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S12.E02: Asturias, Spain

ElectricBoogaloo

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ElectricBoogaloo

ElectricBoogaloo

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Bourdain travels to the enchanted region of Asturias, Spain with chef and humanitarian Jose Andres, as he makes a return to his homeland. The people of Asturias embody the rugged environment of the region with a hard working ‘do it yourself’ spirit. Bourdain and Andres hike to a remote village in the mountains for traditional fabada, ocean cliffs for gooseneck barnacles, and secret cheese caves in undisclosed locations. Bourdain also enjoys pitu de caleya with local musician Pablo Und Destruktion while he’s served on the last worker’s class movement. And in true Jose Andres form, he saves a special surprise for the end.

Original air date: 9/30/18

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Macbeth

Macbeth

Asturias Spain was beautiful and I always like Jose Andres. It was just so weird not to have Anthony's narration. 

I knew we would loose his voice. But it was so sad.   It's like watching him disappear right in front of us. 

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biakbiak

biakbiak

This broke me. I am still crying. Jose is just such a mother fucking delight and their sweet friendship throughout and knowing Jose did this gorgeous looking forward horizon voiceover was glorious.

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Yeah No

Yeah No

This episode was the saddest for me yet.  I've always loved Jose so this was the most bittersweet thing ever.  I loved what the show did with music in the absence of Tony's narration.  I feel like this episode should win an award for that alone if not more.  Without Tony's voice it was more possible for me focus in on some details more and draw my own conclusions.  For the first time in any episode I felt I could see Tony hiding his depression.  That next to Jose's pure joy was very hard to take.  A very moving experience and yes, it felt like Tony was disappearing right in front of us.

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scrb

scrb

Truly beautiful country, especially if you’re fortunate enough to get sun, which is in short supply up there.

You can really eat well for like 10-15 Euros, though not if you’re having huge platters of seafood.  Makes it a huge bargain compared to the Basque region (San Sebastián) to the east.

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theschnauzers

theschnauzers

(edited)

I could quote every earlier post and just say, I agree. It was a fantastic episode even for a show that has had so many of them. Production did an exceptional job putting the pieces together and I suspect they had some idea of what Tony would focus on. And the discussion segments really did provide a narrative.

 

Just a well done hour in a beautiful place between the mountains and the seas. And the seafood, the beans, the alcohol and the cheeses.

Edited by theschnauzers
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ElectricBoogaloo

ElectricBoogaloo

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The lack of music reminded me of the Buffy episode where her mother died (they used no musical score for the entire episode). It was especially noticeable whenever they came back from commercial and showed the show logo silently.

The segment about the cheese caves reminded me of a book I read a few years ago called The Telling Room: A Tale of Love, Betrayal, Revenge, and the World's Greatest Piece of Cheese by Michael Paterniti. It's about Páramo de Guzmán cheese which is made with milk of Iberian-bred Churra sheep in the Castilian village of Guzmán. The book is not nearly as dramatic as the title would have you believe but the guy who makes the cheese is very passionate about what he makes.

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scrb

scrb

I’m wondering if he wasn’t able to write or record narration or make other post production decisions on these last episodes before he passed, which is why this episode feels unfinished.

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SunnyBeBe

SunnyBeBe

(edited)

I will preface my comment by saying that maybe, I didn't know Tony as well you guys did.  I loved him and watched a lot of the seasons, but, not as many as most of you.  But, to me, I just got the impression that Tony was not that impressed with things or was not feeling well during this episode.  I know he said the food was awesome, but, I don't know.  Maybe, he knew this chef so well that he was just being more candid.....I'm not sure...but, I kept wondering if he was really having a good time.  Or, perhaps, he's always been that way and the narration tempered it.  

Edited by SunnyBeBe
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Yeah No

Yeah No

2 minutes ago, SunnyBeBe said:

I will preface my comment by saying that maybe, I didn't know Tony as well you guys did.  I loved him and watched a lot of the seasons, but, not as many as most of you.  But, to me, I just got the impression that Tony was not that impressed with things or was not feeling well during this episode.  I know he said the food was awesome, but, I don't know.  Maybe, he knew this chef so well that he was just being more candid.....I'm not sure...but, I kept wondering if he was really having a good time.  Or, perhaps, he's always been that way and the narration tempered it.  

I've watched Tony continuously since "A Cook's Tour" on Food Network back in the early 00's.  I even saw him in person once when he toured with Eric Ripert.  To some degree, yes, he was always a little "that way" (whatever that is) but for me he seems more so in this episode.  More inward, not as spontaneous, more serious, less energetic.  When he did seem "happy" it felt like it was a real effort for him to manage it.  I even feel that there was a difference in his demeanor from the previous episode in Africa.  Considering he narrated that one, perhaps some time had elapsed between filming that and this one.  I'll have to go back and watch some of the Africa episode with the sound off and see how I feel.

5 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

The lack of music reminded me of the Buffy episode where her mother died (they used no musical score for the entire episode). It was especially noticeable whenever they came back from commercial and showed the show logo silently.

Yes!  And when they did use music it was very moving, like the shot of the bubbles dancing in the frying pan to the sound of Spanish guitar music.  Magical.

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ElectricBoogaloo

ElectricBoogaloo

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5 hours ago, scrb said:

I’m wondering if he wasn’t able to write or record narration or make other post production decisions on these last episodes before he passed, which is why this episode feels unfinished.

The Kenya episode is the only one that they finished editing completely (including narration) before he died.

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MissT

MissT

I think someone else mentioned it up-thread, but I thought the last two episodes, especially this one, he looked like he aged - a lot.  I always found him somewhat attractive - but he looked really really worn down.  You could see every wrinkle in his face and forehead.  I also agree he was probably already in his depression trying to put on a good front.  He looked really tired and seemed very soft-spoken.  

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Yeah No

Yeah No

3 hours ago, Macbeth said:

The scene where Jose talked about how much he loved Tony - must have been done after Tony had died. You can see him fighting back the tears. 

My husband said the same thing.

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stacyasp

stacyasp

On 10/2/2018 at 1:08 PM, MissT said:

I think someone else mentioned it up-thread, but I thought the last two episodes, especially this one, he looked like he aged - a lot.  I always found him somewhat attractive - but he looked really really worn down.  You could see every wrinkle in his face and forehead.  I also agree he was probably already in his depression trying to put on a good front.  He looked really tired and seemed very soft-spoken.  

He also looked so frail especially when he was sitting next to Jose.

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