S01.E06: Free Fallin'

[peachmangosteen]

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The All Stars confront their worst fears in a terrifying new challenge high above the water. A pair of adversaries are thrust into a new partnership and must put their bad blood aside to stay in the game. TJ's twist sends players scrambling as they try to avoid the Arena. 

Airs May 6th.

[AntFTW]

Fuck it! I’m renting a cabin in Argentina with a beautiful scenery, and inviting people to play stupid puzzle games in contraptions hoisted by cranes and tug of war on a stump, with 90s parties. That sounds so fun!

[AntFTW]

If Katie is in these aftershows, I hear everybody else speaking but almost the entire time my eyes are glued to Katie’s house because it’s gorgeous.

[Lantern7]

Bit of a messy episode, with the teaser implying that there's one more mission before the final. If two more players go out, twelve will be going for the $1 million. Or Teege shrugs his shoulders, and everyone left gets less than $100K without doing anything else.

I'm thinking that All Stars might be used as a testing ground for future seasons of the main franchise. Mission had a good idea, though I had a few notes. Like: should Kendal have gotten credit for complete the puzzle even if the pieces were upside-down? Were te he letters spelling out a word? And did the teams choose who stood where on the platform? I think the drop order was left to right. Maybe Katie volunteered for the first drop because she wanted to get her fall over with.

Damn, poor Katie. I know it's funny to see her tremble and fall as Whitesnake's "Here I Go Again" plays, but I felt bad for her. And I recognized the arms-crossed position. When I went on a cruise, we were told that was how we were supposed to dive into the water to avoid excessive harm. Kinda tickled me to see players take that pose . . . and for Darrell to cross his chest with one arm while covering his nuts with the other hand.

Yadda, yadda, yadda, Mark gets cuffed to Kendal for elimination, but it all works out because they win the glorified tug-of-war with Katie and Laterrian. I don't think we've gotten to a point where any disagreements boil over like with the main series. No one is really as pitiful as Josh or deluded like Fessy. This is probably because most of these veterans have stuff to do back home.

[snarts]

So happy Mark won. I'm loving this season and find myself rooting for those I feel are actual true OGs. Plus, it's his baby, so I'd be sad for him to leave early. 

Again more comments from Jisela about Kendal.  Does her athletic prowess scare her that much?  Or does she just hate the bitch?

On the aftershow, it was mentioned that Katie is an interior decorator, so that explains the gorgeous home.  I loved her attitude and hope she comes back for another season. 

 

[aghst]

Daily was great, people steeling themselves to have the floor taken out from underneath them.  Puzzle must have been more complicated than it looked.  Everyone got the letter but apparently there were patterns that they had to match up.

The elimination, it's an old one, featuring strength and stamina but it was fairly matched.

Katie volunteers for the elimination, maybe she's playing a "fair game" as they say, because she didn't compete.  Volunteer a second time and you know she didn't mind if she went home to hubby and baby.  Not only that, she gave up in the second round to rest up but she didn't last in the third round either.

But she takes someone down with her, now that it's a double.  LT says he's not scared but like Cyrus, they're not being too strategic, which may be why neither has won.  Not even sure if either has made the Finals.

LT says the other males are relieved.  Well they were relieved Katie didn't pick them but I don't think they were too concerned about LT as a competitor in the Final.

Gisela is worried about Kendal and she should be but if the Final has any kind of distance running or climbing, she's not going to be able to run with most of the other women, let alone Kendal or Kellyanne.

They keep saying $500k but that's the total prizes right?  It's not half the prize that people assume they're going to get?  So the winning male and female would likely split it, as Double Agents just did and some of the total prize would go to the second place finisher, like maybe $50k to split between the second place male and female?

It is a shorter season than the Double Agents but imagine if they expanded it and doubled the prize money.  I think some of the regular Challenge competitors may want to come over to the Seniors Tour, or maybe do both the regular and the All-Star.

 

 

[AntFTW]

2 hours ago, aghst said:

They keep saying $500k but that's the total prizes right?  It's not half the prize that people assume they're going to get?  So the winning male and female would likely split it, as Double Agents just did and some of the total prize would go to the second place finisher, like maybe $50k to split between the second place male and female?

 

If I recall correctly, TJ said in the beginning only one person is walking away with the $500K.

[jsm1125]

3 hours ago, aghst said:

Daily was great, people steeling themselves to have the floor taken out from underneath them.  Puzzle must have been more complicated than it looked.  Everyone got the letter but apparently there were patterns that they had to match up.

The elimination, it's an old one, featuring strength and stamina but it was fairly matched.

Katie volunteers for the elimination, maybe she's playing a "fair game" as they say, because she didn't compete.  Volunteer a second time and you know she didn't mind if she went home to hubby and baby.  Not only that, she gave up in the second round to rest up but she didn't last in the third round either.

But she takes someone down with her, now that it's a double.  LT says he's not scared but like Cyrus, they're not being too strategic, which may be why neither has won.  Not even sure if either has made the Finals.

LT says the other males are relieved.  Well they were relieved Katie didn't pick them but I don't think they were too concerned about LT as a competitor in the Final.

Gisela is worried about Kendal and she should be but if the Final has any kind of distance running or climbing, she's not going to be able to run with most of the other women, let alone Kendal or Kellyanne.

They keep saying $500k but that's the total prizes right?  It's not half the prize that people assume they're going to get?  So the winning male and female would likely split it, as Double Agents just did and some of the total prize would go to the second place finisher, like maybe $50k to split between the second place male and female?

It is a shorter season than the Double Agents but imagine if they expanded it and doubled the prize money.  I think some of the regular Challenge competitors may want to come over to the Seniors Tour, or maybe do both the regular and the All-Star.

 

 

Syrus has won before and made the finals in the Inferno 

[peachmangosteen]

14 hours ago, aghst said:

They keep saying $500k but that's the total prizes right?  It's not half the prize that people assume they're going to get?  So the winning male and female would likely split it, as Double Agents just did and some of the total prize would go to the second place finisher, like maybe $50k to split between the second place male and female?

 

11 hours ago, AntFTW said:

If I recall correctly, TJ said in the beginning only one person is walking away with the $500K.

I also remember TJ saying 1 winner.

[Jillibean]

Loved the puzzle challenge. Not only was it creative and exciting, but it was the first heights over water Challenge in a long time that actually gave me anxiety on their behalf. It was interesting how many people were convinced their puzzles were correct as opposed to how many people actually were correct. Kendal leaving her puzzle upside down was bizarre but another snapshot of how her brain works in a way I don't fully understand. 

As much as I enjoy the pairs twist, I really felt for the guys in this episode. It was clear from the start that whoever was paired with Katie was going home. I wonder if the correct strategy for the guys would have been to try to vote in someone like Kelly Anne, both giving themselves a better shot if they were picked and also taking a shot at eliminating a very strong duo. But maybe because it was Mark, and this whole thing was his idea, people didn't have the heart to really make a move against him. 

Kendal noted on social media that they actually went six rounds in order to get three rounds in which both people on the same team won. According to her notes, LT actually bested Mark 2 out of the first 3 and 3 out of the first 5, ultimately drawing even at 3 all--but not unexpectedly, Kendal went 4-2 on Katie, ensuring her team's victory. 

17 hours ago, snarts said:

Again more comments from Jisela about Kendal.  Does her athletic prowess scare her that much?  Or does she just hate the bitch?

Yeah, something's up there. It's honestly unflattering to Jisela, which is ironic, since she's trying to make Kendal look bad. But Kendal, for all that I didn't enjoy her on challenge mania, isn't saying anything at all unkind about Jisela. I wonder if Alton idly commented to Jisela at any point that he found Kendal attractive. 

[ljenkins782]

On 5/9/2021 at 8:10 AM, Jillibean said:

Loved the puzzle challenge. Not only was it creative and exciting, but it was the first heights over water Challenge in a long time that actually gave me anxiety on their behalf. It was interesting how many people were convinced their puzzles were correct as opposed to how many people actually were correct. Kendal leaving her puzzle upside down was bizarre but another snapshot of how her brain works in a way I don't fully understand. 

Right?? It's not just the strange choices she makes, but the way she describes her choices that seems like her brain must be wired very differently. I do understand why she didn't want to flip it at the late stage in the process, but who builds a puzzle where a letter is clearly there but is upside down and doesn't think 'hmmm, this letter should probably be right side up"? it seems like there was opportunity for her to clock her mistake earlier on.

Darrell's interview was my favorite. His bemused "just open the goddamn door. I'm ready" was hilarious. I do admire that he has so many fears and yet never chickens out of a mission.

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As much as I enjoy the pairs twist, I really felt for the guys in this episode. It was clear from the start that whoever was paired with Katie was going home. I wonder if the correct strategy for the guys would have been to try to vote in someone like Kelly Anne, both giving themselves a better shot if they were picked and also taking a shot at eliminating a very strong duo. But maybe because it was Mark, and this whole thing was his idea, people didn't have the heart to really make a move against him. 

Yeah, something's up there. It's honestly unflattering to Jisela, which is ironic, since she's trying to make Kendal look bad. But Kendal, for all that I didn't enjoy her on challenge mania, isn't saying anything at all unkind about Jisela. I wonder if Alton idly commented to Jisela at any point that he found Kendal attractive. 

 

Mark definitely seems to have a strong say in what happens, so I don't see the guys making a move against him. I do think it would be smart for them to try to get him out, but I wonder if they're all hoping his age will be a factor in the final challenge (I don't think it will). 

But there are a lot of really tough competitors left among the men and if it's truly a 1 person takes all challenge, I don't know what kind of a final they can devise that Kendal or KellyAnne could beat those guys in. Kendal's clearly got some yoga strength, but size alone is a factor.

As for Jisela vs Kendal, I think there were some things that happened early on (Kendal's weird "do I hop forward or sideways" speech, that may well have been a product of Kendal's particular brain pathways, but Jisela clearly saw as "you're full of shit and trying to spin it"), plus Kendal and Jisela are two very different types. Jisela is very loud and brash and Kendal seems quieter and more reserved. They weren't likely to be friends to begin with and then game stuff added onto it. 

And yes, Kendal is definitely a threat to Jisela's chances at the money, but Jisela's got very low odds of actually being the last one standing anyway. If it's an endurance final, no, she's not beating Kendal (or the guys). That's the thing about the traditional finals of these things, you can scheme your way to the end and knock out stronger players, but if you can't excel in the final, it's all for naught (see Big Easy in Gauntlet III, Coral in Gauntlet I, etc). 

[AntFTW]

2 hours ago, ljenkins782 said:

Right?? It's not just the strange choices she makes, but the way she describes her choices that seems like her brain must be wired very differently. I do understand why she didn't want to flip it at the late stage in the process, but who builds a puzzle where a letter is clearly there but is upside down and doesn't think 'hmmm, this letter should probably be right side up"? it seems like there was opportunity for her to clock her mistake earlier on.

I actually paused when they showed the puzzle to get a good look at it. I can see how you end up with a puzzle that's right except its upside down if you start on the outside and work your way in. It seems near impossible to tell whether its upside until you full in the pieces with the letter on it. You can spend almost the entire time just trying to figuring out the outside or the letter,

I can see how in a pressured scenario you can end up with an upside down puzzle.

Edited May 10, 2021 by AntFTW

[shantown]

On 5/6/2021 at 11:36 PM, Lantern7 said:

Like: should Kendal have gotten credit for complete the puzzle even if the pieces were upside-down? Were the letters spelling out a word? 

It looked like a few people finished the puzzle but didn't have the letters in the correct direction. Which if you're just trying to match the colors and the lines that makes sense - I don't think TJ said anything about it spelling a word. I don't know what it says about me, but I understood Kendal's way of thinking - her puzzle was correct, just rotated. With no idea how much time until she dropped was it worth it to ruin a correct but misaligned puzzle and possibly not have time to rotate all the pieces? I don't blame her for kind of panicking. 

Wasn't really thrilled with ANOTHER challenge over water involving trapdoors. Was there a sale on trapdoors or something? I have decided I really want a job on this show designing challenges!
 

On 5/9/2021 at 8:10 AM, Jillibean said:

I wonder if the correct strategy for the guys would have been to try to vote in someone like Kelly Anne, both giving themselves a better shot if they were picked and also taking a shot at eliminating a very strong duo. But maybe because it was Mark, and this whole thing was his idea, people didn't have the heart to really make a move against him. 

Poor Katie. I knew as soon as the Whitesnake montage of her falling that she was probably going home this episode. I like that at nominations every guy said they supported and believed in her... would have been nice if they acted like it that night! KellyAnne had a point in saying that it should be more of a group decision than just Katie nominating herself, but I'm surprised there wasn't more discussion of who would be the strongest pair to go in. Even just to have a heads up that you were going in, especially after the whole discussion after Arissa quit about not blindsiding anyone.

[NativeAZ]

On 5/6/2021 at 7:36 AM, AntFTW said:

Fuck it! I’m renting a cabin in Argentina with a beautiful scenery, and inviting people to play stupid puzzle games in contraptions hoisted by cranes and tug of war on a stump, with 90s parties. That sounds so fun!

Right?!! I was backpacking thru New Zealand when Road Rules first came out. I remember seeing an episode and thinking, "Wait what?? They're getting PAID to do these things?"  I'd just paid $100 to do something similar, ha. Watching this show, just keep thinking, when is MTV gonna figure out they can start a Summer Camp and get us to pay to go try these things.

[millennium]

Can the other players see Jemmye or is she visible only to those watching at home?