S02.E02: It's So Hard to Say Goodbye

[shantown]

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The game gets dirty when a noble player makes a ruthless move to stay in the game. A beloved competitor reveals a heartbreaking secret. A grueling elimination round ends in a stunning show of sportsmanship.

Airs 11/18/21 on Paramount+

[AntFTW]

I love Ayanna. She's amazing.

Ayanna had the best strategy for moving the coffins.

[jsm1125]

I can’t even imagine what Derek is going through right now with the loss of his sister.  
 

Why do the others not see him as anything more than cannon fodder in practically every season he is in? 

[AntFTW]

25 minutes ago, jsm1125 said:

I can’t even imagine what Derek is going through right now with the loss of his sister.  

I KNOW! It was so sad and it was still so fresh in his mind at the time.

[Michichick]

I might need to cut myself off from TV watching because that episode made me cry like a baby and I kind of hate myself for getting so wrapped up in a reality show. I really wanted Derek to win that one.

I hope they will return to a more traditional mission + elimination in the same episode. But with double eliminations every time maybe they need to stretch it out to get enough episodes.

[jsm1125]

I’m a little annoyed/suspicious that the two men Nehemiah wanted to against in the Arena are gay. 

[funnygirl]

Ayanna is awesome. Badass and truly a good woman and human. 

No shade but Jonna, Darrell, Nehemiah, and Derek need to sit a couple of seasons out consecutively.

Spoiler

I saw that they're all back for season 3 as well and three in a row is overkill. 

YMMV

Edited November 18, 2021 by funnygirl

[AncientNewbie]

If nothing else, the soundtrack for this episode (and season to date) is top notch. 

Edited November 19, 2021 by AncientNewbie

[lasu]

The music editors for the regular Challenge as well as All Stars have been insanely good for the past few seasons.  It's amazing how much great editing can make a show.  Ayanna helping Leah finish was really one of the greatest shows of sportsmanship this franchise has ever seen.  I honestly was moved by it, and nothing warms my cold black lump of coal, so I really appreciated that even though they were giving us this completely genuine moment, I also laughed out loud when they could cut to Kendal with black streaks running down her face, and most especially, that the whole things was done to Wind Beneath My Wings.  This song extra made me laugh, because I have always found it to be shady AF, so I was dying.  This is how I like my wholesome moments, cut with sprinkles of complete irreverence. 

Also, GAH, I hate Nehemiah.  There has always been something I never liked about him dating back to Austin.  Of course, I hated Wes about 10x more that season and have grown to love the villain he is, but I never made the transition with Nehemiah.  And this episode, he was just gross.  First, I don't have much time for contestants who think they are more entitled to win because they are parents, and now we've got this asshole getting all MY FUTURE CHILDREN.  Ease up there, nelly.  And, dude, picking the two smallest gay dudes to go against?  One of whose names you said you wouldn't say? The optics are BAD, m'friend.  Is this what you want to teach your future children??

I wish that Derek had won, because I would have loved to see Future Father go down to one of the small gay men he thought was such a layup.  And obviously I would have loved to see Derek win for himself.  What a complete and utter tragedy he was/is going through. I clenched up as soon as I realized there was going to be a death (I watched this the day after the 18th anniversary of my dad's death), but to find out he JUST lost his younger sister to suicide was a bad shock.  My heart absolutely broke for him, and the pain his sister must have been going through. I'm glad that his faith in she is no longer suffering and is cheering him on from above brings him solace.  My heart goes out to him and his family.

[AntFTW]

33 minutes ago, lasu said:

I also laughed out loud when they could cut to Kendal with black streaks running down her face, and most especially, that the whole things was done to Wind Beneath My Wings.  This song extra made me laugh, because I have always found it to be shady AF, so I was dying.  This is how I like my wholesome moments, cut with sprinkles of complete irreverence. 

That’s the one thing that made me chuckle during this completely show stopping and heartwarming moment, Kendal’s crying face.

[ljenkins782]

5 hours ago, lasu said:

The music editors for the regular Challenge as well as All Stars have been insanely good for the past few seasons.  It's amazing how much great editing can make a show.  Ayanna helping Leah finish was really one of the greatest shows of sportsmanship this franchise has ever seen.  I honestly was moved by it, and nothing warms my cold black lump of coal, so I really appreciated that even though they were giving us this completely genuine moment, I also laughed out loud when they could cut to Kendal with black streaks running down her face, and most especially, that the whole things was done to Wind Beneath My Wings.  This song extra made me laugh, because I have always found it to be shady AF, so I was dying.  This is how I like my wholesome moments, cut with sprinkles of complete irreverence. 

Also, GAH, I hate Nehemiah.  There has always been something I never liked about him dating back to Austin.  Of course, I hated Wes about 10x more that season and have grown to love the villain he is, but I never made the transition with Nehemiah.  And this episode, he was just gross.  First, I don't have much time for contestants who think they are more entitled to win because they are parents, and now we've got this asshole getting all MY FUTURE CHILDREN.  Ease up there, nelly.  And, dude, picking the two smallest gay dudes to go against?  One of whose names you said you wouldn't say? The optics are BAD, m'friend.  Is this what you want to teach your future children??

ME TOO. I have never even understood Nehemiah's casting, he is an ass at worst, but even at best, he's bland and his voiceovers (of which there are WAY too many) are overdramatic and irritating. I was really rooting for Derek to take him out. I really hope there's an opportunity for Ryan to take Nehemiah out later.

I was strangely moved by Ayanna helping Leah too, but the choice of Wind Beneath My Wings made me laugh too. And from a purely logistical standpoint, I had to root for Ayanna to win the battle of the single moms, since she's got 4 kids to Leah's 1. 

Is it going to come down to a single winner again this time? I don't love the winner takes all format, it really sucks for people to work that hard throughout a finale and get absolutely nothing for coming in second by minutes. 

[UniqueHandle]

Derek said on a podcast that he threw the challenge against Nehemiah because his mom wanted him home for his sisters funeral. He knew the answers to the math problems but he pretended he didn't. 😢

[Lantern7]

I went to a viewing party for this episode. Captions weren’t turned on, so all I saw that touched me was Ayanna helping Leah with a casket. Didn’t find out until later that Derek’s sister had committed suicide the day before he left, and he had decided to go because that’s what she would have wanted.

I mean . . . damn. I imagine Derrick in an interview, tears running down his face, sobbing “I didn’t know!” And at what point did we reach that Arena? I’m thinking it was Steve smarting off on Derrick’s clothes. If that didn’t happen or if Derrick’s butt didn’t hurt, someone else could have been nominated and receive more votes than Derek. And I don’t hate Derrick. He didn’t know. Shit happens no matter where you are.

Am I too big a softie to want a system where Leah could have stayed longer? I don’t think she came into the game with an established alliance . . . and nowadays, that’s a big part of The Challenge (either version). I don’t get why she was cast when it was clear she’d be at a disadvantage? Maybe she was there to tell stories about CT in Paris . . . only to get blank stares from a few that didn’t remember her season. We did find our one thing Leah and CT have in common: they both had problems with carabiners.

I’m hoping for the best for Ayanna, because none of her three seasons ended well. She carted the caskets like a boss, and she got the heartfelt moment with fellow single mom Leah.

Arena was creative . . . though I didn’t get the bit about counting “fours.” The bit with the algebra probably rendered Cory and Nicole unconscious. I don’t think we had too much editing shenanigans with Nehemiah/Derek. I believe it was that close, and Derek came close to a come-from-behind win.

Postscript: I stayed at the event for a bit. I only got to chat with one of the Challengers, and I really had to do it. I interviewed Sophia twenty years ago, but we never met face-to-face. Well, not until last Thursday.

Needless to say, my selfie game is nonexistent. Really should've handed the iPad to someone for the pic.

Edited November 23, 2021 by Lantern7

[ljenkins782]

14 hours ago, UniqueHandle said:

Derek said on a podcast that he threw the challenge against Nehemiah because his mom wanted him home for his sisters funeral. He knew the answers to the math problems but he pretended he didn't. 😢

That doesn't square with his explanation that his family wanted him to leave to do the challenge for his sister, but in any case, yes, he should absolutely have been there for his sister's funeral. I can't even imagine what the family is going through, so sad.

ETA: also, the rewatch of the episode reminded me of why I especially couldn't stand Nehemiah in this episode. All the build-up and emotion around Derek's story that makes you root for him to pull off the win in honor of his sister, he loses and there's Nehemiah beating his chest, it just came across as tone deaf. It's a jarring transition that makes me hope that it was edited that way to telegraph Nehemiah's eventual fall.

Quote

Postscript: I stayed at the event for a bit. I only got to chat with one of the Challengers, and I really had to do it. I interviewed Sophia twenty years ago, but we never met face-to-face. Well, not until last Thursday.

LOL that you could have told me that pic was of Sophia 20 years ago and I'd have believed it. Girl doesn't age! 

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That’s the one thing that made me chuckle during this completely show stopping and heartwarming moment, Kendal’s crying face.

 

I rewatched the episode and that was so much funnier than I remembered. Talk about an ugly crier...

Edited November 23, 2021 by ljenkins782

[Zima]

Okay, I cried for Derek and his tragic loss, but was annoyed by Ayanna helping Leah pull her coffin at the end. It felt like a fake, over-the-top waste of time.  Had I been in Leah's position, I would have been like, "Nah...I'm tired, and I lost. I'm good." 

Also, I thought it was kind of fucked up to make Derek compete in an elimination involving caskets and skulls after hearing about his sister's recent suicide. The producers or whoever couldn't switch it up this time? Eeeeek. 

The idea that people who are a certain age should have to dress or not dress a specific way annoys me to no end, but I fucking CACKLED when Steve made fun of Derrick's outfit. His butthurt reaction made it even more amusing. Idk, I have a love/hate relationship with Derrick, and I thought he was being a big baby about the whole thing. 

Edited November 24, 2021 by Zima

[aghst]

Forget who but one of the challengers said there was less camaraderie than season 1.

definitly true, that Prom thing with the getups including what’s his name in drag was so staged.  Contrast that to last season when they had a party and everyone got into it, seemed very spontaneous.

and my recollection was that the votes in season one were all low key, nobody got too upset if they were voted in.  This season, the very first vote, it was very confrontational, like the regular Challenge these days.

Leah was very heartbroken that she could barely move one coffin and they seemed to be cheering on Ayanna.

So it was a really nice and compassionate moment for Ayanna to help her, encourage her, lift her spirits, no matter that corny song.

or maybe the editors were mocking them with that selection or couldn’t choose something better.

 

[millennium]

On 11/30/2021 at 12:09 AM, aghst said:

definitly true, that Prom thing with the getups including what’s his name in drag was so staged.  Contrast that to last season when they had a party and everyone got into it, seemed very spontaneous

 

Bar nights on the Challenge have apparently become a casualty of Covid.   This kind of staged event in the confines of the Challenge house has become a cringey staple of the mothership with all the idiots pretending to party down in slo-mo.   If it's meant to invoke a feelgood vibe, it's a fail.   They should do away with it altogether until the pandemic's over.

Derrick's outfit had me hearing Frank Costanza yelling "Where is my cabana wear?"