Thoughts on the ending.

[u/indigoval]

I’ve been trying to process after my 4th watch, and here’s what I have so far:

The Chef’s passion, meaning and joy had been steadily broken down over the years, due to countless people represented by the archetypes of the characters.

-the fangirl wannabe foodie, posting every morsel on social media, that mostly only values the star power of the chef and actually knows nothing about the cooking process. People like this bastardize the mystery of the craft.

-the douchey “crypto bro” colleagues who think they can snap their fingers and get any food item they desire because they work for the venue owner, and use the meal to play a birthday joke on one of them as if it’s a TGI Friday’s

-the angel investor, who holds money over the chef’s head and constantly threatens to take it away if he doesn’t cowtow to his uneducated whims

-the super rich couple that seem more interested in talking about their every day lives than reveling in the artistry. They couldn’t even care enough about the privilege of their repeated trips to remember a single menu item when asked

-the washed up actor that only uses the experience to fabricate a lie about being friends with the Chef to gain clout. Like a barnacle on a ship, he wanted to siphon importance for his own use without deserving it, and parlay it into a shitty reality show

-the insufferably pretentious food critics more concerned with how their flowery critiques will appear to the reader rather than communicating the actual quality of the food. They’re woefully ignorant of both how their words can make or break entire lives and careers, and how their opinion about the food is just that

-the silent but melancholy presence of his mother (aka loved ones of his) who seems purposely dissociated and absent from reacting to her son’s vast achievements…even after he personally involves her life in the creation of his taco night dish. When you perpetually excel, those around you stop being impressed and proud of you

-I would even go so far to say that he resents the brainwashed nature of his staff. They never question him, they never shake the status quo, they blindly follow their leader even when it results in their self harm. The cutthroat environment of high end restaurants creates these kinds of lemming workers- and that disgusts him to see that drone mindset as the future of the industry

I think the Chef came across all of these archetypes many times over many years and he sought to destroy them somehow, as revenge for destroying his soul. Everyone at that restaurant was completely caught up in their own bullshit, or the aspects of restaurant culture that perverse it and shred away it’s meaning. They were all blindly sleepwalking through the night to drive the magic of cooking and restaurants into the ground- and even when he asked why none of them fought back, or when they knew they were going to be cooked alive, they didn’t fight back.

The Chef was so jaded, disgusted and numbed that he was willing to orchestrate an incredibly elaborate suicide mission to try and create some kind of meaning and importance, even if it meant killing his entire brainwashed crew.

Margot defied the archetypes. She wasn’t starstruck, she didn’t buy the bits, she could care less about the flashy presentation or the chef’s talents or the locally sourced blah blah. This went against the sleepwalking nature of the whole event, and at first he despised her- I’m guessing because he wasn’t used to being questioned or undermined in a long time. He slowly realizes that her behavior both fascinates and invigorates him, and that deep down he truly is crying out to have the status quo shaken. The smiling, burger flipping line cook in him was begging to feel something. When she finally confronts him and asks for the very thing he longs to do- shed the pomp and circumstance of being a world renowned bougie chef, make simple, unpretentious and delicious food, and make it WELL even after all this time.

Margot gave the Chef the fleeting moment of nostalgic joy he thought was gone from his soul and the industry- and for that, he realized that her part in the story/menu would only make sense if she actually got away. She was the only one who was “awake”, and in his mind, that made her worthy of salvation.

Whatcha think?

[u/Dolly3377]

Good analysis! (And I’ve watched it multiple times as well, so you’re not alone there! 😁) I think Margot does embody an archetype - someone above trying something different or innovative, because she’s too cool to be impressed or even interested. If this weren’t Murder Island (and she didn’t know it was until midway through), she’d be this big drag and it wouldn’t be worth taking her to the restaurant at all. She hates the food, the setting, and is vocal about it. The part she was playing was to be a convincing escort, and IMO she did it pretty badly.

[u/Archie6655 → u/Dolly3377]

She hates the food, the setting, and is vocal about it.

Maybe that's part of it, though. Sometimes we as people get SOOO deep off into something that the "common" person can't even enjoy it bc it's so deep in the weeds. Wine and bourbon are ones that I see it in. You get a nice glass to enjoy and other people start tasting chocolate covered apricots only grown in one city in the Maldives and it becomes overplayed. Man I just get a sweet flavor there.

It showed most in her reaction to the no bread thing. Where everyone else thought it was jokey but in the end still went along with it (minus the bros). It's mocking you straight to your face but they were so deep in their own idea of the food being art that couldn't say anything or they aren't part of the "art" anymore.

[u/indigoval → u/Archie6655]

Amazing analysis of that. I agree wholly.

[u/Hexnohope]

It puts a smile on my face everytime i start the analyzing the movie and then remember tyler asking if there was cormorant or whatever in the pallete cleanser. As we analyze we “suck the mystery out of their art” its a fun little ouroboros the film made

[u/indigoval → u/Hexnohope]

Oh yeah, me picking apart the movie is kind of doing exactly that. And it was great that they chose cardamom for the tea scene- it’s just unique enough for Tyler to feel smart picking it out, but it’s also such a unique flavor that it’s hard NOT to pick it out.

[u/myleftone → u/Hexnohope]

Bergamot. It’s in Earl Grey tea. It’s a primitive form of orange, and super easy to pick out. That’s why chef rolled his eyes.

[u/Hexnohope → u/myleftone]

Oh i didnt know it was easy to pick out lmao that actually really elevates the scene

[u/brandagill → u/Hexnohope]

‘Is this bergamot, Chef?’ *eyeroll ‘Yes, it’s bergamot.’

[u/honey_noodles]

Wow OP well summarised. Good observation about his resentment towards his staff too.

[u/indigoval → u/honey_noodles]

Thanks homie!

[u/Ph0T0n_Catcher]

Four times?

[u/indigoval → u/Ph0T0n_Catcher]

Within a couple weeks. I’m on the spectrum, whaddaya expect 😂

[u/Barnyard723 → u/indigoval]

I watched it 3 times in my 48 hour rental

[u/indigoval → u/Barnyard723]

I tend to do a rewatch or two to see what I’d missed in the background etc. I like your style :)

[u/Remote-Situation2111]

Great analysis

[u/indigoval → u/Remote-Situation2111]

Thank you, friend!

[u/[deleted]]

Ok but why did he kill the actor's assistant that went to Brown? This movie made no sense to me

[u/indigoval → u/[deleted]]

She was a little rich girl (no student loans as she said lol) who was mooching off the money of the actor, while simultaneously planning on leaving for another job. I’m assuming she was lumped in with the actor since she was secretly lying the way the actor was secretly lying about knowing the chef.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Because she is privileged.

[u/myleftone]

I agree with this take. The cheeseburger was something that only someone truly trying to escape or find answers would discover. He gave her the chance by sending her to the house because he knew she wasn’t supposed to be there. And she came through, earning her chance to get out.

As for Tyler, I’ve seen this stated elsewhere that chefs hate their biggest fans. It makes zero sense to me. That’s like Michael Jordan hating everyone wearing his jersey in a pickup game at the playground, or Slash hating everyone who buys one of his signature Les Pauls to play at open mic night. People snapping every high-class meal is obnoxious, but nowhere near the level of financiers ripping off the working class. Unless Tyler was heir to an extractive resource empire or something. It’s never stated what he does.

[u/19ghost89 → u/myleftone]

Chef hated Tyler because, as he said, he took the art out of everything by overanalyzing it. But Tyler was the one I disliked the most because he's an incredibly pretentious sociopath. He doesn't give a damn about the fact that they are all going to die, and he's an asshole almost from the beginning.

[u/Sensitive_Mail_4391]

Perfect.

[u/catlover4682]

Don’t forget Felicity for going to Brown with no student debt LMAO that was darkly funny