Heroes of Cosplay ~ Season Finale

So I know I'm a little late on this one, but if you are a recent fan of Heroes of Cosplay like me, then you will have more than likely watched the season finale on tuesday night. It was a loaded episode, Yaya Han returned to compete for the first time in 4 years with her fellow cosplayers Monika Lee, and Riki Lecotey aka Riddle, donning the name "Team Atlanta". They took the stage with the theme Alice in Wonderland: Return to Madness, with Yaya as the Queen of Hearts, Monika as the Cheshire Cat, and Riki as Alice. Other notables also teaming up for this competition was "Team LA", comprising of Becky Young, Jessica Merizan, and Holly Conrad, with the lovable theme of "How to Train Your Dragon; Becky as Astrid, Jessica as Tuffnut, and Holly as Ruffnut. The competition took place in Kansas city, which was LESS than welcoming to these dedicated cosplayers. In fact, there were apparently rumors flying around the con that Syfy intentionally planted the two teams at this con so that they would win. To make matters even WORSE, the judges for this con, their identities being just as vague as their pre-judging & final decisions (I literally cannot remember who they were nor find any info on it on the web.. argh) were excessively non nonchalant about pretty much EVERYTHING. Both teams LA & Atlanta put in so much time and effort into their costumes and much to everyone's chagrin, particularly a bewildered Yaya, the judges didn't even budge from their chairs to do a close up inspection of the craftsmanship or details. To be quite honest, all of the judges looked less than thrilled to be a part of the event and couldn't appear to be more disinterested in any of it. But it doesn't stop there. Remember how friendly we were saying Kansas was (is?)? Yeah, about that. Members of the audience and even the other competing cosplayers made it a point to not only make both teams LA & Atlanta feel hideously unwelcome, but also went as far as calling them FAKE. Are you kidding me? You are privelaged enough to be a part of such a creative community where you have the opportunity to not just meet experienced crafters & actors as these two teams, but also LEARN something from them, and you have the nerve (and apparent ignorance) to call them fake? Jealousy is ugly enough, but you don't need to make yourself look like a joke by also calling the professionals less than amateur. The outcome of this hotbed of drama at least had something good come out of it, Team Atlanta scored the Grand Prize, but sadly Team LA was awarded nothing. I was extremely shocked with some of the judges decisions (Excluding Team Atlanta's win) but I guess I shouldn't be too surprised when the judges & Kansas natives in general just seemed to be completely whack. Anyways... its obvious how I feel :P I cant wait for season 2... I hope these guys come out swinging!!!