S07.E15: Vegas Finals, Part 2

[SmithW6079]

I find it kind of offensive that the wild card spots all went to women. It's a way to condescend to the female competitors, pander to the female viewers, and just embarrass a bunch of ladies all at the same time.

I found it offensive too, but not for that reason. If a woman isn't good enough to make it on skill and merit, then she shouldn't get special treatment. End of story.

I laaaaaauuuuuughed when Kacy fell, and replayed it several times. She is so fucking annoying and the hype surrounding her was vomit-inducing. Jesse and Megan are better athletes and far more personable, but they're relegated to the background -- even their runs became secondary to Kacy's reactions. As for Kacy being supportive of her competitors, that's not unusual; all of the competitors support each other -- look at Ryan Stratis.

And speaking of Ryan Stratis, is it wrong that I ship him and Mike Bernardo?

[SharonH58]

Not Mike Bernardo!  The whole "you have to earn the firefighter coat" thing was hokey.  I love Ryan.  If I was younger I'd chase him up the warped wall!  ;)

[Lingo]

Kacy deserves the "hype" that she gets. I agree that her status as the "first" up the wall is kind of artificial, but she's still the only woman to complete a city finals course. And because of that she became a viral video star, so of course they're going to hype her. She's practically a household name. That's show business. Jessie Graf is the only other woman to qualify for Vegas and has equalled Meghan's Vegas record. Meghan is of course a Vegas pioneer. And Michelle gets my love too because she's also gotten up the wall and she never gives up.

 

Anyway, I don't think Kacy was overhyped or that Jessie or Meghan were relegated to the background.  In fact, Jessie and Meghan were both saved for last women in their respective episodes, before Kacy and Michelle. We saw reaction shots from the other women as each made their Vegas attempt, so I don't even think Kacy got more screen time in that regard. Maybe she did, but I still think she deserves it. In any case, I think she'll always fall behind Meghan and Jessie in Vegas as long as there are trampolines and warped walls, and soon, if not next year, the attention will be split more evenly among them (assuming the show isn't cancelled first).

 

Anyway, I missed this episode TWICE on NBC and my basic cable doesn't get Esquire. Besides Elet Hall, were there any other shocking exits on the men's side?

[Lingo]

They Wildcarded the women this year, but I suspect that's as much because they had fewer WildCards (due to the extra Military course) slots as because they wanted some women to run Stage 1. Anyone got the previous years on hand for the number of Stage 1 competitors? (As in are they always 100 and do the wildcards reflect the padding to get up to 100?)

 

Thinking on that, and on Season 6 (last year), I believe the lack of people getting through to Stage 2 is partly to blame for the Stage 3 fails. Season 6: Stage 1 only had 18 (out of 100, just checked Wiki) get through.

 

But they had 6 cities last year too, and 15 contestants from each city. So the number of remaining wild card slots (10) is the same as before.  As for the number of Stage 1 finishers, wasn't 18 a record last year? (I don't know where the wiki is.) I'm shocked so many made it through this year.

 

I, too, think that this is the year someone will make it to stage 4.  On the off chance that more than one person completes it (just dreaming), will they both get 1 million dollars or just the fastest finisher?  Are they running against other ninjas or the course?

 

I think only the fastest Stage 4 finisher gets the money. I think that's how they do it in Japan -- the fastest finisher is the official winner. Though I do hope that anyone who finishes gets SOME sort of payoff.

 

I can't figure out what is easier in this stage 1 than in previous years. Certainly the Sonic Curve is harder than the Half Pipe Attack that it replaced. Maybe the Coin Flip was easier because I don't remember too many people going out on it.

 

Is it perhaps the last obstacle? In previous year they'd have to swing to the cargo net on a rope that would put them much farther down on the net, and the net takes a lot of time to climb. That was my first thought. Then again swinging across those bars also takes some time.

[mmal]

I think only the fastest Stage 4 finisher gets the money. I think that's how they do it in Japan -- the fastest finisher is the official winner. Though I do hope that anyone who finishes gets SOME sort of payoff.

Anyone and everyone who defeats the course in Japan, even if multiple people defeat it in the same tournament, is the "official winner." It doesn't matter if one is faster than the other on the same Stage 4. As long as they all beat Stage 4, then they're all champions in Japan and they get either the same prize money or an equally divided prize money.

ANW is different because ANW is probably too cheap to pay out multiple grand prizes.

[Phantomizer]

Kacy deserves the "hype" that she gets. I agree that her status as the "first" up the wall is kind of artificial, but she's still the only woman to complete a city finals course. And because of that she became a viral video star, so of course they're going to hype her. She's practically a household name. That's show business. Jessie Graf is the only other woman to qualify for Vegas and has equalled Meghan's Vegas record. Meghan is of course a Vegas pioneer. And Michelle gets my love too because she's also gotten up the wall and she never gives up.

 

Anyway, I don't think Kacy was overhyped or that Jessie or Meghan were relegated to the background.  In fact, Jessie and Meghan were both saved for last women in their respective episodes, before Kacy and Michelle. We saw reaction shots from the other women as each made their Vegas attempt, so I don't even think Kacy got more screen time in that regard. Maybe she did, but I still think she deserves it. In any case, I think she'll always fall behind Meghan and Jessie in Vegas as long as there are trampolines and warped walls, and soon, if not next year, the attention will be split more evenly among them (assuming the show isn't cancelled first).

 

Anyway, I missed this episode TWICE on NBC and my basic cable doesn't get Esquire. Besides Elet Hall, were there any other shocking exits on the men's side?

 

...

Kacy a household name? Not even... Maybe if everyone in the household is a fan of Ninja Warrior... She maybe the name people think of when "Ninja Warrior" is mentioned, but Ninja Warrior isn't THAT popular where people instantly know who she is.

Also, the show was renewed for an 8th season, so it will not be cancelled (yet).

[Phantomizer]

But they had 6 cities last year too, and 15 contestants from each city. So the number of remaining wild card slots (10) is the same as before. As for the number of Stage 1 finishers, wasn't 18 a record last year? (I don't know where the wiki is.) I'm shocked so many made it through this year.

I think only the fastest Stage 4 finisher gets the money. I think that's how they do it in Japan -- the fastest finisher is the official winner. Though I do hope that anyone who finishes gets SOME sort of payoff.

Is it perhaps the last obstacle? In previous year they'd have to swing to the cargo net on a rope that would put them much farther down on the net, and the net takes a lot of time to climb. That was my first thought. Then again swinging across those bars also takes some time.

There was only 5 cities last year....This was the first time it was in 6 different cities.

If we're counting from season 4, where they took out the boot camp thing, 18 finishers is a record low. If we're talking overall ninja warrior, it's not a record anything...

Edited September 14, 2015 by OnceSane

[Lingo]

Well I was gonna go all NUH UH YUR WRONG so I went to Wikipedia and it says ... 5 cities last year. Huh. So the only logical conclusion is that you went and edited wikipedia in the last 24 hours to make me look bad. You're a bad person and should be ashamed of yourself.

 

Kidding. I stand corrected on multiple counts. Damn this old memory.