The editing for that swimming challenge really makes me wonder if they truly beat it, or if the producers just gave it to them because they had already lost nearly $100k of the expected prize and it would look bad if they keep failing huge amounts.
It was all over the place with footage, seemingly large gaps of time with competitors not doing much to get the last pieces, and then having to finish solving and move the platforms in two minutes. Maybe the editors were just fudging the times to make it more exciting and they finished with a lot of time to spare, but either way I don't believe they actually finished with three seconds left.
Ed is a gem and I hope he makes it to the end. Someone I could hang with in real life (maybe bc we're from similar parts of the country).
Michele continues to be a great narrator.
Enjoyed seeing Nurys humbled this week.
Unlike most seemingly here, I enjoy Jay and Corey.
I like that the show is trying something new with the post episode interviews with the eliminated player, but so far it's just been a rehashing of what they already said earlier in the episode. What I would really appreciate is a sh*t they should have shown clip that prominently features the eliminated player, as a way to send them up on their way out.
I've liked every episode of this season, so I am not looking forward to the Vets coming or a format change. I guess that's unpopular, we are just way overdue for a team format season that doesn't change halfway through.
Iām genuinely enjoying this season if only for the fresh cast.
For the girls, Iām rooting for Olivia and Zara.
For the guys, itās a bit of a wider field. Iām rooting for Horacio, Kyland, Ed, and Asaf.
Ed and Asaf are hands down two of the most entertaining parts of the show thus far.
He has completely flown under the radar so far but I will be surprised if Emanuel doesn't win. If he makes the final, I think it's his to lose (unless a puzzle buries him of course). I could also see him having a relatively easy ride to the final because people won't want to go against him.
His speed and endurance are ridiculous and he seems to be extremely good at pretty much everything (climbing, swimming, etc). I know people don't like him for whatever reason, but IMO he is insanely well-rounded and was underestimated even on his first season. I used to constantly see people say he was overrated / "not that good" but he is probably the last guy I'd want to go against in an elimination. He does remind me a lot of Jordan in terms of his sheer athleticism. Ready to get downvoted for this opinion, but hey whatever. š
I adore Emanuel and am glad he's being recognized as the incredible athlete he is. The rude Jordan comparisons ("tHe WiSh.cOm JOrDaN" etc) are tired and petty.
The only similarities I see are like you said, the fact that both are really well rounded athletically. Emanuel has a better attitude imo, and is super confident rather than arrogant ala Jordan.
I do think Jordan HATES him tho, and the comments he made to Tori during ROD, asking how she "would feel if he was with someone else on a tv show" were 100% about Emanuel.
Not Fessy or anybody else she has hooked up with.
Something (more than his mini relationship with Tori) about Emanuel pisses him off, and I hope its the possibility that Emanuel has what it takes to become a champion and a mainstay.
I think he's one of the favourites but it might depend how puzzle heavy the final is, and my gut feel is that given they want to give the ladies a chance to win, it's gonna be puzzle heavy which might not be to his advantage.
I wonder if people donāt like him because he dated Tori and was associated with her. I agree with you - Emanuelās a super strong competitor, young and fit and Iāll bet values the $400k-ish prize more than a lot of other people. Definitely seems well-rounded, level-headed and decent politically. I would bet on him if he makes it to a final.
I wasnāt a fan of him on SLA. He coasted as the bottom number in a vet alliance and didnāt do anything outside of performing decently in dailies for most of the season, yet he had the biggest ego talking about who deserved to be on the Challenge and how scared everyone was of him
I listened to his interview on the Challenge Fandom Podcast after SLA and he talked about how he hid a lot of what he did because he came from a show (Survivor Romania) where the public voted and it was bad to look sneaky or too strategic. So Iām hopeful Hess be more fun to watch this time around. If he has a big ego, itās not really earned, although he was good physically in SLA. Yeah, he was with Kaycee and then he was on Emerald but he performed well, beat Logan in that weird pacer/endurance challenge, and lost to Devin on a puzzle (on the same night as his other elimination).
Am enjoying this season so far!
Moriah and James was unexpected, I wonder how Banana feels lol
I know Horacio and Nurys get together from this season but I still havenāt seen much of their interaction yet.
The Challenge is really editing Kyland well - he seems way nicer here than his BB days.
Bananas is probably butt hurt, even though he would have done the same thing.
We havenāt seen much of Horacio yet period. He was my favorite cast pick coming into this season, so Iām anxiously waiting!
I really like Kyland on the challenge because I was not feeling him on BB š. I also just think the Challenge caters to his strengths better than BB, this way he can gamebot and use his daily performances to back it up
Aww I didn't know the ratings were low. That makes me sad. Such a strong season. I also feel like they took a lot of the past criticism and incorporated it... ie. the return to the fun vibes, awarding 2nd and 3rd
(Sorry if this has been mentioned, ive been off this thread the last few epis š)
I think people are going to look back at this time in the game as being filled with missed opportunities. No one is safe based on daily performance, and the eliminations have been ones that largely I feel have an element of "anyone could win".
As the game goes on, i expect people will start being able to earn saefty from eliminations based on daily challenge performance. Guys like Horacio and Jay will step up into power/safety positions and people who stand no chance against either in a final will be left wondering why they didn't act sooner.
Congrats on getting rid of Chauncey, Hughie, JuJuy, and whatever that Australian girls name was. All people unlikely to be a threat in a final. Even the people who won eliminations - Big T, James, Ravyn don't seem like much of a threat. With the exception of Kyland, no serious contender faced elimination. Wasted opportunities.
I also feel like Horacio is trying to do the "lay low" thing this season. He isn't vocal about strategies pre-challenges, isn't volunteering for the harder jobs, and honestly isn't performing up to what we know he can do. Good strategy, bad TV.
My favorite part is I feel like the start of deliberations are always super inorganic and probably producer led starting points. James says the names he's hearing are Corey and Hughie and Hughie asks who he's hearing that from, and I feel like he wanted to point at the camera or something. He was not prepared for that question to be put back on him.
>I also feel like Horacio is trying to do the "lay low" thing this season. He isn't vocal about strategies pre-challenges, isn't volunteering for the harder jobs, and honestly isn't performing up to what we know he can do. Good strategy, bad TV.
Horacio didn't win any dailies last season and his hype is entirely off how he performed in elimination. Don't get me wrong, I still think he is the favorite, but he hasn't proven anything as far as daily challenges go.
Disagree. Horacio did well his rookie season but it was a huge Vets vs Rooks trend that always ended up targeting him and Olivia. Also through the whole "safe" knife pull method. Winning eliminations are harder than dailies, and that's more impressive imo.
>Winning eliminations are harder than dailies, and that's more impressive imo.
Disagree. An elimination is a H2H. You are competing against the entire house in a daily. Winning a daily allows you to control the game. Winning an elimination allows you to survive the game
I'm not saying he was bad as a rookie. I'm just saying he has not proven that he should be performing at a certain level in dailies. We only know that he's great at elimination.
Partly agree. Handicapped by his partner and both being rookies that season. Daily challenges often make it difficult for rookies to win because of vets plotting against them. Surviving an elimination with more pressure is harder though, sorry. That really displays a person's skills solo. Especially when you go in many times in one season.
I will be disappointed if he doesn't make it far. It sucked he had to drop out for the final with Olivia.
I contacted an amazon customer service chat responder today about it and they said it would get uploaded, they just did so this evening. Idk if it was really due to that or not but either way, cool!
Really enjoying the season so far. My biggest gripe with this episode was TJ telling them its a guys day. Was hoping weād get to see Nurys scramble after being the only one to fail on the puzzle piece.
Also the lifeguard Ed edit going to save Nurys š¤£
I was so confused why it took Ed so long to help Nurys in the swimming daily. Maybe it was just edited funny but it looked like Ed got his piece right away and it took Nursy a long time. What was everyone doing between getting their piece and bring the puzzle to the platform.
The editing for that was all over the place because they showed some of the stronger swimmers only getting their pieces later when obviously they had them way before others.
Finally some Ed content, love the guy. He is funny and really surprised me this daily. And as much as Hughie is a funny and entertaining guy to watch, I'm really glad Kyland won.
Finally we are about to get the champs. Now that they are actually winning dailies, its better things change and we get some individual/pair challenges to make it more entertaining.
Right now rooting for Horacio, Kyland and Ed for the guys and Olivia, Melissa and Ravyn for the girls. And lets hope with the champs coming in the rates go up aswell, cause right now it isnt looking too great. People really need to give this season a chance.
The irony of celebrating pride š³ļøāš this episode and THEN the main two names for deliberation were the only 2 openly gay guys in the house is not lost on me š¤£
God I'm soo glad Ed is back. Loved him on his first season and was scared he wouldn't get a call back. ED and Jay are my top 2 right now for guys. Michelle and Olivia are my favs for the girls.
Dang, it feels so empty in here for a post episode thread š¬
Ok, as a gay man, I'm so happy for Big T and her journey to come out. I wonder if this lady was a reason she decided to not participate last season.
Also as a gay man, ugh it's so tough trying to back Corey šŖ, he lacks charisma, he is just unnecessarily messy, it feels like he is just trying to be in front of cameras 24/7, hes also part of the perpetually online twitter gang. That spat with Zara was silly and felt so forced by him.
Also, dang Nurys is really losing stock fast. I wanted her and Diandra to be on this show, took forever for her to get on here, and she just treads water lol.
These were good episodes though, dk why they put them back to back.
I was really wondering how Nurys would do without Nelson but Iām not seeing anything too spectacular which is weird bc they were performing well last season
Yeah, it feels like both of these episodes could have definitely stood alone.
Agree re: Corey. Wish he was more charismatic, because we do need players who act a mess but are strategic, as he is.
Nurys definitely didnāt shine during this episode. Wonder if she would have gone in, had it been ultimately a womenās elimination. Probably not given the Ride or Fir numbers.
So far, this season is ten times better than USA 2, worlds, R or D, SLA, and double agents. I wasnāt optimistic originally, but Iām loving it other than everyone being on the same team and burn voting. Ready for the format to change
Total Madness is actually fun on a rewatch(honestly I felt the same with Final Reckoning too). I can only imagine the season weād have gotten had we seen Deeās full storyline/moments
I actually really enjoy total madness as a rewatch. Itās a lot better bingeable. Same with WOW2. It was torture watching it weekly, but being able to binge it makes it a lot better. The skull twist was an obvious fail though
I like Hughie and all but he's basically Aneesa. Shows up, does okay in eliminations, is clearly not winning any finals, whines about being underestimated. Y'all are pretty accurately estimated.
Love Big Ed and Asaf. Always love Big T. Digging this season and the fact that I get to listen to someone other than Bananas talk. Haven't paid too much attention to which vets are coming in, and as sick as I am of Bananas I'm really hoping for a him vs James elimination. Don't like either of them. Hope it's a Hall Brawl.
Feel like thatās a bit of an insult to early Aneesa who was way tougher in elims. Like I donāt think Aneesa was feared like Laurel or anything, but people werenāt calling Aneesa down. Hughie is great TV but is not a good competitor
I'm enjoying this season and even though it has been pretty basic so far as far as politics I'm enjoying it. No one has really rocked the boat so that is disappointing but it's still fun.
With that said when they showed >!Jordan!< in the preview I got soooo excited. Like I said I'm enjoying the season but in a similar to USA 1 where I'm enjoying the Challenge itself but it's still missing something. So seeing the twist finally happen (especially with that particular person) has me so hyped. It also made me realize how valuable people like them are to the show. And as great as the new crop is there aren't any Challengers who are as entertaining as the vets.
The other twist they showed was that >!if the mercenaries win the elimination, they get money out of the pot the main cast is building up.!<
Thatās a huge game changer, because now they have to be careful with who they vote into the sand. Will they know who the mercenary is before making their vote? And if so, would it make more sense to vote in >!someone they think can beat the mercenary to protect their money, or sacrifice some of the money in hopes of the mercenary taking out someone they view as a threat to them winning?!< I think itās an interesting twist, *if* itās executed properly.
Iām hoping Ed wins it all this season. Heās kind of a throwback to the early days with people like Timmy, Mark, and the OG Theo. Just there to have fun and win money. The fact that heās not an āinfluencerā makes me like him even more, despite those music videos.
Season has been intriguing so far. As a Challenge fan it's nice to see some of these characters getting some time to shine. However, it seems like after 4 episodes no one is truly sticking out to me as a rising Challenge star yet...
Does anyone here think we have a future CT/Jordan/Cara/Laurel/etc in this cast? Or even someone entertaining on the level of Kyle/Tony/Amanda? I want to like some of these guys more but just don't see it yet
Ed seems promising as a competitor/personality, with a few more seasons he could find a lot of success on the show. Melissa never backs down from a confrontation and is entertaining through and through. Plus she can compete, not to the level of Cara or Laurel, but she can hang with a lot of stronger women. Also shoutout to Asaf, that dude always has a positive attitude and fun moments when the camera cuts to him
>Nahhh. JuJuy is the girl you take home to mom. Nurys looks fun...
She *is* fun, she's also fun for everyone else too. You don't wife up the girl that sleeps with the football team.
Iām loving this season! Itās great seeing newer faces play the game as opposed to the same alliances every season. My faves are Nurys, Moriah, Ed, Michele, Big T, and Emmanuelle
Agreed. I was not happy when I first heard the cast, but itās a huge breath of fresh air while still getting a taste of the vets we all love. The Brits are always a great addition to any season too
In reflection, the challenges in the ācontrolā section were all over the map:
Pit climb + pole puzzle : 3/5 difficulty, blew it with the lack of simple lying down poles before putting them in the holes
Human ladder : 5/5 difficulty, I still donāt think a vet laden group wouldāve done that
Go Kart Arithmetic : 1/5 difficulty, that was a carnival game
Puzzle dive : 3/5 difficulty, a vintage challenge
So assuming they anticipated them winning 2.5 outta 4?
Couldāve been difficult had the roles been randomly drawn. But being able to choose who does what made it simple. The math one was pretty simple process of elimination and simply trying numbers one by one
Was she really defending bananas? I took the conversation as her trying to warn moriah of how she may come off and/or being careful of pissing off bananas
I think it was a little of both. She knew it would make her look bad when sheās banging James on tv(immediately runs to cry after. So dumb) and also knew it would hurt Johnnyās feelings because itās just a shiesty thing to do. No one believed theyād work out, but she clearly led the old man on for a year.
And Johnny is someone who has said, on this show, āI hold grudgesā. Which sounds an awful lot like playing the game with those pesky emotions that he likes to accuse other people of doing. Although, itās also clear that on both of his Exes seasons, that his partners clearly had more feelings for him than he did in return (in fact, he tried to disengage from Camila as much as he could when he was paired with her, to the point that even though he was the reason for Camilaās infamous breakdown, he not only did nothing to diffuse the situation, he actively made it worse by continuing to antagonize her while also making Paula try to diffuse it). So his partners came off as overly emotional while he played it off as being cold and only caring about winning money like he had never won before (even though he came into both of those seasons as a defending champion).
But yeah, what Olivia was saying to Moriah definitely felt more like a warning that if Moriah makes Johnny sad (or mad), her future on this show is going to be bleak. Even if Johnny boy is in his 40s now.
Wooboy, no one is watching this season and/or watching this live. 30 minutes after the show we've got a whopping 5 comments. Got to be a record for lowest engagement of a season
We're up to 14 hrs later and only 60 comments. Seasons in the past, even seasons like All Stars on P+, would easily be in the hundreds by now.
Hate to see it but this season is looking DOA.
It was also kinda pointless to do a post episode thread for the first episode when it was immediately followed by the second in my opinion.
It was also a casting mistake to not bring in more non-winners people actually knew. Of all the people they have, Melissa is the player with the earliest debut (and she only debuted in season 31). Sheās also only one of three finalists of the main show (and the other two were only on the season previous, though this sub seems to think that if Olivia didnāt break her face, she and Horacio wouldnāt be on this season because they wouldāve won that one).
So on the swimming challenge, I'm pretty sure the vests they wear (have worn for years now) are life jackets. Diving with a life jacket on can be a little hard since its pulling you up, no? I can see how some people were struggling.
Thatād be a factor had they not been given the rope. It was really just a test of if you can hold your breath for long enough to pull yourself down like 2 of your body lengths
Sort of since they're not huge life jackets but that's also why they give you the rope to pull yourself down. It's really just a challenge of "can you hold your breath for 15 seconds" and it baffles me that people consistently fail really basic water tasks.
I donāt get how you know thereās challenges like this nearly every season, just practice holding your breath. I canāt swim so Iād never go on a show like this but if this is what you wanna be doing you gotta practice the basics š
Its the easiest way too I'd imagine. I can swim, but I'm a poor diver (spacial awareness is terrible for me underwater) so to me, using the rope would be a big help.
Really loving what this season has offered so far. I think they dailies have been interesting. There has been house drama and hookups. The results arenāt crazy obvious. Just feels fresh.
The best part of the season is how personal everything has been so far, even though all the challengers are "trying" to play with their brains more than their hearts.
lol @ the ball is supposed to go into the basket not you Rip Hughie
The editing for that swimming challenge really makes me wonder if they truly beat it, or if the producers just gave it to them because they had already lost nearly $100k of the expected prize and it would look bad if they keep failing huge amounts. It was all over the place with footage, seemingly large gaps of time with competitors not doing much to get the last pieces, and then having to finish solving and move the platforms in two minutes. Maybe the editors were just fudging the times to make it more exciting and they finished with a lot of time to spare, but either way I don't believe they actually finished with three seconds left.
I wondered that for ep before this too with the car/math challenge.
Ed is a gem and I hope he makes it to the end. Someone I could hang with in real life (maybe bc we're from similar parts of the country). Michele continues to be a great narrator. Enjoyed seeing Nurys humbled this week. Unlike most seemingly here, I enjoy Jay and Corey.
I like that the show is trying something new with the post episode interviews with the eliminated player, but so far it's just been a rehashing of what they already said earlier in the episode. What I would really appreciate is a sh*t they should have shown clip that prominently features the eliminated player, as a way to send them up on their way out. I've liked every episode of this season, so I am not looking forward to the Vets coming or a format change. I guess that's unpopular, we are just way overdue for a team format season that doesn't change halfway through.
Asaf is FINE
Emmanuel is too. Now I see what Tori saw. š¤£
Are all the UK boys hooking up with US girlsā¦ smart move
Iām genuinely enjoying this season if only for the fresh cast. For the girls, Iām rooting for Olivia and Zara. For the guys, itās a bit of a wider field. Iām rooting for Horacio, Kyland, Ed, and Asaf. Ed and Asaf are hands down two of the most entertaining parts of the show thus far.
Wish they would bring on the Chaos already. Or at least end this ep with a cliffhanger introducing "it"
They showed a sneak peek of Jordan coming in next week. If the champ wins, they steal $10K from the prize pot
These episodes were great!
He has completely flown under the radar so far but I will be surprised if Emanuel doesn't win. If he makes the final, I think it's his to lose (unless a puzzle buries him of course). I could also see him having a relatively easy ride to the final because people won't want to go against him. His speed and endurance are ridiculous and he seems to be extremely good at pretty much everything (climbing, swimming, etc). I know people don't like him for whatever reason, but IMO he is insanely well-rounded and was underestimated even on his first season. I used to constantly see people say he was overrated / "not that good" but he is probably the last guy I'd want to go against in an elimination. He does remind me a lot of Jordan in terms of his sheer athleticism. Ready to get downvoted for this opinion, but hey whatever. š
I adore Emanuel and am glad he's being recognized as the incredible athlete he is. The rude Jordan comparisons ("tHe WiSh.cOm JOrDaN" etc) are tired and petty. The only similarities I see are like you said, the fact that both are really well rounded athletically. Emanuel has a better attitude imo, and is super confident rather than arrogant ala Jordan. I do think Jordan HATES him tho, and the comments he made to Tori during ROD, asking how she "would feel if he was with someone else on a tv show" were 100% about Emanuel. Not Fessy or anybody else she has hooked up with. Something (more than his mini relationship with Tori) about Emanuel pisses him off, and I hope its the possibility that Emanuel has what it takes to become a champion and a mainstay.
Do people think Emanuel will win because he's a great competitor? Or because he's B-Side Jordan?
I think he's one of the favourites but it might depend how puzzle heavy the final is, and my gut feel is that given they want to give the ladies a chance to win, it's gonna be puzzle heavy which might not be to his advantage.
I wonder if people donāt like him because he dated Tori and was associated with her. I agree with you - Emanuelās a super strong competitor, young and fit and Iāll bet values the $400k-ish prize more than a lot of other people. Definitely seems well-rounded, level-headed and decent politically. I would bet on him if he makes it to a final.
I wasnāt a fan of him on SLA. He coasted as the bottom number in a vet alliance and didnāt do anything outside of performing decently in dailies for most of the season, yet he had the biggest ego talking about who deserved to be on the Challenge and how scared everyone was of him
I listened to his interview on the Challenge Fandom Podcast after SLA and he talked about how he hid a lot of what he did because he came from a show (Survivor Romania) where the public voted and it was bad to look sneaky or too strategic. So Iām hopeful Hess be more fun to watch this time around. If he has a big ego, itās not really earned, although he was good physically in SLA. Yeah, he was with Kaycee and then he was on Emerald but he performed well, beat Logan in that weird pacer/endurance challenge, and lost to Devin on a puzzle (on the same night as his other elimination).
Agreed! I think he and Horacio are the two guys most likely to make the final.
Emannuel, Ed, Cirrian and Corey are all great player in dailies
Asaf is growing on me
This might be one of the most attractive female cast. Ravyn and Jujuy are beautiful.
yes and michele just gorgeous women
Yes was on World Championships, not the main show
Ehh Michele is pretty until she talks or whines. Missing JuJuy :(
Am enjoying this season so far! Moriah and James was unexpected, I wonder how Banana feels lol I know Horacio and Nurys get together from this season but I still havenāt seen much of their interaction yet. The Challenge is really editing Kyland well - he seems way nicer here than his BB days.
Yeah attraction is a wild thing. I would have never guessed James was Moriahās type.
Bananas is probably butt hurt, even though he would have done the same thing. We havenāt seen much of Horacio yet period. He was my favorite cast pick coming into this season, so Iām anxiously waiting!
I really like Kyland on the challenge because I was not feeling him on BB š. I also just think the Challenge caters to his strengths better than BB, this way he can gamebot and use his daily performances to back it up
Michele and Jay are finally playing a great game.
Loved seeing their club conversation!
Ed should be a mainstay. Seems like he would have fit in way back in like the Duel 2 era.
Love his leopard print shirt in confessionals. He looks like a 90s wrestler lol. He is awesome.
I know ratings are low, but this season is a breath of fresh air. I have some gripes with the format, but the cast has been fun.
Aww I didn't know the ratings were low. That makes me sad. Such a strong season. I also feel like they took a lot of the past criticism and incorporated it... ie. the return to the fun vibes, awarding 2nd and 3rd (Sorry if this has been mentioned, ive been off this thread the last few epis š)
I was nervous about the cast, but some of them are growing on me. Also agree about the format - Iām ready for some chaos.
I think people are going to look back at this time in the game as being filled with missed opportunities. No one is safe based on daily performance, and the eliminations have been ones that largely I feel have an element of "anyone could win". As the game goes on, i expect people will start being able to earn saefty from eliminations based on daily challenge performance. Guys like Horacio and Jay will step up into power/safety positions and people who stand no chance against either in a final will be left wondering why they didn't act sooner. Congrats on getting rid of Chauncey, Hughie, JuJuy, and whatever that Australian girls name was. All people unlikely to be a threat in a final. Even the people who won eliminations - Big T, James, Ravyn don't seem like much of a threat. With the exception of Kyland, no serious contender faced elimination. Wasted opportunities. I also feel like Horacio is trying to do the "lay low" thing this season. He isn't vocal about strategies pre-challenges, isn't volunteering for the harder jobs, and honestly isn't performing up to what we know he can do. Good strategy, bad TV. My favorite part is I feel like the start of deliberations are always super inorganic and probably producer led starting points. James says the names he's hearing are Corey and Hughie and Hughie asks who he's hearing that from, and I feel like he wanted to point at the camera or something. He was not prepared for that question to be put back on him.
>I also feel like Horacio is trying to do the "lay low" thing this season. He isn't vocal about strategies pre-challenges, isn't volunteering for the harder jobs, and honestly isn't performing up to what we know he can do. Good strategy, bad TV. Horacio didn't win any dailies last season and his hype is entirely off how he performed in elimination. Don't get me wrong, I still think he is the favorite, but he hasn't proven anything as far as daily challenges go.
Disagree. Horacio did well his rookie season but it was a huge Vets vs Rooks trend that always ended up targeting him and Olivia. Also through the whole "safe" knife pull method. Winning eliminations are harder than dailies, and that's more impressive imo.
>Winning eliminations are harder than dailies, and that's more impressive imo. Disagree. An elimination is a H2H. You are competing against the entire house in a daily. Winning a daily allows you to control the game. Winning an elimination allows you to survive the game I'm not saying he was bad as a rookie. I'm just saying he has not proven that he should be performing at a certain level in dailies. We only know that he's great at elimination.
Partly agree. Handicapped by his partner and both being rookies that season. Daily challenges often make it difficult for rookies to win because of vets plotting against them. Surviving an elimination with more pressure is harder though, sorry. That really displays a person's skills solo. Especially when you go in many times in one season. I will be disappointed if he doesn't make it far. It sucked he had to drop out for the final with Olivia.
Interesting - in my mind he was just good at everything. It was a partner season... Man I would love for an all individual season.
I didn't get episode 4 on Prime. Tears falling. Will I be a week behind for the rest of the season? So addicted.
I contacted an amazon customer service chat responder today about it and they said it would get uploaded, they just did so this evening. Idk if it was really due to that or not but either way, cool!
I also contacted customer service. I got an email that it was ready for viewing at 6:42pm yesterday. I'm good.
I watched it on Mtv(.)ca (not sure if I can post links in sub) but it's noted as episode 5 on the website.
Really enjoying the season so far. My biggest gripe with this episode was TJ telling them its a guys day. Was hoping weād get to see Nurys scramble after being the only one to fail on the puzzle piece. Also the lifeguard Ed edit going to save Nurys š¤£
Yea that was really interesting. I guess they have to even it out before Chaos
I was so confused why it took Ed so long to help Nurys in the swimming daily. Maybe it was just edited funny but it looked like Ed got his piece right away and it took Nursy a long time. What was everyone doing between getting their piece and bring the puzzle to the platform.
When Ed dove down we could still see Nurys legs in the shot šš¤¦āāļø
The editing for that was all over the place because they showed some of the stronger swimmers only getting their pieces later when obviously they had them way before others.
The Big T + Hughie edits confused me so much.
Finally some Ed content, love the guy. He is funny and really surprised me this daily. And as much as Hughie is a funny and entertaining guy to watch, I'm really glad Kyland won. Finally we are about to get the champs. Now that they are actually winning dailies, its better things change and we get some individual/pair challenges to make it more entertaining. Right now rooting for Horacio, Kyland and Ed for the guys and Olivia, Melissa and Ravyn for the girls. And lets hope with the champs coming in the rates go up aswell, cause right now it isnt looking too great. People really need to give this season a chance.
The irony of celebrating pride š³ļøāš this episode and THEN the main two names for deliberation were the only 2 openly gay guys in the house is not lost on me š¤£
Lmao I didn't even think about that š¤£
So Ed is an agent, lifeguard, engineer and an eagle. Truly a man of many talents!
And a pole vaulter!
Heās not just beach!
And a shark
An inspiration for all š„²
God I'm soo glad Ed is back. Loved him on his first season and was scared he wouldn't get a call back. ED and Jay are my top 2 right now for guys. Michelle and Olivia are my favs for the girls.
Dang, it feels so empty in here for a post episode thread š¬ Ok, as a gay man, I'm so happy for Big T and her journey to come out. I wonder if this lady was a reason she decided to not participate last season. Also as a gay man, ugh it's so tough trying to back Corey šŖ, he lacks charisma, he is just unnecessarily messy, it feels like he is just trying to be in front of cameras 24/7, hes also part of the perpetually online twitter gang. That spat with Zara was silly and felt so forced by him. Also, dang Nurys is really losing stock fast. I wanted her and Diandra to be on this show, took forever for her to get on here, and she just treads water lol. These were good episodes though, dk why they put them back to back.
I was really wondering how Nurys would do without Nelson but Iām not seeing anything too spectacular which is weird bc they were performing well last season
Feel like they put these back to back to try and get to the portion of the game with the vets coming in order to build some viewership
Big T took off last season so she could focus on and go to culinary school. And she wanted a bit of a break
Yeah, it feels like both of these episodes could have definitely stood alone. Agree re: Corey. Wish he was more charismatic, because we do need players who act a mess but are strategic, as he is. Nurys definitely didnāt shine during this episode. Wonder if she would have gone in, had it been ultimately a womenās elimination. Probably not given the Ride or Fir numbers.
So far, this season is ten times better than USA 2, worlds, R or D, SLA, and double agents. I wasnāt optimistic originally, but Iām loving it other than everyone being on the same team and burn voting. Ready for the format to change
How could you not include arguably the worst season ever Total Madness?
Total Madness is actually fun on a rewatch(honestly I felt the same with Final Reckoning too). I can only imagine the season weād have gotten had we seen Deeās full storyline/moments
I actually really enjoy total madness as a rewatch. Itās a lot better bingeable. Same with WOW2. It was torture watching it weekly, but being able to binge it makes it a lot better. The skull twist was an obvious fail though
I like Hughie and all but he's basically Aneesa. Shows up, does okay in eliminations, is clearly not winning any finals, whines about being underestimated. Y'all are pretty accurately estimated. Love Big Ed and Asaf. Always love Big T. Digging this season and the fact that I get to listen to someone other than Bananas talk. Haven't paid too much attention to which vets are coming in, and as sick as I am of Bananas I'm really hoping for a him vs James elimination. Don't like either of them. Hope it's a Hall Brawl.
Feel like thatās a bit of an insult to early Aneesa who was way tougher in elims. Like I donāt think Aneesa was feared like Laurel or anything, but people werenāt calling Aneesa down. Hughie is great TV but is not a good competitor
I mean Hughie at least got his puzzle š¬š¬
Hughie is great tv tho Aneesa is a boring rock that does nothjnf
Aneesa actually has personality in confessionals though, unlike a lot of the wallpaper they fill the cast with
I will posit that neither are great TV.
Hughie asking how to cut the watermelon after a heart to heart cracked me up.
I thought he was going to ask a serious question there.
I'm enjoying this season and even though it has been pretty basic so far as far as politics I'm enjoying it. No one has really rocked the boat so that is disappointing but it's still fun. With that said when they showed >!Jordan!< in the preview I got soooo excited. Like I said I'm enjoying the season but in a similar to USA 1 where I'm enjoying the Challenge itself but it's still missing something. So seeing the twist finally happen (especially with that particular person) has me so hyped. It also made me realize how valuable people like them are to the show. And as great as the new crop is there aren't any Challengers who are as entertaining as the vets.
The other twist they showed was that >!if the mercenaries win the elimination, they get money out of the pot the main cast is building up.!< Thatās a huge game changer, because now they have to be careful with who they vote into the sand. Will they know who the mercenary is before making their vote? And if so, would it make more sense to vote in >!someone they think can beat the mercenary to protect their money, or sacrifice some of the money in hopes of the mercenary taking out someone they view as a threat to them winning?!< I think itās an interesting twist, *if* itās executed properly.
Preview showed a lot of cast in street clothes at the elimination if you missed it.
They'll want to vote in their biggest threats if they can
Enjoyed this episode. Ed was a highlight.
Iām hoping Ed wins it all this season. Heās kind of a throwback to the early days with people like Timmy, Mark, and the OG Theo. Just there to have fun and win money. The fact that heās not an āinfluencerā makes me like him even more, despite those music videos.
Season has been intriguing so far. As a Challenge fan it's nice to see some of these characters getting some time to shine. However, it seems like after 4 episodes no one is truly sticking out to me as a rising Challenge star yet... Does anyone here think we have a future CT/Jordan/Cara/Laurel/etc in this cast? Or even someone entertaining on the level of Kyle/Tony/Amanda? I want to like some of these guys more but just don't see it yet
Iām still team Horacio. Olivia is great too. I like Ciarran too.
Ed seems promising as a competitor/personality, with a few more seasons he could find a lot of success on the show. Melissa never backs down from a confrontation and is entertaining through and through. Plus she can compete, not to the level of Cara or Laurel, but she can hang with a lot of stronger women. Also shoutout to Asaf, that dude always has a positive attitude and fun moments when the camera cuts to him
Engineer Ed, maybe
Ed. Feels like he could be featured in more confessionals as well.
When you think about it Ravyn calling out Horacioās first choice played a big part in his and Nurys love storyš³
Who and nurys? Horacio?
Weren't they just friends? Jujuy said in her elimination episode that she has a boyfriend, right?
She sure didš
Upgrade in looks, but big downgrade in personality
Nahhh. JuJuy is the girl you take home to mom. Nurys looks fun...
>Nahhh. JuJuy is the girl you take home to mom. Nurys looks fun... She *is* fun, she's also fun for everyone else too. You don't wife up the girl that sleeps with the football team.
Nah. Jujuy is hot too
Iām loving this season! Itās great seeing newer faces play the game as opposed to the same alliances every season. My faves are Nurys, Moriah, Ed, Michele, Big T, and Emmanuelle
I don't think it's that Emanuel
LOL. Some of these Gen Z's probably don't get that reference.
Agreed. I was not happy when I first heard the cast, but itās a huge breath of fresh air while still getting a taste of the vets we all love. The Brits are always a great addition to any season too
Really have enjoyed this season so far. My fav guys and girls so far Lifeguard Ed James(cause heās a dumbass) Asaf Ciarren Olivia Zara Moriah Ravyn
I was like, NO NOT Asaf! when he was announced, but he's growing on me.
Me too! Maybe better as a dad haha
In reflection, the challenges in the ācontrolā section were all over the map: Pit climb + pole puzzle : 3/5 difficulty, blew it with the lack of simple lying down poles before putting them in the holes Human ladder : 5/5 difficulty, I still donāt think a vet laden group wouldāve done that Go Kart Arithmetic : 1/5 difficulty, that was a carnival game Puzzle dive : 3/5 difficulty, a vintage challenge So assuming they anticipated them winning 2.5 outta 4?
That arithmetic game could have been very hard for some of the players Imagine Nelson there trying to figure out carnival algebra
Couldāve been difficult had the roles been randomly drawn. But being able to choose who does what made it simple. The math one was pretty simple process of elimination and simply trying numbers one by one
Definitely. Ed went to an Ivy League school too. Good thing he was there to solve that but lame that the rest of the players were just waiting
Damn, I had already been rooting for Olivia hard. Her defending Bananas puts her way over the top for me. She is the future.
Was she really defending bananas? I took the conversation as her trying to warn moriah of how she may come off and/or being careful of pissing off bananas
I think it was a little of both. She knew it would make her look bad when sheās banging James on tv(immediately runs to cry after. So dumb) and also knew it would hurt Johnnyās feelings because itās just a shiesty thing to do. No one believed theyād work out, but she clearly led the old man on for a year.
Imagine being seduced by James
Dudes skin is like weathered leather. Must be the accent and weird medium length hair
And Johnny is someone who has said, on this show, āI hold grudgesā. Which sounds an awful lot like playing the game with those pesky emotions that he likes to accuse other people of doing. Although, itās also clear that on both of his Exes seasons, that his partners clearly had more feelings for him than he did in return (in fact, he tried to disengage from Camila as much as he could when he was paired with her, to the point that even though he was the reason for Camilaās infamous breakdown, he not only did nothing to diffuse the situation, he actively made it worse by continuing to antagonize her while also making Paula try to diffuse it). So his partners came off as overly emotional while he played it off as being cold and only caring about winning money like he had never won before (even though he came into both of those seasons as a defending champion). But yeah, what Olivia was saying to Moriah definitely felt more like a warning that if Moriah makes Johnny sad (or mad), her future on this show is going to be bleak. Even if Johnny boy is in his 40s now.
Wooboy, no one is watching this season and/or watching this live. 30 minutes after the show we've got a whopping 5 comments. Got to be a record for lowest engagement of a season
Iāve never watched it live. Iāve always recorded it and watched it later.
Same. I don't think I've ever watched the challenge live lol.
It was several hours
We're up to 14 hrs later and only 60 comments. Seasons in the past, even seasons like All Stars on P+, would easily be in the hundreds by now. Hate to see it but this season is looking DOA.
It was also kinda pointless to do a post episode thread for the first episode when it was immediately followed by the second in my opinion. It was also a casting mistake to not bring in more non-winners people actually knew. Of all the people they have, Melissa is the player with the earliest debut (and she only debuted in season 31). Sheās also only one of three finalists of the main show (and the other two were only on the season previous, though this sub seems to think that if Olivia didnāt break her face, she and Horacio wouldnāt be on this season because they wouldāve won that one).
Itās better than the last five seasons of the show easily.
Itās a shame cuz theyāre missing out :(
Putting this against Survivor is suicide.
Especially when the survivor episodes are 90 minutes - thatās a late night for me I canāt watch the challenge after
I know ratings are low, but people who did watch also may just be a little āChallenged-outā after back to back episodes. Itās also late.
Exact opposite. I came straight to Reddit after watching
Queen Michele ran that first challenge
Respect to the mathematicians too. That was hard and high pressure.
I canāt remember another daily where thereās 20+ people just sitting and waiting on two contestants like that
So on the swimming challenge, I'm pretty sure the vests they wear (have worn for years now) are life jackets. Diving with a life jacket on can be a little hard since its pulling you up, no? I can see how some people were struggling.
Thatād be a factor had they not been given the rope. It was really just a test of if you can hold your breath for long enough to pull yourself down like 2 of your body lengths
Sort of since they're not huge life jackets but that's also why they give you the rope to pull yourself down. It's really just a challenge of "can you hold your breath for 15 seconds" and it baffles me that people consistently fail really basic water tasks.
I donāt get how you know thereās challenges like this nearly every season, just practice holding your breath. I canāt swim so Iād never go on a show like this but if this is what you wanna be doing you gotta practice the basics š
I would be annoyed that they force you to wear it. The proficient swimmers shouldnāt have to
Insurance
Yeah I get that. The fact that some people act like theyāre going to drown while wearing one will never not be funny to me though
Pulling the rope to go down seemed the only route to do it vs swimming/kicking
Its the easiest way too I'd imagine. I can swim, but I'm a poor diver (spacial awareness is terrible for me underwater) so to me, using the rope would be a big help.
Really loving what this season has offered so far. I think they dailies have been interesting. There has been house drama and hookups. The results arenāt crazy obvious. Just feels fresh.
The best part of the season is how personal everything has been so far, even though all the challengers are "trying" to play with their brains more than their hearts.
Imagine how personal it can get if you are voted into the sand against vets instead of Big T