and the knives come out

I've recently become a watcher of Top Chef. Sort of by happenstance. Project Runway announced their designer du jour and the new season of Top Chef took over Bravo's 10 o'clock Wednesday night time slot. So for the past few weeks I've been captivated by the most delectable amuse-bouche and by earnest attempts to fashion an avante-garde Thanksgiving meal.

Last night the final 8 chefs were challenged to cater an LA cocktail party for 200 and had to work in teams of 4. The Orange team did a remarkable job of laying out a plentiful spread of creative finger foods. The Black team got caught with empty trays and hungry guests. When someone from the Black team was at risk to be voted off, hard headed Cliff offered Mia up for the chopping block. And all hell broke loose as she read him in front of the judges for ignoring her suggestions and virtually ensuring that their team would fail. She called him on his patriarchal bullshit as well and told him to keep his "bleep" in his pants. Is it a coincidence that they're both black (Black team, black drama ... just thinking about it, not being a conspiracy theorist)?

So the judges never revealed who they had chosen to vote off because Mia volunteered herself as a sacrificial lamb for Elia, after disclosing some very personal struggles from her past as a homeless woman who hustled drugs to survive. And I can't help but feel a little ashamed for participating in what was an obvious exploitative reality tv moment for entertainment's sake. Am I reading too deeply into this episode? Maybe. Will I watch the next episode? Absolutely.