‘Hell’s Kitchen’: Just put her out of her misery

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Who would have thought at the beginning of this season that self-described redneck Danny would rise to the top? Or that Robert would replace Lacey for sheer entertainment value. Or that in the battle between Carol vs. Andrea, that Andrea would win.

But for how long?

It’s been hard to pin down whether Andrea and Carol were submarining each other, or whether they are both just lousy. But tonight, Carol was the lousier of the two and was sent packing by Chef Ramsay: ‘Carol knew she was out of her depth in ‘Hell’s Kitchen,’ I just put her out of her misery.’

The night got underway with the contestants serving up dishes made with king crab -- and deciding among themselves which single dish would be served up to Chef Ramsay. Not surprisingly, Ben and Andrea bulldozed to have their dishes presented to Ramsay -- and had them both dashed. Chef Ramsay then called on Paula and Danny to present their dishes, and ruled them both excellent. In the end, though, the blue team won, and the men had a day in Santa Monica while the women were stuck cleaning crabs and listening to Andrea yammer.

It all came to a head at dinner service. The men’s team earned a rating of 39% above average from diners, while the women earned a rating of 54% above average. That meant the men had to pony up a player for elimination, and Danny, who was the standout, had to do the honors. He put Ben on the chopping block, but in the end Chef Ramsay shocked everyone by nixing Carol instead.

-- Rene Lynch