S15.E13: Las Vegas Finals 3

[SophiaD]

Tonight, we take on Stages 2 and 3!  Just in case you missed it, for the first time ever, it will feature SIDE-BY-SIDE RACING!  

[Lantern7]

Twelve races, two hours. Doesn’t seem possible, and it’s a recipe for injury.

Oops, the best four “losers” will race for spots 11-12. That’s still fourteen races, and you know they like to WWWA stuff.

Wait, wouldn’t that be twelve races?

ETA: Austin Grey wins by saving himself, leading to Akbar’s heart stopping for a few seconds. Always a treat!

Edited September 5, 2023 by Lantern7

[Lantern7]

Jeez . . . Flip splashed down and it was WWWA. Even with the maturity, I would’ve thought the format would favor his style.

ETA: WWWA = While We Were Away. In case you didn’t know.

Edited September 5, 2023 by Lantern7

[ams1001]

Wait, they're racing?

Wow, what a save by Austin Gray!

"Only a handful of ninjas remain...all of them with a story." Is there anyone without a story on this show?

 

[EllenB]

With Flip and Joe out, I guess Austin Gray is the only one left to root for? I don't know who any of these children are and I don't care.

ETA Oh, maybe Bange. Im not that familiar with him, but yay to anyone who's an actual adult.

Edited September 5, 2023 by EllenB

[Lantern7]

WEATHERMAN DOWN! Huge shocker, especially since it came so early in the race.

[ams1001]

Are there any other sports in which people compete against their own coaches?

And Daniel Gil gets his hair wet again! (I know he already won, but still. Hee hee.)

[EllenB]

Ugh, Gil is in. Glad to see him fall, but too bad it was after he'd been declared safe. Holy helium voice, I cannot stand him.

[DEL901]

29 minutes ago, EllenB said:

With Flip and Joe out, I guess Austin Gray is the only one left to root for? I don't know who any of these children are and I don't care.

ETA Oh, maybe Bange. Im not that familiar with him, but yay to anyone who's an actual adult.

RJ Roman?

[EllenB]

Didn't Roman fall?

Damn, Austin.

[Quilt Fairy]

12 minutes ago, EllenB said:

Didn't Roman fall?

I think he still went farther than the other guy. 

ETA:  Thanks for letting us know how many people make it past Stage 3, NBC. 

Edited September 5, 2023 by Quilt Fairy

[SophiaD]

I haven't even seen it yet, and I already hate this format.  😞

[Frisky Wig]

I’m happy Jackson “My only personality trait is my obsession with my cat” Twaitt is out! 

[enoughcats]

I really hate that someone who (make that someones whoall) didn't complete the course advance.  

IMO, you don't complete the course, you go home wet. 

I would like to see how much cleaning the obstacles get between runs. As in, wiped dry from the previous guy's sweat, spit and oil from where ever. 

When your hand grip matters, everybody should be getting the same dryness. 

 

 

[eel2178]

12 hours ago, enoughcats said:

I really hate that someone who (make that someones whoall) didn't complete the course advance.  

I think there was only one race where the person won by actually hitting the buzzer first (correct me if I'm wrong).

[eel2178]

16 hours ago, EllenB said:

I don't know who any of these children are and I don't care.

I watched the first season of Mutant Ninja Warriors Junior, so I'm at least familiar with the names. They also went even farther over the top with the backstories on that show (FYI Nacssa Garemore has a biological brother who was also adopted by the same FL family. He competed on Juniors, too, and was also very good. This show seems to have forgotten his existence).

I would really hate to see one of these high school kids win the $1million. Although I would think the parents would be made trustees of the money, I still think it would be a situation of "too much, too soon" to have won that much money before you have the brain capacity to handle money like an adult. I'm also not sure I trust the parents enough to establish the windfall as a college nest egg.

16 hours ago, EllenB said:

With Flip and Joe out, I guess Austin Gray is the only one left to root for?

I had been rooting for Vance Walker to win it all (at least he has already graduated from high school), so I'm now at a loss, too.

I know he still gets to advance from winning the run off, but I really don't want to see anyone win on a do over.

Edited September 5, 2023 by eel2178

[eel2178]

16 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

Jeez . . . Flip splashed down and it was WWWA. Even with the maturity, I would’ve thought the format would favor his style.

They never mention that he is a stunt man anymore. Is it possible that he retired from that, so he atrophied some of his skills in the process?

[Quilt Fairy]

2 hours ago, eel2178 said:

I watched the first season of Mutant Ninja Warriors Junior, so I'm at least familiar with the names. They also went even farther over the top with the backstories on that show (FYI Nacssa Garemore has a biological brother who was also adopted by the same FL family. He competed on Juniors, too, and was also very good. This show seems to have forgotten his existence).

His brother competed this season as well, but didn't make the finals.  I did think it odd that they didn't even mention his brother last night, especially since they gave so much of his backstory.   Nacssa is one of the few kids that I care about, for some reason.  When he finished Stage 3 last night I yelled out "Oh, good for him!"  It's nice that this show can still make me do that. 

By the end of the episode I didn't actually hate the races.  I appreciated that the strategy of "just go as fast as you can" was not always a winning one.  However, I would like to have seen that you still had to make it to the buzzer to get to Stage 3. 

They definitely seem to have made Stage 3 easier, particularly the climbing wall.  Previously you had to jump over to the far side wall and then back.  If no one is getting hung up on it, it's not hard enough.  No one had a problem on Slam Dunk, either.  Bing, bang, bong, and they're through it.  I did like Pressure Cooker, even though I don't think anyone fell on it. 

[MsVixen]

20 hours ago, EllenB said:

With Flip and Joe out, I guess Austin Gray is the only one left to root for? I don't know who any of these children are and I don't care.

ETA Oh, maybe Bange. Im not that familiar with him, but yay to anyone who's an actual adult.

Isn't the guy who's mother is always there for him still running?  She is African-American with short blond or gray hair.

[eel2178]

17 hours ago, Quilt Fairy said:

They definitely seem to have made Stage 3 easier

It is due to using the same or very similar obstacles year after year, so everyone has practiced them thousands of times before they ever even get into the competition just like the Warped Wall and the Salmon Ladder.

Remember the days when only about 10% of the contestants could even finish the qualifier because nobody had mastered the technique for the Warped Wall yet? Now even moms can do it.

[enoughcats]

Quote

everyone has practiced them thousands of times before

And the younger ones with 'nothing' to lose because it's just an exercise routine (emphasis routine routine) for them can speed though.

I think there may be a big "but" for the more seasoned competitors: they've done it so often they take for granted that they will make it through and are thinking ahead to the one "new" obstacle. At least some of the old timers never made it to the new thing. 

 

[MsVixen]

Another thing that I just remembered:  American Ninja Warrior Junior has had the side by side competition.  The seasoned kid competitors are used to that but the Veterans are not.  I think the running side to side enhances the pressure.

[mlp]

Stage 3 felt like old times.  I was happy for everyone who made it through but Daniel Gil has been one of my favorites since his very first appearance so I'd love to see him win.  However, based on the promo shot of Matt and Akbar going nuts at the end, I'm guessing that the winner is someone more unexpected.  Maybe Nacssa.  I'm also a fan of Vance Walker.  To go from a little kid in leg braces because of cerebral palsy to what he can do now is impressive.  I would have been very happy if he'd won even if he is a teenager.  Maybe next time.

[MsVixen]

I would be happy if Isiah/The Boss won.  For some reason, I just really like this kid, his hair, and his Mother.  More than likely, RJ Roman will be in the running and that would be okay.

I'm feeling a little sorry for Joe Moravsky.  He was such a prospect in his early years and now I wonder if he'll ever make it again.  The young'uns seem to be more likely to win everything.

[Rickster]

15 hours ago, MsVixen said:

I'm feeling a little sorry for Joe Moravsky.  He was such a prospect in his early years and now I wonder if he'll ever make it again.  The young'uns seem to be more likely to win everything.

Ninjas is really no different than sports like baseball, football, basketball, etc.  Athletes lose a step, get overtaken by younger competitors, and eventually have to retire.

The odd thing about the show is there seems to be a gap between the older competitors and the 15-18 year olds. Where are the competitors in their early to mid 20’s? I guess it has to do with a decision by production to change how they recruit contestants and stop open casting, among other things.