Top Chef: "Fit for a King"

So the Final Five have made it to the Bahamas. The climate may be more tropical and Padma's outfits more skimpy, but not much else has changed since we last saw our Top Chef contestants in New York City. Mike is still as arrogant as ever, Richard as nervous and Tiffany as boring. Here's the Good, Bad and Ugly from "Fit for a King."

The Good:

• The quickfire. Not only was Fort Charlotte the perfect setting for a throwdown against chefs of yore, but the concept of the quickfire challenge was fun, as well -- a little "Top Chef meets Iron Chef". I could tell by the bags under Richard's eyes that he wasn't lying when he claimed to have cooked every fish that swims within 100 miles of the island, so I'm sure he was disappointed when the secret ingredient was not, in fact, the rare Sharpnose Puffer but instead, a painfully common rack of veal. And he didn't even get to chase it down and kill it himself. Regardless of Richard's potential disappointment with the ingredients, he, along with Tiffany and Mike Isabella, pulled off an upset against their respective "Iron Chefs." Carla and Antonia failed to take home the 10 grand and the pride that goes along with winning a quickfire, and it was only the beginning of a disappointing episode for the two strongest women competitors.
  

The Bad:

• The elimination challenge. The "royalty" twist really wasn't that surprising, and the fryer fire only made for a slightly more exciting end of the evening. For the first challenge of the finale, I was disappointed. First of all, I would have liked to have seen the chefs shop for ingredients. I think it's more fun to watch them go to the store or a local market and choose from what's there, rather than just taking their pick from the Top Chef kitchen. I also didn't understand why Tom was explaining their dishes to the other judges rather than having the chefs present the dishes themselves. Though the equipment limitations threw some of the chefs for a loop, I wish this challenge could have been a little more creative by design.
• Assumptions. You know what they say when you assume... After being on two seasons of Top Chef, you should know that things are never as they seem. So not only was it disappointing that most of the chefs were duped by the premise of serving royalty, but it was also silly that they bought into the idea that the King of Junkanoo wouldn't enjoy classy food as much as the real King of the Bahamas (if there even is such a thing). How many challenges have we seen on Top Chef involving children or other blue collar clients, where the cheftestants get scolded for dumbing down their concepts to fit their audience? So what if King Vola's palate isn't as refined as Queen Elizabeth's? Gail's bad spray tan aside, it's her, Tom and Padma who are the end all, be all, so they're the ones you should be trying to please.

The Ugly:

• Self-doubt. Richard and Carla were my two favorites of the remaining chefs. Now that Carla is gone, I can only hope that Nervous Nelly will stop psyching himself out and bring home the bacon. It's so sad to see such successful professionals struggle so deeply with self-doubt and negativity. Carla was really a victim of circumstance in the quickfire challenge, but she held on to the feeling of failure and carried it through to the elimination challenge. If her MacGyver skills in real life are anything like what they were in the kitchen, I would not want to be trapped on a crashing airplane with only Carla, a tablecloth and a paperclip. Richard, on the other hand, admitted to worrying about everything and hating everything he makes. If that's not the understatement of the century, then Mike Isabella hasn't gained 20 pounds since season six. I can understand being a perfectionist and fearing failure, but Richard's got to have a little more confidence in what he does. You don't make it to the finale of two seasons of Top menChef on luck and personality alone (which is why Fabio isn't walking his pet turtle on the shores of Nassau).

Next week's episode looks as if it continues the Survivor motif that's appeared throughout Top Chef All Stars, and I can't wait to see the chefs duke it out yet again. What did you think of "Fit for a King"?