[TwoOuter]

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I'm not so sure. I've caught a couple of reruns from Seasons 1 and 2 lately, mostly stuff from the end of each season. Hung seems to get along with the others much, much better than earlier "villains" like Tiffani and Marcel did with their competitors.

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True. Marcel was in a league of his own, and Tiffani came off quite badly as well.


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There just hasn't been quite as much tension among the chefs during this season: there have been group hugs and high-fives all around in all the recent episodes. You *never* saw people hugging Marcel, let alone refraining from cussing at him. There was the [censored] between Joey and Howie early (which they smoothed over) and people have had criticisms of Hung... but it doesn't really seem to carry over that much into how they act around him. They also obviously respect him, or at least respect his abilities.

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I think Hung definitely has their respect. I'm not so sure they feel any love for him though, and I wonder how thrilled they were when, for example, Colicchio said that Hung was clearly the best technical chef in front of everyone last episode.

There have been some hugs and high-fives, but in general if you watch the body language and comments after challenge winners are announced and when people are saying their goodbyes, my impression is that Hung doesn't have the same camaraderie with the group.


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Almost all of the recent criticism of Hung has come from Dale, and mostly in episodes when I think Dale probably feared he wasn't going to be surviving elimination. It's much easier to pretend that it's a team effort and to take this supposed moral high ground when you think you probably aren't going to win. It's like Howie "bowing out" in the episode where he was eliminated.

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Point well taken. Still, it's kind of curious that there's been so little criticism of any other contestants (Howie notwithstanding) except Hung. And think about how many times Hung has been singled out not just by the camera but with accompanying interview comments for not helping someone out when he finished early. Why go out of the way to slam him for something that has so little to do with the actual cooking?

(I'm starting to feel like Hung's older brother. Better take a deep breath. I hope these comments don't sound too serious because this is really all in good fun.)


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At this point, any of the three remaining could win. Dale has had a number of individual dishes that have really impressed the judges, so it's possible he could put together a really great finale meal.

I think I give the edge to Hung (and he's the one I'd like to see win), but I think it's going to be really close. I don't think Hung fits the Tiffani / Marcel type, despite the editors' attempt to hype up tension in the group.

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Fair enough. I see some parallels with Tiffani/Marcel but who really knows. If this were another reality show, like The Bachelor (please don't ask how I know this), where the eventual winner is often edited to look like the he/she is not going to win so the finale isn't telegraphed, then I'd say all 3 have a chance.

But I don't think so. They've positioned Casey and Hung as the best chefs remaining. As in past seasons, there will be a stark contrast between the final two. If Hung were the winner, I think they would have edited very differently, because if he wins the audience imho will have a much different visceral reaction than if Casey wins.

Of course, I'm probably wrong. That happens a lot.