S38.E09: Split Decision

[shantown]

Quote

The challengers make it to the halfway point and TJ stuns them with a game-changing twist; Tori and Jordan's complicated relationship is thrown for a loop when one catches feelings for another player; winning power tears a pair apart.

Airs Wednesday, December 7, at 8:00pm eastern on MTV

[AntFTW]

1) I want to punch this episode in the face.

2) I feel like the original Ride or Die pairs could still be connected. I would like a twist that if one person of the 'Ride of Die' pairs go into elimination, the other person is also at risk of going home like how they did Bloodlines.

Maybe the person that wins elimination has an opportunity to switch teams?

3) Moriah seems like a sweetheart. She's too normal for this show. I need more people with weird haircuts like Jordan's.

4) Nurys said that her and Nelson were beating everyone and it's not even a fair competition. I said to myself "give it time. Nelson is an idiot. He will fuck up your lead... because he always does. He can't help it." Nelson is a workhorse. He's good at running, speed and carrying heavy shit, and nothing more.

5) Moriah should have picked Nelson after Fessy picked Johnny. If she's gonna have either Jordan or Johnny but not both, she needed a workhorse.

Edited December 8, 2022 by AntFTW

[SunshineOnMe]

1 hour ago, AntFTW said:

1) I want to punch this episode in the face.

2) I feel like the original Ride or Die pairs could still be connected. I would like a twist that if one person of the 'Ride of Die' pairs go into elimination, the other person is also at risk of going home like how they did Bloodlines.

Maybe the person that wins elimination has an opportunity to switch teams?

3) Moriah seems like a sweetheart. She's too normal for this show. I need more people with weird haircuts like Jordan's.

4) Nurys said that her and Nelson were beating and it's not even a fair competition. I said to myself "give it time. Nelson is an idiot. He will fuck up your lead... because he always does. He can't help it." Nelson is a workhorse. He's good at running, speed and carrying heavy shit, and nothing more.

5) Moriah should have picked Nelson after Fessy picked Johnny. If she's gonna have either Jordan or Johnny but not both, she needed a workhorse.

I think Moriah had to pick a girl after Johnny was picked--which seemed unfair.

[AntFTW]

2 minutes ago, SunshineOnMe said:

I think Moriah had to pick a girl after Johnny was picked--which seemed unfair.

She did have to pick a girl, but I meant when it was time for her to pick a guy. But thinking back, that may not have been possible either way because of the order she was in.

[aghst]

That puzzle that allowed Fessy and Moriah to pull ahead, that must have been a fluke that they got it so fast while stumping the others.

Those sandbags didn't seem to really slow down the people that much, they just pulled harder on their sled.

What was the point of the Deliberation if TJ made them pick live in the arena?  Whatever Fessy and Moriah worked out, I wonder if that matches what they ended up with.

As for the choices, I wonder about the speed vs. size of the teams.  They still haven't done Hall Brawl or Pole Wrestle yet.  That would favor Fessy's team obviously but if Fessy's team wins a Daily presumably they'd throw in two from Moriah's team?

So a team could get whittled down fast.

I don't know if they'd allow only the members of one of the teams, if they won all the Dailies and eliminated all of the other team, would be allowed to race the Final.

Or would they at some point recombine the last 8 or so into pairs again?

It can't be one individual winning almost all of the million because you would assume female players would be disadvantaged if they're carrying heavy things and running or swimming long distances.

The one time Cara Maria beat the others for an individual title, they were running back between two points and it was a memory contest more than a endurance/speed contest.

Fessy selected Kaycee, presumably the strongest woman but is she necessarily the fastest?  I think a footrace with Tori and Amber over distance would be interesting.  Also Nurys seems like a good runner.

Moriah selected Jordan but I think Horacio is the best male athlete.  He was frustrated in the Daily because he probably thinks he could have run faster with those sandbags and that sled.  But Jordan is probably happy because no way he would be competitive with Aneesa.

So it would seem Moriah has the better runners but Fessy's team is bigger.

Only way that would have a bearing is that the elimination rounds wouldn't pit two members of the team losing the Daily.  It could be one from each team, so that some smaller woman might have the misfortune offering Aneesa in elimination.

[mojoween]

TJ, Faysal didn’t dominate the challenge.  They were only leading after the puzzle, and that’s because Nelson wouldn’t listen to Nurys.  Also TJ has this weird love for Faysal that is annoying.  And also also, they won because there wasn’t anything gross to eat.  If Faysal makes a real final, I hope they don’t take that part out.

Jordan is a selfish asshole.

[shantown]

I'm just gonna say that deciding that "Ride or Dies are no more" during the season titled "Ride or Die" is stupid. The producers have this desire for "shocking twists" but it should be an actual twist, not just changing the format. If you want a teams season just do a teams season! Ugh, why am I so mad about this?

There better be a twist to this twist. Like a "Prisoner's Dilemma" type thing where the partners have to protect each other from the other team (ride) but if they vote against each other they're out (die). At least that would fit the theme of the season.

This show is not as good as it thinks it is. (PLEASE let me have to eat these words next week!)

[AntFTW]

1 hour ago, shantown said:

I'm just gonna say that deciding that "Ride or Dies are no more" during the season titled "Ride or Die" is stupid.

I agree. It just doesn't make sense. That's why I think they will somehow still be tied to their 'Ride or Die' partner. Maybe, they will ultimately run the final together. If the original 'Ride or Die' pairs are not reconnected at some point for the rest of the game, the theme of the season is absolutely pointless.

[ImpinAintEasy]

I love team formats. Too bad I have a feeling this is going to be like Bloodlines where one partner goes into elimination and if they lose, the other partner is eliminated too. Which is unfair. 
 

 The show needs to go back to the last place team in a daily challenge automatically goes into elimination. There are zero stakes to most of the dailies. Case in point, Banany lounging around joking while in dead last. And while I’m fixing the show, go back to the reliable formats and branding(Duel/Rivals/Exes/Fresh Meat/Battle Of Shows). 
 

Why the hell did Fessy get to pick back-to-back males? I don’t think it will matter, because there will probably be another shake up, but if these are the teams till the end, it seems like BS. 

[aghst]

I will be curious about the kind of Dailies they do from now on.  From couples-based to team-based.

[LaurelleJ]

I make my notes as I watch the episode, so all my notes are in episode order. Hated this episode. 

Fessy is a big crybaby. Wah wah wah, I'm a big loser. Why yes you are Fessy. There was a long montage of each ride or die pair, so I knew that meant the teams would be breaking up soon, though I thought initially the partners would just be changing, not forming two teams. It was clear from the editing that Fessy was going to win the daily. 

I don't know how I feel about this Jordan/Tori/Nurys love triangle. I did like Jordan and Tori as a couple so it's sad to see them broken up. It's kind of weird for Jordan to be all over Tori, then cut to him being all over Nurys. 

I saw the challenge daily mini final and immediately felt bad for Jordan. He had no shot at winning. I know he knew that, that's why his attitude was so nonchalant. I really wanted Nelson and Nurys to win the challenge. I hate Fessy. Eff Horacio too, he's also a big baby. Bananas and Nany clowning as they were losing was very funny. 

At first I thought it was going to be them choosing new pairs. My first thought was that Fessy was going to stick bananas with Aneesa, and any woman left would be an upgrade for Jordan, and that Fessy was going to assign Olivia to Jordan. Then when I found out it was two teams I thought it was interesting that Johnny didn't want to be on a team with Fessy. So Fessy wants Johnny to help him win, interesting. I was a bit shocked at first when Fessy picked Bananas over Nelson. I have to go back and watch the way they were allowed to pick because I remember thinking one back and forth didn't make sense. If I were Moriah and I really wanted Johnny, I would have picked him over Jordan, even if that meant you were getting Aneesa. What was the point of making them sit through the one on one process of negotiating if they were just going to get to the place and pick schoolyard style?

It is going to be interesting because you want people who are strong and you like on your team, but you need to have allies on the other team to help keep you safe. But then you need a sacrificial lamb on your team, so you have wiggle room for eliminations. No doubt they will try to send Aneesa in first chance they get. Even though Fessy's team is stacked, you are only as strong as your weakest player, and I think Aneesa is weaker than all the other people on the other team. Too many strong personalities on that team too, I see it imploding. Reminds me of the season good guys vs. bad assess. 

[LaurelleJ]

16 hours ago, AntFTW said:

Maybe the person that wins elimination has an opportunity to switch teams?

I hope this is a twist that happens. Or when they get to the final it becomes individual. 

13 hours ago, aghst said:

Fessy selected Kaycee, presumably the strongest woman but is she necessarily the fastest?  I think a footrace with Tori and Amber over distance would be interesting.  Also Nurys seems like a good runner.

I think the three you mentioned, Tori, Amber, and Nurys are stronger than Kaycee. Nurys will be a rookie to the final, so Tori and Amber have that over her, but I would put my money on Tori and Amber before Kaycee. 

2 hours ago, ImpinAintEasy said:

Why the hell did Fessy get to pick back-to-back males? I don’t think it will matter, because there will probably be another shake up, but if these are the teams till the end, it seems like BS. 

OK so that is what happened. I didn't understand it at all. Something fishy is going on. 

[AntFTW]

3 minutes ago, LaurelleJ said:

Fessy is a big crybaby. Wah wah wah, I'm a big loser. Why yes you are Fessy.

I read nothing past this.

[aghst]

Tori sure laid out the details, they were snuggling together in bed, she was naked under the covers.

Then he cozied up to Nurys, who seem to think Jordan is really into her, how they kept locking eyes.  Yeah he wanted to bang the hot young girl, he's not looking for a wife.

[AntFTW]

14 minutes ago, LaurelleJ said:

Then when I found out it was two teams I thought it was interesting that Johnny didn't want to be on a team with Fessy.

Well, he's snuggling with Moriah so I assumed that he'd want to be on her team just for that reason.

Edited December 8, 2022 by AntFTW

[AntFTW]

15 minutes ago, LaurelleJ said:

So Fessy wants Johnny to help him win, interesting. I was a bit shocked at first when Fessy picked Bananas over Nelson. I have to go back and watch the way they were allowed to pick because I remember thinking one back and forth didn't make sense.

I thought the way they made them pick teams was stupid. It made the negotiating on teams pretty pointless.

I thought that if Fessy was smart, he would pick Johnny over Nelson. However, I was on the fence because I didn't know whether Fessy would pick "friendship" over a good team.

34 minutes ago, LaurelleJ said:

It is going to be interesting because you want people who are strong and you like on your team, but you need to have allies on the other team to help keep you safe. But then you need a sacrificial lamb on your team, so you have wiggle room for eliminations. No doubt they will try to send Aneesa in first chance they get. Even though Fessy's team is stacked, you are only as strong as your weakest player, and I think Aneesa is weaker than all the other people on the other team. Too many strong personalities on that team too, I see it imploding. Reminds me of the season good guys vs. bad assess.

I wish I had some insight on the game dynamic. As you need, you need some sacrificial low-on-the-totem-pole lambs on your team in case you lose, and you can throw them in. You also need allies on your team, but you also need allies on the other team. For now, it's hard to tell which one has more importance, the allies on your team or your allies on the opposing team or the sacrificial lambs on your team.

[AntFTW]

4 hours ago, ImpinAintEasy said:

Why the hell did Fessy get to pick back-to-back males? I don’t think it will matter, because there will probably be another shake up, but if these are the teams till the end, it seems like BS. 

2 hours ago, LaurelleJ said:

OK so that is what happened. I didn't understand it at all. Something fishy is going on. 

Ok, I'm not crazy. It made no sense how organized the picking of teams. It did seem off that he got to pick both Johnny and Nelson, but Moriah didn't get to do that. I just couldn't put my finger on why Moriah didn't get to pick Nelson. It didn't make sense to me why Moriah didn't have the same opportunity among the picks as Fessy. What threw me off what Moriah picking Amber because that made me default to the next pick being a guy, and Fessy chooses Nelson. I went through it in my head so many times trying make sense of how he got to pick Johnny and Nelson, but it didn't hit me that Fessy to back to back male picks. Even watching it back and repeating it in my head, my brain kept making it make sense because I kept saying "Moriah picked Amber so Fessy's pick has to be guy." I was trying to make sense out of something that didn't make sense.

Fessy picked Kaycee (Moriah gets Kenny)

Moriah picked Jordan (Fessy gets Aneesa)

Fessy picked Johnny (Moriah gets Nany)

Morah picked Amber (Fessy gets Amber's boyfriend) *drawing a giant blank on his name right now*

Fessy picked Nelson (Moriah gets Nurys)

Moriah picked Horacio (Fessy gets Olivia)

Fessy gets Tori (Moriah gets Devin)

Edited December 8, 2022 by AntFTW

[Jobiska]

Blah blah blah relationships.  Sure, Tori did go from 0 to 100 in her argument with Jordan, but if he was really coming into her bed and cuddling while she was naked, I don't really think he was quite fair in calling it "The Tori Show."  Especially since she was trying to distance herself and then he comes to her saying they needed to clear the air.  I'm not a (heh) ride-or-die fan of Tori, but I sure like her better than Jordan, and she's more self-aware than Jordan and working on herself and her faults.  

When Moriah was wiping Fessy's tears away with her shirt, then he picked up the end of her shirt and wiped them himself, I got a kick out of imagining him then blowing his nose with a big honking sound into her shirttail.  His "I'm going to screw you over" face while they were (pointlessly) deliberating was, well, not really chilling, but was very essence-of-Fessy.  Fessence?

Ha, Kaycee doesn't even remember that her brother is on the Challenge!  Wonder why Kenny's knees hurt--did he get injured earlier and we didn't hear about it, or just carrying those heavy loads in the daily?  (If he played sports like Kaycee does, maybe he's rucked them up in the past).  

Chauncey, though boring, seems really sweet.  I hope he and Amber have a lovely life together.  

[LaurelleJ]

1 hour ago, AntFTW said:

Ok, I'm not crazy. It made no sense how organized the picking of teams. It did seem off that he got to pick both Johnny and Nelson, but Moriah didn't get to do that. I just couldn't put my finger on why Moriah didn't get to pick Nelson. It didn't make sense to me why Moriah didn't have the same opportunity among the picks as Fessy. What threw me off what Moriah picking Amber because that made me default to the next pick being a guy, and Fessy chooses Johnny. I went through it in my head so many times trying make sense of how he got to pick Johnny and Nelson, but it didn't hit me that Fessy to back to back male picks. Even watching it back and repeating it in my head, my brain kept making it make sense because I kept saying "Moriah picked Amber so Fessy's pick has to be guy." I was trying to make sense out of something that didn't make sense.

Fessy picked Kaycee (Moriah gets Kenny)

Moriah picked Jordan (Fessy gets Aneesa)

Fessy picked Johnny (Moriah gets Nany)

Morah picked Amber (Fessy gets Amber's boyfriend) *drawing a giant blank on his name right now*

Fessy picked Nelson (Moriah gets Nurys)

Moriah picked Horacio (Fessy gets Olivia)

Fessy gets Tori (Moriah gets Devin)

Thanks for posting this so I don't have to go back haha. Yes there's no real rhyme or reason why Fessy got to pick another male. After Moriah picked Amber and Fessy got Chauncey, Fessy should have had to pick another woman. Now I wonder, if Moriah had picked Johnny, would Fessy have picked Nelson or Jordan? I guess it wouldn't matter because they let Fessy have 2 male picks back to back. Definitely producer influenced, allowing TJ to tell Fessy he could pick another male. They knew they wanted one team to be stacked. 

22 minutes ago, Jobiska said:

When Moriah was wiping Fessy's tears away with her shirt, then he picked up the end of her shirt and wiped them himself, I got a kick out of imagining him then blowing his nose with a big honking sound into her shirttail.  His "I'm going to screw you over" face while they were (pointlessly) deliberating was, well, not really chilling, but was very essence-of-Fessy.  Fessence?

Fessence is hilarious! He was such a )(#*)@(% during that pointless deliberation.

[LaurelleJ]

Moriah posted on twitter that she trusted Fessy to be a good friend but instead when they were walking back from the mini final she asked him if they could talk to make fair teams and he said "I brought you here". She became super sick and he said "not my partner, not my problem", and that the real tea will be spilled on the bananas podcast. She defended his character so much when he didn't deserve it. he talked about her behind her back and said things like he carried her. 

I didn't want to read through the comments because I'm sure there are spoilers in there. I don't even follow her, but it popped up because I follow Laurel and the challenge twitter. 

[snarts]

I've never understood the Jordan appeal. Arrogant, bad teeth, short, ugly etc. I couldn't focus on anything but his hair during the conversation with Tori. He's fucking with Nurys just to punish her, lots of pent up anger/resentment there. Walk away, Tori. 

I also hate Fessy so much. Hated that he had so much power and that they seemingly rigged the male/female selection order to benefit him. I hope he somehow gets partnered with Aneesa in the final and it's all running and eating gross things. 

[Drogo]

Someone make it make sense.  

They start out picking alternates (Pick 1 for Messy is F, Pick 1 for Moriah is M) but then switch after two picks each to both selecting guys?  

Did Production just not want Messy to start crying / breaking his toys? 

Spoiler

Messy Pick 1 (Female Pick) - Kaycee  [Moriah automatically gets Kenny]

Moriah Pick 1 (Male Pick) - Jordan  [Messy automatically gets Aneesa]

Messy Pick 2 (Male Pick) - Bananas  [Moriah automatically gets Nany]

Moriah Pick 2 (Female Pick) - Amber  [Messy automatically gets Chauncey]

Messy Pick 3 (Male Pick) - Nelson  [Moriah automatically gets Nurys]

Moriah Pick 3 (Male Pick) - Horacio  [Messy automatically gets Olivia]

Messy Pick 4 (Female Pick) - Tori  [Moriah automatically gets Devin] 

Also -- does this Jordan thing mean Nurys and Johnny weren't soulmates? 

[AntFTW]

46 minutes ago, Drogo said:

Someone make it make sense.  

They start out picking alternates (Pick 1 for Messy is F, Pick 1 for Moriah is M) but then switch after two picks each to both selecting guys?  

[ImpinAintEasy]

10 hours ago, snarts said:

I've never understood the Jordan appeal. Arrogant, bad teeth, short, ugly etc. I couldn't focus on anything but his hair during the conversation with Tori. He's fucking with Nurys just to punish her, lots of pent up anger/resentment there. Walk away, Tori. 

I also hate Fessy so much. Hated that he had so much power and that they seemingly rigged the male/female selection order to benefit him. I hope he somehow gets partnered with Aneesa in the final and it's all running and eating gross things. 

Not going to speak on any physical appeal towards him. Don’t really care. Yes he’s a jerk. Yes he’s probably not that sincere in this newfound reform. But the dude is one of the 3 best male competitors in the history of the show. That’s the appeal. 

[AntFTW]

On 12/8/2022 at 6:23 PM, Jobiska said:

Blah blah blah relationships.  Sure, Tori did go from 0 to 100 in her argument with Jordan, but if he was really coming into her bed and cuddling while she was naked, I don't really think he was quite fair in calling it "The Tori Show."  Especially since she was trying to distance herself and then he comes to her saying they needed to clear the air. 

Just going off what we were shown, I thought it was unfair of Jordan too.

He snuggled with Tori, slept in bed with her, cuddled with her, and said "I love you" to her. He's not being considerate of her feelings because he is sending mixed signals and doesn't care, and is unapologetic about it. Tori's not solely angry about Jordan canoodling with Nurys, but also that he's canoodling with Tori. "The Tori Show" isn't about Jordan being amorous with Nurys, but sending the wrong message to Tori and he should feel bad about sending the wrong message to Tori. However, he is willfully choosing not to acknowledge that he is sending the wrong message to Tori. He is not letting that into his bubble.

Edited December 11, 2022 by AntFTW

[aghst]

I don't listen to the podcasts, what does Tori have to say about it?

[AntFTW]

3 minutes ago, aghst said:

I don't listen to the podcasts, what does Tori have to say about it?

Tori has been MIA on the official Challenge podcast. As far as I'm aware, she hasn't discussed the events of this episode on any podcast.

[jsm1125]

I think I know why Tori hasn’t been on any podcasts, and it has nothing to do with the Jordan situation.

Spoiler

She’s currently filming The Challenge Global

[Lantern7]

Once again, BMP decides to twist the formula for the mere sake of twisting it. There might have been a way to continue that game as it was while ramping up the tension. Nope .  . . two teams, and BMP hoping we didn’t see Bloodlines. Maybe that’s why we’re going down this road . . . to pave over the title won by Cara Maria and Cousin.

Morriah has been online about how Fessy was a jerk. No way! We didn’t need a format change to discover that!

Devin bitching about being the last pick . . . first of all, it’s him and Tori. Secondly, I think Fessy and Morriah thought that the gap between those two are the narrowest. The picking of players was about getting the best available people, but also dumping negatives on the other side. I think Fessy and Morriah were thinking that on some level . . . but I’m often wrong about stuff like that.

At least the mission was cool.

Wednesday night is the Survivor finale. I’ll probably watch that and DVR the next episode.

Oh, I almost forgot to post this:

Edited December 12, 2022 by Lantern7

[joanne3482]

3 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

Devin bitching about being the last pick . . . first of all, it’s him and Tori. Secondly, I think Fessy and Morriah thought that the gap between those two are the narrowest. The picking of players was about getting the best available people, but also dumping negatives on the other side. I think Fessy and Morriah were thinking that on some level . . . but I’m often wrong about stuff like that.

On the Official Challenge Podcast, Fessy said exactly that, that Tori and Devin are basically the same when it comes to skill set so that's why they were last. 

@Lantern7 Thanks to your video I learned that Tori and Jordan posted 3 music covers years ago. They aren't half bad singers and watching them in the videos makes me a little sad about their break up. But not a lot sad because this episode paints him in a not good light at all. The podcast talked about it a bit WRT empathy and not a good look for Jordan. 

Edited December 12, 2022 by joanne3482