‘Last Comic Standing’ finale review: Was Clayton English, Andy Erickson, or Ian Bagg the season 9 winner?

Tonight, it all came to a close on “Last Comic Standing,” and while we didn’t get a Challenge Round or some of the other stuff that we’ve liked in the past this season, we were at least happy with the final five going in. Did we think all of them had a real chance of winning? Not really. As a matter of fact, we felt like the three who performed at the end of the episode were the real contenders for the title, the development deal, and all that came with it.

Let’s not waste any time here, since there are performances to get to and judge … at least without any real cool-down since we’re writing about this finale as it happens.

Michael Palasack – Michael’s best jokes were probably talking about the McDonald’s Monopoly game, and then also some of the stuff throughout about his parents. We’re not going to say that any of it was particularly breaking the mold of what we’ve heard before, but that has been mostly our knock on him all season. He’s funny, but we’re not sure we see what his show would be about.

Dominique – As far as a comic goes, Dominique is interesting. Many of her jokes aren’t really jokes in that they are more funny stories, and she feels like someone who you’d sit down for lunch with and she’d make you crack up the whole time. She’s very different than any of the other finalists, and we do think that there is a show to be built around her. We’re not sure that, when it comes to pure laughs, she is the best of the group.

Ian Bagg – Ian’s not a universal comic by any means. Either you really like and enjoy some of what he brings to the table, or you don’t and you find some of it too crass. We could see arguments for both in here, but he does have a really natural way at making you laugh thanks to the way that he perceives the world.

Andy Erickson – All season long, we’ve saw the comparisons between Andy and Joe Machi from last season. She’s somewhat hit-or-miss with her jokes, and there is always a risk that her material is going to transform into

Clayton English – Here is the funny thing we realized through watching Clayton’s set: Rather than getting an NBC development deal, we almost feel he’d be just as good for “Saturday Night Live” with his energy. He is our personal favorite of the remaining comics and he did crush it tonight with his chatter on police on cultural speaking patterns.

After a commercial break, it was announced that the winner was … Clayton! From an editing perspective, it’s not too shocking that the guy who went last was the winner. Clayton was the right person to take home the title regardless; he was consistently funny, he has material that caters well to a young, modern audience, and we think that he could anchor some sort of a show just fine.

Do you think the right person won this season? Share in the comments!