S12.W10 (E46-48)

[Athena]

Begins June 15, 2020

[katisha]

Very pleased to see the top four into tomorrow's immunity challenge included poor Tessa, who has been Poh'd more than once this season, Callum and Brendan.  Could have done without Reece being there but I think his redemption arc requires it.

Speaking of story arcs, everyone else notice that when Brendan was talking about being back this season amongst "Masterchef royalty" we were shown shots of Reynold and Poh? Callum  isn't Masterchef royalty?  He came second in his season and won the only All-Star season!  

[Mellowyellow]

1 minute ago, katisha said:

Very pleased to see the top four into tomorrow's immunity challenge included poor Tessa, who has been Poh'd more than once this season, Callum and Brendan.  Could have done without Reece being there but I think his redemption arc requires it.

Speaking of story arcs, everyone else notice that when Brendan was talking about being back this season amongst "Masterchef royalty" we were shown shots of Reynold and Poh? Callum  isn't Masterchef royalty?  He came second in his season and won the only All-Star season!  

Callum is too down to earth to be royalty.

Reynold is a snot and Poh amuses herself greatly. That's what they think makes good reality TV royalty I guess.

[katisha]

6 minutes ago, Mellowyellow said:

Reynold is a snot and Poh amuses herself greatly. That's what they think makes good reality TV royalty I guess.

True, but I definitely beg to differ! Ironic that neither member of this supposed "royalty" got a top four dish, though.

[dippydee]

1 hour ago, Mellowyellow said:

Reynold is a snot

He really kinda is. I don’t even think he’s as good as he thinks, he can do technical things really well but his flavour combinations are usually pretty safe. Jess on the other hand might have flown a little too close to the sun with her crazy flavours at the end there but at least her dishes were interesting and thought provoking. 
I’m glad Tessa made it to top 4. I hope she gets immunity tomorrow. She really should have won last season and she seems to get forgotten cos she’s usually so drama free.

I don’t really mind Pohs antics too much, she does have some skills, but sometimes it seems the judges go overboard with her. I’m glad it wasn’t the case today though.

Also, damn the corona cos it robbed us of the returning contestants. I would have loved to have seen Jess or Amina back.

[Niuxita]

I don't buy that Reece's tart was soooo spectacular that it warranted a spot in the top four despite looking like something I could have made if I tried really hard, especially after the judges went on this shpiel about how "good" wasn't gonna cut it anymore. It should go both ways, then. It shouldn't be enough that a dish is tasty, the presentation should also count. They really are pushing for a "Reece can totally win it all" narrative, which is beyond ridiculous.

Go Tessa! Glad the constant "never been in an immunity cook" anvils had a payoff, since that hasn't been the case other times. I too hope she wins immunity tomorrow.

[TVbitch]

5 hours ago, katisha said:

everyone else notice that when Brendan was talking about being back this season amongst "Masterchef royalty" we were shown shots of Reynold and Poh?

They made that so obvious. WTF? That is so insulting to the other chefs. 

Glad Brenden did something different. I think that's the most they've ever let him talk. Maybe he should go to the Poh School of Drama. 

I'm suprised they aren't dragging the season out as long as they can since there must be a lack of new programming. 

Has anyone ever eaten gold leaf? I imagine it tastes like nothing. 

[akr]

4 hours ago, Niuxita said:

I don't buy that Reece's tart was soooo spectacular that it warranted a spot in the top four despite looking like something I could have made if I tried really hard, especially after the judges went on this shpiel about how "good" wasn't gonna cut it anymore. It should go both ways, then. It shouldn't be enough that a dish is tasty, the presentation should also count. They really are pushing for a "Reece can totally win it all" narrative, which is beyond ridiculous.

Go Tessa! Glad the constant "never been in an immunity cook" anvils had a payoff, since that hasn't been the case other times. I too hope she wins immunity tomorrow.

Who would have been in Reece's place, though? They didn't like Poh's or Reynold's dishes, Emelia's was much worse on plating than Reece's (& Poh is right, those apples are too sweet so I'm not sure how good it could have been anyway), & I don't even remember what Laura did except they said it was fine but not special enough, so I guess she must have been in fifth place? (But I also think something simple but absolutely perfect - which is not simple to accomplish - can be a winner. Taste >> bells & whistles..)

I'm also very pleased to see Tessa in the immunity challenge. My favorite 3 were Sarah T., Khanh, & Tessa, so she's the only one left! 

[babs1226]

5 hours ago, TVbitch said:

I'm suprised they aren't dragging the season out as long as they can since there must be a lack of new programming. 

They've cut the episodes to 3 a week until the end.  Mystery box, immunity challenge, elimination.  Monday, Tuesday, Sunday. 

[Aerobicidal]

9 hours ago, TVbitch said:

Has anyone ever eaten gold leaf? I imagine it tastes like nothing. 

I've had it numerous times. Yes, it does.

Pimp My Reece week #2 is no better than the first one. I did notice today that he sounds like Ja'mie King. I don't mean that as a negative.

The judges' screaming and the screaming music . . . I guess Brandon adds a needed touch of Valium and Ambien to the show. I'd prefer a happy medium, but I also far prefer this season to recent ones featuring the self-congratulatory trio (I'm still elated they were all fired).

ETA: The one thing that inspired me to post was my irritation at Jock referring to Brandon's dish as "unsuspecting." How Masterchef USA of him to butcher the language like that.

Edited June 16, 2020 by Aerobicidal

[SnideAsides]

5 hours ago, babs1226 said:

They've cut the episodes to 3 a week until the end.  Mystery box, immunity challenge, elimination.  Monday, Tuesday, Sunday. 

Yes. Without it next Monday would have been the grand final (we'd be down two extra people because of those "only one person is going home" weeks, then two would have gone home this week to give us the final four on Sunday/final three on Monday). Now, assuming only one player goes home each week and they do the standard sudden-death final-four episode, we're probably looking at a finale on Tuesday July 14th.

What do we think of the new structure? I quite like it for now. It makes sense that team challenges and pressure tests are the two episodes they got rid of (it means they don't have to do anything with crowds or guest chefs) and team challenges kinda suck anyway (I'd be perfectly fine ditching them permanently, to be honest, and maybe just replacing them with the old-style invention tests that have disappeared the last few seasons), but losing the pressure tests makes me worried we're just going to get the Masterchef US-style "cook three courses of whatever you want" finale that didn't work when they did it last year.

[katisha]

8 hours ago, SnideAsides said:

What do we think of the new structure? I quite like it for now.

I'm actually enjoying it because I've never been a fan of the old immunity challenge where a cheftestant faced off against a guest chef and the judges pretended they didn't know who cooked which dish.  As far as I'm concerned I hope that never comes back.

Tonight's episode was meh because I like Reece but I would have preferred any of the other three to win over him, especially Brendan or Tessa.  I guess the editors have decided the Reece renaissance story arc really is a thing and they're going to push it for all it's worth.  On the positive side, it does take the focus slightly away from Poh for a while.

[misgabi13]

I'm a bit peeved that the last couple of weeks have all been about how 'AMAZING' Reece is!

His tart the other day was lumpy, and lopsided and he should not have been given kudos for that!

I actually think Callum had the harder cook and should have immunity!

[Niuxita]

Oh, Tessa! I was rooting for you, we were ALL rooting for you! [/Tyra Banks voice] It's so frustrating to see her constantly just fall short of greatness for one reason or another. 

59 minutes ago, misgabi13 said:

I'm a bit peeved that the last couple of weeks have all been about how 'AMAZING' Reece is!

His tart the other day was lumpy, and lopsided and he should not have been given kudos for that!

I actually think Callum had the harder cook and should have immunity!

Completely agree. I find the judges' obsession with him and how amaaaazing he is so bewildering. Just do not see it at all. Also agree that Callum should have had immunity tonight (if it couldn't have been Tessa's, sniff), but it seems they've picked their faves and they won't be moving away from that.

Laura's new haircut looks lovely. God, who would have thought that, at this point in the competition, I'd be wishing they'd go back to overpraising her for a simple cheese and pepper pasta dish just to get a break from the Pimp My Reece (TM @Aerobicidal) show.

[ReallyRealReality]

11 hours ago, SnideAsides said:

What do we think of the new structure? 

Personally, I'm really missing the master classes.  It was a way for the viewers to get to learn alongside the contestants.  I also prefer the eliminations where the contestants have to make a guest chef's dish (from the recipe!!!) because they are all then judged on the same dish and their abilities; not on some random dishes and where the judge's favoritism factors in.

I've noticed how badly production sucks this season because we have no idea how the vast majority of these dishes are being made.  We see them cutting, stirring, and flipping... but hardly any explanation of what they are wanting to accomplish.  For example, Emilia's choux pastry was too wet... I know that from watching a lot of baking shows... but they didn't say that, contestants just said it didn't look right.  Producers should be there asking what's wrong with it and having the contestant explain.  These are missed opportunities that would make the show more view-worthy, in my opinion.

BTW, I'm with others in wishing the immunity had gone to anyone other than (this year's token meme-man) Reece.  He's had more than enough practice making tarts, cakes, meringues and ice creams in this competition that they should always be perfect.  *yawn*  Jess made a lot of desserts, but at least she pushed herself and tried outrageous combinations that worked and surprised the judges, and she did a lot of different savory dishes (that weren't always curry).  I thought it odd not one judge described the gin ice cream - it sounds disgusting to me, since I'm not a drinker, so can only imagine it being akin to gasoline.

And lastly... poor Tessa.  I feel like she's getting no love this season.  The judges are great at boosting the confidence of other contestants, but I feel like she gets complimented on her greatest cooks and not really praised personally that she has what it takes to win it.  She was last year's runner-up (and should-have-been winner), but if you added up all of the airtime Tessa's had this season (46 episodes), I'm guessing she has about an hour combined.  That's ridiculous for a final 8 out of 24 contestant.

[TVbitch]

Baby Callum is so cute!

Really? A "blind" elimination Sunday. Hope that net catches Poh or Reynold but it will probably nab Brendan. 

Okay, let's talk Tessa. Girlfriend blew repeatedly all over her piece of beef after she snatched it from the hibatchi. I gotta put the Covid Kibosh on that! More distressingly, she is looking more Oompa Loompa orange by the episode. What on earth are they doing with her makeup? She really is not getting much love this season.

PS.  I noticed she cooked up about 8 short ribs on the hibatchi and put them in the pressure cooker just to make her jus! Is that normal? I was like damn that is a lot of waste of meat. Wouldn't that meat be too tough to use in another "leftovers" recipe. 

[babs1226]

2 hours ago, ReallyRealReality said:

I thought it odd not one judge described the gin ice cream - it sounds disgusting to me, since I'm not a drinker, so can only imagine it being akin to gasoline.

I believe the tart was gin, but I thought the ice cream was ginger.?

[TVbitch]

It was. Which begs the question... what does a gin tart taste like?! And I ask that as a gin drinker. 

[limecoke]

Quote

And lastly... poor Tessa.  I feel like she's getting no love this season.

I know, right?  It’s so frustrating especially since she was totally robbed in her season.  I really don’t need to be ranting about that so I’ll stop now.  I’d also add that it bugs me the way Callum is being dismissed, especially by Jock.  Reece is just plain annoying.  Another tart...really?? So over him.  Still love sweet Brendan, who sadly probably won’t last much longer.

Edited June 16, 2020 by limecoke

[ReallyRealReality]

1 hour ago, babs1226 said:

I believe the tart was gin, but I thought the ice cream was ginger.?

You're right, but because they didn't mention it, I forgot where it was suppose to be.

I have a sneaky suspicion that the judges, or at least Jock, read reviews before the second half of the season started filming.  It's blatantly obvious with his change of attitude towards Laura.  First half she could do no wrong, now she can't do anything right... but yet she still manages to squeak by.  I still haven't been able to work out if she's really a good cook or not and whether she deserves to still be there.

One other note I'd like to mention that is very confusing to me.  The contestants talk about how someone will be leaving every three days now, yet we're seeing those three days over a full week, and the judges talk about Sunday's elimination.  I know it's all the 'magic of Hollywood', but stop confusing the issue please.

[Niuxita]

10 hours ago, ReallyRealReality said:

He's had more than enough practice making tarts, cakes, meringues and ice creams in this competition that they should always be perfect.  *yawn*

IKR? Reece makes a tart two days in a row and it's brilliant, amazing, fantastic, showstopping, spectacular, but Laura makes pasta once last week and it's a "yawnfest"? OK, then. 

10 hours ago, ReallyRealReality said:

And lastly... poor Tessa.  I feel like she's getting no love this season.  The judges are great at boosting the confidence of other contestants, but I feel like she gets complimented on her greatest cooks and not really praised personally that she has what it takes to win it.  She was last year's runner-up (and should-have-been winner), but if you added up all of the airtime Tessa's had this season (46 episodes), I'm guessing she has about an hour combined.  That's ridiculous for a final 8 out of 24 contestant.

I don't know much about her beyond what I've seen this season, but it seems to me that, unless she forgot how to make tasty food between her season and this one, she should be getting way more positive feedback than she is. Statistically, it can't possibly be that all her dishes so far have been average-to-mediocre (not counting that fish dish that saved her team from a pressure test once upon a time, which is the only time I can recall her dish being the best or one of the best until the one that landed her in the immunity cook this week).

5 hours ago, ReallyRealReality said:

I have a sneaky suspicion that the judges, or at least Jock, read reviews before the second half of the season started filming.  It's blatantly obvious with his change of attitude towards Laura.  First half she could do no wrong, now she can't do anything right... but yet she still manages to squeak by.  I still haven't been able to work out if she's really a good cook or not and whether she deserves to still be there.

I thought the same thing. I do think she's a good cook. You don't get to be a MasterChef runner-up at 19 by being average, and I don't think she's been "out of practice" or whatever since then. At the beginning she was praised the way Reece is being praised now, but for the past couple of weeks they always find something wrong with the dishes she makes. It's all a bit strange.

[ppl]

I found Reece's immunity win last week to be a sham and this week I felt like he was set up to win again. I felt like the way that the ingredients were ordered, it was only beneficial for a dessert specialist with the savoury ingredients being left towards the end. If they had put the grains in the 70 minutes to go slot, the seafood with 60 minutes to go and the fruits with 45 minutes to go, I'd like to see Reece get up his tart/ice cream dessert in that amount of time.

I think this challenge is the perfect reason why Gary/George/Matt worked so well. They would question Reece making only a tart/ice cream combination. They would also factor in the amount of time it took for the contestant to finish their dish. Having enough cultural knowledge to appreciate foods from around the world, they can understand where most of the dishes come from while still maintaining their own personal palate.

I wonder if Jock's palate is limited to only strong tastes. I could see how he would not like those subtle, nuanced dishes and write them off as sweet or boring. Meanwhile, Andy seemed to really love Callum's dish and his cooking style is based off Mexican cuisine, more in sync with Spanish cuisine than French/Italian to Spanish.

[akr]

I think the comments to the contestants are partly tailored to their personalities & relative skill level. Reece was doubting himself, so they reassure him that he's capable. Laura has more confidence, & a high skill level, so they focus on critiques that can push her even further. (I don't think she thinks she's better than the others, but she (& most of the others) has a healthy self confidence. She knows she belongs, & doesn't get overly down on herself if something doesn't work.)

[xchouchoutex]

I didn’t watch MCA for 3 weeks or more , i just watched the immunity challenge Episode , brendan is still making dumplings and reece is still spoiled and winning, i feel like i didn’t miss much 🤷🏻‍♀️

Edited June 20, 2020 by xchouchoutex

[katisha]

Awwww, I've got something in my eye again. 😢 Skill-wise, it was getting towards Brendan's time to go but I was very fond of him in his original season and I still really like Brendan.  He's such a lovely guy and so kind-hearted.  These eliminations are getting rough!

Meanwhile, I have never seen the cube taste test done by anyone except the usual season of amateur cooks so it was really interesting and quite enjoyable to see Callum, Poh and Laura duking it out undefeated to the end.  I mean, whatever anyone may think of them as contestants, all three make their living out of food so you would expect them to have really good palates. I do think, though, that Tessa was very unlucky to be knocked out as early as she was because if that was supposed to be an easy cube, why on earth didn't she get the part of the celery that even non-cooks would probably get straight off?  Hell, I even would and I loathe the stuff.

[dippydee]

Carrot, apple, banana, beetroot and then the crappy part of the celery nobody eats?! Thanks judges! I’m so glad Tessa knocked it out the park in round 2. I would have hated to see her go home off the back of that one.

I was impressed with how many cubes they got through, you can definitely tell these guys are returning cooks and not first timers.

2 hours ago, katisha said:

Awwww, I've got something in my eye again. 😢 Skill-wise, it was getting towards Brendan's time to go but I was very fond of him in his original season and I still really like Brendan.  He's such a lovely guy and so kind-hearted.  These eliminations are getting rough!

I was sad to see him go but I agree there is skill gap between him (and Reece) and all the others. There’s no one else left so it was his time. Of the others I think Reece is by far the weakest, the rest are kind of even to me, they all have strengths and weaknesses. Reynold is my least favourite, I’ve soured on him a lot. Not only because of his old comments but because he doesn’t seem like much of a team player, he has screwed up in almost every team challenge. I know chefs don’t really need to be team players (ok they do, but on the show it’s a more individual endeavour) but still it bothers me. Plus I still think his flavours are unimaginative despite is obvious and considerable skills. 

Edited June 21, 2020 by dippydee

[Niuxita]

If Melissa had walked up to me while I was blindfolded purring "Don't be nervous" the way she did with Tessa (I think it was), my mind would have gone COMPLETELY blank. Oof.

Speaking of Tessa, I hope this is the beginning of her redemption arc. She was so calm and methodical all throughout that cook, it was fantastic to watch. Glad the judges recognized it.

Brendan really tugged at my heartstrings when he said that it was really hard to come back but that the judges made it worth it. Aw! I agree that it was definitely his time to go, though.

Would have really liked the judges to give Emelia some positive feedback on her dish instead of going straight into who was eliminated after calling Tessa out as the best but oh well. Her whole banter with the judges when bringing them her dish cracked me up.

"I immediately knew it was beetroot because I HATE beetroot." "That was a really underwhelming avocado." OK, fine, I am now on Team Laura. She seems like a hoot to be around.

Finally figured out why Reece annoys me so much: it's him calling Brendan his "bestie." Dude, you're a grown man. I know it's a whole week away, but I hope he's the next to go.

[babs1226]

That was a good episode for an elimination.   Sad to see Brendan go, but it's only going to get sadder.  I was happy to see Tessa cook to her strengths, and finally get some great feedback.  I've been feeling sorry for her,  I enjoyed the joking around by the judges.  I also enjoy, always, Callum's sense of humor.  

[TVbitch]

Definitely Brendan's time to go. He was so flustered in the cook compared to the others. I knew he was toast when he started doing Haiku...

Bitter 

Bitter Bitter Bitter

Bitter Bitter

I could not help but notice in the blind tasting that while the others were getting stuff like cream cheese, celery core, radicchio, and star fruit, Poh was getting bleu cheese, salami, black licorice and durian. ...just saying.

[limecoke]

Sad.

[displayname]

I forgot to reply to this thread (last one, I'm done with this series finally, lol). I think Brendan is better than some here gave him credit for. Better than Reece and his infinite tarts anyway. And I liked his mellow personality.