Due to the best three of five format of the finale, it is obvious who won well before the decision is announced.

Agree about obvious
 

I was very disappointed by the format of the final. The best two were there and Kristen probably deserved it, but the end was obvious from the timing. It made the last multitude of commercials tedious. The cooking was de-emphasized.

definitely agree.

I liked the Kitchen Stadium format, but hated the "million dollar question" drama lights. It looked like the lights distracted the chefs too. It was just ridiculous. We also fast-forwarded through the "road to top chef" parts for both chefs. Just show the cooking competition. If I don't know who the chefs are by now, it's my problem and I don't need to see a recap of the entire season. :rolleyes:

Having said all that, kudos to both chefs who were both deserving of the title.

A good final result considering eliminating Kristen was one of the dumbest things ever in the history of the show.

I really did like the Kitchen Stadium format, but it they should've been able to serve a five-course meal (I also wasn't keen on having two seafood dishes as requirements). After each dish, each judge would make comments then write down a score (perhaps 10-point scale), hidden from each other judge. Highest score wins at the end.

I dislike that the cooking is de-emphasized. I used to like to watch for techniques and ideas and now you have to do a lot of guessing as to how something was made and exactly what is in it.