I’ll save who moved on to the big finale for after the jump, but that’s not my main point with this post. And it’s not the fact that my early pick to win it all, Jamie, was back this week with a shot to get back in the competition. No, far and away the best thing on my television Wednesday night was the return of Gail Simmons to the judges table. It was even better than Yves Adele Harlow escorting Sayid back to the island on Lost. Of course, that whole story is mostly just fanfic in my head, but man, there is a crossover episode I could get behind. At any rate, nothing about Toby Young ever worked for me on Top Chef, and Gail’s return has restored order to the television kitchen universe.
It’s not just any one thing with Toby Young either. It’s everything. His entire run on the show it seemed he had either disappeared, or when he did pop up on camera, he was trying way too hard. Rather than just giving his critique, good or bad, he was always trying to be witty, or clever, and more often than not, failing. Through the whole mess, I was left with two recurring thoughts. “When is Gail coming back?” and “If Gail couldn’t be there, couldn’t they at least get Ted Allen to fill in?” I can only hope that her return was ahead of schedule because someone at Top Chef HQ realized just how much Young wasn’t working.
Meanwhile, there were also some results that set the stage for the big showdown, and they came with a nice little bit of drama. Carla, and her menu full of love, won the challenge and headed off to the finals with all kinds of momentum. She’s been a huge part of making this a great season. I was ready to write her off early on, because she does seem just a little bit crazy, but it’s the good crazy, and she has come into her own. She’s joined by Hosea, who had another steady competition. And they will battle Stefan, who looked like he came this close (my fingers are very close together right now) to talking his way out of the competition. Fortunately, for him, I think all of those early wins were just enough for him to edge out Fabio. But weren’t you just rooting for Tom Colicchio to give him the boot?
What do you think? Will Carla keep this run going and win the whole dang thing? Will Hosea finally make good on all those promises that he’s going to beat Stefan? Or will Stefan finally put in a full effort and take the crown? My best guess is that Stefan wins, with a little help from Fabio.
Clacked by Brett Love 
on Feb 19, 2009 @ 11:00 EST5EDT
Ugh. I can’t stand Hosea and his attitude. It’s a shame that my favorite Fabio wont be going all the way.
Stefan and Hosea are both tools. I have to root for Carla by default.
I’d love to see Carla beat Stefan, not just because she deserves it (because she does, in a big way) but because it would totally turn his world upside down. He’s so full of himself and you can tell he doesn’t think of her as a serious challenger, so I would adore seeing her take the upset victory.
I was so sad that Fabio won’t be in the finale. Some friends and I went to his restaurant last week and met him, and he’s such a nice guy. The food was damn good as well. I’m not sure who I’m rooting for anymore, as Stefan is such an ass I really can’t bring myself to want him to win even though I think he’s probably actually the best. I guess I’m rooting for Carla? Thank god Gail is back at least.