Challenge 36: Double Agents (premieres 12/9/20)

**Xno Kappa** · 2021-02-26 13:07

I’d also take Probst’s word with a grain of salt after that shit show of season 35 where it was blatantly tailored for Ben to win.

Shit was damn near despicable and as a veteran with multiple combat deployments I was offended to holy hell the story they pushed with him.

**Xno Kappa** · 2021-02-26 13:10

Producers: Hey Ben want to a do a confessional? A confessional right here. Lets do a confessional right here Ben.

Ben: Oh wow nice I found an idol!

I almost vowed off the entire franchise when the fire-making “twist” was introduced at the final four.

**Byrd** · 2021-03-01 11:55

These continue to amaze.

**Vil** · 2021-03-03 23:11

It was only a matter of time til CT showed his true colors. The whole s'mores thing reminded me of his Real World season finale. Dude was a terror in the house the whole time then on the last day is like "want to sign my t-shirt?" as if everything should be cool after that because of some dumb gesture. Except instead of getting to the peace offering, he went and made things worse. Great job, man.

I know some here will be celebrating, and I'm fine with seeing the guy go, but that was really unfortunate for Josh. The man dodges a bullet after having the house back him, and then he gets blindsided by TJ (I'll allow the b word from him this time). So they just proclaim CT the winner at the swimming challenge and then give him all this power. Seems fair! Dude was going to get eliminated either way, but how about make CT locked in for the 1st matchup, then do the breach and say that the 2nd most votes and the 2nd place in the challenge is the power couple for that. Nah, let's be serious. I doubt they even bothered timing the teams during that challenge so they have no idea who it'd be.

Darrell calling them "Tangerine Puzzles" before catching himself made me think of his line last week when he called them "Gavin and Debby".

Poor Nam. Had to go through all that this season and then gets pulled from the game at F14. There's been a lot of good this season, but make no mistake. It's a cursed season.

It's nice showing them getting a day away like that. There was enough going on in these past two episodes for me anyway, so I'm glad they didn't try to squeeze things in because I don't know how much you can reasonably cut. Last season and parts of this have just felt like a downer, so it's cool seeing some sort of "fun". This is the challenge that I've been looking forward to anyway, so I hope that it gets the time it needs. I've been looking forward to this more than that airplane one on War of the Worlds. That one was a letdown other than Captain TJ, but this at least looks like one of the more unique things they've done in a while.

**Byrd** · 2021-03-04 00:46

Thoughts:

Spoiler: show

Scoring:

Spoiler: show

Standings:

Spoiler: show

Challenger Scores to Date:

Spoiler: show

**Vil** · 2021-03-04 01:11

CT is not making this better. CT trying to make himself feel better.

Absolutely nailed it with that 2nd part.

Also, shoutout to CT taking down that entire package of lunch meat while he and Kyle were just talking nonsense at each other. It's amusing to me when Kyle is like "well, if it were Darrell, I wouldn't really mind" because I'm there watching and thinking "if CT did that to almost anybody other than Kyle, I might feel a little bad for them". Kyle's an important part to the tv show, especially this second half as a mostly non-involved narrator, but the guy is seemingly unable to ever tell the truth.

**Moss** · 2021-03-04 01:57

CT acted really fucking bizarre in this episode, like he was on something

Weirdly manic during the Kam selection which was obviously super disrespectful to Big T. At least it could be somewhat reasoned as him being psyched up that he got his skull

But then that "apology" session was super bizarre and cringe. It was a very simple apology he needed to make "sorry I was amped up and got carried away" but instead he goes with that bizarro pep talk? Truly strange

I wonder if Nam cracked a vertebrae or something at some point, sounded much worse than a pulled back muscle

Devin completely blew it in the elim and owned up to it, to his credit. Darrell took a long time to solve it so really no excuse for him

Really dumb that he called out Darrell instead of Fessy or Leroy as I don't think either of them are good at puzzles and they're both more central to the BB alliance in power

The upcoming daily (at night) looks really cool, my only hope is that the reward matches up with all of the effort required.

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**Vil** · 2021-03-04 08:48

Really dumb that he called out Darrell instead of Fessy or Leroy as I don't think either of them are good at puzzles and they're both more central to the BB alliance in power

Yep. Fessy would have been the smart move, but a loss to Fessy would probably be the worst thing to his ego. If there's just a single male elimination left after this, then Devin could have possibly punched his ticket to the final. There'd be the vacated skull and Cory/Darrell left. As dumb as it'd be, I wouldn't be shocked if people just all agreed to let those two face off for the final skull if that happened... or if the game basically mandated that those two get a shot at the last skull. Leroy's probably playing the best game in the house. 2nd/3rd are his partner and his girlfriend. CT saw who voted Devin and Leroy/Kam weren't up there. I've been expecting him playing both sides to catch up to him at some point, but there's been no signs of danger.

There's 3 girls without a skull though, and assuming there are only 3 total eliminations to go, it's actually a fair chance that a girl w/o a skull could be rogue the final week. Would they just waive the rule there and say "it's the final female elimination... vote anybody"?

**Moss** · 2021-03-04 11:55

Also should note, since I always bitch about the daily and elim design, this was a great elimination. The original with just the swinging part was meh, but adding in the puzzle brings it together as a great test of coordination and intelligence.

I'm no Josh stan but did y'all notice that he had too much slack on the rope suspending him? Like CT was saying, CT had to take baby steps on the platform to get momentum since his feet were barely touching and it was the same with kam, ashley, Devin, etc. Josh was MUCH lower and could basically do a squat on the platform so I think it made it much harder for him to propel himself

I want to nitpick one thing from the CT/Big T argument aside from the fact that CT was 99.9% wrong. I've heard it from Big T and others that he "promised" he wouldn't leave her. Then MTV shows the clip and it's Big T saying "promise me you won't leave me!"

Like... he obviously isn't going to say "no I can't promise that" and still expect them to work well together. It would be like asking a girlfriend of a few months to promise she'll never leave you. Like wut

Agree with Vil that we finally had an appropriate use of "blindsided" by Josh. Literally changing up the rules to cause you to go in definitely counts

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**Byrd** · 2021-03-04 14:12

Originally Posted by Moss

Also should note, since I always bitch about the daily and elim design, this was a great elimination. The original with just the swinging part was meh, but adding in the puzzle brings it together as a great test of coordination and intelligence.

Agreed. I thought this was an excellent elimination, adding the puzzle element to the previously mediocre elimination. I didn't notice the difference between CT and Josh's slack, although I can't imagine it would have made a difference with how quickly CT solved the puzzle.

Originally Posted by Moss

I want to nitpick one thing from the CT/Big T argument aside from the fact that CT was 99.9% wrong. I've heard it from Big T and others that he "promised" he wouldn't leave her. Then MTV shows the clip and it's Big T saying "promise me you won't leave me!" Like... he obviously isn't going to say "no I can't promise that" and still expect them to work well together.

Yeah, I didn't have a problem with CT doing exactly what he did, up until the point where he went completely berserk announcing his decision to take Kam. Big T mentioned that she would have understood if he had left, but I don't know that is true. She kept focusing on his broken promise, which was - as you said - a pretty half-ass promise. If it were true that she would have understood, she would have focused on how much of a giant ass he was announcing his decision. He made "I'm taking my talents to South Beach" look good.

Of course, CT's ham-fisted attempt to apologize made the whole thing so much worse. His whole thing there reminds me a little bit of Josh's habit of trying to make things better, and making them so much worse.

I was rooting for either Leroy or CT/Big T to win this season. Now it's solely Leroy and Kaycee. Or Big T, I suppose, but that's not happening. Actually, if CT and Big T somehow end up paired back up for the final, that would be some amazing TV.

Guess we have a pair for our next Rivals season.

**Headspace** · 2021-03-04 15:22

My wife has only known dad-bod CT.

Her image of him was shattered last night lol

**Xno Kappa** · 2021-03-04 15:38

How was CT so oblivious to the optics of his actions? Nobody would've blamed him for picking Kam, but at least he could've tried to stay humble about it with Big T standing right next to him. Then what should've been an easy apology he ends up botching that too. All he had to say was that he made what he believed was the best decision for him and his family.

Granted I 100% believe Big T still would've been all "you broke a promise" to him and anyone who would listen, but no one would've seriously paid any attention to it. Kyle being all butthurt about CT grabbing Kam after he grabbed Kam from Josh had me rolling my eyes.

Originally Posted by Headspace

My wife has only known dad-bod CT.

Her image of him was shattered last night lol

My wife immediately thought of the last few episodes to Real World: Paris lol.

**Moss** · 2021-03-04 17:18

Jacoby on Ringer Dish had an interesting, half(?)-serious take: he compared it to when you get high on something like acid or mdma and then years later you can have something trigger a memory or feeling and you essentially experience a piece of the high again

So in this case, CT getting amped because this elim win and new partner put him in great shape to win this challenge triggered literal roid rage from his earlier days

While crazy I'm not sure if I really disagree because he's typically so even-keel now and smart socially, and he flew completely off the rails and did something that every other house member is going to dislike

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**Byrd** · 2021-03-09 17:27

**Xno Kappa** · 2021-03-09 18:45

Lmao

**Vil** · 2021-03-10 21:50

lol, what a waste of a good challenge during a round when it was so easy to see that the house was just going to agree on the same thing and/or people just going to throw it to specific teams. The URGENCY of Gabby and Cory in confessionals made think about it and nobody was going to do anything different. Decent play by Kam throwing that one vote on Nany/Kyle just in case they do that twist again.

Elimination was fine. Burst out laughing at Livin' on a Prayer and Nany's jukes. Not a blowout and not the kicking/punching matches that some of those devolve into.

Why people are so focused on Fessy as a partner is crazy when considering the alternatives. Kyle beat him in a final last time. Leroy could be a solid to great partner depending on what's thrown at them. Darrell and CT are both pretty good at the whole final thing. Maybe Darrell wouldn't be the same as what he once was, but Fessy wasn't so great just last season.

Whenever they spend that much time on Fessy flirting and/or given a lot of confessionals about the current object of his desire, I want Devin to pop out of the corner of the screen and just scream "Big Brother sucks!" Fessy was a highly questionable choice to cast in the first place, and just isn't good content.

**Byrd** · 2021-03-11 00:11

Scoring:

Spoiler: show

Thoughts:

Spoiler: show

Contestant Scores to Date:

Spoiler: show

Standings:

Spoiler: show

**Moss** · 2021-03-11 00:54

Did y'all notice that there weren't parentheses in the math problem during the daily? The equations were like "500 x 4 - 140 ÷ 2" but based on how they cut it, they just did the equation left to right. Lol.

Another good elimination event. Simple enough but with multiple elements, makes it much more entertaining than just a straight ring-wrestle when you have the run-up at the beginning. Gabby should've realized after losing the second round that she wasn't going to get the ring first and should've focused on tackling Nany immediately

Agree with y'all that the fessy choice was stupid. He might literally be the worst dude remaining. Kyle/Darrell/CT/Leroy all have heart and you know they aren't giving up on anything. Given her choices, I think she should've taken Darrell or stuck with Kyle.

The upside is I now get to root against Fessy-Nany as hard as possible. Fessy is basically a different-flavored Josh - he's just as stupid and corny, just in a different way. Even the way he talks about Gabby makes him sound like he's 20. "Yeah bro... I mean like... she's dope"

Also not convinced that they coitused, I don't think Gabby ever had sex on Love Island and Fessy has zero game. They probably just cuddled and kissed

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**Vil** · 2021-03-11 01:26

Considering how math has gone on this show in the past, it's probably for the best that they didn't put parentheses/expect them to know pemdas. Random challenge participant: "Wait, Teej... Order of what?"

I don't remember them exactly, but the math stuff was the kind of stuff that was maybe made to look tough while not being tough. Multiply some big number by another, except those big numbers were fairly close to the nearest hundred. 394*7 isn't so bad if you think to just subtract off 400*7.

**Byrd** · 2021-03-11 12:06

Originally Posted by Moss

Agree with y'all that the fessy choice was stupid. He might literally be the worst dude remaining. Kyle/Darrell/CT/Leroy all have heart and you know they aren't giving up on anything. Given her choices, I think she should've taken Darrell or stuck with Kyle.

I don't know if I think he's the worst dude remaining, but I don't think he's the best. I would take both Darrell and CT for all around, and Leroy and Kyle in certain areas. Kyle and Cory both beat him in the final just last season, and I don't think it was that close. I mean, you don't want to go against Fessy in something strength based, obviously, but if I'm going up against him in any other elimination (like the Devin-Darrell elimination last week), I have to look at Fessy as a likely preferred opponent.

Originally Posted by Moss

Also not convinced that they coitused, I don't think Gabby ever had sex on Love Island and Fessy has zero game. They probably just cuddled and kissed

Maybe not. I've usually given points over the years for coitus if people spend a night in bed together, and they might have coitused, unless someone explicitly says "We didn't have sex." Considering this is the only coitus we've possibly had this season, I was happy to award it.

Originally Posted by Vil

I don't remember them exactly, but the math stuff was the kind of stuff that was maybe made to look tough while not being tough. Multiply some big number by another, except those big numbers were fairly close to the nearest hundred. 394*7 isn't so bad if you think to just subtract off 400*7.

Lots of people might realize that is the easy way to do math, but I'm not sure how many of these particular challenge contestants do. Kam, maybe? CT? Kaycee? Dunno.

Thread: Challenge 36: Double Agents (premieres 12/9/20)

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