hks

I think this is why he won it. I mean, this and that amazing final gown. But when the decision was so close for the judges, I think they really appreciated that Anthony took all of their direction over the season (and years) to improve his design and construction. Like when he told Zac that he was inspired by his ... boning (??)... and then said he used that technique for his final gown - I think he won Zac right there. It's like kissing up, but in the most constructive and intelligent way. The judges want to see improvement, and they want to take some credit for it. Anthony made some beautiful clothes, but also made the smartest choices for his final show. And he's the nicest and funniest - which is just an extra bonus.

ITA with all of this. Claudette is NOT a team player. So, while she pretended to believe that tasting all the dishes was "old school," she really just did not want to take responsibility for any of the other dishes. As long as she didn't taste them, if they failed, she could sidestep the blame. Except that is NOT the role of EC. Really, I think she could have gotten away with it all if she had taken some of the responsibility. I think if she had just said, "I didn't get a chance to taste all the dishes" and/or "I thought the dishes I tasted were good," Mustache Joe would have been out for his several bad dishes. What killed Claudette was saying she wasn't REALLY the EC and that Chris was in charge. Her pretending not to understand her role, trying to abdicate responsibility --- she wasn't coming back from that. (And I fully believe Chris knew what he was doing when he made her EC. At least in the sense he knew she had problems working with others AND he maybe saw it as a way to rid them of an unpleasant person). Yah, in every season, we know the "villain" chef. The ones who you know are amping it up for TV drama. And I actually think Claudette thought she was just playing that role. In maybe the first episode, she starts out with some bitchy comment about not being there to make friends, or some other reality cliche. But you can only do that SO much and in certain circumstances. Claudette continually lacked integrity at judge's table. You can be ultra competitive, you can be speak up, and even kind of push others to get the competition going your way. You can be self confident and arrogant. But you can't stand at judge's table and continually not take responsibility for team failures. When people do that (and I believe there have been others in past seasons like her), I'm done with them - despite their talent. THIS. Top Chef may be the one reality competition for which appearing, without even winning, can be a great boon to your business. And no, a mean chef might make amazing food. But what is the incentive to go if you find the chef completely awful, and there are so many other choices out there?

Exactly. He knows what his model looks like, he should have accounted for her hair. But the thing that drove me the most crazy was he kept saying his head is big - it is SO SMALL! He's got a small head, and not a lot of hair - how could he think his head size was comparable? I agree with what Tara said in the recap: I feel like Kentaro is just unwilling to design for larger models and when he got the sizing wrong at first, he just didn't bother to make it work. Last week's disaster with LIRIS of all people made see that. And with this week's mess, I'm disliking him more and more as the weeks go on.

I agree with you both. I mean, maybe Liris was the reason I loved Michael's but honestly, I felt it was top 3. Also, Claire only knows how to make diapers. She made a diaper this time, and she made a diaper under a see-thru skirt in the last challenge. Oh, and terrible shorts the time before. And then horrendously unflattering pants before that. (I just went through and looked at all of her designs). Hideous. She should have been out for sure instead of Samantha, and I'm sure the only reason she's still there is bc of producer shenanigans.

The twins drive me absolutely crazy, but what's even crazier is that Claire is still in the damn competition. Her last two outfits have been HIDEOUS. Just god awful. Now, I assume they've kept her around because they want the drama of next week's twin team, but I hope by the end of the episode that 1) they turn on each other like rabid dogs, and 2) Clair is out. (And then without her help, Shawn is out soon after). Quick question though: I could have sworn last week it was CLAIRE begging for Shawn's help? Was that not the case? Either way, they rely on each other way more than contestants regularly do, so I am eager to see one without the other. I hope SOON. And although I am disappointed that Clair is still in, I am thrilled that Kentaro won. His outfit was perfect. Like perfect for the challenge, perfectly what the model/client wanted, and just really well-made and flattering. His style is not usually what I like - but this look was by far the best in this challenge.

I don't actually believe that's a real thing! She just looked REAL rough in the harsh daylight of that scene, particularly next to the impeccably moisturized Tiffani-Amber Thiessen. I hear you. And yes, everyone is going to look harsh next to the gorgeousness of Tiffany-Amber Thiessen. (Side note: I once walked by her in NYC and she was flawless).

Agree. I know you all hate Kelly - and it seems Jennie Garth is also pretty much a bitch about things - but that's just a shitty thing to say to and about pregnant women. Maybe we can retire this particular pregnancy myth?

They DID have so much chemistry - to the point I was actually worried how his fiance would feel when she saw all those clips and then their duet - holy smokes! His fiance seeing that live - I wonder what that was like. (Also, this is rampant speculation and silliness, but I didn't see him hug his fiance when she got on stage. He hugged his family a bunch, but I never saw him go to her directly. Did I miss it?)

The whole season was meh for me, save for a few great moments. And almost all of them belonged to Chris Blue. As soon as he sang, "Love on the Brain" I was hoping he'd win. The winner is RARELY the person I want, so I am super happy about this. I mean, Lauren winning wouldn't have pissed me off like some (most) past season winners. She was very talented, and hers is the kind of country I enjoy. (Her original song was impressive). But Chris... just so incredibly talented. I do think he can get further than a lot of other Voice winners. I mean, his original song (which I didn't actually love, because it didn't do his voice justice), is catchy. And I think Alicia is so in his corner, she will work hard to make him successful. I hope. I am just glad I picked a winner this time - in a season where the winner wasn't telegraphed from the start.

Question(s): Do people think it's necessary to see the movie first? Or is it fine to dive right into the series? (I'm eager to start watching the show but don't want to miss out on anything important).

Oh! I agree with all of this. Particularly regarding Amelia. I need her to be gone. Forever. Owen doesn't really bug me - and I enjoyed his storyline with Riggs, but OMG I need Amelia to leave and never, ever come back. Also Minnick - she's the worst and her thing with Arizona is so awful and lazily written.

While I am STILL disappointed that Sheldon didn't win, I wanted the win for Brooke more than Shirley. Based on the number of wins - she seemed to have the most talent. As for likability: Brooke seemed cold, for sure, but I don't know her in real life. She seemed determined not to let her feelings in during the show. And just as I found her cold, I found Shirley inconsiderate for yelling ALL the time. (It specifically annoyed me in the hidden family quick challenge where it hindered the work other chefs were doing). And yes, in the finale, Shirley was so much more likable than Brooke - especially regarding her mom. I cried during that for sure. But Brooke did better - and where it always matters most to the judges - (savory foods). She deserved that win. Of course, if Sheldon had been in it, I probably wouldn't have cared - I wish he had won it all.

You will spoil eet!

I didn't want to watch this miniseries when I first heard about it. I thought it was going to be a cheesy trivialized Lifetime special type thing. This was based on NOTHING but seeing bits and pieces of commercials and thinking that ABC was trying to capitalize on all the activism going on by showing their own activism movie. Then, I read the review of the first part here, and checked out the second part - and I am really happy to be wrong.

Yup.

This is a good point. I think they had a decent idea here - the residency program was failing - the attendings were NOT doing their job in the teaching part of this teaching hospital - so they bring someone in to try to fix this. Challenging Weber in the process. That could have been good and believable. But they brought in someone SO TERRIBLE. The character and actress are the worst. I can't figure out if they're showing Minnick to be so incompetent because they want the resulting argument to be that Weber was right all along? Because he isn't. He was not doing his best job at that time. And the idea of Minnick and Arizona?? I like Arizona and I want her to be with someone so much better. Minnick is awful. Her character is annoying and smug and there's absolutely nothing cute between the two of them. (Arizona was great with Callie - even their separation drama felt real and they always had chemistry. They need to find another character like that).

Gaaah. I am super bummed that Jerrica Hinton is leaving the show. She's been the ONLY newish character I've liked. I hate just about everyone else. And she's leaving. Although I don't blame her - she's very talented and of course she'd jump to do an HBO show after being on Grey's this long. I just wish we didn't have to suffer without her. She was excellent in this episode.

Your thoughts are nicer than mine. Whenever I see Owen freaking out about Amelia, I just want her character to die. I truly hate her. And I know the actress is pregnant and they need a plot device to get her off the show - but can we STOP having this damn cold feet, inability to communicate, runaway freak out? I really really hate Amelia. I don't hate Owen, and I am looking forward to his sister eventually returning in a big cliffhanger (as it's been heavily telegraphed), but I'd be willing to sacrifice all of that to get rid of Amelia forever. Yup. I work in domestic violence court, and it's not uncommon for the victim of a violent crime to decide not to pursue the case. And it doesn't have to be hostile or difficult. A lot of prosecutors just don't proceed when the victim backs out. It might hurt their case, or they take into account the victim's reasons for backing out. From the beginning of this story line, I assumed DeLuca would decide not to pursue the charges (bc he's in love with Jo) and that's how Alex avoids jail. (It's weird, but the inevitability and telegraphing of this show doesn't prevent me from watching it or even enjoying it. I may suffer from show Stockholm Syndrome). I think she did look for the jail she assumed he'd be in. When she didn't find him there, she looked everywhere else. (And unfortunately, it's a sad state of affairs in my State and County, but our jail records are terrible. Online databases are hardly updated right away).

Loved this episode. Love the mise en place challenge - it's fast-paced, exciting, and I'm always SUPER impressed with how fast the chefs can chop things. I cannot for the life of me figure out how they don't cut off their fingers. And then I loved the head-to-head challenge. Even if I am sure the "reality TV" aspect got us into a dessert tie-breaker. They needed suspense and redemption for Brooke. Still! I was excited for her. She and Sheldon are my favorites. And Jim, I guess, because he seems like a weirdo. Someone above commented, the best episodes are when everyone cooks well. It's totally true, especially for this one.

Val is super gorgeous. As long as she never wears those wispy bangs again.

I dunno. They gave her that story line with Wilmer Vadlararamama, which I thought was pretty decent. She got to show some range there. Although, if no one remembers it, maybe it didn't have resonance? But Stephanie's my favorite character, hands down. (She and the non-existent Arizona. Is she nearly off the show? I miss her). I like that she's the best doctor, and I can't wait until she gets a real long-term love interest. I also can't wait until Amelia and Owen drive off a damn cliff. I really hate her and want her off the show. I don't quite hate him yet, but it's getting close. I don't care that she wants a baby but she's afraid, and that he wants one, and it's going to be a big rift when she gets pregnant, because my god, is she going to be insufferable about it. If she's already driving me crazy about just TAKING a damn pregnancy test, what is she going to be like every single damn day of the pregnancy. Omg, please kill her.

I also want to know! Episodes was SO good, and Matt's role was fantastic. Self-aware and self-deprecating, and all those good things. But what I really want to know - is Episodes over? Did they conclude things? Did I watch that conclusion?

I love this show, and you are right: NBC has done an ATROCIOUS job of marketing it. I only learned of it from the Extra Hot Great podcast, and even then, I only really realized it was a Michael Schur show when I saw the credits. And then it made sense why it was so awesome. I hope the bad marketing doesn't get it cancelled, it's definitely a story I want to keep seeing.

It's funny, but I had the completely opposite reaction. I was cracking up, and actually wished Seth would continue to have guests from SNL, so I could hear more backstage/behind-the-scenes stories like these. To each their own, I guess.

Anyone know if this shortened 7-episode season is the first half of the final season? Like how they split the final season of Mad Men into two? I'm just really hoping for more than this...