S38.E03: A Bumpy Ride

[shantown]

Quote

Strength and endurance are tested at the Build Me Up challenge; Tori and Jordan try to make sense of their breakup; one player stumbles into messy territory when he flirts with multiple women; a Double Decker Hall Brawl stuns everyone.

Airs Wednesday, October 26 at 8:00pm eastern on MTV

[AntFTW]

1) I found this episode pretty boring.

2) What a pathetic showing of an elimination from New Johnny and Ravyn

I'm not sure if I'm impressed with Horacio's and Olivia's performance in the elimination or my expectations were too high of Ravyn and New Johnny.

Ravyn, my love! Sweetheart! Honey! Get far away from New Johnny. He does not want you and the unrequited love is going to bother you so long as you are around him, breathing the same air, looking at him, and adoring him. I have no doubt that he's probably been telling you sweet nothings about how you're going to build a better relationship and giving you hope, but it will be bad for your mental health.

3) Fessy is choosing to go by his real name to highlight his culture, and if I'm going to hear from Faysal at all, I'd rather it be about his culture. The most interesting thing I've watched about him thus far is his observation of Ramadan last season. I'd rather watch that than anything having to do with his showmances or his ego.

4) Lastly... yes, Nelson is still an idiot.

Edited October 27, 2022 by AntFTW

[Lola82]

I love these kinds of eliminations when unexpected things happen. Ravyn’s shoes falling off, not once, but twice was great. As was Johnny falling on his way to the bar. 

[AntFTW]

4 minutes ago, Lola82 said:

I love these kinds of eliminations when unexpected things happen. Ravyn’s shoes falling off, not once, but twice was great. As was Johnny falling on his way to the bar. 

I expected Ravyn to do a lot better than she did. I'm so confused at how she lost her shoes both times.

Edited October 27, 2022 by AntFTW

[aghst]

So again another result that could easily have been manipulated.

First of all, you have all these vets talking up the two rookie teams.  Was that done after the Daily Challenge and Elimination, based on those results?

Or were they shaping a narrative they wanted to put out there?

Johnny/Ravyn and Horacio/Olivia were threats because they've one well in Dailies and H/O won an elimination as well.  You would think MTV would want to build up some of these younger Challengers rather than favoring all the old vets, because who nows how long they are going to keep returning?  Not to mention advertisers generally prefer younger viewers, who you'd think would gravitate more to younger cast members.

I don't know outside of the Challenge which of these personalities are better known, like how many social media followers or how well their other shows did.  It might be that all these Challenge vets have been around longer so MTV has reason to think they help ratings more than these newcomers.

In any event, they even featured Fessy a little, like he can't make up his decisions and Bananas was wondering whom Fessy was aligned with, what kind of decision he'd make.

And wouldn't you know it, Fessy and his partner win.  But in an event where they could easily have shown on-screen timers, though the way these events are edited that could be manipulated as well, since they don't show the Daily in one continuous sequence but as a series of montages and quick jump cuts.

We just have to accept TJ's word that the fastest team did indeed win, because that really improved the chances of the old vets for the rest of the season.  Though of course the deliberations, they could have fed Fessy and his partner lines to say why they chose the 4 teams.

For the elimination, it's shocking that they didn't put the team with the smallest guy and girl in as one of the teams but it wasn't really Hall Battle, rather a pretty could modification of it, though they made the teams more or less evenly matched.

Johnny was stronger than Horacio, but the latter noticed Johnny was slipping -- they all were to an extent but he timed his thrusts well.

I think Olivia was clearly stronger than Ravyn, had height and weight on her, pretty much beat her both times when they were up top and also when they were on the bottom level.

They started the season with numbers favoring the rookie teams but they gradually took that away, as they kept adding vets.  Not only are rookies being sent home, they're adding more vets so the balance has really swung.

TJ's twists, some more surprises than others, lose their shock value if he's doing it every damn week.

But they'll probably do some more after the last of the vet teams arrive.

[angelamh66]

I confess I wasn’t paying super close attention but didn’t Fessy say they didn’t want to put in strong teams because they win dailies and will likely have power in the future… then proceeds to put in the two strongest rookie teams… hell maybe two of the strongest teams overall. He continues to shock me with his lack of logic. Now a team who is always near the top is coming back and when they win a daily ol Fessy is probably heading straight to elimination. 

[bunnyface]

Okay, this is petty and shallow and wrong in every way, but...were Nany's teeth always this big?  Did she get some weird dental work?  Did she just never smile before?  Every time I saw her smiling this episode I thought of a skeleton.  Or maybe the episode was so boring that's all that caught my attention. 

[Jobiska]

12 hours ago, AntFTW said:

Ravyn, my love! Sweetheart! Honey! Get far away from New Johnny. He does not want you and the unrequited love is going to bother so long as you are around him, breathing the same air, looking at him, and adoring him. I have no doubt that he's probably had telling you sweet nothings about how you're going to build a better relationship and giving you hope, but it will be bad for your mental health.

Bother him?  What about her unrequited love bothering me?  I just turned 62 but she's bringing all my high school days back...thinking my crushes were invisible but I'm sure everyone noticed...ugh, suffering 2ndhand embarrassment just watching her!  Ravyn, you can do better.  You're pretty and strong and more interesting than Johnny.  Come back alone sometime.  With different shoes.

Did something go wrong with the release of Olivia's door for a second there?  It looked like it didn't open properly or something else happened.  Anyway, didn't matter in the long run, or should I say short run right through poor ol' Ravyn.

Tommy!  You really did not think that one through, did you?  

Yes, Nany's teeth were always like that.  Maybe she's just post a whitening session and they are more visible?

[AntFTW]

28 minutes ago, Jobiska said:

Bother him?  What about her unrequited love bothering me?

That’s my error. I meant bothering her. My typing really sucks, and apparently my proofreading skills are nonexistent 😂

28 minutes ago, Jobiska said:

You're pretty and strong and more interesting than Johnny.  Come back alone sometime.  With different shoes.

Edited October 27, 2022 by AntFTW

[mojoween]

I’ve always used the name Faysal and not that dumb nickname, but I have to admit, since I didn’t recall how he said it when he was first introduced on Big Brother, in my head it’s always been “Fay-sull”.

Also glad that one Johnny was bounced, because I hate that other dumb nickname as well.  And new Johnny was really annoying, so peace out, hottie.

[Midwestern Lady]

The double decker hall brawl was fun to watch but my biggest takeaway from this boring episode was we need more of Jordan's cowboy hat.  

[Jobiska]

2 hours ago, AntFTW said:

That’s my error. I meant bothering her. My typing really sucks, and apparently my proofreading skills are nonexistent 😂

No, it was my error actually, as I meant to type bother her!  LOL!  Like I said, sympathetic cringing while watching...but it gets old...she's better off going home and hopefully having time apart!

Meant to say, darn it that they used one of my favorite songs (Let Her Go by Passenger) over Tori and Jordan's conversation!  Also, why does she have to apologize all over the place...if it was a couple of months before she hooked up with Faysal, and Jordan broke up with her?  I mean maybe once if she did it, like she said, out of spite, but that was a lot of apologizing.

1 hour ago, Midwestern Lady said:

The double decker hall brawl was fun to watch but my biggest takeaway from this boring episode was we need more of Jordan's cowboy hat.  

Yeah, as long as it covers that weird hairdo.

1 hour ago, mojoween said:

I’ve always used the name Faysal and not that dumb nickname, but I have to admit, since I didn’t recall how he said it when he was first introduced on Big Brother, in my head it’s always been “Fay-sull”.

Also glad that one Johnny was bounced, because I hate that other dumb nickname as well.  And new Johnny was really annoying, so peace out, hottie.

I'm old enough to remember King Faizal from the 1970s (we even had a novelty 45 RPM called "The Energy Crisis" which used clips from popular songs, and in it they said "King Faizal, is that you?" and then used the clip "Hello, it's me,") and the record, and I, pronounced it "Fye-Zull."  So I would probably have done the same for Faysal.  

And ditto on the Johnnys.

[Lantern7]

Better a Double Decker than an Upper Decker, right?

Rookies getting nominated meant two people that I didn’t care about would go home. Horacio & Olivia looked good in the Zone. I have to remember to look forward to Olivia’s interviews, because it always looks like two giant bees worked her over.

Jordan/Tori drama was not that huge . . . not now, anyway.

I respect Faysal’s attempt at rebranding, but he’s still a Messy Fessy in most aspects of the game. Also, cuddling with Laurel wasn’t a smart move, but I say that because I think that would lead to busted ribs and/or broken bones.

3 hours ago, bunnyface said:

Okay, this is petty and shallow and wrong in every way, but...were Nany's teeth always this big?  Did she get some weird dental work?  Did she just never smile before?  Every time I saw her smiling this episode I thought of a skeleton.  Or maybe the episode was so boring that's all that caught my attention. 

That’s the talk when I go on Facebook. I don’t really notice because my go-to for shiny and/or too many teeth will always be Julie.

15 hours ago, AntFTW said:

4) Lastly... yes, Nelson is still an idiot.

You were expecting change? Who has the ordacity to expecting different from Nelson?

[shantown]

I will take any ridiculous or boring or duplicate-name rookies over Nelson. There is something about his completely exaggerated overacting in the talking heads that bothers me so much. It's so unnatural. Many of the other long-running vets have learned how to play a character with some realism in how they speak. (Bananas, Devin, and Aneesa are particularly good at it IMO)

It seems like they have a lot more producer interference in the talking heads this year. I can't ever remember an old season where I heard the producers voice and their questions were shown on screen so often, if at all. Those had always been framed as a "here's this person alone in a room narrating or reflecting" but this season it seems to very obviously be a question and answer session. Is it just me or have others noticed this?

[ImpinAintEasy]

Still not feeling this cast. Horacio and Olivia at least are strong competitors. Not much in the way of personality, though. Why were so many of last year’s rookies not included in this cast? There were a handful that were pretty interesting. I continue to advocate for casting more British people. I’m not sure any of the Brits cast have lacked personality. 
 

My interest in Jordan is strictly as a competitor. Being paired with Aneesa removes that interest, because he has zero chance in a final. 

This seems like a cakewalk for the vets, now. Which, okay. Don’t care about the rookies. I’m probably rooting for Jay/Michelle, but Johnny hates Jay, so they’ll be sent into elimination a lot. 

[AntFTW]

17 minutes ago, ImpinAintEasy said:

I’m probably rooting for Jay/Michelle

I'm curious of why Jay and Michele are not in with the vets since Jay has done a couple of seasons previously and Michele was on season 37. With more vets coming in, which I assume are Darrell and Veronica, it's starting to seem more and more like a bad decision to align with the rookies.

[joanne3482]

14 hours ago, aghst said:

Johnny/Ravyn and Horacio/Olivia were threats because they've one well in Dailies and H/O won an elimination as well.  You would think MTV would want to build up some of these younger Challengers rather than favoring all the old vets, because who nows how long they are going to keep returning?  Not to mention advertisers generally prefer younger viewers, who you'd think would gravitate more to younger cast members.

I believe, although it has been more than a week since I listened to it, on the Official Challenge Podcast with Tori and Aneesa that they said the season(s) where there were a lot more rookies than vets the ratings were down. They commented that this season started out with more rookies but MTV keeps throwing in vets. 

[jsm1125]

7 hours ago, Jobiska said:

Bother him?  What about her unrequited love bothering me?  I just turned 62 but she's bringing all my high school days back...thinking my crushes were invisible but I'm sure everyone noticed...ugh, suffering 2ndhand embarrassment just watching her!  Ravyn, you can do better.  You're pretty and strong and more interesting than Johnny.  Come back alone sometime.  With different shoes.

Did something go wrong with the release of Olivia's door for a second there?  It looked like it didn't open properly or something else happened.  Anyway, didn't matter in the long run, or should I say short run right through poor ol' Ravyn.

Tommy!  You really did not think that one through, did you?  

Yes, Nany's teeth were always like that.  Maybe she's just post a whitening session and they are more visible?

I feel like Nany’s teeth were smaller for a while until she came back for War of the Worlds, but maybe I’m wrong? 
 

As for Jay and Michele not being more in with the Vets, I feel like Bananas is never going to want to work with Jay because they both dated the same ex Morgan from BBOT. 

[LaurelleJ]

17 hours ago, shantown said:

It seems like they have a lot more producer interference in the talking heads this year. I can't ever remember an old season where I heard the producers voice and their questions were shown on screen so often, if at all. Those had always been framed as a "here's this person alone in a room narrating or reflecting" but this season it seems to very obviously be a question and answer session. Is it just me or have others noticed this?

Yes, they seem to be letting it slip more that there isa person there guiding a question. My guess is that before they just told them to talk about a specific subject. Now they know that they are building a specific story, so they are asking more pointed questions. When the person does not answer in a complete sentence to let you know what the question was, they have to air the producer asking them the question. it is very common on these shows that have confessionals now, so they either have to air the producer asking the question, or have the person repeat the answer with a complete sentence. Maybe when they repeat it, it doesn't come off naturally so it's better to air the producer asking the question. 

17 hours ago, ImpinAintEasy said:

Still not feeling this cast. Horacio and Olivia at least are strong competitors. Not much in the way of personality, though. Why were so many of last year’s rookies not included in this cast? There were a handful that were pretty interesting. I continue to advocate for casting more British people. I’m not sure any of the Brits cast have lacked personality. 
 

My interest in Jordan is strictly as a competitor. Being paired with Aneesa removes that interest, because he has zero chance in a final. 

This seems like a cakewalk for the vets, now. Which, okay. Don’t care about the rookies. I’m probably rooting for Jay/Michelle, but Johnny hates Jay, so they’ll be sent into elimination a lot. 

Same. I don't really know the rookies well enough to know if they are true ride or dies, but this pairing makes no sense to me, and it would be frustrating for me to be partnered with Aneesa knowing that my chances of winning were super slim. Love Aneesa, but lets be realistic. 

[LaurelleJ]

I respect what Fessy is doing. At the same time I cannot get into him like that. I will always root against him. I'm sad about Johnny and Ravyn, I thought they were a strong team. These rookies came in hungry and in shape, makes the vets look a little long in the tooth. I think they I'll be be back. On a personal level, I'm glad that Johnny and Ravyn are gone because hopefully the time apart will help Rayvn heal, as she seems too hung up on him and doesn't care about her. In the words of Cheyenne talking about Corey "He seems like a nice boy that I should stay away from".  I'm hoping a rookie takes the final. Looking forward to the fallout from Tommy and Analyse breaking their word. I think they will be kept around as layups for either the an easy elimination win (even though anything can happen in elmination) or the final. This should be the last time a team enters the competition late, right? What's up with that??? On every episode, there's a daily, deliberation, and elimination, so why did this episode feel like a filler episode? No idea. 

Edited October 28, 2022 by LaurelleJ

[MaggieG]

Did Fessy say that the girls only go to Horacio whenever Fessy didn't have time for them? I think they're going to him because he seems nicer than you Fessy. And cuter. Did you guys hear that scream that Laurel let out when O/H won? The camera wasn't on her but you could hear it. I like Olivia and Horacio and I hope they make it far in the game.

I need to see more of Kim. For reasons...

I actually liked the convo between Tori and Jordan. Jordan looked a little taken a back that Tori was that emotional but it seemed like they both have closure now. 

I'm struggling to remember if Aneesa and Jordan have ever gotten along. I don't think they have. Wasn't there something seasons ago when Jordan made a rude comment about Jemmye and Aneesa went off on him? I vaguely remember security having to get in between them.

[AntFTW]

2 hours ago, LaurelleJ said:

In the words of Cheyenne talking about Corey "He seems like a nice boy that I should stay away from".

LOL! She didn't take her own advice.

2 hours ago, LaurelleJ said:

Looking forward to the fallout from Tommy and Analyse breaking their word.

I'm really drawing a blank on who Tommy is 🤣😂

2 hours ago, LaurelleJ said:

This should be the last time a team enters the competition late, right? What's up with that???

I think so. The last "surprise" team that they showed was Darrell and Veronica.

2 hours ago, LaurelleJ said:

On every episode, there's a daily, deliberation, and elimination, so why did this episode feel like a filler episode? No idea. 

It was filled with a lot of nothing. I can't even remember who won the daily challenge.

Also, "the interrogation" seems kind of pointless because regardless of who the (power couple/magic team/daily challenge winners/whatever they call themselves) picks, no one they nominate is completely safe regardless.

16 hours ago, jsm1125 said:

I feel like Nany’s teeth were smaller for a while until she came back for War of the Worlds, but maybe I’m wrong? 

I think in between the time of Rivals 3 and WotW, she had gotten veneers. I could be misremembering 🤔

1 hour ago, MaggieG said:

I'm struggling to remember if Aneesa and Jordan have ever gotten along. I don't think they have. Wasn't there something seasons ago when Jordan made a rude comment about Jemmye and Aneesa went off on him?

On Dirty 30, they were doing some sort of "rap battle" and Jordan said Jemmye had a "down syndrome face", and Aneesa went off on Jordan for that.

Edited October 28, 2022 by AntFTW

[LaurelleJ]

19 minutes ago, AntFTW said:

I'm really drawing a blank on who Tommy is 🤣😂

Haha, I had to go back and make sure I had the names correct, because earlier this season I gave a rookie a random name. Tommy and Analyse were the third team in the draw who were safe, and promise both teams that if they drew the safe sword that they would save them, in return of the team saving them if they drew the sword. I checked the team names on wikipedia, and there's a list that shows who they are and their relationship. I LOL'ed at Emmy and Nam because their relationship is listed as "unknown". 

21 minutes ago, AntFTW said:

On Dirty 30, they were doing some sort of "rap battle" and Jordan said Jemmye had a "down syndrome face", and Aneesa went off on Jordan for that.

Ugh, as she should have. That's disgusting. 

Totally forgot about Tori and Jordan this episode. I'm a sucker for a challenge romance: Brad and Tori, CT and Diem, Frank and Jillian, Kam and Leroy. Not Cara and Paulie or Zach and Jenna though. I did enjoy Tori and Jordan, so it's sad to se that they didn't work out. I thought that moment between them was raw and real. I'm sure they already talked before hand in the house away from the cameras, but they pushed to have them have another conversation on camera. I'm interested to follow that dynamic in terms of game play. I'm rooting for either Devin and Tori or a rookie team to win. 

[AntFTW]

31 minutes ago, LaurelleJ said:

I checked the team names on wikipedia, and there's a list that shows who they are and their relationship. I LOL'ed at Emmy and Nam because their relationship is listed as "unknown". 

I saw that earlier as well trying to figure out who was Tommy. I cracked up 🤣

[AntFTW]

2 hours ago, LaurelleJ said:

Frank and Jillian

A couple of names I haven't heard in FOREVEERRRRRR!

2 hours ago, LaurelleJ said:

Totally forgot about Tori and Jordan this episode. I'm a sucker for a challenge romance: Brad and Tori, CT and Diem, Frank and Jillian, Kam and Leroy. Not Cara and Paulie or Zach and Jenna though. I did enjoy Tori and Jordan, so it's sad to se that they didn't work out. I thought that moment between them was raw and real. I'm sure they already talked before hand in the house away from the cameras, but they pushed to have them have another conversation on camera. I'm interested to follow that dynamic in terms of game play. I'm rooting for either Devin and Tori or a rookie team to win. 

I genuinely thought that Tori and Jordan would work out, even though Tori had a reputation for cheating. Of all of her TV relationships since her AYTO season just never quite seemed as loving and as affectionate as she was with Jordan. They seemed good together, even though Jordan can be an asshole. I liked that moment between Jordan and Tori at the bar as well for the same reasons you mentioned. It felt so raw and real. Perhaps this season will lead to some closure between them, or maybe they reignite the flame (some wishful thinking on my part).

After their break, if she was going for revenge sex, she could have done a lot better than Fessy 😑 It may take me some time to forgive her for that.

In regard to gameplay, it seems like they can work well for the good of the game. It helps that Jordan is tied with Aneesa, and Tori and Aneesa are ridiculously close so they will obviously work together.

Edited October 28, 2022 by AntFTW

[peachmangosteen]

6 hours ago, AntFTW said:

After their break, if she was going for revenge sex, she could have done a lot better than Fessy 😑 It may take me some time to forgive her for that.

When Tori said she slept with Faysal, my mom was like 'Ugh, I don't like her anymore,' lol.

[lasu]

On 10/26/2022 at 10:41 PM, Lola82 said:

I love these kinds of eliminations when unexpected things happen. Ravyn’s shoes falling off, not once, but twice was great. As was Johnny falling on his way to the bar. 

Despite full context being given, I still read that last sentence incorrectly and thought I missed something earlier in the episode, lol.

Also, I'd like to have a word with the person who fucked up and named this elimination Doubledecker rather than Tall Hall Brawl.

[LaurelleJ]

1 hour ago, lasu said:

Despite full context being given, I still read that last sentence incorrectly and thought I missed something earlier in the episode, lol.

Also, I'd like to have a word with the person who fucked up and named this elimination Doubledecker rather than Tall Hall Brawl.

I'm CRYING! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHA!

[millennium]

17 hours ago, AntFTW said:

I think in between the time of Rivals 3 and WotW, she had gotten veneers. I could be misremembering 🤔

No question Nany had veneers at some point.  One actually fell out of her mouth at club night one season.   Nany didn't miss a beat though -- she reached down, felt around the bar floor and popped it back into her mouth.

I hadn't noticed her teeth so much this season.  I may have just chalked it up to her age.   But when she first appeared this season, my Challenge-watching companion blurted out "Nany's teeth don't fit in her mouth anymore!"

Thought this was a decent episode.  I'm hoping for a Tor/Jor rekindling.   Has Tori mentioned at all that she's on anti-depressants?  Was Jay always this shrill?  I don't get why women keep throwing themselves at Fays-hole.   Nurys is a doll.   Didn't miss Turbo.   It's like he was never there.   The vets are too chummy.  I'm fine with them allying against the rookies as a kind of "the enemy of my enemy, etc." detente.  That's happened in the past, then when the rookies are gone, all the old grudges among the vets come front and center again.   But there's an undeniable All-Stars vibe in the vet ranks now, like we're all here to have some fun and relive old times.  Not exactly the recipe for drama.

Still too much music in the show but at least most of it was good. 

Had to laugh at TJ giggling about the Double Decker to apparently no one in particular, "This is so gnarly, dude!"

Edited October 29, 2022 by millennium

[millennium]

16 hours ago, LaurelleJ said:

Brad and Tori, CT and Diem, Frank and Jillian, Kam and Leroy. Not Cara and Paulie or Zach and Jenna though. I did enjoy Tori and Jordan, so it's sad to se that they didn't work out.

I just finished a re-watch of The Duel II and didn't like Brad and Tori at all, mostly on account of Tori pestering Brad about getting a real job in the middle of The Challenge.

When I read "Frank and Jillian," my first thought was "But Frank's gay."  lol.  Other Frank, obviously.

[hjmugillecuty]

On 10/28/2022 at 8:26 AM, AntFTW said:

I'm really drawing a blank on who Tommy is 🤣😂

Tommy’s one of the few rookies this year that I think could actually pull in new viewers. Not only was he on Big Brother but he’s an original Broadway cast member of Newsies and that fan base is pretty big.

I’m over the Nelson not winning dailies joke. They can do one more- when he actually wins one.

[Racj82]

Tommy is the very obvious gay guy. It's not that hard to remember him. There are no other male cast members this season like him.

[millennium]

Tommy looks and acts like a weasel.  And I'm sick of hearing about how small he is (mostly from Tommy).  Boo hoo.  Nobody forced you to compete.   Jordan's short a hand but he didn't come on The Challenge and constantly remind everybody that he's at a disadvantage.   He focused on winning, not whining.   Bring back the British players.  Georgia had more game than this guy.