Board 8 > CBS Reality Topic 3.5: Purge-free through BB24, Survivor SA9, and Challenge USA

(+) Yeah! (+)

Danny is talking sense. He's trying to protect his own ass. He doesn't want to be labeled a traitor by Angela, the only woman who scares him. If he picks Alyssa, Angela still crucifies him. If he picks Angela, he puts her at risk, she probably wins, but she doesn't like that. She doesn't like the Arena. She'll do anything to get out of it, as we've seen.

With a men's elimination next, he can't take that risk. Sarah doesn't understand this. She's seeing things in black and white. She doesn't understand that other people have their own game to play.

I too love seeing Sarah fail. Because at this point, I can't stand this meathead ego.

Cashay beating Sarah, someone who's run marathons all over the world, would be hilarious.

BlueCrystalTear posted...

Cashay beating Sarah, someone who's run marathons all over the world, would be hilarious.

This 1950s slapstick reel is even funnier though. Poor Cashay can't figure out a hamster wheel.

it's september! Was it a good idea to skip Big Brother and would it be worth to at least watch this end game?

https://tvline.com/lists/survivor-season-43-cast-photos-bios-videos/ looks like no canadians to cheer for wdf

After the last two seasons, they decided Canadians are too OP and kept them off of this one.

GTM posted...

it's september! Was it a good idea to skip Big Brother and would it be worth to at least watch this end game?

This has quite honestly been one of the craziest seasons we've had in a long time.

It's been strategically interesting in that the steamrolling alliance didn't form until a few eliminations in and it has already started to crumble and has already lost one member and is about to lose a second with two non-members left in the game. Unfortunately, there have been a lot of unlikable people and uncomfortable situations.

BetrayedTangy posted...

This has quite honestly been one of the craziest seasons we've had in a long time.

crazier than BBCAN10?!

sounds like an interesting endgame at least, I may tune in if so

It was a boring BB episode (really, everything pre-veto was pretty boring), but at least the Challenge has some interesting, interpersonal drama.

My winter '21 - summer '22 reality rankings (TAN2, BB23, TAN3, S41, TAR33, CBB3, S42, BB24) is going to have a lot of people near the bottom that I liked early in their respective seasons. In fact, it's going to be a bit of a trend among my bottom 10 or so.

No Challenge in the rankings?

Haven't watched it.

Underleveled posted...

Haven't watched it.

You should. It's been pretty solid overall. Not great, but I'd honestly say it's more enjoyable as a television program than TAN, despite having an extremely similar format.

I almost just said "maybe I'll watch it over the summer" which should show you where the fuck my life is rn.

Seeing you mention your list, I started compiling one of my own, and holy shit TAN3 is a forgettable season.

Underleveled posted...

I almost just said "maybe I'll watch it over the summer" which should show you where the fuck my life is rn.

As you know, I am here if you need somebody to talk to (I'm busy this weekend but will get back ASAP). Hope things get better for you!

CHALLENGE SPOILERS AHEAD

Also, re: Challenge. Angela is a fucking badass. Not only is she drop-dead gorgeous, she is a BEAST in these challenges. She beat ALL the guys! If she doesn't make the World Challenge, something's wrong. (Sarah saying "Angela hasn't proven herself" STILL bugs the crap out of me, because... Angela's more badass than you'll ever be). Not to mention how Angela is proving how damn good of a strategic force she is, and that her fantastic scum play in BB20 wasn't an anomaly. And her deadpan commentary about people's entitlement is so great and so warranted. Tyler is a lucky man.

David, being David, has... pretty much no clue what's going on around him. Telling Angela to pick Tyson to go into the Arena because of his bank is LOL. Angela and Tyson have been running shit since the start! How does he not see that partnership? And why does he not understand that he has no power to decide who he's up against? This is the TENTH round!

I expect that in the first episode next week, the guys will want to get rid of a fodder lady to avoid a possible dead weight partner, so the target will likely end up on Justine or Sarah. Alyssa is pretty protected - but she's a good utility partner given her size and spunk. I really hope it's Sarah since I don't want to see her on my TV ever again after this. Her winning would ruin the season, but I kinda doubt that'd happen. The Challenge wouldn't want an OTTN winner, would they? Here's hoping at least one of Angela, Alyssa, Danny, and Tyson pulls it out. I'm also guessing four people will move on to the "world stage" one, maybe even six so they can have a large enough cast to have sufficient episodes.

Inviso posted...

Seeing you mention your list, I started compiling one of my own, and holy shit TAN3 is a forgettable season.

Yeah I'm obviously still compiling my list but without spoiling too much it's looking like S41 and S42 will trend high, TAN2 and TAN3 will trend towards the middle, CBB3 and BB24 will trend low, and BB23 and TAR33 will spread the field.

Im watching the eviction episode from last night, and holy SHIT Kyles jury segment is SO painfully awkward. Given how he made a mistake his edit was last week, it feels good to get him reamed out by a jury house of three minorities.

That second eviction was absolutely one of the most iconic in years.

I mean it's very rare to see someone who is both a major character AND a frontrunner to win be the second boot in a double eviction episode. It's usually kind of a routine or throwaway boot. So not only did it kind of bring Michael's story to a grinding halt but the way he left was also just... awful.

1 week until Survivor and TAR return!

That was stupid as hell. I was aware that Monte was disqualified from the veto, but I was under the impression that it was because he overslept and legit didn't get up in time for the comp.

"People panicking soothes me" is SUCH a Tyson thing, xD

This challenge looks BRUTAL. Especially since they're depleted from the day and didn't get notified until it got dark.

Also, they can't help each other, right?

I lol'd at Ben's MeeshFitz puzzle kick too.

Tyson's shade about Dom and ties, XD! Surprised that they allowed a tie instead of "whoever came back with their last one first" but... that's not entirely reasonable. Angela took way too much time on that slide puzzle. Those are easy to do; in this case, she should have just done the bottom row and worked her way up.

Sarah is saying "Angela doesn't try" when... honey, she's swamped you in over half the challenges thus far. If she "doesn't try" then you must be the laziest person here! Like... Sarah gets so blinded to reality because of how she thinks she's always right. She's horrifically wrong here, and I HATE how she's won this one. That said, Angela's not trying because she knows how Sarah is. She knows it doesn't matter, Sarah's just gonna spew the bullshit that she's spewing anyway, and find some lame excuse to put Alyssa in that isn't even true. Angela is a real badass. Sarah is just ass.

Hopefully they compromise and put Justine in. "Well, Cayla is a hard no for you, and Alyssa's a hard no for me... split the difference and go Justine?" is good math imho

We get it, Karen Lacina. You're still mad that you got outsmarted. Grow up and admit you got outplayed like a mature adult, instead of being a whiny poor sportswoman.

I just can't listen to her voice anymore. She is SO grating. And it's rare that I get to that point with anybody. Last one was Nicole Franzel. But I could not hate this any more, because... Angela and Alyssa are two of my faves. And Karen is my least favorite.

EDIT: Adding on... poor Alyssa. Angela still made mincemeat out of her, but the first thing she did was help her up and hug her. THAT is how you show sportsmanship. Somebody could learn a lesson from that. (Also, HOLY SHIT @ Angela crying - how did... that's possible?!)

Poor Ben. MedEvac'd on the last day after the doctor looked at the x-rays. That... REALLY stings.

Enzo... you do know that by calling yourself "the Meow Meow" you're saying you hate water, yes? Like ANY cat? Yeah... he's dead weight. Sucks that Desi's out because that means Karen's more likely to win. And we can't have that - I won't watch the world championship thing if she's on it. I am 100% on the Angela/Alyssa side here - both those girls hauled ass to prove themselves instead of barking orders at people and acting like a spoiled brat. I respect people who work their butt off instead of have everything given to them.

I don't really like this points system because that means it's easy to figure out who can even win before the last part.

Angela beasting that onion knowing the trick should secure her and Danny some points - I didn't know that, actually, but I'm not vegan, nor ever will be. Cheese is too tasty! All I knew about lemon juice is that it can preserve cut-up apples.

The fact that not all parts were created equal to do solo is BAD and probably means we get the most unfavorable outcome UGH. GO ANGELA!

Yeah, Angela's done. Because they gave her a task that was impossible to do solo while everyone else got at least some rest. That said, she should've done four hours' worth, then said "I figured I was going to be last, and if everyone could get SOME rest, I could too." She didn't do enough.

Shut up, Karen. Just shut up. You'd have done the same thing.

This is awful. Like I said, Angela should have tried for a few hours. Then gotten rest.

Schadenfreude big time seeing Sarah suffer. She deserves it for being so petty. I'm hoping this means she doesn't win. That would ruin the season.

Sudoku come easily to me but I do them all the time, including some advanced ones that are very unorthodox. That's why Danny passed Tyson. Practice puzzles, people!

Okay, never watching this again. The awesome feeling of Danny winning was quickly erased by Karen.

Ugh.

BlueCrystalTear posted...

Okay, never watching this again. The awesome feeling of Danny winning was quickly erased by Karen.

Ugh.

Agreed. It sucks that Sarah can whine and bitch and moan all season long, and then she's our winner. Like...they couldn't have edited her in a way that'd make me happy for her at least?

What a bad finale honestly. I've been binging The Challenge recently, and this final wasn't as grueling as some of TJ's past finals.

So what you're saying is Sarah's won two seasons of various reality TV shows, and they didn't manage to make her even remotely likable in either?

Blaziken posted...

Agreed. It sucks that Sarah can whine and bitch and moan all season long, and then she's our winner. Like...they couldn't have edited her in a way that'd make me happy for her at least?

Yup, the biggest problem is the editing, but... I don't know if they could have edited her more favorably tbh. Her huge tantrum at the Connect Four challenge affected too much for them to hide it. Both that day and the rest of the way.

The way they edited this made me root for Angela and Alyssa HARD because they were throwing shade at a cantankerous toddler who whined when she didn't get her way. This finale was downright depressing to watch. The only time I felt emotional was the Angela/Alyssa duel. Like... that I felt bad, because I actually wanted one of those two to win. For the girls, it was just them; Desi and Cayla I wouldn't have minded, but both were just kinda there. Karen and whatsherface just... no.

Showing a winner as an incessant whiner who never shuts up about her fixations is a great way to turn people off from your show. I MUTED my TV when she was gloating at the end. It ruined the great moment of Kiki freaking out when Danny FaceTimed her. I do feel really happy for them even though they don't need the money (because NFL), because Danny's a good dude, and I like him quite a bit and have since he berated Jeff Probst for the game-breaking hourglass twist. Karen... well I've never liked her, but I never hated her either until this season. If you asked me in June, I'd have said "She's whatever. Sure, she can be obnoxious now and then, but is there anyone who isn't?" Now... I think she's one of the most obnoxious people in the history of CBS reality shows.

Oh, and... this final challenge was too sadistic, especially the thing about a woman having to do each part solo. Angela got the worst draw. I don't think that was fair to her. What else can she do there? Even if she tried for one hour, noticed how little progress she'd made compared to everyone else, and then went to take a nap and had no partner to wake her up... I'd say that's a good way to spin it. "They all had partners. One person does one hour, the other sleeps. They rotate. I had nobody to wake me up so I ended up sleeping all night." Karen would've whined about how "that's quitting" or whatever BS came out. Sorry, Angela's a better performer than you, and there's something VERY wrong with this.

In the end, I gave the show a chance and don't feel the need to give it another one.

UnderUrMattress posted...

this final wasn't as grueling as some of TJ's past finals

Uhh... what? This show's done harder finals than a 10-mile mountain-climb in freezing rain and snow, with a dirt-hauling portion overnight? Do explain.

BlueCrystalTear posted...

Uhh... what? This show's done harder finals than a 10-mile mountain-climb in freezing rain and snow, with a dirt-hauling portion overnight? Do explain.

Pretty much every final has a giant hike right at the end, the weather can vary. Sometimes they're in freezing cold areas like Patagonia, but sometimes it can be in the sweltering hot Namib desert. I'm not saying that this final WASN'T brutal, but I've seen way worse.

Sarah Lacina is insufferable in a season not titled Survivor: Cagayan? *shocked Pikachu face*

Underleveled posted...

Sarah Lacina is insufferable in a season not titled Survivor: Cagayan? *shocked Pikachu face*

It's the fact that she didn't get a comeuppance that troubles me the most. Evil prevailed. The one bitching won. The two bitching about the bitching lost. "My goodness, why don't you win a challenge if you're acting so much better than us?" Someone like Karen is bad TV if she lasts for too long and gets away with her shit. Good villains go a long way, but this one was obnoxious and won despite the OTTN edit.

Angela should be remembered as truly robbed. She got a really bad draw, an impossible task to do solo. Desi got really robbed too, just because cats can't swim. This finale was awful and I truly regret watching the season.

The worst part? After bitching about how tough and awesome she was, Sarah only won by DEFAULT after all five other competitors passed her and left her crying at a puzzle all of them were able to solve on their own. It comes across as extremely sketchy that FOUR people would quit in the same fashion, yet Sarah, who was by FAR in last place by that point (yet also the only woman still competing after the show made a big deal about wanting a male AND female winner for the world championship) montages her way through two puzzles to claim a victory.

Underleveled posted...

Sarah Lacina is insufferable in a season not titled Survivor: Cagayan? *shocked Pikachu face*

Eh, I thought she was alright in WaW, though Tony did a lot of heavy lifting there.

Inviso posted...

It comes across as extremely sketchy that FOUR people would quit in the same fashion, yet Sarah, who was by FAR in last place by that point (yet also the only woman still competing after the show made a big deal about wanting a male AND female winner for the world championship) montages her way through two puzzles to claim a victory.

I didn't watch the show (and it doesn't sound like I missed much), so why did the two women in front of Sarah quit? Seems really odd that whichever of the two was winning would just up and quit.

Mewtwo59 posted...

Eh, I thought she was alright in WaW, though Tony did a lot of heavy lifting there.

I didn't watch the show (and it doesn't sound like I missed much), so why did the two women in front of Sarah quit? Seems really odd that whichever of the two was winning would just up and quit.

Okay, so the finale was a shitshow, but it was structured like this:

First hour, final daily challenge to determine the women competing in the final elimination. Sarah won, Angela lost, and Sarah convinced Domenick to throw Alyssa (Angela's best friend) into elimination against here, where Angela DESTROYED Alyssa. This is basically just a recap, but it's important to note that, during this final challenge, BEN slipped and fell, and injured his shoulder.

At the final ten, we got the finale challenge, and after flying Ben out to the location, the producers decided to medically pull him from the game, leaving us with 5 women and 4 men. The initial plan was to have the finale run in stages, with the men and women being randomly paired together in a different way after every stage. Each stage would be like a mini-race in its own right, with the players receiving points (from 5-1) depending on their placement, and the points would be added up after all the stages to determine a winner. Because Ben left, they were suddenly down a man, which meant each stage would have to have a different woman competing solo...regardless of how easy or difficult that particular stage was to complete individually.

First stage was a long swim to shore, followed by a slide puzzle. Desi and Enzo got paired together, and Enzo quit because he couldn't swim. Because ENZO quit, DESI got fucked out of the competition, leaving us down to 7 competitors remaining. Meanwhile, SARAH was the chosen "individual" for this leg, and swimming/completing a puzzle isn't exactly something is made easier or harder in a pair. So Sarah finished second, gaining four points on that leg. Cayla got 5, Justine got 3, Angela got 2.

Second stage involved eating a clove of garlic and a whole onion, which again doesn't necessarily seem like it advantages or disadvantages an individual, but Cayla got stuck solo all the same and finished last for two points. Angela got 5, Sarah got 4 again, Justine got 3 again. This meant after two rounds, we had Sarah at 8, Cayla at 7, Angela at 7, Justine at 6. I'm not mentioning the guys, because honestly their scores aren't important to explaining possibly how things went down.

Third stage involved memorizing ten numbers and carrying a heavy decoder disk a decent distance to solve a puzzle. It's HERE that flying solo becomes a problem, because the three pairs could just split their numbers 5/5. Justine had to remember all ten numbers by herself, and of course finished last for two points. Angela got 5, Sarah got 4, Cayla got 3, making the scores Sarah/Angela at 12, Cayla at 10, Justine at 8.

Then we get to the FOURTH stage, where the teams had to dig a massive pile of dirt and haul it via wheelbarrow. This is MUCH worse for the solo player, and Angela got stuck on the task. Given that she (in round 1) and Justine (in round 3) got timed out and were just given the minimal point value, she figured she could skip the challenge and rest up, rather than trying to attempt something that would clearly put her in last place regardless. Production did not properly dissuade her from this, and she got disqualified out of the competition. Meanwhile, Sarah got 5, Cayla got 4, Justine got 3, putting the scores at Sarah: 17, Cayla: 14, Justine: 11 going into the final leg.

Sidenote: I'd like to point out that Sarah got extremely lucky with the random pairings up this point. Yes, she scored highly, but she had the EASIEST solo leg, and then got Tyson and Danny as her partners during the second and third legs. Domenick, as a partner, finished dead last (well, behind Enzo) in leg one, and second-to-last (only ahead of the solo Cayla and Justine) in legs 2 and 3. By the time Sarah got him as a partner, it was during his ideal challenge of strength and physical endurance.

Anyway, the final leg was a ten-mile hike up a mountain in the middle of a rainstorm that then became a snowstorm. There were two puzzles along the way that the players had to solve before they could advance. Additionally, the point values for this were doubled, so first place gets 10, second gets 8, third gets 6. Justine, with 11 points could ONLY win if both Sarah and Cayla quit and got disqualified. Mathematically, she was drawing dead. CAYLA could only win if she finished first, and Justine finished second. Any other outcome meant she lost to Sarah. With that in mind, the final leg began and Tyson/Danny/Domenick finished the first puzzle and ran on ahead. Justine finished the puzzle and actually managed to surpass Domenick. Cayla and Sarah got left WAY behind, but eventually Cayla solved it and continued on.

The SECOND puzzle was a Sudoku without explanation for how Sudokus work, so for most of the players, it just got confusing, and at this point, they were soaked from the rain, and snow had begun to fall. So EVERYONE was freezing and shivering. Danny finished the Sudoku and won the season outright; there was no way for Tyson or Domenick to outscore him without winning the final leg. With this in mind, given the intense cold, Tyson and Dom both quit, and Justine, who could not win unless the other girls both quit, also gave up. Then Cayla reached the Sudoku at a point when the first four had already left, and she suffered a similar fate: frigid cold to her soaking clothes. She also cannot win unless she beats Justine AND Justine still finishes in second, so there's no real way for Cayla to win at this point, either, and she quits. This isn't explicitly stated or anything, but I have to imagine the knowledge that you're busting your ass for 7-21k, and you have no shot at the 250k grand prize, plays a factor into the quits.

Inviso posted...

The SECOND puzzle was a Sudoku

Aw, fuck Sudoku! Pay attention!

So basically Justine couldn't win without two other quits (and it sounds like Sarah was never going to quit), so she quit, and then that kept Cayla from being able to win, so she quit too?

Mewtwo59 posted...

So basically Justine couldn't win without two other quits (and it sounds like Sarah was never going to quit), so she quit, and then that kept Cayla from being able to win, so she quit too?

Well, I think it was the piss-poor production and the elements, but I have to imagine there's also a mindset of "sticking it out is pointless since I can't win, and the money in my bank is practically nothing if I don't win". Cayla had only 7k, and Justine had 8k that they were playing for at the end.

The point system was bad for that very reason. I thought similarly when TJ explained it. "Then we're going to know who wins before the reveal..." Same was true for the contestants. They didn't care to die for $10,000. Danny solved the Sudoku because he'd done a book of them before S41 so it wasn't hard for him.

Angela got screwed but should have tried for an hour; production should have explained the rules. She was the best competitor and I actually liked her this time. Sarah is awful and got lucky by getting the first leg solo.

They should have just scrapped the pairs once Ben got pulled. Which was because the doctor had looked at his X-ray, but it was awkward timing. But that meant they should have reworked things since this wasn't fair.

Really, a bad finale that turned me off from the show.

So glad Alyssa finally got voted out. That gaslighting attempt was terrible and makes me dislike her even more than I already do.

https://ew.com/tv/the-challenge-usa-tyson-apostol-final-spoilers/

It's even worse than we thought. The mass quit was in part to give production the finger for being inept. Say what you want about Probst and Grodner, but they're way better at running a show than this crew was.

Ouch. That interview makes me glad Tyson was on the show, because I'm not sure how many people would be that scathing afterwards.