S01.E05: Champs vs. Stars: Playing Me For the Foos

[OnceSane]

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A representative from a player's charity visits; an old rivalry resurfaces; one team unites with their vote, while another gets torn apart.

[notcreative enough]

Gee Johnny I'm so sorry that YOUR blatant manipulation didn't work in your favor this week. Sounds like he was banking on that kid getting him MVP and not be based on performance like it was this whole time.

[Lantern7]

This week: the Stars lose a game of human foosball (first one since Extreme Challenge) on a sudden death own goal. Only them, you know? These guys are as sad as Road Rules from Extreme Challenge, the women's team from BOTS2, and the Challengers team from The Ruins. Johnny acts like a little punk, then dispatches Riff easily. Seriously, I don't think Riff was ready to stay in the game, given his abysmal performance.

Oh, and Johnny has a friend from Special Olympics over, and everybody is touched. Then Matt leaves, the Champs more or less conspire to give Wes MVP, and Johnny throws a fit. Because that was supposed to go to him. Y'know, because he entertained a kid from Special Olympics. And he fucking uses the kid while whinging about how he got screwed. Classic Johnny. Such classic Johnny. Losing to Riff would have been awesome . ..  but since Riff is from another planet, Johnny stays on.

[crookedjackson44]

Best quote of the night, by the Bachelor guy, about Johnny: "He's pretty much a professional at this."

[luckyroll3]

There's the Wes I love!  Duplicitous and openly scheming.  And most likely it will come back to bite him in the ass; but even if it does, I enjoyed the hell out of him this episode.  I'm still cracking up at the side-by-side pic of pasty, pudgy Wes and the tan, chiseled soccer player.  So great!

Reason 2,364 why I hate John:  He always wants to make deals, but no one else is allowed to benefit from these deals except for him.  Help me to get MVP, but don't think that I won't say your name you as LVP.  And he expected Wes, of all people, to do what with that?  Say, "Oh ok Johnny.  Glad to help you out and sacrifice myself in the process."  Yeah right.  Wes played the game.  And to his credit, the girls had already pretty much decided on Wes, so he didn't have to do much cajoling to get them on his sides.  They guys, on the other hand, were suspiciously quiet.  It must suck for John to not have have his normal ass kissers around.    

Justine was definitely MVP overall this week.  She beasted as goalie and fended off both guys until the end.  It was very impressive.

[TiffanyNichelle]

10 hours ago, notcreative enough said:

Gee Johnny I'm so sorry that YOUR blatant manipulation didn't work in your favor this week. Sounds like he was banking on that kid getting him MVP and not be based on performance like it was this whole time.

Yeah, it was pretty obvious what he was doing. If that's how they're going to play it then why did Zach when MVP twice? Because he was the actual MVP and this time Wes was since he got them the win. I have to laugh at John being disgusted at the tone of the house and all the alliances and deals when he's the one who helped perfect this attitude on the show.

 

But oh Wes. Never bank your hopes on Riff Raff. He's been trying to get off the show for ages. No way was he going to try to win.

[Jobiska]

Good thing Camila is long since gone, or the sheer amount of sore-loser-entitledness would have caused an implosion of epic proportions.  I don't think I've ever muttered "I hate him" about John quite as much as I have during this episode.  I think he honestly likes the Special Olympics kid, but he was also using him to grandstand.  And it's not like the team gave Wes the win in front of Matt--he had already departed, so there were no feelings to be hurt on site.  John actually made the episode much less pleasant for Matt, his family, and other Special Olympians to watch by whining about things so extensively both before and afterward.  Instead of seeing Matt shine in his coach role, they see twice as much Sore-Loser Johnny as they do Matt scenes.  

Boy, how John's face changes when he loses out.  

After all his bad-mouthing of Wes and the team throughout, using pretty harsh words, at the end he said something like "back to stirring the pot."  When he does it, it's apparently entertaining, madcap pot-stirring, but when others do things it's despicable.  Uh-huh.

I think worst of all is the implication, and I don't remember the words, but it came across to me at least twice, is that his charity is the only one that matters.  Sure, it would have been gratifying to him and the Special Olympics if he had won them $5K.  Instead, it went to those awful, undeserving cancer sufferers (is what the natural conclusion of his whining is).   Especially since whenever I've seen someone claim that John is just playing a role and that he's really a nice guy based on how much he stood by Diem during her illness, this really was disgusting to me.  (I laud him for standing by Diem, but it doesn't make him an all-around nice person.  He's a misogynist and a selfish entitled baby and he doesn't care about the consequences of his actions if they don't affect him).  

Wow, Riff Raff actually has very pretty eyes.  Wonder why he hides them with those glasses all the time if he doesn't have to wear them.

Loved the stars miming tea and popcorn.

Especially loved Matt judiciously explaining that he categorized Mike as a wrestling diva, and Miz taking it in good part.

Edited to add:  If I never see John pulling a banana out of the waistband of his shorts again, it will be too soon.  But LOL at the banana smushed into the tree by Riff Raff.
 

Edited December 20, 2017 by Jobiska

[RedheadZombie]

When Wes said their family has been affected by cancer, he's referring to Diem, right?  I think that put a damper on Johnny's whining.

[mojoween]

Wes’s gloating was ugly but oh so delicious.

John whinging about how everyone in the house is against him was pretty rich considering he’s the one who cultivated those relationships in the first place.  Ass.

I guess he didn’t hear Aneesa cheering for him the entire fucking time.

Was Zach actually showing a little maturity by letting Wes and John piss all over each other?  Is that meathead growing up?

[sabretooth]

Johnny seriously needed some cheese to go with that whine. I've seen 5 year olds act better. 

However, giant foosball looked like fun. I wish that would have been a gym class game when I was in school. 

[MitaJo]

I remember a time when Johnny was one of my favorites. He's quickly become the person I hate the most and he seems to get worse with each new season. He clearly tried to manipulate the game by bringing that kid from Special Olympics and as soon as he said the guy was coming, I hoped he would lose. And I felt bad because I support the Special Olympics (my godson participates) but because of who Johnny is, I could not be on their side. Oddly enough, I work for the American Cancer Society so of course I've been on Wes' side all season, but I do like the idea of everyone winning money for their charity. Everyone but Johnny.

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I think worst of all is the implication, and I don't remember the words, but it came across to me at least twice, is that his charity is the only one that matters.  Sure, it would have been gratifying to him and the Special Olympics if he had won them $5K.  Instead, it went to those awful, undeserving cancer sufferers (is what the natural conclusion of his whining is).   Especially since whenever I've seen someone claim that John is just playing a role and that he's really a nice guy based on how much he stood by Diem during her illness, this really was disgusting to me.

This!! All of this. It's always about him. I will never like him again, after what he did to Sarah. That alone lets me know that he isn't a nice guy at all.

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Was Zach actually showing a little maturity by letting Wes and John piss all over each other?  Is that meathead growing up?

I doubt it. He pretty much admitted he was going to let them go at it because it meant he got to stay for another week. No sense in getting involved.

Edited December 21, 2017 by MitaJo

[RedheadZombie]

45 minutes ago, mojoween said:

Wes’s gloating was ugly but oh so delicious.

John whinging about how everyone in the house is against him was pretty rich considering he’s the one who cultivated those relationships in the first place.  Ass.

I guess he didn’t hear Aneesa cheering for him the entire fucking time.

Was Zach actually showing a little maturity by letting Wes and John piss all over each other?  Is that meathead growing up?

I think so.  He's been doing a lot of non-reacting.  He was calm when the football player was standing over and baiting CT, and he did nothing when Johnny stepped on Wes's crotch.  I'm alarmed by how likeable I'm finding him.  He's starting to look a little hot.

[londonfroglet]

I may have misheard, but why the fuck was the elimination challenge called Tic Tac Hole. It was Connect Four, you idiots. Nothing even remotely related to Tic Tac Toe unless you count the fact that the Connect Four discs are O-shaped? To be honest, I started FF-ing once Riff Raff took the fake swing, because if he couldn't give two shits, why should I? Maybe I missed the rules. I'm glad the "puppies" received a "sizable donation" regardless, though, and appreciated Riff's message.

[rho]

4 hours ago, MitaJo said:

I remember a time when Johnny was one of my favorites. He's quickly become the person I hate the most and he seems to get worse with each new season. He clearly tried to manipulate the game by bringing that kid from Special Olympics and as soon as he said the guy was coming, I hoped he would lose. And I felt bad because I support the Special Olympics (my godson participates) but because of who Johnny is, I could not be on their side. Oddly enough, I work for the American Cancer Society so of course I've been on Wes' side all season, but I do like the idea of everyone winning money for their charity. Everyone but Johnny.

Same!!!

This is an UO but up until now I didn't hate Johnny, at times I even liked him. I wasn't even that outraged when he stole Sarah's money because that's exactly the type of smarmy thing I expected. Plus every time he is extra obnoxious I just replay the Bananas Backpack clip and everything is forgotten.

But parading Matt around like some sort of human shield and then the subsequent tantrum was too much. Fuck Johnny and frankly I will personally make a $5000 donation to the Special Olympics if it means never seeing him and his faux philanthropy on the Champs team again.

[Jobiska]

3 hours ago, londonfroglet said:

I may have misheard, but why the fuck was the elimination challenge called Tic Tac Hole. It was Connect Four, you idiots.

Presumably they didn't get the rights to use that trademark.

I've realized that a big difference between John and Wes (besides the career/hobby one) is that from my viewpoint, Wes can laugh at himself--I think there's always a little  bit of tongue in cheek even in his gloating scenes--and John cannot for the life of him.  He sure can laugh at other people though.  

I was trying to remember the staged promos of several years ago--I think they had Wes vs. Kenny? and Wes was always coming up short (like, I believe it's Lantern7 who calls him this, Wile E. Coyote)?  I thought then that it's not many Challenge folk who would agree to display themselves in that unflattering yet humorous light.

 

When Wes said their family has been affected by cancer, he's referring to Diem, right?  I think that put a damper on Johnny's whining.

I'm sure that's what he meant, and the show obviously thought so, since they zoomed in on CT right after he said that.

Edited December 21, 2017 by Jobiska

[MaggieG]

I laughed at Riff saying he would need to adopt a 100 puppies and have them all in his backyard. 

23 hours ago, Jobiska said:

Loved the stars miming tea and popcorn.
 

This made me laugh as well. I was rooting for them to at least win this one. They were pretty close. I'm really liking Justina.

[toodywoody]

Ok Bananas really Wes is making deals said the King of making deals. He hates Wes because Wes doesn't kiss his ass and he isn't a Bananas lover. Fuck Bananas and his thinking he should be MVP because he had a Special Olympian at the game. Entitled just like Camila

[RHJunkie]

I thought it was totally unfair and manipulative for Johnny to use his special needs friend as the reason for why he should have won the money. If he wanted to win the money, he should have been the clear standout in the competition. When they were deliberating, his name wasn't even in the conversation. The girls were picking between Wes and CT. When Johnny is forced to play strategy, his immediate reaction when things are not within his control is to apply this immature concept that somehow only he is allowed to politic in a manner that benefits it and he can do so behind people's backs but it's somehow morally objectionable when others do it. The motivating factor for Wes making his pitch to the girls is because when he tried to have a conversation with Johnny, Johnny basically said, I need you to make me MVP because my friend will be there but I can't promise that I'm going to return the favour by not voting you in. What I find amazing is that Johnny finds it amazing that no one wants to put their neck out to protect HIS interests. 

My heartstrings pulled a little when Wes was talking about his charity and you could see the emotion on CT's face. I'm sure his mind immediately went to DIem. 

I feel like Wes should get an automatic by to every final for every challenge he participates in because his confessionals are just so entertaining. Johnny really gets frazzled by Wes but Johnny has practically made this show his livelihood (good reference Josh) but Wes seems to play the game and it stops the moment he's not playing. Also, did I miss the part where Wes created an alliance with the intent to target Johnny? 

[mojoween]

That was the funny part about John’s bellyaching, that if I remember correctly, Wes wasn’t even standing by Emily and Tori at first, they said Wes and CT on their own.

I wish Emily had said that instead of appearing to roll over and apologize like she did.

[toodywoody]

Plain and simple. Johnny can dish it out but can't take it. He can throw people in, not go in, have alliances, but when it is done to him he throws a fit. He feels entitled that he should not get put it.

I said it last fucking season and I'm saying it now. Every single person should have to go in and it should be made a rule. It isn't fair to the new people or the people that the in crowd don't like (Wes), because they constantly get thrown in. It would make the game fair instead of the popular crowd picking off the new people one by one because they aren't in their alliance.

Personally I love Wes. I love the shit he says and how he gets under Johnny's skin and throws a wrench into Johnny's plans. Johnny just expects to be in every final without ever having to go up against anyone. Tough shit Johnny, he throws Wes in all the time, time to earn your pay.

[RedheadZombie]

1 hour ago, toodywoody said:

Plain and simple. Johnny can dish it out but can't take it. He can throw people in, not go in, have alliances, but when it is done to him he throws a fit. He feels entitled that he should not get put it.

I said it last fucking season and I'm saying it now. Every single person should have to go in and it should be made a rule. It isn't fair to the new people or the people that the in crowd don't like (Wes), because they constantly get thrown in. It would make the game fair instead of the popular crowd picking off the new people one by one because they aren't in their alliance.

Personally I love Wes. I love the shit he says and how he gets under Johnny's skin and throws a wrench into Johnny's plans. Johnny just expects to be in every final without ever having to go up against anyone. Tough shit Johnny, he throws Wes in all the time, time to earn your pay.

But veterans have always ruled, back to when Veronica and Rachel intimidated the other girls.  I remember when Tina and Robin finally became veterans, and they were just as happy to continue the rein of terror.  That's why I took to Tori so quickly.  

[scrb]

Riff Raff had to be missing on purpose.  At least 3 of his putts were wide left, nowhere near the hole.  He's been trying to get into the elimination round since the start.

Bananas was preening for the cameras with the kid, who was probably a producer idea to make Bananas look good, when Wes stuck the shiv in his back.  Hilarious!

Oh and they should just do jumbo foosball every week and bring it to the regular Challenge.

[neenyah]

I'm liking so many of these games. I wish they would bring them to the regular challenges. They eliminate the necessity of being a SUPERCROSSFITSWOLEGYMRATCHAMP and allow everyone to participate regardless of size/gender/weight/height. They wouldn't have to have guy/girl winners or eliminations if things were games like puzzles or connect 4 or sitting on a block of ice. I miss those days. I think this is even more important now that they're bringing in "outsiders" from other shows. Dad Bod or not, no random Big Brother/UK Jersey Shore contestant is going to beat CT/Cara/John etc in games they've been playing for 10 years, doing things like skipping across platforms suspended 40 feet above water. Time to actually make it competitive if they want to keep the show on the air.

RiffRaff was definitely throwing it. I was hoping down to the wire that John's disrespect in his face would have made him want to win, but no, his desire to go back to his own bed and collect his participation fee was stronger. 

John was so obvious after the win with his jumping over the wall of the foosball "field" and grabbing the SO representative kid. We all know he wanted a tv "moment" celebrating his win, charitable donation, and "acceptance" of the differently abled. I'm glad the editors showed his pouty fake ass for what it was. He was just using that kid and I'm glad it got smacked down, especially since the kid didn't have to experience any negative consequences. All John wanted was a photo op and shine. Trash.

Edited December 25, 2017 by neenyah