There’s no satire. A satire is where the absurdity of something else is played for laughs, usually maliciously. This show is taking the absurdity of Allison’s life and playing it straight, like an observer watching a speeding train when they know the bridge is out ahead.   

I mentioned it in the nominations thread:

The show not knowing what to do with Alex is an understatement.

100%. I was dying laughing at Jane having to originate the idea as surely no woman before her had ever considered a shared experience could be worth talking about.

Not having any personal friends who watch The Bold Type, I was struggling under the weight of my emotions last night feeling like I didn’t have anyone to process the episode with—which is a service your recaps often provide for me! Imagine my delight when my phone’s newsfeed told me that there was, in fact, a new…

i love that instead of just googling breast cancer support groups or something, Jane assumes it doesn’t already exist and that she will be CREATE one. She really is a terrible journalist.

There is a distinct divide between Diaspora Japanese people and Japanese people form Japan in terms of attitudes about what is “offensive/appropriative/hurtful.” I won’t claim to speak for it since I am not either of those, but the situation is complicated and I don’t think a white American woman is in a great place…

It’s not okay, and no one is arguing that it is? And when 30 Rock does blackface, it’s at the expense of the characters doing it. It’s acknowledging that the practice is offensive, whereas certain North American leaders are just appropriating blackness because they think there’s something inherently funny about it. The…

Maybe those 30 Rock episodes will come back with a disclaimer like the Disney cartoons that say it was “a different time.” Those disclaimers don’t really contextualize anything but it lets them off the hook, I guess. Like the average (white) Americsn possess the tools to contextualize the role of racial stereotypes…

Nah. Tiny Fey’s Hurt Feelings: The Episode is the only bad half hour of Kimmie Schmidt.

Malarkey is an interesting guy. He’s not a great chef, but he’s a phenomenal restauranteur. Searsucker and Herringbone are...fine. They’re don’t have amazing food, but each place has a couple dishes that are consistently done really well. So while they’ve never been my choice to eat at, I’ve never minded going with…

Malarkey is easily the most likable “villain” Top Chef has ever casted. I would be happy if from now on that he’s the bar for how “low” they go. Much more enjoyable to watch and rewatch when the “worst” person is just kind of cantankerous and loud and annoying as opposed to actively a bad person (see the Texas…

Well that’s the thing with the show. Brian may very well be a better chef than Michael, but he wasn’t a better chef than Michael on that one day when they competed head to head in the finale.

I really think the lighter tone is due to the popularity of The Great British Bakeoff, a show where everyone hugs and cries and loves each other. It seems like they’ve intentionally cast for that dynamic rather than for backstabbing and arguing.

My wife and I were talking about how we’ll both enjoy Malarkey so much more on a rewatch, now that we know he doesn’t win.

I’m curious what’s happened behind the scenes the past few seasons that both Padma and Tom have lightened up so much and actually seem to really be enjoying themselves.

Yeah, it’s interesting that since the show seems to have done away with casting total jerks to punch up the drama, they now have to really work it in the editing room to add some pizzazz. Don’t get me wrong, I much prefer a pool of talented, amicable, chefs. It makes for a MUCH better show if what you care about is…

Man, you did not want Melissa to win. The entire season built up to her winning. She was consistent and even in the one episode she was truly in the bottom, she delivered a dish they loved and one they weren’t impressed by, but you barely talk about her in this article. Purely for reference, here’s the word count for…

This was a really solid season overall and it ended up with a well deserving winner. Despite being an “all star” season, Melissa essentially dominated. If you watched WWHL after the show, Tom said he believes Melissa has the most raw talent of any chef the show has ever had, including Paul Qui. He also made it seem…

In my opinion this has been the best season of Top Chef.