S40.E06: My Real Friends Era

[AntFTW]

Quote

With alliances and deals brewing, one Challenger must decide between righting their past wrongs with a friend, or creating a divide amongst the eras they have chosen to work alongside.

Air date: September 25, 2024

[AntFTW]

So people are just going to keep trading Era 2 male targets between Johnny and Nehemiah. All the women like Derek and Ryan too much to nominate them.

I don't know what to say about Brad. His strategy in every challenge or elimination is just to muscle his way through it. The elimination wasn't a timed game and he could've taken his time to get the hang of throwing these awkward balls that look like they're made of plaster.

Derrick is a freak of nature. This man will not stop. I'd be crying like a little bitch if I hurt my leg to the point where I thought it could be broken, and I feel it just gives Derrick more adrenaline; it keeps him going.

Overall, this episode was kind of boring. I didn't really care much about the Michele-Devin-Johnny drama.

Edited September 26 by AntFTW

[Lantern7]

I got distracted with my iPad through the second half of the episode. Maybe I should record this and watch Survivor "live."

It is wild that Era 1 now consists solely of Road Rules alumni.

Of all the times for Cara Maria to not be petty.

Josh is still a wanker.

I still feel Rachel is overrated. The Arena was a toss-up, where skills didn't mean that much.

[mojoween]

10 hours ago, AntFTW said:

I didn’t really care much about the Michele-Devin-Johnny drama.

I didn’t *understand* the Michele-Devin-Johnny drama.  Johnny said what he said, and Michele told Devin, and then Johnny said he didn’t say it, so Michele doesn’t believe what she heard?  Is that the jist?  Like why didn’t the three of them talk it out together, in the same room?

Did Derrick break his leg or not?  Unless I missed it because I was watching while working, feels like they didn’t put a pin in that storyline.

[Jobiska]

4 hours ago, mojoween said:

I didn’t *understand* the Michele-Devin-Johnny drama.  Johnny said what he said, and Michele told Devin, and then Johnny said he didn’t say it, so Michele doesn’t believe what she heard?  Is that the jist?  Like why didn’t the three of them talk it out together, in the same room?

Did Derrick break his leg or not?  Unless I missed it because I was watching while working, feels like they didn’t put a pin in that storyline.

Re Derrick, we saw medics and they let him keep hopping, so I assume it wasn't broken and wasn't something that would get him pulled from the Challenge, but it would have been nice to hear "It's a sprain" or something...we at least heard what happened to CT after the water crunch!

Nice of Laurel to keep snipping and snipping at Cara every chance she gets, about redheaded toddlers or whatever.  

The M/D/J drama--Johnny lied to Devin's face, which is not surprising, but I don't get why Olivia, who talking-headed that it was a lie, didn't back up her purported BFF.  

And then the John talking head near the end about how everyone's a backstabber blah blah.  Yeah, you are.  Josh is going to be so betrayed later on, I just know it.  John going on and on about heaping on the guilt.  Uggghhhh

This time they at least made clear that you can't put people in back-to-back--I don't remember that being said before.

[mojoween]

I was surprised about that too, when TJ said you can’t nominate someone who is already a target.  Because I felt like Cory was heading to nomming Laurel again.

I hate volunteering.  Make the losers make a decision, dammit!  Don’t make it easy for them!

[angelamh66]

Although I hate Bananas I did have to laugh when he said he was heaping the guilt on Josh. Poor dumb Josh. I fear he will never learn. He wants to be liked by the "big dogs" so badly that he sacrifices his own game to be in their very fleeting and limited favor. 

 

[bunnyface]

I didn't get to watch last night because my system decided for me that I don't need to record that show any longer.  The system is probably smarter than I am.

2 hours ago, Jobiska said:

Nice of Laurel to keep snipping and snipping at Cara every chance she gets, about redheaded toddlers or whatever.  
 

2 hours ago, mojoween said:

I was surprised about that too, when TJ said you can’t nominate someone who is already a target.  Because I felt like Cory was heading to nomming Laurel again.

 

Did Laurel and Cara communicate?  Because Cara said they had security for several days to keep Laurel away from her.   Any evidence of that?

They probably had to make that rule to keep Laurel from being nominated every time.  Because I'd dang sure be up for that.  

[Jobiska]

2 hours ago, bunnyface said:

Did Laurel and Cara communicate?  Because Cara said they had security for several days to keep Laurel away from her.   Any evidence of that?

What I saw, on only one watch through, was Laurel saying to John, "you know how the pesky younger sister is poking at you in the car, then you smack her, then you get in trouble?" which I don't know whether Cara could overhear or not, and then soon after, she commented to someone else who has kids (didn't quite catch whom) something about "you know what annoying redheaded toddlers are like."  That, the cameras implied Cara heard, as she was around the corner, and it showed her rolling her eyes or some such reaction.  

Of course, they could have shoehorned in footage from beforehand; but technically Laurel was "away" from Cara, just saying mean things within her hearing.

 

[AntFTW]

12 hours ago, mojoween said:

I hate volunteering.  Make the losers make a decision, dammit!  Don’t make it easy for them!

I know! One of the things that creates tension and drama is making people say names. I want people to say names. I want them to say all the names. Make them say names. Don't volunteer.

Selflessness and nobility doesn't win The Challenge.

[AntFTW]

Brad talks about the Laurel-Cara blowup in the previous episode on Johnny's podcast. I'm summarizing but Brad pretty much says that Cara antagonized Laurel saying some "abrasive" and "emotionally charging" things and Laurel tried to ignore Cara. Brad says Laurel "plugged her ears and started singing," and then Laurel reacts with the blowup that we see in the last episode. Basically, Brad is saying that Cara played the victim in front of everyone when Laurel blew up, but omitted that she had just antagonized Laurel.

Edited September 27 by AntFTW

[LaurelleJ]

This episode was so so. CT is gone so I'm sad. Era 1 is dropping like flies and I need them to pick it up. I feel like a challenge should be breaking their way sooner or later. It will be fun to see eras 2, 3, and 4 sweat even more for once. 

I don't think I'll ever come around on Josh. He gets on my nerves. I don't get the whole thing about Devin-Johnny-Michele but I guess they didn't have anything better so we were stuck with that. 

I'm sad to see Brad go, not so much for him but I would like for Era 1 to not keep falling. Now Darrell is a target?! I can't. Tina did make me laugh trying to hide from being chosen. If they lose one more female I guess the lone female is automatic target every week and that would suck. 

Hoping next week's episode is better. 

[AntFTW]

1 hour ago, LaurelleJ said:

I don't think I'll ever come around on Josh. He gets on my nerves.

The only time I've liked Josh is when he was raising hell on USA 2 in the winner's deliberation trying to save the other vets. 😂 ... and maybe that one time he went off on Fessy. 🤔

[millennium]

Like most of you, I'm a longtime Challenge fan.

Having said that, is it just me or is this one big boring season?

Now CT is gone before he really had a chance to be CT.  I got the impression he showed up for the free vacation and that's it.   He came onto the show about 30 pounds overweight and seemingly complacent, quite a difference from the last season he won.

What's with the constant shots of Bananas with a guitar?   I expect him to start singing "I gave my love a cherry that had no stone ..."   That's not who I want to see.  

Aside from his "sports parent" behavior, Jordan hasn't been getting much camera time either.  

These are three guys who could always be counted on to stir the pot.

Instead, we get -- wait for it -- Michele Fucking Fitzgerald in an all-you-can-eat number of confessionals.   Or Olivia reminding us over and over what a colossal snooze she is, no matter how much she pimps her boobs.

I'll say this for the current season: it's a vivid demonstration of how exponentially more interesting the vets' personalities are vs. Error Era 4.  I mean, Keshan?  Really?

The so-called Vacation Alliance is unfortunate.  The Challenge works best when people are rivals and haters, not folks you fly off to to Cabo with.

One of my watching companions had to miss the last few episodes and wants me to watch them over with him.   This season is so uninteresting that I am dreading it.  

 

[jsm1125]

I’m thinking that Johnny tried to stir shit between Devin and Michele for this reason. Devin has played a damn near flawless political/social game on Spies, Lies and Allies and on Ride or Dies. And has gotten a much calmer head while in the game since his early days. So the only way to throw Devin off his game is to go for his “heart” in Michele. 

[AntFTW]

41 minutes ago, jsm1125 said:

And has gotten a much calmer head while in the game since his early days.

Devin's gotten a calmer head? 👀