Hell’s Kitchen is the most infuriating show on TV. With most shows, either I like it or I don’t watch it. It’s pretty simple, really. But nothing about Hell’s Kitchen is as simple as it seems.
The format of the show is maddening. It seems like half the episode is spent recapping either what you saw last week or earlier in this week’s show. They hold out ridiculously long dramatic pauses and go to commercial at the worst possible moment. Yet ever week I come back for more, eating it up like Chef Ramsey’s beef wellington.
Now it seems that Hell’s Kitchen has hit a new low by using false advertising to reel us in even further. After last week’s episode, the previews for this week showed Chef Gordon Ramsey forcing favorites Jay and Holli into the difficult position of choosing between their burgeoning relationship and the competition. The trailer ended with Holli tearfully declaring “I love him” to the camera.
After seven days of eager anticipation, I returned to Hell’s Kitchen to see an episode quite unlike that which was promised. The advanced clips for this weeks show were edited together in such a way that in total they were just a lie. The big decision wasn’t what it lead viewers to believe. Holli’s tearful proclamation of love was for her four-year-old son. Nothing was what it seemed.
Which is the network’s prerogative, I suppose. But it makes me wonder what was gained from this blatant deceit. The trailer ran at the end of an episode of Hell’s Kitchen, meaning the audience was exclusively people who already watch the show. While it did serve to increase this viewer’s anticipation, it just set me up for disappointment this week.
Oh, well. Just one more thing to hate about my favorite summer TV show.
