S37.E10: Precious Stones

[shantown]

Quote

TJ's shocking twist is revealed at the "Diamond Dash" mission and the players struggle to adjust the new rules.

Airs 10/13/21

[AntFTW]

Well this episode got really interesting at the end.

90 minute episode and the daily challenge is over in the first 35 minutes leaving nearly an hour for drama and bullshit.

[DEL901]

Pricilla did herself in.  She should have chosen Big T if she was determined to go against a vet.  

[aghst]

2 hours ago, AntFTW said:

Well this episode got really interesting at the end.

90 minute episode and the daily challenge is over in the first 35 minutes leaving nearly an hour for drama and bullshit.

Was the daily challenge all 3 stages or just the third stage?

Seems like the first two stages were about forming the teams, which appear to be the way they're going to do daily challenges for awhile.

If the daily for this episode was just the last stage, then the design is just "eh" not too elaborate, though Devin came up with the good idea to weigh down the box so that the whole team could transport the broken pieces rather than just one team member standing on a stool.

It is interesting the way they sorted into the teams.  Kyle considers him and Cory to be enemies so he decided to be in the same cell?  Then he obviously came to regret being in the Ruby cell.  The teams obviously tried to recruit CT and some of the others.

As for the elimination, yeah Pricilla let her previous win get to her head.  Or maybe she didn't want to choose one of her friends, even though they'd have been easier to defeat.  Ashley figured out the easiest way to remove enough sand that she could reach down and pull out the tires without digging too much more.  Priscilla was burning herself out and she didn't think to copy what Ashley was doing.  Her friends didn't spot what Ashley was doing and think to tell Priscilla to copy the tactic.

Looked like Ashley finished the task before Priscilla even started reassembling the tires.

Great wrinkle letting the compromised agent choose his or her enemy and also letting the victor of the elimination choose teams.

The advantage of winning the daily challenge and being in the Agency is lessened.  You can't get eliminated that day but you might lose your place in your team and end up on a weaker team.

Also I never noticed before but the did the agency vote in previous nominations?  Or maybe they voted for the first time this episode because the compromised agent was going to choose her opponent.

 

[AntFTW]

19 minutes ago, aghst said:

Was the daily challenge all 3 stages or just the third stage?

I considered all 3 stages as the daily challenge.

21 minutes ago, aghst said:

Seems like the first two stages were about forming the teams, which appear to be the way they're going to do daily challenges for awhile.

They were. I was beginning to wonder what was the purpose of the sledgehammers… until we got to the last stage.

[AntFTW]

22 minutes ago, aghst said:

It is interesting the way they sorted into the teams.  Kyle considers him and Cory to be enemies so he decided to be in the same cell?  Then he obviously came to regret being in the Ruby cell.  The teams obviously tried to recruit CT and some of the others.

I felt like Kyle chose to be in the same group as Cory so that he can have Cory as a scapegoat when the time came. I thought that maybe if they lost, l teams would have to nominate or vote someone from their team into elimination… and I thought that was Kyle’s thinking or something along those lines when joining Cory’s team.

[AntFTW]

24 minutes ago, aghst said:

As for the elimination, yeah Pricilla let her previous win get to her head.  Or maybe she didn't want to choose one of her friends, even though they'd have been easier to defeat.

I understand Priscilla choosing Ashley. Let’s be serious, other than Amanda, Priscilla wouldn’t have made any enemies throwing in Ashley and winning. Ashley’s never been that great eliminations.

Amanda is now playing the “I got a kid to support so I need this money” card so I kinda thought Amanda was going into elimination.

Ashley seemed to have a more efficient way of getting the tires. She moves the small mountain of sand on the top and then digs in one spot to grab the tire, grabs the tire from the spot where he digs and pulls the tire up from there.

[AntFTW]

30 minutes ago, aghst said:

Also I never noticed before but the did the agency vote in previous nominations?  Or maybe they voted for the first time this episode because the compromised agent was going to choose her opponent.

No they did not. The other players in the game did a house vote and the agency chose their opponent at elimination.

Now, the agency does the house vote and the nominated player picks their opponent. I like this format better. It switches up the politics a little.

I can see Cory throwing himself in elimination to be on another team 😂

[aghst]

Yeah Amanda played the "I got to feed my kid" card really hard.

Thing is, traveling nurses during the pandemic are earning several time what they normally make.  And some nurses, depending on what kind of credentials they have, were earning like $200k before the pandemic.

But having that kid, as a single mother, obviously limits her options.  Honestly, coming onto the Challenge is not a high-percentage way to make a lot of money.  Cory has never won big money and he's got two kids to feed.  Unless MTV pays them just for appearing, she might have been able to make more money getting a lot of OT as a nurse.

She's never gotten close to winning a season so it's not a high-probability decision.  When she first came on, her father was sick or something and she wanted to win the money to help her family.  Now it's the kid.

I wonder if the producers encourage some of the cast to play up how much they need the money, how they will help their family or change their life for the better.  Certainly makes for some good talking heads.

But the prize money is so top loaded, almost winner-take-all, that except for the best competitors, most Challenge players have little chances of winning that big pot.

 

[AntFTW]

5 hours ago, aghst said:

I wonder if the producers encourage some of the cast to play up how much they need the money, how they will help their family or change their life for the better.  Certainly makes for some good talking heads.

I’m sure the producers ask them in their interviews why they want or need the money.

I listen to the Challenge Podcast often. They’ve had producers, people who do the casting and some other behind the scenes people on the podcast before. If I recall correctly, they make the effort to bring people on the show that are easy to interview and are willing to wear their emotions on their sleeves in these interviews. They look for people that open themselves up where the conversations and questions just effortlessly flow.

Producers watch their every move and I imagine once filming is done, they have a lot of content to piece together a compelling story. If you take out the ads, it’s only about an hour’s worth of content that the audience gets each week for 19 or 20 weeks out of several months of nonstop 24/7 filming. We get about 20 hours of content per season out of hundreds of hours of filming. I’m sure they gather plenty of calls to fill up several episodes between Amanda and her son, Cory and his kids, and the other players with their families. They show us a little snippet of that to tug on our heartstrings, and bring them into the interview room to ask them how much does it mean to them to win that top prize.

[joanne3482]

I'm so bummed, due to a storm, my DVR cut the entire piece from when Priscilla went down to the arena to Ashley getting to choose her new team. I'm going to have to find it online so I can catch that part. 

I like that they're in teams now. I LOVE the new changes. It could get very interesting. (Or very boring sometimes it is hard to say).  I've always hated it when the members would throw a mission because they want something else. I can't remember if it was TJ as the host or one of the others but I remember incidents in the past where that would happen and the host would get really annoyed by it. 

[AncientNewbie]

7 hours ago, aghst said:

Unless MTV pays them just for appearing, she might have been able to make more money getting a lot of OT as a nurse.

They do get a fee for appearing--I believe it is a weekly stipend and it can vary with the "star" level of the contestant. Ashley made a comment about "if she was out, at least Amanda would get one more week" that I took to mean "at least she'll get paid a little more if we're both doomed."

Moment of the episode for me was during the daily, when teams were smashing blocks and you see Emy not using her hammer but picking up blocks and throwing them at other blocks. Just...very Emy. 

Kudos to Devin, or whoever thought of it, for the loophole. I look forward to the producers changing up the grate somehow to mess with them further next time this sort of task comes up. Impressive teamwork, though, from that cell. 

I'm glad Ashley pulled out the win. I like Priscilla, but I have a soft spot for former champs who can still perform. To me it adds some legitimacy to the title, on what I admit is a very silly show, when champs remain competitive in future seasons. 

[AntFTW]

1) This episode made me really wonder if they're giving Amanda the winner's edit.

Is the impossible gonna happen this season? Is Amanda finally gonna win a Challenge?

 

2) When Cory was talking about CT while they were picking teams, I felt like Cory was low-key calling CT old. There was undertones of "CT has been around FOREVER, and he's still good at this."

Edited October 14, 2021 by AntFTW

[ImpinAintEasy]

Love the changes! Love having 3 teams and getting to choose who you go into elimination against! I wish they did this from the start. 
 

Devin has become the star of the show for me. And the change in format, if the final is a team final, makes it extremely possible for him to win. 
 

I was rooting for Ashley, as I always do. She had the better strategy, and once the others started helping her with the memory portion it was over. I don’t like that that’s allowed to happen. I think Ashley would have won anyway. The show needs to outlaw people who aren’t involved in the eliminations from giving advice. 
 

The Ruby team is so bad. If any of their players win an elimination you know they are leaving. You know Kyle and Cory have their eyes on Josh’s spot. 
 

Speaking of Josh, the poor guy is going to be the number one pick to go up against if he’s ever available to go down into elimination. 

[mojoween]

Priscilla is stunningly gorgeous, but her strategy was terrible.  Kicking the sand was never going to be faster than moving it with your hands.

Yeah I’ll never live in a world where I am rooting for Amanda or Ashley.  Sorry.

[LaurelleJ]

I will always want to be on a team with Devin. The challenge is brawn but I feel mostly brains. It's too bad that CT and Devin are not on the same team. Devin and CT on a team is a crazy combination. The emerald team is stacked. The ruby team is sad. The sapphire team is a sleeper. Oh Kyle, we know you want to be on the team that will carry you. 

Amanda's edit made me think that she was going in today. Here goes Ashley saying again that she is not a threat, she's been on good teams and has had good partners. She totally played herself down just like Priscilla. I have total respect for Amanda as a mom and a nurse, but everyone has a reason for being there. Emerald's deliberation for who to throw down made so much sense I couldn't believe it. I'm not used to people being calm and rational. 

Vets kind of shot themselves in the foot by getting rid of a crap ton of rookies. Now the turning on each other will happen quickly. You can't just say ok I'll pick Big T or Bettina, because they actually may beat you. Like Ashley said, in elimination, it's anyone's game. I think Priscilla picking Ashley made a lot of sense, they already have the established feud. Ashley talking about Amanda not being down, I'm always trying to think ahead of the editors, does Amanda do really well in this game? I can't see it. It could also be that some other talk happened that we didn't see, like maybe Priscilla said that she would pick Amanda, but Ashley convinced her to say her name instead. I think someone said earlier that they get paid for appearing, but also by the episode as well. I was hoping Priscilla would win, I do like her. She's got some learning to do, because her strategy was ridiculous. 

Had Ashley joined Emerald, she would have kicked Nany out, and that would have made that team almost unfairly balanced. Now will people purposely go in elimination to switch teams? You can get on a team, but they can't get you out. Kyle joining Emerald would weaken the team, that's funny. I love how he snakes everyone, then fakes outrage when they do the same. 

[shantown]

6 hours ago, AntFTW said:

When Cory was talking about CT while they were picking teams, I felt like Cory was low-key calling CT old. There was undertones of "CT has been around FOREVER, and he's still good at this."

I thought "Apparently you've been around quite a while Cory and you're still not good at this!"

2 hours ago, ImpinAintEasy said:

Love the changes! Love having 3 teams and getting to choose who you go into elimination against! I wish they did this from the start. 

I like the three teams thing, but I don't like it being a middle of the season change. If you want a season with three teams going against each other, make a season with three teams going against each other. I wanted to see how the partners thing worked out all the way to the end. Who learned from their mistakes last season? Who got stuck with a rookie if there were any left? Now it's two different games and does not make for a cohesive season.

That being said - I did like seeing how they were deciding on teams. I wanted more insight into who decided to go where! Did other people wait like CT to see who else showed up? Did anyone outright say "Don't come here"? 

[LaurelleJ]

2 hours ago, ImpinAintEasy said:

I was rooting for Ashley, as I always do. She had the better strategy, and once the others started helping her with the memory portion it was over. I don’t like that that’s allowed to happen. I think Ashley would have won anyway. The show needs to outlaw people who aren’t involved in the eliminations from giving advice. 

I know what you are saying. This happens all the time. People on the sidelines have coached someone on how to win. In this instance it was really easy to help, unlike when they were coaching someone, I forget who, how to arrange the rungs for the ladder challenge earlier this season. Also agree that Ashley would have won anyway. But I liked Nany's frustration at people rooting for Ashley, especially the people on her team because they discussed why she would have been a good option to go in. Now that we know that Ashley could have stolen a spot on their team, it makes it worse. 

[ImpinAintEasy]

I want to like Priscilla but her being a big time anti-vaxxer is disappointing. I’m sure plenty of these people are the same(Cory has said he’s not allowed to attend the reunion because he’s not vaccinated), but it’s hard to root for someone who not only chooses not to get vaccinated, but spreads misinformation about it online.  
 

For all the hate Ashley receives, she seems like one of the most responsible and level headed people outside of the show. 

[Jillibean]

22 hours ago, AncientNewbie said:

They do get a fee for appearing--I believe it is a weekly stipend and it can vary with the "star" level of the contestant. Ashley made a comment about "if she was out, at least Amanda would get one more week" that I took to mean "at least she'll get paid a little more if we're both doomed."

Most "veteran" cast members like Ashley and Amanda get a big check just for showing up and then some bonuses kicked in the longer they stay. If they hadn't offered Amanda the right amount to show up, I don't think she would have left her baby. Rookies get paid based on how long they stay, unless it's a "big name" rookie like Bear was a few years ago. A lot of the UK people have well over 1 million followers on instagram, which they can use as bargaining leverage.

14 hours ago, ImpinAintEasy said:

I want to like Priscilla but her being a big time anti-vaxxer is disappointing. I’m sure plenty of these people are the same(Cory has said he’s not allowed to attend the reunion because he’s not vaccinated), but it’s hard to root for someone who not only chooses not to get vaccinated, but spreads misinformation about it online.  
 

For all the hate Ashley receives, she seems like one of the most responsible and level headed people outside of the show. 

Ashley is emotional, but she's bright and cares about people and the world and is not afraid to stand up for what she believes in. Apparently after this season's covidfest requiring the extra quarantine midway through, production is now mandating the vaccine for cast members, so I guess we'll see how dedicated Priscilla is to being an anti vaxxer versus how dedicated she is to being on television. 

[MaggieG]

16 hours ago, mojoween said:

Priscilla is stunningly gorgeous, but her strategy was terrible.  Kicking the sand was never going to be faster than moving it with your hands.

Yeah I’ll never live in a world where I am rooting for Amanda or Ashley.  Sorry.

I agree, her strategy wasn't great. She saved her arm strength but she was going way slower than Ashley. I also can't root for either of them. Amanda's son looked pretty young, is his dad not involved?

15 hours ago, LaurelleJ said:

I know what you are saying. This happens all the time. People on the sidelines have coached someone on how to win. In this instance it was really easy to help, unlike when they were coaching someone, I forget who, how to arrange the rungs for the ladder challenge earlier this season. Also agree that Ashley would have won anyway. But I liked Nany's frustration at people rooting for Ashley, especially the people on her team because they discussed why she would have been a good option to go in. Now that we know that Ashley could have stolen a spot on their team, it makes it worse. 

I was on Nany's side with that. Ashley will easily turn on anyone when the mood strikes her.

 

16 hours ago, LaurelleJ said:

Vets kind of shot themselves in the foot by getting rid of a crap ton of rookies. Now the turning on each other will happen quickly. You can't just say ok I'll pick Big T or Bettina, because they actually may beat you. Like Ashley said, in elimination, it's anyone's game. I think Priscilla picking Ashley made a lot of sense, they already have the established feud. Ashley talking about Amanda not being down, I'm always trying to think ahead of the editors, does Amanda do really well in this game? I can't see it. It could also be that some other talk happened that we didn't see, like maybe Priscilla said that she would pick Amanda, but Ashley convinced her to say her name instead. I think someone said earlier that they get paid for appearing, but also by the episode as well. I was hoping Priscilla would win, I do like her. She's got some learning to do, because her strategy was ridiculous. 

 

12 minutes ago, Jillibean said:

Ashley is emotional, but she's bright and cares about people and the world and is not afraid to stand up for what she believes in. Apparently after this season's covidfest requiring the extra quarantine midway through, production is now mandating the vaccine for cast members, so I guess we'll see how dedicated Priscilla is to being an anti vaxxer versus how dedicated she is to being on television. 

I saw an interview clip on Twitter with Devyn (who's doing aftershow interviews) and Amanda and Amanda said that Priscilla told her that she wouldn't pick her because Amanda is a single mom and Priscilla was raised by a single mom. Amanda seemed very moved by it and thought it was very nice that Priscilla said that.

idk, I guess this is an unpopular opinion but I think both Amanda and Ashley are terrible. They both have gone off on people, Ashley most of the time for no reason. I'm no fan of Cara but Amanda straight up told her "I hope your horse dies." I don't follow either of them outside the show, so I'm going by what I see. If I went to the hospital and Amanda was my nurse, I would hesitate for a second. I could only hope that's a persona she has for tv and she's not that terrible in real life. I do commend her for her work because being a nurse, especially this last year hasn't been easy. And she had a baby on top of all of it. And I commend any challenger who has an actual job outside of the show.

So Ashley is no longer mad at Nelson now that Berna is gone? Because she joined his team.

Kyle's teeth are a shock to me every time he smiles.

[Jobiska]

16 hours ago, shantown said:

That being said - I did like seeing how they were deciding on teams. I wanted more insight into who decided to go where! Did other people wait like CT to see who else showed up? Did anyone outright say "Don't come here"? 

Ed waited for a little while at least, and voiced that he was going to do so.  I laughed when CT called him and Nelso the shiny muscle cars or however he phrased it.  

I'm willing to believe people change, and I think it is possible that working on the COVID front lines and being a mom has helped Amanda mature.  She certainly has been more sensible this time.  

[AntFTW]

19 hours ago, mojoween said:

Yeah I’ll never live in a world where I am rooting for Amanda or Ashley.  Sorry.

Amanda is actually growing on me this season. This is the first season where she’s kinda bearable. She’s usually this disgustingly obnoxious angry person, and she hasn’t been that this season.

Ashley… whatever. Ashley’s has a scrappy gameplay when the odds are against her and that’s the only thing I like about Ashley… but I don’t care to see her win again. I’m still shocked that she’s won two finals.

Edited October 15, 2021 by AntFTW

[AntFTW]

17 hours ago, LaurelleJ said:

 

I will always want to be on a team with Devin. The challenge is brawn but I feel mostly brains. It's too bad that CT and Devin are not on the same team. Devin and CT on a team is a crazy combination. The emerald team is stacked. The ruby team is sad. The sapphire team is a sleeper. Oh Kyle, we know you want to be on the team that will carry you. 

I want to root for Sapphire because of CT and Ed.  Despite my dislike of Ashley, she’s not the worst girl to have on a team. Truthfully, I would pick Ashley to be on my team over Kaycee and Tori, because… 🤢 Ashley’s more well rounded 🤮

Kaycee and Tori are work horses and they have to do better on the puzzles and math. Ashley will be a work horse when she needs to be (and sure, she will bitch and complain the entire time about the work). She’s not a bad runner and she can do puzzles and math quickly.

I feel like two people that really drag Sapphire down for me is Nelson and Amanda.

On Emerald, personally, I like them all… maybe except for Josh. I’m #TeamNany. I love Nany. I go wherever Nany goes. I root for whatever teams she’s on because I desperately want her to win one of these things. I would really like it if she stops playing a scared game. We’re still getting to know Emanuel but the only strategic person on Emerald seems to be Devin (not counting Emanuel in this evaluation) and that concerns me.

Edited October 15, 2021 by AntFTW

[AntFTW]

17 hours ago, LaurelleJ said:

But I liked Nany's frustration at people rooting for Ashley, especially the people on her team because they discussed why she would have been a good option to go in. Now that we know that Ashley could have stolen a spot on their team, it makes it worse. 

I’m betting that Nany will do nothing else to get Ashley out. She’s just gonna sit back be silently frustrated… at least until someone else wants to pull the trigger.

Edited October 15, 2021 by AntFTW

[AntFTW]

2 hours ago, MaggieG said:

I saw an interview clip on Twitter with Devyn (who's doing aftershow interviews) and Amanda and Amanda said that Priscilla told her that she wouldn't pick her because Amanda is a single mom and Priscilla was raised by a single mom. Amanda seemed very moved by it and thought it was very nice that Priscilla said that.

Yes, Amanda mentioned that on the aftershow. I truly thought Amanda was going into elimination because in the beginning of the episode, it was pretty heavy-handed on Amanda single mom content.

Edited October 15, 2021 by AntFTW

[AntFTW]

1 hour ago, MaggieG said:

idk, I guess this is an unpopular opinion but I think both Amanda and Ashley are terrible. They both have gone off on people, Ashley most of the time for no reason. I'm no fan of Cara but Amanda straight up told her "I hope your horse dies." I don't follow either of them outside the show, so I'm going by what I see.

I think your opinion is the popular opinion. Amanda is a terrible person. There’s a long list of people from The Challenge who I think are terrible people like Zach for being a big ass selfish man baby, and Camilla for being a terrible sport and her drunken antics… but Amanda, for me, tops the list of most despicable person on this show.

However, I will say that she has grown on me this season. She seems to be a lot calmer and significantly less terrible over the years. Perhaps becoming a nurse and a mom calmed her down but my opinion of her is starting to change. I’m finding her enjoyable to watch this season.

[AntFTW]

1 hour ago, MaggieG said:

So Ashley is no longer mad at Nelson now that Berna is gone? Because she joined his team.

Maybe she is and they’re just not showing us. That story seems to have died once Berna left.

[LaurelleJ]

33 minutes ago, AntFTW said:

I want to root for Sapphire because of CT and Ed.  Despite my dislike of Ashley, she’s not the worst girl to have on a team. Truthfully, I would pick Ashley to be on my team over Kaycee and Tori, because… 🤢 Ashley’s more well rounded 🤮

Kaycee and Tori are work horses and they have to do better on the puzzles and math. Ashley will be a work horse when she needs to be (and sure, she will bitch and complain the entire time about the work). She’s not a bad runner and she can do puzzles and math quickly.

I feel like two people that really drag Sapphire down for me is Nelson and Amanda.

On Emerald, personally, I like them all… maybe except for Josh. I’m #TeamNany. I love Nany. I go wherever Nany goes. I root for whatever teams she’s on because I desperately want her to win one of these things. I would really like it if she stops playing a scared game. We’re still getting to know Emanuel but the only strategic person on Emerald seems to be Devin (not counting Emanuel in this evaluation) and that concerns me.

I really like CT, so I will probably root for Sapphire. I think that best case scenario, someone wants to throw Devin in because they think they can beat him, Devin wins, and then he puts himself on Sapphire and kicks Nelson out. I think people will underestimate Sapphire, which is why I called them the sleeper team. Emerald looks stacked, but there are a lot of big egos on that team, so they might sabotage themselves. I have been team Nany every season up until this season. I am not a fan of the fact that she aligned herself with the big brother crew. Also, I would prefer to have Ashley over Kaycee. Ashley and Tori are equal to me. I'm still not 100% sold on Kaycee being this strong competitor. She won a lot last season, with Leroy. How did she repay him? By encouraging Fessy to go to elimination and steal her. 

[AncientNewbie]

I'm with the people above questioning Kaycee. I hear about how she's tough and played football, but I've never seen her have a dominating performance. Maybe because people are scared to put her in elim, or because she has a strong social alliance...but her finals performances haven't been legendary. Ashley, for all the tears and drama, is scrappy on the physical side and capable on the puzzle side. She's really grown on me. 

[Jobiska]

2 hours ago, AntFTW said:

Amanda is actually growing on me this season. This is the first season where she’s kinda bearable. She’s usually this disgustingly obnoxious angry person, and she hasn’t been that this season.

Agree, and that's why I said what I did above, because I do think the front-line and the mom stuff can either help one mature through that, or make it double down, and I'm hoping for her it's doing the former.

Also, Camila has always been one of my least favorite Challengers, and I still remember her (at least I'm 99% sure it was her) yelling at Amanda with Amanda (yes, obnoxiously angrily) fighting back, but Camila yelled something about "freckle faced" and criticizing appearance is really below the belt, and also of the two, Camila has always been a worse human being to me, so...there's that.

Kaycee--ugh.  I'd rather have Amanda screaming at people than Kaycee's fake wide-eyed gaslighting innocence about why in the world would Amber think she was with Amber?  etc. etc.

[AntFTW]

58 minutes ago, Jobiska said:

Also, Camila has always been one of my least favorite Challengers, and I still remember her (at least I'm 99% sure it was her) yelling at Amanda with Amanda (yes, obnoxiously angrily) fighting back, but Camila yelled something about "freckle faced" and criticizing appearance is really below the belt, and also of the two, Camila has always been a worse human being to me, so...there's that.

Correct me if I’m wrong, I think that started because the Champ women did a prank on the underdog women on Invasions. They put chips under their bed sheets. Amanda got super upset about it. Amanda said something to the effect of the Champ women bullying her, Ashley and someone else in their “Lavender Lady” room and preying on young beautiful women with their tactics.

Laurel and Camilla obviously were not gonna cower to Amanda. I found that Amanda’s calling Laurel and Camilla bullies and childish ironic considering she spread a rumor about Jenna and was being a mean girl to Jenna over this rumor… and then got an attitude with Jenna when Jenna confronted her in a non aggressive manner about it.

That argument between Camilla and Amanda was literally the only time I have ever sided with Camilla. I thought Amanda deserved it because she was being cruel.

Edited October 15, 2021 by AntFTW

[Jobiska]

7 hours ago, AntFTW said:

Laurel and Camilla obviously were not gonna cower to Amanda. I found that Amanda’s calling Laurel and Camilla bullies and childish ironic considering she spread a rumor about Jenna and was being a mean girl to Jenna over this rumor… and then got an attitude with Jenna when Jenna confronted her in a non aggressive manner about it.

That argument between Camilla and Amanda was literally the only time I have ever sided with Camilla. I thought Amanda deserved it because she was being cruel.

It definitely was NAGL for Amanda, but her behavior had nothing to do with her freckles.  I didn't side with any of them there, but I don't always follow every word of any of the shouting matches!  But I am hoping that Amanda is one of the people who can, against all odds, mature and improve as a person while still being involved in reality TV.  CT seems to have done this too.

[AntFTW]

2 hours ago, Jobiska said:

It definitely was NAGL for Amanda, but her behavior had nothing to do with her freckles.

I don’t defend the comment on Amanda’s freckles. I was just glad somebody generally went off on Amanda.

Also, that fight is my number 2 of hilarious fights after Jenna and her cousin Brianna arguing about Brianna’s dad owning a bakery and Jenna’s dad being in prison at #1.

2 hours ago, Jobiska said:

But I am hoping that Amanda is one of the people who can, against all odds, mature and improve as a person while still being involved in reality TV.  CT seems to have done this too.

I am also hoping Amanda has matured. I’m enjoying watching Amanda this season, which is something I honestly never thought I would say.

CT has definitely matured. For CT, I think it was a combination of not only just getting older, but having his son and winning the game. CT started winning more Challenges when he matured. Being that brash cocky meathead didn’t win him any big money before.

Edited October 16, 2021 by AntFTW

[millennium]

19 hours ago, Jobiska said:

I'm willing to believe people change, and I think it is possible that working on the COVID front lines and being a mom has helped Amanda mature.  She certainly has been more sensible this time.  

Amanda's no longer the "freckle motherfucker" (Camila) of her rookie years.   I always thought Amanda was a very pretty young woman but she was so damn belligerent in the past.   Now that she seems to have made peace with the world, I find myself sort of missing the hellion.  There were so many low-key, sentimental segments in this episode that I started to get bored.   Most of the people who made this show great aren't here anymore and their absence is sorely felt.   Plus this season is noticeably over-produced, to the show's detriment.

However I was terribly impressed by Amanda's service as a nurse.  We rarely hear about players' careers outside the show (except maybe for Wes who says he owns a hundred businesses or something).  Learning that Amanda was a front-line nurse tending to the sick and dying adds real depth to her.

I felt happy for Ashley this episode.   I don't think I have ever seen such a large contingent of the cast so unified in trying to help someone win an elimination.   I don't think it's fair, and I agree helping from the sidelines should be discouraged, but if it was going to happen to anyone I'm glad it was Ashley.   Whenever she has gone into eliminations in the past, she has gone in alone.  She was positively beaming before and after this elimination.   I think feeling like somebody was on her side made all the difference for her.

Edited October 16, 2021 by millennium

[Lantern7]

Typical Challenge episode . . . a new twist screws things up for most of the players, and it seems awesome at first . . . .  but then we go back to alternating genders for the Lair. Unless there are departures through ejection or medical reasons. Then we get gendered matches that TJ is told to enforce.

Is it possible to soundproof the elimination area? I dunno .  . . maybe also put up two-way mirrors to block out the peanut gallery so they can't give visual advice. Call it "The Chamber" or "The Room." Sure, we could go back to Exiles, but I feel we'd need an audience for elimination games. And we can't get them to STFU, can we? Yes, I believe Ashley got the cheap win. Listening to her supporters repeat colors, it was like they were trying to activate the Winter Soldier.

We're still getting pushed into the spy shtick . . . whether we like it of not. Right now, the biggest plus is seeing Kyle bitch about his lot with Ruby Cell. Here's what I don't get . . . aside from being exempt from the Lair,, the Agency doesn't do anything. The other players picked who went to the Lair, and Priscilla chose Ashley to face her. Doesn't seem right to me.

[angelamh66]

13 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

Typical Challenge episode . . . a new twist screws things up for most of the players, and it seems awesome at first . . . .  but then we go back to alternating genders for the Lair. Unless there are departures through ejection or medical reasons. Then we get gendered matches that TJ is told to enforce.

Is it possible to soundproof the elimination area? I dunno .  . . maybe also put up two-way mirrors to block out the peanut gallery so they can't give visual advice. Call it "The Chamber" or "The Room." Sure, we could go back to Exiles, but I feel we'd need an audience for elimination games. And we can't get them to STFU, can we? Yes, I believe Ashley got the cheap win. Listening to her supporters repeat colors, it was like they were trying to activate the Winter Soldier.

We're still getting pushed into the spy shtick . . . whether we like it of not. Right now, the biggest plus is seeing Kyle bitch about his lot with Ruby Cell. Here's what I don't get . . . aside from being exempt from the Lair,, the Agency doesn't do anything. The other players picked who went to the Lair, and Priscilla chose Ashley to face her. Doesn't seem right to me.

The Agency actually did pick who went into the Lair.  

[Lantern7]

55 minutes ago, angelamh66 said:

The Agency actually did pick who went into the Lair.  

This is what I get for posting so late. So the other players didn’t vote Priscilla in? Just the Agency? #MyGeekFail #WaitingForAllStars2

Edited October 18, 2021 by Lantern7

[DEL901]

3 hours ago, angelamh66 said:

The Agency actually did pick who went into the Lair.  

3 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

This is what I get for posting so late. So the other players didn’t vote Priscilla in? Just the Agency? #MyGeekFail #WaitingForAllStars2

The agency was 6 players last week, so there was voting, but just by the winning group. 

[RedbirdNelly]

I enjoyed this episode more than most. I think the rules on person you pick gets to pick their opponent plus the winner getting to choose where they go nicely mixed things up. 

I do wonder what happens as teams get lopsided. Is it like Survivor with people sitting out?
Ruby and Kyle's hatred for it was so funny. It cracked me up with Corey bent on revenge suddenly finding himself leader of a group of misfits that don't want to be on his team.

[BK1978]

For me I do have a new found respect for Amanda.  I mean I never hated her (I have blinders when it comes to women I find attractive) but I fully understand why so many others have.

Priscilla's backstory about her mother was a nice touch and her mother must be one hell of a woman to take in all of her nieces and nephews.  Now that was a backstory I can get behind.  Unlike Kam's grandmother's story from last year where she got deported for stealing. 

So when are we going to see Kyle steal Josh's spot?  We all know it is going to happen.  The question is when.