Listen, I never really thought that Mary was going to go home. Yes, she botched her attempt at making some succulent trout in Sunday’s Elimination Challenge, but that’s her first stumble of the season. So when I saw her standing next to Sean—who has suffered several gaffes since the season began—I was 90 per cent confident it was he who’d be instructed to take off his apron. My suspicions were correct, but Mary needs to be smarter.

It’s a common belief among MasterChef competitors that more complicated plates will win over the judges. But as Mary, Veronica earlier this season, and others in the past have learned, that’s not always true. Mary, who’d been given a trout as her protein, planned to complement the fish with a carrot sauce, cauliflower puree and other ingredients. But her plans were too ambitious; the puree was lumpy and the sauce never made it to the plate. Worse? She left bones in the trout, a major no-no. Luckily, Sean’s plating of sturgeon was 70s-era awful, sealing his fate.

Meanwhile, with five weeks into the competition, major plotting is taking place. Jennifer and Terry, winners of the Mystery Box challenge, served notice by assigning tough fish to players like Mary, Jeremy and April Lee in a bid to get them out of there. That didn’t work this time around, but the move did amp up the drama. Kudos to the producers for having the home cooks pair up for the Mystery Box so soon in the season; it not only forced competitors out of their comfort zones but revealed some interesting alliances. It also showed that Terry is a truly fearsome competitor with the skills to not only make it far but possibly take the title.

Next week, the remaining home cooks host a lavish meal for the fashion industry’s biggest names at Casa Loma and team leaders Veronica and Jacqueline have it tough.

MasterChef Canada airs Sundays at 7 p.m. ET on CTV.