So we can all calm down: the twist is not that the judges will be choosing who goes home. The twist is that the judges have one free pass they can give to one contestant who they think got unfairly booted once in the season. I actually think it's a smart idea. Imagine if they'd had that back in Season 5. Chris Daughtry would have won that bitch instead of that lame-o Taylor Hicks. Ah, well. Perhaps we'll be in a similar situation this year.

I missed the first half hour due to technical difficulties, but it appears as though Jasmine got a mercy killing right off the bat. Based on last night's performances I don't think that's entirely fair. She did a serviceable job last night. Certainly there were worse performances. But let's be serious, here. She never stood a chance to win the competition. She never even stood a chance of making the Top 6. So I guess we can find the silver lining in all of this: I was totally right in my prediction that she would be the first to go. Sorry, Jasmine! Go be a teenager for a while!

As for our second elimination, it came down to Jorge and Anoop. Again, not a surprise. Anoop was terrible, and Jorge did the best he could with a cringe-inducing arrangement. And it was Jorge who got sent home. That's really too bad. He was by far the most talented of the three in the bottom, and I would argue a better singer than several of the safe contestants - Megan, Matt, possibly even Allison.

He was also prescient in his song choice. "The pain and heartache seem to follow me wherever I go." Yikes.        

P.S.: Doid anyone else find that Comcast commercial as soul-crushing as I did? I mean, even the people selling it seem dead inside. Why would I want to buy this service when they all seem so unhappy?