MasterChef season 8 episode 17 review: Clashes and comebacks
Here’s the first question that we wonder: Is the edit turning things around on Jeff? Through much of this season he’s been labeled the loudmouth or the villain, he’s clashed with other home cooks, and somehow he’s lost every single Team Challenge he’s been a part of. Yet, somehow he finds a way to stay alive. Through the first episode Wednesday night, he made the egg-yolk ravioli well enough to avoid the bottom two. In the second episode, he made a soufflé that was so good that the judges couldn’t possibly eliminate him for it — even though most of the episode was setting up for that. The battle between him and Eboni also may have put him in a sympathetic light to some; we do think he’s got some listening problems in these challenges, but the way she was handling him is not going to make things any better. Their communication is almost singlehandedly the reason why the Blue Team lost to the Red Team, led by Jason, in the first part of the episode.
Let’s navigate now back to the soufflé challenge, where there was nobody eliminated because all three were so good. It was pretty remarkable to watch since almost everyone had written Jeff off and he still found a way to get through it. The rivalry here was great television, as was the way the judges knew to handle it, not really saying anything about any of the soufflé dishes until the very end.
Do we think that Jeff is going to win this season? Probably not, but we’re fine keeping him around for another week since it means more of him vs. Dino, Eboni, and probably other people. We were also glad to not lose either Eboni or Cate, given that they’re both exceptional cooks. We’d say that we have Cate behind only Yachecia and Dino in terms of people who could win this whole thing in the end. (Yachecia has struggled somewhat as of late, but she’s got some determination and we love her story.)
Does this non-elimination mean that a double elimination is coming?
It’s possible, but we could also see the show getting down to the final four next week and then ending it on a final three. We prefer that to a final two here just because things get a little thin content-wise in the finale when you’ve only got two contestants to hear from.
For now, just breathe and enjoy some of the great MasterChef entertainment that you’re getting. While the two challenges tonight in theory weren’t our favorite (we don’t love watching people replicate other dishes all that much), the characters and the drama made them worthwhile. Grade: B+.
Granted, nothing in MasterChef episode 8 episode 17 tops that moment with Gabriel in the first part. You can read more about that by heading over here and checking that review out right now. (Photo: Fox.)
Meanwhile, share your thoughts on this CarterMatt – MasterChef season 8 episode 17 review in the comments!