Top Chef - S8E13 Power Rankings

Sorry, folks... been a little tied up.

I could rant here, but I feel like it's a rant that's getting a little tired. Surprise kitchen facilities in the finals just sucks. If you're going to limit them to deep fryers and a small flattop, let them know BEFORE they do their planning and prep. But this is par for the course and isn't going to change. Amusingly, until the chefs got rattled and largely made a mess of their second chance, I actually thought that the deep fryer malfunction was a beautiful bit of karmic retribution. Try to spring surprise kitchen facilities on the chefs? Screw you, elves! We're doing it again!

I don't know, there was something so oddly antiseptic about this episode. Something weirdly ominous. Disappointing on many levels. Gonna move on, here.

The power rankings are not purely a prediction of who is most likely to win, or an assessment of last episode's dishes, or a reflection of the contestants' historical performance, but rather a nebulous amalgam of all three, combined with a little bit of gut feeling, to provide a relative measure of current awesomeness.

Wins

Top

Bottom

1 Richard Quickfires 3 8 1 Last Week: 2 Eliminations 3 7 1 Berating himself in the corner notwithstanding, a pair of solid dishes and a bad week by Antonia put Richard back on top. Though there were some minor flaws in execution, his Roasted Lamb Loin & Malted Braised Leg with Pickled Turnip & Mustard sounds like another fabulous and well-conceived dish. I confess, I wouldn't have anticipated at the beginning of the season that Richard would become the polarizing figure that he seems to have become. I personally find his headspace both understandable and oddly endearing. I know people like that. But I can understand how some people are getting sick of it. If he wins, I'm sure he'll enjoy it. I just wish he could enjoy the journey, because that sure doesn't seem to be the case.

2 Antonia Quickfires 1 4 3 Last Week: 1 Eliminations 2 7 5 An off week for Antonia, losing a "whose dish we hated least" face-off in the quickfire, and making a dish rather uncharacteristic of her in the elimination. But that's just it. The entire episode was uncharacteristic of her. And unlike other contestants who you could see falling into a self-doubt tailspin, Antonia has always come across as mentally durable. In season four, she had an off episode, but didn't get the chance to continue any further. Here, she does, and I suspect she'll get it together quickly.

3 Mike Quickfires 2 5 4 Last Week: 4 Eliminations 1 5 2 Though Mike taking shots at people for playing it safe is truly ripe, there's no denying that somebody came prepared. Both in terms of food and headspace. One of the things I find most interesting about Mike's winning dish, though I don't think it came through in the show, is that it was a very Caribbean dish. Well, not the dish, but many of the flavors (I realize the Bahamas, geographically speaking, aren't technically part of the Caribbean, but...). Mace, ginger, allspice, turmeric, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, yams, rum, cardamom... this is not Greek and Italian. Which says that he's been doing his homework. I'm not moving him past Antonia partly because it's just one episode, and partly because Gail basically states outright that he won among a diminished field, but if he's put together a strong finale menu and can nail it, he's setting himself up for an upset.

4 Tiffany Quickfires 0 1 6 Last Week: 5 Eliminations 0 3 8 In some ways, it really has been a remarkable run for Tiffany. Through thirteen episodes, she's been on the chopping block even more than Lisa. But that win over Kevin should remind us that she can cook a mean dish, just not with the kind of flash or consistency that can get her out of the basement with this crowd. But we're so close to the finish line now, better start preparing mentally for Tiffany in the finale, beacuse it could very well happen.

5 Carla Quickfires 1 3 5 Last Week: 3 Eliminations 3 6 5 Ah, what a bummer. Carla would have added a lot to the finale in a lot of ways. And I really would have enjoyed that slice of humble pie from Television Blend (no, because somebody didn't win that does not prove they couldn't have, it just means they didn't). And it's especially painful to watch somebody go down like that. But at least it was a no-doubter and controversy free. Nobody's disputing that somebody else has to screw up pretty badly to save you when you serve raw pork. But the good news is that if there's one competitor in the history of the show who can let a late-season loss be nothing but a positive experience, it's Carla. She's a swell contestant of the highest order, and her exit is our loss.

WARNING : MINOR EPISODE FOURTEEN SPOILERS AHEAD

Another quickfire that would be infuriating if it wasn't a quickfire. 100 plates in an hour is rough. But again, it's a quickfire. And in teams, oddly enough.

The elimination involves beaches and conch and snorkeling. The conch is a gimmick, and that's fine. It doesn't appear that it's going to have any impact on the cooking. And the product looks unimpeachable. So long as the facilities are adequate, it could be a very good challenge. Expect Richard to be VERY prepared for conch.

Now, the big question... how many episodes are left? Some listings have indicated two, and a three person finale would be in line with previous seasons. But in Gail's blog interview, she mentions three more episodes. Did she misspeak? Is it a two-person finale? Is there another non-elimination? Very strange.

Discuss!

Comments

[DPP]

Great rankings as usual, Dom. According to Wikipedia, there are 3 more episodes with a 2-person finale.

[elaine]

antonia actually lost the "whose dish we hated least" face-off.

(Mistyped, now corrected... thanks for the heads up, Elaine! -Dom)

[Mahalo]

Dom,

I checked TV Guide, I believe this confirms there are three episodes remaining -- so it looks like a 2 person finale. Hmm, interesting.

Here's the link and description of the two remaining episodes after tonight's 'Island Fever' episode:

http://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/chef/episodes-season-8/278417

I was going to cut and paste the episode info here, but I don't know if you would consider this a 'spoiler'.

[Independent George]

I do find Richard's anguish both endearing and irritating. Bearded Spock jokes aside, I won't count him as evil until I actually hear it from the lips of the other contestants.

It's just that, well... In S4, he gave away a $5,000 prize to Steph because he thought she deserved it more than he did; contrast that to him playing head games with Antonia. It's almost as if he watched himself in S4, and decided that all those little things that endeared him to the audience also cost him a competitive edge. (which is ironic, because the lesson of S4 seems to be that you can be a nice person AND win the prize). I actually remember one of his blog entries where he referred to himself as the 'lovable loser', with more than a little bitterness to it.

It doesn't appear to have affected his cooking any (yet), but he seems to be taking the entire competition personally. I can't see that as good thing even if he wins, and can imagine it being absolutely devastating if he lost.

Also, I followed Colicchio's link to Carla's cookie business, and, to quote the wisdom of a modern sage... ME WANT COOKIE!!!

[rab01]

They could have 3 episodes left and still have a 3-person final meal. For all we know, they might bring back some form of the live reveal thing they did during Hung's season and make us all sit through 50 minutes of filler to find out who won.

[garik16]

Mahalo, yeah the episode titles I suspect are a minor spoiler: the episode for next week has the same title of a very good challenge of the past, though now that Carla's gone, no one from that season is left.

Soo it's possible they're repeating that challenge next week. Could be a red herring of course.

[Mahalo]

@garik:

Oh those Magic Elves -- nothing is as simple as it appears.

[Amaro]

Could it be that the last episode is the Reunion and the ones before it are the semis and final like normal?

[Mahalo]

@Amaro, if you clink on the TV guide link in my first post above, it appears from the episode descriptions, that the reunion will be after the next three.

I guess it still could be a final three for the finale, two weeks from today. Wikipedia is not always correct.

[marjorie]

I like these rankings. I just hope Antonia's not shaken, confidence-wise.

Carla acquitted herself so honorably. You don't have to win this show to come off as a champion! The essential Carla-ness of Carla, which came through so clearly, means that her appearance on the show will do wonders for her career.

Richard also seems to be so truly himself, for good and for ill. I wish he didn't seem so joyless. But I'm not angered by his anguish, b/c it seems so genuine, b/c he can't help it, and b/c he's way harder on himself than anyone else. Still, oy. It's hard to watch. He could use a little joy infusion from Carla. (Did that sound dirty? Sorry, Matthew.)

And now I want a cookie.

[Robin]

I really think what someone said last week about grieving made so much sense - Richard's mother died two months before filming started, and deep grief can leave a person joyless and angry for a while. It doesn't mean it's the person's permanent state, but it can take a while to emerge and progress can be slow. I'm glad no one was filming me 24-7 when I was grieving for months.

[Anon Man]

@garik, even if that episode is indeed a recreation of that particular challenge, remember that each contestant and each guest job had different parameters (I'm being a little vague here for those who might think this dicussion a "spoiler", which personally I don't think it is, but just in case...) So, even if it were the exact same challenge it would be different even if Fabio and Carla were still here, because the guest judges would be different.

I like Richard. I find his mental anguish good viewing. But, he's a little bipolar. (Maybe he changed his thoughts during the break.) This is the same guy who says things like "I'm going to cook my food" and "why wouldn't I help someone else, my dish is going to have to stand on its own" to "I want to get into Antonia's head."

[nomnomnom]

I haven't really taken a deep dive at the previews or listings. I was just assuming the bikini part was the QF and the kitchen part was the EC after watching the previews.

From the end of episode clips it would seem to be the reverse. I also think there is a real good chance they spread out the final episode over two nights. It's not like Bravo has any other programming to air anyways.

[Michelle]

I could have sworn I saw a commercial for the finale on 3/30. And Top Chef Masters 3 starts on April 6.

So, I'm thinking there's tonight (3/16) and then a three-person finale on 3/23, plus the reunion. Maybe Gail was including the reunion in her total when she really shouldn't have.

[Redpoint]

Any chance they'd bring back eliminated contestants like they did season 5, when Jeff got another shot?

Anybody else want to get rid of Padma? I find her so irritating.

[nomnomnom]

Top Chef Masters S3? Sheesh. They are just going to fully crater their brand like this.

[Mahalo]

This is a new interview with Tom Colicchio. It's an interesting read. Of course, he's not giving out any spoilers, but he does vaguely allude to the confusion over when the finale will be. Still can't read between the lines on this.

http://www.avclub.com/articles/tom-colicchio,53253/

[Redpoint]

Great interview. Thanks. It makes me more interested in the next episodes, which I've been approaching with dread rather than glee ever since Angelo went home.

[Elise]

I'm also liking Richard this season (I liked him in season four as well), maybe he's not as easy to watch, but I'm not in it for the personalities, I'm in it for the food. He's still banging out the food.

I'm hoping we're going to get a Richard/Antonia show down again this time. Season four round two or whatever you want to call it.

[SteveL]

From Tom's blog, just posted: "There are three contestants left, with two episodes to go. It’s anyone’s game at this point."

[Michelle]

Well, there ya go. But when is the reunion going to be, if TCM3 is premiering April 6? At 11p on the 30th or something?

[Michelle]

Ah, Eater National posts the answer:

"The reunion episode is April 6th at 10pm, followed by the premiere of Top Chef Masters season three at 11pm."