S38.E13: Blind Faith

[shantown]

Quote

Nany and Kaycee struggle with being on opposite teams; one player faces consequences after burning her vote instead of trying to protect her Ride or Die at all costs.

Airs Wednesday, January 4, at 8:00 pm eastern on MTV

[mojoween]

Why would you HELP?  WHYYYYYYY would you HELLLLLLLP?!?

[AntFTW]

1) Couldn't have been me. I damn sure wouldn't have helped. I would have let Fessy stay there all day long, miss those shots, and drink those drinks.

2) Everyone laughing at Fessy cracked me up to no end! It was hilarious!

3) I liked the elimination game. It was a nail-biter too. I thought Nany and Amber were going into elimination initially.

Edited January 5, 2023 by AntFTW

[jsm1125]

I’m pleasantly surprised that Kaycee didn’t vote for Amber to go in to elimination. 
 

 

[DEL901]

Just when you think it isn’t possible to dislike Fessy more….

[aghst]

Seemed like they knew that last part of the Daily would be Bungee.  Why didn't either team send two guys into that one?

I don't think Devin helping Fessy would have mattered, Jordan and Mariah were never going to complete that bungee one.

As for as the elimination, everyone is praising Nany but that wasn't that strong a performance.  Moriah is a rookie, who used a very time consuming strategy to put up the letters before solving the anagram, as TJ pointed out.

And they both had a brain fart about pushing the button though Moriah reacted much faster.  But she made the rookie mistake of not checking her work first.

Now there are 5 and 7 challengers left for a total of 12 and there's a couple of eliminated ride or dies out there.

At most they eliminate one guy in the next episode and it looks like at the end TJ tells them they're going to the Final.

So at a minimum, 11 challengers and maybe a couple of eliminated ride and dies get to go to the Final?

That seems like a large number but there will probably be multiple stages or at least two stages to winnow it down to maybe 4 or 5 pairs?

 

 

[AncientNewbie]

I admit I fell for the button pressing at the end and was surprised by her misspelling. Nice work, editors, for going deeper than usual on the presentation of events. 

TJ laughing at Faysal will never get old for me. I could watch that all day. And I blame Devin for taking that away from me. 

[Drogo]

“I said it first!!!!  I said it fucking first!!!!” *stomps around with fists at sides*
 

Ah yes, there’s The Old Nany…

[MMLEsq]

No one's mentioned the appearance of T.J.'s wife, Roxanne.  It was sweet, but the whole time I was scratching my head saying, "Why?  Why now?"  I don't think they mentioned her business (health coach/nutritionist/personal trainer) -- that would have been the obvious reason.  I cause the reason is "just 'cause," but I'm still left wondering why this challenge? why now after all these years?

I didn't see much "Nany and Kaycee struggle with being on opposite teams," instead that part of the episode description should have been, "Kaycee supports Nany who is affected by memories of losing her mom" because that was the majority of their direct interactions.

Faysal and Moriah are the worst "ride or dies" -- I got the impression that the only reason why Faysal "couldn't" say his ride or die's name is because he knew there were enough votes from others to send her in.  Either he's thinking that the final will be individuals, or he's thinking that people whose ride or die has left will join together (maybe he's thinking he has a second shot at a final with Kaycee)...?  Meanwhile, he better pray that the final doesn't involve any gross food-eating challenge.  (Actually, I'm with him on that one; I can't stand watching them eat or drink something absolutely disgusting and then vomit it right back up.  I usually end up looking away until it's over or... if it goes on for more than a few seconds... fast forwarding.)

I agree with @aghst that, in the end, Devin helping Faysal probably didn't make a difference.  But, they had no way of knowing that at the time.  Dumb move.  It made me wonder if Devin was more worried about Tori than his own team.  Either that or he likes showing off (entirely possible with Devin).  

  

Edited January 5, 2023 by MMLEsq
grammar

[mojoween]

The ep absolutely did not need to be 90 minutes, they could have totally cut out the extended montage of Faysal puking.  That was not in any way interesting teevee.

[AntFTW]

7 hours ago, MMLEsq said:

I agree with @aghst that, in the end, Devin helping Faysal probably didn't make a difference.  But, they had no way of knowing that at the time.  Dumb move.  It made me wonder if Devin was more worried about Tori than his own team.  Either that or he likes showing off (entirely possible with Devin).

It’s possible that it wouldn’t have made a difference. It doesn’t seem like Jordan and Moriah were ever going to complete the bungee challenge no matter how much of a lead they had.

Watching everyone laugh at Fessy was hilarious. It really seemed like it was the guys on Moriah’s team were pushing to help Fessy, and I kinda think it was because it was a girls elimination day and they weren’t directly at risk. Also, it’s not surprising that the guys on Moriah’s team were more loyal to the women on Fessy’s team and was willing to throw them a bone and help.

Edited January 5, 2023 by AntFTW

[MMLEsq]

41 minutes ago, AntFTW said:

It’s possible that it wouldn’t have made a difference. It doesn’t seem like Jordan and Moriah were ever going to complete the bungee challenge no matter how much of a lead they had.

I get that looking back knowing what actually happened in the last challenge it maybe didn't matter, but the team had no way of anticipating that two challenges ahead of time.  They were 100% taking a chance that 40-ish minutes was enough of a lead that they didn't have to worry.  You're right, in the end, it probably didn't matter whether they had 40-ish extra minutes to attempt to complete the last challenge or hours of time.  But we'll never know for sure what would have happened if Jordan and Moriah had the luxury of more time to rest and try again.  

[bunnyface]

I can't say I would have "never" helped the other team, but I dang sure would have let them get way farther down the road before I helped.  Maybe 2 hours or so.  But I understand they were out in the cold and time was burning, whereas I was sitting in my comfy chair eating popcorn.  Possibly not the best choice given what we were watching.  I severely dislike Fessy, so that helped.

I could not get "devotion" for the life of me.  The other words I got pretty quickly and thought about devotion, but couldn't make it work in my addled brain.   I kept thinking I was a letter short of making devotion.

[AntFTW]

42 minutes ago, MMLEsq said:

I get that looking back knowing what actually happened in the last challenge it maybe didn't matter, but the team had no way of anticipating that two challenges ahead of time.  They were 100% taking a chance that 40-ish minutes was enough of a lead that they didn't have to worry.  You're right, in the end, it probably didn't matter whether they had 40-ish extra minutes to attempt to complete the last challenge or hours of time.  But we'll never know for sure what would have happened if Jordan and Moriah had the luxury of more time to rest and try again.  

Yes, I agree.

They couldn’t foresee at the time they made the call to help Fessy that the following challenges would have been so difficult that they would have wiped away the lead they had gained. They couldn’t foresee what challenges were to come at the time.

IMO, they should have given themselves the luxury of that extra time by sitting there and watching Fessy suffer or until they timed him out and give him a penalty because they knew it was possible that their lead could evaporate in any of the future challenges. I’m a little petty though because I wanted Fessy’s team to lose. I thought that would have been a more entertaining loss.

Edited January 5, 2023 by AntFTW

[angelamh66]

As much as I hate watching the gross food stuff it can be the great equalizer for someone like Fessy. So I am really hoping this isn't the show getting the eating thing out of the way and not including it in the final so that Fessy actually has a shot. I would rather have Bananas win for the umpteenth time that unduly smug Fessy. At this point I am so sick of all these a-holes I want Olivia and Horacio to win the whole thing. 

[AntFTW]

6 minutes ago, angelamh66 said:

I would rather have Bananas win for the umpteenth time that unduly smug Fessy.

I hope that also means Nany wins so that she can finally break the curse.

----

[snarts]

Damn, I wanted Fessy's team to lose and watch them implode. Fingers crossed it happens before the final. I hate Nany so was excited when Amber pulled the safety and then disappointed that Nany still managed to win.

Would love to see Olivia & Horacio ultimately win but finals are typically not won by rookies. I think they're always a bit overwhelming mentally, especially when they're multiple days long. I would be pleased to see Devin win (words I never thought I'd utter). I wouldn't even be upset to see Bananas again. At this point, anyone other than Fessy, Jordan, Aneesa, Nany or Kaycee.

 

[ghertigirl]

Quote

I’m pleasantly surprised that Kaycee didn’t vote for Amber to go in to elimination. 

I'm not.  Amber is a beast and she was worried Nany would have to go up against her.

 

[Drogo]

3 minutes ago, ghertigirl said:

I'm not.  Amber is a beast and she was worried Nany would have to go up against her.

 

Agree.  Amber would destroy Nany in almost anything. 

[luckyroll3]

I also can't believe the other team helped Faysal, especially because we all know if the tables were turned, he wouldn't have done it for them.

Nany: I deserve to be here.

Also Nany: I'm a shit competitor so I'm gonna pair up with Devin since he's good at puzzles and he can do all the work. 

I was cheering so hard for Moriah to send her ass home. 

 

[AntFTW]

48 minutes ago, Drogo said:

Agree.  Amber would destroy Nany in almost anything. 

I think Amber has said she was dyslexic before, not sure of whether she was bullshitting about that. This elimination is probably one thing Nany would beat Amber in.

[Drogo]

25 minutes ago, AntFTW said:

I think Amber has said she was dyslexic before, not sure of whether she was bullshitting about that. This elimination is probably one thing Nany would beat Amber in.

If the playing field was level you’re probably right then.  But… According to Moriah’s tweets,

Spoiler

Kaycee was shouting answers to Nany despite being told not to help. Jordan got annoyed and started helping Moriah. 

This is why we can’t have nice things.

[DEL901]

54 minutes ago, AntFTW said:

I think Amber has said she was dyslexic before, not sure of whether she was bullshitting about that. This elimination is probably one thing Nany would beat Amber in.

I think she said she had discalcia…a problem with numbers.  Iirc

As much as I didn’t like Devin helping Fessy, boy was he good at helping Jordan and Fessy aim properly.  

[AntFTW]

20 minutes ago, DEL901 said:

I think she said she had discalcia…a problem with numbers.  Iirc

Yes, but she called it "dyslexic" IIRC. So I'm not sure if she's actually dyslexic... with letters. That's an unanswered question. She seems to believe she has some type of learning disorder.

I remember correcting that out loud while I was watching that episode way back when.

[aghst]

56 minutes ago, DEL901 said:

I think she said she had discalcia…a problem with numbers.  Iirc

As much as I didn’t like Devin helping Fessy, boy was he good at helping Jordan and Fessy aim properly.  

I wonder if that was just editing, filming Devin telling them what to do and then cut to projectile hitting targets.

He's looking from the side so how would he be able to tell whether they should aim more right or left when he's not looking straight on at the target?

[snarts]

27 minutes ago, aghst said:

He's looking from the side so how would he be able to tell whether they should aim more right or left when he's not looking straight on at the target?

You can see the required angle much better from the side. He wouldn't have been much help from the start but after watching so many missed shots, he could easily direct them on the proper angle and how far to pull back. It was impressive. 

[AntFTW]

Also when Olivia and Aneesa were about to do the puzzle challenge, and they were doing their interview just before it started, Kaycee, Johnny and Tori were in the background making faces and being idiots. That made me chuckle.

Edited January 8, 2023 by AntFTW

[ImpinAintEasy]

At this point I’m rooting for Amber and Chauncey. I’m good with Olivia and Horacio too. It’d be interesting to see Devin win, but I can’t root for Tori. 

Devin and Johnny seem to be the only ones who think to protect their partners, outside of the ones in relationships. I don’t know why everyone doesn’t try to throw the dailies to keep their partners out of elimination.  Surely they have to have some inkling they’ll be paired back up in some way. 
 

 

[AncientNewbie]

10 hours ago, ImpinAintEasy said:

Surely they have to have some inkling they’ll be paired back up in some way. 

While the dynamic of the show has changed some in recent years, forethought has never been the strong suit for most Challengers. 

[luckyroll3]

16 hours ago, Drogo said:

If the playing field was level you’re probably right then.  But… According to Moriah’s tweets,

  Reveal spoiler

Kaycee was shouting answers to Nany despite being told not to help. Jordan got annoyed and started helping Moriah. 

This is why we can’t have nice things.

This is very interesting. Especially because I noted that the Challengers watching were abnormally quiet during this elimination and I was shocked, shocked I tell ya, that Nany was doing so well on her own. So I don't doubt it all. 

[LaurelleJ]

Fussy sucks per usual. Why in the world does he think that everyone should just lie down and roll over for him to get to the final? I wouldn't have apologized if I were Moriah. Who knows what would have happened if she tied up the votes. Maybe the other team got to vote one of the males from the winning team in instead. 

This daily challenge was interesting. I kind of like the blind broken up challenges. Jordan volunteers himself, so Fessy volunteers himself first. Ego, ego, ego. They have to drink something disgusting. How perfect. TJ laughing was so funny.  Devin really came through with the spotting. This had to be deflating for Fessy's ego, having Jordan finish before you, and you have to stay there and keep trying, only for Devin to be able to bail you out. That was a mistake on their part. No way should they have helped him. I honestly think that if it were a guys elimination day, they wouldn't have helped Fessy. If I were Fessy, I wouldn't have listened. How do you know Devin wasn't trying to sabotage you? The puzzle was a toss up. Amber and Horacio killed the memory challenge. Oh I felt so bad that the underdogs lost it on the last portion of the challenge. Looks like helping Fessy came back to bite them in the butt. I still think the pink team was hoping for a loss, so they could find a way to get Aneesa out of there.  

Fessy wanted so badly for Moriah to grovel and beg not to be the vote in the interrogation. I'm glad she didn't. Even though she said I wIlL nEvEr SaY mOrIaH's NaMe, he basically gave his whole team the green light to say Moriah's name. I'm actually shocked Fessy said Nany and not Amber, because we know how much he hates her. Amber pulls the safe dagger, thank goodness. Out of nowhere, here comes TJ's wife!! For some reason, TJ talking about Moriah's game strategy with his wife made me laugh. The words were pretty easy, except for the 4th word. It Tok me a while to see that one. I didn't notice that Moriah spelled devotion wrong. Them yelling check and failing to hit the button was hilarious. Luckily for Nany, Moriah made that error. 

The underdogs team is getting pretty thin. The next male elimination is going to be crucial on either side. 

[LaurelleJ]

On 1/5/2023 at 1:49 AM, aghst said:

Now there are 5 and 7 challengers left for a total of 12 and there's a couple of eliminated ride or dies out there.

At most they eliminate one guy in the next episode and it looks like at the end TJ tells them they're going to the Final.

So at a minimum, 11 challengers and maybe a couple of eliminated ride and dies get to go to the Final?

That seems like a large number but there will probably be multiple stages or at least two stages to winnow it down to maybe 4 or 5 pairs?

I'm thinking they will have a purge challenge after day one?

 

23 hours ago, mojoween said:

The ep absolutely did not need to be 90 minutes, they could have totally cut out the extended montage of Faysal puking.  That was not in any way interesting teevee.

Wow. I always watch online the next morning, so I don't realize the length of the episodes. I had no idea this one was 90 minutes. I was watching while cooking breakfast, I need to pay more attention. 

 

22 hours ago, AntFTW said:

IMO, they should have given themselves the luxury of that extra time by sitting there and watching Fessy suffer or until they timed him out and give him a penalty because they knew it was possible that their lead could evaporate in any of the future challenges. I’m a little petty though because I wanted Fessy’s team to lose. I thought that would have been a more entertaining loss.

I think that all the men on both teams and all the women on Moriah's team would have loved to see Fessy struggle for hours. I always want Fessy's team to lose, but I especially want Fessy's team to lose because he failed so hard at the challenge. 

 

20 hours ago, angelamh66 said:

As much as I hate watching the gross food stuff it can be the great equalizer for someone like Fessy. So I am really hoping this isn't the show getting the eating thing out of the way and not including it in the final so that Fessy actually has a shot. I would rather have Bananas win for the umpteenth time that unduly smug Fessy. At this point I am so sick of all these a-holes I want Olivia and Horacio to win the whole thing. 

Oh if Fessy makes it to the final, there better be another eating challenge. If I'm the producers I'm making eating challenges mandatory if he is there. Puzzles and eating challenges: the great equalizers. I'm forever on the anybody but Fessy train. 

 

18 hours ago, Drogo said:

Agree.  Amber would destroy Nany in almost anything. 

My initial thought was that Amber beats both Nany and Moriah in this until ya'll reminded me that..

 

17 hours ago, AntFTW said:

I think Amber has said she was dyslexic before, not sure of whether she was bullshitting about that. This elimination is probably one thing Nany would beat Amber in.

Amber said she had dyscalculia on a previous challenge. No idea if she is also dyslexic, or how she would have fared in this challenge. 

[AntFTW]

13 minutes ago, LaurelleJ said:

Amber said she had dyscalculia on a previous challenge. No idea if she is also dyslexic, or how she would have fared in this challenge. 

It was either on the episode or the one of the aftershows, but Amber called herself "dyslexic... with numbers," which I do recall correcting out loud as I was watching like "you mean dyscalculia?"

It makes me curious to know if someone has told her that she was actually dyslexic.

[Jobiska]

4 minutes ago, AntFTW said:

It was either on the episode or the one of the aftershows, but Amber called herself "dyslexic... with numbers," which I do recall correcting out loud as I was watching like "you mean dyscalculia?"

It makes me curious to know if someone has told her that she was actually dyslexic.

Or even if she's been told "dyscalculia," she's run into enough people that have no idea what it is that she just takes this route instead.  Or maybe she can't pronounce dyscalculia (no shade, it is kind of a tongue twister!).  

[LaurelleJ]

21 minutes ago, AntFTW said:

It was either on the episode or the one of the aftershows, but Amber called herself "dyslexic... with numbers," which I do recall correcting out loud as I was watching like "you mean dyscalculia?"

It makes me curious to know if someone has told her that she was actually dyslexic.

 

15 minutes ago, Jobiska said:

Or even if she's been told "dyscalculia," she's run into enough people that have no idea what it is that she just takes this route instead.  Or maybe she can't pronounce dyscalculia (no shade, it is kind of a tongue twister!).  

 

Yes, dyslexia is much more well known than dyscalculia so a lot of people just say it's dyslexia with numbers. 

[Midwestern Lady]

On 1/5/2023 at 7:42 AM, AncientNewbie said:

TJ laughing at Faysal will never get old for me. I could watch that all day. And I blame Devin for taking that away from me. 

TJ and Bananas laughing is a highlight reel like Ct's Banana Backpack.   I will never not enjoy watching it.    

[AntFTW]

One thing I thought about what Moriah should have done was throw Amber's name out there in the interrogation. She's too nice. I feel like it's reasonable to assume that Nany wasn't getting the direct vote because, with certainty, at least 4 people on Fessy's team were not going to vote for Nany. The only pitch Moriah could have made was to throw in Amber. I would have liked a little more fight from her.

Moriah should have pointed at every woman sitting across from her and said you've seen Amber beast through eliminations this season and become a Challenge champ before, and we're getting close to the final. If she's still around when the final comes, she will outrun you (Tori), you (Aneesa), and you (Olivia), and already beat you in a final (Kaycee).

[Lantern7]

There was going to be a ChallengeMania event in NYC on Wednesday, but they had to postpone. I got admission to that. I believe that when you watch stuff with like-minded people, the experience elevates what you're watching. I could have used that with this episode. Tommy making an appearance wasn't a selling point, but seeing Roni again would've been cool.

On 1/5/2023 at 1:55 PM, AntFTW said:

I'm over TJ laughing. It just comes off fake to me. Yeah, watching Fessy try his best to choke down what I'm assuming is Teege's piss is funny, but I believe Teege has bought into his laugh being a "thing." It should not be a "thing." Maybe it doesn't help that Tough as Nails is back on the air, and Phil Keoghan would never get jollies from watching people fail. I think he has made fun, but he's not an asshole like Teege or Probst.

On 1/4/2023 at 9:33 PM, mojoween said:

Why would you HELP?  WHYYYYYYY would you HELLLLLLLP?!?

"WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT NAME???!!!???"

Sorry . .  . I couldn't resist. Personally, the better question would be, "If the guys were up for elimination, would Devin have helped Fessy?" Honestly, watching Jordan and Fessy try in vain to break targets while gagging on TJ's urine (once again, my assumption) was probably fun at first, but then you'd have to start feeling bad for them . . . even though they are Jordan and Fessy. Then Fessy's all alone, he's choking out yellow stuff, and there had to be a limit. But if Devin's ass was on the line? He would not have bothered.

Mrs. Teege . . . why? And then he explained what was going on to her, which . . . yeah, mansplaining does fit this series so well. I kept expected her to be astonished that her husband makes money hosting this show.

Zone . . . good concept. Did they mention the buttons at the beginning? Stupid way for Nany to have lost, but then Moriah misspelled a word, so Nany's quest to win her first title is still intact . . . and with Nelson gone, I think she's the one BMP wants us to root for. Moriah is in the Shadow Realm, and her only chance of returning is if Fessy doesn't fuck up. I mean . . .  he's not Josh, but he's capable of being every bit as disappointing.

Johnny saying that he would never turn on Nany? Nope. Johnny's brand is casual cruelty. Yeah, she's different from Sarah in that she's his "Ride Or Die," not his rival . . . but I can totally see an ending where Johnny gets the choice whether to share or keep money from Nany, and he would bone her. And then she'd join Hunter as champions that walked away with jack shit.

(I'm thinking Sarah wouldn't be in that club because she won a title with Jordan in BOTE2, and she was rewarded handsomely for that)

Kaycee/Nany . . . I get why Nany wouldn't be popular and that Kaycee is extraneous as far as storylines go, but I hope they stay together. Otherwise, the "girl realizes she's gay" thing goes to Veronica, and then I get flashbacks of her beating Jodi in the Inferno and leaping into Rachel's arms. No thank you.

Edited January 8, 2023 by Lantern7

[mojoween]

5 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

I think she's the one BMP wants us to root for.

Mmmmm…sorry Jon and Ghost of Mary Ellis, that is so not happening.  I’m guessing Nany is a delight IRL, but there is just something about her in the challenge that I’m not all about.  Maybe it’s the whining.

[Lantern7]

On 1/8/2023 at 6:59 AM, mojoween said:

Mmmmm…sorry Jon and Ghost of Mary Ellis, that is so not happening.  I’m guessing Nany is a delight IRL, but there is just something about her in the challenge that I’m not all about.  Maybe it’s the whining.

My assumption. The way things are set up, there's a never-ending line of Charlies Brown that will come close to kicking the football, but Lucy will snatch it back every time.

I forgot to mention that Horacio Is a breath of fresh air. Now I'm waiting to see how he'll get boned.

Edited January 9, 2023 by Lantern7

[Drogo]

On 1/8/2023 at 1:27 AM, Lantern7 said:

Zone . . . good concept. Did they mention the buttons at the beginning? Stupid way for Nany to have lost

TJ did mention the buttons in the instructions as the way to lock in your answers, so if Nany lost because Moriah followed instructions and she didn't... that's her own stupidity.  They're always sticklers for that shit in Eliminations.

On 1/8/2023 at 6:59 AM, mojoween said:

 I’m guessing Nany is a delight IRL, but there is just something about her in the challenge that I’m not all about.

Same.  I'm not sure why there's a "Nany deserves to get to a Final and win" air in the house when she's never been a remarkable Challenger.  IIRC the only season where she had any sort of dominance was when she was paired with Turbo, which ended immediately after they weren't paired anymore and she was angry with him when she called him down as the person to tie her to her chair in elimination and he... tied her to her chair. 

Mostly Nany just seems entitled to me. 

[lasu]

Ugh, Tori and Jordan are so clearly still in love with each other, and it looks like there isn't going to be a way for them to move forward.  It looks like too much hurt has happened, and that's sad.  I hope they never go on the same season again, at least not until they have both really healed.  The whole fight was so stupid.  Yes, it was dumb of Tori to go to Jordan and ask him to do something "for her."  But, he'd already given his word and he's known for not breaking his word, so she really wasn't asking him to DO anything.  What she really wanted was to be able to save some face by claiming he did it "for her".   He had already humiliated her, and I think she just wanted some small token from him.  And because he's even more emotionally immature, he couldn't just say, "Tori, you're not in a position to ask me for this, and I don't want ultimatums like this."  But no, he has to FURTHER humiliate her by maliciously doing the opposite of what she asked.  (That said, the I don't negotiate with terrorists line was fucking funny as hell.)  I think seeing Tori upset proves to Jordan that she still cares. But ultimately, I feel worse for Tori, because while I think Tori has done things that have hurt Jordan (and seems to take responsibility for that pain caused), Jordan does things because they hurt Tori.

I never watch food challenges because I hate watching people throw up, but I watched Fessie's entire segment and laughed through the whole thing.

For those asking about TJ's wife - it seems pretty clear to me that MTV is making a decided effort to PC things up, and I mean that in the best possible way.