S16.E16: Leaving It on the Line

[Drogo]

It's down to the last two in the Season 16 finale, which finds both chefs working on their menus for the last dinner service.

Included: They are treated to makeovers before being surprised by actor Rob Morrow.

Also: The contestants cook for MLB player C.J. Wilson and actress Andrea Roth.

[Tesla]

Still watching it, i just wanted to say that i was willing the makeover people to get a hold of those godawful EYEBROWS of Ryan's,  holy cow.  No such luck. ??

 

Also, Heather continues to be classless and gross.  Not a fan, yuck.   

Edited February 3, 2017 by Tesla
Equal opportunity salt

[milner]

Those make overs did neither woman any favours . However Heather and her multi coloured hair and that awful purple dress looked especially bad.  

[LennieBriscoe]

Raise your hand if you did NOT know that Ramsay would pick the "Pretty Girl."

Sorry, Home Girl Heather. (Heather is from my area of Easton, PA., which is adjacent to Phillipsburg, NJ, where the 2012 HK winner hails from.)

Edited February 3, 2017 by LennieBriscoe

[mlp]

My daughter lives in Easton.  I asked her to let me know if she hears any local comments and I'll share if she does.  

This just in:

http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2017/02/easton_area_chef_heather_willi.html#incart_river_home

[jewel21]

I wonder if Paulie was in the finale, would he be so quick to split his winnings with his brigade for helping him to win? His whole attitude sucked.

[Guest]

Does it seem that this was the worst performance of the kitchens of any finale?

[mertensia]

 Ramsey shouldn't be surprised by now that bitter idiots like Paulie will sabotage.

Yeah, Ryan deserved the win. 

[Rammchick]

I could've saved myself 12 (?) weeks of watching this season because it was fairly obvious from the jump that Ryan was going to be the winner.  

[backformore]

Ramsey asks Paulie - Are you trying to sabotage her?

Paulie: I'm not SHABOTAGING  her. 

My shallow comments: How did Ryan's cartoonish eyebrows survive the makeover?  And heather's dress and hair were awful.

There was a shot of the audience where Heather's mom, grandma, and son, all had the exact same expression on their faces while watching - mouths and eyes downturned all the same way. 

[GreyBunny]

6 hours ago, milner said:

Those make overs did neither woman any favours . However Heather and her multi coloured hair and that awful purple dress looked especially bad.  

No kidding.  Heather looks like she got the Trailer Trash Special at the hair salon.  Considering how badly both women were styled I"m not surprised they didn't do anything with Ryan's uneven sperm brows.

[spiderpig]

6 hours ago, Swim mom said:

Does it seem that this was the worst performance of the kitchens of any finale?

Wow.  Have to say I'm surprised that either of them won with the brigades they were saddled with.  Paulie didn't disappoint - he was a jerk to the end.  I would have drop-kicked him right out of my kitchen (but then why did Ryan actually pick him to begin with?)

Still, we can now all run to the Yardbird site and see who's working there now.

[mertensia]

Ryan undoubtedly picked Paulie under the theory that a picked Paulie is more helpful than if he'd been chosen last. She was wrong because a douche is a douche is a douche but it was a solid idea.

[WescottF1]

5 hours ago, GreyBunny said:

sperm brows

Band name!

[kakiphony]

Local interview with Ryan:

http://www.traverseticker.com/story/traverse-city-s-kim-ryan-wins-hell-s-kitchen#comments

She is planning to move to Nevada to take the job as well as do staging at other Vegas restaurants to learn all she can while she's there. I had no idea this finished filming in December of 2014 and she's had to be in a holding pattern that whole time. The fact that she couldn't even start to list her house until the finale aired is crazy to me. (Incidentally, the restaurants she has been at -- Alliance -- is amazing. And The Cook's House is nationally known and a Mario Batali favorite.)

[Jersey Guy 87]

Not a huge surprise, especially after Heidi was knocked out last week.  I'm not sure I like the new format for picking your team for the finale, I preferred the overall winner of the challenge gets first pick although I'm not sure if the results would have been so different.  I loved Andrew hoping Heather would pick Paulie only to get shot down every time.  I didn't think Ryan was handling Paulie well in the planning meeting, basically telling the rest of the team to pull together and Paulie to be on an island.

Glad to see I wasn't the only one hoping something would be done with Ryan's eyebrows during the makeover.

[Madding crowd]

I have been ready to ditch HK for awhile now but Mr. Crowd likes it so we watch it together. I knew Ryan would win, because of her looks and because Heather works in a college dining hall and I doubt the snobby owner of Yardbird would want her to represent them. I find it hard to even pick anything apart because I think it is so scripted. Pauly seemed  like he didn't care at all for about a minute, then did a good job and was clearly shown cheering Ryan and happy for her at the end. Yeah. 

The make-overs looked kind of cut rate and as usual no one knows what do with a girl who isn't a size zero. On to Top Chef!

[Guest]

Agree with everyone who said the makeovers were awful.

[Puffaroo]

19 hours ago, LennieBriscoe said:

Raise your hand if you did NOT know that Ramsay would pick the "Pretty Girl."

Sorry, Home Girl Heather. (Heather is from my area of Easton, PA., which is adjacent to Phillipsburg, NJ, where the 2012 HK winner hails from.)

I haven't researched this myself, but I remember reading somewhere -- possibly here during a previous season -- that Ramsay won't select a fat girl.

[Puffaroo]

20 hours ago, milner said:

Those make overs did neither woman any favours . However Heather and her multi coloured hair and that awful purple dress looked especially bad.  

Heather looked like the reincarnation of Divine.  And what a classless person she was!

[Puffaroo]

16 hours ago, Rammchick said:

I could've saved myself 12 (?) weeks of watching this season because it was fairly obvious from the jump that Ryan was going to be the winner.  

She and Heidi were the only contenders who seemed to take it seriously.

[xcrayon2215x]

Ryan deserved to win, Paulie was being a bit of a dick. Looking forward to Masterchef Junior.

[mojoween]

22 hours ago, Rammchick said:

I could've saved myself 12 (?) weeks of watching this season because it was fairly obvious from the jump that Ryan was going to be the winner.  

I was rooting for Heather just so I didn't feel like I was wasting time and money (FOX was taken off the air in my city so I had to break down and get Hulu).  Also Ryan's voice was a deal breaker.

I swear I have never noticed that Heather swears a lot.  Probably because I have a gutter mouth myself.

[lh25]

On 2/2/2017 at 9:44 PM, mertensia said:

Ramsey shouldn't be surprised by now that bitter idiots like Paulie will sabotage.

Paulie kept asking what was in it for him, and we were yelling "A future job if you behave and anyone is watching"

[TDT]

"You havent seen the LAST of Heather.."

Translation:Possible participant on either Food Network Star or the new season of MasterChef

[MajorWoody]

That was the most unsurprising finale in quite some time. Between Ryan winning and the fact that neither side could get through the service without multiple major errors, and a trip to the dreaded store room. 

Every time they showed Heather, it was for her to act like trailer trash with her foul mouth and nasty remarks. She might be a geat cook, and apparently based on the challenges, she actually is, but her attitude and demeanor came across as trashy and not what GR's investors would want as the face of a franchise. 

Ryan was shown as pretty cool under pressure, and had pretty much good edits throughout the season. I still don't think she is capable of a running a GR level kitchen, but she certainly was above the level of gutter trash that comprised this seasons characters, with the possible exception of Heidi.

I have ragged on Paulie all season, and early on in this episode he lived down to our expectations of him. But as the show progressed, and I watched him in the background, he appeared to be hard working and and assisting others in the kitchen. After the winners reveal, he seemed genuinely happy for Ryan and not the jerk he has been portrayed as. I wonder how much of his character was scripted to act that way. There must have been some level of skill for Ryan to choose him for her team.

Andrew had his sickening drool cup bottle on full display in the townhouse when they sitting around the table. He is one disgsting pig, who should never be allowed around a kitchen as long as he has that disgusting habit. From what we saw of his behavior with Heather while allegedly betrothed, he is a pig in other senses too. The two of them are now free to run off and open a "shot and a beer" burger type dive somewhere where flannel shirts and ball caps are considered formal wear. Should be right in their wheelhouse. At least until Andrew puts the moves on the waitress there and Heather kicks his sorry ass out

i have only watched a few seasons of this show, and can't vouch for early seasons, but I would venture to say this was the least qualified overall group of characters in the history of this show. 

Finally, glad to see the d-bag loser Matt was not invited back. Although it might be due more to the conditions of his parole then to anything to do with the show. I'm sure he will be a fine prison cook before long.

Congrats to Ryan.

 

and next time I'm in Vegas, I'll be sure to stop at..........one of Flays restaurants!!!!!!!

[spiderpig]

6 hours ago, MajorWoody said:

That was the most unsurprising finale in quite some time. Between Ryan winning and the fact that neither side could get through the service without multiple major errors, and a trip to the dreaded store room. 

Every time they showed Heather, it was for her to act like trailer trash with her foul mouth and nasty remarks. She might be a geat cook, and apparently based on the challenges, she actually is, but her attitude and demeanor came across as trashy and not what GR's investors would want as the face of a franchise. 

and next time I'm in Vegas, I'll be sure to stop at..........one of Flays restaurants!!!!!!!

The pickings must be really slim based on this year's contestants.  I'll acknowledge Heather has some natural talent and a good palate, but I really don't want to think of someone so crude preparing my food.  That double-dipping thing tableside still sticks in my craw.

I like Gordon and find his antics hilarious, but he's cheapening his image with stuff like HK.  Masterchef used to be quite enjoyable until Joe and Graham bailed.  I guess I'll keep tuning in for HK-whatever-the-new-season-is to see if he can find 16-18 contestants lower on the food chain than this year, but it will be a challenge.

[Colorado David]

I dunno, maybe just me...getting a feeling Ryan is a script editor stepping in as a contestant? I'm cynical I admit, just totally get that vibe. IE scripted season top to bottom.

[stillhere1900]

On 2/3/2017 at 2:55 PM, Puffaroo said:

I haven't researched this myself, but I remember reading somewhere -- possibly here during a previous season -- that Ramsay won't select a fat girl.

I wouldn't knowing eat in a restaurant that had an obese chef. 'eat the food, look like that'

[jumper sage]

Heather - good cook but she let her upbringing get the better of her and has not shown any growth as an adult.  Who hasn't grown up with at least 1 parent being trashy?  Both my parents were 1st generation Americans and the first in their families to learn English.  My mom thrived while my father apparently only learned rudimentary English except for his complete grasp of curse words.  Us kids realized we had to look to our mother for her guidance and we all know that if you want to get off the line, whether it be a cook or auto worker, you had to have poise and learn to communicate with a large vocabulary that does not include cursing.  She hooked up with another cook, not cool at all.  She also picked him first for her team.  Her calling other women bitches was too much for me.

Paulie - must have figured out at the very end of the finale that being filmed, whether he won or not, could make or break him in a higher paying job.

Glad Ryan won.  I am also a Michigander so...................................

[TDT]

On 2/5/2017 at 6:16 AM, MajorWoody said:

That was the most unsurprising finale in quite some time. Between Ryan winning and the fact that neither side could get through the service without multiple major errors, and a trip to the dreaded store room. 

Every time they showed Heather, it was for her to act like trailer trash with her foul mouth and nasty remarks. She might be a geat cook, and apparently based on the challenges, she actually is, but her attitude and demeanor came across as trashy and not what GR's investors would want as the face of a franchise. 

Ryan was shown as pretty cool under pressure, and had pretty much good edits throughout the season. I still don't think she is capable of a running a GR level kitchen, but she certainly was above the level of gutter trash that comprised this seasons characters, with the possible exception of Heidi.

I have ragged on Paulie all season, and early on in this episode he lived down to our expectations of him. But as the show progressed, and I watched him in the background, he appeared to be hard working and and assisting others in the kitchen. After the winners reveal, he seemed genuinely happy for Ryan and not the jerk he has been portrayed as. I wonder how much of his character was scripted to act that way. There must have been some level of skill for Ryan to choose him for her team.

Andrew had his sickening drool cup bottle on full display in the townhouse when they sitting around the table. He is one disgsting pig, who should never be allowed around a kitchen as long as he has that disgusting habit. From what we saw of his behavior with Heather while allegedly betrothed, he is a pig in other senses too. The two of them are now free to run off and open a "shot and a beer" burger type dive somewhere where flannel shirts and ball caps are considered formal wear. Should be right in their wheelhouse. At least until Andrew puts the moves on the waitress there and Heather kicks his sorry ass out

i have only watched a few seasons of this show, and can't vouch for early seasons, but I would venture to say this was the least qualified overall group of characters in the history of this show. 

Finally, glad to see the d-bag loser Matt was not invited back. Although it might be due more to the conditions of his parole then to anything to do with the show. I'm sure he will be a fine prison cook before long.

Parole..? what did Matt do..?

And whats this whole business with Andrew and the drool cup bottle..? Must be a smokeless tobacco chewer

[Zoe]

On 2/3/2017 at 3:55 PM, Puffaroo said:

I haven't researched this myself, but I remember reading somewhere -- possibly here during a previous season -- that Ramsay won't select a fat girl.

Nona

On 2/3/2017 at 4:06 PM, Puffaroo said:

Heather looked like the reincarnation of Divine.  And what a classless person she was!

Husband and I simultaneously thought Ursula.

[Snarklepuss]

On 2/3/2017 at 9:13 AM, kakiphony said:

 I had no idea this finished filming in December of 2014 and she's had to be in a holding pattern that whole time.

2014???  Just how far ahead do they film these seasons and why?

[Michel]

Whew.  Got behind on a few things, but finally have the chance to reply to this.

Well, I wasn't surprised that Ryan won.  She was more poised and mature than Heather was, and she did seem to make fewer mistakes in the final service.

I know many people have ragged on Heather.  But she was definitely a good chef.  She smoked Ryan in the challenge, after all, and had done very well on other challenges and only screwed up on cooking a very small number of times in the kitchen.  So I wasn't surprised that she won the final challenge.  But what I think doomed her was the brigade she picked.  Andrew, while possessing other questionable qualities, was at least a good pick since he is a strong chief.  Devin was decent, as well.  But Shaina?  Really?  She wasn't weak, but she wasn't consistent, either.  Meanwhile, Ryan picked some good chefs for her team.  Paulie is as douche-y as all get out, but she must've seen a good cook in him to select him.  Heidi was also a no-brainer.  In fact, I'm floored that Heather didn't pick her since they were supposedly friends.  But given that Heidi wanted Heather to go down, maybe they weren't friends to that extent.

Either way, I am thrilled that Matt didn't return.  I agree with @MajorWoody on that.

As for the final service, I thought they started out about even.  But while Ryan made a fair number of mistakes, she didn't get taken to the back room like Heather did.  As soon as that happened, I knew that Heather had lost.  I will say that while Paulie looked like he was being a helpful brigade member, it looked like it didn't start till after Ramsay reamed him out and called him on his possible sabotage.  It's just a weird picture the show painted with him.  If he really was as decent of a team player as he was shown to be in the background, that could be why Ramsay kept sparing him week after week, even despite being portrayed as just the opposite.  In any case, Ryan handled his early bungles as well as she could and didn't seem to screw up as many times as Heather.  Heather, meanwhile, seemed to stumbled many, many times through the final service.

It was obvious Ryan had the win, though.  For one thing, someone who's dined at the Yardbird already mentioned seeing Ryan there as the chef on another site.  While I did hold out some hope that that was a mistake and that Heather had a chance, it wasn't surprising that that spoiler proved to be true.  Ryan held better control of her kitchen (if only moderately so) than Heather did and earned the win.

Oh, well.  Not the strongest field of contestants, but I still personally found a lot to like this season.  Good drama, good challenges, and the entire F3, at least, was well-earned.  And hey, all of the villains of the season got their well-earned comeuppance -- Johnny, Matt, Andrew, and Paulie, though the latter taking so long to finally get his probably cast somewhat of a pall over the season.  But whatever.  For yet another season, the women were still a lot stronger than the men, so I liked this season for that alone.

But I can't believe I'm saying this.  As much as I love women doing well on this show and even winning, I wouldn't mind the show at least taking a season or two off from that and let a man or two start winning again.  Love women.  But Ramsay's gonna risk looking like he has a gender bias toward his winners if another man or two doesn't start winning again.

[ZoloftBlob]

Quote

But I can't believe I'm saying this.  As much as I love women doing well on this show and even winning, I wouldn't mind the show at least taking a season or two off from that and let a man or two start winning again.  Love women.  But Ramsay's gonna risk looking like he has a gender bias toward his winners if another man or two doesn't start winning again.

This is way long after the fact so I am super late to the party but...

The problem of Ramsay letting men win on this show is that he allows grunting asshole douchebags who openly shit on women to be cast as the male cheftestants.  If a man who shits out "I won't have a woman on the line because pussy is good for nothing" - and there's been some sentiments that have come pretty close to that on this show - then Gordan Ramsay has to own that he's promoting a sexist asshole who calls women "bitches". Is that who Gordon wants to be? A man who encourages and promotes staff who consider one sex to be "bitches"?  Look at the finalists who were male on this season - how many of them were grunting sexist bores than clearly had no respect for women. If they win, yes, its a fuck up position they would get in the Ramsay organization, but they WOULD get a position and Ramsay does have to fulfill his side of the contract (barring you know, drug issues).