justawatcher

That little blurb at the end about how the judges have the final decision and it might be influenced by the producers (or some such) was pretty prominent at the end of the episode. It made me think how much of this all comes down to editing and what happens behind the scenes just as much as in front of the cameras. For instance- they didn't have to tell us about Frankie sleeping in the car with the crappy boyfriend. Nor did they have to show us how much the other designers chose to help her. They could have just showed that tragic blue garment. She could have been edited way different. As could Cavanaugh- they didn't have to include the part about the bed, the iPhone, the fabric budget. But they made a point of doing so. In each case, that was how they wanted us to interpret that person. Cavanaugh must have been a real...handful...to the production staff to have gotten that edit on the first episode- there wasn't even time for that to build up.

+1 a small mini-rant, if you will, because I did it to myself. Part of the fun of the internet is that we get to have instant access to other people who are also enjoying the same thing we are- no longer do we have to ask in a bar or around work to find the folks who are watching and enjoying the same things. The downside to that is that on every single subject, there are always a few "I know things" or "I am smarter than you are" or "Let me tell you what I know". I came to the forums after the first episode to see what others thoughts were. We have a few "tell you what I know"'s on here. So far- the spoilers have been 100% accurate and that saddens me. Instead of being able to throw out a guess and have fun and enjoy a community, people like the poster I quoted get beat down because their guess didn't match the Google rabbit hole. Can we collectively agree that if you have to go Google to see if a clue matches, then it's not in the sprit of the show and maybe, just maybe, you should post that thought under a spoiler with the lead in of "I Googled and found this:" rather than just out there? Probably not, but I'm going to throw it out there anyway.

I have to remind myself the title of this season is Rookies vs Veterans- so will it be Mia or Motto up against Ariel?

Christina and Jocky go skydiving = 3rd interview Ariel wins Although I have been wrong twice now this season (Kevin and then Heather) so what do I know?

I love the posted who said Donnie Wahlberg for the Monster, but maybe The Rabbit instead and its New Kids and not NSync? I am realizing how much of this show is smoke and mirrors (costumes, pre-recorded vocals, fake audience) and yet I still cannot pull myself away. And the costumes are awesome!

I'd like to change my winner prediction. Brett, however, will get a black jacket. Kenae does not get one- that's my guess.

Interesting that Christina went with them to Vegas. Was that her doing a job interview?

I really thought Kevin had it in the bag. I wonder what the casting thought was this time? Did they have some past contestants they really liked who needed screen time for insurance or something? There really aren't any jerks on this season, just loud mouths. Since Kevin is gone, my money is on Motto. The "head chef" prizewinner from last year is very young, very cute Michelle. I don't see him choosing Kenae or Mia- too similar. And I don't see it being a woman with Christina overseeing all of Vegas. That's a lot of women stacked in there. Motto or Jose.

World Series

I predicted in the thread for episode 2 that Kevin would win. I stand by that. The team switch up thing was the only way to not eliminate him.

I'm going to make a guess that Jason and Adam basically switch jobs for a while and Adam runs the team and Jason does Green team until his kids beg him to go find himself and save the world again. And why, all of a sudden, are they calling Blackburn "Havoc" at every opportunity? Is it their way of portraying that he too is a SEAL or something else?

Kevin's going to win it

There was a lot of shirtless in this episode. Also, did anyone catch when Clay and Stella came back from jogging she said something about either a husband or married? Did I miss something?

My pick for Benjamin winning this still stands (from the 1st episode). I have to admit though- I really thought on episode 1 it was going to be Jared as the winner.

At the beginning, I predicted the winner would be one of the following four: Benjamin, Jared, Jennifer, or Van. I'm down to one left LOL! I am going to go with a Michelle win, but any of them would be okay. The reason is- this chef will be the face of a new restaurant. Any of them would represent him well. Even Robyn.