S39.E18: The Beginning of the End

[AntFTW]

Quote

The final seven contenders enter the Final, where they must face the three levels of the game again.

Air date: February 14, 2024

[bunnyface]

Is it too much to ask that this be concluded in one episode?  I'm guessing 3 stages, 3 episodes?  

[joanne3482]

1 hour ago, bunnyface said:

Is it too much to ask that this be concluded in one episode?  I'm guessing 3 stages, 3 episodes?  

Wikipedia says 2, tonight and next week. 🤞

[bunnyface]

10 minutes ago, joanne3482 said:

Wikipedia says 2, tonight and next week. 🤞

Thank you.  Worse than one but better than three, in this, the season that never ends.  :-)

Edited February 14 by bunnyface

[AntFTW]

A clip of TJ explaining the final to the Challengers.

Spoiler

 

[AntFTW]

1) The first portion of the final could have been a daily challenge. It would have been a good daily.

2) I’m happy that Corey chooses Jay for the elimination. At first, the elimination game seems like a Survivor-style game and Jay may have an advantage but Jay didn’t win Survivor so maybe not. Bye Jay! 🎉🥳

Corey is welcomed back to my good graces.

3) Corey and Emanuel are dominating the final. They’re holding up better than the women. They are two very fit and athletic men and the checkpoints seem to be more geared towards that. It’s mostly been hauling heavy shit. They have an edge on that.

4) Corey and Berna got the wrong box on that trivia question checkpoint. I’m not sure how much of a detriment that was compared to Nurys and Colleen timing out, or if it meant anything at all because they were just looking for a first place finisher to win power. Was all the 5 checkpoints only meant to win power and safety at the end of that part? Or was that a total time for the final?

[Lantern7]

We've reached the end. The good news: Jay's obnoxious ass is out. The bad news: no one has had to really sweat during the game except for Nurys, and Emanuel looks to have the power to send her to elimination, where she will no doubt lose because this season is one where hope and fair play go to die.

While Corey will probably be eviscerated by Melissa and Big T and their fans at the Reunion, he gets points for challenging and defeating Jay in the name of decency. Yes, Jay played a hell of a game, but he turned into the sort of scumbag that's always been in his way, and it cost him. And the mission looked like something the "Dream Team" of Survivor would cook up, so I figured Jay would've nailed it. Nope. Now he has to sit on the losers' bench with the likes of Olivia and Michele-With-One-L. Very sweet.

I'm tired of this show. I honestly wish I could quit it. For example: "Mole-leen" is supposed to be a thing? Great concept, but Colleen says it like it's been a thing this entire time. Almost as bad as the gross food challenges and "energy drinks": the stupid little graphic of TJ dressed as a chef. That just bugged me. So did Teege's dubbed-in lines about how far the players have gotten. Also: "danger close." That really irritates me.

Is Berna inside her head or up her own ass? She's exhausting. So is Emanuel's realization that her girlfriend back home is too good for his cheating ass. Or maybe there are different standards in Romania. Jay got a typed letter . .  . I can't really hate on that because my handwriting is crap. I can be legible, but printing out stuff is easier for me.

Natch, the players botch the Control portion of the final. Lovely to see Jay get hissy one last time. Chaos seems to be a game of "Hey, Lets Give Nurys The Worst Possible Partner For That Particular Stage." I'm thinking the time will be moot once they get to Conquest . . . but I'm also thinking that they would count. If that's true, Emanuel wins it, and that would be underwhelming as well as irritating. The only positive is that he's laid off the vampire angle in his interviews. The only real happy ending would be if Nurys wins . . . but I don't think she's at a place where she can get it legitimately. I'm also thinking the producers (unlike Teege) wouldn't rig things for her to pull off the miracle win because she doesn't have the clout.

Have I mentioned how happy I am that this season is over? Once we're past this and the subsequent Reunion, we'll finally get All Stars 4 and find out why it's been in the can for so long. My guess: someone minor beat the major stars, and Paramount couldn't bear to air it right away.

[bunnyface]

So I'm wondering what would have happened had Berna quit?  Since they were in pairs, would that person she was paired with automatically be disqualified as well?  Isn't that what happened to Desi and what's-his-name?  Because I could almost see Berna doing that simply to screw over Nurys.  I think Nurys could see it too.

[AntFTW]

22 minutes ago, bunnyface said:

So I'm wondering what would have happened had Berna quit?  Since they were in pairs, would that person she was paired with automatically be disqualified as well?

I wouldn’t think so. My guess is that they would be timed out.

23 minutes ago, bunnyface said:

Isn't that what happened to Desi and what's-his-name?

Yes, but that was a part of the rules they explained in the beginning that if your partner quits before the end of a checkpoint, you’re both disqualified. They didn’t say that here.

8 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

For example: "Mole-leen" is supposed to be a thing? Great concept, but Colleen says it like it's been a thing this entire time.

Did we know this was a thing? I didn’t know that was a thing? This episode was my first time hearing that.

8 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

I'm thinking the time will be moot once they get to Conquest . . . but I'm also thinking that they would count. If that's true, Emanuel wins it, and that would be underwhelming as well as irritating.

I’m torn between that too. I’m starting to lean toward the times being moot once they get to Conquest. That’s because TJ said the person with the fastest time wins power so I’m leaning towards the times only determining who wins power in this phase.

[joanne3482]

When they were blaming Corey for the team failure all I could think was THEY were still fucking around with ropes when the time was called. It isn't like they were waiting on his orange ropes to finish. Few of the other ropes were in place. Also, I may have missed the instructions because I had to mute EVERY eating/drinking challenge because of vomiting, but couldn't he have dropped all the other orange ropes and went back for the one he dropped? 

I was glad Corey picked Jay, although it felt a little too late to me. But maybe that was the ultimate master plan, suck up until the final and then betray. It isn't like Jay didn't betray basically everyone. 

I listened to the "Official Challenge Podcast" this morning. They were trying to get Jay on for this episode, but he didn't go. He's getting a lot of flack on the socials for "throwing rocks and hiding hands." 

[bunnyface]

1 hour ago, joanne3482 said:

When they were blaming Corey for the team failure all I could think was THEY were still fucking around with ropes when the time was called. It isn't like they were waiting on his orange ropes to finish. Few of the other ropes were in place. Also, I may have missed the instructions because I had to mute EVERY eating/drinking challenge because of vomiting, but couldn't he have dropped all the other orange ropes and went back for the one he dropped? 

I was glad Corey picked Jay, although it felt a little too late to me. But maybe that was the ultimate master plan, suck up until the final and then betray. It isn't like Jay didn't betray basically everyone. 

I listened to the "Official Challenge Podcast" this morning. They were trying to get Jay on for this episode, but he didn't go. He's getting a lot of flack on the socials for "throwing rocks and hiding hands." 

I don't think we heard all the rules but it seemed like they couldn't put any ropes on the puzzle until all the ropes were there.  They were arranging them and saying "this one could go there" but not actually placing them.  So I don't think they could until everything was present.

 

2 hours ago, bunnyface said:

So I'm wondering what would have happened had Berna quit?  Since they were in pairs, would that person she was paired with automatically be disqualified as well?  Isn't that what happened to Desi and what's-his-name?  Because I could almost see Berna doing that simply to screw over Nurys.  I think Nurys could see it too.

1 hour ago, AntFTW said:

I wouldn’t think so. My guess is that they would be timed out.

Yes, but that was a part of the rules they explained in the beginning that if your partner quits before the end of a checkpoint, you’re both disqualified. They didn’t say that here.

 

I'm not sure about the time-out because if Berna had "quit" like she said she wanted to, there wouldn't be even pairs for the rest of the portion of the challenge.  So that's why I wondered if it would automatically screw over whoever she quit on.  But she didn't yet, so I guess it's a moot point.  

[AntFTW]

1 hour ago, joanne3482 said:

When they were blaming Corey for the team failure all I could think was THEY were still fucking around with ropes when the time was called. It isn't like they were waiting on his orange ropes to finish. Few of the other ropes were in place.

44 minutes ago, bunnyface said:

I don't think we heard all the rules but it seemed like they couldn't put any ropes on the puzzle until all the ropes were there.

I agree. I don't think they could have started placing the ropes until they have gotten all the ropes back to the symbol.

44 minutes ago, bunnyface said:

I'm not sure about the time-out because if Berna had "quit" like she said she wanted to, there wouldn't be even pairs for the rest of the portion of the challenge.

Admittedly, I'm not sure either. I'm guessing.

However, if Berna had quit, they just would have had to adapt, like they did when Ben was medically DQed on season 1 of USA. Someone always had to be left without a partner and had no chance to sabotaged. Someone always had to do double the work, and if not, they timed out. Justine timed out on her solo portion, while everyone else had partners and finished.

I'm primarily relying on the fact that they didn't say it. On The Challenge USA, they explicitly said if your partner quits, you're also disqualified.

Edited February 15 by AntFTW

[joanne3482]

20 minutes ago, AntFTW said:

I agree. I don't think they could have started placing the ropes until they have gotten all the ropes back to the symbol.

As near as I could tell, though, they hadn't even worked out all the rope placements. I don't think Corey was back with his orange ropes within time at all, but when TJ called 2 minutes they didn't have all the other ropes strung out indicating where they went to just start popping them on the correct locations. If it was 100% on him, they would have been standing there doing nothing with each rope in its appropriate place. I suppose it could also have been that they just gave up because they knew Corey wouldn't be back in time and so decided to save their strength, which is not an invalid strategy. 

I wish when they couldn't get Jay for the podcast they had found someone else because a lot of the time they address things like this which is why I listen.   

[Blueboxes]

On 2/14/2024 at 6:49 PM, AntFTW said:

Corey and Berna got the wrong box on that trivia question checkpoint. I’m not sure how much of a detriment that was compared to Nurys and Colleen timing out

I believe when they got the wrong answer, that meant they had to drag a heavier box - the penalty was the likelihood that it would take longer. Even so, Corey & Berna finished which is better than Nurys and Colleen who timed out.

I have to say I have not been a Corey fan all season but he's winning me over in this episode. Calling Jay out and beating him was fantastic and other than dropping the ropes, he's done really well (and he was carrying more ropes than the rest). If Emmanuel is smart, he'll put Corey into elimination because based upon Chaos, Corey is the biggest threat. 

Not an Emmanuel fan either but he is an amazing competitor.

Hoping Nurys pulls off a miracle #TeamNurys

[AntFTW]

12 hours ago, Blueboxes said:

I believe when they got the wrong answer, that meant they had to drag a heavier box - the penalty was the likelihood that it would take longer. Even so, Corey & Berna finished which is better than Nurys and Colleen who timed out.

At first, that's what I thought. Then the question becomes did they technically finish if they got the wrong answer?

If getting the wrong answer means they would have had to go back and get another box, to me that means Berna and Corey also timed out. They didn't really complete the checkpoint.

To me, that puts Berna and Corey behind Nurys and Colleen. Nurys and Colleen got 1 box, and made it halfway with their second (correct) box. Berna and Corey got one box and their correct box is still sitting at the starting line.

ETA: I completely misread your post. I agree with your thought.

12 hours ago, Blueboxes said:

Hoping Nurys pulls off a miracle #TeamNurys

We're here! #TeamNurys

Edited February 16 by AntFTW

[mojoween]

They wouldn’t have timed out because you could get an answer wrong, the whole trick is that you’d have to carry more weight.

Corey did say on Twitter that it was crap that Nurys and Colleen had to carry those heavy boxes and they should have been more equitable per each challengers ability.

I think Corey had to drag all of the orange ropes with him until he made it back to the circle.  And if the time they showed was correct, even if he didn’t drop one they weren’t going to finish in time.

Corey gets no props for throwing Jay in.  Little late to complain about how he was running the game, pal.

[Ladystardust]

This is much more enjoyable without Michelle. Why did they edit this season with her giving 80% of the talking heads? I am so tired of her and her voice. I’m glad Jay is gone too. Both of them were exhausting this season. 
 

Pulling for a Nurys win. I don’t like when people skate to the final without seeing an elimination. 
 

And I hope Corey burns that awful red pleather vest thing he’s wearing in the talking heads. And his hair looks like a mushroom cloud from an atomic blast. 

[LaurelleJ]

This is the weirdest bunch of challengers for a final. Not in a million years would I have picked this bunch from the top of the season. I can only root for Nurys because of how everyone else played their game. 

I liked how TJ recapped everyone's game. I felt bad for Corey when he dropped the rope. I wonder how much time Corey's mistake actually cost him. Any tea on that yet? I don't even know if they would have had enough time to finish if he didn't do that. Just as well, they had a reason to vote him in. Yes Corey, anyone could have dropped the rope, but you did it, so sorry. I was so excited when Corey picked Jay, and even more excited that Corey beat Jay. YES!! Jay will not win, excellent! Michele and Jay gone in back to back episodes, makes the season a little more tolerable. OK, Corey can now win along with Nurys. 

Berna was too much in the final. No one would want to be paired with her, especially at checkpoint 2. 

I laughed so hard at the random peacock walking by. 

Why did/do they use so much ADR for what TJ says? Do they not have a challenge script for him anymore? The ADR matchup is so strange, it's not clear or natural sometimes. It may not bother people but my ears hate it. 

[mojoween]

TJ’s voiceovers not matching the cadence of his voice during the challenges drives me insane too.

[AntFTW]

2 hours ago, LaurelleJ said:

This is the weirdest bunch of challengers for a final.

That's so true 😂

They look like a group of oddballs. It kinda feels like you tuned into the wrong show.

2 hours ago, LaurelleJ said:

I can only root for Nurys because of how everyone else played their game.

I'm usually rooting for someone to lose in these finals, like Fessy anytime he's on; Kaycee because she usually skates by... but not really caring who wins. I tune in to watch people lose.

I'd like for Nurys to win because everyone else sucked.

2 hours ago, LaurelleJ said:

I liked how TJ recapped everyone's game. I felt bad for Corey when he dropped the rope. I wonder how much time Corey's mistake actually cost him. Any tea on that yet?

No, I haven't seen any cast interviews anywhere about this episode. I guess Jay was supposed to be on The Challenge podcast but he was a no-show.

2 hours ago, LaurelleJ said:

OK, Corey can now win along with Nurys. 

Corey has redeemed himself a little but I'm still #TeamNurys. This can't be a group project. Nurys needs to get it together and pull out the win.

2 hours ago, LaurelleJ said:

Berna was too much in the final. No one would want to be paired with her, especially at checkpoint 2.

Berna is dragging everyone down... and frankly so is Colleen. Colleen clearly works out, and she appears physically fit and all of her fitness seems like it's for nothing.

Separately, Moriah is actually exceeding any expectations I had of her. Her fitness seems to have some real-world application.

One thing kinda cracks me up about Berna is that while I understand English is not her first language, she interprets English in a very literal way. She doesn't seem to understand American or British idioms and/or figurative language.

[Duke Silver]

Cool....Jay is out; Corey was good for something.

Barring a miracle Nurys win, I just can't feel at all hyped any of the others. 

[LaurelleJ]

13 hours ago, AntFTW said:

I'm usually rooting for someone to lose in these finals, like Fessy anytime he's on; Kaycee because she usually skates by... but not really caring who wins. I tune in to watch people lose.

Same. Whenever I see Fessy I want him to lose. I spent this whole season rooting for Michele and Jay to lose. There are very few people I root for to win. There was no one in the beginning of this season that I saw and hoped they would win.

[Duke Silver]

^^^Huh, I just realized I'm more or less the same, hahaha.  I'm kinda sorta rooting for Nurys, but only due to the competition; I range from dislike to utter lack of interest in the non-Nurys finalists.  TBC:  I'm not even, per se, a "fan" of Nurys.  It's just that the others are soooooo unlikable/uninspiring/boring as fuck.

Man, what a heel turn for me.  I started this season thinking "hey, it'll be good for some fresh blood; a new champion."  Guess I veered way too hard into the "the OGs are getting long-in-the-tooth and very predictable" lane.  I'm surprised I miss the old-time regulars as much as I do.  I sincerely thought I was ready to move on....but if S39's crop of Challengers is the best alternatives, fuck that.  Give me more of the old Challengers.  The new ones suck ass for the most part.

[AntFTW]

1 hour ago, LaurelleJ said:

Same. Whenever I see Fessy I want him to lose. I spent this whole season rooting for Michele and Jay to lose. There are very few people I root for to win. There was no one in the beginning of this season that I saw and hoped they would win.

22 minutes ago, Duke Silver said:

^^^Huh, I just realized I'm more or less the same, hahaha.  I'm kinda sorta rooting for Nurys, but only due to the competition; I range from dislike to utter lack of interest in the non-Nurys finalists.  TBC:  I'm not even, per se, a "fan" of Nurys.  It's just that the others are soooooo unlikable/uninspiring/boring as fuck.

Man, what a heel turn for me.  I started this season thinking "hey, it'll be good for some fresh blood; a new champion."  Guess I veered way too hard into the "the OGs are getting long-in-the-tooth and very predictable" lane.  I'm surprised I miss the old-time regulars as much as I do.  I sincerely thought I was ready to move on....but if S39's crop of Challengers is the best alternatives, fuck that.  Give me more of the old Challengers.  The new ones suck ass for the most part.

I was not invested in anyone coming into this season. I didn't care who stayed and who went. For the most part, I still feel that way. I don't care enough about the remaining finalists to root for them to win, with the exception of Nurys because she was dealt such a shitty hand in the end. They could say "no one gets the prize" at the end, and that would be even more entertaining.

In past seasons, I watched for my interest in the people. They had an entertaining crop of characters. After War of the Worlds 2, it just feels like I'm watching because of my loyalty to the show rather than my interest in the cast. The Challenge has been my absolute favorite reality show for a long time now, and I watch because that fondness of the show and nostalgia that I built over all those years. This season gave a little taste of that by bringing in the old vets. I think that's what TPTB over at MTV and/or B&M must believe their audience feels by the fact that they brought back some of the old vets. They did it last season too. The old school vets have been the "special sauce" or "secret formula" that they've been betting on.

[LaurelleJ]

11 hours ago, AntFTW said:

I was not invested in anyone coming into this season. I didn't care who stayed and who went. For the most part, I still feel that way. I don't care enough about the remaining finalists to root for them to win, with the exception of Nurys because she was dealt such a shitty hand in the end. They could say "no one gets the prize" at the end, and that would be even more entertaining.

In past seasons, I watched for my interest in the people. They had an entertaining crop of characters. After War of the Worlds 2, it just feels like I'm watching because of my loyalty to the show rather than my interest in the cast. The Challenge has been my absolute favorite reality show for a long time now, and I watch because that fondness of the show and nostalgia that I built over all those years. This season gave a little taste of that by bringing in the old vets. I think that's what TPTB over at MTV and/or B&M must believe their audience feels by the fact that they brought back some of the old vets. They did it last season too. The old school vets have been the "special sauce" or "secret formula" that they've been betting on.

Absolutely, 100%. At this point I'm watching out of loyalty and honestly out of habit. There's so much challenge, real world, and road rules history stuck up in my brain, though I'm starting to lose it as these new people are continually introduced. At this point I prefer the all-star seasons, can't wait for the next one. 

[AntFTW]

12 hours ago, LaurelleJ said:

Absolutely, 100%. At this point I'm watching out of loyalty and honestly out of habit. There's so much challenge, real world, and road rules history stuck up in my brain, though I'm starting to lose it as these new people are continually introduced. At this point I prefer the all-star seasons, can't wait for the next one. 

They've been waiting a long time for season 4 of All-Stars. We've had how many flagship and spin-off seasons since season 3 of All-Stars?

[millennium]

This is how Jay ends, not with a bang but a whimper.

[millennium]

On 2/16/2024 at 6:44 PM, LaurelleJ said:

YES!! Jay will not win, excellent!

But now he can't invest in his clothing line!  (Or his hair line!)  What will the youth of America do without their Jay Starrett originals?

[millennium]

On 2/17/2024 at 9:58 PM, AntFTW said:

I'm watching because of my loyalty to the show rather than my interest in the cast. The Challenge has been my absolute favorite reality show for a long time now, and I watch because that fondness of the show and nostalgia that I built over all those years. This season gave a little taste of that by bringing in the old vets. I think that's what TPTB over at MTV and/or B&M must believe their audience feels by the fact that they brought back some of the old vets. They did it last season too. The old school vets have been the "special sauce" or "secret formula" that they've been betting on.

So much this.   It's a credit to the casting executives of the past that the vet personalities were so richly amusing and memorable that even people you hated were ten times more interesting than ANYONE in Season 39.   The split screen at the reunion, noobs on one side, vets on the other, was like one of those old advertisements with side-by-side pictures that say "WRONG WAY" and "RIGHT WAY"