S13.E09: Semifinals 4

[Lantern7]

Final episode before Vegas! Which fan favorites will be considered ancient tonight?

ETA: Drop Zone is back. Here’s hoping this batch of contestants learned from the previous episode. Otherwise, I hope there’s an ambulance ready to go. Or a dentist.

Edited August 24, 2021 by Lantern7

[ams1001]

That first kid's mom (Pow) is a trip.

Can we please stop watching M&A eat bugs?

 

Edited August 24, 2021 by ams1001

[Lantern7]

It’s been a helluva night. Just saw Cal Plohoros fall, but not before epically rushing through Diamond Dash after trying to stop didn’t work.

[Lantern7]

Flex Lebreck just cleared the course. Looks like the guys with the squeegees will be working overtime to clean up Matt & Akbar’s mess.

[ams1001]

Go Flex!

Sorry Jake fell on the power tower but I was kinda rooting for Austin, anyway. (Nothing against Jake; it was more because of Austin's Share Your Spare thing.)

[SophiaD]

Well, that was a relief.  A little of the old-school ANW magic was back.  I'm bummed for Flip and all of the great ninjas that didn't make it through, but I'm very happy for Austin, who is a great guy, and there were enough of my favorites (yay, Tyler!  Yay, Cameron!) who made it through.  The teens were showcased a nice amount, but didn't take over the whole show.  There was a little too much WWWA and too many bugs, but, overall, it was a good episode.  

Also, I had to laugh when Matt introduced a few of the men as "a father of three" or "a father of two," although we're still not hearing about "the first dad to this."

And, of course, FLEX.  She's one of my favorite ninjas anyway and to see her finish the course was terrific.  I hope she and some of the other women do well at the National Finals.  

[Vermicious Knid]

I like when the entomologist shows up with his insect snacks. It's amusing watching Matt and Akbar eating them. Grasshoppers are a common food in many parts of the world, and crickets are packed with protein.

Have the teenagers aged out of ANW Jr? Because I'll be pissed if they can a appear on both. Junior was recently renewed for another season on Peacock so I will continue to ignore it.

[DEL901]

Wow, they really loaded this last semi with talent.  I think in some of the earlier semis, they would have made it through.  

[PhD-Purgatory15]

This last semifinal was overloaded with talent, and had a slightly (but noticeably) easier course. At this point, the really elite ninjas are saying "bring on the crazy clocks!!" because as an 8th obstacle, it's one of the easier ones they could get.

Seriously, Cam the Bomb, Austin Gray, Jake Murray, the mohawk kid, Flex, the very underrated Hunter Gerrard, and the guy the runs the course in a suit. Throw in a couple mild surprises like Gnarly Ninja Nate & the Bug bringer and that's how you end up with 10 finishers when the first three semifinals combined barely had 10 finishers. Felt a little bad for Flip & Dan Polizzi because they would've absolutely cruised to a Top 15 finish on any of the previous three Mondays.

Can't wait for Stage 1. IIRC, stage one last season (or maybe two seasons ago) was incredibly easy as finals courses go so it will be interesting to see if they try to course correct for that at all..

Edited August 24, 2021 by PhD-Purgatory15

[ams1001]

12 hours ago, Vermicious Knid said:

Have the teenagers aged out of ANW Jr? Because I'll be pissed if they can a appear on both. Junior was recently renewed for another season on Peacock so I will continue to ignore it.

Junior is age 9-14.

[enoughcats]

Last night I decided that it's time for new talking heads with new chatter. It wasn't the bug eating (editors were really desparate for something new to fill time between advertisers), but the guys' chatter is almost predictable.  Mute, again, was my best friend.

New announcers would be different (unless they adopt the Project Runway fill-Heidi-Klum's- overpriced shoes and have the same words, different model). 

There may also be a burn out problem, that some of the obstacles are really obstacles, and a whole bunch are easy peasy but for the occasional individual klutzy  wipe out.  

[Good Queen Jane]

I was surprised that Zuri did one of the WWWAs. Has that ever happened before? It was nice to see/hear Zuri do more. However, I could have done without the the TikTok duo. Is the show that desperate for young viewers to have two guys who have no ninja training try to do the course? Maybe at one of the preliminary rounds, but surely not at the semi-finals.

[eel21788]

12 minutes ago, enoughcats said:

 a whole bunch are easy peasy but for the occasional individual klutzy  wipe out.  

It's time they just threw out the warped wall and salmon ladder. Everyone has been practicing them for more than a decade. They just aren't a challenge anymore.

[ams1001]

21 minutes ago, enoughcats said:

Last night I decided that it's time for new talking heads with new chatter. It wasn't the bug eating (editors were really desparate for something new to fill time between advertisers), but the guys' chatter is almost predictable.  Mute, again, was my best friend.

I don't usually mute but I've taken to watching youtube videos on my computer while I have the show on. I hit pause when a run starts and play while they're doing whatever in between.

[DanaMB]

On 8/24/2021 at 4:40 PM, Good Queen Jane said:

However, I could have done without the the TikTok duo. Is the show that desperate for young viewers to have two guys who have no ninja training try to do the course? Maybe at one of the preliminary rounds, but surely not at the semi-finals.

I was trying to figure out how they even made it to the semi finals. I must have missed them in the qualifiers. 

[Lovecat]

On 8/25/2021 at 6:21 PM, DanaMB said:

I was trying to figure out how they even made it to the semi finals. I must have missed them in the qualifiers. 

They didn’t.  It was a one-time stunt run kind of thing.

[TiredMe]

Thrilled for Flex. She’s my all time fav (well her and Jessie). I have a soft spot for Flip so I’m really bummed for him.