Look at the time line and the position of the a/c. There should be no doubt as to what the crew were facing in the midst of a 55,000+ cell.
The point in question is how did they find themselves there in the first place. What sort of professional judgement created this kind of situational awareness? This has all the early appearances of 2 pilots in way over their heads from the time the Captain left the cockpit.
AVIATE, NAVIGATE, COMMUNICATE....there appears to have been problems in all 3 areas...... with devastating consequences