S39.E19: Only One Gets the Crown

[AntFTW]

Quote

The final six contenders compete for a place amongst the most esteemed competitors.

Air date: February 21, 2024

[Lamb18]

This challenge with the tiles is another version of Big Brother's egg challenge.

Yay for Nurys! Winner of three elimination challenges.

[Lamb18]

I like how TJ grabs Corey by his shoulder strap and pulls him to the edge of the cliff.

[AntFTW]

I can't even be mad at Emanuel. He completely murdered this entire final.

[DEL901]

I googled….average net income in Romania is $1,118 a month, so the prize is pretty meaningful to Emmanuel.  Corey keeps saying 3rd place is $30,000….i thought it was $16,000?.?

I like that the top 2 did a fairly drama free final.   Berna… no words.  

[AntFTW]

4 minutes ago, DEL901 said:

Berna… no words.

Berna... all the words. She said all the words. Lots of words.

Complained the ENTIRE! TIME!

If she comes back for future seasons, at least everyone knows how she performs.

Edited February 22 by AntFTW

[Lamb18]

I am OK with Emanuel winning though he did coast through most of the season. I'm glad Nurys took second place and wish she would have won. She was the true champion of the season.

[AntFTW]

1 minute ago, Lamb18 said:

I am OK with Emanuel winning though he did coast through most of the season. I'm glad Nurys took second place and wish she would have won. She was the true champion of the season.

That second place prize is a good chunk of money. I'm glad she got that if she couldn't get first place.

I think if she would have stuck out the Sudoku puzzle when she started instead of going back and forth between the different stations, she would have won. However, I understand that sometimes a puzzle can start make to sense after you take a little break from it.

15 minutes ago, DEL901 said:

Corey keeps saying 3rd place is $30,000….i thought it was $16,000?.?

I think they lost $16K on that first portion of the final. The second and third place prizes got reduced by a total of $16K across both.

[mojoween]

That was a bummer.  So close!

Of all the awful people who were awful, can Berna be the awfulest one who is never ever invited back?  Her drama was EXHAUSTING.

[bunnyface]

Well, it's over.  That's something at least.  They did flashbacks to a couple of challenges I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO memory of.  This season lasted a thousand years.

[AntFTW]

14 hours ago, bunnyface said:

Well, it's over.  That's something at least.  They did flashbacks to a couple of challenges I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO memory of.  This season lasted a thousand years.

That reunion that I will completely skip is going to be filled with people we forgot were even on this season. 😂

Edited February 22 by AntFTW

[Lantern7]

S39 ends with a whimper, as my biggest challenge is finding new nicknames for Emanuel. So far, I've come up with Discount Turbo, Poor Man's Nandor, Vampire Boy and Count Cheatula. Seriously, if we had to have a "unique" Romanian, we should have gotten Emy.

The only solace is that the second place money was not exactly chump change. Nurys took out some of the heaviest hitters the franchise had to offer, and she gave up hope for a happy ending. Naturally, we get Emanuel winning because the Challenge Gods (if they exist) love the idea of a dude cheating on his girlfriend getting the win. And, real talk, it probably took him a while for him to tell her about it.

Colleen wins third place. Whatever. I reckon she's forgettable in the big picture, in that she didn't have to sweat much. Corey taking third would've been better, even though he played like scared wallpaper* through most of the season. He did take out Jay, and his reasons for wanting to win were compelling. Sadly for him, the balance beam will be a treat compared to the roasting Melissa and Big T will give him at the Reunion.

(*I read a recap calling him that. Needless to say, that was an impressive burn)

Berna is a wreck. She's probably a decent person, but she's an emotional wreck that needs to exist away from cameras. It can get unbearable just watching her.

Naturally, the final mission was hell. I especially loved TJ giving Corey shit on the rappel. In my mind, this isn't Theo Whatever-The-Fuck-His-Name-Was quitting in Invasion of the Champions. When you run people ragged throughout the day and prevent them from sleeping at night, you're bound to get a few crack-ups. I'm tired of TJ's "I Hate Quitters" spiel. If he does the "Hope to see you never" schtick on someone, I'd want that person to snap back. Since when is Teege bulletproof? He's become an asshole, and I'd want him called out on it.

Also, we had a situation where Corey was freaking down and Berna tried to talk him down. That's a special kind of hilarity right there.

Well, that's that. We have the Reunion, but CBS will bring back Survivor next week, and that should disappoint as much as S39. There's also the promise of All Stars 4 with some big names, but I'm thinking that season was a dud if Paramount decided to shelve it for so long. On the bright side, S40 should be an "event" much like Dirty XXX was. I'm just skeptical that'll clear any high bars.

[ImpinAintEasy]

I was spoiled on the winner a couple of weeks back. He’s okay.  He said he tried not to go all out throughout the season to avoid being seen as a bigger threat. And to be honest, his performance in the final does lend some credence to that. 
 

Glad the season is finally over.

[aghst]

4 hours ago, AntFTW said:

I can't even be mad at Emanuel. He completely murdered this entire final.

 

4 hours ago, DEL901 said:

I googled….average net income in Romania is $1,118 a month, so the prize is pretty meaningful to Emmanuel.  Corey keeps saying 3rd place is $30,000….i thought it was $16,000?.?

I like that the top 2 did a fairly drama free final.   Berna… no words.  

 

4 hours ago, Lamb18 said:

I am OK with Emanuel winning though he did coast through most of the season. I'm glad Nurys took second place and wish she would have won. She was the true champion of the season.

I didn't want Emanuel to win during the season when he helped Jay and Michelle get rid of Horacio and Kyland.

But he was smart, just didn't want to be the last two that everyone in the big alliance would target.

So he drafted behind all the ones who were controlling the game, rather than band with the smaller group to try to equalize both sides.

Then he pounced when he got the chance, getting rid of Jay.

Looked for a second like he was going to blow it on the sudoku and he did squander a lot of his lead.  But for the most part, he didn't let the puzzles completely negate the lead he got from running and swimming faster than the others.

Horacio and Kyland may be better athletes -- well definitely in the case of Horacio.  But the puzzles would have equalized so he might still have won.

Turns out Jay should have been trying to eliminate Emanuel, who might not have survived as many eliminations.

 It's not a bad story, his grandparents don't have heaters and his mother has to work in England.  It's good money but after taxes, it may not change his life as much as he thinks, especially if he's helping everyone else.

He took advantage of Colleen and he's going to have to try to make amends with the girlfriend back home.

$60k isn't bad for Nurys either.  Sounds like she carries some financial burden for her family as well.

Colleen seemed happy with $30k but she said she never had that much money?  Well they're all pretty young but that's not a lot of money.  But she's studying to be a therapist so maybe she's still living on a student's budget.

[AntFTW]

5 minutes ago, aghst said:

It's good money but after taxes, it may not change his life as much as he thinks, especially if he's helping everyone else.

If he still lives in Romania, which I will assume he does for now, then it will definitely be life-changing money.

7 minutes ago, aghst said:

$60k isn't bad for Nurys either.  Sounds like she carries some financial burden for her family as well.

I agree. $60K is a nice check for second place.

8 minutes ago, aghst said:

Colleen seemed happy with $30k but she said she never had that much money?  Well they're all pretty young but that's not a lot of money.  But she's studying to be a therapist so maybe she's still living on a student's budget.

When she said that, the first thing I thought about was all those posts on social media that look like these people are on vacation 365 days a year. 😂

[bunnyface]

Have we ever seen TJ be this involved in a final?  It seems like usually he just sends them on their way and meets them at the end.  But I don't remember him being present and actually forcing someone to complete a challenge and telling them they can't quit.  

I bet Corey hurt after doing down the rappel on his ass.  

Berna cheated off Colleen twice (she let her look) and still came in last.  I'd be okay with never seeing her again.  

I think I prefer the seasons where you have to go into elimination to get to the final, even though that system had flaws also.  But to see a final stacked with people who never saw an elimination doesn't feel right.

[joanne3482]

I liked that this final was a good balance of things that meant the women weren't automatically out. I think some finals in years past were definitely stacked towards the men at the checkpoints. Nurys legitimately had a shot and could have won this. 

59 minutes ago, bunnyface said:

I think I prefer the seasons where you have to go into elimination to get to the final, even though that system had flaws also.  But to see a final stacked with people who never saw an elimination doesn't feel right.

I agree. I liked those seasons a lot. There were definitely things I would have wanted to change about them but it was fun watching CT and others squirm about having to go in to get their skull. 

[erikaelvis]

9 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

S39 ends with a whimper, as my biggest challenge is finding new nicknames for Emanuel. So far, I've come up with Discount Turbo, Poor Man's Nandor, Vampire Boy and Count Cheatula. Seriously, if we had to have a "unique" Romanian, we should have gotten Emy.

The only solace is that the second place money was not exactly chump change. Nurys took out some of the heaviest hitters the franchise had to offer, and she gave up hope for a happy ending. Naturally, we get Emanuel winning because the Challenge Gods (if they exist) love the idea of a dude cheating on his girlfriend getting the win. And, real talk, it probably took him a while for him to tell her about it.

Colleen wins third place. Whatever. I reckon she's forgettable in the big picture, in that she didn't have to sweat much. Corey taking third would've been better, even though he played like scared wallpaper* through most of the season. He did take out Jay, and his reasons for wanting to win were compelling. Sadly for him, the balance beam will be a treat compared to the roasting Melissa and Big T will give him at the Reunion.

(*I read a recap calling him that. Needless to say, that was an impressive burn)

Berna is a wreck. She's probably a decent person, but she's an emotional wreck that needs to exist away from cameras. It can get unbearable just watching her.

Naturally, the final mission was hell. I especially loved TJ giving Corey shit on the rappel. In my mind, this isn't Theo Whatever-The-Fuck-His-Name-Was quitting in Invasion of the Champions. When you run people ragged throughout the day and prevent them from sleeping at night, you're bound to get a few crack-ups. I'm tired of TJ's "I Hate Quitters" spiel. If he does the "Hope to see you never" schtick on someone, I'd want that person to snap back. Since when is Teege bulletproof? He's become an asshole, and I'd want him called out on it.

Also, we had a situation where Corey was freaking down and Berna tried to talk him down. That's a special kind of hilarity right there.

Well, that's that. We have the Reunion, but CBS will bring back Survivor next week, and that should disappoint as much as S39. There's also the promise of All Stars 4 with some big names, but I'm thinking that season was a dud if Paramount decided to shelve it for so long. On the bright side, S40 should be an "event" much like Dirty XXX was. I'm just skeptical that'll clear any high bars.

If you can, I highly recommend listening to the podcast with Emanuel.  He talked about the intense training he did to prepare.  He came in with a plan and was physically ready and it worked.  He certainly deserved the win.  Some people come into this challenge woefully unprepared for the physicality of it all and he was ready.  He also talked about how this win allowed him to put in heaters for his granddad and how much this truly changed his family's life.  
The difference between him and others is he wanted this win, and needed this win.  He wanted it, he trained hard and he won.  Deservedly so.

[AntFTW]

37 minutes ago, joanne3482 said:

I liked that this final was a good balance of things that meant the women weren't automatically out.

I liked everything after the Nurys/Moriah elimination. I think the previous checkpoints with all the lifting and moving of heavy shit gave an edge to the men.

[Duke Silver]

I've been looking ahead to S40 for what seems to be an eternity.  39 is in my rearview, and I don't plan to ever think of it again.  Just piling on, but Berna....please, do not come back.  Talk about unenjoyable television...she is the epitome of that.

[Jobiska]

I don't like to be meanspirited, but I couldn't help smirking every time Berna's balancing thingies fell down.  Her whining was just too much, and her hypocrisy (still not over her bullying Amber B. back in the day, and then whining about being bullied herself).  Emmanuel did earn it physically, and I'm happy for his family, and happy for Nurys.  

I wonder if they weren't allowed to scooch along on hands and knees on the balance beam, like some end up doing on Survivor.

 

[jsm1125]

Were the control and chaos portions not part of the cumulative time that the finalists had? In other words, the winner was based solely on conquest? Something feels off about that.

Production couldn’t come up with a better storyline for Emmanuel than cheating on his girlfriend? 

[AntFTW]

8 hours ago, Jobiska said:

I don't like to be meanspirited, but I couldn't help smirking every time Berna's balancing thingies fell down.  Her whining was just too much, and her hypocrisy (still not over her bullying Amber B. back in the day, and then whining about being bullied herself).

Berna did the same to Nurys in this season (in her interviews, not to Nurys' face). Berna complained about Nurys going off about nobody having her back, excusing it as it being Nurys' fault that she was on the outs. However, apparently, it was forgotten that she was crying, complaining, and had an attitude at the start of the season because she felt isolated from everyone in the house and alone.

I cracked! up! every time Berna complained about having to drink that nasty mix. I cracked up every time she was "I can't do it." I laugh when she cried. It felt like I was laughing at Fessy.

This was me:

4 hours ago, jsm1125 said:

Were the control and chaos portions not part of the cumulative time that the finalists had? In other words, the winner was based solely on conquest? Something feels off about that.

I think so but they've done that over the last few finals. Instead of a cumulative time of all the stages determining the winner, they're playing for an advantage on the next stage. They were playing for safety, sabotages and head starts. Then, the final stage is a foot race to the finish with some equalizing checkpoints along the way.

[mojoween]

Corey’s legs are so long I just wanted him to try taking a run at the beam and see if he could just fly across.  

[bunnyface]

2 hours ago, mojoween said:

Corey’s legs are so long I just wanted him to try taking a run at the beam and see if he could just fly across.  

I kind of think that's the key to those things. Go quickly so you're done or almost done before you have time to think about the balancing part and you can jump off the end.

[DEL901]

1 minute ago, bunnyface said:

I kind of think that's the key to those things. Go quickly so you're done or almost done before you have time to think about the balancing part and you can jump off the end.

Agree.  He got in his head, just like the rappelling.   

[luckyroll3]

On 2/21/2024 at 9:21 PM, AntFTW said:

I can't even be mad at Emanuel. He completely murdered this entire final.

Same! I'm equally mad and impressed because he smoked everyone at just about every stage of the final and I wasn't expecting that. But I'm pleased knowing that because of this, no one will EVER let him coast to a final again!

Between Berna and Corey, I'm not sure who was most annoying this episode. Also Corey, it's just a fucking balance beam 4 inches off the ground. Run your ass across that shit. Gosh!!

[LaurelleJ]

Another season I got through completely without being spoiled, I'm happy. I prefer to watch that way. I thought that Emmanuel would choose Corey, I don't know why I didn't think that he would choose Nurys for the elimination. I feel like Nurys would have beaten anyone on that elimination. 

TJ encouraging but also kind of dumping on Corey was strange/interesting/hilarious. Surprise surprise, there are heights on these challenges. I don't know why this one was worse for him than some of the other ones they have done this season. For all the huffing and puffing, Corey and Berna could have been eliminated before this. Like I'm actually glad they didn't win, place, or show. 

I felt nothing for Emmanuel winning, Congrats, I guess. I was happy for Nurys, I wish she had won, but glad that she at least gets some more money. Colleen coming in 3rd was not on my bingo card. I wonder how close she and Corey actually were on that long road. I would have been so pissed if someone had passed me on that road right before the end. 

Also maybe it's just me and I wasn't paying that much attention, but this final wasn't super hard, not like I've seen in the past. 

At the end of the season, it's a romp. The premise was intriguing but they had the wrong set of challengers and I really didn't care if any of them because champs, just that Michele and Jay didn't. I guess in the end, that's the win. 

Edited February 25 by LaurelleJ

[bunnyface]

7 hours ago, LaurelleJ said:

 

I felt nothing for Emmanuel winning, Congrats, I guess. I was happy for Nurys, I wish she had won, but glad that she at least gets some more money. Colleen coming in 3rd was not on my bingo card. I wonder how close she and Corey actually were on that long road. I would have been so pissed if someone had passed me on that road right before the end. 

 

I don't think any of the finishes were very close because that was a looong, narrow straightaway and the whole time they are filming one contestant running, you never see anyone else in the background.  I think if they had been close enough to even see, they would have shown that.  "Oh, XXX is coming up behind you!"  None of that.

[peachmangosteen]

On 2/22/2024 at 8:34 PM, jsm1125 said:

Production couldn’t come up with a better storyline for Emmanuel than cheating on his girlfriend? 

I think that's pretty much all they had to work with. He coasted, never doing anything but be up Jay's ass and cheat on his girlfriend multiple times. 

[millennium]

Just finished this episode a few minutes ago.  What a flaming heap of dung this season was.

No respect for Emmanuel at all.   None.  

Nurys was the champion this season.   She single-handedly took out all the heavy hitters and she did it with determination and style.

Emanuel didn't go into a single elimination.   Did he win a single daily?  His most memorable moment was when he tried to call out Jordan and Jordan reminded him he could have volunteered to come down on the sand go against him if he was feeling so cocky, defanging vampire-boy on the spot.   Who the fuck is Emmanuel to pontificate ad nauseum about what a champion is.   Fuck you, Emmanuel.

And fuck you, Corey, you fucking crybaby.  TJ should have pulled you from the game or maybe just thrown you off the cliff.   "This is for the little boy who ..."  oh STFU.

What the hell has happened to this show?  Why has it been remade in Survivor's image?  Where's Hall Brawl?  Where's pole wrestle?  Where are the physical eliminations?

And I'm sorry but OMG, LETTERS FROM HOME?  A GROUP CRYING SESSION?  ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? 

 

[millennium]

On 2/22/2024 at 8:34 PM, jsm1125 said:

Production couldn’t come up with a better storyline for Emmanuel than cheating on his girlfriend? 

That's because he's a big nothing.   I think the reason he's decorated his whole body is to compensate for the fact that there's nothing going on inside.   No intelligence, no cleverness, no wit, no warmth, no personality, nothing.   He rode Jay's coattails, benefited from an unfairly weighted final (the women were at a clear disadvantage) and copied Colleen's Sodoku as the only way to edge out Nurys.

[millennium]

There seemed to be way too much confidence among people like Moriah that they will be coming back in future seasons.  "When I come back I'm gonna be big."  Having listened to a lot of Bananas podcasts, I have the impression that players in the past were always consumed by the fear they wouldn't be invited back and would work hard to try to ensure it.   Moriah was a big puddle of vapidity.   Her only story was cheating on Bananas and wearing a thong.   Who knows, maybe she's right.   Maybe they did promise her a years-long contract.  TJ seems to have dispensed with "Good luck, hope to see you in the future" or "I'm sure we'll see you in the future."