall story arc is, and I worry that, at this point, it’s gotta be her or Brian Malarkey going home, based on what we’ve seen all season. Right?
5. Brian Malarkey- Malarkey had a rough go this week, even if his dishes seemed promising. I really don’t know with Malarkey’s inconsistency whether or not he’s safe or doomed. I like to believe that there’s more to see from him, but I really don’t know how much longer he can hang on, even if he has performed fairly better in the second half of the season over the first.
4. Karen Akunowicz- Karen managed to come out on top, and finally got her head back in the game. Is she still a bit more vulnerable than other top dogs? Sure, but I think this week was a step in the right direction.
3. Melissa King- Melissa is still one of my front-runners, though her elimination challenge performance wasn’t very impressive. Actually, the salad was embarrassing. But I do appreciate her standing by and defending her decisions, and think she’s still fine going forward.
2. Bryan Voltaggio- Bryan finally won a challenge! While I think Gregory has really dominated the season in consistency, Bryan finally gets that little push of momentum, and I think it puts him above a lot of people left.
1. Gregory Gordet- Gregory is still the most consistent in terms of overall winnings and times in the top of the challenges. So he remains the number one until he is sent home, wins Top Chef, or majorly blunders.
I think it’s Gregory’s to lose at this point, with Melissa slightly behind, and Bryan V as a dark horse. Everyone else has just been too inconsistent to truly bank on, and unless Kevin comes back, I think those are the three to keep an eye on.
1. Gregory —
2. Bryan (+2)
3. Melissa (-1)
4. Karen (+2)
5. Brian (-2)
6. Stephanie (-1)
Biggest Rise: Bryan (+2)
Biggest Drop: Brian (-2)