AriAu

I know it has been almost 18 years since this episode aired, but when I hear that 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a clash with Chinese soldiers, my first response is "as always, we are one bad bottle of tequila away from all out war in West Asia" Yeah, I know I'm crossing story lines (actually seasons) and Qumar doesn't exist, but still......

Not much more needed to be said after "and that flag is a desecration of all of it...", but OUR managing editor, Isaac Jaffe (ok, Aaron Sorkin), added a few more words! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzhUJ-K23-4

Wow, those guest judges were cutting and tough. It was like Tom could hardly get in a word to attack or support anyone.....they just let the judges go! Surprising to see Kevin go home on what is essentially a pork challenge and basically screw up the cooking of pork! In general, the sous chefs should be there for cooking skills or to be a sounding board. When the sous goes beyond that, you end up with a Carla/Casey situation in which many people still haven't forgiven Casey! Therefore, I think the key is finding the best cook at this point. Malarkey said in an early episode that he doesn't spend that much time in the kitchen and Kevin has said he has " people for that shit", so Leanne could, in concept be the best person as a sous, especially since it'll be her job to just cook and not deal with time management....but she appeared from the promo to be getting too involved. Based n what we have seen this season, I still think Kevin can be the most helpful set of hands in the kitchen, but we will see. One thing to remember is that Bryan and Kevin are obviously close and supposedly agreed to help each other get to the finale, so I think Kevin will really help. By the way, isnt it kinda famous Top Chef lore that the winner of the next to last challenge rarely wins the title? FYI-Bryan won penultimate in Vegas and then Michael won and if you look at Wikipedia it is rare that the the winner wins 2 in a row....other than Paul Qui since there was no stopping him!

J Was at Spiagia in Chicago and they came around and offered white truffles in a device that looked like the graters they use for Parmigiano and soon found out that it was $25 for each time they cranked the grater! But not as fun as watching him slide along on his rollerboard when they got to Italy. I think he will really shine if he makes it to the end since he does know Italian food (maybe not the language, but the food) and his precision should pay off.

Couple of thoughts 1. For the start of the finale, the episode seemed really flat-very little emotion or excitement from anyone...even Stephanie, a very positive and humorous person, was muted. Maybe it was the infomercial for American Airlines or Peroni commercial (someone's gotta pay the bills), but it felt off. 2. Well, let's get rid of one long standing conspiracy theory-Gregory's elimination should make it clear that they actually judge on the basis of the dish they get and are not looking at the season overall/past results. And, yes, sitting on a 12+ hour flight with a bad back must have been miserable. 3. I am also part of the group that can't believe that Bryan V didn't win that challenge and not just because I am a fan. For one of the first times this season, his dish was not only technically strong (shocker), but ALSO met the challenge-he highlighted the white truffle better than anyone. It seemed that Melissa made an error with the salami, but, as always, we don't get to taste the food and the editors do get to take some (ok lots of) liberties. 4. Padma, hair pulled back, speaking Italian like a pro......mmmmmm. Is it in her contract that in each finale they need to do something to make her look delicious-wasn't it the original All Star season where she suddenly appeared in a bikini running out of the ocean onto the beach! 5. And, no Stephanie, great as you are, you are NOT as cool as Bryan Voltaggio!

So, I watched it again and what was the deal with the $400 budget at Whole Foods? What was included at the restaurant and what did they buy? There is no way Malarkey could get veal and truffles for all those people for $400! We saw Bryan V get like one piece of lamb but there is no way that was enough, right? And I don't think that Stephanie had enough coin for the scallops and caviar in her dish....and you cant count on Whole Foods for top quality quail. By the way, why didn't they make it clear that the cheftestants were cooking for not only judges table, but all of the other special guests...some of whom got Malarkey's dishes. I am very glad that Malarkey didnt up and quit...that would not have been respectful to Gregory and the other cheftestants. I'm a Bryan Voltaggio fan and get that others love Gregory, while others worship Melissa and there is a whole group that loves and/or hates Kevin, but one thing is clear.....Uncle Jonathon Waxman is just great and does a great job explaining the dishes and helping us appreciate the flavors.....and he is even better with Champagne Padma.

On page one of this thread there was a picture of the Final 5 and while I have looked at it several times, I could never really tell....but they insisted Malarkey was there, as was Karen, but Stephanie was not. While that picture was fuzzy, it would be kinda hard to confuse Malarkey and Stephanie. Plus, Malarkey was there for the publicity and face time, so I just cant see him quitting. But then again, how do they get Karen back???

Can actually do it on one step since the late great Mr. Dennehy was in Presumed Innocent with Bradley Whitford. LOL.....I too pretend like it never happened, just like all of Season 5 never happened

Wow.....that's it??? While interesting and somewhat clever in concept it wasn't funny and wasn't really BROCKMIRE. Talk about going out with a whimper.....which is so shocking compared to what this show was in its first 2 seasons. I guess the good news is that watching anyone character with Parkinson's would be sad, and not something that should be played for comedy. And it would be particularly bad for this character who was soooo hard to show any real compassion for!

In case you weren't joking....see from Page 1 of this thread. I've looked at that picture and still can't figure it out...but at this point it is proving to be at least possible!

Maybe the opportunity for Kate McKinnon to do a Dr. Brix impression during the "shine the light inside the body......maybe disinfectant could help" press conference?????

Yeah, but That Guy was kind of a dick! While we can debate the relative merits of MALARKY, there is one thing we can not debate-these cheftestants are turning out some GREAT dishes. There are almost no bad dishes and people are going home for some fairly small things...many people liked Jen's dish. There is one other thing we can not debate-Nancy Silverton is a GREAT judge. She is really able to explain things clearly and in ways that make up for the fact that we can't taste the dishes. And she was able to plug her products (and her incredible success) without sounding arrogant. I am shocked that they didn't have Bryan Voltaggio's other sibling show up-yeah, it would have appeared unfair, but there would have been some comedy gold of watching them try to work together and how funny it would have been if they had NOT won. And I did notice that Bryan V was one of the people attending to LeeAnne's mother...he really is the "dad" of the house. I really like Jen and she is clearly VERY talented, but I think it's time she hangs up her TC chef's coat. It's just not happening.

You mean it gets a little dusty with "I wouldn't give up the last 10 years working with you for anything" and "you do it good" and "we get our show back"gets to you???? I have no idea what you are talking about!!! And then Isaac points to his lineup card and asks Jeremy to say the blessings and I am about done!

I'm kinda excited.....Even if all they do is an hour of Update, that would be awesome.....but how can Judge Jeannine throw up on Colin over Zoom and how can they get Kate into costume(s)???

Ding Dong the Gorgon's gone! While she was not as unappealing/whiny/nasty as in TC Chicago, the memory still lingered. And her dish looked kinda gross-it was one of those rare times where I looked at the dish and actually thought I could do it better....and in fact we do, almost every week! I get frying a few leaves for crunch, but not the whole thing. I loved the look of almost every dish, especially Bryan V's and Nini's, and wish I could have tasted the seasoning that they brought to each dish, which is obviously what sets these chefs apart from what any of us can even dream of at home. By the way, knew that Jen was safe once they sorta dropped the story line about (apparently) Eric turning up (and not off) the heat. I would have liked to know what she was making. Was worried about Karen once she made the phone call of doom....but good fake out. When did Malarky turn into Spike, with the whole Eddie Haskel, "who me" routine? He has come off as really over the top and his mannerisms all seem so forced....and he got no help from the edit. I am sure there was more than came out on the screen since I agree that Lee Anne, who was the culinary advisor on his season and likely knows him well from the west coast food scene, certainly took a shot at who ever put the final seasoning on her dish before he brought up the seasoning on her hummus TOO. I sorta thought the same thing and then I thought..."interesting, they cut out Jen Carrol" and then about a second later I realized "where is Melissa.......where is Leanne....where is Lisa?????". It is not that the women are sticking together......it's that THESE 3 women are sticking together. No evidence of Mean Girls.....yet, but odd.

EXACTLY!!! I actually lost track of where the hell Manny was going and how come Joe isn't learning Spanish and when did Luke apply to any colleges and was the new baby ONLY in Lily's arms and.... Great point...and I too loved the "first" hour. NNNOOOOOOOOOOO. While much of the episode was fine, ok, meh, whatever, Cam's scene with Gloria and the dripping neediness that they gave his character was soooo over the top bad that I cringed. (altho I did like the meta/breaking the 4th wall comment about how they have only had like 8 times together) And that is without mentioning, as many have above, how ridiculously selfish and stupid the whole coaching/Missouri storyline was.

So......given that the seder will be a little shorter than usual ("it's not like it's written in stone......actually some parts of the Haggadah are actually written in stone", I will celebrate by watching "April is he Cruelest Month", because nothing says Passover quite like Isaac Jaffe saying..."For God then looked down at his lineup card, pointed to a kid on the bench, and said 'Moses, you're up!'"

Are we going to find out soon that this has all been a cruel joke and that they will bring back the real Brockmire for anotehr season. Maybe we see him in the shower with Lucy....ala Dallas or something. The first few episodes were not all that interesting or funny, but watching Jules was just painful

I side with the camp that doesn't like these contrived challenges to make art or improv or a book into a dish, but you cold tell who has the game figured out and knew that this was a time to survive and fight another day...yeah, I'm looking at you Bryan Voltaggio and Gregory. Cook a dish, concoct some story and move on. What was with Nini's earrings in the QF-I get that she has her own sense of style, but I think those were more than a little over the top for a chef or a chef-testant. Malarky has been really, really successful...he knows it, the chef-testants know it and this week the guest judge knew it since he was on the same broadcast network cooking competition show with him. Loved Ludo saying...."zoo ziss time, you ur competing" but hated Malarky's "we were on a little show called The Taste with Anthony Bourdain." For all the talk about Bryan V being a little too accomplished to be on TC Regular since he was on TC Masters, don't forget where Malarky has been! By the way, let's hope they bring Ludo back a lot....great blend of ability to describe the dishes and critique, along with a healthy dose of snark....and not just because of the accent. And, Karen had no real right to complain about the impact of Kevin's immunity since he didn't cause her to be there, unlike team challenges where the bad dish caused the whole team to be there and resulted in a good dish going home. That was obviously the case with Nick Elmi's dish getting Stephanie sent home in Boston. Karen's dish was bad in its own right and if Kevin had picked another team, she would have been on the bottom anyways..

By the way, the picture I posted above was from this week's episode (Week 3) and was shot at the Getty and not in Rome! So, no Finale spoiler at all...sorry about that, but its placement in the preview made it seem like it! Anyone know if we get more Ludo? He is always good on these shows with just the right snark and sneer to go with appropriate comments about the food.

Yup-Fizbo! Jungle Tanya's spider gets away during her show at Luke's birthday party. One of the truly greatest episodes of this show and truly among my favorite sitcom episodes ever....but that was during Season 1, when the writers weren't mailing it in.

Here's what's interesting-they could go for funny or go for poignant and they somehow managed to try for both and hit neither (other than Phil in the bunny suit)..

oooooh good point. Shore did bring on some really interesting people in House over the years, like Cut-throat Bitch (oh yeah, he killed her off) and Thirteen (ummm, yeah, killed her off too) and I guess that is what he likes to do. It will be interesting to see how he pivots and what we get next. That being said, that was a painful hour of TV and was NOT saved by Shawn and Lea making out at the end!

Ok episode-I like these chef-testants (other than Lisa), but I did not need to see 20 minutes of them driving around in their BMWs and eating at these great restaurants. With so much time spent on that, especially with sooooo many people still in, there was not enough time to focus on the dishes or what went into it. We saw Karyn make dumplings, but I had no idea what she did with the lamb? I still dont know what LeeAnne or Gregory did....or how they did it. Yes, I know that it is a result of it being early in the season, but I would have preferred more time on the dishes they made and not on the Indian restaurant or the taco truck etc..... I would love to know how quickly the judges start talking about the dishes in a setting like this-are they down to 3 best and 3 worst by the time they get out of the car....or should I say BMW. The bottom three was probably set before they pulled away from the curb. By the way....what time did these guys eat all these meals. Looks like it was all before lunch and that the restaurants all opened just to serve them. Doesn't suck! Thrilled that Yukon won the challenge, particularly after all he has been through. I am enjoying his increased confidence which comes up to the edge of cockiness, but doesn't cross over. And, it is clear to see that Kevin and Bryan V and probably Gregory are not even breaking a sweat yet in coming up with and creating dishes. They are not taking the easy way out and just trying to survive and it feels like they will keep pushing it all the way through the season.

You would need some people to stir up the pot like Spike, Stefan and/or Katsuji...and then a couple of stone cold great chefs to really bring out the worst in those people. Fun as this is to discuss, we don't know if they are really that nasty or if they were just edited that way. I've met Sarah G from Texas season a couple of times and she was very nice....including at Monteverde, her excellent restaurant, so who knows. On the other hand there is Isabella!