‘MasterChef’ season 6, episode 6 review: Stephen, Shelly compete in Las Vegas

Let’s not waste too much time with this particular “MasterChef” review, okay? This was a really eventful episode, and the quicker we get into writing about it, the quicker we can talk about some of its main events.

Elimination Challenge – We’re surprise the voting was anywhere near as close as it was, mostly because this to us feels like a complete trip to the slaughter. We were impressed beyond words with Stephen! We just thought that he was some super-intense crazy person earlier in the season, but he was a genuine leader, and possibly one of the best we’ve ever seen in a team challenge on this show. He made sure that everyone had a job, and they really got mileage out of Tommy screwing up, mostly because this was really the only negative thing that happened throughout the challenge.

Meanwhile, Shelly’s team was somewhat of a disaster. She had a great idea, but one that was probably beyond the level of amateur home cooks in a short period of time. They just couldn’t get it done, and if it wasn’t seemingly for Christopher and Derrick stepping it up, they probably wouldn’t even come close to finishing.

Pressure Test – Do we blame Shelly for deciding to take out a competitor, given that she had immunity and could determine who was safe? Not really, since she wants to make sure that she lasts in the competition and she’s playing for her family. Still, it didn’t sit great that the two guys who really almost got her team immunity were cooking for their lives at Gordon Ramsay Steak.

Ultimately, though, Shelly’s gamble to send home one of the two guys who openly criticized her as leader backfired. While Christopher had a tough go of things and was almost sent home in the process, it was Ailsa (who we regrettably barely remembered before this episode) who was sent packing after her second steak just couldn’t quite compete. This was a great showdown still, though, and for the sake of storytelling, there’s no questioning to us that keeping Derrick and Christopher around as rivals for Shelly is smart. Grade: B+.

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