It's another week of insults and entrees going up in flames in 'Hell's Kitchen,' except this week things are a little more...fishy. The men's team is by far the worst, but in the end, it's Eddie who's outta there.
So when we arrive back in the kitchen this week, pretty much everyone has been sent home with their tails between their legs-- everyone except Joanna, that is. Endowed with an ego even Ramsay might envy, Joanna notes that being in the bottom two last week meant only that “Melissa wants [me] gone because [I’m] the best.” Yeah, OK Jo, whatever helps you sleep at night.
They’re all unceremoniously woken the next morning by the kitchen assistants, whose names I never bothered to learn, banging pots and pans. They roll into the kitchen in their pajamas, where Bonnie looks predictably cute and all of them look kind of hilarious without makeup. They’re instructed to “catch their own fish,” which actually means catching big flopping fishies thrown off the back of a truck, Seattle fish market-style. No one gets bitch-slapped in the face by a cod, though, so it’s really a waste.
The challenge is to prepare a Dover sole, which begs the question of what happened to the rest of the fish they caught. Apparently Dover sole is an incredibly expensive and difficult fish to prepare, which kind of excuses the incompetence shown on each team. Aaron, for his part, is asleep through the challenge, which evens up the sides (as the women are missing the dearly-departed Tiffany) but also continues making him look like a huge pussy. Eddie and Vinnie’s fish are all rejected, while Josh doubles the team’s count when four of his are accepted. Melissa, last week’s team leader, has four perfect ones as well, Julia a.k.a. “Short Order Cooks for President!” gets two, and Joanna-- who had better become an archvillain, given the way they’re playing her-- gets three! Girls win!
Their reward is to go off on a fishing excursion with Ramsay, who cracks a smile only when gazing at a poor little fish dangling on a hook-- literally picture of sadism. The boys, in the meantime, are stuck to prepare all the sole for the night’s dinner, which seems kind of a bad idea, given that they were the worst at the challenge. Whatever. Aaron finally returns but immediately starts threatening to quit, which is starting to make him sound like Cher constantly threatening retirement.
When the women return from their trip, Bonnie and Joanna, for no apparent reason, strut around the men’s dorm in their underwear. Josh and Eddie objectify Bonnie in record time, and she seems not at all concerned. And yes, that’s pretty much it. I guess someone figured chef’s jackets don’t have quite enough sex appeal.
Dinnertime! Aaron, who literally can’t take the heat, is assigned to debone the fish tableside, and takes that to mean he should awkwardly introduce himself to every diner in the restaurant. I’m surprised Ramsay didn’t stick a “kick me” sign to his back, honestly. In the kitchen, Ramsay throws the insults fast and loose-- Bonnie is a “fucking Barbie,” Vinnie’s cooking is “illiterate,” Aaron is a “donkey,” and Eddie makes risotto that “you wouldn’t feed to a pig.” Overall, though, the women have finally gotten their acts together and are working as a team, with Jen playing team cheerleader in a much less annoying way than Melissa did last week.
The men, on the other hand, are, as Ramsay oh-so-originally puts it, “sinking like the Titanic.” He rejects most of the food that comes out, including Eddie’s glob of sticky spaghetti and Josh’s beef Wellington surrounded by raw pastry dough. Eventually Ramsay smacks a chicken breast out of Josh’s hand and--oh snap!--kicks them all out of the kitchen. The women are left to finish the mens’ meals, which they do with aplomb. Talk about your girl power.
Rock is chosen as the “least bad of the worst,” and is left to pow wow with the rest of the men on what is apparently the Chaise Lounge of Power. Aaron, who comes out smoking (!) explains that, because of his health, he deserves to go; Eddie also volunteers himself for the chopping block. Josh, on the other hand, argues that he doesn’t deserve to go home, which is too bad for him! Rock nominates Josh and Eddie for elimination, which surprises even Ramsay. In the end, though, it’s the littlest man who gets the toughest sentence, and Eddie is sent home. He says he regrets not speaking up enough in the kitchen, but honestly, maybe he should regret not being photogenic enough for television.
Next week: Josh may or may not kill a customer! Either way there’s an ambulance involved, and Fox continues to assure that the drama will keep on comin’.
