S03.E04: She’s Back!

[AntFTW]

Quote

TJ surprises the challengers with a blast from the past and a new rivalry is born. The high-altitude "High Stakes'' challenge leaves some players flying high, and others crashing down. Some shady political moves set the stage for a pair of epic battles in the Arena.

Air Date: May 25, 2022

[xfuse]

I don't get how Kendall thinks she gets put in elimination because she's old.  Hopefully after this challenge after everyone repeating saying it's because she's too scary to run a final against she will finally get it. It might not change being put in next Challenge but it should give her some confidence. 

[AntFTW]

1 hour ago, xfuse said:

I don't get how Kendall thinks she gets put in elimination because she's old.

She thinks Kailah is targeting the OGs aka the older people.

[AntFTW]

Do they have to put every single age-related thing Kailah says in every episode? Kailah is really ruining my OG vibe.

I'm glad that to see Beth back. I need less newer Challengers on All Stars... and mainly it's because of Kailah.

The elimination game was good. I thought it was very creative and a game that we should be on the flagship show. Jordan always pulls it out! Fuck it, I'm rooting for Jordan to take the win this season... for the sole reason that everybody else wants him gone.

I didn't like that Kailah was just guessing on the daily challenge, flipping numbers until she eventually got it right, but that's the newer-school mentality of playing the game. Almost everyone seemed to have teamed up with everyone they liked, but Kailah brought in someone she was willing to sacrifice if it became necessary. Needless to say for the umpteenth time, Kailah needs to take her ass back to the flagship show. She can do all that to people who play the game like her.

I like Kailah, and I don't mind watching her... but I would rather watch on her on the flagship and not on All Stars. I watch the flagship for ruthlessness and drama. I watch All Stars for the good vibes.

[xfuse]

5 hours ago, AntFTW said:

She thinks Kailah is targeting the OGs aka the older people.

I know but they are targeting her and Kelly Anne because no one wants to run a final against them.  Even some of the guys said that they don't want to run against them. They are a threat.

[AntFTW]

3 hours ago, xfuse said:

I know but they are targeting her and Kelly Anne because no one wants to run a final against them.  Even some of the guys said that they don't want to run against them. They are a threat.

I don't seem to believe they are. After Kelly Anne's hissy fit on the heights over water puzzle challenge, I feel like she should be knocked out a peg on the "perceived-threat" level.

[Unclejosh]

They don't have heights over water in the finals. That is the threat. Anyone who has elite endurance which both do is a threat in a final. Kelly Anne beat Jonna in the original All-Stars final I think ( I know they tied points wise but Kelly Anne crossed first) and then Jonna won the next one.  So she is at least as good as Jonna who is considered the front runner for the women.

Edited May 26, 2022 by Unclejosh

[AntFTW]

1 hour ago, Unclejosh said:

They don't have heights over water in the finals. That is the threat.

But they have puzzles in the final. The puzzles can make or break anyone, and Kelly Anne broke.

[Unclejosh]

She still beat Jonna in a final time wise.  Puzzles are definitely an equalizer but people who are not elite at puzzles have still won before.  Especially when we know part of the finals will be paired and getting the right partner to help with a puzzle makes up for it. 

Put it this way Aneesa is pretty much elite at most puzzles. Who would you bet on winning a final? Kelly Anne or Aneesa?

[AntFTW]

54 minutes ago, Unclejosh said:

She still beat Jonna in a final time wise.  Puzzles are definitely an equalizer but people who are not elite at puzzles have still won before.  Especially when we know part of the finals will be paired and getting the right partner to help with a puzzle makes up for it. 

Put it this way Aneesa is pretty much elite at most puzzles. Who would you bet on winning a final? Kelly Anne or Aneesa?

I don’t argue that but that’s getting away from the original point.

I’m not talking about Jonna or Aneesa. I’m talking about Kailah targeting Kelly Anne and why Kelly Anne is not as much of a threat to Kailah. Kailah is not equal to Jonna or Aneesa. Kailah would have likely beat both Jonna and Aneesa on the endurance portions of the final if she was there, like Kelly Anne did. My original point is that Kailah should put Kelly Anne at a lower position on her priority list of threats because Kelly Anne did terribly on the puzzle. I get it that Kelly Anne is an endurance threat but not many women that are there would likely beat Kailah on the endurance. Kelly Anne is not going to do much better than Kailah on the endurance parts, if at all. Kailah should be more worried about people that are better than her at puzzles, which is not Kelly Anne.

On the first season, Kelly Anne was the last woman to leave the only puzzle they had, and would have been eliminated from the game if Derrick and Jisela knew how to paddle a canoe. Kelly Anne got to the second round by luck that another team didn’t know how to paddle a canoe. Kailah has struggled with puzzles also on previous challenges but not as bad as Kelly Anne. Puzzles give Kailah the edge over Kelly Anne therefore Kailah should not consider Kelly Anne as big of a threat as she does.

Edited May 26, 2022 by AntFTW

[LaurelleJ]

I don't know, I think what was refreshing about Allstars was that they had challenges, but at the same time, the spotlight was having fun and celebrating those who started the franchise.  Count me as one of the ones who is not happy with the likes of Kailah, Sylvia, etc. on the all stars show. I think they are fine for the regular show, but they ruin the nostalgia of all stars for me. Could they not find enough all stars, so they invited them? All stars, please sign up! I didn't feel as bad for Kendall because in my eyes she is the reason why Laterrian is gone, because she gave MJ the sabotage. Poor Darrell, I hope he is alright and will be back. 

[healthnut]

I agree that I don’t love the newer Challengers on All-Stars. I’m surprised they can’t get more old heads, maybe once they have Challenge USA, they’ll have more people to pull from. I’m so sick of the “Treehouse” can Jonna, Nia, Beth, and Kellyanne please get it together? 

[butterbody]

Unpopular opinion I guess... Is something wrong with Kendall physically? Has she always looked so unhealthy? She looks like a meth addict. Her hair is always greasy and her facial expressions are painful. I was so glad she was eliminated because I find her uncomfortable to watch. I don't understand everyone thinking she was a threat, she seems painfully fragile.

[AntFTW]

4 hours ago, healthnut said:

I agree that I don’t love the newer Challengers on All-Stars. I’m surprised they can’t get more old heads, maybe once they have Challenge USA, they’ll have more people to pull from. I’m so sick of the “Treehouse” can Jonna, Nia, Beth, and Kellyanne please get it together? 

Jonna also wants KellyAnne out, but she is not aligned with the Treehouse people. I have no idea where Nia's head is at strategically. As far as we've seen, her attention is on Jordan and not the game.

Edited May 28, 2022 by AntFTW

[jsm1125]

9 hours ago, butterbody said:

Unpopular opinion I guess... Is something wrong with Kendall physically? Has she always looked so unhealthy? She looks like a meth addict. Her hair is always greasy and her facial expressions are painful. I was so glad she was eliminated because I find her uncomfortable to watch. I don't understand everyone thinking she was a threat, she seems painfully fragile.

Kendall has Ehlers Danlos syndrome which causes skin to be bruised and stretched easily and joints to bend easily.

[butterbody]

2 hours ago, jsm1125 said:

Kendall has Ehlers Danlos syndrome which causes skin to be bruised and stretched easily and joints to bend easily.

Well I feel like a jerk. She really is sick.

Thanks for letting me know. I'll let myself out...

[Zizzlezazzle]

Ohhhh Beth! Gotta love how after all these years she and Veronica fell right back into their bickering even during their shared talking head about making nice, water under the bridge, etc 😹. Those two will just never vibe. Neither are saints, but I’m rooting way harder for Beth, who now appears to be in much better shape than V (I know that’s a super shallow observation, but Veronica can be so nasty toward her and never used to flinch at hitting below the belt during the gauntlet days with Rachel and Tina).

I am also so sad to hear Tara and Dan were alternates! I need more true OGs!

[AntFTW]

15 minutes ago, Zizzlezazzle said:

Ohhhh Beth! Gotta love how after all these years she and Veronica fell right back into their bickering even during their shared talking head about making nice, water under the bridge, etc 😹. Those two will just never vibe. Neither are saints, but I’m rooting way harder for Beth, who now appears to be in much better shape than V (I know that’s a super shallow observation, but Veronica can be so nasty toward her and never used to flinch at hitting below the belt during the gauntlet days with Rachel and Tina).

I am also so sad to hear Tara and Dan were alternates! I need more true OGs!

Regarding Beth and Veronica, I thought Veronica describing how people used to view Beth (the attention grabbing, camera whore, etc) was the pot calling the kettle black. Both of them came back for multiple seasons to do ridiculous stuff for the cameras.

[millennium]

14 hours ago, butterbody said:

Well I feel like a jerk. She really is sick.

Thanks for letting me know. I'll let myself out...

You didn't know.   I didn't know either when I suggested a couple weeks ago that she looked like she came out of an acid bath rather than a water challenge.   I'm not sure Kendall has mentioned it herself on the show.

I'm sorry to see her go.    Especially at the hands of Beth, who won for the sole reason that she's heavier.   Not a well thought out elimination game.

On 5/25/2022 at 11:06 AM, AntFTW said:

I watch the flagship for ruthlessness and drama. I watch All Stars for the good vibes.

I hear you, but the flagship is so lacking in ruthlessness and drama now that I savor every drop I can get from All Stars.   The current vets on the flagship show are a grand disappointment lately.  It's like high school and all the seniors of last year's varsity team have graduated, leaving a bunch of JV'ers to pick up the slack -- except they're not up to the job.   Cory, Devin, Nelson, etc.   They're showing up and collecting a check, period.   They don't have the Bananas/Wes/Jordan/Ashley/Cara/Sarah/Laurel personalities.  They don't have that hunger to dominate and win.   Much of the time they seem way too comfortable and confident, maybe because they know they have an automatic invitation to come back the following season.   The newer European players are mostly polite and uncertain with the language, so you don't see them getting into a lot of drama either.   CT still shows up, but he's a proper gentleman compared to his former self.   All Stars is a pale shadow of the show's better days, but it has more in common with the Challenge I love than the New Coke.

That said, Wes greeting TJ as "you sick fuck" was a bit OTT, even in jest.

The Jordan/Nia pairing was like wtf?   Jordan says, "Nia and I have always had a playful sexual tension" and I think, oh, so it was "playful sexual tension" that got her eliminated on the eve of the Final?  Didn't look like that at the time.

Edited May 29, 2022 by millennium

[AntFTW]

22 hours ago, millennium said:

I hear you, but the flagship is so lacking in ruthlessness and drama now that I savor every drop I can get from All Stars. 

I agree that it has been lacking on the flagship. The flagship has been getting a little boring once it gets midway through the season because they usually will have eliminated all the shit starters and pot stirrers… and that’s another reason Kailah should go back to the flagship. Kailah’s usually great for drama and not ruthlessness on the flagship. Maybe she can increase the ruthlessness on the next round of the flagship show.

22 hours ago, millennium said:

The current vets on the flagship show are a grand disappointment lately.  It's like high school and all the seniors of last year's varsity team have graduated, leaving a bunch of JV'ers to pick up the slack -- except they're not up to the job.   Cory, Devin, Nelson, etc.   They're showing up and collecting a check, period.   They don't have the Bananas/Wes/Jordan/Ashley/Cara/Sarah/Laurel personalities.

The vets have been a disappointment. Johnny, Wes, Jordan and the others you mentioned probably would not survive with the new crop of "vets" because they are targets as soon as they walk into the Challenge house. I wish most of the older vets would return to the show more often like Cara (without Paulie), Johnny, Laurel, and others. Wes came back for seasons 33 to 36 but no one was usually willing to play the game with him.

When they announced the All Stars show, they sold nostalgia. Just like the reason they are doing the Real World Homecoming seasons, they are selling nostalgia. I used the wrong words before, or rather I wasn't clear enough. I said "good vibes" but what I meant was the "good vibes" brought on by nostalgia. Season 1 of All Stars didn't have much drama at all. It wasn't a very ruthless game but it was still great season, and I personally think it's the best season of the show so far. I don't mind the ruthlessness but give me that wrapped in a flag of nostalgia. Kailah ruins the nostalgic vibes of the show for me. TPTB seem to think we want to hear one of her age-related jokes in each episode.

22 hours ago, millennium said:

The Jordan/Nia pairing was like wtf?   Jordan says, "Nia and I have always had a playful sexual tension" and I think, oh, so it was "playful sexual tension" that got her eliminated on the eve of the Final?  Didn't look like that at the time.

I feel like they dropped hints in the first episode. It's weird.

Edited May 30, 2022 by AntFTW

[millennium]

6 hours ago, AntFTW said:

I feel like they dropped hints in the first episode. It's weird.

It's almost like the Friends phenomenon where they can't date outside the immediate cast, hence it's just a matter of time before Joey ends up in love with Rachel no matter how cringey it seems.   Jordan has been accustomed to having a relationship while staying at the Challenge house, most recently with Tori.  Before her, Sarah.  The prospects on All Stars are limited, given that most of the women are married.   Nia's single, attractive and available, not to mention a former rival.   Ditto for Jordan in Nia's eyes, plus she gets to rehabilitate her reputation and put a new spin on the past if it works out.  I get it.  But yeah, it's weird.

[Lantern7]

I heard two of the substitutes were Beth and Sophia. You could probably guess which one I wanted to come into the game. I was also thinking that another logical thing would be to bring back Cynthia, another person that I like a lot. Cut to BMP: "Fuck logic, and fuck you. Fuck you specifically, Lantern7."

Ugggggggh. Beth. She is so taxing. And, natch, she gets an Arena where she has an advantage (really trying not to shame here) and her opponent was easy to bruise. Cut to me staring in the distance, flashbacks of her beating Ruthie and Montana playing in my head. Who wants that? I didn’t want that.

Oh, and they showed the Veronica/Rachel/Abram hot tub threesome. Yeah, that was a long, long time ago, but I remember that, and then I remember those two trying to take the high ground with Sarah. A mission with heights, and there's no bug-eyed Mormon within miles of Veronica. Shit.

Also shitty . . . Darrell exiting. I think a case could be made for Steam Roller to be added to the mix of elimination games, but seeing Darrell get banged up makes me wonder if it's worth it. I can't hate Jordan for winning. I can hate Jordan for that hair and the unhealthy relationship with Nia, but I can't hate him for winning.

Edited May 31, 2022 by Lantern7

[Zizzlezazzle]

22 hours ago, AntFTW said:

I agree that it has been lacking on the flagship. The flagship has been getting a little boring once it gets midway through the season because they usually will have eliminated all the shit starters and pot stirrers… and that’s another reason Kailah should go back to the flagship. Kailah’s usually great for drama and not ruthlessness on the flagship. Maybe she can increase the ruthlessness on the next round of the flagship show.

The vets have been a disappointment. Johnny, Wes, Jordan and the others you mentioned probably would not survive with the new crop of "vets" because they are targets as soon as they walk into the Challenge house. I wish most of the older vets would return to the show more often like Cara (without Paulie), Johnny, Laurel, and others. Wes came back for seasons 33 to 36 but no one was usually willing to play the game with him.

When they announced the All Stars show, they sold nostalgia. Just like the reason they are doing the Real World Homecoming seasons, they are selling nostalgia. I used the wrong words before, or rather I wasn't clear enough. I said "good vibes" but what I meant was the "good vibes" brought on by nostalgia. Season 1 of All Stars didn't have much drama at all. It wasn't a very ruthless game but it was still great season, and I personally think it's the best season of the show so far. I don't mind the ruthlessness but give me that wrapped in a flag of nostalgia. Kailah ruins the nostalgic vibes of the show for me. TPTB seem to think we want to hear one of her age-related jokes in each episode.

I feel like they dropped hints in the first episode. It's weird.

The first season was magical! At the pace they aim to churn these things out though, there’s bound to be diminishing returns with each new All Stars season and a little more luster lost, especially now that we’ve seen some of the competitors for all 3; the typical cliques and hierarchies will play out here too the longer the show goes on.

Wouldn’t have predicted Nia and Jordan hooking up, but sure, okay! Jonna/MJ messing around, however, has thrown a bunch of ice cubes over my warm fuzzies. That’s not at all what I’m looking for in this show.

[Zizzlezazzle]

18 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

I heard two of the substitutes were Beth and Sophia. You could probably guess which one I wanted to come into the game. I was also thinking that another logical thing would be to bring back Cynthia, another person that I like a lot. Cut to BMP: "Fuck logic, and fuck you. Fuck you specifically, Lantern7."

Ugggggggh. Beth. She is so taxing. And, natch, she gets an Arena where she has an advantage (really trying to to shame here) and her opponent was easy to bruise. Cut to me staring in the distance, flashbacks of her beating Ruthie and Montana playing in my head. Who wants that? I don't want that.

Oh, and they showed the Veronica/Rachel/Abram hot tub threesome. Yeah, that was a long, long time ago, but I remember that, and then I remember those two trying to take the high ground with Sarah. A mission with heights, and there's no bug-eyed Mormon within miles of Veronica. Shit.

Also shitty . . . Darrell exiting. I think a case could be made for Steam Roller to be added to the mix of elimination games, but seeing Darrell get banged up makes me wonder if it's worth it. I can't hate Jordan for winning. I can hate Jordan for that hair and the unhealthy relationship with Nia, but I can't hate him for winning.

What do we think exactly happened to Darrell?!  It’s freaking me out—severe cramping that felt like a million Charlie horses? Or did something actually break? It seemed very painful, and I hope there weren’t/aren’t lasting repercussions.

[UniqBlue69]

On 5/26/2022 at 5:16 PM, LaurelleJ said:

 All stars, please sign up!

Cameron from Real World: San Diego gave an interview to one of those gossip rags that she was invited for this season but couldn't commit to being away for six weeks. Like WTH? I thought the idea was to  condense the time they filmed this show in order to get the older contestants who couldn't do the flagship show due to work/family commitments. CBSViacom or GlobalParamount or whatever they're calling themselves these days managed to fuck this up in 3 short seasons. I agree with y'all, though, at least we have the first season! Of course I bitch but I'll keep watching.

[AntFTW]

According to KellyAnne on The Challenge podcast, producers told them that Kendal would have beat Kailah's time if Kendal didn't have a sabotage. It seems that Kendal had gotten the numbers correct but fell just before she could ask for a check.

Also, the sabotage gets used on Kendal in this episode but Sylvia and Kailah had promised Kendal that if Kendal didn't use her sabotage (from the previous episode) on them, they would return the favor to Kendal. Kendal didn't use the sabotage on them because Kendal wanted to work with them.

[ljenkins782]

3 hours ago, AntFTW said:

Also, the sabotage gets used on Kendal in this episode but Sylvia and Kailah had promised Kendal that if Kendal didn't use her sabotage (from the previous episode) on them, they would return the favor to Kendal. Kendal didn't use the sabotage on them because Kendal wanted to work with them.

Kendal is physically strong, but stuff like this is why she'll likely never see a final. She's not reading the room at all and her decision-making is so flawed and awkward. With the exception of Roni, the women in the "treehouse" alliance are a very specific type of conniving player/personality and they were never going to work with her or help her in any way.

Quote

Cameron from Real World: San Diego gave an interview to one of those gossip rags that she was invited for this season but couldn't commit to being away for six weeks. Like WTH? I thought the idea was to  condense the time they filmed this show in order to get the older contestants who couldn't do the flagship show due to work/family commitments. CBSViacom or GlobalParamount or whatever they're calling themselves these days managed to fuck this up in 3 short seasons. I agree with y'all, though, at least we have the first season! Of course I bitch but I'll keep watching.

6 weeks is ridiculous, how did they get anyone at all to agree to that? Honestly, I think they could get a decent number of episodes out of a 2-week filming period and that's a timeframe most people could swing.

[xfuse]

3 hours ago, ljenkins782 said:

6 weeks is ridiculous,

It's probably 2 weeks isolating, 2 weeks of filming and then 2 more weeks of isolating to get back/back in the US.  I think this was filmed before the protocols began to relax.