S32.E07: Big Little Lies

[OnceSane]

Quote

Queen Kam devises an elaborate plan that rocks the house and tests her royalty status. TJ proves yet again that he is the dirtiest player in the game when he drops a massive twist that will change the game.

Airs August 21, 2018.

[Lantern7]

I hate myself.

No, not because I tune in like a trained dog. I was in a mild coma, I opened my eyes, and it was 9:06. Basically, I had missed the voting results drama, and I wound up looking at the Armageddon not knowing what was going on. I did get that Tori & Other Derrick lost, because Other Derrick is a habitual bed-shitter. So they go to Redemption House, and I'm hoping for a scenario that ends with CT and Tori coming back into the game as a team. I'd settle for somebody punching Paulie in his face, because he just sucks.

Okay, so there was a team-vs.-team mission, only the first twosome to finish it "won," so I don't get the point of splitting everyone into teams. Kam & Kayleigh get the win, and Kam puls a move that is supposed to be genius, where she announces the teams that would get her votes. Still not getting it. I had compared the vote format to early Last Comic Standing, but I'm thinking this is going to degenerate into a flurry of "burn votes" each time, where teams won't put up or shut up.

So . . . after all the drama, fighting, and Brad refusing to blink, Angela & Faith gets voted in, and Faith shows her class by showing her ass. They pick Da'vonne & Jozea, and I'm great with no actual BMP people being involved . . . except that Angela & Faith's decision means jack shit, because Teege brings in Smashley & Hunter. Shouldn't Da'vonne & Jozea get some sort of penalty for being picked? It would have been better if Teege had gone, "You two don't get to pick, cuz here come the Mercenaries." Sometimes, I think I'm too divorced from this series to pay attention, but I also think that logic gets thrown into the trash.

And Teege? About being the "dirtiest player in the game"? Fuck off. You're not playing. You're not even determining twists. You're following direction from production. Unless you're actually playing the game, and people are talking shit about you and threatening to knock you the fuck out? I don't wanna fucking hear it.

ETA: One, the bit where Smashley & Hunter could replace Angela & Faith is a decent twist, at least on the surface. Two, I'm still pulling for someone to pummel Shane senseless. I cannot be alone on that.

Edited August 22, 2018 by Lantern7

[Coco88]

Honestly I don’t know how the other teams didn’t figure it out because Sylvia gave a horrible performance.  Overact much.

Jozea and Shane both suck but for some reason I feel sorry for Jozea while I just want to punch Shane in the face.

[RedheadZombie]

I loved that Kam's plan worked. 

Has Shane always had a problem with other gay men?

[Lantern7]

8 minutes ago, Coco88 said:

Honestly I don’t know how the other teams didn’t figure it out because Sylvia gave a horrible performance.  Overact much.

Jozea and Shane both suck but for some reason I feel sorry for Jozea while I just want to punch Shane in the face.

1. I like to think she used Coral's breakdown in The Gauntlet as inspiration. 2. Who doesn't want to smack Shane? Out of all the returning veterans, he is the most disappointing one.

5 minutes ago, RedheadZombie said:

Has Shane always had a problem with other gay men?

Not that I recall. I think he got all hook-uppy with a guy in Battle Of The Sexes 2. I'll have to check my recaps.

[jsm1125]

52 minutes ago, RedheadZombie said:

I loved that Kam's plan worked. 

Has Shane always had a problem with other gay men?

I'm not sure about that, but I know that when another gay guy was on Battle of the Sexes II (I think he was from Road Rules Extreme, but it wasn't Danny or Derrick), Shane expressed relief that he was finally on the same season as another gay guy. However, he was on the same season as Dan from Real World: Miami on Battle of the Sexes I. So either Shane's memory isn't so great or he pretended that Dan never existed.

[Coco88]

I also wonder if Paulie found or smuggled in a bunch of steroids

[BK1978]

Can I just say how much I dislike Ashely?  She is the worst kind of competitor.  She is a sore winner when she wins and a sore loser when she loses.  She can fuck off my television right now.

Edited August 22, 2018 by BK1978
Because I left out the word can...

[Lantern7]

6 hours ago, Coco88 said:

I also wonder if Paulie found or smuggled in a bunch of steroids

I think being that big of an asshole gives him muscle. Have I mentioned he’s an asshole? Because he is an asshole.

[crookedjackson44]

Kam's plan was pretty brilliant, and it worked all the way, only for production to screw it up with some stupid intervention with two unredeemably awful characters.

[RandomWatcher]

2 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

I think being that big of an asshole gives him muscle. Have I mentioned he’s an asshole? Because he is an asshole.

Paulie's been an ass since his Big Brother season.

Edited August 22, 2018 by RandomWatcher

[PTVjones]

1. I really miss the podcast that Previously used to make for the Challenge. I think this is one of the better seasons they've had in a long time and I'd love to hear their take on the episodes.

12 hours ago, RedheadZombie said:

I loved that Kam's plan worked. 

Has Shane always had a problem with other gay men?

2. This! I've seen almost every season of the Challenge but I really don't have the kind of memory that recalls who he has specifically not gotten along with. However, I will say his trends as of late is to pick on other gay men in the house, women (stop calling yourself a feminist, you actively attack woman you don't like). I'm just going to throw it out there even though it might be controversial, he often feuds with people of color (Darrell-slapped him on their season of RW, Nelson, Davonne, Jozea). However, he's also feuded with Kyle, Bananas, etc. I mean... IDK, I seriously hate him, as he's never gone after anyone like CT or Zack because... he knows better lol. 

3. I thought Kam's plan was pretty brilliant. It's nice to see a woman playing the game and it's not Bananas (who hasn't made a power play since taking the money from Sarah) or Wes really. Good for her on making her stamp, I guess she's doubling down on her Killer Kam brand. 

4. Fully believe that the producers were going to use mercenaries in this episode regardless however, changed the rules once they saw what Kam's plan was. Ashley and Hunter are basically professional challengers. Their schedule would be flexible enough for them to actually stay in the game if they won if the producers asked them to. 

[Lantern7]

3 hours ago, RandomWatcher said:

Paulie's been an ass since his Big Brother season.

“Ma’am, I’m afraid your baby is an asshole.” “But he’s still attached to the umbilical cord!!!”

Also, Shane sucks. He’s the most disappointing of the gang that came out of retirement. Say what you will about Veronica, but “not caring that much” is a minor offense by comparison.

[RHJunkie]

Derrick has been pretty useless but that elimination challenge was his best performance. At least he managed to get his ass up the ramp but that said, he still sucks.  If he had Sylvia as a partner, they would have gotten smashed. Derrick only took care of himself and thought little of making sure his partner was in stride with him. If Tori wasn’t physically capable, that final score would haven’t been so close.

I really love how Kam used the results of the last vote to mull over a strategy that would ensure that she got both her targets in the elimination challenge. She proved that the house was predictable and she also established for anyone who still doubted her, that she is in fact someone to be reckoned with and up to some point in this game, it is better to have her as an ally than an enemy. Johnny is the only person in that house right now that would ever use a power play like that to get what he wanted but even then, he’s not the competitor he used to be. Now he just rides on the coattails of his reputation in order to keep people from voting for him into elimination challenges.

It sucks that the mercenaries showed up this episode which ruined the intended battle that was forecasted but for the time being, I think it works out better for Kam. Faith and Angela are a stronger team and would have likely beaten Jozea and Day so their return to the house would have only put a target on Kam’s back which wasn’t really there before. Between their odds of beating Ashley and Hunter (don’t see that happening) and their odds of winning their back via the Redemption House, I would say the odds unexpectedly worked out in Kam’s favour better than likely thought it would.

What kind of success has Shane had on this show, like ever? Has he ever won or gotten to a final challenge? Because for someone who walks around confidently stirring up shit with people, I can’t think of a single time where, in the long term, it has ever served him well on the show.

[BarneySays]

I don't ever pay more than 1/4 attention to this show when watching it and I have a terrible time deciphering the neanderthal reasoning of the contestants, so I may just be missing something here, but what was so brilliant about kam's plan?  There are nine teams and ten votes.  Cam told three teams about her plan, so that's five votes.  Why not just agree to vote for the same team?  And why wouldn't those who weren't in the know just vote for one of the two teams she announced?  And wouldn't this brilliant[sic] move just make kam an unnecessary target?  What am I missing?

[Coco88]

Kam’s reasoning was that there were only two teams that she wanted in danger, Angela and Faith, and Jozea and DaVonne.  In previous eliminations this season, the team with the most votes can only choose to battle a team that has voted for them.  So Angela and Faith could only pick Jozea and Day because Jozea and Day (plus Kam and Kayleigh, who were safe) were they only ones who voted for them.  The other teams not in the know didn’t want to choose one of the teams she announced because they didn’t want to risk one of those teams picking them to battle.  

Kam put a lot of thought into that plan but unfortunately she and everyone else is worse off if Angela and Faith lose because a stronger team will take their place.  They would have been better off picking Kyle/Brad or Sylvia/Josh because either the mercenaries are denied entry or a strong team goes home in their place.  But of course Kam had no idea about the mercenaries.

Edited August 22, 2018 by Coco88
Spelling

[scrb]

It wouldn’t surprise me if this plan was scripted only to blow it up with the Mercenaries.

if they voted normally, chances are one of the rookies team would have been voted in anyways.

Now if the rookies team voted each other in, then the obvious choice for one rookie team is to vote the other rookie team in.

This plan just guaranteed The rookies would face each other and everyone kind of knew that was the plan.

But then what, then the vet teams would start entering the elimination.

Redemption House is growing full again and if they use the Double Cross to select just two teams to remain in the game, the stakes are getting bigger.

[LaurelleJ]

I loved Kam's plan, and wish the mercenaries didn't come in and ruin it. I saw on twitter that some people didn't think it was a power move that Kam made, but I think differently. Of course one of the rookie teams was going in, because they would have just gotten together and made sure they were going to vote in one of them. By Kam doing it the way she did, she got both rookie teams in. That ensures that all the other teams will survive at least the next challenge and voting, because if one rookie team lost, they would have just turned their attention to the next rookie team. This way, both rookie teams got in, and one was guaranteed to go home, so the alliance was broken. Ugh mercenaries ruined it!

[Adultosaurus]

Holy Comb-Over, Hunter!  JFC, where is he actually parting his spare locks to get that result?  Dude, do the far-too-wide bandana rag like everyone else!

[luckyroll3]

17 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

I did get that Tori & Other Derrick lost, because Other Derrick is a habitual bed-shitter.

Derrick:  We're gonna come back from Redemption and play at the level everyone expects us to.

Me:  Oh, you've been playing at the level we expect from you....like crap!

17 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

Okay, so there was a team-vs.-team mission, only the first twosome to finish it "won," so I don't get the point of splitting everyone into teams.

This made no sense.  If they wanted team vs team, it should have been timed and each pair should have had their own puzzle to solve in the team mine that provided a clue to some other/bigger collective team puzzle.  The pair that solved the fastest got the lead on digging themselves out and crossing the finish line.

17 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

Kam & Kayleigh get the win, and Kam puls a move that is supposed to be genius,

 

46 minutes ago, BarneySays said:

I don't ever pay more than 1/4 attention to this show when watching it and I have a terrible time deciphering the neanderthal reasoning of the contestants, so I may just be missing something here, but what was so brilliant about kam's plan?  There are nine teams and ten votes.  Cam told three teams about her plan, so that's five votes.  Why not just agree to vote for the same team?  And why wouldn't those who weren't in the know just vote for one of the two teams she announced?  And wouldn't this brilliant[sic] move just make kam an unnecessary target?  What am I missing?

It was genius considering that most of the people in this group are dodos.  So more power to Kam for recognizing that they could all be easily manipulated to vote for a team and ask that same team to vote for them.  If any of them actually had brain cells, they and their alliance should have cast their votes towards another team or one of the teams that Kam named, if they wanted to play it safe.  I also thought it was quite dumb of Kam to use, rather waste, this strategy on rookies.  This was a strategy that would only work once.....why not use it on Johnny and his partner or Brad and his partner, and get two of the strong teams.  

 

17 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

So . . . after all the drama, fighting, and Brad refusing to blink, Angela & Faith gets voted in, and Faith shows her class by showing her ass. They pick Da'vonne & Jozea, and I'm great with no actual BMP people being involved . . . except that Angela & Faith's decision means jack shit, because Teege brings in Smashley & Hunter. Shouldn't Da'vonne & Jozea get some sort of penalty for being picked? It would have been better if Teege had gone, "You two don't get to pick, cuz here come the Mercenaries." Sometimes, I think I'm too divorced from this series to pay attention, but I also think that logic gets thrown into the trash.

 

17 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

ETA: One, the bit where Smashley & Hunter could replace Angela & Faith is a decent twist, at least on the surface.

They should have allowed the selection of Da'vonne and Jozea and then announced the mercenaries.  That way, all 3 teams have to compete and the one who wins takes the spot AND the number of teams still remaining in the game still actually decreases.  It's really bugged me that the last few seasons they've introduced all these mechanisms that add more teams or keep the number of teams the same, forcing some mega elimination.  If they want to keep a large number of people throughout the season.  They need to go back to the point systems of old.  

Wow, Paulie consistently shows that he is a psycho.  And he has some nerve talking about having "honor" in the game after he lied to someone's partner that his significant other was cheating on him.  Get a grip dude.  

[RHJunkie]

On 8/23/2018 at 11:04 AM, luckyroll3 said:

It was genius considering that most of the people in this group are dodos.  So more power to Kam for recognizing that they could all be easily manipulated to vote for a team and ask that same team to vote for them.  If any of them actually had brain cells, they and their alliance should have cast their votes towards another team or one of the teams that Kam named, if they wanted to play it safe.  I also thought it was quite dumb of Kam to use, rather waste, this strategy on rookies.  This was a strategy that would only work once.....why not use it on Johnny and his partner or Brad and his partner, and get two of the strong teams. 

I felt the same way about Kam's targets. I get that they were targeted because she had no relationship with them and didn't trust that they would keep her name out of their mouths, but for all her talk about people playing scared, she definitely took the safe route by targeting people who weren't a 'vote in her pocket' when in the long term, she would have been better served targeting a team that would have a better chance to beat her in an elimination or final race. Instead, she nominated two teams, who if they had nominated her, she would have the opportunity to choose them as her opponent and she would have a good chance against either team to beat them.

[Jobiska]

I liked the sped up snail who went down and up a U-shaped cut in some wood.  Rather Survivoresque camera work.  Better than most of the actual episode stuff these days

[Steph619]

I thought Kam’s plan was genius because she pretty much showed how predictable this group is at voting and ensured that everyone burned their votes.

However, I wished she had saved this plan for a stronger set of teams instead of using it on the rookies.

I’m not impressed with Ashley and Hunter coming in as the mercenaries. I don’t consider them as strong competitors like Darrell for example who I would love to see come back someday!