Rankings after Ep. 4

1. Julia - stayed under the radar, I must assume through a solid performance that Ramsay didn't even bother to question. Also performed well on the palate test.
2. Josh - I can't help but like him even when he screws up because of how honest he seems to the camera. "I screwed up. No excuses." I TRUST him!
3. Bonnie - This may seem like an odd choice, but I think Bonnie did two great things in the fourth episode. 1) She rocked the palate test (and did not cheat!). 2) She made a very convincing plea to stay, even though she wanted to go home, and it was a risky move playing the empathy game with Ramsay ("I'm sure you made mistakes when you were starting out too, and I'm learning from mine.")
4. Jen - Jen escaped the palate test altogether, and I didn't see her doing anything great in the kitchen. But Ramsay picked her to nominate so she was the best of the girls during service, and I thought her nomination was a good one. Plus, I like her honesty about her trash mistake.
5. Rock - If I didn't think this antagonism with Josh was absurd, he might even be my first choice, but I think he's expressing that he has this awful grudge that Josh really isn't giving him the fuel for, and I worry about that.
6. Melissa - Still think she has a poor attitude, and after Ramsay overruled her nomination, I'm sure she'll get an inflated head and her attitude will get even worse.
7. Brad - No idea what he contributed this time, and doesn't really have that interesting a character to me.
8. Vinnie - The right choice to go. Even if he's not a violent hothead, and has endured much Ramsay torture, he has still proven that he lacks humility.

Rankings #3

Here are my favorites after the 3rd episode, in descending order, based on a number of factors such as what I can discern of their talent, and whether they're a whiny bitch.

1. Julia - Honest, forthright, and unintimidated. Hell yes.
2. Josh - Josh's camera confessionals are quite likeable, and he seems like a contender talent-wise.
3. Rock - Shone on tonight's episode, but he should take care to keep his ego in check.
4. Joanna - Showed integrity, though she has an edge. Would have liked her to stay longer.
5. Melissa - Melissa seems very bitchy to me, but she also seems quite good. She hasn't pissed me off enough to slam her for that alone yet, but I hope she's learned her lesson about Julia.
6. Jen - She seems like a mediocre chef, but admirable the way she stepped up and self-nominated.
7. Brad - Make more of an impression on me. More than burning the Wellingtons, and randomly being named the leader, that is.
8. Bonnie - Oh, how I like that there's a cute girl with my name on a reality show. But she hasn't shown any talent, and I don't like her prejudice against Julia.
9. Vinnie - He rubbed me the wrong way the first episode, but seems to be improving on the not getting in people's faces thing.
10. Aaron - I actually like Aaron quite a bit, but he wasn't cut out for reality TV.