'Top Chef': The problem with Robin (and Ash and Laurine and Ron)

And in the last episode of "Jennifer, Kevin and the Brothers Voltagio Will Be the Final Four, So Who Will be Picked Off This Week?" ...

Don't get me wrong, "Top Chef" fans, this season is top-heavy with standout talent. The Las Vegas contestants would eat last season's New York chefs for lunch. But it has also become all too clear who the finalists will be. It's a smackdown I'm awaiting with as much excitement as I am with the smackdown that will happen during the "Real Housewives of Atlanta" reunion.

Could Mike I., Ashley or Eli still snag a spot? These guys are judged on a case-by-case basis, so in theory, it's possible. I just don't think it's likely. Even when Jennifer for the time time appeared to be shaken by an elimination challenge, she still got raves. (And may I just say, while she was griping about her presentation of deconstructed meat lasagna, I thought her plate looked delicious.)

So although I love watching the Final Four (as I'll call them until I'm proved wrong) work their magic in the kitchen, the show for me has really become more about guessing whose dish is really the worst. 

And that brings me to Robin. 

I won't get into the whole Quickfire bit in which the contestants complained that Robin used her cancer story to clinch a win. Eli already explained his take on the situation quite eloquently on Bravo's website. Suffice it to say, Robin's win, however achieved, earned her immunity and another episode. 

My problem with Robin (and Ron and Ash and Laurine, for that matter) is that they're not good TV either. I said after the first episode that Robin could be this season's Ariane -- I couldn't have been more wrong. Ariane was a feisty New Jersey mom with her own restaurant and skills that emerged over the course of the competition. Did she stand a chance of winning? No way. But her fellow contestants adored her, and her insecurity turned into confident tough talk over time. You rooted for her as an underdog, even when she was clearly not as skilled as Stefan or even Hosea. 

But Robin is just sort of irritating. Which irritates the other contestants, which makes for no fun on screen. Laurine's already sleepwalking through most of her interviews -- it's called coffee, Laurine! -- and when you add Robin into her world, you get sleepy griping. Ash is sometimes funny, but so -- I hate to say -- pathetic in the kitchen that it hardly matters. His stories always go something like, "I planned on making X, but X wouldn't set up, and I thought, 'Oh no!'" 

Then there's Ron, who got the chop this week. Poor Ron. Ron frustrated me because I never understood how he made it onto the show in the first place. Sure, he has that great story about coming to the States on a boat, but other than that, I'm not sure what the casting people saw. 

What's more, I don't think he ever actually understood a challenge -- from failing to know the meaning of the word "vice" to this week's botching of a "deconstructed paella." Ron didn't deconstruct paella, he just made a really bad one. 

Now, we wait for Robin, then Laurine, then Ash to go home. 

-- Denise Martin

Photo credit: NBC Universal

Comments

[E]

Maybe it's me, but I didn't think Eli explained himself well. On the Bravo site, Kevin on the other hand talks about the situation with a lot more maturity and grace. I'm sorry but Eli sounds like a sore loser. I've been waiting for Robin to go home and Ron, Laurine, and Ash as well.

No matter what you think of Robin, she pulled it out for the quickfire. I don't think her story influenced her win or at least I hope not because this is a cooking show and not Top Sob Story. I agree about your picks for the final four but it is anyone's game. After all, who really saw Lisa going to the Puerto Rico finale with Richard and Stephanie or Casey making to Colorado.

[evie]

Not sure who you mean when you say "His stories always go..." because "Ash" is really Ashley, a woman.

Robin better be axed in the next episode, otherwise there is no justice. I actually like Ashley, but agree, she's not going to make it into the final four.

Since the second episode, I've felt jennifer was bound to win. Since then, that impression has only been reinforced. Everything she makes the judges don't just like, they LOVE. Everyone else is playing for second (though I'd love to see one of the brothers pull an upset).

[Brett]

I am very much enjoying what the presumed "Final Four" come up with each week, but lighten up, Brothers Voltaggio! Always so grim, even while winning.

[Kay]

Loved the recap - thanks.

Evie: There are two contestants Ash Fulk (male) and Ashley Merriman (female). Ash tried to make the 2 custards, but only served one in the Quickfire.

[Realitygal]

Hi Denise,
Have you had cancer? Have you been though chemo? Eli did a CRAPPY job of explaining himself. Just because your Grandma died of cancer, that doesn't mean you have ANY idea of the hideousness and fearfulness that is Cancer. The way that it changes your life forever. The task was to create a dish related to your personal experience-that's what Robin did. Kevin told us that Bernstein likes simple dishes. Robin makes simple dishes. Eli could learn alot from Ron and his positive outlook on life.

[Greg Bulmash]

@Evie, there are contestants named Ash and Ashley. Ashley is the female who tries to look like a teenage boy, and Ash is the red-haired, goateed guy.

Ash does seem to have something go wrong with every dish.

Ron never did seem to "get it."

Hector got killed every time he cooked beef, probably because Puerto Rican food doesn't use a lot of beef. Give him a pork shoulder and 3 hours to do his magic with it, and I bet you'd declare him the winner. He couldn't cook well outside his comfort zone.

Laurine has some sparks of brilliance, but she's too inconsistent.

Mike I. has a big mouth. Maybe it's just the way the producers cut the show, but he seems to spend so much time badmouthing other contestants, I'm always hoping to see him go home.

Robin thinks out loud, constantly chattering away, and the others are rightfully annoyed with her. As for her story or Ron's story... everything goes out the door when you get to the kitchen. Make good food or go home.

I agree that Kevin, the Voltaggios, and Jennifer are front runners for the win. Eli and Mike I. are dark horses. The rest will be gone soon enough.