Yep, every year there is usually at least one chef who pretty quickly realizes that he or she is outclassed.

They might not know where the season will be held until pretty late in the game (for them, not the production team).  The tryouts are probably represented as for Top Chef, not Top Chef Orleans. The chefs might not know until they get their plane tickets, although that should still be plenty of time to look up a gumbo…

I think Sonia was saying it didn't matter because Bene's team didn't end up on the bottom.

The editors surely loved Jason (not as much as Jason loves Jason).  His sky-high self-regard and his ignoble departure made for some satisfying TV.

The good:  we didn't have to sit through two or three episodes of the chefs competing to get on the show.  Or, they made it optional, for those who wanted to watch Padma's competition online.  The episode just started with the chefs entering the house, followed by a pretty straightforward challenge.

Tom and the other chefs definitely complain when they have to wait for food.  It was just last year when  the judges were rolling their eyes and kvetching because they had to wait for someone (Josie?) to get her food ready. 

Everyone knows that Curtis Stone has twice as many eyebrows as Hugh Acheson. 

I was hoping he would kick-box his way out of there.

Right around the same time there were shots of some of the other chefs pouring soups or liquids into containers.  Since it was near the end of the 2-hour prep period, that food was obviously going into the coolers as well.  It seems like Ramon simply overthought his processing.

Patti isn't sticking around long.  Even though you can't really differentiate most of the chefs for a few episodes, you can usually tell who's early-dismissal-bait.  Patti looks like she clearly realizes she's outclassed.

Boy, Tom did not look pleased that Curtis Stone disagreed with him. 

Maybe, but he talks like Charlie Brown's teacher, so we're not going to get much out of him either.

Lola goes to Radiator Springs, gets drunk and wakes up in the garage with Tow Mater. 

Well, @avclub-92a4841c9f86965effbc29fa6eae9f77:disqus, given that Skye erased his existence, it's still possible he could end up as Luke Cage in a couple of episodes.  We'll know for sure if he starts referring to his "steel-hard skin" every third sentence. 

Maddie seems to have grown about a foot since last season, so it was good that they're letting her act more like a disaffected teen. 

Young Connie Britton:  the miracle of computers and spackle. 

Yes, the CGI didn't quite always work in those scenes, but I thought it was a nice try.

To me, one of the things the show seems to get right is in portraying the trappings of the biz. Last night's Juliette concert and most of the concerts last season looked right, with the all of the spectacle and exaggerated costumes and emotion.  Musicians have to act as if they are having the time of their life at a…

I think this will be an especially big problem with the main antagonist, who by definition won't be able to emote much without a face.  Even in the beginning scenes of the previous episode, the Horseman was silent and wore a Revolutionary War-era Jason mask.

I'm hoping he's a C.H.U.D.