S06.E14: National Finals in (Stage 2+)

[OnceSane]

 

The National Finals in Vegas continue with stage 2 and beyond.

 

[Lantern7]

Another year, another season ending in disappointment. Eighteen competitors went in, only two managed to complete the second course, and both wind up falling short of the third stage. You think the course designers got a bonus for creating a tough Stage Two? I reckon it's money well earned, because the course was brutal to watch.

 

Next week: USA vs. The World! And Japan! Does Europe have their own version of Sasuke, or are we dealing with five free-running greenhorns?

[healthnut]

I thought too many competitors finished stage one and for only two to complete stage two out of 18 is too hard. Congrats for Joe for making it as far as he did but that was the only run I enjoyed in the hour I watched (didn't see the first hour).

So Brian Arnold's strategy didn't pan out.

Not interested in next week. This has been a long and rather dissatisfying season. I miss Sasuke.

[Lantern7]

healthnut . . . Brian admitted that stalling at the end of Stage One was planned so he could go early in Stage Two and get rested for Stage Three. That plan backfired on him.

 

Does anybody else half-expect somebody to get so frustrated by a poor run, that he grabs Jenn and pitches her in the water? I don't think she deserves it, but I think she's brave to be standing in front of the water.

[SophiaD]

Well, I did watch, and, I have to say that I found the whole thing really anti-climactic.  Superb athlete after superb athlete ending up in the water.  i was really happy for Joe that he did complete the course and did so well in Stage 3, but it's just kind of boring that so few competitors made it through. 

 

Also, I'm worried about the state of Matt Iseman's vocal cords. 

[MyFavShows]

That rope jungle really messed up a lot of people - especially Brian Arnold. I was most disappointed in how Isaac C. went out on the salmon ladder - ugh. I just thought he had so much potential and it was a shame to see him go out on such a "standard" obstacle cause of a dumb mistake.

Joe morvasky's run was so exciting though, and I was really surprised how far he got in Stage 3. Wish we could have had one of those rock climbers do Stage 3.

That was interesting how that one guy couldn't swim and needed help. Imagine being that fit and athletic, but not being able to swim?

Brian Arnold is probably the most disappointed of all of them - but all of that rock climbing 4 has got to feel pretty down after that.

I hope they don't water down the course next year though in spite of all the failures last night. It's cool that it's hard - it should be.

I am interested to see next weeks USA versus the world episode.

[LittleMac]

*sigh* In some ways, the Rope Ladder killed the show. It really should have moved to Stage 3 and move the cannonballs over to Stage 2. It's not an obstacle that you can do quickly without any studying. You need to know the rope placements and which ones move quickly/slide/plunge. Lousy for a timed stage, but perfect for a untimed stage. It seemed that it destroyed any momentum that the show had and I'm not surprised if the show lost viewers after the first hour. 

 

I'm also having issues with the Butterfly Leap and no trampoline. You need a longer run up for that obstacle. That's going to be murder for the short contestants. Doing that, then a rope climb to the Rope swing. That's a KO punch right there.

 

Nice job by the Weatherman. Great run in the second stage and nice try in the third stage. Great effort, though, maybe the best part is his admission that he didn't want to be seen as a fluke. Rare honesty and great motivation. 

 

Curious to see who they pick for Team USA. You figure that Hall and Weatherman are locks. The other three should be from the other Stage 2 qualifiers (Kasmir, Woods, Arnold would be my picks), though would they dare pick Kacy, Brent or Flip? 

[Fukui San]

The Rope Jungle isn't the typical first obstacle for the second stage. Usually it's something that you can fail but does not take a long time to do. The one that comes to mind was basically surfing down a metal ramp then having to catch a chain which will then whisk you to the Salmon Ladder.  You can fail it, but it doesn't tax your arms too much ahead of the arm-intensive obstacles. That made Stage 2 too tough.  I think the ideal difficulty of Stage 2 is to eliminate half of the remaining field.

 

The Butterfly Wall also seemed higher up than the one used before in Japan's stage 1, an early obstacle which didn't eliminate many people.

 

Joe Moravsky looked so smooth on the Cliffhanger. If he were to practice the rock climbing, I think he'd be able to get to the last part of Stage 3 at least. You never know, though, if an obstacle you've cleared before or some new obstacle can eliminate you.

 

I have to think the British Free Runner dude we've seen in qualifying a lot will be in team Europe. They always build him as a serious threat.

[kayma]

This course just seemed so anticlimactic. No real excitement. The whole season seemed to drag. I think Brian Arnold just put too much pressure on himself, and I was surprised the long haired rock climber fell so early. The Dr. always seems to be having so much fun doing his own run and watching everyone else. I thought Jo Jo was great - fun, excited, had a blast even if he fell. That's the type I like to watch. I thought the best part of the show was how everyone was so worried about him being hurt, and he just laughed it off because he can't swim.

[SophiaD]

 

*sigh* In some ways, the Rope Ladder killed the show. It really should have moved to Stage 3 and move the cannonballs over to Stage 2. It's not an obstacle that you can do quickly without any studying. You need to know the rope placements and which ones move quickly/slide/plunge. Lousy for a timed stage, but perfect for a untimed stage. It seemed that it destroyed any momentum that the show had and I'm not surprised if the show lost viewers after the first hour.

 

I'm also having issues with the Butterfly Leap and no trampoline. You need a longer run up for that obstacle. That's going to be murder for the short contestants. Doing that, then a rope climb to the Rope swing. That's a KO punch right there.

 

This.  Exactly.  Watching so many contestants burn up so much time on the Rope Ladder meant we knew at the beginning of their runs if they would make it through or not.  I actually started doing something else during the second hour and only paid attention if the contestant cleared it. 

 

I really didn't like the design of the course, either - the endless, punishing upper-body workout.  Even if Kacy and Meagan or one of the other women had made it through, I doubt it would be physically possible for them to complete it.

 

From what I could tell, Stage 3 was much better designed, and I think the rock climbers in particular would have had a real shot, but only watching two contestants try to complete was a real anti-climax.

 

Frankly, I was bored by the whole thing, although I did laugh when one of contestants admitted that when his wife complained about his addiction to ANW was narcissistic that she was probably right. 

 

I hope they do a better job designing the course, especially Stage 2 next year.  I'd like it to be hard, not impossible.

Edited September 9, 2014 by SophiaD

[LittleMac]

This.  Exactly.  Watching so many contestants burn up so much time on the Rope Ladder meant we knew at the beginning of their runs if they would make it through or not.  I actually started doing something else during the second hour and only paid attention if the contestant cleared it. 

 

I really didn't like the design of the course, either - the endless, punishing upper-body workout.  Even if Kacy and Meagan or one of the other women had made it through, I doubt it would be physically possible for them to complete it.

 

From what I could tell, Stage 3 was much better designed, and I think the rock climbers in particular would have had a real shot, but only watching two contestants try to complete was a real anti-climax.

 

I hope they do a better job designing the course, especially Stage 2 next year.  I'd like it to be hard, not impossible.

 

I actually hope that they leave Stage 3 alone. It's a very hard, but fair challenge. I think that it's also gender-neutral in that Kacy and Meagan has a decent shot of finishing it (I would have bet good money that Stage 2 couldn't be finished by them if you gave them 5 tries at it within that time limit). There isn't anything there that I don't think they can do (Maybe the last obstacle. MAYBE).  If you want the shot at Stage 4, it needs a hard, tough stage like this. 

 

Usually, they don't touch Stage 2 at all in the following year to give the contestants a chance to practice it and get used to it.  If you are going to keep the Rope Ladder, keep them the same type. 3 sliding ropes would work well, or bring back the rolling log. It's the prep for the Double Salmon Ladder, which is/was the star of the stage (Can you make a descending Salmon Ladder)? It shouldn't be the knockout blow like it was (like Cannonball Alley). 

[Fukui San]

If they keep Stage 2 exactly the same next year, I think over half of the people or more will clear it.  They'll spend all year watching what went wrong this year and prepare better. That's the game.

 

Aesthetically, though, I don't want grinding obstacles like the Rope Jungle on Stage 2. It seems out of place.

[MyFavShows]

There were actually some who got right through the rope jungle - I remember more than one person doing it in only 9 seconds.

What seemed to kill a lot of the ones who were having a "good run" was that spinning metal thing that they basically got one shot at and if they missed the platform they were done to the point where a couple just let go and fell into the water before the buzzer. That sucked for the ones that happened to, and running near the end probably helped the two that did make it cause they were able to learn from watching the few ahead of them that made it that far.

[TiredMe]

Maybe I care too much but I was yelling stupid idiot at the screen as soon as Brian Arnold showed up. I knew he was screwed. I just shook my head. Never look ahead, always focus in the task in front if you. He deserved to fail, sorry.

[ChristmasJones]

I find myself wondering how the course designers feel about their decision on how make Stage 2 this year. I just don't think it was a good combination of obstacles. More than two people should have been able to make it through, because it would have been way more fun to see a bunch of people on Stage 3.

[lilabennet]

Who is the staff member who demonstrates the obstacles?  I know he probably does them one at a time with no time limit so it isn't the same as competing, but I would be interested in seeing him compete on the show.

 

On that spinning metal thing are they allowed to choose any chain to swing from or are they limited to the one that everyone seemed to go for?

[Fukui San]

Who is the staff member who demonstrates the obstacles?  I know he probably does them one at a time with no time limit so it isn't the same as competing, but I would be interested in seeing him compete on the show.

 

On that spinning metal thing are they allowed to choose any chain to swing from or are they limited to the one that everyone seemed to go for?

I think based on the setup of the platform to the Metal Spin, there's only one chain that makes sense to go for.

 

However, what I'm curious about is if it was set up differently than intended. I don't remember how it performed in previous American Ninja Warrior shows, but I don't remember a lot of fails on the dismount of the obstacle in Japan.  If you caught the chain it gently conveyed you to the other side, no heroic footwork necessary to dismount.  I'm wondering if the difficulty to dismount was intentional or an accidental change.

[slayton]

I'm guessing the dismount difficulty was intentional.

The difficulty of the Metal Spin in Japan is in trying to hold onto the chain; you either hold onto it and stay out of the water, or you slip off and fly into the water. The only time that holding onto the chain was a challenge in Vegas was in season 4. Everyone who has attempted the Metal Spin in Vegas in seasons 5 & 6 has been able to hold onto the chain, even if they're touching the water because the chains in Vegas are too long.

Edited September 11, 2014 by slayton