SophiaD

Wow, this is painful. My favorites are flopping. I'm thrilled for Austin Grey and even more thrilled for Joe Moravsky, who just about destroyed the course; but the rest of the evening was just a wash. And, OMG, MORE side-by-side racing on Stage 2! With the premium on endurance and speed, speed, speed, the format is tilting against the adults and, especially, the women doing well. I'm quite salty about this. Basically, they took a fun, interesting, and enjoyable show and wrecked it.

Yep, boring. Yay for Nick Hansen (whose baby is very cute), RJ Ronan, and Flip Rodriguez for making the finals. I was annoyed that they are pitting the people I care about against each other, but, at least, this way, they get at least one familiar person through. OTOH, with the possible exceptions of RJ Roman and Daniel Gill (at least, tonight), most of my favorites aren't competitive, due the their lack of speed. Sigh. I miss the Olympics already.

I'm trying to watch, but, wow, this is boring and it's only eighteen minutes in. It will be nice to see a few familiar faces, though.

I love that someone in Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone's family or friend circle just happened to have a convenient crown stashed in their luggage, waiting for her to slay it, as she always does. What a remarkable athlete she is. I also love that she kept taking it off and her husband kept putting it back on her. I hope she does start running the 400-flat and hope everyone stays healthy for the 4x400 relay.

Kai Beckstrand is a beast. That's pretty much all I've got, although it was nice to see a few old favorites. I continue to hate the side-by-side racing format. It makes no sense to me. The people who got the farthest the fastest should go to the finals. I also liked it when women didn't have their own races. For me, the show hit its glory days a few years ago, before they changed the age limits, and it became boring. I miss the quirky walk-ons, the people doing weird training activities, like Nick Hansen training outside in Alaska in the winter, and seeing old favorites. Also, if I never hear about the first MOM to do such-and-such again, it can't happen soon enough!

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone just won her opening heat by 18+ meters. I have to wonder if she's going to run under 50 seconds. She's just incredible.

Sean Bryan is 39???? When did that happen? Great to see him, although I do wonder when he's going to just get ordained already. Loved seeing Najee, although I was so sorry he missed out on the MegaWall. He has always been a favorite of mine, especially on the Skills Challenge. I'm glad we get to see him at least once more. Yay for Tyler Yamauchi! Also, David Campbell is incredibly impressive. You have to wonder when he's going to hang it up. The teens are still forgettable. Sorry, kids. Also, I really do miss the elite women of yesterday - Alyssa Beird, Tiana Webberley, Flex, Barclay, and so on. I didn't recognize any of the women in the run-offs, so it was hard to get behind any of them. They've definitely figured out better editing this season. Now, all they have to do is get rid of those idiotic "run-offs." I wouldn't be sorry to see those disgusting bugs go, either. Matt and Akbar are much braver than I am. The coming attractions are for July 1st, so it looks as if something else is happening for the next two weeks.

Side-by-side racing and the new Mega Warped Wall continue!

Najee Richardson? I've always liked him, too. Such a great competitor. I miss Travis Rosen, too! For some reason, I thought that Lance Penkus wasn't doing Ninja anymore, but am very happy to be proven wrong. I hope Flex comes back after this season, but I can only imagine how tough it would be to get back into Ninja-shape after having a baby.

I totally agree. Is ninja really worth all of this? I don't mind Caleb Bergstrom at all - he seems nice. I was disappointed that they didn't showcase Flip more, though, because he's always been one of my favorites. Based both on her performance at the Women's Championship and the clips for next week, I'm wondering if this isn't Jessie Graf's swan song.

Well, that was demonstrably less annoying than last year. They've integrated the teenagers into the show more, and we got to catch up with old friends. Kind of a bummer that some of them got the "while we were away" treatment, but they've always done that. I continue to actively hate the race-off, especially since the two candidates I was rooting for lost. But, honestly, I would hate it anyway. Unless the two candidates are actively tied, they should just let whoever is got farther, faster win. It's pointless. Also, it's not at all her fault, but Lisa Hair is like the next generation's Sandy Zimmerman. She ticks all of the boxes - debilitating illness, a MOM, and a dainty, pretty blonde (a bonus). I just met her and I already feel the urge to change the channel when she comes on. Can't they just let people, especially women, race without all of the fawning?

That felt contrived to me. I'm not sure there are enough paired-off ninjas to make it worth it. I much preferred the "Ninjas vs The World" challenge, even though it could be a bit hokey at times, or the Skills Challenge. That was fun. I did notice quite a few familar faces in the promotions for the new season, so it should be interesting to see if they are actually showcased and marketed.

I'll have it on in the background, as planned. 🙂

Yes, me, too, @DEL901. I'll probably have it on in the background, in case someone I like does something special (go, RJ Roman!), but it will definitely be in the background. It's not their fault, but the kids who make the finals have rich parents who can afford to pay for them to train and build them gyms in their backyards. Part of what made the show special for me was all of the quirky stories, each a little bit different, like watching Nick Hansen train outdoors in Alaska in the winter. I'm happy for the kids, but it's a much blander show now.

Akbar looks great. They're still obsessed with the "first mother this and that," although since it's Mother's Day, that's at least understandable. Other than that, it was all about the teen phenoms. It was great to see Flex and Jesse Graf again, but it was pretty obvious, at least to me, that one of the younger women would win.