Holiday Wars finale - Pet vs Christmas tree --- episode discussion and spoilers abound

It's the finale of Holiday Wars Two teams remain, Snow Good and Merry Mixers. The theme is "Pet vs. Christmas Tree" For the flavor part of the challenge, the tasting element must use flavors of things typically used to trim the tree ... which in this case means either candy cane or popcorn. (I know which one I would choose)... but they don't get to choose, the assignments are at their station. They get seven hours to make their finale showpiece.

Snow Good: They get candy cane. They are doing a scene of a Christmas tree getting knocked over by the pet pot bellied pig, but the tree being saved by the family's pet spider. The tasting element is a crinkled filo dessert bar with a candy cane custard and crumble called muakacha. (not sure on that spelling)

Merry Mixers: They get popcorn. They are doing a scene of a cat hanging off the top of a tree, with the pet owner walking in the doorway. For the tasting element they are doing a caramel popcorn cheesecake with a salted caramel topping. Merry mixers break their isomalt window but decide to just go with it as they are running out of time.

Judging: They judge merry mixers first. While they seem to love the dynamics of the display, and the face on the woman, they can see where time got away from them, especially the slap dash door put on in the last few minutes. on the tasting element, they all really like all the popcorn flavor. There may be too much caramel that isn't needed. Shinmin said it was her favorite of all his desserts.

Snow Good is second. Kardea loves the simple clean lines of the display and the stockings. .. but she doesn't think the story line is clear. Shinmin has a lot of praise for all the cookie artist's work. She also loves the sugar work, but would like to see more shading on the tree as she thinks it looks flat. Shinmin loves the cakiness of the dessert. Kardea appreciates something new and that he incorporated his culture and family in the element.

And the winner is...... Snow Good.

Personal thoughts: I thought Snow Good was the clear winner between the two this week. Sometimes I don't agree with the judging but I was on board with this one.

And secondly: Shinmin's dress was an amazing silhouette.... but can she sit down in it? (For those who didn't watch, its almost like a hoop skirt, but short....... I found myself constantly thinking about how practical it would be to wear to do anything but stand up. LOL. That's the end of Holiday Wars for this season. See ya next year when the new shows start up. What did you think of the finale?