I was really excited about going into season 3 of Face Off. And it started off with a bang.

Joe Castro — who we barely met in the first episode — not only tossed his weight around like it was nobody’s business but got his panties in a wad and walked off the show because he was called on his BS bulldogging by partner Tommy Pietch**. We never got the opportunity to see if Joe was all he purported to be … which ended up making for a terrific start to the season.

Well, it seems Joe and his attitude might have left with a lot of the inspirational creations and  imagination in tow because there hasn’t been much to get excited about.

Remember the hideous ice cream man from Matt Valentine of last season’s “Burtonesque” episode? You can see in the above photo the character was downright ghastly. My first glimpse of Matt’s wafflecone-headed nightmare made my jaw drop. Yet I haven’t seen anything coming remotely close to that kind of awe-inspiring performance this season. Don’t get me wrong: There have been some nifty designs that have popped up along the way, but nothing like many of the drop-dead gorgeous accomplishments seen in Burtonesque or in many of season 2’s episodes.

So where are they? What’s happened to the creativity borne from the contestants this round of competition? Thus far the comments from the judges have been more inspiring than many of the make-ups from the players in the game. Case in point? Judge Glenn Hetrick’s lambasting of Alana Rose Schiro and her character last week: “Your inability to settle on a concept was blindingly obvious.” Ouch. (Never let it be said Glenn holds back his feelings; he gives it to you straight.) While Alana fumbled her way through a couple of challenges and came out shining, she was a walking disaster area. She fell into way more praise than she deserved and her efforts finally came back to haunt her with the gun-metal grey Seussian Offt she came up with.

One of the best contestants of the season is, without doubt, Roy Wooley. The dude is a fabricating animal. And he does a little make-up on the side, too. His imagination definitely runs wild. He not only puts that imagination on paper but in his work as well. He’s showcased it time and time again. But even Roy is getting tiring with his over-the-top concepts. A shoe-in for the win from Day One, I would really be surprised if he doesn’t walk away with the whole enchilada come next week.

There have been glimmers of hope with everyone else, but those lights faded pretty quickly. They just didn’t or haven’t cut the mustard. The only other interesting note comes from the fuchsia-haired and  reinstated Nicole Chilelli who has been burning things up since originally being ousted, then brought back. She could give Roy a run for his money come the finale.

So here’s to next week and the finale. We can only hope we’ll be served up something to wow us.

** CliqueClack has recently been informed Joe Castro left “after realizing the producers were running a fake and unfair competition.”

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