Bye-bye, Justin D. You never found a voice that was true.
I don’t care how good a cook Penny is. She has to die.
Vic is coming into his own. If he can just learn not to walk like Godzilla.
I wonder if they just put Penny on the show to cause drama and friction. I would eat in Susie’s restaurant every day. Jyll does not impress me at all, and I wonder why Whitney is still in this competition. Based on the last few seasons, I think the deck is stacked against the guys, but I think Jeff, Vic and Susie should be the final three.
Whitney’s problem is the Rachael Ray already works for Food Network. Eventually they’ll show Suzie or Bob remembering that people are going to have to work with Penny on a day-to-day basis and can her ass.
That might happen as soon as next week, from the look of the previews. Or not.
His attempt to imitate Guy Fieri was pretty sad.
Justin D just went weird this week. I especially loved his hamstring pull.
But then again, are ridiculous attention-whoring antics de rigeur for the FN hosts? I thought the task was a little weird, but whatevs.
I am intrigued by Penny because they have consistently said her food is the bomb. I suspect that she is the victim of some creative editing - or she’s the least self aware person on the planet. I still think she sucks, but perhaps not as much as they’ve let on in the editing thus far.
Vic Vegas’ arms are freakin’ ridiculous… is there anything he can do about them? Is that what happens when you hit the gym too hard? Can his arms atrophy a bit so he can keep his arms by his side? I’m being serious.
Jyll is beginning to annoy me as well. The Suzie thing is weird, too. They keep banging us upside the head with the “SUZIE’S MEXICAN!” thing, and I’m not even sure she wants that label… actually, she does. But she’s the only one who seems to be “typecast” as the ethnic food expert. Penny does ethnic food but she doesn’t seem to be relegated only to discussing ME food. When Jyll (every time I write her name I dislike her more) commented that she didn’t know anything about Mexican food, they cut to Suzie. Was that because she refused to taste the dish? That was kind of a dick move.
Suzie’s Mexican?
Really? Are you sure?
I hear Penny (who is utterly unwatchable) is mideastern.
They want another Aarti. I don’t think they’ve got her this season.
He’s a serious gym-rat and it shows. But he is also an excellent chef, and that may get him to the finals, especially now that he’s relaxing a little and letting his personality come out.
My fianl 3 guess/hope:
Vic
Orchid
Whitney
And 1 more thing: I hate Penny too! Jerk and creatively editted are not mutually exclusive.
Judging from her Twitter feed, this.
No, she really is an insufferable bitch, apparently.
In my opinion, this show suffers from the same mindset that has ruined so many other Food Network shows: The execs demand that each and every contestant include some heartwarming, schmaltzy, homey anecdote about their childhood or beloved family members whenever they cook.
Rather than just cook something fabulous and explain their dish to the viewers, they must amp up “personality” and personal backstory. Why? I don’t care. Does anybody care?
They seem to want to turn them all into Sunny Anderson clones. Sunny will go on and on and on about her grandma, to the point of silliness. Do they think this is what the audience wants?
Why can’t they just let these contestants cook, without all the fake drama?
I’m not enjoying the editorial trickery on this show. While I think they’re showing the essential characters of each contestant fairly, I don’t think they’re reflecting actual performances accurately. Rather, they’re forcing a particular narrative for each person, whether it fits the episode or not.
Maybe those narratives fit reasonably into the arc of each contestant’s total season performance, but I find it jarring and an obvious attempt to manipulate expectations.
On the other hand, I found this episode’s challenges much better suited than previous ones for a food show competition. And I was impressed by Guy Fieri’s work with the contestants. His criticisms were spot on and his guidance was clear and actionable, and addressed (IMHO) the right weaknesses or strengths of each individual.
Rundown for the week:
Chris - I applaud his toned down behavior and think he’s improved the most out of all of them. And I’d still rather undergo extensive dental work than spend any of my viewing time watching Chris do anything. I did my time helping my son through his awkward teen years; I just don’t find it enjoyable or cute seeing a different fumbling adolescent “instruct” me about food.
Jeff - Trying waaay too hard. His concept is golden and his personality is engaging. Damn dude, just keep your food right and you’re in the final.
Jyll - Here’s where the editing and judges’ critiques seem the most forced to me. My big problem with Jyll is her uninspired food choices lately, but the show is trying to make me see a “slick”, “controlled”, calculated or false camera presence, which I don’t think is a fair portrayal.
Mary Beth - Continues to impress me. She’s the sleeper, I think. Too bad about the cold grill problem, as I think she aced her performances this week. Also helped herself during judgement by confirming to Bob she knew exactly what was wrong with the uncrispy chicken.
Orchid - I suspect more creative editing here, but it’s reasonably clear Orchid is struggling with presentation. I think she’s very coachable, though. (A half hour each week with Guy would probably fix her and several of the others.)
Penny - No fixing this one. She was saved by Justin D’s ineptness. One gets the impression the judges are just keeping her around hoping for a few more awesome dishes, but we know it’s actually just to feed the reality show drama. Tired of her, and she needs to be sent back to LA (shot from a cannon would be an acceptable method).
Susie - Possibly my personal favorite now, but the narrative is impossible to interpret. I’ve said before I’d watch any Susie show they care to air, but it beats me how FN feels about her.
Vic - The forced narrative is strong in this one. Frankly, I found the Vic stage performance as shown in final edit a bit of a put on. I thought Granny’s rolling pin was a complete non sequitur, and I don’t see how that helped the crowd ‘relate’ to Vic. On the other hand, Vic is genuinely warm and communicated friendliness very effectively. I think FN has a clause in each contract requiring a minimum level of schmaltz (and flair).
Whitney - If cowgirl Whitney keeps showing up, she wins this season in a walk. That was a complete surprise, and I feel like I’ve been suckered by the editing yet again.
My top three: Susie, Mary Beth, Jeff
Bottom three: Penny, Chris, Penny again (I really don’t like this creature).