S01.E08: Mo Money Mo Problems

[Lantern7]

Final mission! Points system! Jisela and Derrick getting booted before things get interesting!

I’m on break, so I can’t get too deep into the episode. Basically, the final players have to get into boy/girl teams, with no partnership being repeated. Points system is simple: 5 for first, 4 for second, etc. Going into the fourth checkpoint, Yes is in the lead, followed closely by Darrell, Jonna and Jemmye. In the back: Alton (who basically peaked when he finished the puzzle first to start the finale), Aneesa (who is going to need a ton of breaks to get her first title) and Easy (three legs, three points).

Also, Jisela and Derrick arrived last after the first checkpoint, so they were booted. Sucks because they were third out of the gate at the start. I get the Jisela hate, but I’m not feeling it. Nobody has really pissed me off the way the usual suspects do in the “regular” edition. Jisela finally made a finale. At her current pace, she’ll get that first title around 2035.

Why must there be gross food? Everyone wound up eating the deadly peppers forced on Teck and Nehemiah, and nobody is feeling good afterward. Even Jemmye and Eric, neither of whom had trouble eating them, are feeling ill. I’m thinking maybe the franchise is propped by a vomit fetish community that I know nothing about. It would explain quite a lot.

ETA: I’m thinking the points will play into the final stage. The more points you have, the sooner you can start. The system is interesting, but I can’t see it making it onto MTV.

Edited May 21, 2021 by Lantern7

[Cherry Cola]

I've really liked this season. I want Mark to win. He is my favorite! 

Aneesa and Alton tipping over was hilarious. I like that they can't pick the same partner each time. 

I'm over the food comps and barfing. It's disgusting. 

[Nellise]

I still can't help rolling my eyes each time any of them says how they worked so hard to reach the finals and all their hard work paid off. More than half the people made the finals and most of the people who went into eliminations volunteered themselves.

I liked the final until the Carolina reaper part. Putting people in pain just for pain's sake isn't entertaining to me and the next part doesn't look any better with another food challenge I think.

[shantown]

I really like that they had to build their own bikes - it requires a different set of skills that the usual final activities, and it led to some unique challenges in completing the race to the next checkpoint. It was a nice switch up from the usual running or strictly strength-based tasks. I also liked them having to switch up partners each time, even though it seemed like the pairing pretty much just went in the order of finishing. The points totals is a neat format too. Overall, despite not liking that over half the cast "made it" to the final, I really like the things they seem to be trying to make it an exciting final challenge!

[aghst]

Couldn’t believe 12 people started the Final, eliminate one pair and that’s still a lot of people but no repeat partners.

they also showed the points standings too after 3 legs.

really transparent, something the regular Challenge could use.

That canoe leg was really long and allowed the last puzzle finishers to catch up.  Or for those who had a had start to screw up.

So they’re doing a lot of climbing tethered together.  Some of the bikes fell apart obviously.  Then the other wrinkle is the peppers, which is random in how it affects different people.  Darrell was going up the mountain okay until the peppers hit his system.  Easy said the peppers don’t bother him but that mountain does.

The last leg is untethered and a race.  Maybe it’s worth 10 points.

This whole thing looks as grueling as Double Agents Final, so why only $500k purse?  Well they got only about half the episodes out of this season.  Maybe people who have families now wouldn’t commit to however long it would take to make like 18-20 episodes though I think some like Mark would as would Derrick.

OTOH, the winner is going away with as much money as one of the winning pairs in Double Agents.  Of course stealing the partners share like Bananas and Ashley did seems to be the only way anyone has gotten close to a million for his or herself?  Have they also offered the steal option in other instances and nobody else did?

Anyways this has been a cool season, wouldn’t bother me if any of these players won.  Hope they put out more seasons like this sooner than later.

[Jillibean]

Very interesting format!I enjoyed seeing everyone's differing partnering styles. I was also reminded of another reason I don't like Eric; he's so quick to take such a tone/attitude with people whether he's on the "come on, let's go faster" end or the "I need to go slower" end. With Ruthie he's being a jerk because she can't keep up with him. With Jonna he's being a jerk because HE can't keep up with HER. I'm not sure he actually knows how to navigate any difficult life situation without being a jerk, as he has now shown on many seasons across many years. When he talks about wanting to prove something, maybe he should be more concerned about proving that he's a good teammate and less concerned about showing people he can paddle a canoe relatively effectively. 

Alton's take on the canoe was bizarre, but that was Aneesa's bad also for not correcting him. Take the extra two minutes while you're in first place to get up, dump out the water, and have Alton sit in the back. 

Yes' strategy to finish his puzzle but withhold the last piece until he could be paired with the partner of his choice ended up being brilliant, given what happened to Jisela and Aneesa. His particular kind of genius adds so much to this show. It's crazy that Derrick, who might be the most athletically competitive guy there, was knocked out almost immediately by Jisela. I imagine part of why Derrick and Jisela were struggling is that she couldn't contribute enough power to keep their canoe straight.   

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OTOH, the winner is going away with as much money as one of the winning pairs in Double Agents.  Of course stealing the partners share like Bananas and Ashley did seems to be the only way anyone has gotten close to a million for his or herself?  Have they also offered the steal option in other instances and nobody else did?

Those have been the only two seasons where the steal option was offered, and Bananas only made 275k total even after the steal because all challenges pre Dirty 30 had purses closer to 300 to 400k total spread across three people or teams. If all challenges had the sort of prize money we see these days, Bananas would be a multimillionaire from his 7 wins. As is, he holds the record for most total prize money over Ashley but not by very much. The next closest to Ashley's single season winnings would be Turbo, who I believe won 750k for 1st place on WotW.

Edited May 21, 2021 by Jillibean

[AntFTW]

1 minute ago, Jillibean said:

I was also reminded of another reason I don't like Eric; he's so quick to take such a tone/attitude with people whether he's on the "come on, let's go faster" end or the "I need to go slower" end. With Ruthie he's being a jerk because she can't keep up with him. With Jonna he's being a jerk because HE can't keep up with HER. I'm not sure he actually knows how to navigate any difficult life situation without being a jerk, as he has now shown on many seasons across many years. When he talks about wanting to prove something, maybe he should be more concerned about proving that he's a good teammate and less concerned about showing people he can paddle a canoe relatively effectively. 

That annoyed me. When he paired with Aneesa, I was thinking “good, they belong together. They take the same amount of breaks.” I think he was telling Jonna that they’re a team therefore they also have to work at his pace. If that’s the case, that also applies to Jonna. He hasn’t worked at her pace. He has to work at her pace instead of complaining that he needs a break.

7 minutes ago, Jillibean said:

Yes' strategy to finish his puzzle but withhold the last piece until he could be paired with the partner of his choice ended up being brilliant, given what happened to Jisela and Aneesa.

Agreed! I thought that was good gameplay for both him and Jemmye.

[AntFTW]

9 hours ago, Jillibean said:

The next closest to Ashley's single season winnings would be Turbo, who I believe won 750k for 1st place on WotW.

Every time I think about Theo taking home $200K for second place, it kinda blows my mind considering what the prize pot used to be before Dirty 30.

$200K is an amazing prize for second. The second place winner got a bigger prize than most Challenge 1st place winners.

Edited May 21, 2021 by AntFTW

[Racj82]

I do love how anything someone does can be turned into a negative because of that.

Eric was hardly being a jerk in either scenario. He was really yelling at Ruthie. He was just frustrated because they weren't making any forward momentum. Once they figured out the problem, he was cool. They were cool.

He also didn't yell or be rude to Jonna. All he said was I need to go at my own pace. He's only going to be able run so fast. A bunch of people were having issues on the leg.

Maybe it helps that I don't hate Eric. I feel like this finale has far less pouting and anger in general. 

[AntFTW]

2 hours ago, Racj82 said:

He also didn't yell or be rude to Jonna. All he said was I need to go at my own pace. He's only going to be able run so fast. A bunch of people were having issues on the leg.

He didn't yell but I thought he was being a little inconsiderate. I recognize that Big E has his limits but he is attached to a partner. He has to consider his partner's game just like his partner should consider his game for the partnership legs of the final. With a partner, it's not a "me" game, it's a "we" game. With a partner, extra efforts have to be made and I didn't think he was even trying to do that from what we were shown.

[snarts]

2 hours ago, Racj82 said:

Eric was hardly being a jerk in either scenario.

I also thought he was being a jerk.  Which is how he's been on most seasons, he expects everyone to be considerate of him but doesn't give the same consideration back. 

I really like the format of the finale.  I  freaking love the point system, it reminds me a bit of old school Real World/Road Rules Challenges. I do wish they'd have a male & female winner because it's hard to level the playing field on an individual run.   My only complaint is the addition of the peppers.  Seems unnecessarily cruel. I'd prefer to see more obstacles/puzzles/etc.

Rooting for Yes & Jonna.  Would be happy to see Mark or Kelly Anne win as well.

[AntFTW]

24 minutes ago, snarts said:

I also thought he was being a jerk.  Which is how he's been on most seasons, he expects everyone to be considerate of him but doesn't give the same consideration back.

EXACTLY!

[noluvnoluck]

Sounds harsh but I hope Aneesa wins so she can finally stfu.

I loved Alton and Darrell talking smack. "I wouldn't want to be paired with Easy I tell you what." "Jisela this ain't for you!" 

Is it me or is Alton a little less sharp these days? He just seems slightly more confused about things. It can't be age because he's only about early 40s no?

I'm also really over the eating challenges. It's very lazy at this point. The peppers are more than enough. What if someone has a seriously bad reaction one of these days?

 

Edited May 21, 2021 by noluvnoluck

[lasu]

Darrell carrying Ruthie with I Will Always Love You, all The Bodyguard was hilarious.  Except it stopped mid lyric, which drove me insane. But otherwise it totally cracked me up.

[Nellise]

1 hour ago, lasu said:

Darrell carrying Ruthie with I Will Always Love You, all The Bodyguard was hilarious.  Except it stopped mid lyric, which drove me insane. But otherwise it totally cracked me up.

The music alone this season has made it better than most of the regular Challenge seasons.

[Racj82]

2 hours ago, snarts said:

I also thought he was being a jerk.  Which is how he's been on most seasons, he expects everyone to be considerate of him but doesn't give the same consideration back. 

I really like the format of the finale.  I  freaking love the point system, it reminds me a bit of old school Real World/Road Rules Challenges. I do wish they'd have a male & female winner because it's hard to level the playing field on an individual run.   My only complaint is the addition of the peppers.  Seems unnecessarily cruel. I'd prefer to see more obstacles/puzzles/etc.

Rooting for Yes & Jonna.  Would be happy to see Mark or Kelly Anne win as well.

Well, again people see what they want. We saw a couple snippets of issue at one specific point in a leg. No one actually blew up and verbally attacked anyone. Some minor frustrations which were all understandable.

I enjoy this as a way to do a final. Hope to see it again. 

[AntFTW]

2 hours ago, Nellise said:

The music alone this season has made it better than most of the regular Challenge seasons.

The real winner of this season is the Challenge DJ.

I never make playlists but this season inspired me to make one.

[Lola82]

4 hours ago, AntFTW said:

The real winner of this season is the Challenge DJ.

I never make playlists but this season inspired me to make one.

This season basically played most of the stuff I have on my iPod...yes I still use my iPod.

“I will always love you” was great but playing “Waterfalls” as everyone is falling out of their canoes really gave me a chuckle.

[AntFTW]

I just wanna take a moment and recognize that Jonna has a real fighting chance at winning, something that probably wouldn’t have happened on a regular MTV-aired Challenge season.

TPTB are capable of building challenges and finals where the playing field is pretty even, and with people not so reliant on being an Olympic level or professional level athlete.

Edited May 22, 2021 by AntFTW

[aghst]

4 minutes ago, AntFTW said:

I just wanna take a moment and recognize that Jonna has a real fighting chance at winning, something that probably wouldn’t have happened on a regular MTV-aired Challenge season.

TPTB are capable of building challenges and finals where the playing field is pretty even, and with people not so reliant on being an Olympic level or professional level athlete.

True but they did design a very demanding course here.

What has helped Jonna is she got paired with two good partners who helped her get 10 points right off the bat.

If they made it all individual all the way through, then fitness and athleticism will matter, though maybe not so much in the canoe leg, unless one had good technique down.

The peppers may turn out to be a total wildcard.  It if does sideline Darrell or really slow him down, that is a severe handicap on someone who's probably better suited to run through this grueling course.

But it will hit different people differently.  Some people may have more severe reactions than others and it's probably not about physical fitness or health.  It's like an allergic response that you have no control over.

 

[joanne3482]

I'm rooting for Yes. I like how matter of fact and efficient he basically is. It was good game play to get the partner he wanted. I liked that. 

I definitely liked all the different challenges they had to do (except, as the rest of you the reaper I hate that!). The bicycle was smart as was the star puzzle with the math. 

[ljenkins782]

On 5/21/2021 at 2:12 PM, lasu said:

Darrell carrying Ruthie with I Will Always Love You, all The Bodyguard was hilarious.  Except it stopped mid lyric, which drove me insane. But otherwise it totally cracked me up.

Plus, him chirping "how y'all doin'?" to Mark and his partner as he lapped them with Ruthie on his back, that whole scene was great. "I know I can carry your ass!" I'm rooting for him, along with Jonna, Yes, and Kelly Anne (mainly because she claims she'll use the money help animals.) 

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I'm rooting for Yes. I like how matter of fact and efficient he basically is. It was good game play to get the partner he wanted. I liked that. 

I'm loving how mature and intelligent Yes is, but that goddamn fedora in his interview segments has got to go. Why, yes, why???

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I also thought he was being a jerk.  Which is how he's been on most seasons, he expects everyone to be considerate of him but doesn't give the same consideration back. 

Yeah, as I watched that segment, I couldn't help but think he's apparently forgotten how unpleasant it is to be on the receiving end of that kind of treatment in Gauntlet III. And how a person who's lagging behind certainly isn't doing it on purpose, as he should well know.

I like Derrick but it was kinda poetic justice that it was Jisela, who was the one campaigning to keep him out of the elimination, who ended up sinking his game. And that elimination knocked out Kendal, who those guys were probably wishing for as a partner through some of those legs.

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I just wanna take a moment and recognize that Jonna has a real fighting chance at winning, something that probably wouldn’t have happened on a regular MTV-aired Challenge season.

TPTB are capable of building challenges and finals where the playing field is pretty even, and with people not so reliant on being an Olympic level or professional level athlete.

 

Considering how recently she had a baby, she's doing incredibly well on these physical legs. I would really like to see more variety like this in all the finals instead of it always coming down to the most athletically gifted people. For those people who just aren't super athletes, there is no path to the win most of the time.

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 I still can't help rolling my eyes each time any of them says how they worked so hard to reach the finals and all their hard work paid off. More than half the people made the finals and most of the people who went into eliminations volunteered themselves.

It was pretty silly to boast about making it to the end when there are so many who never even went into an elimination and risked their spot.

I realize that the number of people with real life commitments made the abbreviated filming necessary but for television purposes, I feel like there was room to create more episodes. Pad the episodes with the fun stuff, like more of the 90s footage or more of the stupid fights (Trishelle being a dumbass as always) and film more eliminations. Some of those challenges weren't physically taxing, like doing puzzles over trapdoors in the water, so they could have filmed 2-a-days sometimes, maybe and pieced the episodes together to make it appear to be different days.

This is me just lamenting that it's almost over, lol. I was similarly sad to see the end of RW Homecoming and I still contend that there was way more material they could have shown there, it didn't have to be such a short run of episodes.

[Fretful]

On 5/24/2021 at 8:31 AM, joanne3482 said:

I'm rooting for Yes. I like how matter of fact and efficient he basically is. It was good game play to get the partner he wanted. I liked that. 

 

I recently started re-watching the first Battle of the Sexes season (still my favorite.  Still hate Puck) which has a lot of these people on it.  Yes didn't get a ton of airtime, but he everything he says was always very well thought out, even 20-ish years ago.  He's a quiet leader.

[Fretful]

On 5/21/2021 at 7:54 AM, Racj82 said:

He also didn't yell or be rude to Jonna. All he said was I need to go at my own pace. He's only going to be able run so fast. A bunch of people were having issues on the leg.

 

I think it's also worth noting that Eric is not trying to win the final- he has stated several times that his goal is to finish.- so he's not pushing himself too hard. That must be incredibly frustrating when he has a partner who is looking to score points to help them win.

One thing I liked bout Darrel carrying Ruthie is how she went along with it so good-humoredly.  I think some of the women would have been mortified.

It's also interesting to me that Alton's "it's all good" style was irritating to Aneesa, but motivating to Kellyanne.  

I don't think that the Jisela/Derrick failure is all on her. We heard  him several times  say that he couldn't figure out how to turn the boat.

[sara416]

On 5/21/2021 at 2:44 PM, Nellise said:

The music alone this season has made it better than most of the regular Challenge seasons.

Yes! The music this season has been extremely good! Maybe it's because I'm the end of GenX/The Oregon Trail Generation/Xennial whatever you want to call it, but this was the music of my youth and it is perfect since they have so many of the players from my youth. 

[funnygirl]

43 minutes ago, sara416 said:

Yes! The music this season has been extremely good! Maybe it's because I'm the end of GenX/The Oregon Trail Generation/Xennial whatever you want to call it, but this was the music of my youth and it is perfect since they have so many of the players from my youth. 

Same. And I hope they keep this same energy for potential future seasons - with the music as well as casting actual OGs/Real World and Road Rules contestants, as opposed to allowing the random riffraff of the newer Challenges to partake. The only reason why I'm watching Challenge All Stars is because of the nostalgia. 

Edited May 26, 2021 by funnygirl