In my least favorite episode of Bar Rescue ever, Jon is sadly missing from the show again, except for the opening sequence and a phone call later in the episode to discuss the design. He sends in Phil Wills and Danny Trejo to take the reins at Uncle Albert’s Pub in Houston, Texas.

Phil has worked with Jon for a long time; so much so, Jon refers to him as a brother-in-arms in the war to save failing bars across America. Yet, without Jon’s direct presence, you can feel the difference in interpersonal skills, especially in this episode when Phil gets pushed to the edge by the obnoxious and drunk owner, “Long Island Les.”

Uncle Albert’s is run by Les and Rebecca Weaver, a married couple with over $120,000 in debt. What initially seemed like a typically mismanaged bar quickly unravels into something closer to a daytime soap opera. Right from the start, Les isn’t the classic overwhelmed owner who wants to change; he’s more like the bar’s unofficial party animal, stubbornly clinging to his Long Island iced teas and deflecting responsibility with alarming nonchalance. The bar’s situation went downhill so fast, Rebecca came out of retirement after only 10 months away just to keep the place from going under.

Rebecca has all the experience, but Les actually tells us that when she talks about bar costs and staff training, he tells her, “I don’t want to hear it.” Then he argues with Phil, for what seems like hours, over the disrespect he claims Phil gave Rebecca by yelling at her, even though Rebecca tells Les that Phil wasn’t yelling. It’s the kind of insanity that makes Bar Rescue fun to watch, but only when Jon is there to set the owner straight.

Phil might as well have “Good Luck” stamped on his forehead. He gets pissed, that’s for sure, but it’s somehow not as commanding as when Jon gets riled up. I applaud Phil for trying, but, to me, he just has that “I’m not Jon Taffer, but I play him on TV” vibe. He isn’t as nuanced or as strategic in the way he handles conflict and understands people’s motivations and how to counter them. Even fans throw shade for Jon’s Marriage Rescue show, but the truth is Jon has a way with people that other’s don’t have, and while he makes it look easy and just like he’s yelling, it’s a whole lot more as can be seen by the fact no one else can do what Jon does. This episode is a testament to that because two men can’t do in an hour of talking what Jon can do with one stern look. Just sayin’.

It all starts when Phil enters and isn’t Jon, so no one seems to know who he is or why he’s there. Then he dared to critique the bar’s conditions. Les immediately went on the defensive, snapping back with, “Who do you think you are?” (I’m guessing Phil wanted to answer, “I’m the guy Jon sent to save you from yourself,” but he held back). The tension escalates when Les tries to justify protecting his wife by challenging Phil about whether he is married, as if being married has bearing on Phil’s credibility.

Phil responds with an amateur move and answers Les’s question directly. As Jon has shown us time and time again, the host’s authority is never up for debate. I mean, Jon never gets into a personal argument with anyone, not even Lonie Walker from “S4E12: Crayons and Anger Lines” when she insults Jon’s hair (IYKYK). Jon, ever the master of never taking anything personally, would have called into question what kind of husband Les is or maybe responded to him like he did Lonie, “So you’re going to attack me personally because I’m attacking your business?” Jon shuts down that nonsense instantly by not responding and redirecting the conversation to what he wants to talk about.

Phil isn’t alone on this rescue, though. Enter Danny Trejo, a.k.a. “Machete,” who’s tagging along. Watching Danny try to reason with Les is a spectacle all its own, as the Hollywood tough guy also reaches his wit’s end after probably an hour of Les fixating on Phil’s perceived disrespect of his wife. Try as he might, Phil can’t get things under control, so Machete confronts Les, “You’re being a dick. You know that? You’re being a damn dick.”

Then Phil chimes in with Jon’s approach, yelling, “And if you want us to stick around, if you want to come out of this debt, if you want to survive, you need to humble up right now and listen to the professionals that are in your bar. You got it? You got it? I need a yes or no. And that’s it. You say yes, we’ll come back tomorrow.” It was a nice little bit of intimidation, Jon style, but it took Phil and Danny working in tandem—and one of Les’s friends sitting across from him encouraging him to say yes to Phil’s help—for probably over an hour to barely get Les on board, something Jon could have done with his stare. Yep, Jon really is irreplaceable.

The next day is the staff meeting. Rebecca convinces Les to return by reminding him that the bar is partly his responsibility. Phil and Danny tell us what happens today depends a lot on Les’s attitude. Phil starts off getting to know everyone while Les is stewing and then asks Les how he feels about last night. Les gets defensive, saying he doesn’t like it when someone raises their voice to his wife, and it’s “something I do not allow.” Phil asks Rebecca if he raised his voice to her. She hem-haws around, saying that Phil asked the same question twice and the second time a little louder, but it’s clear everyone else thinks the answer is a resounding no.

Phil is obviously fed up but is still trying to salvage the situation. He explains to Les the time constraints they have and that he may have been intense but at no point did he disrespect Rebecca. Les retorts, “That’s your opinion.”

Then, Machete has had it. Danny tells Les a good hard truth like Jon would have, “I don’t think you understand what disrespect is. I seen her work from the time we walked in here to the time we left. I seen you, sitting at a table drinking the profits. That’s disrespect.” Amen to that, Danny!

Phil then brings up the money. Les is $120,000 in debt from the past several years. According to Partender, he’s losing $140,000 a year from liquor mismanagement. To move things forward, Phil pulls out one of Jon’s legendary tactics: He asks Les for an apology. Les quickly responds, “Okay, I’m sorry, guys. How ‘bout that?” sounding like he’s just tossed Phil a minor concession instead of a real apology. No one believes Les, and Rebecca begs him to respond with a real apology.

Phil, gives Les a second chance to answer and even helps the process by softening and becoming sincere himself, saying to Les, “I want you to come out on the other side a better person, okay?” Then we all wait, except Rebecca who encourages Les to apologize. Les finally does and it sounds as sincere as he can muster. When they move forward, we can see that Phil is hopeful about training manager Raiel as his strategy to get Rebecca out of the bar and fully seated into her retirement. Raiel is a good choice because he’s been there 17 years and moved up from cook to bartender to manager. He is eager to help and obviously loyal. Les is into this idea, too, probably because it doesn’t require anything from him.

Phil and Danny move forward, rallying the team for the stress test. During training, we get to hear PJ King explain some bar science—the difference between soda water and sparkling mineral water. Mixologist Carlos Ruiz teaches the bar staff how to do proper pours and make hibiscus ranch water. Culinary Expert Tatiana Rosana teaches the cook how to make a fried chicken sandwich that is one of the most delicious looking pieces of chicken I’ve seen in my life.

After a day or two of no drinking and some training, Les is sounding much more positive and feels good about the upcoming stress test. Les and Rebecca receive some suggestions from Phil and Danny about supporting Raiel and giving him direction while they take orders at the tables. Everything should be simple enough, but as usual, chaos starts to unfold. Drinks are overpoured left and right, food isn’t coming out of the kitchen cooked properly, and Junior, the cook, looks like he’s trying to swim upstream with no paddle. Raiel can’t make a drink to save his life. Communication between the front and back of the house is terrible. Tatiana Rosana and Carlos Ruiz aren’t happy, and you can see it on their faces and hear it in their words.

At this point, it’s hard not to picture Jon storming around the kitchen, bellowing about raw food, wasted drinks, and lost profits. Phil points out the bucket of botched cocktails. A couple of customers have never been greeted. Food’s coming out wrong, drink orders are piling up, and poor Junior in the kitchen looks like he’s one botched order away from fleeing the scene entirely. Customers are frowning, drinks are getting dumped by the gallon, and Phil’s expression is a perfect mixture of concern and restrained disbelief. Raiel has trouble stepping in because he is basically untrained.

On the flip side, everyone is trying and Les steps up to the plate, receiving kudos from Phil—and Danny, too, during the one-on-one—regarding his contributions when he’s sober. Phil shuts down the stress test, and Les informs us that seeing the drinks dumped in a bucket was like seeing someone burn his money right in front of his face. He has had an awakening, which results in him stepping up to lend a hand. In the one-on-one he tells Phil and Danny that he wants to learn all the systems they are putting in place so he can help Raiel learn them and eventually step back.

For the first time, he’s without a Long Island iced tea in hand, focused and—dare I say—almost professional. After the one-on-one Les shares his new perspective. He feels energized and appreciative. He wants to make Uncle Albert’s a place that’s he’s proud of and that is profitable.

Jon has a phone call cameo where they talk about the design and the concept. He wants to work hard on the name and come up with something that ties the bar to Les and Rebecca’s future. No crowd is gathered at the reveal, and after the countdown, Rebecca doesn’t seem so thrilled with the new name and bar—or maybe that’s me projecting because if Uncle Albert’s had no identity, I am quite surprised that the new bar, with sleek leather seating, a brand-new bar layout, and huge TVs announcing that Big W Cattle Company has arrived confuses me even more.

The name change admittedly feels a little…unconventional. In fact, when I first saw it, I had to do a double-take—Big W Cattle Company sounds more like a ranch outpost than a place to grab a drink. But the fresh decor and attention-grabbing calls-to-action make it clear: This is a bar, a clean, modern space with a solid concept and a big, big, big nod to Texas. Big W represents the Weavers, in case you, like me, forgot their last name and were really wondering if it stood for “WTF.”

The staff is giddy and wide-eyed as they take in the transformation. Rebecca is happy, and even Les can’t help but look a little excited. Phil and Danny lead them on a tour, showing off all the updates, lighting, and a POS system that will hopefully keep the register ringing and prevent Les from drinking half the inventory. The reaction is everything you hope for in a Bar Rescue reveal.

The best part of it, though, is that for all the sweat and tears it took to get there, Phil and Danny really did pull off the impossible in changing around Les. Yet, as they celebrate the bar’s new identity and team spirit, I couldn’t help but think how much smoother it might’ve gone with Jon there. Jon, with his unyielding stare, his raw, almost primal passion for saving bars—and his gift for handling whatever bullshit owners throw his way.

Watching Phil and Danny give it their all was impressive, but at the end of the day, nobody brings out change like Jon. He’s an icon, a force of nature, and every episode just drives home the truth: Even when Jon is absent from an episode, he’s still present in spirit. He set the standard for 13 years and no one–or two–comes close to doing what he does. That’s just one more reason why he’s so illustrious.

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I invite you to consider and share your answers in the Comments: What do you think about the two guest hosts element? Did Danny Trejo live up to your expectations?