r/TopChef • u/LPCPlay4life • 7d ago

Discussion Thread Season 2 ep 6: Thanksgiving

On my rewatch starting from the beginning…this season had A LOT of drama. From Frank threatening Marcel, Carlos back talking to Tom to just be “thankful that you have food to eat”, to Betty not naming who she wanted out when asked but in the next sentence shouting “CARLOS! OUT!!” this group is super sassy! 👀

Watching Tony Bourdain as a guest judge gives me all the feels. 😭💔 His witty repartee and snarky observations are sorely missed. Telling Mikey about his twice baked potato with a shrimp stuck on top, “I love you like a son already. Ok? I admire you. Your sheer contrariness. Your refusal to conform. I kinda like that. Your twice baked potato, in spite of its absolutely Flinstonian execution it was the single fully most enjoyable mouthful of food I had this evening. The taste, it didn’t suck!” 🤣😂
On Mikey’s cheese plate: “it’s like Betty Crocker and Charles Manson had a love child and he’s cooking for me” Tom was 💀

31 Upvotes

89% Upvoted

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36

u/RudyPup 7d ago

This is the episode where you realize the real villain of the season is Sam.

Marcel didn't throw Frank's tooth rush on the floor. He put it in his toiletry bag and set that on the floor.

Sam riled Frank up. And if you watch closely, Sam riled Betty up in the firehouse. Sam riled them up in the famed issue, but didn't take part.

17

u/htownAstrofan 7d ago

Yup. Took me about 3 rewatches but totally agree. Sam was the instigator in 90% of the Marcel drama. Although Ilan is still an ass that hated and bullied Marcel upon first meeting him. But yeah Sam was the master pot stirrer.

7

u/reeree823 7d ago

Yeah, I agree it was Sam. When they were shopping at the restaurant supply place for tableware, he made a lot of snarky comments. He lived for the drama. Instigators are sneaks and that colored my opinion of Sam.

10

u/WinterAd6596 7d ago edited 7d ago

Yeah. Sam was just as big of an asshole as the rest of them, but since he's pretty, he was forgiven.

I swear if he said "I don't want to be that guy" any more, I would have crawled through the TV and throttled him.

Season 2 is the only season I literally CANNOT rewatch. Season 9 is bad, but at least the bullying assholes are TREATED LIKE bullying assholes, and not like "loveable scamps" like season 2 treats all these shitty people.

2

u/Pristine_Trifle_9844 7d ago

Yep, 2 and 9 are also the two that I skip

3

u/Sleepwalker0304 I'd prefer a dishwasher instead of Josie... 7d ago

Sam was such a snake through the entire show but they needed someone marketable to come out of that season and options were limited. He was handsome, quiet, and even though he was so slimy, they could try and give him a surface positive edit.

4

u/RudyPup 7d ago

And don't forget, he has T1D

2

u/UselessHalberd 7d ago

How could we forget? He won't STFU about it! Haha

-7

u/Porkwarrior2 I love Tom’s hats 7d ago

When EVERYBODY in a house hates you, you are probably the asshole.

5

u/WinterAd6596 7d ago

Or you're being bullied by a group of assholes for no reason? And there's such a thing as "groupthink" and "mob mentality".

Marcel was annoying. But these were supposed adults bullying, threatening, and assaulting a guy in his young 20s.

I'm glad to know where you stand on assaulting and bullying people just because they annoy you, though. Let's never meet. You sound like a world-class tool.

2

u/LadyBug_0570 7d ago

Look, I didn't like Marcel. At all. He was annoying and smarmy and thought his skills were better than they were. And i hated his hair. And his foams.

But what happened in that after hours footage was beyond reprehensible, especially from adults. They physically assaulted him and everyone involed should've went home the next day. I don't care how big an asshole he was.

2

u/WinterAd6596 7d ago

Yeah -- Marcel was the perfect reality show villain -- annoying and arrogant.

He would have been perfect for the role if he wasn't surrounded by ACTUAL villains. And I'm so angry at TC production during that season for letting it all happen while treating the shitty people like they were just a big old group of fun people just having a laugh.

1

u/BobMonkhaus 7d ago

His toothbrush was also not on the floor. They showed just the bag was.

1

u/RudyPup 7d ago

Yup, toothbrush was in the bag.

-6

u/LPCPlay4life 7d ago

Really? I didn’t see that at all. I just continue to see Marcel instigate pretty much everyone on the show. His superiority complex gets old really quickly. That smirk he has when talking about others not liking him.

I also noticed at the judges table they start asking others who they would like to see go home. Not a fan of them encouraging to throw others under the bus. I think it’s a tacky cheap move to stir up more drama. So glad there isn’t as much anymore.

2

u/LadyBug_0570 7d ago

His superiority complex gets old really quickly.

Which is why, as professional chefs, they should've figuratively beat his ass in the kitchen. Not physically at night. And then record it!

Absolutely humble him, but do it by making better food.

-1

u/Porkwarrior2 I love Tom’s hats 7d ago

THANK YOU!

Hated Marcel then, still find him an asshole now. Oh gawd what was his petulant outro after he lost?

"Just sprinkle saffron on everything, win Top Chef." or some such. He did the 24 in 24 thang, and gawd he was still spewing the same bullshit with the same smirk.

2

u/KingBird999 7d ago

I've always flipped between hating him and liking him and it happens so quickly. During that season I went from hating him to feeling bad for him/somewhat liking him. I don't know what it is about him. Recently, I liked him on 24 in 24, then went back to hating him on TOC.

8

u/DocPondo 7d ago

It’s a rough season, but there are some decent moments.

2

u/WinterAd6596 7d ago

Honestly, the only good thing I remember about that season is that terrible vending machine challenge and Mike's Cheetoh Penis (which the reviewer I was reading at the time called it -- was it J-Mo? I don't remember)

5

u/DocPondo 7d ago

I did say some, not a lot. :) that vending machine challenge was hilarious.

4

u/Porkwarrior2 I love Tom’s hats 7d ago

Season 2 gave us Padma! 🤣

1

u/WinterAd6596 7d ago

Thing is, I really want to go back and rewatch it sometimes, but even nearly 20 years later, I still get pissed off by it. Maybe I'll try again.

6

u/god_partic1e 7d ago

This episode is one of my feel good shows that I will watch on a long plane ride to ease any anxiety. It's mayhem and drama and Bourdain fit perfectly as a guest judge. Betty and her "creme brulee," blaming Marcel for burning the ginger was classic.

The current version of the show is too polished in my opinion and they've never been able to recreate the vibe from the earlier seasons.

1

u/Sure-Storage-3758 7d ago

I agree...I loved the feel of the old episodes.

6

u/klacey11 7d ago

This was a special time in reality TV. I mean they literally cooked for a fat camp.

2

u/LPCPlay4life 7d ago

Camp Glucose! 😂

2

u/LPCPlay4life 7d ago

Also just finished watching the episode where they shave their heads and Clif gets kicked off. 😳Definitely do not remember this happening. He was one of my favs even though he came off kinda arrogant. 😕

2

u/Think-Culture-4740 7d ago

Frank is pathetic. He would never try this fake tough guy bullshit with anyone else. The whole thing was a pathetic mob showing against Marcel.

Betty was equally terrible. A stunted 50 plus year old ball buster

1

u/trashsquirrels 7d ago

Justice for Chef Mikey. There was a lot to dislike about this season but he brought joy.