Special Forces: World's Toughest Test - General Discussion

[LakeGal]

I really wanted to know if the Special Forces guys succeeded the first time they had to do that challenge.  

[DEL901]

56 minutes ago, LakeGal said:

I really wanted to know if the Special Forces guys succeeded the first time they had to do that challenge.  

My understanding is that the vast majority of applicants for special forces including SEALS, Rangers, SAS wash out, often with a single failure.   Of course, to get to that level, they’ve succeeded in the regular forces, so they would be very fit with some experience.   

[FancyRhubarb]

FATIGUE MAKES QUITTERS OF US ALL!!!!

[bosawks]

On 11/7/2023 at 6:37 AM, DEL901 said:

 And JoJo continues to surprise…when Nick was too gassed out to continue, she carried Sandoval the rest of the way.  

That was impressive, almost more impressive was the matter-of-fact way she did it.

[TVbitch]

Last episode JoJo indicated they had been there 5 days and had two left, so it is only a week-long course. The non-celebrity versions are longer. 

In all versions, the DS are pretty hard core until the end, or until someone they actually respect taps out. I'm sure they work extra hard to break down the celebrities, feeling like many see it as a game or paycheck or another chance to be on TV. Maybe they could instill the discipline and push them to find their inner strength through positive encouragement, but this seems to be the military way. The most real of all these types of shows I've seen is when a very young Bear Grylls joined the Foreign Legion. Wow, they beat the shit out of those guys.  

I don't think Billie makes as good of a leader as Ant. Billie just yells at them, whereas at least Ant sometimes yelled psychologically strategic or motivational things (between profanities). 🤣

[KeithJ]

One thing I always hate about reality shows is the message / visit from home.  Those are quick fast forwards for me.

I was surprised to see Bode drop out although it does look like he was hurt.  However, he probably should have let JoJo take the sled for a bit instead of insisting on doing almost all of it himself.  By the time they switched, it was a little too late.  JoJo should have taken it on the flatter areas and then let Bode handle the climbing with it.

Kinda crappy that the teams were going to get "captured" whether or not they made it to the extraction point.

One question about the compass when JoJo asked if you have to hold it parallel to the ground or upright, and Staff told her either way.  Is that right?  I didn't think a compass worked if you held it upright.

Staff's current rankings were a little surprising with Erin and JoJo at 2 and 3 but that actually seems about right.

[snarts]

I feel like the editing is telegraphing a Sandoval exit. Not sure what basis the "Staff" were using to evaluate the videos from home but they were oddly critical of his.

Unlike the others who remain, they don't seem to like him much so guessing they go in hard during the interrogation. If he goes and the rest make it , I'll be happy.

Erin is a badass and surprisingly JoJo won me over. I like Nick Viall. Tyler seems a little douchy but has kept reasonably quiet and done well. Sad to see Bode leave but as a skier, I'm sure he's had his fair share of groin injuries. 

[paul4295]

I was very surprised that JoJo quit.  She seemed to me to be the most determined of all of them.  She would have been the most satisfying winner.  The other three all had their ups and downs. Erin may have had the most mental toughness, but she failed a bunch of tasks, and didn't show much leadership, as they said.  Nick was invisible for the first 4 or 5 episodes.  Tyler seemed to have the most growth along the way, so I guess I find him the most satisfying of the three.  I give them all a lot of credit for making it to the end, though.

[DEL901]

6 hours ago, paul4295 said:

I was very surprised that JoJo quit.  She seemed to me to be the most determined of all of them.  She would have been the most satisfying winner.  The other three all had their ups and downs. Erin may have had the most mental toughness, but she failed a bunch of tasks, and didn't show much leadership, as they said.  Nick was invisible for the first 4 or 5 episodes.  Tyler seemed to have the most growth along the way, so I guess I find him the most satisfying of the three.  I give them all a lot of credit for making it to the end, though.

I was surprised by JoJo quitting too.  But she is young, and as they said, she’d never been away from her family for more three days, so she did really well.  

Agree, props to all three who finished.  That last test was brutal.  

[snarts]

Bummed that JoJo quit but hours of loud noises (babies crying - yikes!) standing uncomfortably in the cold will test anyone's resolve. Impressed that she got as far as she did.

Loved that they booted Sandoval. 

I learned something in that I always thought the goal of interrogation was to NOT reveal anything. I had no idea that soldiers were supposed to share info to protect their safety.

Good on Nick, Erin and Tyler. 

[milkyaqua]

1 hour ago, snarts said:

I learned something in that I always thought the goal of interrogation was to NOT reveal anything. I had no idea that soldiers were supposed to share info to protect their safety.

Yes, though I seem to remember that was the same case in the first season.

And yes, figured Sandoval would get booted but give JoJo credit for lasting as long as she did.  The babies crying was, ugh!

[DEL901]

1 hour ago, milkyaqua said:

Yes, though I seem to remember that was the same case in the first season.

And yes, figured Sandoval would get booted but give JoJo credit for lasting as long as she did.  The babies crying was, ugh!

I remember a couple of episodes ago, Nick couldn’t carry Sandoval any further and JoJo put him over her shoulder and carried him the rest of the way.  Pretty impressive.  

[Gregg247]

I really enjoyed this show!  I wish they'd done 10 episodes like last season, though.  I'm afraid the ratings haven't been too good.

I've got to hand it to the producers of "The Bachelor"/"The Bachelorette" for their casting of beautiful-yet-tough-as-nails contestants, though.  In the 2 seasons of "Special Forces", there have been 3 alumni of these dating shows here and ALL 3 have won this show!  Who knew the Fantasy Suite provided such first-class workouts!

[Bluesky]

11 hours ago, DEL901 said:

I was surprised by JoJo quitting too.  But she is young, and as they said, she’d never been away from her family for more three days, so she did really well.  

Agree, props to all three who finished.  That last test was brutal.  

I don’t think the three day story is true.  Her mother took her away from her father at a very young  age to go on dance moms.   And I hope her mother isn’t still following her on all her jobs. 

[alexa]

That was a good ending.  They did well.

[Lamb18]

Congratulations to Tyler, Nick and Erin for making it through the competition! Three for three for the Bachelor franchise. Now let's put Demi on there. She would make the interrogators run away screaming.

I think the baby crying got under Jojo's skin. I could see it getting under mine and me asking the interrogators if the baby was OK.

[KeithJ]

Granted, I have no idea just how hard it was but it was very disappointing to see Jojo drop out so close to the end after doing so well throughout the show.

[alexa]

I still think Jojo leaving is a little odd.  She endured so much and she knew they were almost done.  Plus she had it less worse than the others like Tyler that had his head shoved in the cold water.  It just didn’t add up with the other things she dealt with so well.  

[jabRI]

Why did they boot Sandoval? i was getting to at least respect him.  They didn't like his one word answers?

[pezgirl7]

10 hours ago, jabRI said:

Why did they boot Sandoval? i was getting to at least respect him.  They didn't like his one word answers?

It seemed like they were annoyed that they thought he was faking being cold and that he was complaining too much. I thought it was strange and unfair that they booted him.

I wonder if the contestants have watched the previous season. Then they'll know that the trick to the final task is to finally give in and tell the truth. Unless the staff tell them that ahead of time. Doesn't seem like a very obvious thing otherwise.

[jabRI]

Thanks for responding, I too felt like it came out of nowhere.

[DEL901]

The season 3 cast has been announced.  Bunch of athletes, Olympic and pro, 2 Bachelorettes and Denise Richards and Stephen Baldwin and a couple of former Disney  kids. 
https://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/pictures/meet-special-forces-season-3-cast-trista-sutter-stephen-baldwin-more/

[Jeanne222]

On 11/15/2024 at 7:01 PM, DEL901 said:

The season 3 cast has been announced.  Bunch of athletes, Olympic and pro, 2 Bachelorettes and Denise Richards and Stephen Baldwin and a couple of former Disney  kids. 
https://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/pictures/meet-special-forces-season-3-cast-trista-sutter-stephen-baldwin-more/

Kayla Nicole is an interesting choice.  Perhaps a draw for the show since Travis Kelsey is in the daily news!

I wonder if he thinks of her as he chases Taylor's money.  

[Frost]

I've never seen this show, but People mag has an article with Denise Richards complaining that her breast implants popped jumping off a bridge!  What does that even mean?  Did silicone burst out and spread all around under her skin?  It sounds absolutely horrifying and she's complaining that she has to pay to have them redone herself!  I was hoping maybe the show would have taught her that fake boobs aren't necessary, but apparently no self reflection was obtained during her arduous experience.  😄

[DEL901]

1 hour ago, Frost said:

I've never seen this show, but People mag has an article with Denise Richards complaining that her breast implants popped jumping off a bridge!  What does that even mean?  Did silicone burst out and spread all around under her skin?  It sounds absolutely horrifying and she's complaining that she has to pay to have them redone herself!  I was hoping maybe the show would have taught her that fake boobs aren't necessary, but apparently no self reflection was obtained during her arduous experience.  😄

I skipped season 1 partway through the first episode because of Kate Gosselin.  I didn’t realize how many of the cast can’t handle what they signed up for. Sounds like Denise is one of them.  

[borealis]

That poor medic, being interrogated by the likes of that douche. 

The woman who thought she had hypothermia, what was the answer? I realized later that I must have blinked & missed it. 

 

[KeithJ]

Stephen Baldwin “I’m not a quitter” but then says everything he can to make sure he gets cut first.

I’ve always liked Denise Richards but really am not surprised she was the first woman out.

Cam Newton and Golden Tate - immature clowns who can’t take anything seriously.

Felt a little bad for Ali having to leave due to a broken finger.

Looks like it’s on again for two hours next week.  I guess that’s why it’s only five weeks?  Two hours every week?

[snarts]

Interesting cast.

The NFLers are both recent young, only recently retired, and should have an distinct fitness advantage. I thought gymnast Jordan Wiebler would fare a bit better with all the core strength.

Glad Stephen's gone, he was sucking all the oxygen. A bit sad for Denise, I think she really wanted to gain something from the experience but (as an also 53 year old I understand that shit hurts. 

[seacliffsal]

This is the first episode I have ever watched.  Are all the Baldwin brothers this entitled?  I was rooting for Stephen at first, but wow did his likeability factor change in an instant for me.

I really do wonder about the true motivations for signing up for something like this for many of the participants.  I couldn't believe that Cam just rammed Golden after the bungee jump challenge.  

This is a 10 day challenge for the participants.  It will really be interesting how they fare throughout the season.

[Jeanne222]

I'm curious about how much money they are making day by day, stunt by stunt or just being picked.

Are they desperate for the money?  I don't know a lot of them but Baldwin is gone thank heavens!

Ali and Trista former bachelorettes can't be soldier material .  I see Kelseys old girlfriend is there.  Denise tried hard.

[DEL901]

5 hours ago, Jeanne222 said:

I'm curious about how much money they are making day by day, stunt by stunt or just being picked.

Are they desperate for the money?  I don't know a lot of them but Baldwin is gone thank heavens!

Ali and Trista former bachelorettes can't be soldier material .  I see Kelseys old girlfriend is there.  Denise tried hard.

Season 1, one of the final contestants standing when it ended was Bachelorette Hannah Brown.

[SVNBob]

On 1/3/2025 at 4:57 PM, Frost said:

I've never seen this show, but People mag has an article with Denise Richards complaining that her breast implants popped jumping off a bridge!  What does that even mean? 

Now that it's aired, we can infer the meaning.

I would imagine that the sudden stop at the end of the jump safely distributed the energy through the harness as it should have, but the impact of said harness on her body at that moment jostled her in such a manner that caused the implants to pop.  I would also assume that the implants were not new and may have already been weakened by age.  So while this may have been the cause of the pop, they were likely to do so anyway.

[borealis]

Poor Stephen Baldwin. First, he's "Alec's brother", then "Justin Bieber's father-in-law", and now "that douche that was on that 'Special Forces' show".

[bosawks]

18 minutes ago, borealis said:

Poor Stephen Baldwin. First, he's "Alec's brother", then "Justin Bieber's father-in-law", and now "that douche that was on that 'Special Forces' show".

Asking the Doctor if he was paid to be there, no, he's volunteering his time you stupid, condescending fuck.

[DEL901]

1 hour ago, borealis said:

Poor Stephen Baldwin. First, he's "Alec's brother", then "Justin Bieber's father-in-law", and now "that douche that was on that 'Special Forces' show".

 

1 hour ago, bosawks said:

Asking the Doctor if he was paid to be there, no, he's volunteering his time you stupid, condescending fuck.

He is such an asshat.  This is season 3, not season 1.  It is on you if you didn’t know how hard it was going to be.

 

https://ew.com/stephen-baldwin-explains-why-he-left-special-forces-so-early-8772216

[seacliffsal]

I still don't understand why Stephen was so aggressive towards the doctor.  That was the scene that caused me to change my view of him.  Whatever his reasons it seemed like he viewed himself as superior to the doctor (listing all of his injuries-whatever...).

Many 'celebrities' seem to realize that a positive attitude/work ethic on various reality shows may lead to renewed popularity and work opportunities.  It doesn't seem like Stephen realized this.

[bosawks]

To be fair maybe this is that gross pile of ooze at his most positive and hard working.....

[FlyingEgret]

He also may have thought the doctor's office was private with no cameras? Otherwise he is just a run-of-the-mill condescending entitled asshole

[SVNBob]

Update from Denise:

She still hasn't dealt with her ruptured implants, and she hasn't yet decided whether she'll do replacement or just removal.  But she wasn't concerned about them during the show.

Apparently, she'd had surgeries for multiple hernias in the past, and the harness for the bridge jump also went over that area.  So she thought she might have re-injured herself there.  (She kinda did, but just some swelling that went down soon after her departure and nothing requiring additional surgeries.)  And that was her main health concern; the possibility of the weight of the packs and all the activity re-aggravating her hernias.

That information makes the lead-up to her forced withdrawal make more sense.  Her not being able to move that fast, the pack seemingly more cumbersome for her than others, and her inability to rock back and forth on her back; all results of her back being stressed by swelling around prior hernia surgery sites.

 

[seacliffsal]

That's too bad about Denise as she seemed to have a good attitude and really wanted to try/succeed.  She seemed to gain a bit of confidence in the short time she was there.  I liked her.

[TiredMe]

I just watched the two hours. I have never been so happy finding out I didn’t have to listen to that windbag Stephen any longer. He’s totally insufferable. I don’t what it is but haven’t all the football/basketball dudes in this show been totally immature? Trying to remember. 
 

feel bad for Ali. She really wanted to be there and clearly trained hard for it.

[paul4295]

I was unfamiliar with a lot of these people and had to look them up.  I was interested in how little air time some of them got after two hours of show.  I assume that's because they were competent at the tasks and didn't cause any drama.  Denise Richards was definitely out of her league physically, but I give her a lot of credit for doing it and trying her best.  I give Stephen Baldwin a lot of credit for completing the helicopter challenge, but he shouldn't have done the show if he was worried about losing a future job, and I'm glad I don't have to hear him talk anymore.  I was liking Ali Manno, who was shown being helpful to others, and felt bad for her when she had to leave.

[Terrafamilia]

Even if I were 30 yrs younger and at my healthiest and fittest, and not hampered with bad feet, I would have seriously considered voluntarily removing myself once I found out about the no toilet paper. That is just cruel. 😧 

[bosawks]

On 1/12/2025 at 1:51 PM, paul4295 said:

I was liking Ali Manno, who was shown being helpful to others, and felt bad for her when she had to leave.

I loved the jumpcut to Mr. Broken Bones himself, Carey Hart, who looked like he wanted to walk right over there snap it back in place, tie it up, and tell her not to tell the powers that be.......

[alexa]

So you have to wonder why some that know they leave early build up the experience so much.  I was looking forward to Trista and assumed she stayed longer as she has been talking about it a lot.  Then on this episode she is basically out in the first 5 minutes as she asked to leave.  I just find it odd she would be so hyped about the whole thing when she was barely even a part of the show.  I think she was expecting to be shown more, and will see they basically shoved her off quickly, lol.

[snarts]

They lost three highly motivated recruits due to boxing injuries. Seems excessive. If broken ribs are that common, seems like they could've provided them with some protection especially considering most had zero experience. 

I fully understood why Trista voluntarily withdrew. I seriously consider quitting my job every morning when the alarm sounds too.

[seacliffsal]

I was totally put off by the forced fighting and then the medical exiting of three participants (most of whom had very little screen time before their exits).  I don't understand why they would put such a brutal activity in the show at this point.  Not sure if I will keep watching as I felt the fighting was a bit too much for the show.  

It's also a bit disappointing to me how much air time/confessions the two football players get compared to everyone else.

[KeithJ]

This season is either more brutal than last season or the contestants are weaker.  Four medical exits already (broken finger, broken ribs, broken ribs, broken nose)?

Maybe this is why it's only six hours over three days?  They lost too many people too quickly?

[alexa]

I think this season is not as good as the previous two.  The editing is awful, they hardly show some even though they know they don’t last long.  In previous seasons if they ignored someone it was because they knew there was time later.  The challenges are also less interesting.  I didn’t watch the fighting section so that explains why so many were missing later.  I am not really into anyone that is left.  

[AnyTimeFromNow]

9 hours ago, KeithJ said:

This season is either more brutal than last season or the contestants are weaker.  Four medical exits already (broken finger, broken ribs, broken ribs, broken nose)?

If this show is renewed for a 4th season, they seriously need to reconsider the "hand-to-hand combat" test. In the past, this hasn't been an issue, but in this season, it is BRUTAL. I don't want to watch people getting actual broken bones on reality TV. I really like the tests where people have to face their fears--but this isn't one of those. I hope the producers have learned a lesson.