S03.E08: Going Bananas

[AntFTW]

Quote

With the Final approaching, the star-craving challengers make desperate moves to secure their positions in the game. One All Star is overwhelmed with all the attention they're getting, while another player's game falls to pieces after losing their closest ally. The pressure of the game reignites two long-simmering rivalries.

Air Date: June 22, 2022

[jsm1125]

Surprised that they’re still having a female elimination round after Veronica was medically removed.

I didn’t need to see Bananas and haven’t missed him. 
 

[AntFTW]

5 hours ago, jsm1125 said:

Surprised that they’re still having a female elimination round after Veronica was medically removed.

I didn’t need to see Bananas and haven’t missed him. 
 

They still might not have a female elimination. They always make them go through the drama of nominating someone and then wait to tell them at elimination that there won't be one. They did that when Tina and Jemmye left earlier in the season. The Authority still picked Kendal to go into elimination just to announce they were having no elimination at all for the women.

Edited June 22, 2022 by AntFTW

[bunnyface]

I hope Nehemiah kills him just for the gall of saying "he's the easy option."  

Nia:  I don't get the logic of saying "I'm the only one who didn't try in the challenge, so please reward me by picking me for elimination so I can pick my best option."  

I also hope KellyAnne kills Kailah in elimination because I hope everyone kills Kailah in every episode.

Boo on having to wait though.  I hate that.

[ljenkins782]

4 hours ago, jsm1125 said:

Surprised that they’re still having a female elimination round after Veronica was medically removed.

I didn’t need to see Bananas and haven’t missed him. 
 

Also, zero consequences for not completing a mission? Since when can you just entirely opt out and not suffer any type of penalty? 

I mean, it was smart on Jonna's part to keep Nia around and get rid of either Kailah or KellyAnne, but it's crazy to me that just not doing a mission is okay. Not even a disappointed-TJ lecture. 

Quote

They still might have have a female elimination. They always make them go through the drama of nominating someone and then wait to tell them at elimination that there won't be one. They did that when Tina and Jemmye left earlier in the season. The Authority still picked Kendal to go into elimination just to announce they were having no elimination at all for the women.

I'd prefer to see KellyAnne take Kailah out, but there could certainly be no elimination. 

Was the Veronica going down the stairs a re-enactment or footage from a different day? I found it so weird that they kept showing Veronica walking down the stairs but never showed the money shot of the actual fall. It was especially weird in last week's episode when we didn't know yet that she'd be medically DQ'ed, they just showed that random clip of her re-telling the story of falling down the stairs in her excitement for pizza. Guessing she was drunk or high at the time of this fall. 

I mean, I don't believe she was going to win the $500k in the end, not with the way the finals are structured these days and with the shape she's in now. Her previous wins are from the era of big group finals with really strong RR folks and when she was considerably younger and thinner, but the fact that she ended up being removed due to an off hours fluke injury is going to haunt her with the what-ifs. But again, you can manipulate your way INTO a final, but as Big Easy, Coral, etc can attest, you can't fake your way to the end of a final and I don't see present-day Veronica finishing something like that.

[AntFTW]

On 6/22/2022 at 2:43 PM, bunnyface said:

I also hope KellyAnne kills Kailah in elimination because I hope everyone kills Kailah in every episode.

I'm rooting for KellyAnne also. The Treehouse went down like dominoes. Sylvia, Roni, Veronica... and maybe Kailah.

Once I saw the pole, I was like "DON'T PICK NIA! YOU. WILL. LOSE!"

On 6/22/2022 at 2:43 PM, bunnyface said:

Boo on having to wait though.  I hate that.

I know! They are always playing with my emotions like that.

Edited June 24, 2022 by AntFTW

[AncientNewbie]

I was okay with the John Bananas cameo, mostly, because I enjoy bombastic Wes so much and what's more Wes than dialing up a supposed arch-enemy to chat out the game? 

I have no clue on either M or F elims right now. It could go either way and I'm liking that, if not the wait to see what happens. 

[MMLEsq]

4 hours ago, AncientNewbie said:

I was okay with the John Bananas cameo, mostly, because I enjoy bombastic Wes so much and what's more Wes than dialing up a supposed arch-enemy to chat out the game? 

They aligned on the last season of The Challenge that included both of them (Total Madness [Season 35]).  There are references in this article to Wes expressing appreciation for his newfound friendship with JB:  https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/the-challenge-wes-bergmann-friendship-with-johnny-devenanzio-almost-means-more-than-winning.html/

I really don't care for Wes -- he's my least favorite of the men remaining.  I'm slightly indifferent between the other four (Brad, Derrick, Mark and Nehemiah), although I'll probably be rooting for Derrick.

Of the four remaining girls, I guess I'm rooting for KellyAnne; after that, maybe Jonna.  I've never really liked Kailah -- plus, I think she could still be competing on the regular Challenge, so I'm not sure how she landed here.  And while Nia and Jordan might have repaired their relationship, it's hard to forget Nia's verbal and physical assault of Jordan from Battle of the Exes II (esp. since, coincidentally, I just saw that episode again a couple of days ago -- it was running on Pluto). 

[snarts]

Before the dreaded To Be Continued this was setting up to be my favorite episode. Veronica goes home with a broken toe, chance that Derrick gets his ass handed to him for picking the "easy option" Slow your role,  little man. 

Best line was Mark saying that Derrick now has a chance against Wes because he's a fully grown man. Was Derrick some teenage phenom challenger in their last meeting?

Rooting for Kelly Anne. Surprised we didn't get another age remark out of Kailah. Nia should've been sent home simply for sitting out the daily challenge. Why do people terrified of heights continually show up & act shocked that some of the challenges involve heights? 

[LaurelleJ]

Ah I did feel a bit bad about Veronica hurting herself and not being able to compete. Now I don’t think that she would have won in the final, but an injury is such a terrible way to go out. I also slightly feel bad for Nia, but you know that heights and water are a part of this game. I respect Wes as a player in this game because he is not playing scared, and is really thinking about the stars situation. Bananas in the thong, hahahahaha I lost it. Jonna really had the best situation since everyone wanted to go in. The best for her would be Kelly Anne vs Kailah, and to keep Nia for final purposes. My initial thought was that Kelly Anne and Kailah would both pick each other. What if what Wes REALLY wanted was to guarantee that he wouldn’t go into elimination by saying that he wanted to go in and get the stars? A chess not checkers move? Then if he does get called in, he wins and gets the stars anyway. Watching Derrick and Nehemiah is brutal. I have one eye open.

[snarts]

14 minutes ago, LaurelleJ said:

What if what Wes REALLY wanted was to guarantee that he wouldn’t go into elimination by saying that he wanted to go in and get the stars? A chess not checkers move? Then if he does get called in, he wins and gets the stars anyway. 

It's Wes, no way he wouldn't take credit had that been his plan. Dude is competitive to a fault.

I predict either there's no female elimination or they hold one more male elimination after this one to even the counts. In that case, I hope scaredy cat Brad has to go in & loses. 

[LaurelleJ]

26 minutes ago, snarts said:

It's Wes, no way he wouldn't take credit had that been his plan. Dude is competitive to a fault.

I predict either there's no female elimination or they hold one more male elimination after this one to even the counts. In that case, I hope scaredy cat Brad has to go in & loses. 

You're probably right, but I think that would have been a great game move.

In the preview for next week's episode it looks like Kailah and Kelly Anne grab hold of the pole, but maybe they compete and then say you can both stay? I do like the idea of one more male elimination though. 

[millennium]

On 6/22/2022 at 2:43 PM, bunnyface said:

I also hope KellyAnne kills Kailah in elimination because I hope everyone kills Kailah in every episode.

I loved this.

[luckyroll3]

I really didn't need to see Johnny....or his ass. 

I can't stand Nehemiah. He is all talk. Now his new thing is him not ever winning or being in the top 3 was by design. 

Boy please! It was because you sucked at all of the challenges so far. I usually rally behind Wes, but in this instance, I'm really hoping that Derrick fucks Nehemiah up, despite the size difference. 

I've also been over Kailah. She just doesn't even know what to do with herself now that her mean girl posse is gone. I really would have loved to see Nia toss her around like a rag doll during this elimination. 

[AntFTW]

On 6/24/2022 at 12:28 PM, LaurelleJ said:

Bananas in the thong, hahahahaha I lost it.

I... could have done without that.

[Lantern7]

I'm thinking that we've been getting too much Challenge "goodness," and that All Stars should take a hiatus. It doesn't give me the same sort of anticipation from the first season. It's just . . . meh.

Yes, there is a part of me that likes Veronica going out due to self-inflicted injury, but I didn't love it that much. I also felt bad for Nia, though I would have been good if she had been automatically sent to the Arena will no say in whom she faced there. She was barely a tropical depression before Jordan left. I like Nia not being a maximum bitch, but she seems resigned to just being there.

Wes and Derrick have been trading shots in social media. I get how Derrick's manhood can (and perhaps should) be challenged after he picked Nehemiah over Wes in the Area . . . but how many times has Wes won? Once again . . . he presents himself as a strategic genius, he probably have at least 10-15 IQ points on any guy left, but he has two titles. Derrick might play scared, but he's won three times. I know there are probably flaws in my reasoning, but Wes should STFU.

I didn't need Johnny. Nobody needs Johnny. If he and Wes want to do a "Frienimies Forever" show? Let them. I won't watch.

[Jillibean]

On 6/23/2022 at 8:19 PM, snarts said:

Best line was Mark saying that Derrick now has a chance against Wes because he's a fully grown man. Was Derrick some teenage phenom challenger in their last meeting?

Derrick was 20 on his original season and dealing with some pretty heavy substance use issues. My best guess is he would have been 22 during the pole wrestle against Wes. He's 38 now, and I do think he's a very different person than he was in his early 20s, if not, you know, a brighter person. I have a soft spot for Derrick, though. I think he's a good guy, and it seems like he's worked really hard to be a good dad under some difficult marital and then ex-marital circumstances. I think Nehemiah was the better pick, but I would have loved a rematch against Wes. I honestly don't know who I would have given the edge to. 

Nehemiah just really annoys me and pretty much always has. He's smart, and he's good at this game, but something about him super rubs me the wrong way. 

I think John might actually have some brain damage from all these challenges (or from his lifestyle as a younger man). He does the same "funny" things over and over and giggles like a five year old. We've all seen your ass before, John. Put some pants on and shut up. That said, he's probably one of the best challenge strategists out there, as much as I hate him. 

I haven't liked Brad's internet behavior in recent years, and I thought he was out of his mind with that Brittani stuff a few years back, but man. He is just consistently a good guy on this show when it comes to dealing with people who are struggling. I thought it was very kind of him to come around and talk to Nia face to face when he had no stake in whether or not she performed the daily. 

[NYGirl]

It just amazes me how these women fall apart once their guy friend leaves.  It's kind of ridiculous.  I don't see how having a guy friend rooting for you helps you win the game.