*Warning: Spoilers for Episodes 8-10 ahead!
Despite maintaining its No. 1 spot in Netflix’s Global Top 10 TV (Non-English) category for two consecutive weeks, Culinary Class Wars is now facing mixed reactions over the latest episodes.
While early episodes of the hit cooking survival show were praised for their excitement and production quality, the recently released Episodes 8-10 have left some viewers disappointed. The cause? A growing debate over fairness during the restaurant team mission, where participants were eliminated based on what many feel were unjust circumstances.
Following the “convenience store mission,” the contestants faced the “restaurant mission,” where they had 24 hours to prepare, select ingredients, and run a restaurant for 20 diners. After the grueling, all-night preparations, the chefs were thrown a curveball—an emergency announcement from the production team. Each team had to send a member to form a new group, leading to chaos among the participants.
In the end, the new team, composed of chefs who had already lost valuable time, had to start with one fewer member than the others. With no additional advantage to offset this handicap, viewers expressed frustration, with comments such as, “It left me with nothing but frustration instead of excitement.”
Had this new team won first place, it might have created a dramatic storyline, but the three eliminated contestants struggled throughout the mission, constantly short on time and manpower, ultimately leading to their defeat. Culinary Class Wars, which earned its reputation as a “wholesome survival show” by focusing more on the contestants’ skills rather than intense rivalries and drama, has left viewers feeling a bit disappointed this time around.
There were also complaints that individual skills were overshadowed in team missions. Notably, contestants like Chef Lee Young Sook, who gained popularity in earlier episodes, were relegated to preparation duties, leading some fans to call for unseen footage to be released. Although it’s tough to showcase every contestant equally, standouts like Chef Choi Hyun Seok delivered performances that clearly outshone the others.
As Culinary Class Wars heads toward its final stretch, with the Top 8 set to compete in the upcoming final missions, all eyes are on whether the show can recover its early momentum and deliver a satisfying finale.
Source (1)
