‘MasterChef’ season 5, episode 17 review: Did Cutter, Leslie, Courtney, and Elizabeth make top 3?

We have to start our second “MasterChef” story tonight with the obvious: Who thought that a showdown between Courtney / Elizabeth and Leslie / Cutter would be intense? Well, that was as predictable as Gordon Ramsay getting emotional whenever someone messes something up.

The only letdown to go with the outcome of this team challenge was seeing neither team particularly impress. The only reason that Courtney and Elizabeth won was because the guys messed up even more. Come on, did you really think either one of the women would lose here? They’re probably the top 2!

Leslie and Cutter squared off in what was a pretty epic pressure test, and this was the case of David vs. Goliath still in many ways. Leslie has survived more of these than any contestant ever, while Cutter looked dead in the water about six weeks ago. Neither one probably has a real shot at winning unless something crazy happens in the finale.

These guys deserve some props for cooking three dishes within the span of 90 minutes, and this was made more entertaining by the fact that the two guys really don’t like each other at all. There was plenty of arguing and fighting as the entire competition went on, and that made this somehow even more epic.

So who went home in the end? This was apparently very closer (per Ramsay), but the advancing cook was … Leslie! We’re almost a little surprised, since at least Cutter got everything on his plates and Leslie didn’t. Still, Cutter’s got to feel good about making it this far, and he had a very nice and classy exit. Grade: B.

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Photo: Fox