I like the 3 person finale. I think Gabe, Shota, and Dawn have been head and shoulders above the rest since early in the season (it took Dawn a few weeks to get her footing). I personally have it as Gabe by the slimmest of margins over Shota, with Dawn a clear but respectable third. I think this is another after effect of Sara not making it back. I think they expected to add another contestant and fully expected to have a 3 person finale. When she didn't make it back, they couldn't cut a week, so voila, here we are. It is a cop out, to be sure, but I also think the best outcome in a season dominated by 3 chefs is to give those chefs the chance to cook their best meal and sort it out.
I, personally, think the issues around Dawn leaving things off the plate are much ado about nothing. Does it matter? Sure, I can't say that it is absolutely nothing. But the show is about developing flavors and executing composed dishes. If a component is made and gets left off one of ten (or whatever) plates, I really can't be that worked up over it. If the elements are made, incorporated, and executed for the majority of dishes, then how much does it really matter if one gets left off? It is already such an artificial environment for the chefs with the goofy challenges, obscene product placements, time restraints, and whatnot. Being under the gun and missing an element on a plate doesn't suggest to me a deficiency as a chef. I understand, and respect, those who see it the other way. Reasonable minds may differ of course.
Along those lines, I think Dawn did the right thing in owning up to leaving the potatoes off her dish for reasons that have nothing to do with integrity. One thing I've learned in watching this show religiously over the years is that the only opinion that matters is Tom's. I know some of the other judges were raving and going on about her dish, but as good as it may have been, it lacked the element to deliver more of the sauce to the mouth. Someone mentioned it during the meal and you could see that Tom agreed with that criticism. It is either a conceptual flaw or an execution flaw. At this state of the competition, Tom cares a lot about the mind of the chef and how they conceptualize their dishes. We saw that on display in the cheddar challenge (and what Jamie failed at so miserably). If I'm Dawn, I'd rather own up to the execution mistake (even knowing leaving elements off has become a recurring criticism), then letting Tom think she had a conceptual flaw. I think in the eyes of Tom, it is more forgivable to have properly perceived the need for a starch element to sop up the sauce, made the element, but forgot to put it on the plate in the chaos of plating than it is to have made that dish without any consideration of having such an element.