snarktini

What was so weird about that is I fully expected it to be a Blais fake-out, it seemed to be headed that way and then it didn't. (Or was edited out.) Because a cold soup without a protein is pretty much the opposite of "safe". It would have made more sense to push back on not "cooking", or going too simple, or not having a protein. But too safe? No.

So glad John didn't listen to the brief. Really glad to see the back of him. Maybe the fix is in for Brooke, or maybe she's just that good. She almost won before and I have little problem believing she has honestly earned her spot at the top. Often they ding for lack of protein but there have been occasions when vegetarian fare has won, and the chew of the coconut and the fat of the avocado sound plausible to me as one of those times. I wholeheartedly like all three of the remaining chefs and will be happy with any of them. I don't think Shirley is fake/simpering. I don't think Brooke is entitled/superior. They all seem like great chefs and people I'd like IRL. Sheldon's my fav, though. I feel like his personality and POV are less common among Top Chefs.

My expectations weren't high -- I'd heard good things but it's a kid's movie and, I don't know, LEGO in movie form? It was so much more awesome and hilarious than I ever could have imagined! I absolutely loved it and saved my recording for a rainy day rewatch. From an art direction POV, the way they used the legos to create rolling waves / steam / clouds is brilliant. I backed up a few times so I could see those effects again. The animation and visual style were very well conceived, it was a pleasure to look at. It felt completely true to LEGO while also making the best of animation. I do want to know how much it cost to license all those characters! Half the character universes were in there.

Bedtime viewing this week has been Better Off Ted (a fantastic little show, highly recommended), and Malcolm Barrett is so adorkably fussy in it. I was willing to tune into Timeless basically for him.

An entire season focused on courtship would bore me to tears (I'm also missing the swoon gene), but I think they could have spent 8 episodes on this period of time from ascension to marriage. A young queen, growing into her role, learning about her kingdom. I'd like to see much more world-building. As shown, she comes across as vacuous. We're getting very little sense of her point of view or duties as queen. Since they've set up Albert as her foil, perhaps now we'll get to some of that. (If so, maybe the fast pace will pay off.)

No. They met several times before they became engaged. You will recall that Victoria has clearly met Albert before he appears on the show - when she sees him she remarks on how different he looks than the last time she saw him. (She reprimands Dash for barking at him, even if he does "look so much different" than the last time they met.) Right, but the OP was asking if they were engaged within 3 days of meeting again. V&A knew each other from childhood and were considered a match all along, but it had been awhile. Did they get engaged during on this one visit after having not seen each other in some years?

"Now get in there and run that meeting like a shark driving an assault vehicle through a herd of seals wearing chum pants." I think Veronica is great because of what Portia di Rossi does with the character. Her delivery is so good.

Was annoyed with Lucy in the scene with her Rittenhouse father. I get that she was emotional, but it really would have been a hell of a lot smarter to ask him some questions. She barked at him that she knew all about Rittenhouse when she really doesn't. (As he noted.) Why waste an opportunity to learn what they're up against? If you don't care about getting info for your team's sake, then at least do it for the viewers, Lucy!

While that is possible, we do not know that is the case.

Oh, Ernest had more than advice in mind when he took Albert there! But Albert didn't want to sample Gretchen's charms and asked for her to tell him what he needed to know instead. Ernest picking out "ein, zwei, drei" ladies for his evening was a wow moment. Dude lives large.

So exciting! http://www.theverge.com/2017/2/6/14523268/samurai-jack-season-5-trailer-genndy-tartakovsky

True. The way creepy chef said he recognized her from the nunnery made it sound like a specific one to me, but it could also have been generic.

What a pain! PBS is running full episodes, so maybe you don't need to pay anyway? I, too, run CC even though my hearing is fantastic. I don't like a loud TV (partly because my hearing is too good in high ranges) and that means sometimes dialogue is low. FWIW, they're being cryptic with this story. It wasn't laid out clearly and I've had to stitch together bits from several conversations (and some other commenters' thoughts) to get that synopsis. Which is in stark contrast to how they are beating.us.over.the.head with the dialogue between V&A.

Right, she worked in the Nunnery (the name of a local whorehouse) and I also believe her story about being in the laundry there. The real Eliza met a trumpet player (something like that, maybe trombone?) and got pregnant. We learned last episode she chose to keep the baby rather than give the baby up to an orphanage and take the palace job. Our Eliza took her place. She said sometimes she thinks she's the lucky one, sometimes she doesn't. She said she never wanted to get married last episode, now I wonder if that's truly what she wants (fine by me, more power to her) or if she feels she can't have a life of her own because she's living a lie and can't afford to be caught out. The chef skeeves me out. The way he skulks around Eliza feels menacing. It feels so classically like a man who fancies himself a suave white knight but in reality following her around after dark, staring at her, and making sure she knows he knows her secret is actually really creepy.

If they really want creativity they could give them longer than the ride to the store to plan.

Spot on. I thought he was terrible and they were terrible together. If my flatmate didn't love it this would be my last episode.

My take was he was distracting her with the trivia. He told her this long-winded, slightly absurd story to lighten the moment and her fear. It was a weirdly written scene, though.

I think there's a difference between more "gentle" and more "good". He definitely seems to have controlled the outward aggression -- anger management has worked for him and he is much, much calmer. However, he is still a jerk, manipulative, and and now passive aggressive instead of aggressive aggressive.

If Good Janet's abilities were out of range in the Medium Place, why did her walkie-talkie function work?

The judges said something similar. However, I thought the food did come in bowls/platters, they were just looked like the size of regular plates. They seemed to be, for lack of better terminology, family style small plates. Sheldon's stew came out in a shared bowl about the size of a soup bowl, and everyone had to spoon out their portion onto their plate. For the tamales, they received a shared platter with 3 tamales (not 6, the size of the group) and Tom made a crack about having to share small plate portions. That may have been a server error.

It's a good question. While I didn't think he'd go home he wasn't out of danger only having one dish that wasn't good. It wasn't even complicated or labor-intensive. I get there wasn't much left for him -- Katsuji claimed 3 dishes, John was EC and Casey was FOH -- but not fighting for a second dish or more responsibility was dangerous. Did he just totally check out when he lost out on being EC? Has there ever been another case where one of the line cooks in RW did only one dish?

Ooh I like this idea! Hell yeah! But this was an extra special edition of Mack looking good...maybe more due to the sunglasses than the suit? As the Fug Girls have noted, Everyone's Hotter in Sunglasses. Loved Talbot saying that May was, with the possible exception of his mother, the most intimidating woman he'd ever known. Would kinda like to meet his mom. Agree Aida is either playing Radcliffe, or will be soon.

Yes, he did. A little surprised that didn't come up, but it's hard to know after editing what was actually said. I'm sure Sheldon was grateful to fly under the radar. He stayed very, very quiet. I might have booted John. The EC usually bears more responsibility -- one bad dish that was made in advance, didn't help the line, failed to expedite, failed to lead. It was even a lousy menu/concept. That usually means EC goes. He was responsible for the overall failure, by definition. Regardless, this is why it's fair that Katsuji went. Colossally bad decisions on his part tanked their team, and John wasn't strong enough to overcome it. What an asshole. No redemption for that. She was lucky to be with two such horrible teammates because, yeah. I pinged her saying only she could seat and we know from the past that usually leads to a backup at the front door even when everything is running smoothly. Question: Are the wrong things going to the wrong tables more the fault of FOH or the expeditor?

The dumb overalls certainly aren't my taste but I can kind of see the "FASHION" in it. But her story of a CEO in that?! Nuh uh. Look, I'm in a creative field. I've worked in ad agencies in San Francisco, where you can get away with a whole lot. And I still can't imagine anyone showing up with that strappy / bandeau / peekaboo top action. Worse, it wasn't even a little day to night, and it especially lacked glamour -- which you'd think might matter since they praised Allie for getting an element glamour they said others missed. It was just fashion sporty. The judges have never been consistent so that's not a surprise, but feh.

I so love that the famous black astrophysicist is named Tyra DeNeil Fields! Fun shoutout to Neil DeGrasse Tyson.