On last night's episode, the blue team discuss what to cook for their first MasterChef team challenge. Credit: FOX. © 2017 FOX Broadcasting Co.

On last night’s episode, the blue team discuss what to cook for their first MasterChef team challenge. Credit: FOX. © 2017 FOX Broadcasting Co.

I'm happily getting used to seeing Tampa move on in the MasterChef kitchen. Just when Season 8 watchers thought the blue team — the group of competitors that included Helicon marketing director Jeff Philbin during Wednesday night's new episode — would have to face-off against each other in a "Pressure Test" after losing their first team challenge (they had to cook lunch for 101 hungry lifeguards), the show drops a bomb.

A good bomb. For Tampa Bay and my livetweeting, anyhow.

Judges Christina Tosi, Aarón Sanchez and Gordon Ramsay informed the bottom home cooks that they're saving three of them from elimination. Sanchez bailed out Daniel. Reba was rescued by Tosi. But before all that, something very cool happened: Ramsay chose to spare our guy Philbin.

By the way, we also got to hear from Philbin in one of those confessional-style interviews for the first time.

"There are some people that I'm not that into," he said before the team challenge. "Paige stands out to me. She's young, she's naive. I don't really think she has that palate."

Foreshadowing much?

All in all, this latest 'sode was full of great GIF reactions from Twitter folks, which is why I'm using those to recap the highlights. If you'd rather not read on for them (though you totally should), see ya next week.

During the team challenge, Ramsay says the red team's "timing is fucked," and you think, at least for a few minutes, that blue has a shot.

Then, on top of blue's team captain and Louisiana debut collector Jennifer struggling and Philbin having to step up as "the voice," you find out Honolulu swimsuit model Paige has overseasoned their rockfish.

Which prompts New York dancer Dino, who should be on everyone's favorite list by now, to make a comment that's too good to not acknowledge.

And, yeah, the red team wins. But Ramsay saves Philbin from elimination anyway.

Still among the bottom cooks, Jennifer gets flustered while trying to recreate Sanchez's Pressure Test pork dish.

Her plate, the first to be critiqued, doesn't turn out too hot.

Paige doesn't fare much better with the judges, though. Tosi, who is not messing around, calls her pork chop bland and undercooked. "It's almost like you just don't care anymore."

Confident in her dish, Paige says, more or less: "Welp, it's still edible."

A plot twist ensues, and we go from MasterChef to Survivor. "We're gonna go to the balcony," says Ramsay. You know, where all those safe people are. They get to determine which cook they want in, apparently.

None of Paige's fellow contestants say her name. They think Jennifer deserves to stay — and the judges agree. Paige is voted out of the kitchen, leaving the audience, like, "Damn."


This article appears in Jun 22-29, 2017.