And yet, it somehow managed to get the temptation of Samwise better than the big budget movies...

What I really would have liked to have seen in this episode was the interaction of the party-goers with the spaces. Which ones were they drawn to, and how did they use them? I think, given this particular challenge, that it would have been useful information to have.

I'd be happy to watch shows with either Danielle or Hillari (if HGTV still does design shows--every time I tune in, it's some real estate show, which is why I missed the beginning of this season entirely). Mikkel is also very camera-friendly. Brittney's design was good, but something about her is just odd on camera. Rachel seems very nice most of the time, but I haven't been as impressed with her as the judges were the first couple of challenges, and in this one, I'm sorry, she came off as bratty. It's a competition. You drew what you drew. And how are you going to deal with a client who likes the Victorian aesthetic if your whole response is "Ick! Let me tell you why you're wrong!"? Besides, making a little playroom for a party is a great way to experiment with style you wouldn't normally use in a permanent setting! (On a random note, Victorian was nineteenth century, not eighteenth.)

I like pops of color, just not *that* color. I find that particular shade of green really horrid, even when it was in for a few months last year and everyone was wearing it. I've never thought it looked good on anyone or anything. That's just a question of personal tastes, of course, but did leave me a little cold on the room.

Oh, I don't doubt that she's annoying as well, but in this case, he came off far worse. That habit of cutting people off, ignoring them, and dismissing them is just really off-putting.

I guess I did see Rachel all over the room... but I didn't like it all that much. I hated those couches.

Ah, thanks. I'd have been more interested in an actual waterfall. ;p I wondered why no one called him on that.

I'm not sure what the great thing was about the sofas. I mean, bravo that the client actually liked them, but if it were me, I'd be re-covering those things the second the cameras left the building. That color was big last year in clothes, and I hated it on every dress, too--it's just not a nice color. I'm not sure *why* Rachel or Kris liked it.

I don't get the Kardashian thing, either. What on earth are they famous for, other than being famous?

I'll take the word of the people above who met Kris or had him design for him that he's being badly edited, but the bad editing is done with something he's given them, and I liked Miera for the first time when she told him off over that annoying behavior, which seemed to boil down to, "Ick, it's an older woman. Well, at least I can ignore her."

I wish Stanley had gotten the waterfall going on that desk. I'd love to have a waterfall desk. Or was that metaphor, that it was supposed to evoke a waterfall?

Agreed with the win, though I was torn on the losses. Luca, definitely, had to go. Spending all his time talking about how he was high-end, then missing the point of the room (which was to display their merchandise, not his accessories) was an automatic out. The other three all made about equal mistakes, and were all likeable. Danielle made a huge mistake with that wall, and Hilari tried to cover for it, so there's something I'd look at Danielle about... but she has two second places and has proven that she has a strong point of view. Hilari made bad accessorizing choices, but kept a cool head at the wall disaster... but has shown no point of view. Bex also made bad accessorizing choices (those little hex shelves would have been great for handbags, and she could have put hooks in them for scarves), but was right about all the mistakes Luca was making. Once they declared Hilari safe, I figured Bex was off, as they wouldn't oust Danielle after two good weeks, I guess.

So, bye.

Seriously, if they want to hire someone to do a show, there are easier ways to do it than staging a competition. I'd guess they have some idea what sort of show they want when they do their original casting, but come on... run your theory through Occam here. At the beginning of the show, everyone here was complaining that it was rigged for Cathy. Then Kellie must be the one they're pushing. Or maybe Mark... I seem to recall everyone talking about how horribly overpraised he was because they obviously had it in the can for him.

Basically, every member of the cast (including Karl) has had people saying the deck was stacked. That tells me that the deck wasn't stacked, and the current run of tantrums is just a fandom thing.

This is just a tv show--a game show. The network has nothing particular to gain by rigging it--if they don't want someone on, they just don't cast him or her in the first place, and not a soul is the wiser about it. That's a lot simpler than assuming that they pick an unknown person with no particular fan base before the airing, then stage the entire competition just to hire her. There are cheaper ways to do it.

Except that we heard it was fixed for Cathy. Then for Kellie. Then for Mark. Funny how anyone other than your choice must be "fixed."