I just watched Red October yesterday and I hold to my opinion that "the shot of the cook" is not as terrible a giveaway as Kiss Kiss Bang Bang tells it. It's maybe four seconds at the longest, there's no push in of any kind and it's sandwiched in amongst lots of other "the crew is generally suspicious or might easily become suspicious" stuff.

I think McTiernan is right that he underplayed it, but I wouldn't consider it frail. In the beginning, the Red October's officers are very concerned about a spy or the crew otherwise mutinying if and when they discover the treason. But that aspect is eventually forgotten as the actual mechanics of escaping the Soviet navy and defecting to the United States dominates the film. But when the cook pops back up and fires into the control room, it's the perfect moment that's been established but forgotten by the audience.