Al Herkimer

Probst literally had the lyrics just "come to him," called production and recited them over the phone, and they produced the song. I saw this in an interview before the season, hopefully someone can confirm because I don't know where to find it.

I wish they weren't bringing back the Edge of Extinction twist. It may not be rational, but I have a sinking feeling that they're going to somehow use it to hand Ben another win.

Ted was 150-200% happy with his wife.

They aren't totally screwed, even if they mishandle the reunion. The ratings are fine. People who don't watch the show have a general sense that there was a mishandled #metoo moment but nobody's boycotting or marching in the streets. People who watch the show and are angry about how it was handled might be a little angrier if it's not covered well in the reunion - and again, I don't see how it can be, without Dan's presence - but most of them will come back for the long-dreamed of All-Winner's season.

Not allowing Dan to be at the reunion does seem wrong to me, if they're going to talk about him at all.

I'm starting to believe Dan might have a problem.

I'm honestly surprised to see the level of anti-Dan sentiment here after what seemed like a genuine apology. So far he's playing a good UTR game aside from the Kellee incident. His name never comes up.

I understand where you're coming from, and I don't disagree that it's a valid milestone, though like many others in this thread I didn't know that Aaron is African-American. But I do believe, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that if Probst had pointed that milestone out, in any fashion, it would have seemed hamfisted and patronizing, and that he would be being raked over the coals for it all over the internet.

I like Aaron but he was an obvious pick, big threat for an extended immunity run. Missy was last week's villain, for coming up with the faux scandal and recruiting Elizabeth into it, but I personally wanted Janet gone first. I know some people were disappointed that Dan didn't go on a witch hunt to clear the air - and his name - but that wouldn't have helped his game. Accepting (or pretending to accept) Janet's apology and moving on was probably the smart move.

I've seen others state that production chooses the clothes they wear, so I'll take that for granted. Up until now, I had been figuring that Lauren had pants or shorts she could be wearing and was just choosing to do everything in her underwear. But after reading your post, I looked back at the first episode. She's in a blue dress, which of course she couldn't swim or compete in. So yeah, they decided from the start that she'd be eye candy. I wonder what would have happened if she had put her foot down, and insisted on being given some shorts? Would they really have refused and not let her play is she'd raised that objection? Sounds like a lawsuit waiting to happen, and at the very least some horrible press for CBS that they really don't need right now (after Moonves and in the wake of the metoo movement). She is an adult, though a very young one. So, is she being exploited, and should I feel guilty for ogling?

I don't think it's obvious because it means that a player can come off the jury and be back in contention, which is so far from anything we've ever seen before that I'm still confused by how it all works.

Johnny declared himself the "King of Spring Break," or something like that... he's in his late 30's, for fuck's sake. I don't hate him like some viewers do but that was just pathetic.

I can only imagine they might lamely throw in that Emiko's mother is too proud to take Roberts help. But there was an adult Emiko, sitting with Robert and plainly stating that she needed money, and plainly not happy... a disaster in the making, even if she wasn't a murderer.

It makes no sense. Robert Q. would be desperately funneling money to Emiko and her mother to keep them quiet, not rubbing his lack of support in Emiko's face like we saw here. I mean, there's usually a lot in this show that doesn't make sense, but this abandonment is the foundation of her entire plot, and the plot for this series going forward into the rest of the season. The only way he, and Moira if she knew about Robert's 2nd family, could avoid scandal and DNA tests and court orders and public humiliation, would be to provide complete and total financial support... it makes no sense.

My hope is that they're testing the waters for taking Barry's adoptive family, including his sisterwife, out of the picture altogether. Possible as a way of changing the doomed future of the Arrowverse in general, what with the Flash disappearing and Star City becoming a hellhole and all. Maybe as a result of the Crisis storyline they've teased? Even if it doesn't happen permanently, I join the chorus in saying this return to where the focus of this show will always belong (actual superhero adventures, featuring the original team Flash), was a nice change of pace and I hope we get more of it. Although Ralph was missing, he's part of the team now too I suppose.

In true Challenge fashion, I'm still unclear about the prize(s). One team splits a million dollars? One person gets the million, or can steal half from their partner? Six teams split 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes that total a million?

I used to scoff at her, but this has gone on for so many years that I guess there must be something legitimately wrong with her (beside being fairly dumb).

Mostly as boring as I expected it to be, but this entire season was redeemed in the final 15 seconds of this last episode. The look on Natalie Eva Marie's face when Tom Green won the America's Favorite Houseguest award is one of my all-time favorite reality show moments. That's right - you were the bad guy. And it's going to be hard to blame the editing for that when people had 24-hour access to those cameras and microphones. Edited to add: Rachel RSL you beat me to the punch while I was trying to remember the various parts of her name. Well, at least I know I'm not the only one who enjoyed that.

So I decided to read that article, and this is the first sentence: "I haven’t watched MTV’s Challenge in years, because it’d provided me with a lifetime’s amount of evidence about how alcohol, violence, and sex." The article has been posted for almost 4 days and that hasn't been edited. Are people just not trying anymore?

Well, I'm a Tom Green fan from way back and I'm loving every minute of him hamming it up. I understand why some might find it irritating. But he's playing very well, I didn't think he would take it seriously and I was resigned to only having him around for the first couple of episodes. The absurdity of his close bond with Kato Kalen... I can't get enough of it.

I think the opening scene of this episode was one of their best yet... Caitlin and Barry sharing some friendship time, with both actors making use of the chemistry between them to hint that there might be something more there. until the ball and time-travelling chain show up to spoil the mood, that is. The plot did a decent job of making Cicada sympathetic, even as we see the bitterness of Iris mocking her aunt's generosity of spirit by using her for to get a cheap laugh from Barry's friends. The deftness with which the lead actress portrayed the shift in personality from Caitlin to new fan-favorite Killer Frost in the last part of the story was amazing as usual. Next episode should be interesting. Hard to see how Nora hasn't changed her own timeline in a big way, though.

I have denigrated Patton's acting in the past, and was pleased that she didn't feature much in this episode. However I've never seen her in anything else and I have a strong aversion to Iris. I have come to understand that this is an unpopular opinion in this forum. Caitlin is one of my favorite characters and, I believe Pannabaker is the true female lead of the show. Her acting in this episode seemed exceptional to me, especially on a show where the other female members of the regular cast so often seem like the weakest links, in terms of carrying story lines or emoting. Watching Black Lightning right after the Flash shows a remarkable contrast, that show's real stars are the three female lead actresses and one of them is remarkably young to be so talented.

In the previous thread, I had suggested that it was "obvious" that Nora would have a human, but unreasonable, reason for treating Iris so coldly. I believed that it would turn out that Iris had fallen in love with another man after Barry's disappearance. No one could blame her for moving on with life, except maybe a daughter who idolized her missing superhero father. Crazy that, after everything I've seen, I gave Iris the benefit of the doubt. If she doesn't turn out to be the Big Bad for this season, it's because they're saving it for her to be revealed as the ultimate villain of the series.

I think the actress playing Nora is telling us that with her body language whenever the subject comes up. I've only seen the episodes once and I don't have them here at work to review. I think one scene was when the subject of Iris' tattoo came up and another was when they were discussing Barry's disappearance and failure to return. Little hints from the way Nora rolled her eyes or reacted in these scenes... it may turn out that I'm delusional, but it really does seem obvious to me. I guess we'll find out soon enough. I admit that I find Iris, and the actress who plays her (or more accurately, stands there and reads her lines while the people around her act) to be, by far, the least enjoyable part of the Arrowverse. But I don't think I'm letting that affect my read of the situation.

It seems obvious to me that Iris moved on with her life and fell in love with another man. Barry continued to be missing for at least 25 years; I don't think anyone could blame Iris for moving on after 5, or maybe 10. Anyone but a daughter who idolizes her missing dad. That's the cause of Nora's estrangement from Iris.