Drink Masters

Netflix really does have a way with screwing up these unique competition shows (Blown Away) to fit their agenda to the point where it's so blatant and obvious and almost a turn off that you don't even want to watch anymore. Every elimination is carefully calculated and not solely based on who did the best, worst, whether it was their second time in the bottom or first, whether they keep underperforming, etc. It's about being as inclusive as possibly throughout the duration of the show. Let's be real, recently, shows like this are skewed towards minorities advancing onward. It's about making the underrepresented represented. Which is a good thing, but when it starts to become more about representation then who did better in a challenge, that's when it gets frustrating. I myself am gay, and this is something I've picked up on. In the first episode, I already knew the people who would get picked off in the beginning and the ones who would go far solely based on their edit and their sob stories about what a challenge it is for them to work in a male and straight and white dominated industry. In that moment, it no longer became a show about skill and talent. Let people compete naturally and be judged and eliminated fairly, or let them judge the cocktails blind. Other than that, the show looks good and the drinks are cool and the show has a nice flow and concept.

Pros: cinematography, when they present the cocktail is top notch. You can learn from the diversity of these drinks and it's amazing how they combine some elements. And that's where the good part ends.

Cons: everything else. The judges, maybe they are good in their line of work but Frankie is talking like a shaolin priest, no emotions, no passion, way too chill for this. Then we have the...agenda with the contestants. You know who's gonna win and who's gonna reach far in the show sooo easy! And no, not by their skill. And this kills all the fun unfortunately. Is it that hard to do a show based exclusively on REAL talent instead of ethnicity???

Why does Netflix keep saying "the best of the world" and the contestants are only from the US and Canada? I was expecting participants from famous party cities around the world. The format is good: first a general challenge that involves cooking and preparing a cocktail based on a specific criteria, and based on the cocktail presented the people who the judges consider are not good enough go straight to the elimination challenge. It is nice that they explain everything that they are going to do. I love that the show presents key concepts on screen when it seems to be an unknown object/term. In general it's a nice and entertaining show to watch if you like alcohol and learn about it.

In terms of cinematography and visually pleasing elements, I was very entertained. The concept is exciting and unfamiliar which is what pulled me to the show to begin with.

Despite offering me a mindless, fun watch, I believe many, many things could have been better excited. As many other reviewers mentioned, there should have been more transparency regarding the way the judges marked the drinks.

Two, and this comes out very, very obviously to a non-American viewer, but there's a blatant sort of play on minorities, identity and marginalised groups. This is not strictly a bad thing, but when it comes to the marking, it becomes apparent that there's some agenda in the play. This is a competition. It should depend entirely on skills and concepts and very, very, VERY little on background.

I felt like the elimination process was not entirely fair. There were some really strong competitors unfairly knocked out in the early battles, and some who I was frankly shocked to see advance.

Lastly, for the finals, the least likely competitor won and I could not understand it. Some pointed out she played the race card, and perhaps that could hold some truth to it, but regardless of that, there was only one display that truly and clearly blew the judges away, and blew us the viewers away, so unique and creative, and somehow didn't win. I'm simply shocked, there could have only been this one winner.

Over all, entertaining show, but I sense some bias and the ending was far too abrupt for the build up.

They eliminated the top challenge winner too early on and kept people clinging to the bottom week after week. But these cocktail artisans are incredible, visually stunning and marvelous to watch. And Tone is hilarious!

Suggestions for next season: STOP over editing. -Show us more of the contestants vibing after challenges backstage (we want to see friendships and alliances born behind the scenes!) -like project runway and top chef. Easier to route for people and get inspired as viewers this way!

-Have more clear and consistent judging criteria. Felt muddled and not in a delicious mojito way.