Tonight is the Top Chef finale (10:00 PM EST), and I don't know how I feel about that. Yes, I'm excited. I really don't know who's going to win, and I really don't know who I want to win. I think it's possible that Ilan is slightly more deserving: he's been very, very successful, by Top Chef standards, throughout the competition. He's clearly a very good cook, funnel cakes aside. His constant harping on Marcel makes it really hard to root for him, though. Marcel, on the other hand, is -- well, likable may be too strong a word -- comparatively sympathetic, but hit-or-miss, as a chef. He's apparently made some great dishes, but the reliance on foams is a little alarming.
On the other hand, I feel a little bit robbed, because Sam and Elia are out of the race. Sam has been the frontrunner since week one; I'm still a little shocked that he was eliminated last week. Sam's long-term dominance makes a finale that doesn't include him feel almost illegitimate. Elia, although less of a force in challenges, is clearly just as talented as Sam. Up until last week, with her disgraceful and lame attempt to accuse Marcel of cheating, Elia also presented as the single most sympathetic contestant. She was the only member of her team not to renounce Otto during that absurd Lychee-Gate event in the second episode and she was Marcel's chief supporter for most of the season.
Finally, Elia and Sam's absence from the final episode (maybe they'll be back as sous-chefs?) leaves one of the most compelling storylines of this season unresolved. I'm talking about the way in which the smothered sexual tension between Sam and Ilan has translated into bullying of Marcel [Like Leopold and Loeb? -- Jenny] [Yes. -- Peter] and eventually drew Cliff, Frank and Elia into its orbit. I wish we were getting a reunion episode, so that we could get at least the semblance of closure. (Why aren't we? It seems really odd that we're not. Is it being slid over to "Watch What Happens," the MTV-ish online-only show hosted by Bravo V.P. of Production and Programming Andy Cohen?)
Tonight is also the premiere of Top Design (11:00 PM EST), the latest Project Runway knock-off, this one hosted by Todd Oldham. I know how I feel about that: can.not.freaking.wait. -- Peter
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