The Challenge USA 2: Episode 2 & 3 Review

0:01 Foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] Tech channel here on YouTube where Kahuna and I've got the TNT takes for you on the Challenge USA episodes two and three it's a double header I'm your host Chris and Kahuna I am absolutely lit because this is going to be a massive live here today we've got three eliminations to talk about when we didn't have a single emulation elimination in the first week it's a lot to get through man and I'm excited for it because there was so

1:21 Much good stuff happening and it's like I said last week it's just good to have the challenge back after a bit of a break and then we kind of get this like flood this wave of like overdose of the challenge in one week and I'm here for it I even had like for those in the chat listening today I know it's evening in the states it's morning Sunday morning here in Australia and New Zealand I had to fight with my daughter my eight-year-old daughter to get off the computer this morning because I'm like no we've got to Challenge USA to talk about she's like it's not fair why do you get to have it look it's mine I'm doing the TNT it's about the challenge it's important Chris is waiting for me get out of the room and that's how it was this morning I had to fight for it like I was a CBS slash Big Brother participant against the Vets yeah so you were in the arena this morning and only one person was going to survive and goona ended up the BK got out of the Arena he's not eliminated this week he is still with us chatting about the challenge it was a whole brawl but one person's still here and one person's not right Chris so that's what I'm saying yeah that's all that matters it doesn't have to be pretty as long as you get out on the other side Pete welcome back to the live Andrea Lee welcome back to the live Patricia welcome kiwi skirt welcome back to the live and Woolly and also Danica saying finishing up Traders NZ episode two

2:41 Be there ASAP okay well yo take your time just get in whenever you can there's a lot to talk about but you know like I said very exciting episode we ended up ended it on a cliffhanger we weren't sure who was going to go into the arena for episode two and all likelihood I think it was like 16 12 balls before the man four balls were for the woman and the hopper but a woman's name gets pulled and Michelle Fitzgerald needs to get her hands dirty very early on here in the episode she goes up against rookie Amira and I think an elimination challenge that could have gone either way there was about like four balls in between them they were dunked up and down into the swimming pool where they had to like get all these balls out of the water and Amira did really well here like you know like we I ranked the mirror very low on the power rankings that I did with reality realness obviously I had to because she left early I just felt like she got beaten by experience but to go up like that against Michelle who's been in illuminations before who's won eliminations before not a bad start for her you know obviously going out first here but you know Johnny Bananas biggest Challenger of all time went out first in his rookie season so do you see something for a mirror here do you think she's got a future on the challenge do you think we'll get her back

4:02 I mean I'm not sure like I don't think she's given anything were this a regular Flagship season of The Challenge I don't know if she's got anything that has kept her to come like convince the producers to bring her back but when you're dipping into that CBS pool it's a it's a little bit you know they've got so many shows to feel now they need lots of participants they need them from different areas there's a chance that having that big brother connection having been on the show twice already she could you know she could be he could come back just to be again a number to be fodder to make up the crew like I mean with that challenge I was I mean I was happy to see Michelle come back I don't have the length of connection with Amira and I and you're a fan of Michelle I know I expected her to do well this season and I think she rebounded well from that I'm just glad that we actually got like I don't know why we were saying this pre-show you hate the Cliffhanger episode as far as well they hate it and the fact that they were doing two episodes in one weekend essentially or four days apart I don't know why they did that to edit and then in the second episode do two challenges two eliminations and a daily and

5:22 Just clog it all in there while keep the first one a little bit looser it's interesting choices but they didn't like tease it out like we've seen Seasons where they're like get into a habit of doing the Cliffhanger episode and then making it up and then it almost becomes elimination daily versus daily elimination but they've seemed to ride at the ship early they teased us with the first episode and we're like oh no are they gonna start doing the Cliffhanger thing but they got it back they put a challenge that we've never seen before didn't I don't think it translated well to TV that's why it went really fast they kind of just rushed through it but it was an interesting challenge it was fun I think the worst part about it Chris the funniest thing and I've noticing this more and more this season with the other challenges the dailies that sort of thing yeah he's standing there triple layered man there are people with beanies full they're called they're cold there they're not doing those Seasons where it's like warm all time it's cold as hell and then like another season is like it make you yeah absolutely but they don't often be made a tea bag in there and just dunked yeah this is the water boarded just torture well we're going to talk more about them we're going to talk more about them being called soon because obviously the daily and this last episode looked horrible as well knowing that it was cold out there but

6:43 Yeah I mean I enjoyed it I don't think for me personally I don't think it was a bad elimination to me it was entertaining to watch them get dunked back up and down the only thing that kind of looked weird on TV was it looked like they were being dunked in slow motion and I don't know if that was just for safety reasons or if that was just the camera work and they slowed down the dun emotion I was kind of thinking they were going to let them fall into the island so that they're like lost and having to get their bearings when they're in the water to try and get the balls you know so the way that they were doing it seemed like they were using Kitty gloves with them and making sure that they're not hurting anyone out there which is you know we want Safety First like you know what am I saying we want safety first but in that sense it looked a bit strange I don't again this is what I love about the challenge I've been saying it here for weeks and weeks in the previous Challenge USA the previous World Championship that we've covered I like the fact that the challenge consistently innovates Kahuna like there are consistently bringing new things to the show like at one season to the next season elimination one doesn't look the same that's what makes Survivor and I'm the biggest Survivor fan for those that are in here in the live today that are also Survivor fans Survivor is lazy right now like the every season feels the same like the twists are the same the challenges are the same you know the challenge is bringing it when it comes to the

8:03 Creative department and taking risks with new and Innovative things in the arena new and Innovative things when it comes to the Daily challenges and that but the biggest bit of action that happened here as Michelle is called in to go down she calls out Amanda and she's like I know you had something to do with this you know Screw you Amanda which leads into this massive fight back in the house when they go back to the house Amanda is like your big dog your big dog you know but you're not going to be a big dog when you're back in the house and Michelle kind of you know I'm a big Michelle Fan but she does kind of go back into her shell and she didn't look like she wanted that heat that Amanda was bringing to her in the house Amanda's a lot man I would I would like go back into my shell if Amanda says like you become a small dog bottom dog she's just like she's just annoying like she's one she's just so much non-stop right in your face and even if you're not like intimidated or scared or like you know it's not like she's winning you're just like what am I supposed to do with it like I'm bored by that's just like you so it's screaming at a wall like you can't win you can't she's just gonna scream louder he's just gonna scream crazier and the best thing to do is kind of let her you know run out of steam a little bit and okay whatever

9:23 I don't think anyone in the house like listens to her you know what I mean like they hear it because it's fun they'll watch it like Dusty watches bananas in his sleep but the rest of the house is just kind of you know paying attention whereas and you can't help it I don't think there would be any benefit from Michelle to get into the dirt with Amanda on that level like that like no yes Amanda would drag her down there and beat her with her experience because I don't think Michelle has ever been down at that level you know so but I think Amanda yeah I think having Amanda back is exactly what you were just saying that she is an example of BUN and Murray being Risk Takers and trying to like I know she's not new she's been there forever but they know that she adds that level of volatility the fact that they even have this show format in the first place the All-Stars the USA 2 the world championships the different things this is a sign of them doing things a little bit differently Survivor you've sort of railed for a while now that they're going the other way that it's a little bit too subdued the same type of characters not as much on the drama not as much in the fighting and they've lost a little bit of edge whereas independent thinkers yeah whereas thinkers playing this

10:43 Game you know that's why Danny McRae last season was my man like I was behind him because he was playing his own game he didn't care what anybody and this is why Alyssa Lopez this season I'm gravitating towards her now do I think she's going to do well in the challenges I don't know she's actually struggling quite a bit so far this season I don't know if it's because the level of competition is that much higher compared to the first season that she was in but I like the fact that she is bringing it and she's playing her own game she's not playing a scared game and you know you're right Amanda definitely has that spiciness about our ranks are very low which a lot of people I think when they looked at the rankings on reality realists probably thought Chris is not someone who likes Amanda I like Amanda I keep my feelings about like I like the controversial characters I like the people that make me feel a certain kind of way because they make the show spicy they make the show something entertaining to watch the big problem for me is I just don't see Amanda setting herself up here for a long game like right throughout this we know she's going to be under Fire because she's out with the numbers she's making an enemy out of Michelle maybe wouldn't be able to go head to head with her in a verbal confrontation but I think that when it comes to the social strategic game having the numbers Amanda's got no one and she's not even showing loyalty to the vets this season so I don't know where she's going to end up I do want to bring up a couple of comments before we go too far down the rabbit hole because a lot of people have

12:03 Been active here in the Life Peter's saying looks like I was wrong about the hopper being switched East week for genders after week one now I'm really excited to see what happens I am as well and I think that yeah something that people will have to yeah well there's a potential like we saw two women back-to-back weeks because it is completely rare if it is random if production's not like there is the potential that it could be female as long as there's one ball in there every time you could go through a season like everyone knows the odds on roulette like every time even though you think the law of averages would say I'm not going to get black 100 times in a row right yeah but every time you spin a ball it's the same odds every single time right like I mean as long as there's a ball in there is the outside chance that it could really mess up production like I thought they would do the alternating as well I'm fascinated to see how it plays out because there's a chance here it might not work out well for you know one gender over the other yeah no I agree let's read a few more comments here coming in Danica's saying okay I'm pausing Traders too much time left on it I'm all about the challenge and what is going on we'd love to have you here Danica kiwi scooter saying loving it all so far Paulie was in my surprise liking the change in

13:23 Him and didn't care for his return originally and listen I'm not going to comment on it right now because we'll talk about Paulie a little bit later on because he obviously plays a big part of the second episode but thank you for that comment Pete saying right never thought I would be a fan of Paulie now I'm rooting for him going forward we'll keep our comments for now because we will bring that up later on kiwi scooter saying challenges analums are way better than they've been in recent Seasons too for very excited for more again love the creativity dedic is saying by the way Kristen kuna thanks for the shout out love from Kuna and Mucky the other day Traders live you all want my heart with that listen Danica we appreciate you so much because your yourself and some of the others like Andre Lee and you know Willie who's been with us for a long time but specifically yourself and Andrea Lee I see you on everything like you guys are jumping in all of the streams and we really appreciate that we appreciate everyone but we could clearly see your you're going down this journey with us watching Traders so we really appreciate the fact that might not even have been a show you watched before following our channel so we really appreciate that and Andrea is saying rip to Survivor South Africa there's a live coming up of myself and Mucky this week Andre we will talk about Survivor South Africa everything that I know so far and also my comments on Survivor South Africa if it will ever return back to our screens so many good comments coming in here Chloe saying

14:43 Amanda is like a chihuahua ankle biter that's true Lauren is saying commanders like what you are very small loud and very loud so a few people thinking the same way there Fury tiger wolf is back in the house hey Fury saying hey Challengers the drama is real with a couple of L's there and that is so true but yeah a lot of good comments coming in here I'm gonna try and pull as many people up as I can reality realness in the house with three s's I'm here too I want my flowers reality Realtors I'll always bring you flowers I feel like I need to bring you flowers to apologize for ranking Amanda as low as I did in the power rankings last week because you were coming for me after that you know but it's all in good fun and if you haven't checked out the rankings yet and you're seeing this go check out reality realness with three SSI featured on there with angel cake Drew and we did our power rankings for episodes one and two it was a lot of fun okay so the day before we go into the daily there was one more thing I wanted to bring up you know bananas coming into the season Kahuna people were low on him they said he's not bringing much from an entertainment standpoint he's over the hill obviously we know what's going to happen in the next episode we won't talk about that yet but just up until this point in the show immediately he shows why he's getting called back over and over because as Amanda and Michelle is fighting he is sitting on the sideline saying Bessie

16:04 Fessy come get your girls like you know he's just dropping that in there and fishy's like I'm staying the hell out of this and this is what bananas does he's a seasoned container he knows how to create drama he knows how to create TV sometimes I want to strangle him because I hate what he's doing on the show and I think he's a little bit full of himself but other times he brings this and I'm like I get it I get why you're there I like that he said he's a bit full of himself like he's so full of like I'm a big fan of bananas I think he's the goat I do have him above Cece and Jordan at the moment I think he will be surpassed and I'm seeing now I feel like even though he's still performing at a very high level for the game and for television product as a whole I think we're seeing the Signs Now of the of the downward slope and for me the big thing last week it still sits bad with me is that Josh got the toast over bananas and the fact that bananas is now did you see what Drew did with Josh and his power rankings for the week yeah that's what I mean that's why I mean after episode one they kind of made him feel like he was the new bananas as far as the show goes but bananas yeah I don't know if he's gonna have the same place in and prominence especially in a show like USA versus Flash Flagship I think they want to make CBS a thing but

17:24 He can't help doing the right thing to get camera time doing the right thing throwing out the right lines working with the producers to give them what they want and what they need like those funny lines when this fight's going on like when there's drama he's almost an instigator or at least a listener and part of it and you know he I think he got a spotlight in episode three maybe not one that he was particularly pleased about but he performed well and I think he has a he's always gonna especially when you look at the men on this cast Chris there's I don't see a lot of challenges to the challenges I think you know like who has a path for you to get past a bananas in a West and the likes that are really good I'm not sure I think the women very different story in the CBS crew versus the Vets but the men seem to be a lot more wide open as to what they can do and when you have someone as Savvy as experienced and as good as bananas who has the chance we saw beating poorly has the chance to win out if he keeps getting thrown in he is dominant in challenges and he's there's a large portion of this cast that doesn't have the experience in the in the arena so there's a chance he could go quite far it's not necessarily because of the way he's

18:44 Set up but more on his shoulders and his own performance which is not a position he's been in recent Seasons but after the after the taking the money from Sarah thing remember he was always targeted the Young Bucks everything and it's almost like to come back to that it's almost like it's come back he's used to but he's a lot older now like he said you know he's an old man playing a young man's game well what was that lining I'm 40 years old playing a young man's game or something like that and it's hard not to talk about it while we're talking about banana so I'll just bring this up what I don't like about bananas is complaining like stop whining like a little you know it's probably going to say the wrong thing but stop whining you know like it annoys me because you're a seven time Champion what do you expect when you're coming into these games the fact that you're getting targeted you should look at it as a massive compliment because people don't want to go up against you in a final they know you've got the competence and the ability to win at the final so own that you know if the strategy doesn't go your way if you're annoyed because new people are coming into your game and they're schooling you on your game you know don't get angry or annoyed with it get even like win in the arena win the dailies show a different side of you that is that fighting Spirit you know you have which the verdict for me is still out I know you're saying that bananas the downcline the

20:04 Down the decline has started how can we say that when he's still in the game like if he makes the final this season if he gets there I think you should put respect on his name because it's not going to be an easy Road for any of these vets so as long as bananas isn't again the verdict is still out of my mind in regards to if the decline has started if he should hang up the boots and walk away from this thing I do like what he's bringing with yeah you go ahead on a season like this then similar to how we were saying on Survivor Heroes versus Villains for Haley to get far for George to get far it means that they are amazing because they should be taken out first right and we've been saying like this season specifically sings and we're seeing it play out that is definitely geared against the Vets they got the number minority they're coming in where there's certain packs of people that are genuinely aiming for them they're not stuffed up by last season where we had the a legend paired with a with a world championship person so it was kind of murdered like you had protection and Tori stopping Danny and blah right there's none of that this season if those teams get together and decide where they want to put votes it's going to happen and they're outnumbered they're outplayed at the moment by the likes of a list

21:24 Of the likes of Desi and you're right if they if bananas like if any of those vets get to the finals when they have such a small minority now it's going to be pretty impressive isn't it yeah 100 and I'm all here for it I'm loving some of the stuff some of the Vets are doing which we'll get into when we talk about the second episode but before we get into the daily challenge I don't normally do it at this time of the life but I'm gonna put it up right now subscribe to the channel if you're loving this content if you like a little bit of a global perspective on the channel since both myself and Kahuna are Australian based you know consider subscribing we've got a different I hope a different set of opinions and comments that we give you each week here on the challenge and we've got so much more on the channel we do traitors we do Survivor amazing races coming back very soon and we're hoping to add more and more show shows to the channel as we grow we're about 50 subscribers away from 2 000 subscribers which is a massive goal fast here on the channel when we hit 2000 we'll do a very special live to celebrate the fact that we have gotten there and thank you so much to everybody that has supported since day one your support like I said earlier is much appreciated but let's talk about the daily challenge here this was a very athletic daily challenge they had three platforms raised in the air they had these poles that they had to you know go from one side to the other side you know outside

22:45 Of Perth having a little bit of experience at using a pole not in a professional life but in her personal life I don't think many people had any experience of what they were doing up there and a lot of people were found short was there any shocking people for you out there where you thought they would have done a lot better in this challenge for me personally you know a big guy like fessi falling early Josh for instance you know having popcorn muscles he's worked really hard and I give credit to it's not easy to change your body the way he has but both of them struggled very early on Cassidy for instance she fell off the obstacle very early on as well and she was good she was good in Survivor at winning immunities were you sort of shocked or impressed by anyone specifically on this daily challenge and what did you think of the daily challenge in general I love the daily challenge it combined endurance with communication and teamwork and all that sort of thing that I love it was like I know we've got people in a chat Chris that'll be fans of the fact that it's it brought back it gave old school challenge Vibes the first 10 however many seasons of The Challenge a lot of the things they did they just hung on stuff endurance wise it was very simple hang on this out on the water until you can't anymore right yeah there's exactly well there you go I was about to

24:05 Call out bananas in my point here Chris because bananas is plenty years left in the tank you got from one side to the other faster than anyone and with ease because like you said before you put a challenge in front of bananas he goes I've seen this one before or a variation or a very yeah he knows that and we've seen it in Period past Seasons where he'll look at a game and see where the loophole is see where the shortcut is see where the meta is and take advantage of it and bananas using that every bit of experience he has every bit of smarts he has mixed with obviously some physical capabilities there but the other one for me as well was Desi competing twice finishing twice they had the men on the Green Team all dropped the only ones that came through were the women and Desi looking powerful I said at the season you know yeah she's gonna use it let's make that Tori Phil as well the muscle pulling Tyler up with Desi you know Tyler's someone that's physically very fit and I've got Andrea asking me a Chris would you have struggled on it you know instinctively I would back myself and say I could do it because I've done a lot of obstacle course races where it requires you to swing rings and do monkey bars and do all these

25:25 Upper body type of workouts and that but Tyler is very fit so it shocked me that someone like Tyler struggled as much as he did and I wonder because you know Kahuna you never watched Tyler's Original season but Tyler's a team player he's all about getting the team across similar to what we sort of Saw Paulie evolve into in the second episode so I wonder how much he helped his team and helped his girls in the middle exerting energy to the point maybe that is why he was struggling as much when he got to the other end and another thing that we should call out even though Chloe you mentioned bananas was very impressive which I do not disagree with he had the momentum bananas did not help anyone out there he was like I'm getting from one side to the other side and I'm wasting as little as possible energy so I think there are there's some people with less experience like Tyler and them that probably helped some of the girls some or even the guys out there trying to get them from one side to the other side that by the time they got to the other side they were very gassed out and you know we even saw it with Paulie being gassed out because Paulie's frame being a smaller guy this normally fits the smaller guys like the bigger guys it's impressive for someone like Chris Underwood to get from one side to the other side we spoke about him last week being six foot three or something like that he's a big boy to get his frame from one side to the other side was very impressive and then obviously the Survivor boy is pulling it out because Seabass himself he also gets from the one side to the other side but the girls definitely impressed me Desi going out there twice that was impressive

26:45 Overall I was extremely high on this daily challenge I really enjoyed it and Lauren here calling out Sebastian as the surprise of the episode he didn't strike me as particularly athletic he is actually really athletic like if I remember from Survivor he's got a really lean frame so he seems like someone that would do all of these kind of things and he's quite active you know so I wasn't too surprised personally but then again I've watched this season as well any other thoughts here on the daily because obviously at the end of the day we're gonna have which team was the team that won this one I forgot it was Desi's team is the blue team right the absolutely Green Team sorry Daisy's team does end up going through right towards the end they were the team that won this so the Green Team ends up pulling it through Amanda there obviously Amanda helping Tyler up like if it wasn't even close wasn't it something like six points or something for them with the closest team being three yeah I feel like it wasn't even close it wasn't even it wasn't good people I didn't when you look at it I didn't think it was going to be as big as a struggle as it was I thought you could simply just you know go from one to like not knowing what it's like at all I've never been on anything like that I think just the height would freak me out over the water but I thought it would be a little bit more simple than what it's shown

28:05 To be and again it shows that the challenge is going back to old things that work and using it in a new way that it turns out to be a very cool Challenge and quite challenging for the competitors as well no I agree and going back to the house this is where you see that I think this is the reason why a lot of people there's a lot of you're either hater or you love her when it comes to Tori I know you're someone that leans to lean towards you like Tori a lot you've always stood up for her I mean she's a competitor on the show from a competitive side you've got to give her flowers she's won the show before she's getting to the finals quite often but I think that for the people who don't like Tori there is an element of fakeness that comes across from Tori on these shows where you know she doesn't seem like she's got a backbone and she will go wherever the power is on that week and she tries to sweet talk Amanda here but Amanda is very straight up with her and again you have to appreciate this about Amanda where she says listen I you know I'll think about working with you but I'm not going to promise you anything I'm not like especially after the blow up with Tori being in the hot seat here she's like I'm not one of your fake friends I'm not going to pretend to be a friend we've never been friends and I like the realness about Amanda a little bit more than Tori and it was funny to see Tori like I mean how desperate she is right now to try and get a man

29:25 On her side when she Amanda and her they've never been tight first of all I want to say me and Chloe X we're together on this okay Hey listen and I want to say to this Chloe for me I believe that all opinions are welcome on this podcast like even if I don't like necessarily like Tori and I'm I've got a love-hate relationship with Tori she annoys me 60 of the time but then 40 of the time I'm just like I love a big bald strong woman you know and she does it she does end up doing really well on some of those challenges so for me we don't take ourselves too serious on some of our opinions and I feel like in the community we should be tolerance for all the different takes out there some people are going to be Tori fans that's okay you know I was for a long time kuna I was the only one that was saying I was a Bitcoin Maria fan on the podcast because everybody hated on Cara Maria so I became now I'm current Maria's number one fan when it comes to podcast because people were hating on her for having a backbone after years and years of being tortured on the challenge and being bullied finally she started kicking back and suddenly people didn't like a strong female standing up for herself and I was like what the hell so everybody's takes are welcome here if you love Tori go all out fly your Tory flag that's all good with me here but I still find it funny that

30:45 Tori was scrambling in this episode now I'm I had to though I'm not as big a fan of Amanda I appreciate what she brings to the show that you need that friction in order to create drama and she is the primary source of that this season it's like Amanda versus everybody but I feel like she's a little bit One Note like well this is what I'm saying really that's one of the reasons why I like Tori like I wouldn't like a person that comes in every single season develops these relationships and then just flips on them over and over she goes through the same thing and regardless of again this is my thing regardless of whether or not you like it or not or whether you think it provides good television or not she is a gamer and she gets to the end and I think looking at this female cast despite being against the numbers despite being like she and everyone knows that she probably would have like we're going to talk about the elimination but she was dominant not like yeah one she was dominant talk about it and she could she could do this to anyone in here maybe well except for Desi I'd say Desi is right like maybe even is dominating Tori physically and also this looks she's not she's not dominating Cara Maria like

32:06 That she's not dominating there are a lot but she's saying she's miscast and this one and this one yes in this class for sure Amanda is just a little bit for me that interaction is a little bit one note like in the first episode Amanda barking like a chihuahua mentioned before was cool three episodes of it of the same thing I'm not your friend I'm not like Tori wasn't asking to be your friend she's asking to work together because you wear that we're outnumbered you're gonna get destroyed by this Alliance at least I'm seeing it because she sat in that conversation in the nomination after winning when Alyssa L just bodied her ran in circles was like maybe it's not about you Tori like she's now similar to what we said about bananas from being in such a comfortable position with the vacation lines for Seasons back to back to back season she's now done five in a row to going in a point where she's now struggling I'm hoping this might be a slight I know the hate for Tori is strong out there but could this be like what you're saying the Cara Maria the if you're not in the power if you're Underdog fighting against a thing and if she comes out does this become a bit of a Redemption Arc for atori do people put respect on

33:26 Her name if she does well in a season where she really should not yeah no I think it's highly possible that could happen and I was just thinking back at I think it was war of the walls too when she and Jordan were thrown in every single elimination and people were loving Tori back then and the fight she was putting up and the fact that she was you know sort of you know proving that she was a battler and it was before like I feel like we as a fandom sometimes when someone gets too good at the game and they get to the final two consistently and they have figured out the numbers and they make the game boring we really hate on them instead of appreciating the strategy that they bring to the game the fact that they have locked it down we should be hating on casting and production for consistently putting Tori's friends out there on the show with her so that it's easy for her to get to the final I don't hate seeing Tori in this position where she's not getting things her way it's actually fun to see players like Wes Tori and bananas having to scramble and work from the bottom but you bring up a very valid point with Amanda and this is why are ranked and this is why I feel Justified even though I love what Amanda brings to the show from like she just knows how to poke someone to get a reaction and I love that about her like I love the fact that she brings that sauciness to the show the thing that she's not doing well is she doesn't

34:46 Get the numbers game she doesn't understand the strategy side of it because what she's doing right now is Burning Bridges when she does not have many bridges to jump on when you know the island she's on is gonna sink away into the water and she doesn't even realize that she's like a frog and boiling water right not realizing maybe she doesn't care because she knows she doesn't care right she's a big enough character to know that she's going to come back in the future and that's another problem I have with the challenges that people can play for future Seasons or not care about the current season because there are no after a certain amount of callbacks they're now irregular with a guaranteed paycheck to just show up because I'm sure that the that the Vets get some sort of an appearance fee just for being there in the first place they do and it's based on seniority the number of Seasons you've done increases the amount that you get paid so bananas gets paid a fortune every time he turns up because he's been on so many seasons so Amanda by the way Amanda is the new parent of the challenge there's been a few Corey's hold that held that belt for a couple Seasons now that everything he does is for his kids and that's Amanda now she's like I'm doing it for my kid but what she doesn't say or maybe what they leave out of the edit I'm not sure but the subtext is I'm here for my kid but it's not to win I'm literally here for the paycheck I'm turning up so I can get paid

36:06 For my kid it's not to win the money at the end it's not the 250 she's got no chance and she knows it she's not playing the strategy she's not playing the game she's playing the cameras and she's playing the producers and she's getting paid and keep getting them checks yeah I also want to just before we continue down this Rabbit Hole of Amanda and Tori which I'm sure we could do a whole podcast just on that on its own and the Facey of it all I'm seeing the comments you know staying well and truly out of it and staying in his room doing you're a smart man but like a few commenters said he's probably not worth it even for Michelle and Amanda both to be fighting over him also by the way that whole thing makes Amanda look the worst because they're like Bessie's a piece of crap and he's not worth it but I'm the one fighting you over the fact that you got with him and I think Amanda was the only one that genuinely tried like Tori has come out on camera and said that was a mistake that was a stuff up I don't know why I went with this he shouldn't have happened Amanda's the one who's like actually tried to date the man which is just insane to me so she's the one that's looking bad you're upset about these other women about this loser instead of taking out of him you're taking on them she's the

37:26 One that looks like Petty and bad and being like you know judgmental because someone took your man kind of thing like it's so small for adults it's weird all right let's walk away slowly from this hot topic of the Felicia Manda Tori you know like I've already spent too much time on it I'm losing brain cells right here kuna let's move on to something that I really love about the woman of this season the woman of the Season you know who runs this game girls really at this point because it is you know Michelle Desi Michaela Tiffany you know Alyssa Lopez all these big brothers Survivor woman with a Sprinkle of Michelle somehow getting her feelers in there as a previous Survivor play as well they come up with the plan they like Michelle's a smart girl she does the numbers I said she would on the rankings she does the numbers she looks at who potentially could have gone against her in the vote in the previous episode and she figures out it's probably Janae so they come up with a plan to have Janae and Tori potentially go head to head so they could Target the Vets here which seems like the obvious thing to do with these rookie girls but I'm really impressed with the strategy part of how these rookie girls are coming together and running the game at this point because

38:46 The men where are they what are they doing like there's no strategy at the moment with the men the woman is all the strategy this season yeah absolutely and they're running it like what a combination Desi first of all getting the draft pick and then choosing Michaela Tuesday like she seemed to like handcraft the team that she knew that she wanted to bring together and work towards and then because of the relationships the secret by the way the secret garden is we've seen some like Alliance names and room names and stuff is easily the closest to being a gross euphemism like female genitalia and the fact that it was the women's room just had so much I was like what is it is that on purpose yeah and that's just me that I apologize to our listeners that's my fault but yeah Desi Michaela like Michaela's gotten in trouble before I mean on other shows about how much she plotted and how much she was scheming and wrote down numbers and really trying to figure out the strategy and she's come to a place where it's seemingly working out for her Michelle absolutely smart Survivor move I don't mean Survivor as in

40:07 Actually is a little bit Survivor going where the numbers are and the majority and stuff and finding yourself with the votes but I meant as someone to survive to get through to the next and find the best place for her she came off a challenge elimination she won and then she goes obviously I've struggled with the vets for Seasons now oh multiple season and she's can't she actually calls herself or uses the term rookie she's like with the despite being in previous Seasons we would have seen someone after two or three seasons firmly entrenched in the Vets she's with the rookie she's seeing the writing on the wall she knows that's where the path is and that the Vets have a much harder road ahead and she's kind of glommed onto it in one of the smartest because you look at Casey and Amber coming back in World Championship as Legends of the game you know and I mean they've played like three or four seasons each so yeah it's not like they've been there forever so it's interesting because Danica brings this up in the comments as well and she says I don't understand why fessie Josh Michelle Paulie and even Michaela aren't being considered vets they were all on the flagship they've done more challenges challenged in CBS shows they should be worried Michaela I understand because she was barely there yeah like she's a

41:27 Rookie through and through but the likes of a Facey Josh Michelle and Paulie they were all slipping under the radar that's why when I did my power rankings I had them all very high because they had that experience of having done the show before knowing what's coming without the heat coming their way and I think that's what's making Josh concerned for the future game because you kind of see Josh leaning towards the Vets a little bit he probably knows at some stage the rookies could turn on them next when the other experienced players are gone in the game which is very interesting but another thing here just before we move on is the nominations you know West tries is best here Kahuna to get what he wants he uses interesting logic like why are we doing The house's Dirty Work like that's stuff that they've used on the challenge many times before it normally catches rookies out and it also talks about the fact that you know let's make it one out of the two vets at least and consistently Michaela and Desi stands very tall here saying no we're gonna put in bananas and Tori we're gonna go for the experienced players here bananas at the end of the day he is doing for their team what you are doing for our team when it comes to teaching us through coaching us how to do these challenges so why wouldn't we get rid of the coach so West for the very first time here you know he's

42:47 Used to getting his way with rookies he really does not have any power in this game which he obviously complains about a little bit afterwards with bananas when they when they catch up after the vote is done yeah he was not a fan because it's not often he gets out like again and survives him but outwitted outplayed as well like he can use his silver tongue and his brain to get things across but he's coming across some incredibly strong women that is having none of it and wanting to play the game their way like foreign actually we'll talk about it later but the decision that Corey makes in episode three in as well like we're just seeing the crumbling of what should have been a stronger vet Alliance well yeah so that's the other thing I'm just reading yeah I'm just reading a couple of those comments with Danica saying that you know when the Vets are gone then they're going to come for those that are kind of undercover vets and that's also why a relative I'm okay with that thing right if you're wondering if you're if you're okay so if because Chantels bring it up if you are in that position right if you're a Corey or a fessie or a Josh and or even a poorly you're in that middle I'm a vet but not a vet suit of it like they don't see me

44:07 In the same group but maybe I should be if you are choosing sides right and you're kind of a floater in the middle I can go with the Vets which I know that I could potentially be with and I think it may actually still happen depending on how the Cliffhanger plays out from episode three I could go with the Vets or I can go with the rookies either way no matter which side I'm on I'm at the bottom of that Alliance right I can either be at the bottom of the OG vets or I can be at the bottom of the new ones I'm going to be at the bottom either way so I need to choose which of those two I have a better chance against being from the bottom playing from the bottom right and if you're getting towards if you're getting deeper if you're getting to the final and even though you're at the bottom of whatever Alliance I would take my chances against these new guys then against bananas and West every single day of the week right so I get it they're going to be at the bottom either way I don't know if you can do a Survivor thing where you play on the vet side until it's the right time to start cutting them I just don't have the numbers the vids don't have the numbers so of course like and we'll talk about this I like Corey's move this week and we'll talk about that a little bit later on because he's not going to win his way to the end somewhere he needs to buy a couple of weeks

45:27 Of safety before he needs to start going into eliminations and sort of fight his way to get it to the end game Char dude welcome back to the live stream thank you so much for that five Australian dollars says I've finished season one of Traders and now I'm up to date it is really good I'm glad we could recommend the show to you and I'm glad you're enjoying it we would love to have you back in the life to talk about that and you know I'm glad that you're enjoying the trainers we also now have Gregory and Joanne here in the life with us welcome to both of you entry fearsal like on this video please if I may be cheeky for a second it does help with the YouTube algorithm we are almost done with the second episode here what are you getting can I just go to the comments for a second go what do you think of Chantelle saying the fifth major sport America's fifth sport Willie Lloyd said it here question what that is and then Danica I can't remember Dad I can't remember if it was Paulie no this is actually correct and I was so pleased when Danica pulled this up it's not it's Bill Simmons Bill Simmons is one of my favorite podcasters and a long time sports writer and it was this is kind of how I came into the challenge I was aware of it because I watched the real world but there's a guy named Bill Simmons and he is a sports he's known as the sports

46:47 Guy he sold his podcast coming into Spotify for like 150 million dollars whatever he does Sports basketball football all that sort of thing but years ago like 15 20 years ago he was watching The Challenge and was actually covering it in his Sports podcasting Network and labeling it as America's fifth major sport and it's kind of has kept on through the years and I used to glim on to that I wanted like as almost like an Evangelistic thing when I would put on Facebook and tell my friends years and years ago in Australia I was I don't know if I was the only person but I was one of very few people watching The Challenge a decade ago and I used to tell my friends it's the fifth major sport it's not it's a television show there's so much rig there's so much in it yeah exactly but I can see but as someone like I'm like the biggest Sports lover like I watch almost anything Sports if it comes up I'll watch it you know even if it's darts I can sit through dots you know so for me I can see why it appeals to people that are sport casters I can see why people look at it as a sport because it's got elements like when I first started watching it I was like this is like CrossFit but with drama and we're getting to know the athletes and living with them in the house and so I can see why that got people into it

48:07 Because that's what originally attracted me to the challenge but then I ended up staying for a lot more than just the physical stuff and I think if those that have been with me from the start like reality realness because obviously I podcasted with her from the start she would know in the beginning the biggest takes I had on the challenge was always based on you know the sports side of it like would I have the endurance to do that or what skill set would it require to and I've actually moved away a lot from that it's still a part of what I obviously look out for but now it is the drama the characters the TV element of it I feel like young and fit yes I always used to like the young and fit people on the show we're now I'm kind of like feel like I'm fighting for the old guy bananas on my own on my own lonely Little Island saying he's not he's not done yet you know so I've evolved with it as well but it's the sport element that caught me with the fact that there was a lot of like Survivor players coming over Big Brother players coming over players that I knew from other shows so I'm a new school fan but I appreciate the old school and I've gone back and watched a lot of the old school so I think we should we should embrace all of this like don't look at it as a bad thing I don't think the challenge will ever turn into a legitimate fifth sport it's never going to just be sport there has to be more than the physical aspect they did cast and this is where people have problems word they casted a lot of people that were like

49:27 Really fit and good looking for their physical abilities but there were duds on the show and I think that's what people had issues with but now that they're starting to tip or go into the pool of Big Brother CBS players and all that a larger portion of players are coming in that have got the physical capabilities but also can make for good characters on the show because I think that they've got the casting right here this season but we've got to off track a little bit here I do want to talk about the elimination here because obviously at the end of this we see the vote result coming in and Janae had five balls in the hopper she does end up getting pulled into the arena to face Tori for what was going to be a champ versus champ battle you know and it's drop the ball where black balls are worth one point silver balls are with three points and this was it was bad like I mean I messaged Chantel when this was happening and I said to Chantel the Tori just retired Janae like is Janae done after that I felt like Tori woman handled her all over the park and was not even close weset the only good thing that came out of this you know vet on red blood being Spilled Out on the arena was the fact that maybe it'll make people scared of throwing Corey back down there and throwing some of the Vets down there for what they could do what did you think of this

50:48 First of all the elimination itself the giant palinko with like balls in at the end was like fascinating I love the idea of it I think it was extreme and crazy because if you think about it like a balls in would normally be I think a maximum of five rounds right yeah so like 10 interactions ten at bats five with the ball five defending five tackling didn't he say he was dropping 30 of them yeah there was like it was a lot and every single one of them was a physical Inc like she was just getting thrown to the ground and they didn't even put padding on that wall by the way when the thing came down every single time Janae beat her to that wall she was gonna eat it with her face and it was just a wooden wall which Tori was slamming her into so it was a very physical very difficult challenge one that was geared towards Tori and I know there are people on Facebook and I've already seen online people saying ah of course it's rigged for Tory they Tori is a face so they gave her a physical challenge and I think the thing about the challenge and we've said this one of the big differences between the challenge and Survivor is the physical nature of it we've just come off talking about it as the fifth major sport

52:09 That's also very true for what's the sport Devon wouldn't be a champion so we're talking about it being a major sport being physical and for those people that are saying the producers read that Tori was going in so they put a head a head Smasher on there instead of a more mental challenge which Janae probably would have won or has stood a better chance I think it's just a sign of the challenge that majority of the eliminations now are incredibly physical it's not that they pick and choose for Tory it's just that so many of them are so that anytime you have a Tory going down there she's gonna have an increased likelihood that the challenge will the elimination will suit her particular skill set being a physical player and she showed that I do hope that it puts a little bit of respect on her name not only with the other challenges but people remember why she kind of got to her place of prominence in the first place is because she's very good at this game yeah and listen I just love the fact that her backs against the wall I love the fact that a lot of these vets once again have to remind people of their credentials in the game and it's going to make for an entertaining season but Tori does end up remaining in blue you know so we haven't had Michelle ended up staying in red Tori remains in blue Noah

53:31 I feel like it is the reason I think it is because Blues are very strong team I think there's a high likelihood that blue will win more than what they'll lose at this stage the one thing for me though that I'm very interested in is going to be the next decision because I do think bananas is going to change teams but we'll talk about that at the end of this next section let's talk with Tori though I was like I mean it's all just you run through the scenarios and it's just fantasy but I was like imagine if she like took Amanda all right Amanda spot and it's Desi Michaela Tori with Wes Monty Louise and then coming up the next one maybe bananas Mexico but you've got to remember that you've got to remember Tori's up until this point because we haven't spoken about what happens in the next episode yet she has had her way with the blue team they've listened to her Corey's been on her side she doesn't have the knowledge that Corey is going to turn code on the Vets here and that she's going to lose power in that team she probably still thinks she can play with them but for bananas I've got a very interesting theory on what bananas potentially could do if he does end up changing teams so I want to talk about the twist as a whole and what can be done with the twist later on if that's okay and I want to get into episode three here next right so episode three we spoke about tutorial and Amanda blow up we spoke about the fake friend comment

54:51 We spoke about Alyssa L saying Crimea River you know just being really anti-vet at the moment which I know will annoy challenge fans that have been there since the start I love it like I like listen I love the Vets but I also love a fight so I don't mind it even though I think Alyssa is going to have to prove herself in the sand at some point because she's not doing well in these daily challenges yet we spoke about the secret garden that was created I don't really want to go down that path again with you Kona but seems like a really good strong Alliance that's developing there and then a very interesting conversation happens early on here between bananas Western Corey talking about the Vets you know but fessi is Corey's number one he says so he doesn't really care so much for them and obviously at the end of this episode we know Corey's going to go in his own Direction so let's talk about that a little bit because I know relative realness Chantel is low on Corey's move because he is going to get taken out at some point but you and I kind of touched on it I like this move for Corey personally I feel like this is a payback season for Corey he has been made a fool by these vets for many seasons where they just they use them as a number in the original seasons and they disguard of him when they can he's never really been someone that they were loyal to until the end so I don't feel like he's being too disloyal to them in any way here he's never been west of bananas

56:12 As guy you know in the game and I kind of felt a little bit of Young Buck energy coming back here from Corey and going in his own way you know because he's kind of become Bland for me on the show I know Corey's loved by a lot of people that love the challenge but he's kind of like just been there he's been wallpaper for me for many seasons now and I'm going his own way I think it's a really good move here because like we said he's not gonna win his way until the end the whole season and if he goes up against bananas or Western and elimination who knows what's gonna happen so rather get rid of them early on while you still can and you potentially don't have to go against them and then hopefully you run out of luck towards the end and then you only have to win one or two eliminations to get to the end instead of fighting for your life every single episode plus remember feces this guy Fizzy's got some numbers with big brother who knows he could work his way in there because people don't look at him as an ego people don't look as him as this abrasive vet character he's never won a championship so maybe he did some runway for him there I don't want him to go down with the ship here so I like this move from a quarry I didn't at first because I did think yeah like that scenario which I said before you're either with the Vets or you're on the bottom of the rookies anyway so you're at the bottom either way it's like which one are you more comfortable with especially I know you hate it when

57:32 People think this way but some of these people when it is your career you need to think long term and maybe it will be a benefit to butt up against bananas because that adds you know you get brought back the next season as a rival versus as a as a friend so maybe that'll help but I don't know he is with these people all the time I don't know if the second episode or the third episode was the time to make that decision because I've said this about the challenge one of the things we love about on bananas pod with Paulie said that they have planned to work together and the first chance he had he flips and then Paul says I love Corey but he said to wear some bananas going into the season that he wanted to end their beef and work with them going forward I'm not sure on this move this week I still like to see him do well I think it'll I think it's going to work for Corey this season but it will have consequences for him in the future when he goes back to the main show I'm sure but then again was Corey ever like was he ever guaranteed like a cozy spot in the main show in any case I don't think so I don't know like I think he I think he was I think he is if he wants to he's the one that took the break he said I'm gonna be a father for a while and he no

58:52 I don't mean I mean I don't know yeah I don't mean in regards to him I mean like if he was to go into any season with him was he ever going to be someone that they would look out for in any case like I don't think so I don't know but maybe this is the way you do it right maybe he's been there longer than Tori he's been there longer than fessi like could he cement I've got it with him I've got a hot take when it comes to Paulie a bit later on a hot take so they feel like a lot of people are missing stuff on that but yeah you go ahead you finish your thoughts the negative side on Corey's move and this is like when we look at you know we talk about it as a sport and analyze and you see both sides and that sort of thing the unique thing about the challenge which is one of the things I love the most and we said it the other day Chris is that despite what happens with the politics despite what happens with the vote you still have your chance in the sand to come back and it's on your shoulders it doesn't matter about the politics doesn't matter about the social we've said before that you could come in play the worst social game ever put everyone off just swearing their faces cause fights everywhere as long as you can back yourself in the sand you still have a place in the game right you can come back so with the other thing is this early on you make it clear you turn on a bananas you turn on a West you turn on the vets that go into eliminations

1:00:13 Come back take out one of your numbers or take like whatever they come back eventually like there is that chance that you're running into people that are pissed off that are competent that run this game from not just like they might not be running it like socially because we've seen The Secret Garden doing their thing now and they're running the game but as long as you have these people in physical characteristic physical challenges physical dailies as well as eliminations there's always a chance you cannot get rid of them it's not up to you it's up to the arena and if they're coming back then Corey could be in big trouble here you know what I mean yeah it's interesting Jacob here says Corey has the Young Bucks but hunter is gone and Nelson is recovering from his injury so he's lost this Core group he needs to probably rework and build some allies in the game if he wants to come back long term relative realness here says he could have played it better by burning a vote or saying I was outnumbered and it was and was to make it look like I'm working with the rookies and I think that's something Corey isn't good at he's not good at playing deceiving backstabbing strategic type of game because you know he kind of took the bait from Alyssa Lopez when she said blame us and say you were outnumbered but he did it in a very flaky manner in the way that he did it so the

1:01:33 Delivery wasn't as clean possibly as it could have been he still voted for them yeah he could have completely burnt looked around the room and said it doesn't matter what I do here if I pile on or I or I burn a vote bananas is going in any other way you've won guys let me not put that name out of my mouth like what Tori does every season she goes I know what's going to happen here I just don't want to say it so I can at least look at that person in the eye and he could have done that but then I guess the other side is the rookies or the powerful Alliance could have said well you're obviously not an outside and that looks bad so but I don't know if it would have got to that because regardless of what Corey does he's not going to move as number one target ahead of a western bananas you know what I mean so he could have burnt the vote and said look you guys have got this I know what's going to happen I'm just gonna not say the name but I'm blessing it you know what I mean yeah interesting Lauren here says that could really say Festus is number one what the hell last season he was telling Nelson not to trust that man and then Pete says which is why the Vets don't work with him he is all over the place when it comes to the strategy side of the game it's like I said Corey's got a lot of love from people I don't get me wrong I actually like Corey but I don't think he like I'm like yukun like I don't like you've said he's the worst competitor in challenge history I don't know if I agree necessarily

1:02:54 With that but I need to clarify that because I say it I say it when I say statistically like dailies eliminations all that not that I just mean the tenure he's done nine Seasons now going to ten and like we said it took CT nine Seasons to win his first it took Tori Seven Seasons to win his her first like people are usually winning them in the first five to six years and when you go seven eight seasons now he's ending up being the male Anisa or the male nanny where you're always coming back you're now going nine ten Seasons long and he's not in that winning category at all or has come close but not really you know what I mean it's not like he was ever like he came second but he didn't push first you know what I mean so that's what I mean like I don't think he's the worst overall competitor I just mean number of Seasons he's pushing it I just like to see you sweat and call you out for that comment like I feel like I'm like how Amanda's gonna have bragging rights on pulling Tyler up from a challenge I'm gonna have I'm gonna have bragging rights or calling rights on that for a very long time here on the podcast but let's welcome angel cake entertainment Drew is in the house saying Corey needed to pick a side riding the fence wouldn't do much for his long game and I don't know if he's writing a fiend on this season

1:04:14 Because if he follows up with voting with the secret garden and voting with fessi moving forward in the game I think he just did pick a side it might just not be the side that people want him to pick with the Vets moving forward so I don't know I'm the vote the verdict is still out on how this is going to play out for him on this season I think this season it could still play out well but I think the long-term consequences of going against the vet vets here in this specific episode that's going to be something I'm going to call that again look BBG said as well isn't Leroy worse it's all say yes that's where Corey is approaching Corey is the new Leroy yeah but we love Leroy no Leroy Beckham I don't have a problem with Corey either I just think and I'll put a bet here anyone in the chat he will not win this season there you go yeah he won't win this season by the way while I've got I know I congratulated Drew on this big achievement when we did the power rankings but I want to again congratulate Drew I know he doesn't like the attention for reaching 30 000 Subs on YouTube you know that's an amazing achievement for challenge fans and for fan podcasts channels you know that cover the show to be able to get that amount of following that's absolutely amazing Drew you inspire us to keep going and do better on this channel as well and then also thank you for always showing

1:05:34 Love to our little channel here the nullify Tech Channel as well we really appreciate the support and if you don't know who drew is if you don't know who the angel cake entertainment channel is what rock did you live under for the last you know five years go subscribe to the man he does more than anyone else when it comes to challenge content this is his bread and butter we're part-timers in comparison to Drew so go follow him okay so the other big part here of this episode now Drew funny enough got to interview poorly this week which I'm sure will come out at some stage if it isn't out yet and Drew feel free to drop where people can watch that interview here in the live if you want to direct them that way you know Paulie comes out with a lot of interesting sort of you know what do you call it relevation Revelations this week Revelations this week you know having a conversation with Tori who we know he's close with like inventory have actually had this Bond even back in War of the Worlds too they know each other outside of the game and stuff so obviously he feels comfortable talking to her even though yeah he went to the engagement party yeah so she didn't like him but Paulie's always been good with I think both of them but really Tori is someone he knows so he feels comfortable and he says that you know growing up he always looked up to people like Freddie Mercury obviously Queen great singer other

1:06:55 Really flamboyant types of personalities that wore certain types of clothes and growing up he wasn't sure if he was attracted to men or women and we're getting to know Paulie at a level here that we've never gotten to know him and especially talking about the fact that he was when he was on previous Seasons he needed Thomas prove to himself and others that he was the most Macho Man out there the most Alpha you know and very much like that turbo kind of mentality that I expected him to have coming in to this season and by the way turbo I just found out today on the angel cake pastry on live is not doing well he's in hospital and stuff so you know I don't know what's wrong with turbo I hope you know similar to like with Nelly going through his own struggles that everything is okay and that he gets out because we don't want anybody to you know we see this if you if you like the person a lot I am a turbo fan but even if you're not a turbo fan you could probably think man like let's hope this guy gets back up on his feet but yeah you know I expected him to come into this game with that kind of fire but he was very low down he seems like he's worked through a lot of demons how did this conversation sit with you do you because I've seen a lot of fans are turning around on poorly now and they're really having his back after this episode and especially the stuff that he revealed on this episode how does this all come across for you am I liking poorly like is that is that I don't know I'm

1:08:15 Struggling with all these feelings similar to poorly I'm like I thought for so long I was anti-pawarley I hated his Antics but I've kind of grown over the years and seen his growth and I'm like going through a change in myself where I'm like this guy's all right he's been good this season and I'm a big like look at this is I'm exactly the same as Pete the growth from Folly was not on my bingo card I did not anticipate at all coming into this season and liking sorry Paulie's Journey like in air quotes I appreciated his honesty I like someone that can sort of own massive things in their life and change it to say that you know I was this aggressive Alpha because I was trying to overcompensate and it's such a like I wouldn't say it's I don't want to diminish what he's going through or anything but I was going to say it's almost like cliched that the I think you doth protests too much sir the guys that are way too aggro way too Alpha many of them are just that way but then you go ah there's some of you are like covering up for something else and once he kind of accepted that and realized who he is and his love of fur and awesome jackets then he kind of got more okay with himself and we see

1:09:35 A Karma more natural police having amazing conversation with Tori who has these connections and rather than just aggro fighting everyone like barking he was like the male Amanda you know what I mean like Amanda I don't know if she's going to come up with some Revelation next season about the changes she's going through but I loved it I love seeing Akama like even though it may not actually I'm gonna take that back I was gonna say even though it may not be as entertaining television I think it was completely entertaining television in a different way we've gotten the drum from him we've gotten the fighting and now we're seeing this growth which is amazing to see as well yeah I'm gonna disagree I think that is entertaining to see someone go through that stencil like yeah it's maybe not as entertaining as the fights and screaming but I loved seeing it and I thought it was really great to put on I got disappointed when I did see it Chris initially because I was like ah he's getting a bit of a thing here it's either he's going home at the end of this episode or he's going to win at the end of this episode and I'm worried that it might be the other way like they're not gonna usually they would give that package in the final like when he's you know what I mean so this there was a lot of things going through

1:10:55 My head coming onto this podcast because I've seen a lot of love for Paulie online I've always really appreciated Paulie for the entertainment value that he brings to my screen and I've always known because you know obviously I'm a big fan of Cara Maria so I keep I keep tabs on both karamaria and Paulie and all the podcasts they do and the things they say of outside of the show so I kind of had a certain expectation of Paulie coming into the season like dabu here sort of says when he says Paulie talks so much on podcast about these vets blaming them for not getting cars to come back and be buddy with them it's corny and I was very like yeah you know coming into this I was I was really worried because firstly you know I don't want to I don't wanna if Paulie's doing this work as a human being it's awesome and if he's accepting himself and you know if he's a calmer human being and makes him a better person outside of this game because this is just the game at the end of the day then that supersedes anything that he brings from an entertainment value to the show if that makes sense but I feel like for us as an audience it's a loss because I like Angry poorly I like Paulie that comes in there wants to get to the end bring the drama I think that he brought a certain element to the game that now with him coming in being this quiet and basically kissing the Ring of bananas and that I don't think it's as entertaining

1:12:15 But for like I said from a human side I don't want to take away from what he's going through and I want to take away from the growth that he's experiencing because that is amazing I'm worried if we see Paulie back in the future what is he going to bring to the show like maybe it is going to be he's going to be an example for people that are struggling with the same things that he struggled with and that's going to be his new storyline now that people will gravitate towards and find entertainment out of but I do feel like we have as we've gained something we've lost something with Paulie as well and I think he brought a different energy that we probably didn't expect I'm 50 on this from it like again this is from a game perspective not from me as a human being not from him doing the work outside of this I think that's all good stuff but I do think we somehow we've lost a little bit with Chloe as well on the game look I think there's the potential that it could go either way right but I think someone like Paulie who has that fire inside because he's been a professional or semi-professional athlete like he's a competitor and bananas said that to him at the end and made him cry a little bit and he kind of got that validation from the ogs he got that acceptance from yeah he was like he was like Wes he just wanted to be bananas's friend yeah well he got the he got the blessing like he got

1:13:35 From the man himself which solidifies him maybe it might be smart he's been in the wilderness for a couple of years right we know that he got taken off the show maybe what if a conspiracy theory here right there is an outside chance here that Paulie has not changed at all he couldn't but he got taken off the show for years multiple seasons in a row he's like I want back on this show I'm playing nice and I'm Gonna Kiss the Ring Of The Godfather himself bananas is going to bless me and now I'm in his group he spoke to he spoke to and again I just want to say we're joking around we don't know this I'm not calling Paulie out and saying that this is the case but you know if you were to talk to like someone that'd help you with your image and you're like how can I change my image I'm going back this season I'm going to be strategic about it we know Paulie's a strategic guy what can I do to get people to soften up on me so that I can come back and do future seasons ever cheese but people if that came out people would hate him yeah saying the things that he said in this life and I don't want to I don't want to say that he's lying because I don't know I'm just it's it just seems so different and I think we're gonna have to see him on for that reason alone I want to see him on multiple Seasons so I can suss his behavior out and see if he's consistent with the stuff that he's brought

1:14:55 Out I think poorly is a competitor he's always going to have that fire in his belly no matter what so he'll always come and compete and I think that nature because we know that it's there as much as you change in an environment like this the pressure cooker of the house the competitiveness the stress of politics and having being on the chopping block all that sort of thing I think it can come out of him like he'll still push and he'll still stand up for himself and he'll still fight he just won't be the same aggro pushing for no reason and I like we've seen like every single other player on this on the show they mentioned CT being angry and using that fire and growing from it but how many people do we see be strong Fierce competitors will stand up and get into the fights but they're not necessarily angry all the time right he's can still have that he's not like it's not a it's not binary funnily enough considering what he's talking about but it's not binary that I'm either going to be the psycho or I'm going to be Placid and nothing there's an in-between and he's a human right so he'll still have that fire in him it's just about how he can control it and use it more beneficially and choosing when it comes out as opposed to just completely uncontrolled well the only person Paulie really didn't get along with was bananas right because Herman West have had a relationship outside of the challenge for a very long

1:16:16 Time Jordan yeah him and Jordan I feel like even though they didn't yeah and then Kyle I mean Carl's not in that category but I was going to say CT as well and whom get along really well because of the current Maria CT connection so he just needed to get bananas on board and now that he's got bananas on board I think this opens the door for more poorly in the future but I'm sure we're going to talk about Paulie in a little bit again we're going to come back to that as we sort of go through this episode here the daily challenge is called capsight on this one where they have to swim out in the water we already spoke about how cold it was there a lot of people were struggling not just with the swimming aspect of it but they were freezing and for those that have never jumped into ice cold water I've done it a few times your whole body seizes up so even if you're a good swimmer it's very hard to actually swim and move your body in very cold water and a few people really struggled with this you know I ranked Tiffany very low in my power rankings for a reason I think strategically she's brilliant I love her confessionals I love what she brings through the show like I'm a Tiffany fan and so it pains me to take my emotions off you know loving her as a person out of it when it comes to the rankings part of it but I felt Justified when I saw her struggle here in this episode as

1:17:36 Well as quite a few other people that were just not good at the swimming pad and team red flag really heavily sort of they were heavily relying on bananas and poorly and Michelle to carry the white for them in the strategy part of it and actually memorizing the symbols on the back of the boat would you ended up coming short when you look at other teams where they were all working together memorizing say four pieces at a time so they can do it a lot quicker out there but again we saw Paulie sort of put that growth into work here and I want to give him a shout out the amount of help he gave to people swimming and you know he was helping Josh he was helping Turf he was helping so many people out there it was really impressive to see yeah very much so poorly again using channeling that into a positive impact and working well bananas who's using his experience it was it was it was good to watch I think knowing what I said earlier about bananas able to look at a game and figure out the best possible shortcut or the best possible way to do it I think disadvantage going first had red team gone second and might have been a little bit of a different story but and they would have seen that process that relying on Michelle specifically and only for a lot of the memory was really difficult and they still finished it they came second it

1:18:56 Was like a couple minutes it was it was pretty close wasn't but not like neck and neck blue really did once they saw the right way to do it go about setting yeah and blowing red out of the water green unfortunately but it was it was a really good challenge again everything that I like about the challenge physical incredibly difficult they added the freezing element but it's got the communication the teamwork everything one new package that we've never seen before which is completely cool awesome I we lost you there for a second but you're back now yeah love the challenge I will talk through this quickly here because we've got about another 11 minutes before I do have to jump off sadly I've got a hard finish here so I want to get through a few things here at the end but you know love the challenge love the aspect of it having to do the teamwork capsiding the boat getting all of these symbols having to swim back out and like you said some people stood out one other highlight for me was the interaction between Wes and Michaela before they even went out for the swim with we're saying that you know he's a team player and he's aligned to one player today and then Michaela sort of calling him out saying that's not what I heard and then he says Michaela is one of the most paranoid players

1:20:16 That has ever played the game that is why I love Michaela brought a lot of that energy to Survivor and I'm starting to see Michaela get that energy on the challenge so hopefully that's good things for her moving forward and we get to see a lot more of her but ultimately blue wins this and it's again it's just that team is so strong sea bass he's a captain which I'm sure Tory finds very attractive you know real life Captain Jack Sparrow knows how to capsite a boat and obviously he wanted to keep Tori safe so sea bass is the White Knight running earn to save Tory and win this daily challenge which is hilarious for me to see as well it was cool like I like seeing Sebastian actually contribute that's right that he's not bringing too much to the show Beyond telling Tori that he's really really really attracted to her personality which is one of the craziest things I've ever heard on this show but he did he did well he contributed and yeah interesting to see contributions from one of the things that I'm not necessarily struggling because it feeds into what we like Chris but I'm like this is USA this is not Flagship it's not on MTV it's

1:21:37 The CBS show and they're highlighting CBS but so much of the first few episodes has been focused on the Vets not necessarily a good way because we're trying to get them out but they're still when it's not their show it's still their show there's still the center and the focus of everything and seeing other people get a little bit of shine and a little bit of a chance to show some good is always a good thing yeah so a bit of conversation Happening Here in the life that I've missed as we've been talking about it but reality saying men need therapy because they cover pain with anger and then Pete's saying neither was I freaking hated him told my mom I would have taken him out physically in a brawl if I was on the show but now I can't help but want to hug him and then talking about therapy for five years and that's why what I said about Paulie earlier on when we were like oh maybe he's playing this game up and you know again like we're just looking at all possibilities I'm not saying that is what he's doing and I think that it is great that someone like Paulie out there is Advocate or these are fully advocating but he's at least putting in a good word for therapy and you know if you're struggling with stuff in life sometimes life could get a lot on people and even the people you think that are like they're doing good on their own and they look successful and you know check on your most successful mates sometimes as well because those are sometimes people that also have their own struggle and everybody goes

1:22:57 Through the stuff and life can get hard and sometimes you go through more than what you can deal with on your own and I'm glad that we're getting into a day and age where things like therapy is accepted mental health is important we've got a day in Australia New Zealand specifically for that are you okay is what we call the day and it's checking on your mates so just for anybody that struggles and that listens to this podcast then that you know watch the show and stuff like that and I know for a lot of people it's also an outlet to forget about their day-to-day and they just want to watch a show like this you know like never be afraid to reach out to someone that you can trust and if you don't have it seek professional help and talk to someone I just wanted to make that clear and just let people know that us talking about all angles on POI is not because we're actually questioning we're just we're just having fun we're just talking about the broader picture of wouldn't it be a 4D chess move if he did that you know so I just want to know people I wanted to make sure people know that could anything you wanted to add on there yeah like poorly his growth and what he's showing this season is a testament to the benefit and power that you know seeking help and therapy can have and he's showing the the plus side deposit and not that there's negatives necessarily but I'm just saying like he's shown that what can actually happen and the changes that can happen from one dude in a relatively short amount

1:24:17 Of time as well you know so absolutely if you if you need help seek it out I'm not afraid of that at all I've used it through work and all that sort of thing when things get a bit tough it's always good to talk to someone yeah and Peter says here even if it was a 40 chance move it will still bring at least a few more men to therapy all benefits yeah 100 and some people need to hear the stuff and they need to see Role Models if they don't have it in their life even if it's on TV go through these experiences to get them to action and do something about their mental state so yeah I just wanted to address that since I saw the comments there obviously you know ultimately here in this episode we're gonna get the bananas versus Paulie Showdown it was really impressive seeing them on their elimination and I like the elimination I like the fact that they had the ice block that they were standing on it was a Survivor challenge with holding their hand up with a bunch of fish guts above their head and they had the flame throwers underneath the ice blocks that's so challenging the challenge what if we did an endurance one like Survivor yeah but it's like if they had Elon Musk as their special consultant and how can we improve this Challenge and Elon muskles I know let's just put some flamethrowers in there that was amazing and

1:25:37 I was impressed by the accuracy of both of them throwing that Target over and over hitting it like really impressive and again it shows it shows that Paulie like you said have got a lot in the tank I've always known he's a competitor maybe he gases out at the end because he goes that hard but he is a competitor he is an athlete and for him to go toe-to-toe with one of the best to ever do it and then sadly miss out in the end that was sad to see but I'm kind of I'm kind of becoming outside of bananas being like all whiny which really if he just didn't do that I would have been that was funny though little violin that they played him I was like just shut up bananas like take the underdog title and fight from the bottom we want to see that you know and so I'm kind of happy he's still there because obviously he was my first male pick for the season on the draft so on that point I was very happy but you know I still think bananas could he could do damage this season he could still stay here he still has it he's an old guy he's got back problems out there but he gets through the pain kuna I think he's lucky that the male side of the house is so open it doesn't seem to be a clear-cut Alliance for the men and there definitely doesn't seem to be a clear-cut winner or someone who's at the at the head of the field anyway and as long as he's still in the

1:26:57 Game he's still got a shot yeah well that was that's what I was going to say it was so fascinating to see that the last time we went the last time we saw Paulie but last time these two faced off against each other it was a hand above the head hold well Natalie actually beat him as opposed to poorly but poorly's team eliminated bananas and you kind of get that full circle now with the same endurance hands above the head challenge that came down to throwing is do you know if Paul is Left-Handed or right-handed was that bananas being a little bit more strategy because he chose to raise his left hand right if I was given that opportunity I'd go well if I'm keeping my hand in the air for longer my right arm is going to be much stronger to be able to do that with because I'm right-handed right but he went I'm gonna put my left hand up risk the endurance being shorter on my left hand for the accuracy of the throwing on my right hand which I don't know if there really was that much calculation put in but poorly throwing with his left ended up missing that last one so yeah it could be all strategy I'm not I'm not too sure but I wanted to talk about the decision here at the end they leave us on a cliffhanger where bananas now has got to make a decision if

1:28:17 He's going to stay with his team or go somewhere else we all know he's going somewhere else bananas is a gamer he's going to give the production team what they want no one has played a risky game so far we know that playing a risky game is gonna it's gonna be the theme of the season I personally believe he's probably going into either the green or The Blue Team maybe The Blue Team but now Corey's just turned against them so I feel like you want to go to a place where there's vets so maybe go even with like a West or some somebody give numbers to the vets in a team where they can start influencing a vote so if more where if more vets starts getting thrown into eliminations and they start threatening to team up with other vets in a team they could finally start gaining some power in this game and getting numbers so I feel like you know we had this confessional in the second episode where banana said at some point the only tool in your disposal is going to be the threat of leaving your team and joining another team so I feel the Vets are going to do that they've played this game and long enough where maybe it becomes a thing where people get scared to throw the vets in because they're going to team up together in a team to get rid of certain rookies in their team so I feel like bananas is going to make the most of this in this next episode so I definitely I would have as soon as I saw it I was like either take out Corey as Revenge and then you're with Tori and fessi or

1:29:38 Take out Sebastian and then use that opportunity to get Corey and fessi back on side and now all of a sudden you're on that team with Tori Bessie Corey bananas and yeah like maybe he can get Corey back on side after because we know he flip-flops and does bananas work he's magic and actually get him back on site again like that's what I would I would go to the blue I would take out Sebastian fill that team with vets and slash pseudo vets that you think you've got a better chance of you don't have a Dusty that's going to do everything you say but maybe you can work something with Corey and vessey yeah it's gonna be exciting listen I've had a lot of time talking about these two episodes here I do have a hard finish today sorry guys that I have to jump off a little bit earlier here than what I would have liked but I know we rushed through the end but here but we spoke about a lot I hope you guys had a lot of fun in the live I had a lot of fun talking about it and pulling up the comments thank you so much for everybody I think at one point we had over 50 people here watching live as we discussed these two episodes thank you for dropping in thank you for commenting being so active in the community here on the nullified take and being part of the TNT fam and you know we'll see you guys next week where we'll talk about the next two episodes as well I could see Danica saying we need more and I'm so sorry that I got a job but I've got a hard meeting that I've got to do straight after this so

1:30:58 I'm gonna have to jump off but I do really appreciate everybody for being here please consider subscribing hitting like on this sharing the content and on that note guys sorry for dropping you so quickly here I will see you next week where we will talk about the next week's action as while kuna does know he's spoken to me he's told me off outside off the lives get you guys hey everyone bye