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Morimoto, my favorite chef ever (I was watching Iron Chef from the moment it was available in the United States), is the hardest draw of the three by far. He wants a miso soup and a sashimi bento box like he had as a child, and we continue the theme of bad luck for Antonia as she is assigned to him. Mike takes the easy way out by choosing to cook for Michelle Bernstein. Her meal of choice is chicken and biscuits and gravy. Mike could run to KFC and finish this challenge in mere minutes. Richard is asked to create a traditional Austrian meal for one of its most famous citizens. Puck’s last meal includes goulash, spaetzle, and apple strudel. All of this is in Blais’ wheelhouse.

At this moment, I have trouble envisioning a scenario where Antonia makes the finale. It’s not helping any that she looks absolutely devastated in a couple of the monologue inclusions. Unless that’s an editing swerve, this ends badly for her.

You would think Antonia’s bad luck may balance out at some point, but the next thing we see is her sampling hamachi, one of the key components in her dish. For whatever reason, the sushi meat is rancid. She has to choose a different fish, one that is not as elegant an ingredient as a replacement. If we don’t include getting to hang out with her buddy Carla for a half hour, everything in this episode has been a complete disaster for Antonia. The worst part is that Richard and Mike are going about their business as if it’s a regular day at the office save for Richard demonstrating his ordinary amount of self-esteem issues. I’m starting to believe that the editing is a swerve, because the deck seems completely stacked against Antonia.

Bravo gets the shameless promotional shill out of the way before dinner begins. Melanie Dunea, photographer and author, joins the other judges and we are informed that she has released a book called My Last Supper. Update your Amazon carts accordingly. All kidding aside, Dunea does have a good eye for visual stimulation and proves remarkably insightful with her commentary on the evening. I’m still not buying her book, though.

Antonia is first to deliver her dish. Her take on Morimoto’s requested last meal is tuna sashimi with pickled daikon, mushrooms & eggplant, miso soup & rice. It looks quite good and I hold out a momentary hope that she has overcome all obstacles to deliver a delicious dish. Alas, Morimoto’s wording crushes that dream. As politely as possible, he critiques the dish and it’s clear that he is working too hard to avoid saying anything destructive. He doesn’t like the dish. For her part, Gail Simmons makes a choking sound as she tastes the saltier portion of the dish. Barring something unforeseen, Antonia is gone.

Mike does his best Colonel Sanders impression by delivering fried chicken with pea puree and egg yolk empanada with mustard gravy. He has attempted to sous vide the dish in order to demonstrate his skill as a chef as well as to prove that he did not take the easy way out. This proves to be a miscalculation as the skin does not hold up well because of the technique used. Mike has chosen the easiest dish possible and he has messed it up. There may be hope for Antonia yet.

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