S13.W9 (40-44)

[Athena]

Starts June 13, 2021.

[katisha]

Damn you, show, for making me get a bit teary over Blokey's departure. His reaction didn't get to me as much as the reactions of some of the other contestants and even Jock. Good on him for taking that step when he did, giving someone else a few more days in the competition. I don't have any idea how much pressure this show puts the contestants under but it must be especially difficult being away from the really young kids, and for all of the rubbish that went along with Blokey's edit I have never got the feeling he's being at all fake about missing his wife and little boy.

Normal snarky programming will resume shortly!

Edited June 13, 2021 by katisha

[displayname]

1 hour ago, katisha said:

Normal snarky programming will resume shortly!

I'll start this one off by saying: well that was a waste of time!

[zibnchy]

I was completely spoiled and I still teared up. Damn you Blokey, making me feel things. In the end I've got nothing but respect for the guy. Wish him all the best.

If they're bound and determined to have a male winner this year who will it be?

Aaron - no, Justin - no, Tommy - maybe, Scott-no, Pete - probably.

The women who are left are formidable.

 

[ChicagoMe]

The one thing that really stood out for me tonite was watching Kishwar cut her fish - banging the cutting edge of one knife over the other. Yikes! I know speed is important but she seemed in a dead panic at that moment. Maybe it's just me but chopping fast isn't the only knife skill to have - respect the cutlery - I almost never see chefs flipping their knives to drag the flat top edge of the blade to scrape food off the cutting board. They must have to sharpen their knives hourly.

Thank god Pete was their to fill Therese's/Conor's shoes with a vinegar ice cream. They desperately want him to make it to the final 3. I'm sick of being lied to by the judges - that had to be disgusting. I like the guy but his "creative" food has "bin it" written all over it.

Anyhow, the episodes are just dragging. Maja or Aaron will almost certainly get the boot tomorrow nite with barely a half hour of time remaining on their clocks. With the episode coming in at just over an hour I thought both rounds would be played out tonite but Blokey Bloke's goodbye ate up a good chunk of the remaining time. With inspiration drained from missing your family just too damn much he made a good decision. Unsentimentally speaking, he never stood a chance - neither do the remaining majority.

Edited June 13, 2021 by ChicagoMe

[katisha]

More here about Blokey's exit. It's really genuinely quite sad.

[zibnchy]

28 minutes ago, katisha said:

More here about Blokey's exit. It's really genuinely quite sad.

Him being all blokey and yet talking so openly and honestly about these mental health issues is going to help other blokes (and non-blokes). Glad to read that he's doing well.

I'd blocked out the fact that they're all required to quarantine for, I don't know, 2 extra weeks before filming even starts. These people have been away from their families for an extra long time.

[akr]

54 minutes ago, katisha said:

More here about Blokey's exit. It's really genuinely quite sad.

Thanks for the link - I'm glad he's doing so much better. I found it courageous, and am glad he didn't let himself go further down that path without asking for help. It can be really hard to do when you're in that state of mind. 

[Aerobicidal]

I've been snarky about the way Brent's been edited but also about the way he's presented himself, and I apologize for the latter. Specifically, I said it was his fault for playing into the caricature the show was creating for him, and that was unfair of me.

That being said, I would like to see Justin, Aaron, Scott, and Minoli eliminated within the next week.

I'm still having a hard time guessing who will make it to the finale. If I had to bet, I would bet on Pete and Justin for reasons that would be wildly uninteresting to explain.

 

 

[katisha]

20 minutes ago, Aerobicidal said:

I've been snarky about the way Brent's been edited but also about the way he's presented himself, and I apologize for the latter. Specifically, I said it was his fault for playing into the caricature the show was creating for him, and that was unfair of me.

We've all been very snarky about Brent and I feel bad about it too, especially now that it seems part of his persona was trying desperately to keep smiling and upbeat when he didn't feel at all that way.  But thinking back, he's definitely been featured less in the last few weeks and he honestly did look quite down in the dumps and unfocused last week in particular.  I'm sure more than a few of us have been in his shoes in terms of depression/anxiety (I certainly have) and I can't imagine trying to deal with that AND being part of a manipulated reality show.  No wonder it broke him. :(

20 minutes ago, Aerobicidal said:

I'm still having a hard time guessing who will make it to the finale. If I had to bet, I would bet on Pete and Justin for reasons that would be wildly uninteresting to explain.

For whatever it's worth, the spoilers have been quite confusing this season. 

Edited June 14, 2021 by katisha

[katisha]

I'm actually extra glad for Brent that he bowed out of the competition when he did because this latest challenge could have finished him off.  Just watching it stressed me out.  But now that the Purple team is the one in the pressure test tomorrow, since I very much doubt Depinder or Pete are in any danger, we'll be farewelling Tommy or Maja (again).  

Did Justin really call Aaron "Azz-dawg"? 😏

Glad that Andy and Jock chewed out the orange team for their cavalier under-use of 30 unfortunate ducks.  I mean, I'm sure that the leftover bits would have gone to that charity Second Bite they're always referring to, but it's the principle.

Finally, the menu I would have wanted to eat the most was the Green Team's so I'm very glad they did well.

Even Ben Pobje couldn't be too snarky about what happened last night.

And here's tonight's recap.

Quote

The orange team is taking longer than they expected to break down the ducks, who have proven surprisingly mentally resilient. They are using just one duck leg per serve, causing Andy to lift a duck into the air and berate Scott and Sabina for wasting such vast quantities of duck flesh. "We're in a lot of trouble here," says Sabina as Jock sends them out onto the playground to pick up rubbish. It's clear that if this challenge ends and there are still almost-complete duck corpses lying about the place, orange heads will roll like it's the 80 Years' War. Elise starts to panic as ducks take a really long time to dismember and nobody is asking her to make pasta.

 

Edited June 14, 2021 by katisha

[displayname]

I'd rather Maja doesn't leave so soon after being back, and I definitely don't want Depinder and Pete to go. So I hope Tommy goes next.

[TVbitch]

I haven't been watching every single episode, and I FF some, so I don't have a fully informed opinion about Brent leaving. But since that has never stopped me from bloviating, I will say that this show and the judges (who I know are directed) do all they can to overwhelm and stress out the contestants, cuz it makes for good TV. They play lots of mind games: from telling them repeatedly their dish could get them eliminated, to questioning their choices, to intimating that they could be making mistakes during a cook (even when they aren't), or that their dish better be the best X they've ever had, not to mention the constant judging "fake outs" of seeming to be disappointed in a dish only to then give a stellar review, etc., etc. So when somebody actually finally breaks, and they turn it into a triumphant episode about mental health, with the judges weeping and Jock counseling Brent complete with gifting him his worry/prayer beads, which we of course got several close ups of, well, it just strikes me as a bit.... Okay I'll leave it at that.  

 

[dippydee]

Yikes that was a hard episode to watch. It was just overtly stressful in a way this really shouldn’t be. Not enjoyable at all.

It really is a shame this year is destined to be a male winner since apart from Depinder I’m liking Sabina more and more too as a potential winner. She’s definitely more interesting than any of the men left. Even Pete who tries but makes some incredibly questionable food.

 

2 hours ago, displayname said:

I'd rather Maja doesn't leave so soon after being back, and I definitely don't want Depinder and Pete to go. So I hope Tommy goes next.

MTE. Tommy’s my choice for tomorrow but I’ve been worried about Depinder getting the “shock” elimination for weeks so it might be her. Then again Brent walking is probably enough excitement for the week for the show so she might be safe.

[displayname]

26 minutes ago, dippydee said:

MTE. Tommy’s my choice for tomorrow but I’ve been worried about Depinder getting the “shock” elimination for weeks so it might be her. Then again Brent walking is probably enough excitement for the week for the show so she might be safe.

My problem with this episode is while it looks like Depinder's menu messed it all up, it was actually a good plan, and curries travel really well... But I am not really sure why no one brought up their discomfort with the items they were creating, and she seemed to be stretched too thin. Why did neither Tommy nor Pete say anything? Not even getting to how it yet again shows how limited this batch of contestants really seems to be. Tommy has been such a flop whenever he's in a team challenge, so I'm just ready to see him go. He can be the shock elimination.

[ChicagoMe]

I didn't watch Brent's "private" chat with Jock. I won't say because it was I didn't care about Brent but because of the overt attempt at manipulating the moment for higher ratings. Before the episode even started Brent had already discussed at length, I'm sure, that he was going to leave. He probably wanted to leave that a.m. but the powers-that-be interfered for drama's sake. Has anyone told the producers that MC is NOT a drama? I know what it's like to be separated from kids for lengthy periods of time and it can play games with your head - I'm sure Brent is not only happy to be reunited with his family but to be rid of the nasty business that MC has turned into for the chefs.

And tonite's ep was a perfect example of more nasty business. I'm calling Pete for the elimination but hope it's Tommy. The wild card right now is what's under the cloche...and does anybody care? I hope it's something classic French to throw them ALL off their games - but that would be too "normal" for this drama-driven "reality" show.

[displayname]

12 minutes ago, ChicagoMe said:

The wild card right now is what's under the cloche...and does anybody care? I hope it's something classic French to throw them ALL off their games - but that would be too "normal" for this drama-driven "reality" show.

Khanh Nguyen has some gorgeous desserts on his Instagram...

[Aerobicidal]

20 hours ago, katisha said:

We've all been very snarky about Brent and I feel bad about it too, especially now that it seems part of his persona was trying desperately to keep smiling and upbeat when he didn't feel at all that way.  But thinking back, he's definitely been featured less in the last few weeks and he honestly did look quite down in the dumps and unfocused last week in particular.  I'm sure more than a few of us have been in his shoes in terms of depression/anxiety (I certainly have) and I can't imagine trying to deal with that AND being part of a manipulated reality show.  No wonder it broke him.  

Yes, I really like the way you articulated this. I just feel bad knowing that he was pressured into stereotyping himself as a joyful but semiliterate buffoon, and I've made comments saying that's his fault, but in hindsight I can't support that.

Regarding the team challenge episode, I have three comments:

1. Scott is the most obnoxious and patronizing narrator I can ever remember on this show. I can't imagine dealing with him in a real life--especially in a business setting--if he talks to people like they're three years old.

2. I wouldn't be sad if Tommy goes home tomorrow.

3.

[katisha]

6 hours ago, ChicagoMe said:

I didn't watch Brent's "private" chat with Jock. I won't say because it was I didn't care about Brent but because of the overt attempt at manipulating the moment for higher ratings. Before the episode even started Brent had already discussed at length, I'm sure, that he was going to leave. He probably wanted to leave that a.m. but the powers-that-be interfered for drama's sake.

I think you've hit the nail on the head there.  That's exactly how it would have happened.

[Niuxita]

How is Tommy even still in this competition?? I almost broke into hives watching him be unable to do simple math and looking like he had wandered into the kitchen by mistake and had no idea what he was doing. I always thought him landing in a pressure test would be his downfall because he would be forced to do something highly technical and not Vietnamese for once, but watch tomorrow's mystery dish be something within his wheelhouse yet again. If he outlasts Maja (judging by the preview), I will scream. He has officially started to grate on me.

On a more positive note, the orange team's reaction to being declared safe melted my heart. Also, I fall more and more in love with Kishwar with every episode. "I can barely see over the pot!" 😍

11 hours ago, TVbitch said:

I will say that this show and the judges (who I know are directed) do all they can to overwhelm and stress out the contestants, cuz it makes for good TV. They play lots of mind games: from telling them repeatedly their dish could get them eliminated, to questioning their choices, to intimating that they could be making mistakes during a cook (even when they aren't), or that their dish better be the best X they've ever had, not to mention the constant judging "fake outs" of seeming to be disappointed in a dish only to then give a stellar review, etc., etc. So when somebody actually finally breaks, and they turn it into a triumphant episode about mental health, with the judges weeping and Jock counseling Brent complete with gifting him his worry/prayer beads, which we of course got several close ups of, well, it just strikes me as a bit.... Okay I'll leave it at that.  

Word.

Edited June 15, 2021 by Niuxita

[displayname]

Well. Tommy will probably mess up the next Team Challenge, and hopefully will face a dessert Pressure Test, then.

[katisha]

12 minutes ago, displayname said:

Well. Tommy will probably mess up the next Team Challenge, and hopefully will face a dessert Pressure Test, then.

We can only hope but that guy's got more lives than a cat.  Last week he won immunity by being allowed, by the nature of the challenge, to cook exactly what he usually does but pour it into a pre-prepared danish shell.  Tonight he gets a pressure test which seriously couldn't have been more appropriate for his skill set.  Surely at some stage there's got to be an elimination for him which involves making a big-arse Black Forest cake or something? 

I feel bad for Maja but she took it all in good spirit.  Raw pork would have sent any of the four home - it just happened to her due to that pastry error.

Here's the recap.

Quote

45 minutes to go and everyone is yelling at Maja to get her dish in the oven as if she had no idea that was what she should do. She knows she has to get it in the oven, leave her alone.

I actually don't know how Maja managed to refrain from yelling back at them all, "SHUT THE FUCK UP - I KNOW!!!"

Quote

 

The losers now get working on their salads. "It's really important to get the salad right," says Depinder, even though everyone knows it's not. "Pete, how's your mayo?" calls Melissa. "It's sick!" Pete replies. "It's sick?" Melissa asks. "It's sick!" Pete answers. It is a horrible, horrible piece of television.

 

Yes. Yes, it was.

[dippydee]

Well I’m glad Depinder made it through and she got a pressure test under her belt. She needed that experience.

Im sad it had to be Maja that went but I agree you can’t come back from raw pork. 
 

2 hours ago, displayname said:

 

Well. Tommy will probably mess up the next Team Challenge, and hopefully will face a dessert Pressure Test, then.

 

Here’s hoping. I’m just worried his being useless in a team challenge will drag my favs down with him. This challenge was pretty much the best thing he could have asked for in a pressure test. The flavours were completely in his wheelhouse.

 

[displayname]

14 minutes ago, dippydee said:

I’m just worried his being useless in a team challenge will drag my favs down with him.

That's basically what's annoyed me with him from these two episodes, with Depinder and Pete saddled with him. Useless in the Team Challenge, saved himself in a Vietnamese-inspired Pressure Test. Happened in the Restaurant Week, too, just that I didn't care for anyone else in his team either. Bad in the Team Challenge, bad in the relay challenge, saved himself in the final challenge. Yes, it's good he's delivered when it counts, but he's really done for me, if you count that most of his best dishes have been entirely in his wheelhouse, much more so than Kishwar and Depinder who've both ventured out of it without being prompted and delivered on it. (still would rather Aaron left before him, though, but there are two eliminations in one week, so he can take Tuesday and Aaron can go on Sunday, lol).

Edited June 15, 2021 by displayname

[Aerobicidal]

If the goal of this episode was to get me to dislike Tommy significantly more than I already did, great success!

If the goal was to produce an enjoyable hour of television, great failure!

[babs1226]

I'm not a Tommy fan, but in fairness to him, the execution of the dish was just as important as the flavors, and at the beginning, I thought he seemed a little cocky because he knows the flavors, so it should be a breeze.  I thought he might stuff something up.  He surprised me and did a really good job on the dish  I too am waiting for him to be challenged outside of his wheelhouse.

  Right now I'm feeling like this might be a Pete & Depinder finale, but that could change.  Aaron needs to go next.  His dishes are not being featured, so it seems like all he does is talking heads.  He's been decent enough to stay out of the bottom, but he's running out of room.

[displayname]

Does anyone else find the Wikipedia entries dreadful? I checked it after I saw people losing their minds over on reddit about Depinder possibly being eliminated because it said so on wikipedia (apparently the MC:AU 13 page has been trolled all season long), and the write-ups just seem so ungrammatical and clunky. They're very detailed, but the latest one grates in particular. They also claim Depinder was in the "Btm 2", when I've always assumed the "Bottom" denotion was reserved for people who cooked off specifically after being called out as being the worst in a challenge.

Anyway, pointless rant.

Edited June 16, 2021 by displayname

[displayname]

I will laugh if Justin wins immunity. So, for the sake of a nice laugh, and also for the sake of my recently cultivated wish of seeing Tommy eliminated, I hope it happens.

[katisha]

2 hours ago, displayname said:

I will laugh if Justin wins immunity. So, for the sake of a nice laugh, and also for the sake of my recently cultivated wish of seeing Tommy eliminated, I hope it happens.

I think it could happen.  We've been expecting a redemption arc since that pep talk Jock had with him a while ago - maybe this is how it starts?  I just do not want bloody Tommy to win it again.  He needs to be in as many eliminations as possible from now on because SURELY sooner or later he's going to be faced with cooking a huge, complicated dessert and he won't cope.  

I had to laugh at Elise big-noting herself over her law school negotiating skills which landed her with two completely incompatible proteins.

Pleasantly surprising to see Minoli getting out of her comfort zone to cook pasta. 

[dippydee]

3 hours ago, displayname said:

nd also for the sake of my recently cultivated wish of seeing Tommy eliminated, I hope it happens.

I’ve enjoyed Tommy for shallow reasons but he’s annoying me more and more. I am just about ready to see him go now. He’s not pretty enough to compensate for his completely narrow range.

Justin is also terrible. I don’t know why he was acting like vegetables are some weird evil thing. It might shock him but it is possible to have restaurant quality vegetarian dishes. I did not need so much of him being him in this episode. However I did laugh at him only managing to trade his carrots for pumpkin.

I know Depinder won’t win and it kind of sucks since despite being invisible all episode she still managed to get into the immunity cook. I’ll be rooting for her and Pete tomorrow. I’d be happy to see Justin and Tommy cook in the elimination on Sunday.

[akr]

I'll be contrarian. I still like Tommy, quite a lot! I respect Pete, and he seems like a nice guy, but I'm not particularly interested in his food. And Depinder had better not be going anywhere anytime soon. (I don't care one way or the other about Justin. He seems nice enough, but I agree the bro energy is a little tiresome if you're not part of the bro crew.) So, I hope Tommy or Depinder wins immunity, and Pete would be ok, too.

It seems Brent, Pete, Amir & Justin were best buds, so all credit to all of them for being there for Brent; and good for Justin for starting to step up. It's possible he put more energy into being a good friend than into being a good cook for a stretch there, I suppose. I'm open to being persuaded he's better than he has seemed to be to this point, but they haven't given me much reason to believe it yet. Not being shown much until the late stages of the competition is fairly common for people who go very deep, though, especially when they don't seem to be natural narrators; but it's also consistent with them giving someone a moment in the spotlight right before they're out the door.

With Justin wearing backward baseball caps all season long, it has finally occurred to me to wonder if he's simply covering an incipient bald spot. Has we ever seen him without a hat?  

[MadMiniaturist]

I love Tommy! He may stick to what he knows (which I have no problem with- I adore Vietnamese cuisine), but he rocks the hell out of it. I do want a Depinder win in the end, though. She is just...superhuman.

[displayname]

I LOLed!

[misgabi13]

Just the fact that Justin is the first into the top 10 has me shaking my head!

 

1 hour ago, displayname said:

I LOLed!

You totally called it!

I'm crossing my fingers for Aaron or Elise to exit stage left on Sunday.  

I also fully believe they are going to keep Depinder around until the final and then have her crushed by Tommy!  

Both dishes tonight sounded disgusting - so very happy not be be a judge at that point!

[katisha]

2 minutes ago, misgabi13 said:

Just the fact that Justin is the first into the top 10 has me shaking my head!

Seriously, has there ever been a redemption arc which started SO late in the season?  I mean, to use Elena as an example, she was virtually never on screen until the top 15 or so.  Then, if memory serves, she cooked a very colourful Spanish-inspired dish one day which the judges adored and then, bingo, we all knew she was really a contender.  Up until today Justin hadn't ever even been in an immunity challenge (and that's pretty bad when you consider the standard of the competition this year) and he goes from that to winning one first try?  I smell a production-manipulated rat.  I wonder if they'll try and use his friendship with Brent somehow, a la "After my fully sick bro Brent had to leave, I promised him every meal I cooked from then on would be for him and now look where I am".  Urgh.  Having said that, though, vanilla Coke ice-cream appeals to me more than sriracha ice-cream.  

But in better news, Tommy didn't skate into an immunity spot!

[displayname]

9 minutes ago, misgabi13 said:

Both dishes tonight sounded disgusting - so very happy not be be a judge at that point!

They did lol. I guess at least Justin showed a more technical one?

Just now, katisha said:

But in better news, Tommy didn't skate into an immunity spot!

He did yet another Vietnamese dish in the first cook 😭

[dippydee]

43 minutes ago, katisha said:

Up until today Justin hadn't ever even been in an immunity challenge (and that's pretty bad when you consider the standard of the competition this year) and he goes from that to winning one first try? 

I am going to be so Disappointed if this is the start of a Winners Edit for Justin but it really looks like they’re going there. Almost everyone else still left has out cooked him several times so far. If it happens this will go down as a Season 11 for me, completely ruined by the wrong winner.

48 minutes ago, katisha said:

But in better news, Tommy didn't skate into an immunity spot!

There’s the silver lining ;) Actually I think I’d prefer Aaron or Scott to go next. Aaron especially is super annoying and smug.

[displayname]

IDK where to post things about "other social media" (I already talked about reddit and wikipedia here, so please direct me to a different thread if needed), but:

Spoiler

I recently started reading more posts and threads on reddit - I don't care for it - but they are eating up the edit Justin's suddenly had. I guess if he's going to somehow win the entire thing, then the producers and the editors did their job.

 

[babs1226]

I think Justin got lucky because Depinder's dessert tasted like garlic.  She was concerned about that herself, but I guess there was no good way to counteract it.  She took a risk and it didn't pay off.  She has won immunity more than once, so I don't feel bad.  I know getting to top 10 is such a big deal, but Justin could end up leaving at the next elimination.  He had a really good day today.  He came up with 2 dishes that were creative and he executed them well.  If he keeps that up, he deserves it just as much as anyone else.  Jock told him to do his homework, because he has the skills but didn't know what to do with them.  Maybe he listened and did his homework.

I love Pete's sense of humor.  He's so quick and dry.  Justin's reaction to winning immunity was pretty funny too.  

Is Aaron the only one left who hasn't been in an immunity challenge?  At least I don't think he has been.  

[katisha]

Here's last night's recap.

Quote

Pete has produced gnocchi with his perverted methods. "I just have to make a REALLY nice sauce," he says cheerfully, musing on how revolting the gnocchi tastes. But at least he's not a boring loser using the noodles as a crumb like Depinder, geez, how embarrassing would that be.

 

Quote

The top two cooks are Justin and – in accordance with MasterChef rules – Depinder. They cook off for immunity in the second round, in which they must take a common pantry item and use it in an unconventional way, eg replacing the chicken in a chicken parma with a Mars Bar, or building a doll out of allspice.

 

[displayname]

Quote

Time is up and the judges taste Depinder's dish for the sake of appearances. They tell her she's brilliant and a genius and their favourite person in the whole world, although Andy has doubts about the garlic, which is going to earn him a reprimand from the producers. Next, Justin brings forth his Cokey things. "This is amazing," says Melissa, lauding Justin for creating a dish that brings back her childhood memories of eating Coke.

Due to Depinder's dodgy garlic, Justin wins the challenge and becomes the first amateur through to the top ten, which is a hell of a shock, not least to Depinder.

Tune in next week, when Depinder gets into the top 10.

  😂😂😂

[ChicagoMe]

I can't go on...garlic ice cream - Conor lives on in Pindo. I lost all respect for her tonite. The judges have reached a point of unbelievability. I'd love to be a fly on the wall during their pre-show meetings to listen to the bullshit.  I seriously don't know if I can sit through the rest of this season.

[babs1226]

Depinder knew she was taking a risk with the sriracha because of the garlic.  I personally think that the judges wanted her to be the winner, but they would be giving the spot to the dish that didn't taste as good.  I don't believe that the goal was to push Justin into winning.  It seems to me that they had to be fair.  I respect that, even if it is a crazy outcome.  It's how you cook on the day.

[TVbitch]

Just because something exists does not mean it has to be an ice cream. 

Wait. What? Justin has a personality now? When did that happen? It's been mostly edited out from what I've seen. Kind of like it took forever to discover that Emelia had a sense of humor. Hmmm.....