Long time reader/lurker here piping up as the show nears its end with some minor thoughts and some major thanks: I thought the story may have been a little weak this episode, but it was a particularly quippy one that had me snorting or flat-out laughing out loud several times tonight. Wu was particularly on fire, but…

Maybe they edited out her comments to that effect during the show/episode in order to maintain drama and tension about the pork belly?

He did! Yay. And, may I say, he looked extra, extra adorable tonight. Smiling and relaxed, with a nice new snazzy haircut. Oh, and Padma was asked by one of the viewers who, other than Shirley or Brooke, she had thought at the *start* of the season would be in the finale, and she said instantly and firmly, "SHELDON!"…

Shirley explained on "Watch What Happens Live" that she picked Casey because she knew she's good at desserts while Sheldon had told her flat-out that he would never, ever do a dessert. :)

Gail's comforting pep talk and her warm clasping of Shirley's hands during it was beautiful. Gail is beautiful, inside and out.

Randall, "wary passive-defensiveness" and "pettiness" sums it up so well. "Snarkily bitchy" and "smug" could be tossed in there as well, in my opinion.

Thank you for your insight and for sharing your knowledge. I appreciate it. I also know the exact two shots that you've singled out because they stood out to me. That said, they were hardly the only instance over the last couple of episodes. If TC is really going through the time and expense of digitally manipulating…

Lucky you. I loved the sight and descriptions of her food back in her original season (she was one of my favourites even then), and I bet it will be worth the wait. I just had a thought. Why not call now just to see how bad the wait is now vs. another call after the outcome of the show? Consider it exploratory…

I think you're right.

If my memory of past Top Chef episodes is correct, they usually give contestants a bit of time to recuperate and study between the last regular rounds and the finale. They've mentioned the break in the past, and chefs have repeatedly said they spent some time studying up on the specific cuisine of the finale's…

Ha. Je n'ai aucune idée mais, apparemment, ce n'est pas nous.

For a split second, I stared at the screen with disbelief that anyone would actually choose Katsuji to assist them in such an important event. Then I realized that Shirley must obviously be hoping that his knowledge of Mexican cuisine would help her since that is not a culinary area she knows well, if at all. After…

Editing isn't responsible for facial expressions and body language. And, as I stated, it wasn't merely in this episode that Brooke showed a less than humble or appealing side. Finally, no one said the writing on the wall wasn't clear, because… Duh, people have been going on about the likelihood of a Brooke win and the…

I saw the same thing as you. I think Tom then chooses a third sous for each. Judging by the ecstatic reactions of the two chefs, I'm guessing it's their personal sous from their own restaurants back home. They did that on Top Chef Masters, too.

Noooooooooooooo, not Sheldon!! I wanted it to be a Shirley/Sheldon finale so badly.

This was an amazing episode in a show that's just getting better and better each week. I watched as much of the original trial as I could at the time given work and other things, and I feel ashamed that Marcia Clark wasn't my favourite person and that I didn't pick up on so much of what she went through. My God, it…

I'm so glad you emphasized the proper period. It drives me crazy when reviewers sloppily and lazily classify all 19th century things as "Victorian," as if that were an rubric that covered the entire century. I'm a longtime lurker on the AV Club, but I'm OCD (or neurotic, lol) enough on this point to be driven out of…

Coming out of lurkdom to say that I don't think he was eating stuffing from the sofa cushion. I thought he grabbed his backpack, unzipped the front pouch and took out the remainder of Hank's cookie wrapped in the white napkin that Hank had brought it in. Wu had said he was hungry after his experiences and he…