With the Top Chefs off to Hawaii, it's time to put in a plug here for my man, Sam.
GO SAM!
GO SAM!
He's easily been the strongest chef all season, and the strongest leader and all around best guy. So I'll be cheering him on!! (He's the one on the right up above)
Now that we've established my love for Sam, though, I'd like to talk about another chef. I think it's interesting that in all the tv I've watched (and let's face it, I don't exactly skimp), the strongest character arc I've seen lately is on a reality show.
One of the four remaing chefs, heading off to Hawaii, is Marcel. He's a little goofy. (Up above, on the left). He's kind of anal and has that funny poofy hair do and doesn't mind throwing another chef under the bus when they're on the "chopping block." Once, he even threw my Sam to the wolves. So, I rolled my eyes at him a lot and shook my head.
Apparently he didn't make many friends among the other chefs either. What started as Sam blowing steam (justifiably, if you ask me) one day, seemed to open the door for the others to vent their feelings, all the time. So the funny thing was that the more the other chefs excluded Marcel, the more endearing Marcel became. He's still just as odd, but he's also surprisingly resilient. He's kept smiling through all of it, even when he slept on the bathroom floor so no one would attack him, and even when he was on the roof composing rap lyrics about how his food was the best (a classic episode!)
Things got nasty this week one of the chefs woke Marcel up out of a dead sleep and held him down so the rest of them could shave his head. (Sam had the clippers and didn't go through with it). That guy got kicked off the show since it was practically assault, and Marcel still gave him a hug goodbye.
So the writer in me is thinking about how I can show similar things in my books. The cool thing is (since it's real, and not scripted) Marcel is still Marcel, still doing his annoying things. But as I've seen him in different situations and under different pressures, I get to see more of who he is and my opinion of him has changed pretty dramatically. I think that's the challenge for a writer, to stay true to their characters, and still bring them through a complete arc by the end of the book.
And in the meantime, I'm still routing for Sam, but I wouldn't be sad to see Marcel take it all, either. ;)
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4 comments:
I haven't warmed to Sam. I do think he is the strongest cook, though.
Interesting post!
Really? Who are you cheering for?
I don't really have anyone to cheer for, which is a reason why I don't love this season of Top Chef. Probably Marcel or Elia - they are the least objectionable.
As for Sam - maybe I just interpreted some of his scenes differenly, but I think he has been way out of line with his treatment of Marcel. Marcel can be annoying but he doesn't deserve what he has been getting, and it seems like Sam has been a ringleader. Maybe I missed some "Good Sam" episodes!
Elia has done a good job of sticking up for Marcel. I think if you've missed some episodes you might get a different impression. Sam did go off on Marcel once, which I was fine with, because Marcel tried to torpedo him in front of the judges. But after that, Sam was fine with him - kind of a "get it off your chest" sort of moment. Ilan's the one I think has really been evil in the way he's attacked Marcel.
It probably helps that Sam is cute, too. I'm not immune, I confess. ;)
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