S02.E04: New Divide

[AntFTW]

Quote

Lines are drawn as the house divides into two powerful alliances. A pair of underdogs make a gutsy move that threatens to disrupt the game and upend a longstanding friendship. Two Challenge titans face off in a long-awaited elimination rematch.

 

[AntFTW]

Well... the fun-time Challenge is over.

[funnygirl]

2 hours ago, AntFTW said:

Well... the fun-time Challenge is over.

Boooooo! 

I'd love a Battle of the Sexes season of All Stars.

I also think it'd be fun to have an All Stars season with mostly (if not all) underdog cast members - no previous winners and the ones who are typically always thrown to the wolves first or seen as "weak". Give them a fair shot! Mix it up. 

Edited December 2, 2021 by funnygirl

[jsm1125]

Casey was awesome this episode!

I think it says something about Darrell’s social game that he never seems to be someone people want to throw in elimination, even when people are coming after his alliance.

[shantown]

I get that part of the Challenge is to, well, challenge the contestants. But if someone is very obviously stating they do not wish to participate and having a physical reaction to their fear, stop badgering them and laughing at them and just let them step off the ledge. Between that and the over-the-top laughter, TJ was incredibly annoying to me this episode.

Some of the trivia was easy, some I would have really struggled with. I like this way of doing it where there's more than one answer... though you were really at an advantage to go earlier in the rotation on some of them. 

The nominations process was wicked! While I think it was harsh, it was definitely good gameplay. Casey and Steve both were incredibly smart in the way they played that. Ayanna cracked me up when she had her uniform on already. "I SLEPT IN MY UNIFORM LAST NIGHT!" Sometimes people I dislike make it really hard to dislike them (same for Nehemiah and his Brad beard and no blinking)! 

Was sad to see Katie go home, she's always been one of my favorites. Not real sad about losing Derrick though, his ego has bugged me the last few times he's been around. The complaining? The barking? The entitlement? "I thought I would have my life shields" - Casey was right, they weren't yours! I barely remember her from her seasons but she was impressive tonight.

[funnygirl]

"Your life shields or Jodi and Cohutta's?" That's right, Casey! 

Edited December 2, 2021 by funnygirl

[AntFTW]

1 hour ago, shantown said:

The nominations process was wicked! While I think it was harsh, it was definitely good gameplay. Casey and Steve both were incredibly smart in the way they played that.

I think the life shield is poorly implemented this season. Last season's implementation was better. The people with the life shield get to save someone AT elimination and puts everybody's game on blast by making them chose someone right then and there at elimination.

Nehemiah's idea of nominating the people with the life shield, forcing them to use it on themselves, made the life shield kinda useless. It was harsh and cold but smart and really good game play, which is rare for The Challenge. However, it takes away some of the thrill for me.

I thought having the life shield meant that you could not be nominated in the first place but apparently I thought wrong.

-

-

Also, can this nonexistent "feud" between Derrick and Nehemiah stop. I'm pretty sure they're playing it up for the cameras.

Edited December 2, 2021 by AntFTW

[AntFTW]

1 hour ago, shantown said:

Some of the trivia was easy, some I would have really struggled with. I like this way of doing it where there's more than one answer... though you were really at an advantage to go earlier in the rotation on some of them. 

Agreed! I liked this trivia. The one question (that I can remember at the moment) that stumped me was the Brittney Spears question.

[Michichick]

Katie can miss me with her complaints about being put up against Ayanna in the elimination. Katie put herself into elimination by being a quitter. You deserve to go home if you’re not even going to try. 

Is the life shield only good for the next elimination, or can you hold onto it for later if you don’t get put into the next elimination after you earn the shield?

[noluvnoluck]

13 hours ago, Michichick said:

Katie can miss me with her complaints about being put up against Ayanna in the elimination. Katie put herself into elimination by being a quitter. You deserve to go home if you’re not even going to try. 

Is the life shield only good for the next elimination, or can you hold onto it for later if you don’t get put into the next elimination after you earn the shield?

Word! What's with the entitlement from Katie? I didn't appreciate her calling Steve an idiot. No, you're an idiot for continuing to do these challenges knowing there will be a heights mission and knowing the producers will exploit your fear. I hope she never comes back to a challenge. Stay close to the ground, girl. 

[sugarbaker design]

18 hours ago, funnygirl said:

"Your life shields or Jodi and Cohutta's?" That's right, Casey! 

Boom!

 

[peachmangosteen]

On 12/2/2021 at 2:22 PM, shantown said:

I get that part of the Challenge is to, well, challenge the contestants. But if someone is very obviously stating they do not wish to participate and having a physical reaction to their fear, stop badgering them and laughing at them and just let them step off the ledge. Between that and the over-the-top laughter, TJ was incredibly annoying to me this episode.

This so much. It's a silly fucking game show why do people care so damn much if people don't want to 'face their fears?' I truly don't get it. But then I'm someone who never gives a shit when people straight-up quit these shows (like this or Survivor or Big Brother) so.

[Decider]

On 12/2/2021 at 11:22 AM, shantown said:

Ayanna cracked me up when she had her uniform on already. "I SLEPT IN MY UNIFORM LAST NIGHT!" Sometimes people I dislike make it really hard to dislike them (same for Nehemiah and his Brad beard and no blinking)! 

I nearly died laughing when Ayanna started taking off her jumpsuit and had her uniform underneath.  I am still side eyeing her for how she did Sophia so dirty but the callback to that moment was funny.

[shantown]

1 hour ago, peachmangosteen said:

This so much. It's a silly fucking game show why do people care so damn much if people don't want to 'face their fears?' I truly don't get it. But then I'm someone who never gives a shit when people straight-up quit these shows (like this or Survivor or Big Brother) so.

Especially when the original premise of an OGs show was to make it more fun and less intense than the regular challenge. Why couldn't trivia just have been trivia? Make them get pied if they miss a question if there has to be a penalty. Why does it have to be on top of a building getting dropped ten stories? TJ can overreact just as much to people being pied or having a water balloon dropped on their head or whatever as he can to random extreme stunts. 

[Lantern7]

Back to the fun. I'm still pissed off at Ayanna, and nothing she can do can make me happy. Well, she can leave. She could do that for me.

In the Facebook group where I post, most of the fans love that trivia was played, and they lamented the absence of that in the "main" series. One improvement: multiple answers to one question, which meant those asked first weren't automatically screwed. For the girls, it did help that Katie freaked the fuck out.

Oh, Katie. I honestly believe she was ready to face her fears going into this season, but her body buckled. Seriously, who wants to jeopardize their place in the game and have TJ rip them a new one? I remember her freaking out in a bungee-based mission in The Inferno. The kicker was that Leah followed her, and she had a panic attack that was so bad, she wound up riding off in an ambulance.Is it wrong to wonder what would've happened if Leah had last this long.

Great to see Steve win his heat. Sucks that he botched the nomination. The bit where he and Casey (seriously?!?) nominated Cohutta and Jodi so they'd burn their Lifeshields? Clever. But then Ayanna gets sent into the Arena, Katie goes home, and Steve loses the other RR10 castmate. It's good that he's making friends/allies, but barely anyone knows him. Hell, I barely know him. I remember he didn't have that body back on RR10 and The Gauntlet, and the long hair is still unnerving to me.

Best part about the nominations? We were guaranteed to lose one ex-champ. Brad vs. Derrick was a dream match. Too bad they didn't get physical on each other. You know, since Derrick is "The Diesel" and Brad might be crazy. Derrick goes out earlier than expected, and Brad continues to live his best life. Big Beard, Dead Eyes, Can't Lose.

Nehemiah with the Brad beard? Hilarious. It's extra funny because he looks Amish and "Nehemiah" sounds like an Amish name.

ETA: I need to share this tweet from Wes.

 

Edited December 5, 2021 by Lantern7

[ljenkins782]

On 12/2/2021 at 2:22 PM, shantown said:

I get that part of the Challenge is to, well, challenge the contestants. But if someone is very obviously stating they do not wish to participate and having a physical reaction to their fear, stop badgering them and laughing at them and just let them step off the ledge. Between that and the over-the-top laughter, TJ was incredibly annoying to me this episode.

Some of the trivia was easy, some I would have really struggled with. I like this way of doing it where there's more than one answer... though you were really at an advantage to go earlier in the rotation on some of them. 

The nominations process was wicked! While I think it was harsh, it was definitely good gameplay. Casey and Steve both were incredibly smart in the way they played that. Ayanna cracked me up when she had her uniform on already. "I SLEPT IN MY UNIFORM LAST NIGHT!" Sometimes people I dislike make it really hard to dislike them (same for Nehemiah and his Brad beard and no blinking)! 

Was sad to see Katie go home, she's always been one of my favorites. Not real sad about losing Derrick though, his ego has bugged me the last few times he's been around. The complaining? The barking? The entitlement? "I thought I would have my life shields" - Casey was right, they weren't yours! I barely remember her from her seasons but she was impressive tonight.

Right, she should not have had to ask that many times to be let off the contraption. I get asking twice to be sure she definitely understands that automatically going into elimination was the consequence, but she clearly did not care in the moment, let her down. Ironically, she probably would have done well at the trivia and may not have had to drop the 10 stories. Unless the fear froze her brain, which is possible.

I've usually kinda liked Derrick, but he was on my last nerve with the shouty confessionals. I get that he's playing the game and doing the soundbites that get you airtime, but turn down the volume, buddy. His apparent nemesis Nehemiah does the exact same thing, I'm hoping he follows Derrick out the door and we can get down to the business of the challenge without these airtime sucking rivalries. Nehemiah was trying to make fetch happen with his "3-headed monster" moniker and I couldn't help wondering how freaking old this guy is. 8th grade?

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Word! What's with the entitlement from Katie? I didn't appreciate her calling Steve an idiot. No, you're an idiot for continuing to do these challenges knowing there will be a heights mission and knowing the producers will exploit your fear. I hope she never comes back to a challenge. Stay close to the ground, girl. 

That was a bad look. The only person responsible for keeping you out of elimination is you and YOU put yourself there. I'm afraid of heights too and I would have had her exact same reaction, but you need to remember that when you're back on the ground. You decided it wasn't worth it to you in that moment. 

And honestly, I don't really see Katie laying it on the line for Steve when it really came down to it. She'll be a sideline friend as long as it's easy, but if she had to stick her neck out for him, she probably wouldn't. That being said, it appears that Steve really has no one. Even the outcasts alliance seemed to only partly count him as a number. It was like Nehemiah, Teck, LT...and Steve for now. 

Quote

I think it says something about Darrell’s social game that he never seems to be someone people want to throw in elimination, even when people are coming after his alliance.

Darrell is a physical and mental beast. He's deathly afraid of heights too, but has never backed down from doing the missions. And he was RIGHT behind Yes at the end of last season's finale. So it's a double-edged sword, you definitely don't want him there at the end, but it seems near to suicide to try to take him on in an elimination. The only way he goes out is if there's an elimination that involves correctly pronouncing the word "Inferno" or something...

[aghst]

Kind of sucks that the winners get to put those with life shields in the elimination and then if they use the life shields, they can choose 2 more.

[millennium]

On 12/2/2021 at 2:22 PM, shantown said:

I get that part of the Challenge is to, well, challenge the contestants. But if someone is very obviously stating they do not wish to participate and having a physical reaction to their fear, stop badgering them and laughing at them and just let them step off the ledge. Between that and the over-the-top laughter, TJ was incredibly annoying to me this episode.

No tears for Katie.  Nor do I have a problem with TJ taunting her.  There's a give and take to this show: show gives players the chance to win money and be famous; players provide fodder for entertainment.   Katie didn't hold up her end of the bargain.   She didn't even try.   She wanted to step away without giving the show its due.  The show said nuh-uh, nobody rides for free.   TJ exacted payment with the teasing and laughter, which made Katie's quitting more interesting than it would have been if they had just called a stop and unstrapped her.

Katie had to know there would be a heights challenge.   She had to know by now that TJ hates quitters and drags them every time.   She said sign me up all the same.   I can't feel bad for her, especially when I'm sure other people would have loved the opportunity to be there.  Didn't Katie refuse another heights/water challenge last season?   Where did she get the idea The Challenge was about opting in and out of which contests you want to participate in?

[IDreamofJoaquin]

Now I'm getting fed up with everyone.  Derrick is a sleaze ball to me.  Can't stand him, can't stand Brad and how we all know he's kind of an idiot outside of the game.  We all know Tori was always insisting he get a career job and he keeps coming back to this claiming it's for his kids.   Jonna keeps sliding through.   This is what I like about having to earn a skull in the newer seasons.  It's so pathetic to send the same people over and over.