S01.E05: Everybody Wants To Rule The World

[shantown]

Quote

A mighty competitor's questionable gameplay creates chaos in the house. The Legends clash with their MVP partners over control of the game. A rogue player with a grudge turns on their alliance.

Airs March 29 on Paramount+

[AntFTW]

The episode isn't on Paramount+ 😑

Why not? At least at the time I'm typing this, it isn't on the website or app. If they're not gonna release episodes on time, I want my money back.

[jsm1125]

It’s on there now, at least in the USA.

Another episode not ending with an elimination? Grrr

[AntFTW]

Oh my! The tension in this episode was thick! It kept me on my toes.

I liked the daily challenge. It looked fun.

Tori just let Danny pick the teams like that? Tori! Never give up your power! Danny sure didn't give up his.

Grant and Jonna got the most votes overall with 7 votes but the second team to be nominated was a tie with Kaz and Jordan, and Emily and Yes, each getting 4 votes.

[spazchic]

6 hours ago, AntFTW said:

The episode isn't on Paramount+ 😑

Why not? At least at the time I'm typing this, it isn't on the website or app. If they're not gonna release episodes on time, I want my money back.

It did not show up for me either, but I found if I fastforwarded to the end of episode 4 and let it keep playing it would roll over to episode 5.

[AntFTW]

6 minutes ago, spazchic said:

It did not show up for me either, but I found if I fastforwarded to the end of episode 4 and let it keep playing it would roll over to episode 5.

That's a tip I'll keep in mind for next time.

It eventually showed up when I checked around noon eastern time. For people who are P+ subscribers via Amazon Prime, it showed up as scheduled. I saw it there. I was about to enjoy a free trial on Prime and watch it there LOL

[AntFTW]

So the MVPs seem like they're playing a "MPV vs. Legends" game.

I understand Danny's point that he doesn't want to see Jordan in a final. Can't argue with that. That's a good reason for wanting him out. On the other hand, Jordan can be an ally. Jordan can be a number for Danny and Tori in these house votes. Jordan won't vote for Tori if he wins a daily challenge. However, Danny doesn't give a fuck about any of that. Danny wants Jordan out of this game more than he wants Jordan as a number.

Ben threw away a lot of political capital and got nothing for it. Ben just showed his hand by voting for Yes and Emily, and the house vote ended up a stalemate.

Grant and Jonna are seemingly off the hook by a technicality because they had the most votes, with 7 votes, all because the house couldn't figure out a 2nd team to nominate. Now, Kiki and Darrell get to pick any team. I thought Johnny's plan was a good plan. The Aussie's were lacking a vote because Kiki won. This is a good time to dwindle their numbers.  Additionally, the rift between the Aussies can widen by making them throw each other in. I'm all for chaos and making alliance members throw each other into elimination.

For now, I think Kiki and Darrell will vote an Aussie team into elimination.

[shantown]

This would have been a great daily if not for the gross smoothie. WHY. No point to it. 

I don't understand Danny's thinking because the MVPs are partnered with the Legends. Like dude, throwing in a Legend also means throwing in an MVP. I don't understand his whole scorched earth method of play here... it could work in a solo game, or if the teams were strictly country based. But he and Sarah are so desperately trying to prove that they're better that they're not really thinking it through. I like a lot of the MVPs (the majority actually, which is surprising!) but those two stand out in my mind as the two I don't really care for. Probably means they'll be the only ones who come back for future season, ughhh.

[AntFTW]

10 hours ago, shantown said:

This would have been a great daily if not for the gross smoothie. WHY. No point to it. 

I completely forgot there were "smoothies." I only thought about the swinging on the excavators.

10 hours ago, shantown said:

I don't understand Danny's thinking because the MVPs are partnered with the Legends.

My understanding of his thinking - and admittedly I'm not sure if I'm pulling this out of my ass - is that there is a side of the house where the Legends are driving the bus with Wes, Johnny and Jordan. Then, there is the other side where the MVPs are driving the other bus, such as himself, Sarah and Grant. Therefore, in his mind, it's his MVP alliance against the Legends alliance.

10 hours ago, shantown said:

I don't understand his whole scorched earth method of play here... it could work in a solo game, or if the teams were strictly country based. But he and Sarah are so desperately trying to prove that they're better that they're not really thinking it through. I like a lot of the MVPs (the majority actually, which is surprising!) but those two stand out in my mind as the two I don't really care for. Probably means they'll be the only ones who come back for future season, ughhh.

To the second part, I agree with you (except the last sentence because I like Danny... Sarah? Meh). His game might work in a solo format or a format where the vets are partnered with each other, and the spinoffs are partnered with each other.

I understand Danny wanting to get Jordan out. I completely get it. However, Danny is playing a "me" game. Danny doesn't seem to want to grasp that Tori also has alliances, and it's not only about Danny's alliances. I'm sure Danny wouldn't let Tori vote in Sarah. Tori might consider Sarah tough competition that she doesn't want to see in a final. Even with that, I feel pretty confident in saying Danny wouldn't let Tori vote in Sarah because Sarah is aligned with Danny; Sarah is a number for Danny. Danny is seemingly unwilling to empathize with Tori that Jordan is an alliance for her as just Sarah is for Danny.

Tori is mostly unwilling to show that she has power too when it comes to the politics. Tori should have offered a compromise; If Danny wants Jordan gone then she wants Sarah gone.

Edited March 30, 2023 by AntFTW

[jsm1125]

I think Tori doesn’t so much care if she loses to whoever Jordan is paired with in a final, because production will bring her back season after season, and she probably has amassed a hefty appearance fee at this point. If I were Danny, I’d be annoyed as well 

[AntFTW]

9 minutes ago, jsm1125 said:

If I were Danny, I’d be annoyed as well 

If I were Tori, I'd be annoyed with Danny... which appears to be the case. They are both annoyed with each other. They are not on the same page. Danny is playing Danny's game over there and Tori is playing Tori's game over here.

Edited March 30, 2023 by AntFTW

[Badlands]

I'm in favor of Danny's plan because I don't like Jordan and don't want Bananas to get his way. That said, I don't know think it's the best strategy right now.

It was amusing to hear Johnny whining that this isn't how they've ever done it. Sorry, but this ain't the Bananas show anymore (hopefully). Meanwhile, Justine completely nailed it as per Ben. He can totally flip over the smallest thing.

[luckyroll3]

17 hours ago, AntFTW said:

Grant and Jonna got the most votes overall with 7 votes but the second team to be nominated was a tie with Kaz and Jordan, and Emily and Yes, each getting 4 votes.

I was wondering who got the most votes, but kept getting whiplash from the flashbacks of people saying who they'd vote for and who they actually voted for. That entire deliberation was a mess. But given that Grant and Jonna had the most, that should have been the deciding factor, although I guess it doesn't lend itself as well to a cliffhanger as forcing the winning team to pick from everyone! 

If I was in Darrell and Kiki's place, I'd be deciding between Jonna, Johnny, and Jordan. One of them mofo's was going in. 

9 hours ago, shantown said:

But he and Sarah are so desperately trying to prove that they're better that they're not really thinking it through.

Sarah in particular thinks she's just a mastermind. But we all know that all it would take to make crumble like a stale cookie is for someone to whisper her name with a lot of gibberish after it to make her think that your group was talking about her. 

8 hours ago, AntFTW said:

If I were Tori, I'd be annoyed with Danny... which appears to be the case. They are both annoyed with each other. They are not on the same page. Danny is playing Danny's game over there and Tori is playing Tori's game over here.

Danny was so busy convincing everyone to vote for Jordan but never even talked to his partner. I kinda wished Teej would have thrown them in.

Wes, Wes, Wes. I have no words for that extremely miscalculated strategic move in the daily. 

I have to say that I loved Grant referring to Johnny as "that Bananas dude"! 🤣

[Lantern7]

So . . . Wes isn’t a genius? Amber and Troy made it close, but Wes botched it this week, and now he and Zara are at the mercy of Darrell & Kiki.

Outstanding mission concept! But then . . .

15 hours ago, shantown said:

This would have been a great daily if not for the gross smoothie. WHY. No point to it. 

Like I’ve said, the show is propelled by a puke fetish culture . . . possibly a subculture. That’s why we get gagging and chundering in places where it’s too extra.

I don’t pay attention to the voting. Since there’s no on-screen count, I’m in the same boat as the winners and losers in the Picture Room. “STALEMATE” was ominous, though. I figured Darrell & Kiki would get to make the call. I can’t imagine what other possibilities were going through their heads. Think of the USA contestants picturing Ol’ Teege dragging out a “Perfect Algorithm” to see who’d go into the Arena. Side note: did players from the other countries have to deal with that bullshit?

Ben is a dumbass? No way, you guys. I’d say he was a waste of a spot, but then we would’ve gotten Dom or Enzo. Ben was probably Plan B after Tyson, I know that much.

No wife shoutouts from Danny. Either the producers aren’t teeing those up anymore, or he’s become self-conscious how often that came up in USA.

[leocadia]

I think I'm going to only watch this every other week to catch two episodes at once.  These non-elimination episodes are frustrating!  

[AntFTW]

14 hours ago, luckyroll3 said:

I have to say that I loved Grant referring to Johnny as "that Bananas dude"! 🤣

I especially loved his "carrying on like a pork chop" 😂

14 hours ago, luckyroll3 said:

Wes, Wes, Wes. I have no words for that extremely miscalculated strategic move in the daily.

Yeah, that was a really bad miscalculation. He overestimated his ability to get the hoops into the bin.

14 hours ago, luckyroll3 said:

I was wondering who got the most votes, but kept getting whiplash from the flashbacks of people saying who they'd vote for and who they actually voted for. That entire deliberation was a mess. But given that Grant and Jonna had the most, that should have been the deciding factor, although I guess it doesn't lend itself as well to a cliffhanger as forcing the winning team to pick from everyone! 

I agree. I think Grant and Jonna should have been nominated regardless.

They got votes from Jordan and Kaz, Tristan and KellyAnne, Johnny and Justine, Theo and Sarah, Benja and Jodi, Ben and Kaycee, and Troy and Amber.

Jordan and Kaz got votes from Grant and Jonna, Benja and Jodi, Yes and Emily, and Troy and Amber.

Yes and Emily got votes from Jordan and Kaz, Tristan and KellyAnne, Johnny and Justine, and Ben and Kaycee.

Danny and Tori were the last to vote and could have broken the tie, and we saw Danny burn their team votes on Benja and Jodi, and Tristan and KellyAnne.

14 hours ago, luckyroll3 said:

Danny was so busy convincing everyone to vote for Jordan but never even talked to his partner. I kinda wished Teej would have thrown them in.

Right? The one person he has to talk to, he doesn't talk to.

One thing that Danny said while he was talking with Sarah was that he wanted to see himself, Grant, Sarah and Troy (and maybe Emily?) in the final rather than the same people... and I'm thinking how exactly is that possible??? Because all of the Legends have been the most recent finalists and winners in the flagship and All Stars. If you want Grant, you have to take Jonna, who just won twice and been in all three finals of All Stars. Danny has to take Tori, who just won and was in the last two finals in the flagship show. Troy has to take Amber, who just won the flagship show like 2 seasons ago... and so on. They are only thinking about the guys, being Jordan, Johnny and Wes.

14 hours ago, luckyroll3 said:

If I was in Darrell and Kiki's place, I'd be deciding between Jonna, Johnny, and Jordan. One of them mofo's was going in.

She found out her fellow Aussie, Emily, is the reason she was thrown in the first elimination so that might change, while Grant tried to save her in the first elimination so that might save Jonna.

Also, Emily says to Jonna that Kiki's not going to put any Aussies in, and I'm like "mhmm! Sure, watch that be proven wrong."

Edited March 31, 2023 by AntFTW

[Lamb18]

They have the randomizer, oops, algorithm in England and Australia, in the shows that were the qualifiers for the World Championship.

[luckyroll3]

Another option for the stalemate: Teej should have had everyone vote on the spot as individuals instead of as pairs. That would have been interesting to see. 

[AntFTW]

42 minutes ago, luckyroll3 said:

Another option for the stalemate: Teej should have had everyone vote on the spot as individuals instead of as pairs. That would have been interesting to see. 

Yes! I love making people say names.

I also thought about the daily challenge losers being the tiebreaker LOL

[Lamima]

I like Danny and HATE Banana Hammock and Jordy Boy. Hate em. Now I hate Ben too. I am big Survivor fan and had liked Ben at times but no more.

Hate no elimination being shown. I suspect they will pick Emily and Yes. Boo. I want Danny's plan. And, Ben, he sure screwed the pooch. Poor Kaycee. Though she doesn't really do much anyway. But neither did Bananas and Jordy last season. They, and their buddies,  just bully their way to the end. If they want control then they need to win some dailies. 

How close is Darrel with the bro bullies? Will he save Jordyn? I bet it will be Jonna and Grant. 

 

[aghst]

On 3/29/2023 at 6:57 PM, shantown said:

This would have been a great daily if not for the gross smoothie. WHY. No point to it. 

I don't understand Danny's thinking because the MVPs are partnered with the Legends. Like dude, throwing in a Legend also means throwing in an MVP. I don't understand his whole scorched earth method of play here... it could work in a solo game, or if the teams were strictly country based. But he and Sarah are so desperately trying to prove that they're better that they're not really thinking it through. I like a lot of the MVPs (the majority actually, which is surprising!) but those two stand out in my mind as the two I don't really care for. Probably means they'll be the only ones who come back for future season, ughhh.

They didn't even have to try to finish the smoothie first.  They waited until everyone finished or attempted to finish the smoothie and then started turning the excavators.

No bonus points for finishing first so you might as well have taken hours to down that thing without spilling or throwing up.  It was all about avoiding penalties.

At some point I expect B-M to make them drink alcohol and then do some dangerous task or something that requires coordination and timing like this Daily challenge of throwing the rings up to the partner and then tossing the rings into the bin.

Otherwise it was a cool Daily challenge.

 

I totally get what the MVPs are thinking.  They've watched multiple seasons of the vets or Legends taking out newcomers one by one, pitting them against each other rather than against the vets.  They did it to the Argentine team, basically pushed them into eliminations against each other and they were openly talking about targeting Australian team next.

They don't ever want the newcomers to band together and vote as a bloc.  As the vets/Legends are doing.

So the first couple of votes, the MVPs voted along the same ways as the Legends, basically following THEIR strategy.  But they realize that if they keep eliminating other MVPs, soon they will just be outvoted by the Legends each time and they are going to be screwed.

This is only the third elimination now?  The MVPs have been saying they have to make their move fast before their potential numbers dwindle down so much that they have no chance and are basically playing the Legends game.

It will be interesting to see the composition of the challengers who make the Final, what percentage of them are Legends, which side will have more challengers in the Final, MVP or Legends?

We know if it's up to the vets, it will only be Legends in the Final.

 

This tease with the delayed elimination sucks.  It'll be interesting to see what Darrell does.  He may be a Legend but he's in the outer group.  He'd be among the first that the other Legends toss into elimination.

 

[shantown]

21 minutes ago, aghst said:

So the first couple of votes, the MVPs voted along the same ways as the Legends, basically following THEIR strategy.  But they realize that if they keep eliminating other MVPs, soon they will just be outvoted by the Legends each time and they are going to be screwed.

This is only the third elimination now?  The MVPs have been saying they have to make their move fast before their potential numbers dwindle down so much that they have no chance and are basically playing the Legends game.

It will be interesting to see the composition of the challengers who make the Final, what percentage of them are Legends, which side will have more challengers in the Final, MVP or Legends?

We know if it's up to the vets, it will only be Legends in the Final.

I have a couple questions: 
Was it stated that when a pair is voting, that they must both agree on which two pairs they're voting for? Couldn't the MVP say one pair of names and the Legend say another? That may not be a super smart move, but I don't remember that it had to be a unanimous decision. All this brouhaha between Tori and Danny seemed silly. You should probably want to agree with your partner and do what's best of your team, but they made it seem like they had to agree on the two pairs being voted for and that doesn't seem like it has to be the case?

Also - while TJ is known to switch things up, it seems like the pairs are stuck together the whole time and that a pair is winning the challenge, not a sole MVP or Legend. I don't understand this idea the MVPs have that they have to vote out the Legends... because every time you vote out a Legend, an MVP leaves too? Am I totally missing something here? It's quite possible I completely zoned out during a TJ speech but I don't understand how you can have a Legends alliance versus an MVPs alliance because they numbers will always be equal.

[aghst]

I'm not sure the pairs will stick together.

That might be what some of them are thinking, this isn't going to be my partner for the whole season.

As for how they're voting, so far only Danny and Tori seem to have big disagreements.  Why didn't Tori stand her ground?

Maybe they had agreed that they'd alternate with each vote with one having the final say for the pair and this is Danny's turn?

[lasu]

On 4/1/2023 at 2:54 PM, aghst said:

No bonus points for finishing first so you might as well have taken hours to down that thing without spilling or throwing up.  It was all about avoiding penalties.

No, you had to finish it in two minutes AND not puke.  It was a really cool challenge, if they had just left this part out.  It was stupid, and had it not been for Wes being stupid, it wouldn't have even made any difference.

Danny has me absolutely baffled.  He said that he didn't like that Jordan was Tori's number one, and that he felt like she would put Jordan's game above his.  Um, no.  Tori isn't going to put Jordan's game above her own, and Danny is tied to her game, so he actually is her number one by default.  And Jordan would have always been a number for them.  If he's worried about his place on Tori's roster if they are de-partnered, going after Jordan is the exact opposite of what he wants to happen.  Now if they are de-partnered, Tori and Jordan are BOTH going to come him for him guns blazing.

If he really was worried about having to run a final against Jordan, wait it out.  Wait for Jordan to piss off Tori, wait for there to be no other options, wait for it make fucking sense!  This is just bad game play, and I simply don't understand what he's thinking.  I also have to wonder if some of these folks plan on this being their last season.  If you don't ever plan on coming back, what difference does it make if you make a bunch of long term enemies?  But then I don't understand the MVPs thinking at all - they can't get a Legend out without getting an MVP out.  It's not us versus them when us is partnered with them!

[AntFTW]

Amber says in this episode "I've been sick the past few weeks"... perhaps because of her pregnancy? 🤔

[AntFTW]

I want to acknowledge the women in this daily challenge. As much as I don't care for eating challenges (unless it's Fessy doing it), the women absolutely crushed it when it came to drinking those disgusting smoothies, and the men were whiny little bitches.

2 hours ago, lasu said:

No, you had to finish it in two minutes AND not puke.  It was a really cool challenge, if they had just left this part out.  It was stupid, and had it not been for Wes being stupid, it wouldn't have even made any difference.

It probably wouldn't have made any difference. Wes and Zara would have been the bottom performers anyway, along with Kaycee and Ben, even if they drank those smoothies.

Wes and Zara didn't drink the smoothie so they get a 5 point penalty, and they only got 2 two rings into the bin. Had they drank the smoothies, they would have had 2 points. Ben and Kaycee drank the smoothies, but only got 2 rings into the bin. They would have been tied, and maybe it would have came down to time.

Amber and Troy must have crushed it on the ring toss because they got the maximum amount of penalties for not finishing the smoothies and for puking, which was a 7 point penalty (5 for not finishing; 2 for puking). They started out at bigger deficit than Wes and Zara.

2 hours ago, lasu said:

Danny has me absolutely baffled.  He said that he didn't like that Jordan was Tori's number one, and that he felt like she would put Jordan's game above his.  Um, no.  Tori isn't going to put Jordan's game above her own, and Danny is tied to her game, so he actually is her number one by default.  And Jordan would have always been a number for them.

I know! This makes me do this:

2 hours ago, lasu said:

If he really was worried about having to run a final against Jordan, wait it out.  Wait for Jordan to piss off Tori, wait for there to be no other options, wait for it make fucking sense!  This is just bad game play, and I simply don't understand what he's thinking.

THIS! All of it!

[Unclejosh]

Danny knew that if Jordan got to the final he is the favorite to win especially because he has a good partner. Danny has been saying Tori was telling him this early on. So he wanted Jordan out because he doesnt think he can beat him in a Challenge final. Or that he would be the underdog at the least.  

I am a bit confused by the comment regarding the composition of the finals participants and MVP vs Legends. Each team is made of 1 MVP and 1 Legend so there would be an equal number of each no matter who makes it.  Unless I am mistaken?