'Hell's Kitchen' Season 9, Episode 8 Recap - '10 Chefs Compete'

Monday's episode saw the elimination of Krupa, but also left us with a "to be continued." What does Ramsay have in store? What is this big reveal that had to wait until the next night to be concluded? We'll find out...NOW.

The conclusion is that the teams have to nominate a leader. That was anti-climactic. Anyway, the blue team comes up with Will quickly, which is probably a good choice. The red team, unsurprisingly, can't come to a decision right away. Elise very surprisingly nominates Jennifer and not herself. Carrie, however, wants to vote herself in.

The twist here is that the team leaders are forced to name their weakest leader, and those named must then lead the teams in the morning challenge. That means Tommy and Carrie will be leading the teams. Carrie does a decent job pulling everyone together at first, but then annoys everyone to death. Tommy, meanwhile, takes too long in deciding what he wants to do, and it looks like they might be in trouble.

Wolfgang Puck comes in to judge the challenge, and Jennifer actually cries tears of joy. Red team gets the first point on the burgers thanks to Tommy's own very weak offering. Natalie just ekes out a win with her salmon salad, even though making a cobb was the assignment. Will and Elise both strike out with the spaghetti, and Jennifer manages to beat out Paul's chicken soup.

With the red team up by one point, it all comes down to the pizzas, but Jonathon is so ashamed of the (probably raw) mess than Tommy had him make that he refuses to bring it up. When it's uncovered, we see why: it's raw and actually sitting in a puddle of water. Carrie's pizza is raw as well, so there are no points...but they win thanks to their lead.

So the ladies finally get a reward, but it's the crappiest one yet. They get to drive on Sunset? Have any of them ever driven in LA? And then they get to see an unknown comedian at the Laugh Factory. That's sad, considering the guys got to hang out on yachts, have mountaintop brunches, and get treated at spas. At least the red team gets a set of cookware.

Jonathon, meanwhile, claims he has a crick in his neck right as the blue team is supposed to clean up and prep. Convenient.

When dinner service starts, Ramsay reveals that two of the tables are members of the U.S. Coast Guard, which ups the ante for the contestants. Ramsay makes a point of reminding them every couple of seconds, too. "THIS is the U.S. COAST GUARD!"

Carrie can't get her appetizers out (she can't even make a pizza?), but help from Jamie gets her through it. Jonathon and Natalie, on the other hand, have no backup and can't get their spaghetti and mussels right. Jonathon admits to Ramsay that he's in pain, and Ramsay puts him in his place by referencing Dave from season 6, who broke his arm and still stayed in the competition (and won). He'd better get his act together. This is the U.S. Coast Guard!

Things are going much better for the red team, who claims they're working "like a symphony." Elise is on the meat station and getting hit hard, but manages to stay above water. I guess she's actually a good cook. Great. She's not going home. Joy.

The blue team is a disaster, completely out of sync and yelling at each other while their tickets pile up. Tommy actually laughs when he almost trips Natalie and burns her face, which gets him a chewing-out by Ramsay. When he serves up cold strip steaks, Ramsay's close to kicking him out.

Clearly, the red team won the night. Ramsay even makes a point to praise Elise for her work. That means the blue team has to nominate two, and Tommy and Jonathon both try to get Natalie kicked out so they don't have to go up. It works, and Jonathon and Natalie step up due to their failure on appetizers.

Jonathon tries to claim that he's not a quitter, but we didn't see evidence of that today. Natalie is in tears before the announcement is even made, so it's extra cruel when Ramsay does his little trick where he makes her think she's going home. But it's Jonathon all the way...as soon as the blue team is rid of Tommy, they might actually start winning some services.