Hey, guess what I haven't talked about in a while?

[apocalypsos]

I was really against the, "I'M GIVING YOU ALL A NEW CAR!" aspect of having the QC winners sit out the EC and leaving the losers to cook Thanksgiving dinner. There's just something about the whole setup that put me off, although I do like that it was almost a poke to the contestants that they should actually try to win rather than try not to lose. I dislike it a lot when contestants have that attitude, which was one of the main things I disliked about season two of Project Runway, for crying out loud.

Having said that, I'm glad Elia won. That soup sounded delicious, and I like her a great deal. Aside from her understandable "breakdown" -- because really, if somebody else's food tastes bad to you and they win and you lose, of course you're going to be frustrated -- she's been very level-headed when everybody else has been losing their heads, and even tonight she recovered nicely from her annoyance when she got a chance to question Chef Tom and he gave her an understandable straight answer. And really, her question didn't come off as confrontational at all, which is more than I can say for the rest of the contestants.

I blame my love for Elia for the fact that I really think the Marcel hate is being blown WAAAAAAAAY out of proportion by these people. She's worked with him and knows him well, and I don't doubt for a minute that if she had a problem with him at any time she would say so in an interview. If I'm going to trust anyone's opinion of him I believe in someone who's worked with him for a while and knows him longer than a few weeks like these people have.

I think my thing with Marcel is that he's a watered-down version of Stephen and I didn't hate Stephen either. I don't get the impression that either one of them are mean so much as awkwardly honest in their critiques. Are they both a little too proud of their work? Well, yeah, but you kind of have to be to even bother signing up for these shows. Nobody comes on saying, "I don't think I'm a very good chef, so here goes nothing," except for maybe Suyai. I think that you could invite them both to a wing night at the local roadhouse and they'd both come, but Stephen's demeanor would throw off everyone around him and make it difficult for people to approach him while Marcel would try to get into conversations and put his foot in his damn mouth and end up walking away with this vaguely sad air and weak smile like, "I'm trying to make friends and it's not working. Why is it not working?" And the fact that he's a nerd would entirely escape him.

It's like the thing with Frank's toothbrush. It wasn't like Marcel scrubbed the inside of the toilet with it and dropped it into a vat of lard, mealworms, and lye. He put it in a plastic bathroom carrier and put it on the floor with some other items. It's perfectly good for every dorm-living college student in the U.S., but Frank decides to go freakin' batshit about something he could easily replace for a couple of bucks if he's so pissed off.

I just don't like where the Marcel hate is going. Is he the nicest guy in the world? No, he's early-twenties smug. Early-twenties smug is HARMLESS. Annoying, yes, but harmless.

Meanwhile, Betty's going to get her damn ass kicked if I get anywhere near it. If I had to say, "Oh, my God, SHUT UP," to the screen one more time to her tonight, I was going to scream, especially when she decided to place blame on her own fucking recipe and baking going wrong on the two other people helping her. Look, St. Betty, try to take a little fucking responsibility. Your dish went wrong, which meant YOU went wrong, not the two people holding blowtorches. No, not even if one of them is Marcel.

So I was hoping she'd get knife'd, and instead Carlos goes. I could see why, though. A salad, Carlos? Come ON.

Ilan may look like Ted Allen, but he still acts just like Ryan from The Office.

Also, is Sam getting hot or is it just me?

Comments

*waves*

[gelasius.livejournal.com]

Marcel is SUCH a nerd. Which really makes his smugness both kind of adorable and kind of wince-inducing. But mostly adorable, honestly.

And Elia? Two words: CHOCOLATE FACE. *giggles*

P.S. I haven't watched TC much, but I may have to start. :P

[umetnica.livejournal.com]

Betty was so annoying tonight. I've had mixed feelings about her so far, but tonight I really wanted her gone just for her attitute.

Marcel's smugness is annoying but I'm starting to side with him just because I think the hate is way too harsh. And, like you said, I like Elia and if she likes him he can't be all bad.

Re: *waves*

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

I feel so sorry for Marcel at this point, because you just know the poor geek is sitting around trying to figure out what he did wrong when really he hasn't done anything wrong. The worst thing he's done so far was bug Betty during the firehouse challenge and in retrospect she was the one who started it and I'm starting to get the impression his response was less malicious and more a poorly executed attempt at teasing. He just seems like one of those guys in high school who was the butt of teasing rather than the one who made fun of others and I sympathize with the poor guy.

Honest to God, if Betty and Frank are trying to get the viewing public to hate Marcel they're doing a bang-up job. At this point I'd rather he got farther in the competition than either one of them, and what I'd really like for Christmas is for Betty to get laryngitis and for Frank to get hit with a restraining order.

*sigh* It was so much better last season when fewer of the contestants were clinically INSANE.

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

At this point I think that Marcel is just horribly socially inept but more well-meaning and more uncomfortable about his inability to socialize than Stephen ever was. I think it's a lot like last season when it took until the reunion show when we found out that if you hand Stephen a bottle of champagne and let him drink to his heart's content you find out he's not half as bad as everybody made him out to be. I still like that when they had the junk food challenge in the house last season Stephen was there laughing away the same as everybody else instead of saying, "Everybody else is acting like a bunch of children!" and stalking off to his room like a big snob.

I mean, I understand that Marcel has his faults, but I can think of nothing he's done this season to warrant this kind of hate. The firehouse taunting of Betty, maybe, but the hate was virulent way before then, she started that, and I get the impression in retrospect that that was his really sad attempt to tease her back. I might be giving him too much credit but then again I just had to watch Betty behave like some spoiled brat, screech at him during the judging, and scream that Carlos should go as soon as he calmly pointed out he would pick her over Michael to go.

And I didn't say it, but also in the camp of guys-I-think-are-getting-picked-on-too-much is Michael. He might not be Top Chef material, but he seems like a nice guy (albeit rough around the edges ... REALLY rough) and I think it's a case of his being really bad when he's bad but being pretty good when he's on target.

[septembergrrl.livejournal.com]

I just don't like where the Marcel hate is going. Is he the nicest guy in the world? No, he's early-twenties smug. Early-twenties smug is HARMLESS. Annoying, yes, but harmless.

Meanwhile, Betty's going to get her damn ass kicked if I get anywhere near it.

You and I are one on these things. Marcel's kind of a jerk, but he knows what he's doing, and, as you said, his form of jerkitude is harmless. Betty is a massive bitch who can only cover it up with smiles! and hugs! when things are going her way. And it's clear her technique isn't where it should be -- she's fine with sandwiches, soups and dishes she makes at her restaurant, but every time she tries something more difficult (meringues, creme brulee) she falls on her face. And blaming the people holding the blowtorches was SUCH a no-class move.

I'm glad Carlos went home, he's clearly been aiming for the middle all along. Nice guy, but not Top Chef material.

[septembergrrl.livejournal.com]

I think it's a case of his being really bad when he's bad but being pretty good when he's on target.

My impression is that he's a very good cook when he has decent direction or a good idea, as with the risotto last week or the twice-baked potatoes and amuse bouche tonight, but he really sucks at putting the pieces together (e.g., someone needed to tell him not to send out a plate that was ALL WHITE STARCHES). And then he sometimes throws a tantrum and doesn't try, as in the vending machine challenge.

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

Ain't that the truth. I think I'm just a little tired of this season being like middle school with the popular girl and the bully always picking on the nerd and the fat kid.