S01.E04: Semi-Charmed Lifesaver

[peachmangosteen]

Quote

The All Stars brace for impact as someone in power threatens to use the Lifesaver. A parent is torn between being away from their family and their shot at becoming a champion. An introverted player delivers a blistering message. Air Date: Apr 21, 2021

Airs April 22nd.

[Lantern7]

Short story: Beth lands in Arena, Katie volunteers to fight her, Mark uses the Lifesaver to bail out Katie, players wind up voting Arissa to take her place, and Arissa walks off.

I get why quitters would be forever denigrated, but look at Arissa. A good sneeze from Easy would have broken her in two. I think if Teege had more of a say in casting, she wouldn’t have been there. I know there were at least two other women being sequestered, and I’m sure either of them would have fought Beth.

Also, Mark got to play Godfather at the after-mission party, so I guess his life is now complete. 😜😜😜

[AntFTW]

I need more uncensored Challenges in my life.

My favorite moments are Darrell’s “You mothafucka!” reaction after TJ started the revoting with him and Aneesa telling Big E that she’s gonna fuck him up after Big E voted for her. 😂

The elimination game looked like it had a lot of “nail biter potential”. I would have liked to see how it played out.

[AntFTW]

Also, whoever decides the music selection for these episodes deserves a raise.

[Nellise]

6 hours ago, AntFTW said:

Also, whoever decides the music selection for these episodes deserves a raise.

I laughed way too hard when they started playing "Hold On".

What was with Arissa saying the only thing she'd do was box? Have they ever had boxing on any challenge?

Edited April 22, 2021 by Nellise

[Tipsymcstagger]

Arissa says that “food is one of her favorite things”.


ETA: Arissa trying to front as some bad bitch who wants to box 😂when she looks like a 100yr old mummy is some funny shit. 

Edited April 22, 2021 by Tipsymcstagger

[Legalbeagle421]

Guys, I was dying at Arissa giving us Ace’s “you guys are monsters” energy when walking into the elimination 😂. Don’t these people realize someone has to go in? It doesn’t make the other players “snakes”. 

Edited April 23, 2021 by Legalbeagle421

[kimbrchick]

I think it's funny that Arissa was all zen and spiritual and then at the end turned into "fuck you all". I don't understand the anger though. It was obvious that this was new to everyone and they were all put on the spot. Beth threw out her name and the majority honored that. Suck it up and go in.

I agree that the music is enjoyable. It's like they know their viewers are probably older because the cast is older and may want to recognize some tunes lol.

[Miss Slay]

Arissa was soooo over the top. Is it that serious?

And I don't remember TJ being so obnoxious to the contestants. When did THAT happen? He needs to keep his opinions to himself.

[aghst]

Again good designs in both the Daily Challenge and the elimination.

Agility, balance and speed in the daily and looked like some strength to pull the walls apart and punch through in the elimination.

Mark thought he was going to lock in support from the females by promising not to put them in.

But turns out he could only pull someone out of the elimination, as the name Lifesaver implies.  Not throw someone else in.

Interesting that they’re having random teams in every Daily but they obviously designed them for multiple teams as opposed to individuals or pairs.  OK random draws to form teams would be fair but they don’t do it on camera so we don’t know for a fact that it was a random draw.

Still, it’s been fun and entertaining.  Looks like many of them trained or at least tried to get in shape before coming to this Challenge.  The previews for next episode show what looks like a pretty exhausting Daily.

They may not go easy for the Final, even though it’s an older group of challengers here.

[snarts]

3 hours ago, aghst said:

Interesting that they’re having random teams in every Daily but they obviously designed them for multiple teams as opposed to individuals or pairs.  OK random draws to form teams would be fair but they don’t do it on camera so we don’t know for a fact that it was a random draw.

They might say it's random but the odds of Beth/Jemmye and KellyAnne/Kendal being on the same team twice in a row say otherwise. 

[Nellise]

14 hours ago, Miss Slay said:

And I don't remember TJ being so obnoxious to the contestants. When did THAT happen? He needs to keep his opinions to himself.

TJ has always hated anybody that quits without trying. I think he's gotten more vocal about it as the seasons have gone on because he knows there are other people that could have been there that would have competed. And unlike some hosts on other shows he's willing to do any of the stuff they have them do (there was an extra video a few years ago of him jumping off a cliff that another person refused to do).

[Racj82]

I just read an article featuring Arissa. Some things I learned. 

It was hard for her to get proper food in the house that accommodated her gluten allergy. 

People would also come home drunk and eat the food that was supplied for her at times. 

Alton actually floated her name to Mark and someone to possibly put up.

In short, she was kind of over the whole thing before the vote happened. That was just the last straw for her.

[Legalbeagle421]

As much as I like Katie, I’m kind of annoyed that she got a pass when people are still mad at Kendal for not falling through the platform three weeks later...

Also, as the poster above mentioned, Arissa tweeted out a long explanation. People were using her designated cooking supplies for cooking things she would allergic to 😬, among other things. I think she was just ready to go. Her outburst was hilarious though. Not surprisingly, Ace has a whole post supporting him up on his Instagram. Kind of cute. Monsters and snakes, y’all. 

[Racj82]

3 hours ago, Legalbeagle421 said:

As much as I like Katie, I’m kind of annoyed that she got a pass when people are still mad at Kendal for not falling through the platform three weeks later...

Also, as the poster above mentioned, Arissa tweeted out a long explanation. People were using her designated cooking supplies for cooking things she would allergic to 😬, among other things. I think she was just ready to go. Her outburst was hilarious though. Not surprisingly, Ace has a whole post supporting him up on his Instagram. Kind of cute. Monsters and snakes, y’all. 

I think with Katie, she has been hurt twice by the fall into the water so people feel for her more.

She also has more friends. That helps.

[funnygirl]

ETA: Just watched the episode and Katie knew she'd be saved. lol 

I loved hearing Sneaker Pimps in the episode. And I cackled at "Sail Away" playing with the slow-mo of Katie jumping in the water. 

Edited April 25, 2021 by funnygirl

[aghst]

I wonder if it's scripted.

First Kendall volunteers and then Katie?

Then when they don't get sent home they both say they're glad to stay in the game.

Since they telegraph that it will be a male or female elimination day, why wouldn't a male challenger decline to do something if it's a female elimination day?

Would tick off TJ but otherwise, no big deal right?

So interesting that on both female elimination day, two women decline to take part in the Daily and then both volunteer to go into elimination but one wins the elimination and one gets Lifesaver-d.

Volunteering can be seen as noble -- why didn't Arissa volunteer if she wasn't enjoying her time there -- but not if they somehow knew they wouldn't be going home?

 

[Jillibean]

On 4/24/2021 at 4:52 AM, aghst said:

Again good designs in both the Daily Challenge and the elimination.

Agility, balance and speed in the daily and looked like some strength to pull the walls apart and punch through in the elimination.

Mark thought he was going to lock in support from the females by promising not to put them in.

But turns out he could only pull someone out of the elimination, as the name Lifesaver implies.  Not throw someone else in.

Interesting that they’re having random teams in every Daily but they obviously designed them for multiple teams as opposed to individuals or pairs.  OK random draws to form teams would be fair but they don’t do it on camera so we don’t know for a fact that it was a random draw.

Still, it’s been fun and entertaining.  Looks like many of them trained or at least tried to get in shape before coming to this Challenge.  The previews for next episode show what looks like a pretty exhausting Daily.

They may not go easy for the Final, even though it’s an older group of challengers here.

 

23 hours ago, snarts said:

They might say it's random but the odds of Beth/Jemmye and KellyAnne/Kendal being on the same team twice in a row say otherwise. 

Derrick confirmed on his podcast that it's random and that they pick names out of a bag in front of them. He also said that there are so many friendships among these competitors that if you didn't end up on a  team with at least one friend it would suggest you're not long for this game.

 

10 hours ago, aghst said:

I wonder if it's scripted.

First Kendall volunteers and then Katie?

Then when they don't get sent home they both say they're glad to stay in the game.

Since they telegraph that it will be a male or female elimination day, why wouldn't a male challenger decline to do something if it's a female elimination day?

Would tick off TJ but otherwise, no big deal right?

So interesting that on both female elimination day, two women decline to take part in the Daily and then both volunteer to go into elimination but one wins the elimination and one gets Lifesaver-d.

Volunteering can be seen as noble -- why didn't Arissa volunteer if she wasn't enjoying her time there -- but not if they somehow knew they wouldn't be going home?

 

Kendal didn't volunteer. She was voted in. You might be thinking of Teck, who volunteered last week and was very narrowly beaten in elimination by Nehemiah. Katie volunteered because she knew already Mark was going to use the life saver on her. She confirmed that on the after show. 

A lot of these people have been on TV for a very long time. They know what to do and how to do it so that it makes a good show. Mark was definitely going to use the life saver, especially after last week's lead up of Kendal asking what would happen and TJ declining to answer. 

[Lantern7]

I think Arissa claims that people were using her cookware to make stuff with gluten, and she's allergic to that. A few days ago, she and Veronica came to blows on Twitter. Veronica made fun of Arissa communing with her ancestors, and Arissa lit her ass up. I'm trying to find links.

Yeah, I still think Arissa shouldn't have been there. The real kick in the nuts is that one of the subs is/was Sophia, who finished BOTS2 with Arissa and Coral. My guess is that BMP decided on which one was seen last, and Arissa did that "Reunion" season with the other RW12 people.

I dig the random flashbacks. Got a kick out of Katie sniping at Veronica in Gauntlet, with a random shot of Sarah.

Edited April 28, 2021 by Lantern7

[Cherry Cola]

On 4/23/2021 at 10:04 PM, Miss Slay said:

Arissa was soooo over the top. Is it that serious?

And I don't remember TJ being so obnoxious to the contestants. When did THAT happen? He needs to keep his opinions to himself.

I personally love TJ's snark. " See ya never!" had me cracking up. 

[shantown]

I realize I'm way behind on episodes but I'm finally catching up (and so I can catch up on @Lantern7's recaps)!

The social politics of this season absolutely fascinates me. There are a lot of players who came from an era before the social game was as important as it was now. So they aren't as familiar with the politicking, but they also have 20+ years of friendships and rivalries and a lot of connections outside the show, so it's interesting to see who stands by who, talks to who, etc. Yes said as much in his confessional. (is that what they're called on a challenge?) The contrast between Beth and Syrus vs Jemmeye and Nehemiah (or Jemmeye and anyone) is so stark. Beth and Syrus have a strong actual friendship outside the house and it shows in the way they communicate. Jemmeye seems so fake even when she's talking to someone one-on-one.

While I'm not stoked that another daily challenge was ultimately a "fall in the water" challenge, at least it was something different than falling through a trapdoor!

SO glad Katie got saved! I love her the season. Interesting to finally see what the lifesaver meant. The vote on the spot twist was wild but kind of fun. While I am grateful to Mark for coming up with this idea and making it happen, he's kind of grating on me with his mentality that he's completely in charge on this challenge. I wonder if he requested to host at all or he always wanted to be a challenger...

 

On 4/24/2021 at 4:52 AM, aghst said:

Interesting that they’re having random teams in every Daily but they obviously designed them for multiple teams as opposed to individuals or pairs.  OK random draws to form teams would be fair but they don’t do it on camera so we don’t know for a fact that it was a random draw.

I thought this too! Granted there's only so many possible combinations but I was kind of side-eyeing at Kendal and KellyAnne together and especially the team of Syrus/Jemmeye/Nehemiah/Beth!

[Lantern7]

3 hours ago, shantown said:

I realize I'm way behind on episodes but I'm finally catching up (and so I can catch up on @Lantern7's recaps)!

Here is my first recap. My current plan is to get the season covered before a second All Stars starts streaming. Hopefully.

TJ suggested Beth intimidated Arissa out of the game. Uh huh. I’d like to think Arissa was just fed up with everyone.

Edited May 11, 2021 by Lantern7