‘MasterChef Junior’ finale review: Alexander and Dara face off in culinary duel; who won?

There was a warm and fuzzy feeling that spread itself around “MasterChef Junior” basically the entire course of the finale. It was that sort of “everyone gets a hug” feeling when you know that you have two really great contestants, and they each deserved to be there and do well in their own right. Plus, they are kids; what the show has done a great job at throughout its run is making sure that the contestants never feel like losers, and they certainly did not here, either.

But for us, it was pretty clear almost from last week that Dara was probably going to be the winner of the whole competition. While Alexander was more the favorite throughout the season, she had more of the emotional buildup, and created food that was a little more visually arresting tonight to go along with extremely ambitious and tasty-looking.

The two cooked some pretty elaborate three-course meals in front of an audience that included everyone from former contestants to parents and even “MasterChef” champ Luca. It was a motley crew of interesting people and personalities, and there was a moment where you could see the pressure coming and Dara feeling like she was going to pass out. Thankfully, there was a break in there for some water, and it was handled beautifully while the contestants still got everything done.

But this is where something interesting happened: Our guess was wrong! Alexander was the winner, and he probably did have the more impressive season as a whole. This was a fun season, and a pretty fun finale. While it dragged on a little bit and was perhaps too dramatic, this was the ultimate reminder of what we have been saying all season: This show makes you feel really incompetent as cook… also really hungry! Grade: B.

Do you think that the right person won “MasterChef Junior”? Let us know with a thought in the comment box below, and click here if you want to see some more scoop about why a second season must happen.

Photo: Fox