S36.E03: Enemy of the State

[peachmangosteen]

Quote

Fessy's exposed lies about the secret vote cause concern within his alliance. Agents must wrestle against each other on top of a speeding truck during an explosive "Mission: Road Kill" challenge. An emotional Agent pushes two other players' buttons past their breaking point.

Airs December 23rd.

[Michichick]

Man, I just can’t stand Josh. CT was right; Josh was inserting himself into an argument that had nothing to do with him. And then Josh denied that he’d said Kaycee was crying. Josh is a blowhard with no skills to back up his mouth.

Sorry to see Wes go. I can’t help it, I like him. Devin is generally an ass so that made it hard to watch him win the elimination. He should have taken Natalie, she’s a beast.

[BK1978]

Notice how Josh will only "explode" on people he either views as weaker than him or are not popular.  Sure he had that little confrontation with CT, but Josh would never push it to a point where CT might get truly pissed because Josh knows he would get his ass kick.  But Josh really went nuts on Devin because Devin is not very popular and Josh could probably take him in a fight.  I can't stand Josh, never have and never will.

The only time I was pleased over anything involving Josh was when he beat Paul to win Big Brother, because Paul was an even bigger scumbag.

Edited December 24, 2020 by BK1978

[Lantern7]

Not a great episode. One legend gets bounced, a would-be legend has to leave the game, and Devin stays in AND gives Johnny reason to pull his pud at home.

I feel for Nicole. I get that she's probably earned a lot of the grief fans have given her, but leaving the game because she dislocated her shoulder was brutal to watch. I know that I give her too much slack, but this is the second time she's had to leave the game prematurely due to injury. Also: there goes any Craters involving her and Natalie. Or Lolo. Those would have been epic.

Wes is still Wes. Wes will do everything short of handing out business cards labeling him as "Genius," and then he goes off the cliff yet again. Oh, and he tried to take the high ground in bitching out Leroy. He's basically like Obi-Wan Kenobi, only if he was on even ground with Anakin.

Devin is still an asshole, and it hurts that a bargain basement Wes beat the real thing. Part of me thought he was trying to get Josh to attack him. He had lost Nicole as a partner, he wasn't sure of his status, and maybe he figured Josh getting booted would have guaranteed his stay because Nany would also go solo. I don't think Devin is that smart, though. I do think Josh is that dumb.

Josh is still Josh. I get why he keeps getting invited back, because he's that dim and easily angered. Thankfully, CT screwing with him wasn't too long. Devin vs. Josh would made for the best Crater, but Kaycee wouldn't have done Josh dirty like that.

Thinking about it, Devin was the safe vote. If it's a men's Crater, Devin would be in a position to be defeated and sent home. If it's a female Crater, it would've been canceled because Nicole wasn't there. Sadly, Devin got his Golden Skull. Plus side: he takes Tori, giving Cory an upgrade with Natalie.

Edited December 24, 2020 by Lantern7

[AntFTW]

I thought this episode was pretty boring. The house going after Wes again is boring. It's like watching people kick an injured dog while it's down. I was waiting for a twist like Wes somehow finding a way to flip the house... but there was no twist; no surprise; no anything.

Watching Leroy essentially side with Fessy, Corey and their gang of idiots just doesn't sit well with me even if it's just for a single common goal of getting Wes out.

[angelamh66]

I cannot stand Josh. I maintain my long held opinion that he behaves like he thinks a popular Challenge person behaves... using certain jargon, trying to joke with “Teej”, being in the midst of drama. There is just nothing organic about him. It’s all so performative. 

[xhoipolloix]

Kam used to be fun to watch, but she is so smug and full of herself. Based on what? Has she ever won anything.

Devin grates. Josh is a clown. Not the best episode.

[Eolivet]

Between last season and this one, Wes is really playing the role of the wizened veteran. "In my day, we didn't stab people in the back when we were walking ten miles uphill in the snow."

I hope Kam realizes she cannot trust the Big Brother alliance, and they will stab her in the back the first chance they get. She'd be smart to realize her pre-determined role in that hierarchy and stick with the "MTV vet" side of the house.

Edited December 24, 2020 by Eolivet

[aghst]

Devin knew everyone was going after him so he hammed it up for the cameras and riled Josh up hiding behind the security people, with a big smirk.

Was funny as hell.  Would have been hilarious if Josh injured his hand punching the walls in frustration.

OK the challenge looked like it would be cool but the camera angles were bad, using helmet cams and the problem with these physical challenges is that there's no conception of matching weight classes.

If we saw a heavyweight boxer pummel a featherweight to death, would that be enjoyable?  Some of the size and weight disparities may be that bad.  Someone with wrestling technique like Lio can hold his own, punch above his weight.

Otherwise, there isn't much technique so it's just bigger people pushing smaller ones around.  The CT and Fessy matchup was good.  I think Fessy is still bigger than CT but he held it to a draw.

Wes was making all kinds of alibis.  He didn't like being ganged up on, having to go against his friend and so on.  He matches up with Devin  in size but even if he'd won, he'd be targeted by the bigger guys so he saw the writing on the wall.

OK, they can have a puzzle challenge now, though that's kind of boring to see as well, but at least some of the smaller players can ham it up for the cameras about how awesome they are.

If not puzzles, they might as well use all that open space in Iceland for some endurance challenge, to even out the competition a bit for those who aren't as big.

Or make some obstacle courses with some climbing or digging.  They did have the one challenge where swimming might have been a factor but it was ice cold water and the game design was stupid.

 

[DEL901]

8 hours ago, BK1978 said:

Notice how Josh will only "explode" on people he either views as weaker than him or are not popular.  Sure he had that little confrontation with CT, but Josh would never push it to a point where CT might get truly pissed because Josh knows he would get his ass kick.  But Josh really went nuts on Devin because Devin is not very popular and Josh could probably take him in a fight.  I can't stand Josh, never have and never will.

The only time I was pleased over anything involving Josh was when he beat Paul to win Big Brother, because Paul was an even bigger scumbag.

I was waiting for Josh to grab some pots and pans and start yelling that circus tune he drove everyone on BB crazy with.  

[luckyroll3]

I'm really liking the Big CT team.  I think they'll do a really good job of balancing each other out.

What int he hell was Fessy thinking when he revealed the vote wasn't secret to a room full of the opposite alliance.  And then his actual alliance had to hear it through the grapevine?  Interesting that they didn't give us an Aneesa talking head about that.

That mission was dropping Challengers left and right. At first, I was like "no harness?!?!?", but I didn't realize those giant nets were flanking both sides of the truck. There were some interesting match-ups during this, but the I don't know what they were doing with the camera's and editing. Like, Big T "trying" to fight is cute and all, but can we focus on the real battle between CT and Fessy please? C'mon! I had a good chuckle, though, with Nicole walking around with a bone on the outside of her body and the medics are all, "we don't understand what's wrong.." LMAO! Nicole must have a high pain threshold though, cause she was so calm about it as opposed to light eyed British girl who was rightfully freaking the fuck out.

I'm happy that Leroy won, but I couldn't cheer for him because I really can't stand Kaycee. And him going against Wes to throw in with the BB assholes is annoying. Him and Wes are not besties by any means, but Wes has always been cool with him despite Leroy always being waaaaaay up Johnny's ass. Also, Leroy should have gone in against Devin. Also, also, I don't know how they don't see that the best way to keep someone out of the final is to keep them out of the crater and not give them them any opportunity to earn a skull. 

So here goes Josh and his bullshit again.

Josh: I don't really want to get invovled, but I'm gonna put myself right in the middle of this thing that has absolutely nothing to do with me and manufacture some lame drama by lying. 

Me: 

He is so exhausting. But props to the editors for overlaying Whitney Houston's So Emotional (one of my favorite songs) as the soundtrack to Josh's fake-ass bravado and tears! Couldn't have been more appropriate.

And then here Josh goes again telling people not to do things he and his friends do all the damn time, as if he and his alliance weren't influencing other players to vote their way during the first 2 episodes.  GTFOH dude!

He gives me so much high blood pressure!

I was very confused why everyone was so sure that this would be a men's elimination.  TJ also said, "as you all know...." Did the producers announce it off camera or something.  And when was the last time they switched an elimination because of losing someone to an injury instead of just cancelling it?

I wouldn't be surprised if Wes is done done. Unlike many of the other folks on this show, he truly does it just for the fun of it at this point, and these new people are really taking the enjoyment out of it. I've never seen Wes give up so easily in an elimination, especially against someone like Devin. I could see if it was a puzzle or some other brain game, where they would be more easily matched. But in a physical challenge? Yeah Devin can hold his own, but to win an elimination of this type against someone like Wes seemed unlikely. 

And the house is so dumb. They're all cheering for Devin's win, not realizing Devin is already plotting his revenge.....

 

[joanne3482]

So we know Nicole went home (and I apparently misidentified her as an Amber last week, I have no idea who most of these folks are).  Did the British girl also go? When she came back she said there MIGHT be a fracture and they were going to do something in the morning and then it was never mentioned again. I guess we assume there wasn't a fracture and she didn't go home on an injury? 

1 hour ago, luckyroll3 said:

Also, also, I don't know how they don't see that the best way to keep someone out of the final is to keep them out of the crater and not give them them any opportunity to earn a skull.

This. When they introduced the skulls last year it bothered me that these idiots weren't trying to go into the elimination games.  This year there are even fewer skulls (I think) so they should be trying hard to get in there so they can "run my final."  I really hope that once the 10 skulls are given out the episodes end and it's time to "run my final" and so many of these idiots don't get to go to the final. I hope (unlike last year) that this year it really does penalize the heck out of them. I also hope that if they go up against someone with a skull already, and the person with the skull loses, that skull is now 'dead' and now there's only 9 skulls to go instead of 10. (If that makes sense, basically that a person losing who already had a skull doesn't put that skull back into contention and there really is a limit of only 10.) 

Quote

If we saw a heavyweight boxer pummel a featherweight to death, would that be enjoyable?  Some of the size and weight disparities may be that bad.  Someone with wrestling technique like Lio can hold his own, punch above his weight.

It's like last season where Rogan, who is easily twice Jay's size, took out Jay in the elimination round. Jay might have been able to out think Rogan, but that first hit frazzled his brain and he was done for. Not really that super fun to watch.

Edited December 24, 2020 by joanne3482

[peachmangosteen]

I'm glad Wes is gone. I'm so over him.

This episode had so many funny moments. It was just wall-to-wall comedy. I loved it.

[aghst]

I think the only way Wes could last is if casting helped him with people who’d be in an alliance with him.  He’s tried in the past to line up people on his side before shooting began but that backfired.

The supposed alliance with Johnny worked until it didn’t.  It mostly favored Bananas.

In this season the casting kind of favors Leroy despite not being carried by Johnny.  Along with Cam, he’s got peace for now with BB alliance — Big Brother sucks! — and Cory and Nelson.

If they have some variety in challenges instead of making it mostly about weight, things might change.  Eventually weight will hurt players like Aneesa in the Final if not sooner.

[ImpinAintEasy]

Outside of ‘Emotional’ being played over Josh’s act, this was a very boring episode. 
 

Wes didn’t even try in that elimination. He threw it for his friend. I’ve never seen him so beaten down. He used to be great at eliminations, but now he lacks the fire and confidence to take on all Challengers. He knew he was probably going to keep getting thrown in even if he won, and he just quit. It’s probably time for him to retire. 
 

I don’t understand why LeRoy didn’t go into elimination against Devin in what again looked like a clear physical elimination. If he gets his skull he probably skates to the final. 

[Jillibean]

16 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

Devin is still an asshole, and it hurts that a bargain basement Wes beat the real thing. Part of me thought he was trying to get Josh to attack him. He had lost Nicole as a partner, he wasn't sure of his status, and maybe he figured Josh getting booted would have guaranteed his stay because Nany would also go solo. I don't think Devin is that smart, though. I do think Josh is that dumb.

Oh, I absolutely thought that’s what Devin was trying to do. He did the exact same thing with Johnny on FR when he was worried he was in danger of being kicked off because of Cory. The difference was that on FR he specifically needed Johnny to hit him to try to mitigate the Cory assault on Tony, and while Johnny eventually lost emotional control he never lost physical control. In this case, any guy would have done, so he chose the one who is a hothead and who might actually be easily goaded into hitting him. 

4 hours ago, joanne3482 said:

This. When they introduced the skulls last year it bothered me that these idiots weren't trying to go into the elimination games.  This year there are even fewer skulls (I think) so they should be trying hard to get in there so they can "run my final."  I really hope that once the 10 skulls are given out the episodes end and it's time to "run my final" and so many of these idiots don't get to go to the final. I hope (unlike last year) that this year it really does penalize the heck out of them. I also hope that if they go up against someone with a skull already, and the person with the skull loses, that skull is now 'dead' and now there's only 9 skulls to go instead of 10. (If that makes sense, basically that a person losing who already had a skull doesn't put that skull back into contention and there really is a limit of only 10.) 

If they’re doing the math, they know there’s no way it will be ten skulls and done. That’s only five eliminations per gender. There clearly is going to be another twist, such as “if you beat someone with a skull you get their skull.” That said, if you’re someone like Fessy I don’t see what the benefit is of waiting. It’s not like people are going to be lining up to go against him to try to get his skull. 

3 hours ago, aghst said:

I think the only way Wes could last is if casting helped him with people who’d be in an alliance with him.  He’s tried in the past to line up people on his side before shooting began but that backfired.

The supposed alliance with Johnny worked until it didn’t.  It mostly favored Bananas.

What’s funny is that based on the cast list, all the “insiders”- spoiler accounts etc.—said this season was set up to favor Wes. It had a bunch of people he’s been close with previously, plus a bunch of his “friends and benefits” guests. It just shows how off people often are when they claim production is interfering or favoring someone. Even if they cast things in a way that looks favorable for someone, this is a game for money and people are there to win. Also, I would argue that Wes easily could have made a final last season if he hadn’t chosen to send himself in against Johnny. He could have won either of the next two eliminations we saw after the one he lost (the light memory game and the knots). 

Wes seemed really defeated. I don’t think he ever expected people to turn on him like this, and he seemed to take it very personally. That said, he has thrown plenty of allies under the bus, which he seems to have conveniently forgotten. And I had to roll my eyes at his “speech”—to me it’s the same thing as going on Survivor and yelling about people being dishonest. The game isn’t about honesty and friendship.

Leroy is reminding me a bit of Brad in cutthroat. He wants to win, he knows the way he’s played in the past has never gotten it done, and he has a far more ruthless significant other who is basically calling the shots to try to get him that title. I didn’t blame Brad then, and I don’t blame Leroy now.

[aghst]

Killa Cam telling Kyle how they're going to do things was annoying.

But Kyle may not have the votes, though to fight her too much.

I don't watch Survivor or BB but I guess voting another player for elimination is a key part of these shows, since it generates so much drama.

BTW, Bill Simmons and David Jacoby were putting down the season so far because they're not going out to bars or clubs.  It seems they're in an isolated location so they set up their own bar on the site.  Also, everything is suppose to be very expensive so even if they're near a bigger city, production may not foot the bar tab and the players may not want to spend much either./

 

 

[peachmangosteen]

17 hours ago, aghst said:

BTW, Bill Simmons and David Jacoby were putting down the season so far because they're not going out to bars or clubs.  It seems they're in an isolated location so they set up their own bar on the site.  Also, everything is suppose to be very expensive so even if they're near a bigger city, production may not foot the bar tab and the players may not want to spend much either./

They obviously can't go anywhere simply because of Covid. 

[mojoween]

OMG fuuuuuuuuuck Kam and her “we’re going to do things my way” bullshit.  Where did she get this sense of entitlement?

I may have mentioned this a time or twelve hundred, but Josh sucks.  If he wasn’t her “brother” (gag) Kaycee should be SUPER offended that he thought she couldn’t handle herself.

He sucks so bad he doesn’t even notice when he’s a lying liar who lies.

[MaggieG]

31 minutes ago, mojoween said:

OMG fuuuuuuuuuck Kam and her “we’re going to do things my way” bullshit.  Where did she get this sense of entitlement?

I may have mentioned this a time or twelve hundred, but Josh sucks.  If he wasn’t her “brother” (gag) Kaycee should be SUPER offended that he thought she couldn’t handle herself.

He sucks so bad he doesn’t even notice when he’s a lying liar who lies.

Seriously. I don't understand why she's acting like she's in charge and she's a seasoned winner. Calm down Kam. She normally doesn't bother me too much, but I'm really not liking her this season.

Josh is still the worst. 

I actually felt a little bad for Wes. He seemed so defeated

[Jess14]

I couldn’t roll my eyes enough at the speech that Wes gave at the end. I can’t stand the sanctimonious bs. With that said, it must suck to know that you’re going to keep getting thrown in every time, but it’s a game. In many seasons, it’s the rookies who get thrown in week after week, and no one feels bad for them. Wes probably should retire at this point. He seemed really beaten down by the game. He literally just gave up.

I’ve never liked Devin, so I wasn’t happy to see him win. Josh is another one who I’ve never liked including on BB, so I would be glad to see him go soon. 

Darrell and his partner and Teresa and her partner seem to flying completely below the radar. Will be interesting to see how long that lasts. 

 

[shantown]

Whitney's "So Emotional" while Josh was bellowing was an excellent music choice

It's a bummer Wes was gone, he's one of the old-timers I like even when he's at his most weasel-y. I am still rooting for CT and Aneesa as the other old-timers in the game, so many of the new people I just don't like.

[angelamh66]

Kam rubbed me the wrong way too with her my way speech. But then I stopped myself... the guys on this show always assume they are calling the shots and the women seem to go along with that too easily. So good for Kam for grabbing control. 

[Jillibean]

11 hours ago, shantown said:

Whitney's "So Emotional" while Josh was bellowing was an excellent music choice

I forgot about this! It was probably my favorite part of the episode. Hilarious. I love whoever does the music for this show. 
 

16 hours ago, aghst said:

BTW, Bill Simmons and David Jacoby were putting down the season so far because they're not going out to bars or clubs.  It seems they're in an isolated location so they set up their own bar on the site.  Also, everything is suppose to be very expensive so even if they're near a bigger city, production may not foot the bar tab and the players may not want to spend much either.

14 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

The obviously can't go anywhere simply because of Covid. 

Exactly! This has been discussed in interviews with production—they built a self-service bar in the house because they can’t leave due to covid. It has nothing to do with the location; in the past they’ve driven upwards of an hour to get to a bar. Not being able to leave the bubble production carefully set up with weeks works of quarantine and testing seems like a really bizarre and frankly unfair complaint about the season. I’m disappointed in BS and DJ if that’s really a gripe they’re putting forward. 

[Jobiska]

I loved when CT was doing interviews about Big T's nickname for him.  "I am Fuzzy Bunny.  Hear me..." [the funniest expression ever] "...hop."  

 

[AntFTW]

19 hours ago, Jillibean said:

If they’re doing the math, they know there’s no way it will be ten skulls and done. That’s only five eliminations per gender. There clearly is going to be another twist, such as “if you beat someone with a skull you get their skull.” That said, if you’re someone like Fessy I don’t see what the benefit is of waiting. It’s not like people are going to be lining up to go against him to try to get his skull.

I'm sure this is probably the case regarding the skulls (beating someone with a skull...). I'm guessing there are already plans to throw Devin back in because he's a "weak" competitor that every one thinks they can beat and take his skull.

I also agree with you on Fessy. I think the same thing applies to CT as well, and also applied to Wes. No one wanted to go against Wes (other than the guy that lost to Kyle). If anything, people would have others do their dirty work like plotting an elimination with CT vs Fessy for example.

19 hours ago, Jillibean said:

Leroy is reminding me a bit of Brad in cutthroat. He wants to win, he knows the way he’s played in the past has never gotten it done, and he has a far more ruthless significant other who is basically calling the shots to try to get him that title. I didn’t blame Brad then, and I don’t blame Leroy now.

I'm rooting for my old schoolers who haven't won yet. I'm rooting for Leroy, Nany and Aneesa to finally win one. I like that Leroy is taking charge for a change and that he's not being a passenger on someone else's bus. Leroy finally stopped playing a scared game. I dislike that he has to align with the idiots but I understand.

[AntFTW]

On 12/24/2020 at 10:12 AM, joanne3482 said:

On 12/24/2020 at 8:38 AM, luckyroll3 said:

Also, also, I don't know how they don't see that the best way to keep someone out of the final is to keep them out of the crater and not give them them any opportunity to earn a skull.

This. When they introduced the skulls last year it bothered me that these idiots weren't trying to go into the elimination games.  This year there are even fewer skulls (I think) so they should be trying hard to get in there so they can "run my final."  I really hope that once the 10 skulls are given out the episodes end and it's time to "run my final" and so many of these idiots don't get to go to the final. I hope (unlike last year) that this year it really does penalize the heck out of them. I also hope that if they go up against someone with a skull already, and the person with the skull loses, that skull is now 'dead' and now there's only 9 skulls to go instead of 10. (If that makes sense, basically that a person losing who already had a skull doesn't put that skull back into contention and there really is a limit of only 10.)

They don't seem to understand that surviving each day or week isn't advancing in the game. For now, they're trying to last rather than win. Advancement in the game only begins when you have skull. Without a skull, you stay in the same spot that you were in when the game started.

Even though Kyle bitched about being thrown in, they really did him a favor. Kyle's game is purely politics now to stay out of elimination. Everyone else is scrambling to stay out of elimination while trying to figure out how to get into elimination at the same time.

[AntFTW]

20 hours ago, Jillibean said:

If they’re doing the math, they know there’s no way it will be ten skulls and done. That’s only five eliminations per gender. There clearly is going to be another twist, such as “if you beat someone with a skull you get their skull.” That said, if you’re someone like Fessy I don’t see what the benefit is of waiting. It’s not like people are going to be lining up to go against him to try to get his skull.

..and I'm also thinking that when (or if) they've allocated all 10 skulls, the elimination winner gets to steal a skull from anyone that has a skull, much like The Island where they had a limited amount of keys and they got to take someone else's key.

Edited December 25, 2020 by AntFTW

[angelamh66]

I think Jacoby and Simmons know why there aren’t bar scenes and understand that, but were just lamenting the fact. The bar scenes were always good for plotting and hookup drama along with the bus rides home from the bar. 

[DEL901]

I thought the host said something like “win and hold onto” a skull, so I’m assuming the skull can be stolen.  Another question... can you win more than one skull?

[peachmangosteen]

4 hours ago, DEL901 said:

Another question... can you win more than one skull?

People (or maybe just Jay) got multiples last season but I don’t at all remember what came of that lol.

[BK1978]

Wes did a post-show interview that was on Yahoo the other day.  He said that everyone was trying to wait to get their skull in the middle of the pack (Which if it does end up being only ten without a twist, which I highly doubt, well they are already at the middle of the pack) so from three onward.  He said that is why he and Johnny went at the same time last year.  I honestly forgot why he said they thought it was beneficial, but there was some sort of strategic reason why.

[hilaryvm]

Best part of the Devin/Josh forgot to me was “Josh, what’s 8 times 9”. I laughed so hard at that. 
Some of these “strong” competitors don’t have a good long term strategy. Like Fessy, he had two chances to go in and didn’t choose to, the others would be idiots to put him in the crater, so unless he wins again it doesn’t look like he will even get the chance to earn a skull. I mean, these people aren’t Mensa members, so maybe none of this think that way. But who wants to go against Fessy in an elimination?  I don’t see why you wouldn’t go in early if you trust your alliance to vote in who you want to go against. Fessy got mad at Kyle and voted him in, but all that did was give Kyle a skull and Fessy has nothing after two chances. 
also also, these big unwieldy alliance numbers are not great. The big brother alliance seems to have so many people that only 2-3 teams aren’t in it. That isn’t a good recipe for success.

[jsm1125]

At least Nicole is one of the few people on reality TV to say “I want this so badly” instead of “I want this so bad!”

[Lantern7]

10 hours ago, jsm1125 said:

At least Nicole is one of the few people on reality TV to say “I want this so badly” instead of “I want this so bad!”

"Nicole Zanatta: Hey, At Least She Knows Proper English." Slightly better than "Nicole Zanatta: Hey, At Least She's Not Josh."

Edited December 28, 2020 by Lantern7

[BK1978]

On 12/26/2020 at 6:00 PM, hilaryvm said:

Best part of the Devin/Josh forgot to me was “Josh, what’s 8 times 9”. I laughed so hard at that. 
Some of these “strong” competitors don’t have a good long term strategy. Like Fessy, he had two chances to go in and didn’t choose to, the others would be idiots to put him in the crater, so unless he wins again it doesn’t look like he will even get the chance to earn a skull. I mean, these people aren’t Mensa members, so maybe none of this think that way. But who wants to go against Fessy in an elimination?  I don’t see why you wouldn’t go in early if you trust your alliance to vote in who you want to go against. Fessy got mad at Kyle and voted him in, but all that did was give Kyle a skull and Fessy has nothing after two chances. 
also also, these big unwieldy alliance numbers are not great. The big brother alliance seems to have so many people that only 2-3 teams aren’t in it. That isn’t a good recipe for success.

As I said before, Fessy is not the sharpest tool in the shed.  The scary thing is, he was/maybe still is a teacher. 

Obviously he can't be a math teacher because as I said before, on Big Brother he was in the house with five or six people who always voted together and week after week the dude could not figure out who was lying to him.  It was simple math, you did not need to be Sherlock Holmes to figure it out.  But week after week the vote would not work out the way Fessy thought it would and he would always ask, "Who flipped."

And I don't want anyone to think I dislike him, because when he was on BB he and his ex-girlfriend were hands down the only two people in their alliance that were likable.  I just don't think he is all that bright, which is scary because he is teaching the next generation.

I wonder if The Challenge ever had any interest in casting JC from Big Brother.  Now that would be interesting.

[Jillibean]

 

On 12/26/2020 at 1:40 AM, BK1978 said:

Wes did a post-show interview that was on Yahoo the other day.  He said that everyone was trying to wait to get their skull in the middle of the pack (Which if it does end up being only ten without a twist, which I highly doubt, well they are already at the middle of the pack) so from three onward.  He said that is why he and Johnny went at the same time last year.  I honestly forgot why he said they thought it was beneficial, but there was some sort of strategic reason why.

Both Johnny and Wes have said that they never know all the rules at the beginning of the season, so the most strategic thing to do is let the game play out a bit without getting involved to see what direction the wind is blowing and how the rules might shift midway. For instance, last season they figured that anyone who got a skull early on would likely have to defend it later, because they always have a rough idea of how many eliminations there might be in a season, and they knew there would be more skulls earned than people typically in a final. 

Wes really seems to be having a very tough time with this. He’s getting into debates with people in his Instagram comments in which he’s being condescending and pretty single minded about being the most loyal person to ever be on this show. In fact, he literally demanded a trophy at one point. I have always felt like Wes had an awareness about himself and this show, that he said a lot of things tongue in cheek and basically produced himself into the arrogant guy we all know and love. But his reaction to this perceived betrayal has really shown him in a different light. Apparently he believes his own hype much more than I ever thought, at least when it comes to his loyalty and integrity in the game. I was delighted when he returned a few seasons ago, but now I’m wondering if he needs some time to sort this out for himself—but at the same time, he’s definitely at the tail end of his career so I’m not sure he can afford a season off. 

5 hours ago, BK1978 said:

As I said before, Fessy is not the sharpest tool in the shed.  The scary thing is, he was/maybe still is a teacher. 

Obviously he can't be a math teacher because as I said before, on Big Brother he was in the house with five or six people who always voted together and week after week the dude could not figure out who was lying to him.  It was simple math, you did not need to be Sherlock Holmes to figure it out.  But week after week the vote would not work out the way Fessy thought it would and he would always ask, "Who flipped."

And I don't want anyone to think I dislike him, because when he was on BB he and his ex-girlfriend were hands down the only two people in their alliance that were likable.  I just don't think he is all that bright, which is scary because he is teaching the next generation.

I wonder if The Challenge ever had any interest in casting JC from Big Brother.  Now that would be interesting.

The best part is Fessy now insisting to everyone that he’s actually really smart and only did the “who flipped” to make sure no one suspected him. He knows there are live feeds, right? He knows we all watched his reign of sweet idiocy? 

After the way JC behaved on Big Brother I can’t imagine CBS/Viacom ever wanting to work with him again. 

[xfuse]

49 minutes ago, Jillibean said:

Apparently he believes his own hype much more than I ever thought, at least when it comes to his loyalty and integrity in the game

But I can't remember him turning on his alliances in the game. He may have but right now I can't remember him doing so.

I think the main reason he's hurt is that people he called his friends in real life calling him sneaky and untrustworthy. I know he schemes but that is not the same. He was placed lower than Kyle who is sneaky and untrustworthy because he is always playing as many sides as he can.

[AntFTW]

2 hours ago, xfuse said:

But I can't remember him turning on his alliances in the game. He may have but right now I can't remember him doing so.

I think the main reason he's hurt is that people he called his friends in real life calling him sneaky and untrustworthy. I know he schemes but that is not the same. He was placed lower than Kyle who is sneaky and untrustworthy because he is always playing as many sides as he can.

I only remember that he did in Fresh Meat 2 because his alliances was so big that they came to a point where they had to start sacrificing their own.

Edited December 28, 2020 by AntFTW

[RedbirdNelly]

I watched this show in the old days, stopped watching when they started adding lots of new people and started back again last season--so I've never seen this Devin person before. I understand from posts on here that he is a jerk, but what I've gotten to see has cracked me up. Devin v. Josh, I'm on Team Devin. I liked his use of math facts to antagonize Josh. I also liked his "Big Brother Sucks" and BB people acting like that is some awful slur. It's a tv show; plus it was clearly a joke. 

I always find the challenges more interesting in theory than they are to actually watch. 

I hope someone who had a shot at getting a skull and skipped it ends up not ever getting the chance to compete for one. That would make me very happy. 

[BeatLA24]

1 hour ago, RedbirdNelly said:

I watched this show in the old days, stopped watching when they started adding lots of new people and started back again last season--so I've never seen this Devin person before. I understand from posts on here that he is a jerk, but what I've gotten to see has cracked me up. Devin v. Josh, I'm on Team Devin. I liked his use of math facts to antagonize Josh. I also liked his "Big Brother Sucks" and BB people acting like that is some awful slur. It's a tv show; plus it was clearly a joke. 

I always find the challenges more interesting in theory than they are to actually watch. 

I hope someone who had a shot at getting a skull and skipped it ends up not ever getting the chance to compete for one. That would make me very happy. 

I, too was wondering why the "Big Brother sucks" declaration was taken so seriously. I've never watched Big Brother, but why couldn't any of them handle someone joking about it?

[Jillibean]

22 hours ago, xfuse said:

But I can't remember him turning on his alliances in the game. He may have but right now I can't remember him doing so.

I think the main reason he's hurt is that people he called his friends in real life calling him sneaky and untrustworthy. I know he schemes but that is not the same. He was placed lower than Kyle who is sneaky and untrustworthy because he is always playing as many sides as he can.

He has, but it was a long time ago. That said, he is more than willing to make deals/alliances with numerous newbies and let them fall to the wayside as necessary for him, and that has been well known for years. I mostly agree with him that he’s been loyal to his real allies. But most loyal cast member ever? That seems a bit...grandiose. There are plenty of people on this show who have been loyal to the people they consider to be true friends; it’s not limited to Wes. What about Amanda? Jenna? Nelson? Shane? Cara? If you’re designating “only people I consider to be true allies” as the requirement for whom you can never have turned on to earn this made-up distinction, almost anyone qualifies because it’s easy enough to say the people you’ve screwed over weren’t your REAL allies. But Wes seems to truly believe he is the most honest of them all, and that’s where I’m getting stuck. And he’s being pretty condescending about it to fans who are accurately pointing out times in the past where maybe this was not the case (even though he himself challenged people to provide specific evidence). Also, I think he has greatly benefited in the loyalty department by never being on a season with a gimmick like the double cross, where sometimes you had to make a choice among a bunch of people you were aligned with. Again, it’s not that I don’t think he has a right to be upset, just that he seems to be REALLY upset and also defensive about it. I always thought, as compared to Bananas for example, that Wes didn’t take this so seriously and personally as to lash out when it didn’t go his way. This has turned out not to be the case.

14 hours ago, RedbirdNelly said:

I watched this show in the old days, stopped watching when they started adding lots of new people and started back again last season--so I've never seen this Devin person before. I understand from posts on here that he is a jerk, but what I've gotten to see has cracked me up. Devin v. Josh, I'm on Team Devin. I liked his use of math facts to antagonize Josh. I also liked his "Big Brother Sucks" and BB people acting like that is some awful slur. It's a tv show; plus it was clearly a joke. 

I always find the challenges more interesting in theory than they are to actually watch. 

Devin can be very entertaining, but he can also be very sanctimonious. If he continues to be the former and keeps the latter to a minimum, he’s welcome on my screen. 

I agree with you about this challenge in particular—when it was introduced I was really excited, thinking of similar survivor challenges or even challenges on this show where they go 1:1 and push each other off a platform, for instance. The problem here was that basically no one was able to accomplish this without going down themselves, so it wasn’t very straightforward or satisfying to watch. A lot of people who clearly “lost” the wrestling part still managed to win by using the loophole in the rules that it was whoever touched the platform last. Next time they should give them something to push with to minimize the ability of whoever was losing to just desperately cling and try to drag a foot. 

Edited December 29, 2020 by Jillibean

[TiffanyNichelle]

Finally watched the show after like two weeks and here are some quick thoughts before I go back through the rest of the thread.

Man, I actually felt bad for Wes having to go up against Devin. That kind of sucked for the two of them. I am over how everyone keeps playing this gold skull game. It shouldn't be about being afraid of going into the elimination, it should be about keeping people out of the elimination so that they can't get a gold skull and go to the finale. Both Fessy and Leroy were stupid to not go into the elimination when they had the chance.

Kyle was right about Fessy (who only told about the secret votes b/c everyone was mad at him) but I cannot stand how he always throws a complete fit when he has to do something besides just sitting back and cracking a joke. As soon as he has to actually do some work he gets so angry and self-righteous.

I'm happy Devin won just because I want to stick around to bug Josh because I hate Josh. I get being emotional but if someone saying "Big Brother sucks" gets you so angry you have to punch a wall, you got some other kind of issues and maybe shouldn't be in this environment.

ETA Big T is so precious and I hope she sticks around for as long as possible.

Edited January 1, 2021 by TiffanyNichelle

[AntFTW]

2 hours ago, TiffanyNichelle said:

Man, I actually felt bad for Wes having to go up against Devin. That kind of sucked for the two of them. I am over how everyone keeps playing this gold skull game. It shouldn't be about being afraid of going into the elimination, it should be about keeping people out of the elimination so that they can't get a gold skull and go to the finale. Both Fessy and Leroy were stupid to not go into the elimination when they had the chance.

I agree with this position but as I thought about it, it can be a double edged sword. Suppose they keep certain people out of eliminations. They would either have to go against someone they like and would prefer to have a skull, or someone they dislike so they can hopefully get out the disliked individual and retain the ally who also gets a skull.

To keep it simple without going through every possible scenario, let's suppose they keep the people they dislike out of eliminations. At the time where the "BB alliance" has all the skulls, nobody else is going to want to go in. At that point, how else do you keep everyone else out? I imagine that would be the point where the alliance would start to crumble. They would plot to make sure their skulls are safe and have skulls "stolen" from the people at the bottom of the alliance.

2 hours ago, TiffanyNichelle said:

ETA Big T is so precious and I hope she sticks around for as long as possible.

Agreed! She's my favorite "new-ish" person.

Edited January 1, 2021 by AntFTW

[joanne3482]

My very favorite little moment of this episode was when Amber M (I think that's the little Amber) flashed heart hands at Tori as she was leaving. Normally I hate heart hands but that was just so perfect.