Next Great Baker: A Cake for Miss USA (a Jersey Girl!)

We're down to the final four in the Cake Boss contest spinoff Next Great Baker.

As the new episode opens Buddy greets Chad, Marissa, Nadine and Ryan in the kitchen and has them shape modeling chocolate roses for their baker's challenge. “It's one of the things that I'm known for,” he says. “If you want to work with me at Carlo's you better know how to make a sugar flower.”

Buddy demonstrates. It's like watching Ray Lewis supervise a tackling drill. None of the contestants have ever really done this before. Somehow rugged Ryan finishes but dainty Nadine does not.

Buddy declares Ryan the winner. Ryan's nemesis Marissa is pissed. Those two are really perfecting their contentious Tony and Carmela Soprano dynamic.

During a succession of interviews leading to the elimination challenge, each of the contestants pay the others backhanded compliments. The contestants are in civilian clothes and young Nadine is dressed like Nancy Reagan's bridge partner.

Buddy introduces the client for the elimination challenge, the lovely Miss USA, Alyssa Campanella, a native of New Jersey. She wearing heels but is still significantly taller than Buddy. Ryan gives her the goo-goo eyes, Marissa scowls with jealousy and Chad says he loves pageants and already knows everything about Alyssa.

Each of the bakers work separately. Rather than just a pageant theme, they have to make a cake based on Alyssa's likes. She's Italian, likes cooking, traveling and fashion.

Ryan is going to use all of that, while Nadine just the traveling. Marissa is stunted having to design a cake by herself. A fawning Chad will bake glamorous Alyssa something glittering like the palace of Versailles.

Ryan scoffs at Marissa and Nadine for being unable to saw wood for their bases. Marissa gets the cut but is still insecure about her design. She mentions having been a pastry chef but that she got fired for having an attitude. She says she tried to get on last season of Next Great Baker and was deflated when she didn't. Good, get all of that bio out now, because she'll never be heard from again after getting sent home soon.

“At this point I just want to go in the closet and cry,” she says. No one has cried on this show since a few episodes ago.

Marissa runs frantically and aimlessly and even has to ask Chad for advice on her design. Thirty percent of the clock has gone and she's barely started. Chad is almost finished with his, but the others think it's too pageant theme and not enough focused on Alyssa.

With just a few hours left Buddy returns. “In our business sometimes your schedule is sped up,” he says. He cuts their remaining four hours to two.

“But I brought you guys some help,” he continues. Losers, er, contestants from the previous episodes enter – Carmelo, Heather M, Jasmine and Wesley. They're here to help. They're like the guardian angels of baking. Chad starts crying.

Wesley helps Chad with diamond studding. Jasmine helps Marissa focus. Ryan isn't wowed with Carmelo's contribution. Chad looks over and says he's confident Ryan will be eliminated.

When time expires Buddy returns with Alyssa and his other co-judge, his sister Grace. They check the cakes while the contestants hit the lounge.

Buddy and judges are underwhelmed with Ryan's cake, and think Chad's cake is beautiful but that it doesn't match the order. They like Nadine's travel theme but think it should be bigger.

Somehow they all like Marissa's cake. Marissa scores points for including Alyssa's native New Jersey. Buddy says the cake tells Alyssa's story.

In the judging room Buddy spares Nadine and Marissa from elimination. The judges then criticize Chad for not following the order. Buddy calls Ryan's cake a boring landscape. “I'm very disappointed with your vision,” Buddy says.

Each man gives a defense. Ryan talks about having been laid off and turning to baking to take care of his family. Chad gets passionate, though he doesn't cry this time.

Buddy has to decide between eliminating the guy who missed the theme or the guy who hit the theme but only poorly.

“Chad, you've been a great competitor, but you did not live up to this challenge,” Buddy says.

“My disappointment is very shallow,” Chad says with catharsis from the back of the box truck, “because what I've gained from this is 20,000 times deeper.”

So now for the finale it's sprightly Nadine, swaggering Ryan, and somehow, sassy Marissa, who rallied and lives to bake another day.