Episode Report Card Daniel: C- | 1 USERS: C YOU GRADE IT Slaves to the Grind
By Daniel | Season 11 | Episode 4 | Aired on 04.02.2013
Red files back into the dining room, with Cyndi announcing that Jacqueline is up for elimination (citing not just the pancakes, but the raw chicken from the previous dinner service). After the commercial break, they nominate Mary -- much to Ramsay's surprise. Cyndi says it's because they've decided Mary is one of the weakest links on the team. Amanda's shaking her head. Ramsay notices and asks her why, and she says she didn't agree with the decision, saying she nominated Nedra based on her performance today. Ja'Nel is nodding, but it's because she disagrees, saying that if she needs help with something, she'd look to Nedra before she'd look to Mary. Nedra, meanwhile, looks terrified, knowing that this could all go sideways with Ramsay bringing her up anyway.
In the end he calls Jacqueline and Mary forward. Mary offers one of those meaningless "I've always been a fighter" defenses, and amusingly says she's a woman of her word and didn't lie to Ramsay when she said she has "endurance and tenacity." Give me a break. Jacqueline, who's definitely going home, starts defending herself and Ramsay won't even let her finish, before he starts talking about burning pancakes. She says she burned two and the others were given to her to help with flipping. Ramsay's not buying it. "Who couldn't flip a pancake?" he says. Well, that would be Nedra. Ramsay literally facepalms, and asks Nedra if that's true. She says she can, but not with the spatula she had. "So you're blaming the spatula," says Ramsay, flatly.
He says this is a difficult decision for him -- what with apparently everybody sucking -- but his decision is... to send Mary and Jacqueline back in line. Well, I'm surprised Jacqueline's not going. "Thank you, chef!" squeaks Mary, as the two of them scurry back into line. Mary's about ready to completely lose her shit.
Ramsay says there is one chef here who is way over their heads and it's only right now that... with the time that's left and the fact this episode is called "16 Chefs Compete: Part 1"... we're not actually going to have a goddamn elimination tonight. So I guess I'm the idiot.
And sure enough, Ramsay starts to announce who's leaving, and the "To Be Continued" screen pops up. Goddammit, show, you have one job each week. But tune in next week, where this cooking competition features the squeaky-voiced Mary MISSING HER PERIOD AND TAKING A PREGNANCY TEST and Ray apparently calling Amanda a bitch a couple dozen times and then beating her up. This fucking show.