S03.E10: Coming For The Crown

[AntFTW]

Quote

TJ unveils a series of surprising twists and turns as the challengers fight for the crown and their share of $500,000. Several All Stars spelling skills prove highly questionable, risking their spot in the race. TJ serves up one of the most disgusting eating checkpoints in Challenge history that shakes some All Stars to their core.

Air Date: July 6, 2022

[AntFTW]

Jonna can take a nice welcomed break now.

[bunnyface]

Yay for both winners!

[funnygirl]

3 hours ago, AntFTW said:

Jonna can take a nice welcomed break now.

Please and thank you. 

Speaking for myself, this was the least enjoyable season of All Stars so far... it's creeping too much into regular Challenge territory. I want more OG vibes and joy, and less bullsh*t. 

Edited July 6, 2022 by funnygirl

[Lantern7]

Can't wait to see how quickly Challenge: USA squanders its magic! It took All Stars three seasons to lose 98 percent of its shine.

Maybe the magic is on the bottom of the puke bucket, where someone thought a camera should be planted. Thanks, guys. Really..

[ljenkins782]

1 minute ago, Lantern7 said:

Maybe the magic is on the bottom of the puke bucket, where someone thought a camera should be planted. Thanks, guys. Really..

The marathon of vomit shots were so unbelievably disgusting. They could have captured the gist of it with less than a minute of that, I did not need to see puke dripping down the beards in that extended montage.

As for the finals, they just had to put a crossword puzzle in there for poor KellyAnne to fail at. And being matched up against Nia in the king of hill challenge was unfortunate, the size differential was too great.

The yacht twist was quite a surprise, what a nice change for them, those overnight challenges looked like abject misery. Although personally, I think I'd find it hard to get back to competition after relaxing on the deck of a yacht watching the sunset. 

Good for Jonna to win again, she's proven herself. Now she can sit out a challenge or two and let someone else have a spot. I like her well enough, but I'd have preferred some OGs I hadn't seen in awhile over her again. 

Wes was either less annoying or got a better edit in these past 2 episodes so I was fine with him winning. He'll never not be annoying ('still bangable, but you wouldn't brag about it' in regard to their appearance...um, you're at that level every day of your life, sir), but much less so in the lead up to the finale. 

By far, the best part of the finale was Kailah not winning. 

[Legalbeagle421]

I don’t believe for a second that Nehemiah and Wes didn’t have some sort of agreement to share that money. They’ve been friends for almost 20 years. Nehemiah didn’t seem too broken up about the loss either lol. 

[bunnyface]

1 hour ago, ljenkins782 said:

By far, the best part of the finale was Kailah not winning. 

Yes, a thousand times, yes!

I guess I was lucky that I was in a conference call while watching, so I did not watch the vomiting.  I pretended to pay attention to the CC at those moments.  Hearing it was bad enough.

[1011101010001]

1 hour ago, bunnyface said:

Yes, a thousand times, yes!

I guess I was lucky that I was in a conference call while watching, so I did not watch the vomiting.  I pretended to pay attention to the CC at those moments.  Hearing it was bad enough.

I’m so glad she moved overseas.  They can have her.  Although it will reinforce the stereotype of the ugly American.

[aghst]

Kailah guessed the crossword and survived the mini elimination.  So much for the karma that Nia wanted.

Did they really have to eat 3 pounds or eat down to 3 pounds on the scale?  Because it's a lot even if it was palatable food.

If they ate 2 or 3 pounds of food in that sitting and kept it down, they might have framed running and swimming afterwards.

And it's especially tougher for the women, who are smaller and lighter than the men.

But I think the big lead that Wes and Jonna got over their competitors before they reached the food/vomit challenge made a big difference.

Jonna should keep coming back, though I suspect they'd gang up on her and try to get her eliminated early, just like MJ was this season.

Finals are always for the most cardiovascularly fit people.  But there may be enough eliminations where you have a big mismatch in size and weigh class.

I think the issue with sleeping on the yacht would be not being able to sleep well, not necessarily getting sea sick.  Or else all the food they ate on board would have come up.

[healthnut]

Yay Wes! And good for Jonna beating the other guys. 

I don’t need to see Nia back unless she’s going to come to play and not threaten to quit every five seconds. 

[AntFTW]

1) Jonna doesn't have to come back again. She's on a winning streak so she probably will come back. It's fascinating to watch the Challenger that Jonna used to be and the Challenger she is now. It's like night and day. You can see with each season of All Stars that she constantly improved. She's gotten more in shape each season and more willing to play aggressively. Good for her!

2) I thought points were going to be used to determine the winner at the end but it only determined whether they were going into elimination or not, and after that elimination, the points were thrown out of the window.

11 hours ago, aghst said:

Kailah guessed the crossword and survived the mini elimination.  So much for the karma that Nia wanted.

Kailah wasted all that time targeting KellyAnne and ultimately beat KellyAnne in a puzzle like I thought she would. All that energy should have been put toward Jonna, who was better at puzzles.

[AntFTW]

11 hours ago, aghst said:

Did they really have to eat 3 pounds or eat down to 3 pounds on the scale?  Because it's a lot even if it was palatable food.

If they ate 2 or 3 pounds of food in that sitting and kept it down, they might have framed running and swimming afterwards.

They had to eat 2 pounds of food. The scale started at 5 pounds and they had to eat their way down to 3 pounds of food on the scale.

I can't imagine eating that much food, even if it was palatable, and keeping it down knowing I would have had to run for an unknown distance after that.

[bunnyface]

18 minutes ago, AntFTW said:

1) Jonna doesn't have to come back again. She's on a winning streak so she probably will come back. It's fascinating to watch the Challenger that Jonna used to be and the Challenger she is now. It's like night and day. You can see with each season of All Stars that she constantly improved. She's gotten more in shape each season and more willing to play aggressively. Good for her!

I just happened to see a bit of the Exes season the other day that she ran with Zak.  She is better now, but man, anything's got to be better than being around that asshole 24/7, with him telling her how stupid she was, how bad she was at everything, just constantly beating her down.  Compare that to other racers who have figured out (way too late) that they have to lift up their partners, "she'll want to be married to me,"   

[jsm1125]

I know Jonna has become a better competitor since All Stars began, but she was always a pretty decent competitor! I don’t know where the reputation came from that she was a mediocre to bad performer, unless you listened to Zach 🙄

[AntFTW]

12 minutes ago, jsm1125 said:

I know Jonna has become a better competitor since All Stars began, but she was always a pretty decent competitor! I don’t know where the reputation came from that she was a mediocre to bad performer, unless you listened to Zach 🙄

With the exception of season 23, I always thought her political game was trash. She was an okay competitor, not great and not the worst, with a trash political game.

[LaurelleJ]

I generally take notes on the episode as I'm watching. Here are my notes for this episode. 

OK here we go. Hehe I like how Nia calls Wes Weston. King of the hill, Wow, I didn’t expect Brad to just handle Wes like that. I thought Kelly Anne had Nia right up until Nia just turned around and flung her off. Nehemiah laying in the water after Mark pushed him, haha that was awesome. Yes Jonna, was so happy she pushed Kailah off. It’s really Nia vs. Jonna at this point. If Kelly Anne and Nehemih didn’t get all the bags, they might as well just slow up and conserve energy because they couldn’t pass everyone else. Gotta say Wes has been an ideal partner for the final. “Bangable, but you wouldn’t brag about it” hahaha. I kind of understand Wes’ frustration about having a comfortable night on the yacht. The people who can hang through the night have a clear advantage through the 2nd day. Oh Kailah, can you cheat off of Kelly Anne for this puzzle? I wish Kelly Anne had won, ah I hate Kailah. Sad for Mark. HOW do the camera people film these eating challenges??? Wes’ commentary is on point. Love Nehemiah encouraging Nia to finish the eating portion. The music this season has just been awesome. Mariah Carey - When you believe as they are puking. Ah when Jonna’s tower fell, I felt that pain. I thought it was required to roundhouse kick the tower until Kailah and Brad didn’t do it. Yes, I’m happy it’s Wes and Jonna.

All in all, good season minus Beth, Kailah, and Sylvia. I hate that someone spoiled that Jonna was the winner on here before season 3 even aired, it was erased but not quickly enough. Luckily I didn’t know about Wes. I do like to watch unspoiled. Hopefully they have all true Allstars next season.

[Cherry Cola]

I wanted Mark and KellyAnne to win, but Wes and Jonna is pretty good too! I don't like Brad at all. He is so annoying. 

I was waiting for there to be a surprise on the boat, as a punishment, but it didn't happen, so that was nice. 

[snarts]

9 minutes ago, Cherry Cola said:

I wanted Mark and KellyAnne to win, but Wes and Jonna is pretty good too! I don't like Brad at all. He is so annoying. 

Same.

It's a pet peeve of mine when they talk about how they'll use the money. I feel like it's always a way to make themselves out as the most deserving of the win. This episode was chock full of it.  Between that & the gratuitous vomiting shots, it was almost unwatchable. 

I did like that they did away with the overnight torture. Now would they please do away with the obligatory eating challenge?  The points also ended up being a nothingburger. I wish they'd keep the final to one day and just make it a combination of strength and intelligence. Stop with the pairings & let them truly race to the finish. Ping me, producers, I have ideas. 

[AntFTW]

2 hours ago, snarts said:

I did like that they did away with the overnight torture. Now would they please do away with the obligatory eating challenge?

I actually like the overnight torture. Those are usually the funniest parts for me. I don't care for the gross eating challenges. The only eating challenge I liked was last season's final because the food actually looked palatable.

[Zima]

After 20+ years of watching The Challenge, I somehow forgot about the eating portion. I had fixed myself a nice soup and salad to enjoy while watching...and yeah, that didn't go over well.  😅

I'm good with Jonna and Wes winning. 

3 hours ago, snarts said:

Same.

It's a pet peeve of mine when they talk about how they'll use the money. I feel like it's always a way to make themselves out as the most deserving of the win. This episode was chock full of it.  

Agreed. I especially hate the "I'm doing it for my KEEEEEDZ!" and the "I'm starting a family!!" crap. Yeah, you and everybody else in the world. 

16 minutes ago, AntFTW said:

I actually like the overnight torture. Those are usually the funniest parts for me.

I enjoy them too, lol. I want to see them suffer for my entertainment, god dammit! 

[1011101010001]

3 hours ago, snarts said:

Same.

It's a pet peeve of mine when they talk about how they'll use the money. I feel like it's always a way to make themselves out as the most deserving of the win. This episode was chock full of it.  Between that & the gratuitous vomiting shots, it was almost unwatchable. 

I did like that they did away with the overnight torture. Now would they please do away with the obligatory eating challenge?  The points also ended up being a nothingburger. I wish they'd keep the final to one day and just make it a combination of strength and intelligence. Stop with the pairings & let them truly race to the finish. Ping me, producers, I have ideas. 

I don’t mind some eating but it should be either something gross in small amounts or something non-gross like cookies in large amounts.  

[aghst]

This episode was released not long after July the 4th when they have binge eating contests of hot dogs.

Hot dogs can be gross but it's not entrails of some animals.

Yet for most people stuffing all those dogs in a race is unappealing to watch.  Yet enough people must watch because they keep doing those contests.

[AntFTW]

1 minute ago, Zima said:

Agreed. I especially hate the "I'm doing it for my KEEEEEDZ!" and the "I'm starting a family!!" crap. Yeah, you and everybody else in the world. 

LMAO! I'm dead

5 minutes ago, Zima said:

I enjoy them too, lol. I want to see them suffer for my entertainment, god dammit! 

...and our dollars. These subscriptions aren't free. The least they could is do is stand up on a log all night in the cold LOL

[Fretful]

Jonna deserved to win if only because she carried 60 pounds, while her partner only managed 40.

[Zima]

17 hours ago, AntFTW said:

LMAO! I'm dead

...and our dollars. These subscriptions aren't free. The least they could is do is stand up on a log all night in the cold LOL

Omg, I love this 🤣

15 hours ago, Fretful said:

Jonna deserved to win if only because she carried 60 pounds, while her partner only managed 40.

Jonna has become a BEAST on these challenges. I feel like she should try another season of the regular show to see if she can hold her own (my bet is that she can). 

ETA: She prob wouldn't be able to since she's a MAWWMM with KEEEDZ now though. 

Edited July 8, 2022 by Zima

[ljenkins782]

20 hours ago, LaurelleJ said:

Nehemiah laying in the water after Mark pushed him, haha that was awesome.

The music this season has just been awesome. Mariah Carey - When you believe as they are puking. 

Yeah, Nehemiah floating like a body in the water was pretty funny. And the music is consistently good, I cracked up the Toy Soldiers montage of the 4 losing players meeting on the beach.

Quote

Agreed. I especially hate the "I'm doing it for my KEEEEEDZ!" and the "I'm starting a family!!" crap. Yeah, you and everybody else in the world. 

Yeah, it was a little annoying coming from Brad, whose kids are already doing fine with his ex-wife remarried to a successful man. I mean yeah, I'm sure he wants to have money to contribute as well, but it's not like the kids are gonna starve or won't be able to go to college if he doesn't win the challenge. 

And if Kailah not winning the challenge puts off her plans to introduce mini-Kailahs into the world, I'm good with that.

[Cherry Cola]

On 7/7/2022 at 9:16 PM, MrBuhBye said:

I don’t mind some eating but it should be either something gross in small amounts or something non-gross like cookies in large amounts.  

Agreed.  It's just not fun to watch them eat gross food.  And then barf it up.  I ffed all that segment. They need something new and exciting. Eating is boring to watch. 

[Inga]

Agree with everyone. Fine with Jonna winning as long as Kailah did not. I cannot stand her. She was trying so hard to be likable it was sickening. I’ll be happy if i never have to see that dumb hot air balloon tattoo again. And has anyone commented on her fiancé yet?? I mean, they could be identical twins. They should get a 23 and me done before marriage. Fine with Wes winning, but i wanted Mark to win. I hope he comes back, although i don’t think he’ll ever win. Done with Nehemiah, he can go away. Absolutely hate the eating, they need to just stop with that. I wish they would make this All Star show less physically challenging because i want real old school people to join, people well into their 40’s by now, who might not after watching the first 3 seasons. Agree, this was the worst season by far —never want to see Kailah or Sylvia again 

[AntFTW]

On 7/7/2022 at 5:50 PM, Cherry Cola said:

I don't like Brad at all. He is so annoying. 

I was pretty neutral on Brad... but the one thing that bothers me about Brad is that in his interviews, his hands move a lot.

[millennium]

Ten episodes isn't enough.   And everybody's way too friendly.

The size difference between Kellyanne and Nia was a thing to behold.  As was Jonna effortlessly precipitating Kailah into the water.

I felt Nehemiah's vexation at the end.   But I'm pleased that Wes won.   He always amuses me.

[millennium]

Now having seen the Final, I wonder, how could Sylvia, Veronica, Beth, Kendall, etc entertained any hope that they could compete in it?  The sand-bag task alone would have done them in.

[AntFTW]

1 hour ago, millennium said:

Now having seen the Final, I wonder, how could Sylvia, Veronica, Beth, Kendall, etc entertained any hope that they could compete in it?  The sand-bag task alone would have done them in.

I think Kendal probably could have done it.

[millennium]

1 hour ago, AntFTW said:

I think Kendal probably could have done it.

I don't know, she's slightly built.  But of those I mentioned I would agree she is the most likely to make it to the end.

[MMLEsq]

On 7/6/2022 at 2:45 PM, ljenkins782 said:

The marathon of vomit shots were so unbelievably disgusting. They could have captured the gist of it with less than a minute of that, I did not need to see puke dripping down the beards in that extended montage.

.....

Wes was either less annoying or got a better edit in these past 2 episodes so I was fine with him winning. He'll never not be annoying ('still bangable, but you wouldn't brag about it' in regard to their appearance...um, you're at that level every day of your life, sir), but much less so in the lead up to the finale. 

Couldn't/didn't watch the eating.  I turned the sound down a bit, then played on my phone 'til it was over.  Someone out there must like them, otherwise they wouldn't keep including them.

I really didn't want Wes to win.  His ego is insufferable.  I would have gladly taken any of the other three men over him.  Wes + Kailah winning would have been worst case scenario, so at least we didn't get that.

[Lantern7]

20 minutes ago, MMLEsq said:

Couldn't/didn't watch the eating.  I turned the sound down a bit, then played on my phone 'til it was over.  Someone out there must like them, otherwise they wouldn't keep including them.

Three words: vomit fetish community.

[lasu]

As I've mentioned before, I personally haaaaaaate the eating challenges.  I'm a sympathetic puker, so I just can't do it.  I miss the days when they wouldn't actually show vomit on the screen.  I swear though, I thought they had finally figured out how to make me go fetal - when I just caught a glimpse of the preview showing the scales and vomiting sequence, I honestly thought they were going to have to throw up a certain amount of weight.  **shudders**  But it is one of my absolutely favorite uses of my firetv.  As soon as this segment started: Alexa, skip two minutes.  There was still puking. Alexa, skip one minute.  And it was over.

All that said, I like the CONCEPT of an eating challenge, because allergies/religious restrictions aside, an eating challenge doesn't require brains OR brawn.  It's nothing but mental.  If they are going to replace the eating challenge, I'd like to see it replaced with something that fits that category, but I don't know what.  I think being locked in a box with bugs or something like that does the same thing, but I find that just as difficult to watch. I don't know - I just like the idea of there being part of the final that literally anyone can do, if they can just handle it mentally.

I'm really disappointed this has become just another version of the flagship.  You need to be just as in shape for this as you do for the flagship, though you may be competing in an older age group.  But we are back to my original complaint, which is no one who isn't in great shape should come on this show.  I'm picking Coral out of a hat, I literally have NO idea what's she's up to in life.  But say she's had a couple of kids and is in just regular near middle age mom-shape.  Why come on this show, make a fool of yourself because you're not a super athlete, knowing you have no chance of making it to, much less finishing, the final.  (I love TJ, but I'll never call it "TJ's final." Nope.)  Unless the appearance fees are insane, there's no point, especially when you add the incredibly real possibility of being injured.  So at the point, to come on even this version of the show, you need to be able to take time away from your family for filming PLUS have tons of time to train and get in stellar shape PLUS know you might need more time on the back end to recover from an injury.  That's a lot.

I'd murder for even one season of All Star: Summer Camp edition.  Come up with fun and funny challenges that your average 40 year old could do.  Make them goofball challenges, but not ones where the challengers are likely to be embarrassed about not having the same bodies they did 20 years ago.  I think if they specifically did a season where they stressed to the contestants athletic ability wasn't going to be the main focus, they might get more old schoolers.  Oh well.

[1011101010001]

1 hour ago, lasu said:

But say she's had a couple of kids and is in just regular near middle age mom-shape.  Why come on this show, make a fool of yourself because you're not a super athlete, knowing you have no chance of making it to, much less finishing, the final. 

They have Tina for that.

[bunnyface]

3 hours ago, lasu said:

As I've mentioned before, I personally haaaaaaate the eating challenges. 

I do too.  The only one I ever kind of liked was one (I don't remember the season) where they left CT what they thought was the worst stuff and he looked at it and started making little appetizers out of them.  It was fun to watch.

3 hours ago, lasu said:

I'd murder for even one season of All Star: Summer Camp edition.  Come up with fun and funny challenges that your average 40 year old could do.  Make them goofball challenges, but not ones where the challengers are likely to be embarrassed about not having the same bodies they did 20 years ago.  I think if they specifically did a season where they stressed to the contestants athletic ability wasn't going to be the main focus, they might get more old schoolers.  Oh well.

I also agree with this.  These people are now made up of brittle old bones, not young bouncy cartilage.  You look at them wrong, and a finger snaps or the ankle turns.  They need to adjust for that and let the dad and mom bods try to relive some glory days.  Not CT's dad bod.  He's a Father Figure now.

[AntFTW]

2 hours ago, bunnyface said:

I also agree with this.  These people are now made up of brittle old bones, not young bouncy cartilage.  You look at them wrong, and a finger snaps or the ankle turns.  They need to adjust for that and let the dad and mom bods try to relive some glory days.  Not CT's dad bod.  He's a Father Figure now.

I LOL'd so hard at this.

I had me at "young bouncy cartilage." LOL!

[AntFTW]

 

 

I forgot Laterrian was even on this season before watching this.

Edited July 11, 2022 by AntFTW

[Lamima]

On 7/7/2022 at 9:15 PM, Zima said:

After 20+ years of watching The Challenge, I somehow forgot about the eating portion. I had fixed myself a nice soup and salad to enjoy while watching...and yeah, that didn't go over well.  😅

I'm good with Jonna and Wes winning. 

Agreed. I especially hate the "I'm doing it for my KEEEEEDZ!" and the "I'm starting a family!!" crap. Yeah, you and everybody else in the world. 

I enjoy them too, lol. I want to see them suffer for my entertainment, god dammit! 

I just binge watched this season today and got to the eating challenge right as we sat down to dinner. I knew what was coming since I just watched the US Challenge, Ride or Dies and now watching World Champs. So I paused it. The hubby doesn't watch any of these shows so he had no idea and would have ruined his dinner. He would not have been pleased, LOL.

Was so-so. I wanted Kellyanne to win. But glad Kayla didn't. Wanted Nehemiah to win and neither of the others so boo. Oh, but did kinda want the god father to win based on his mom's cancer story (I lost my dad to lung cancer) but his whole god father schtick was totes annoying. 

Edited May 5, 2023 by Lamima