‘Top Chef: Last Chance Kitchen’ review: The most ridiculous twist yet

We’ve already been a little displeased with “Top Chef: Last Chance Kitchen” this year, mostly because we cannot even claim to be remotely a fan of a contestant getting to come back close to the finale after going through all of this. It was already hard enough last year to have someone return a few episodes away from the end, and they should have to do something in the competition again before you are down to the final four or five. We do like having more “Top Chef” to watch, so we’re not going to blast the show for existing given that it is far more fun than Redemption Island ever was on “Survivor.”

This week, the show decided to do something even crazier in force CJ and Tyler, who were both eliminated following their great pickle disaster in Seattle, to both square off in a competition against sole contestant Kuniko, arguably the sweetest person in the show’s history. With their powers combined Captain Planet-style, they were able to send her packing in a challenge that was all about making the best dessert.

This now is where things get a little messier, as the voting public can now also vote on one of their favorite chefs to come back into “Last Chance Kitchen” for a future round. So basically, ever single contestant is getting as many as three kicks at the can here. Isn’t this a little confusing, and would it be the comeback of all time if someone gets voted back onto the web show, only to win that and then win the actual competition? There is a part of us that pines for the simpler days of season 7, which from our standpoint is the finest “Top Chef” season out there.

What do you think about all of the twists this year, and are you sad to see Kuniko (almost) gone? If you want to read our full review of Wednesday night’s episode of the show, you can do so here.

Photo: Bravo