TimothyQ

Can Prue actually cook or bake though? Hasn’t she been more on the restauranteur/business side of things as opposed to Paul who came up in the kitchen? Serious question because I don’t really know. edit: educated myself. Apparently she’s had a Michelin star restaurant so I’d say she can.

I heard 'homemade' as well but totally took that she meant it as a sting and Alice's face confirmed that she certainly took it that way. All these bakers aspire to being better than "home bakers" even though that's what they are. Like how the judges always stress "perfection" in their bakes... and what home baker is going to do the showstopper they did this week? Definitely was an insult.

I agree that the entire season’s obstacles were probably determined before the season started but I wouldn’t doubt one bit that they purposefully made the finals runs a bit easier. They’ve been itching for a winner for a few years now in order to hype the show. In the eyes of the PTB, they needed a winner this year.

Yes and it also usually has some version of body prop, which is one of obstacles I'm always amazed by. How they wedge themselves between those two plexiglass walls and move across and then up is astounding to me. Looking forward to next week.

Way too many finishers on Stage 2. Way too many WWWA’s. Way too many backstories. Hate the “Somebody wins a million dollars” spoilers

Have we ever had a 4 episode national finals before? Either we’re going to have a lot of people getting to stage 3 or they’re planning lots of background sob-story videos. Hopefully the former. I’d hate for the finals to be bloated.

It's been six weeks since the qualifiers, I'm sure the wall has dried out by now. 😉 🤣

Ok, but to be fair, Tiana went out on the 2nd obstacle of the qualifier, which allowed her to go on to the city finals. In the city finals, she did make it up and beyond the warped wall which qualified her to go to national finals. The qualifying rounds itself had no determination on who goes to the national finals, except as much as it allows them a chance to advance beyond city finals. ETA: meaning once you’re in city finals, it doesn’t matter what happened in qualifiers.

As soon as they mentioned the "Trifecta" I'm like, yep... Drew gets the safety pass. No way they would have spent all the time talking about it if he failed. Hate spoilers like that from the production team.

But it said, "Do not attempt" on the screen. I'm sure kids will follow that admonition. /sarcasm

Ninjas having a gimmick go back to the original Sasuke (remember the octopus guy?) so as much as I eyeroll each time someone comes up with a new one, it’s kinda tradition and part of the spectacle. So so excited for Jessie being back. She rocked the course. But man, seeing Geoff go out on the balance obstacle was a killer. I had pegged him for going all the way again. Love Jake Murray as always.

Yes, I didn't think of that. Could definitely be one of the women we've seen run, but in the city finals. Didn't think her! That would be awesome. I've always liked her and have been impressed by her runs.

I think you're exactly right. Expect a mother to get up this season. Only question is, who would it be? Not sure any of the remaining, notable female ninjas are moms. Could be an unknown rookie, maybe?

I’ve always liked Karsten and I think that his mom on the sidelines is hilarious and cool, but dude that pre-run footage of them together was sooo cringy.

More doggie warped wall, less Bergstrom Bunch backstory (although Caleb Bergstrom was impressive). Hated that Stratis got a WWWA. Still digging the Power Tower.

While We Were Away - the quick recaps that happen after commercial breaks. And, yes, Coolridge often seems to be a victim of WWWAs.

Power Tower had an "old school" ANW vibe from me. I liked it. Can't believe how many people went out on Walk the Plank. Glad to have the show back!

Agreed. I didn’t take it as the show saying Boyle wasn’t Nikolaj’s real father. It was Boyle himself, in a moment of insecurity, questioning whether he really was and recognizing the reality that there might be tough times ahead as Nikolaj comes into his own. I appreciated that Jake was comforting him, saying that he was Nikolaj’s real father. And Boyle saying that all he could do was give Nikolaj love and support? - that IS being a father.

I took "Find a new Gretchen" to mean find an assistant, since wasn't she sorta the assistant to the person who's office she took over? And Jesus, I never realized that Kitty was totally Gretch all along.

If this were reddit, I'd put a r/whooosh here lol

Is it just me or is anyone else curious just how deep in the friendzone you have to be to give up your kidney and still not get the girl...

Exactly. And yet we spend minutes with the "Swedish" Ninja and have to watch Joe Morarvsky sing in the shower.... If it weren't for the incredible athleticism of some of the top stars, this show would've lost me a long time ago. Just show the damn runs, NBC!

Same. I thought that, since so many went out on lightning bolts the first time around, they’d change that obstacle out for city finals. But maybe that wasn’t feasible with the tight filming schedule.

I really would like to see more lower body -jump, sprint, or balance - obstacles. Aside from the one balance obstacle on the front half of each course, everything is upper body and grip strength. Sasuke has had swimming, reverse treadmills, jumping from pedestal to pedestal, pushing large boxes, etc. Just would like to see more variation.

Ah, thanks. I guess I did just miss his run. I'll go back and watch. He's a favorite. When Flex mentioned that Kacey had been the last one to complete a city final, I thought "There is no way she'd have been able to complete THIS city final." LeBreck continues to amaze me for having gotten to the cane obstacle.