Bill's battle plans on True Blood,Top Chef Masters fly high and could it be the last day for those Under The Dome?

The new season of Top Chef Masters got off to a roaring start,as the thirteen contenders were equally offered an unusual advantage in their Elimination Challenge.

The challenge was to make a family style meal for a group of professional sky divers(out doors,of course) and in order to gain two hours of cook time, the chefs would have to sky dive themselves. Only one chef,Douglas Keane, declined(he drove in to the location) and had just one hour to make his dish,but thanks to his sous chef, he already had immunity.

A new twist this season allows the masters to bring their sous chefs along and they are competing in a special contest that will earn either a reward or a punishment for their chef(their portion of TCM can be seen online).

For the first sous set-up,they were tasked to create a dish that reflected the style of their master,who then had to use the same ingredients their second-in-command selected for their Elimination dish. Tricky, but it did work out for some better than others.

 Bryan Voltaggio,the first regular TC contender to enter the masters tournament, was nervous upon discovering that he only had vegetables to work with. He was luckier than three of his fellow chefs,whose penalty from the sous challenge was to have butter knives as part of their cutlery to work with!

 Bryan's glazed carrots,however, were a pleasant surprise to both the guests and the judges,with the word "sexy" being tossed about. Not sure how sexy carrots can get on the plate, but I will demur to the taste buds present at the table here.

The winner of this challenge was Odette Fada,who won ten grand for her charity Doctors Without Borders.

 Her chilled roasted lamb served with a cauliflower and anchovy salad was considered a refreshing delight by all assembled. Congrats,Odette and looking forward to seeing more from you,foodwise.

 The first chef sent off to pack their knives was Herbert Wilson, who was not able to finish his dish of oysters on time. The best that he could offer up was the grilled cucumber and mango butter meant for oysters on a half shell.

To his credit, Herbert right away owned up to his mistake and told the judges that it was only fair that he should go. That's what I like about TCM, the maturity level amongst the chefs in this competition. Sorry to see him go but perhaps he will return next season for redemption.

Sookie was rescued from yet another predicament on True Blood by

Warlow,due to Bill sending him with Maker's permission. Once she was safe, Warlow was being summoned back but Sookie helped the two of them hide out in an alternate fairy dimension.

Frustrated by his progeny's escape(plus noticing that Jessica was missing as well),Bill sought answers by a session with Lilith,who basically told him to figure things out for himself.

His solution was to drink what there was of Warlow's blood on hand and then make a daylight visit to the Governor's mansion. Granted, he didn't get the info that he needed but Bill certainly made one hell of a statement there! That's not the only major development in this episode(fare thee well,Terry Bellefleur) but it will have repercussions that will affect what comes next:

It was Visitor's Day for those trapped Under The Dome and while some folks were happy to see their loved ones, others received news that they wish they hadn't(like Julia seeing a Dear John letter from her husband sent to her sister).

Barbie managed to get some info,with the help of Dodee,from one of the soldiers outside the dome about what was being planned by the government to release them. Based on what he was told, it soon became apparent that Visitor's Day was intended to be a farewell for all concerned,due to the Mother Of All Bombs heading their way:

 As news quickly spread of the impending doom, the folks of Chester's Mill sought shelter in an abandoned factory with a large underground basement but not everyone made it in before the bomb hit.

Amongst those left above ground was Angie, finally free from that damn shelter due to Big Jim's "what-the-hell-we're-all-gonna-die" attitude yet she ran into Junior anyway. Talk about if it weren't for bad luck,Angie would have no luck at all!

Speaking of luck, the bomb did hit the dome and no one was hurt,yet no one was free from imprisonment as the impact on the dome was nada. That inspired Rev. Coggins to insist upon Big Jim "confessing" his yet unkonwn sins against the town and caused Big Jim to shut his mouth for good. Yes, this did happen in the book,only in a much more gruesome manner,and should tell anyone who hasn't read it volumes about how far Big Jim is willing to go to protect his own:

RANDOM NOTES:

HGTV STAR: Congratulations to Tiffany for being this season's winner and her upcoming show,The Most Embarrassing Rooms in America, should be interesting to see: