Ikki

My mom has only seen a couple episodes of the show (and because she received two free passes, she's now seen the movie). I'm trying to think of other episodes she might like, and I was wondering if people had suggestions. She enjoyed "The Kid's Rob a Train," which I chose because she likes wine, chocolate, trains, and heists. I'm thinking of "Stand by Gene" (the episode with the two-butted goat) as a good one because it has lots of the kids friends and a quest. Basically looking for strong episodes that stand alone, not really with fantasy elements (like the ones where the kids tell stories), and maybe have good shows of various characters.

Tellulah is just... the worst. (Penny's advice to her was also not great.)

I love Reid. Lil' trooper. I liked this episode. Getting to pick the team was definitely the bigger advantage, and the blue team's dish concept seemed better on top of that. Ben had been in the bottom a few times and seemed over his head, so I was expecting his elimination this episode. By the way, did anyone happen to catch how many Michelin stars Gordon's restaurant has? I'm not sure they mentioned it.

I think the point was, Teddy wasn't doing it out of self-interest; he was just trying to help. Of course, he fucked up that helping (though was ultimately successful), and he didn't have to insert himself into the situation at all.

Yeah, I agree, that's what I was saying. I think the immunity through luck has been really noticeable throughout the season, though, and it's been bugging me since the lobster challenge.

They've done what throughout the season? Given Ivy immunity, like I said in my previous comment, or something else?

Better accommodations would be making it so she could actually compete in the challenges, if they are in fact an issue. It's not like she's surprising them going into each episode. They did do something similar in an earlier episode this season, though, where just picking the special coin advanced you. In that case Matthew got it. I think it's a silly thing to do, and yes, it's worse later in the game, but I don't know how much is intentional for an individual contestant. Ivy has gotten immunity a lot, but to me that only really shows that she's lucky and that this show gives out immunities too much.

Ivy had a bunch of weeks where she wasn't cooking in the second part of the episode, so there were fewer opportunities to see her cook. Now she's been cooking, but it seems like for better or for worse, her dishes aren't really standing out. I like Reid, too. There was less camo this week, which I was okay with.

I remember as a kid I had a friend whose mom pretty much only let her listen to the Kidz Bop version of songs. I always felt bad for her. The elimination challenge felt a lot like a repeat of the one where Matthew chose between three ingredients and chose citrus-- only this time the kid picked the one the show wanted them to (Gordon's).

Aaron's talking heads sure were a lot tonight.

Well, good news for you, I guess-- Kyle wasn't eliminated. The two to go were Mateo and Talulah, with Kyle and Brielle being the other two in the bottom four who were ultimately safe.

Oh, there was an interesting topic on Reddit I saw-- season three winner, Nathan Odom, did an AMA. https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/b53f93/im_nathan_odom_winner_of_season_3_of_masterchef/ In it, he mentions that filming takes about six weeks (obviously less if you get out sooner). So, yeah, a kid needs a parent/guardian who can be available for six weeks. Now, these days, some people could work via their computers, so it might not mean time off for everyone. But for most people, that's a significant amount of time away if they work.

Reid charmed me last episode, but the Country Boy aspect just keeps getting thicker, doesn't it? The only part I would say bothered me was his "and some salads for the ladies" comment, but still as whole it's a lot. Also, was he just...not hugging the eliminated kids as the group hug took place right behind him? Really, his call if he wants to hug anyone, it was just funny to me to have him just standing there. I found Aarón's Spanish with Nayeli sweet at first...and then she immediately burned herself, and I couldn't help being like, "Thanks a lot, Aarón." And then I couldn't decide if him repeatedly calling her mija was too much. Too many kids getting passes. Ivy hasn't cooked in a single elimination challenge so far, and only once has it been because she won something. I like Ivy, and I'm perfectly willing to believe that she's a talented cook, but I'd really like to see that as well. I felt bad for Talulah, but at least now I can stop being distracted by her glasses.

I don't know if my standards have gone down or if this show has actually gotten good, but I just watched the three episodes of the new season and I liked all of them. The show still has it's weak areas and plotholes that WILL drive me nuts if I think too much about them, but I don't mind that nearly as much when so much of an episode seems funny.

I really like Reid. He's a cute little guy and he really worked hard to get the blue team that victory. When the blue team started to fall apart at the beginning and one kid was like, "I don't know what's gonna happen!" I thought, "I do, your team is going to win." Che seemed like he was a good leader, though, so I'm glad he was safe; things were going well until Mateo decided to try to be "CEO" of the team, at least the way it was presented. I try to hold off on criticizing individual kids, but when Sadie was like, "Compliment them!" to try to get the circus performers to vote for their dish...that wasn't a great look. Her comment about adults loving alcohol was funny to me, though.