The Tina episode was very reminiscent of the very best episodes of the show Orange is the new black, which was mostly mediocre except when they did the back stories of the prisoners. This episode was very similar to those and makes for great TV ...
really didnt expect footage from ricky jay and his 52 assistants to show up on an episode an all-time one man show
The “hates black pepper” thing is also definitely from Keller. A quote of his is that salt is a flavor enhancer and therefore makes everything you put it on taste more like itself, while pepper is its own flavor, so don’t use it unless you like it.
Finally finished. Most everyone is right imo. Acting and production are still incredible, amazing performances from almost everyone. JLC steals the show again, so good. 1, 6, 8, 10 were the standouts for me. 1, hardly any dialogue but you can’t take your eyes off the screen for a second, so engrossing, perfect cinematography throughout. 6, Tina was great and Bernthal never disappoints. 8, JLC needs Emmy recognition for her portrayal of DD, it’s so so good but Sugar holds her own and of course the more Pete the better. 10, sick Thomas Keller opening, Achatz and DuFresne cameos are incredible, just heartbreaking when Carm runs down McHale and he responds by calling him “Bergazzo”, not only does he not respect him enough to call him “Chef” but he purposely messes his name up as well. You see that tear form in Carmy’s eye as soon as he does it and he fights it off that whole interaction, such good film making. It was a step back from S2 story wise. Nothing reached Fishes-Forks level but that’s still the best 90 minutes of TV I’ve ever seen so I’m not disappointed. Hope there’s more movement story wise in S4. Also, do we think Syd and Copenhagen are going to bang? Don’t know if I’m cool with that.
They are setting up a few romances: Syd / Luca, Carmy / Claire Bear (part 2), and Richie / restaurant chick (do they allow Richie to be happy?) Did they allude to Cicero having a fling with DD? Thought they did. Many questions to be answered in S4 ...
Def sparks between those first 2 but I feel for Marcus. I think Expo ends up as Richie’s date to the wedding and there’s a super cute moment when his daughter tells him she likes her. I really hope Unc has better judgement than that.
No clue where the show is going but I’m enjoying it Loved seeing all the Chicago chefs this season, I miss home
At first I thought it was clearly negative but I think the call/texts from Unc/CPU is a red herring and it was overwhelmingly glowing.
Considering their MO, Unc and Computer could be, but we have to wait a year, haha. Interesting to consider Syd's next move since her potential new boss / partner and potential new boyfriend hate each other. That could amp up the drama ...
Fuuuuck. JLC and Pete in the S2 finale…I’m not emotionally stable enough for this. Love Pete so much…
Computer maybe but the uncle clearly loves Carmy. He isn't calling repeatedly to dance on his grave. I don't think anyway. Who is Syd's potential new boyfriend? I guess I missed this part.
I don’t live in Chicago/NYC/LA, would a review from a major newspaper in the real world actually have that big an impact to a restaurant already full and with all the publicity they were getting? If they were some obscure/unknown place I could see it. But not being part of the fine dining see I don’t have a good feel for how those folks decide where to drop $300/person on a meal.
On price/margin if they are always this full they need to find more seats adding $25-50 to the price would fix their issues real fast.
My best friend’s mom was near-JLC-level crazy when he was younger. He texted me last night because Ice Chips snuck up on him. She’s so good in that role, the episodes should come with trigger warnings.
Grew up in NY and as a parallel, I can tell you that a bad review on a new show on Broadway could absolutely kill it. Not sure if the same applies to restaurants, but it would not surprise me if it did ...
I preface this with saying I think Ayo is a great actress and doing a great job in the role but Syd has become so poorly written in a show full of well written characters with depth. Her storyline doesn't really make any sense, they need to give her something other than I'm the sous but I should be able to pick the menu of a restaurant but now without anything on the resume but a failed catering gig the chef and investors of a 3 Michelin starred restaurant want to put her in charge? Its just so nonsensical and boring for her.
I think they very easily could have kept the clash between her and Carmy without introducing the absurd notion that she is taking over this guys restaurant. I also thought Richie being bffs with everyone at Ever seemed a little crazy but i like his character so much so who cares. It was a good season but far below what we got with S2. Ep1 was probably my favorite. If i had to guess the bear gets its star, Carmy realizes it isn’t the life for him and goes back to Claire and Sydney takes over.
its the kind of storytelling you get when the money folks order twice as much content than what you had in the bag
definitely this as my biggest plot issue right now. some industry folks have pointed how selective production is with their criticism of kitchen culture, but that's an issue for another day and doesn't really affect my show enjoyment.
is that the longanisa? Had their boston cream donut/eclair/croissant thing that was so outrageously good I've been dreaming of going in person
i finished the season tonight. didn't read the thread yet and have avoided podcasts/media on it but my initial thoughts were that the season had some standout performances/episodes but otherwise didn't flow well and left me a bit baffled with plot/character decisions. - Ice Chips was the standout ep of the season for me and equal or better than any episode in the series. jamie lee curtis' performance is superb. i'm pretty reticent to re-watch Fishes but probably going to do them back-to-back the next time i'm ready. - The first episode was spectacular. the intro to the second episode (i think) that was just the sights and sounds of chicago was also fantastic. - Napkins, the al-anon scene in Legacy, the Computer's introduction in Children, the short Ricky Jay clip, and every scene with Richie and his daughter and/or ex-wife were all great. - I remain disappointed with Syd's character development. She's getting steamrolled by Carm in the kitchen (and obviously that should've been addressed when she had the chance to talk to him that night) but I guess I haven't seen enough in the show from her for me to think that Carm is making bad decisions and overruling her better ones. Even the scallop dish that the guy from Ever complimented her on was enhanced by Carm. - similarly, i felt like one of the few people in the world who was interested in carm + claire last season (instead of carm + syd, which i never understood) and this entire season felt like edging as a result. is carm any closer to his p-e-a-c-e at the end of this season? idk, didn't really feel like it. - I always thought - too much faks. comic relief incompetence is fine. side character incompetence is not. they had more screentime than marcus and i went to denmark with marcus last season! - olivia coleman was like ice cream for dinner. she was so perfect last season and i thought they went back to the well and over-indulged. though i think (hope?) that her conversation with carm is basically what drives s4. also, coleman's warmth makes joel mchale's appearance at dinner feel strange. i'm obviously in for season 4. season 3 was positive, overall, but a little exhausting. i'm hoping for real conclusions or, if that's too much, real changes. (or even a rejection of change! already ripping mad men lines, borrow on its overarching theme!)
Did anybody else notice the Bradley Cooper ‘Burnt’ easter egg? I’m hoping the characters exist in the same universe now.
I agree with a lot of this. But not the Faks. My only complaint on them was going to see Claire Bear. That was a little over the top cringe, even for them. But their banter throughout was probably needed to keep some fun in the show while they took a season to reset some things with little actual progression.
My take is a little different on that. The banter between the Faks is the comic relief and their circular logic enables them to talk each other into anything no matter how stupid. For me, the funniest moment of the season was when Carmie asked Neil Fak To deliver a dish and pour the hot water or soup in front of the customers for presentation, he was so wrapped up in the task, he pours it out turns right around and makes his way back to the kitchen with the dish, to the amazement of Carmy, that freaking killed me. Anyway it's the same sort of thinking that led to them going to see Clair so I think it was in character ...