Is it just us, or is everyone meaner when Anthony Bourdain is around? It’s like all of the other judges feel the need to one-up his searing criticisms and outrageous metaphors. Don’t get us wrong—we love his colorful comments. We’ve just noticed that Tom is in rare form when Bourdain is next to him. Even Padma—dear, sweet Padma—acquires a bit of an edge when he’s around. We shudder to think what effect he might have had on Gail if she’d been around to judge this week.

With Bourdain leading the charge, things got brutal on this episode. Some of it was probably deserved. (We didn’t even want to look at Tall C.J.’s broccolini, his ultimate undoing, let alone eat it.) But the comparisons to prison food and references to the worst dish ever served on Top Chef felt a bit over-the-top. So, since everyone’s probably feeling a bit wounded at the moment, we though we’d bring a little positive energy to the table by pointing out the things we love about each contestant.

Dale: There are several things we love about Dale, not least among them the fact that he’s from Chicago. But first: Whew. That was a close one. We’ve noticed Dale’s not really a detail guy, but portioning for 17 diners instead of 18 was a fairly large oversight. It probably would have cost him the round if everyone else’s food hadn’t been so awful. What Dale does do well, though, is teamwork. We’re not yet sure if he’s a leader, but what we do know—and love—about him is that he’s a good teammate. He’s aware of what’s going on around him the kitchen, and when he sees someone in trouble, he swoops in to help—he’s SuperDale! We also love that when other chefs don’t take the same tack (not to name any names, Hung), he calls them out on it.

Brian: Brian’s just a loveble guy. He hasn’t blown up at anyone yet, and he takes his lumps—and he’s seen plenty in the last two episodes—like a man. Speaking of lumps, we’re pretty sure Bourdain likened one of Brian’s dishes to “doll head” on this week’s episode. No matter how many times we tracked back on the DVR to hear it again, it came out sounding the same: “doll head … doll head … doll head.” After awhile it started to feel creepy so we gave up and moved on.

Casey: We love Casey because she did not hit Padma when she jumped into her bed and started tickling her to wake her up before this week’s Quickfire Challenge. Because, seriously, we might have. But this sort of restraint represents what Casey’s all about. She’s calm, she’s professional, and as far as we can tell, she’s a darn good chef. There’s lots to love here, and that’s why we still think she’s going to take it all this season.

Sara: Though she nearly fell victim to her own overcooked couscous, we’re glad to see Sara’s still around. Of all the contestants, she’s had to fight the hardest to get this far. It would’ve been easy to throw in the towel after experiencing yet another dessert debacle last week, and we won’t even get into all of her past run-ins with Howie, but she persevered. She’s emerging as the season’s underdog—and everyone loves an underdog.

Hung: OK, this one’s the hardest. Why didn’t he help Tall C.J. out when he was clearly in the weeds during prep for the Elimination Challenge? And why does he obviously spill things (bottles of truffle oil) and then pretend he didn’t? (Psst, Hung: Has anyone told you this is all being filmed?) But what we love about Hung is that he has gumption to do wacky things like build a tiny village out of crushed Fruit Loops and then defend it with the same conviction he brings to a dish that’s a clear home run, like this week’s Padma-pleasing Grand Marnier-spiked smoothie. He’s audacious, he’s inconsiderate, and he’s arrogant. But he’s consistent, and in the kitchen, that can make all the difference.

For a full rundown of this week’s episode, check out what our friends at The Stew are saying.

I have mad-love for Dale, but I don't see him going all the way.

Yes, he's a team-player, but what I love most about Dale is that he's funny as hell! "They were the dream team and we were the Bad News Bears" cracked me up (though not as much as Howie's comments on fashion from last week)

Go Dale, Go!!! (Just lose the floods, please!)