MasterChef season 8 episode 9 review: A favorite’s early exit
At the end of the hour, the competition lost none other than the incredible Brien O’Brien, super-confident dude, wearer of nice shirts, and a guy who probably has the greatest name in the show’s history. It happened after a Pressure Test all about cannoli, one of the most delicious things on the planet but also something that’s not all that easy to make in the event that you don’t make it on a regular basis. (Eboni did figure it out for the first time.) He just couldn’t get all six cannoli in the box at the same time, and only served four — one less than Jeff, who was the only other person who didn’t technically complete the challenge.
We’ll forever wonder what would’ve happened in the event Brien got all six in the box — we do think that there’s a cumulative nature to eliminations sometimes, but Brien put himself in a position where it was hard to eliminate anyone over him. He fell short the most, and his cannoli didn’t get rave reviews, either. Had he got six in there, maybe he’d be in a similar spot to Adam, the former Team Captain who actually tried to declare him safe in the Pressure Test because he didn’t want to compete against him.
Even though Adam did technically complete the challenge, we spent most of the hour thinking that he’d be going given that he hadn’t been seen all that much and we know very little about him other than that he’s a Harvard student — a fact that the show reminded us of many times not including the lower-third mentions. This is what we get for following the edit sometimes more than the story of the show! (Yachecia was the only person on the former Red Team during the Team Challenge who didn’t have to do the Pressure Test — she did the best job of the group.)
Weekly reminder that Jeff is intense: Here it is. You gotta love the guy for the passion, but there’s a clear perception of him concerning his teamwork abilities in the kitchen. (Oh, and check out our interview with him: It shows off some of his softer side.)
What the Team Challenge proved
It’s rather simple: You have to able to adapt. The Blue Team were set to serve up a hot mess that included halibut with the skin on and also ricotta with fish — a big culinary no-no. We don’t like cheese with fish and feel like it’s an abomination when McDonald’s does that.
Still, good on Team Captian Caitlin and the Blue Team for figuring that out and moving to something avocado-based, mostly because avocado and fish often go great together and we’ll stop there to avoid sounding like one of those avocado commercials you see on television all the time. We feel like the Red Team didn’t adjust as much, and they lost in what didn’t seem to be all that close a vote. (Real talk: We’d also rather just have halibut than pork, given that it’s such a rarity to have since it’s so pricey. It’d have to be an amazing pork chop to get us to think otherwise.)
Overall, a good episode
We hate that Brien went home because he was one of our favorites; yet if you’re going to leave, it’s best to go home in a super-dramatic way that nobody sees coming. Pending some sort of potential returning home cook twist (which doesn’t happen every season), Brien can leave now with the reputation of a great cook gone too soon. Episode Grade: A-.
What did you think about MasterChef season 8 episode 9 and Brien’s elimination? Share in the comments below! (Photo: Fox.)