Legends Episode Ranking System - COMPLETE

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Broken Trident was a very interesting episode, that's for sure. The moat was long and heavily edited because the players apparently struggled to get across. Usually these moats are done in a heartbeat, Apanuugpak being a perfect example of that. I personally would've given it a lower score. The temple games were okay, and the bucking horse game was completely irrelevant to the legend. I totally remember the "Fucking Poseidon!" line too. It's kind of like the "Oh shit, he's tired!" like in the Applewood Amulet episode. And we all know about the temple run. Yet another "never send the slow witted player first" examples. Kimberly had this whole thing in the bag before she reached the artifact. But then she set the trident down, then took off without it, and then had poor plans for exiting. Serves her right.

Overall, great review. I had a feeling this episode would rank in the mid 6 range. It was a decent episode up until the temple run.

[The Red Jaguars]

Yeah, Poseidon is VERY similar to Icarus in many ways. Both episodes were about Greek Mythology, both episodes featured Broken artifacts, both artifacts were in the Shrine, both episodes had the Silver Snakes sweeping the Steps, both episodes featured Green/Silver temple games, and both frontrunners failed in the temple. I am not sure who failed harder though. I have to say Kimberly because she dropped the Broken Trident and didn't know how to exit the temple. She wasn't anything special either before reaching the Trident. But Icarus and Poseidon are both episodes where the earlier rounds are good while the temple runs sucked.

It looks like next is either Benzibab or Blackbeard for me.

[Purple Parrots Fan]

I'm probably gonna do Sforza next, so your best bet would probably be Benzibab.

[The Red Jaguars]

Yeah, that would complete the production day for Sforza and Benzibab. As for Sforza, I think this will rank in the mid 7's. This is a solid episode all around and very exciting. I love how people call this win easy, but say nothing about Ahmed Baba. I remember a long time ago Ahmed Baba got immense love on this forum. I will take Sforza anyday over Ahmed Baba. I will take even Benzibab over Ahmed Baba.

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Yeah, I also liked Sforza and Benzibab put together compared to Ahmed Baba. At least with Benzibab I can remember the run for its quick finish, and Sforza for its unique path and the enthusiastic Lacey and Asher. But what do I remember about Ahmed Baba? Absolutely nothing. Even the very first time I saw the temple run, I was completely bored and unimpressed with it. Everyone loves Ahmed Baba just because Shane entered 9 rooms, and "had the hardest layout in the shows history." When really his layout was way too easy, and he just lucked into his path. Shane was just plain average, even Chandra moved faster than him and she had a HARDER layout. They both have similar paths, yet Shane still wins, and Chandra is taken out one room away. Shane was just plain average, his temple run is not as amazing as it's made out to be. I know for sure both Sforza and Benzibab will rank higher.

[Purple Parrots Fan]

And here it is, my episode review on "The Jeweled Scabbard of Sforza."

THE JEWELED SCABBARD OF SFORZA

MOAT: 6/10

For this moat, the players had to swing on a vine and onto a net, climb over it, and then climb out of the water on the other side. Once across, their partner had to cross in the same manner. This was an okay round, though it did take a while. Lacey of the Green Monkeys had no problem getting across at all, but Asher struggled immensely. They were even the last team to finish crossing the moat. Regardless, the Silver Snakes, Red Jaguars, Blue Barracudas, and the Green Monkeys ended up advancing to the Steps of Knowledge.

LEGEND: 7/10

This legend centered around Catarina Sforza, and an army of Venetians that were spotted approaching a city called Foril. This enraged Sforza, and her and her army set out set out to fight a major battle. The men charged and charged numerous times through enemy lines throughout the battle. When the battle ended, Sforza threw her jeweled scabbard into the crowd. Someone caught the scabbard, and it ended up in the temple. This was a decent legend. I wish they would've talked more about Catarina Sforza herself than some battle her and her enemy fought. I do like the bit of someone catching the scabbard, a tidbit that would come back up again later in the episode.

STEPS OF KNOWLEDGE: 7/10

The Steps of Knowledge was pretty close. Just like in Tall Turban, the Green Monkeys and the Silver Snakes had an early lead, only to have the Green Monkeys finish first, and the Silver Snakes not answer anymore questions after a while. Lacey was very smart on the Steps, answering all the questions for her team before the choices were even revealed. Eventually, the Blue Barracudas came right from behind and joined the Green Monkeys on the final step. The only team to not answer any questions was the Red Jaguars. But, it mattered not in the end.

TEMPLE GAMES: 8/10

The temple games was a very exciting round, and had a unique set of games used. In the first game, Asher and RC had to jump up and down on trampolines, and throw rocks in their opponents goals. Though they could only use their own colored rocks. Asher won the game 12-10. In the second game, Lacey and Rebecca had to stay on a bucking horse without falling off. Whoever fell off the horse the least won the game. Lacey sort of struggled in this game, while Rebecca never fell off once. Naturally, Rebecca of the Blue Barracudas won the game 4-0, tying up the pendant scores. In the third game, the players had to throw rocks to their partner while their backs were turned to a wall. This temple game exemplifies why I absolutely hate this game. Not only was the objective WAY too hard, but they used cannonballs, which flew everywhere no matter how gently they were thrown. Needless to say, neither team scored even once, and with both pendant scores at 1.5 pendants, it was time for the tiebreaker. As soon as the Green Monkeys rang in, Kirk almost went to the Blue Barracudas, (nice one Kirk -_-), but corrected himself and turned to the Green Monkeys. Both Lacey and Asher answered the tiebreaker question about Sforza's scabbard ending up in the crowd, with someone catching it, and Olmec gave it to them as "ABSOLUTELY CORRECT!" So that rather messy answer from the Green Monkeys earned them a trip to the temple! Had that answer been given in Season 1, it probably wouldn't have been accepted.

TEMPLE RUN: 8/10

While this temple layout was sort of easy and short, this temple run was still pretty exciting. Lacey goes in first and does an okay job. She makes it all the way up to the Chamber of the Sacred Markers, where she's removed from the temple with 1:35 left on the clock. Asher goes in and he moves pretty fast. He grabs the half pendant in the Pit, races all the way up to the King's Storeroom, and grabs the Scabbard with 48 seconds to go! Asher then races across the top floor, Lacey gets incredibly excited, and escapes with 29 seconds left on the clock. Lacey was so excited she was chopping her feet in excitement, and Asher was equally as enthusiastic. Solid win, they totally deserved it.

FINAL VERDICT: 7.2/10

Sforza was definitely one of the more exciting episodes of Season 3. The Green Monkeys did sort of scrape by each round, but they definitely earned their win at the end of the day. Their layout wasn't that hard either, though with scaling the whole central shaft, and in a Season 3 temple no less, it was no cakewalk. Despite that, their win was very exciting and I'll definitely take it over Ahmed Baba any day. I'd even go as far as saying Sforza's layout was even harder than Ahmed Baba's. Furthermore, Lacey and Asher's enthusiasm adds to the overall excitement as well. I definitely recommend this episode, it was very fun the whole way through.

[The Red Jaguars]

Sforza is a a great episode despite how the producers made it very favorable for the teams. First off, we get a moat that was reused from an earlier production day in Season 3. This was definitely a good idea for a moat and I see why the producers used it again. I remember the legend too about the Scabbard being thrown into the crowd. Definitely one of the few stories I remember. Also, the Jeweled Scabbard looked awesome and one of the best artifact designs on the show.  

Lacey and Asher were a good team in this episode too. Lacey got all her questions right without an answer being revealed. Plus, I enjoyed Lacey and Asher's enthusiasm in the temple games. I also remember TMH thinking the Blue Barracudas were twins. The temple games are famous for the 0-0 with the rock throwing team game. I was never a fan of this game either, but the teams really struggled in this episode. Compared this episode to Boadicea and  Roland with the exact same team game, and the kids really struggled in the Sforza one. Maybe it was because they were all short? They were definitely not incompetent or anything. In the end, we got our very last tiebreaker on the show. The Green Monkeys pulled it off with a sort of sketchy answer, but luckily the producers were lenient in S3. Plus, it wasn't the first time it happened. See Zac's tiebreaker answer in "Bandit Queen".

The temple win was pretty good too. This is probably the one win I always change my opinion on. Sometimes I don't think highly of it, but sometimes I also think the Green Monkeys did decent. The producers were definitely charitable to the Green Monkeys though. I mean a trip up the central shaft? Yet, the Belle Boyd and William Tell team had a brutal layout and their artifact in the Ancient Warriors too. But at the same time, Lacey and Asher's layout was not THAT easy. Their central shaft trip featured some of the toughest rooms of S3. And they won with respectable time too. Overall, it was a pretty enjoyable win. I can go back and watch this one from time to time. It reminds me of Benzibab where the layout was easy, but the team definitely earned their win. I will take it anyday over Ahmed Baba or Butch Cassidy.

Good episode review, and I knew Sforza would get a good score. Now that we have finished all of the Green Monkey wins, I will post their average score in the next post.   And speaking of Benzibab, that will be my next project.    

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Oh Jeweled Scabbard for sure is one of the, if not THE best looking artifact on the show. It just went to show that Season 3 really put a lot of thought into these artifacts. Had this been Season 1, the producers probably would've just used a foamy scabbard. And yeah, I also saw resemblance in the Blue Barracudas, they really did look like they were twins. As for the third temple game, the reason this game was so hard is because they used cannonballs instead of large rocks. Though in Empress Eugenie, cannonballs were also used, yet the teams there had almost no trouble at all. So maybe it was because they kids were shorter and younger here? Since the Empress Eugenie kids were much older. And I always change my opinion on the Sforza win. Sometimes I love it, sometimes I don't think highly of it, etc. But right now, I quite like that win. And it certainly wasn't easy either, what with the kids having to traverse all the way up the central shaft. Lacey and Asher were a solid team, and their enthusiasm adds on to the run.

And good luck with Benzibab. That will probably get a high score too. I can't wait for the Green Monkey win stats too.

[The Red Jaguars]

Good observation, I think the cannonballs being used also made the game tougher for the kids. Especially since the cannonballs were much smaller than those big old chunky rocks. I forgot Empress Eugenie used this game too, but I remember Jay doing really good. Although Jay looked much older than the Sforza kids. This temple game in general was okay, but it was used way too much in S3. And the Sforza win never really bothered me as much as Ahmed Baba or Enormous Iron Nose Ring. It was never the win that got too much praise. I think people realize that the layout was way too easy. Same with Benzibab, although that used to get a lot of attention. Mostly because of a former user here. But Sforza is a good win and at the end of the day, I have no problems with it. I like most of the S3 wins better than it, but it still will get a good score from me. 

And Benzibab is one I can do by heart. Which is kind of strange, because I have not watched this episode in a long time. But I remember the legend and temple games very well. I think it will rank slightly lower than Sforza though.

[The Red Jaguars]

With both the Green Monkeys and Orange Iguana wins finally complete, I can post their average scores.

Green Monkeys
"The Mussel-Shell Armor of Apanuugpak": 8.9
"Lawrence of Arabia's Headdress": 8.9
"The Lost Hornpipe of the Pirate Captain": 8.4
"The Applewood Amulet of Emiliano Zapata": 8.4
"The Lion-Headed Bracelet of Chandragupta": 8.2
"The Jeweled Scabbard of Sforza": 7.2
"The Trojan Horseshoe": 6.3
"The Very Tall Turban of Ahmed Baba": 6.2
Average Score: 7.81

Orange Iguanas
"The Levitating Dog Leash of Nostradamus": 7.8
"The Lucky Medallion of Atocha": 7.6
"The Much-Heralded Helmet of Sir Gawain": 7.6
"The Silver Horseshoe of Butch Cassidy": 6.0
Average Score: 7.25

Basically, the average score of all of the Green Monkeys wins put together ranks higher than the highest rated Orange Iguanas episode (Nostradamus). That is not surprising since 5 of the Green Monkeys wins ranked higher than an 8+. None of the Orange Iguanas wins even broke the 8.0 mark. The average score for the Orange Iguanas didn't rank too bad though either. They both got a pretty good score.

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Not bad, though I would've expected the Green Monkeys total to score a little higher. Especially since half of their wins ranked in the 8 range. The Orange Iguana totals are pretty much what I expected. Kind of sad that none of their wins, let alone other episodes, ranked in the 8 range. We still need two more Purple Parrot wins, one more Red Jaguar win, one more Blue Barracuda win, and a handful of Silver Snake wins to be reviewed. Maybe I'll do Freydis next, since that episode hasn't been covered yet.

[The Red Jaguars]

The Trojan Horseshoe and Ahmed Baba bring the Green Monkey score down quite a bit. They would've broke the 8.0 mark if it wasn't for those two wins. Other than that, the Green Monkeys have a solid track record and easily had the best episodes. Not to mention, Ivan the Terrible also finished with an 8 and that episode was a loss.

We don't have many wins left to cover. Although we actually have two Barracuda wins: John Sutter and Buddha.   I am going to do Buddha soon though, so that we be one less. The Silver Snakes have the most left with 5. Although it will be one less with Benzibab done in the next couple of days. Other than that, Freydis should rank higher than Billy the Kid. I could see it ranking around the Annie Taylor score range. I love that episode. 

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Me too, Freydis is easily one of the best episodes on the show. I think it might actually rank in the Annie Taylor range. Metal Beard also hasn't been reviewed yet, so I might take on that one at some point too. That should rank in the mid 7 range.

[The Red Jaguars]

It's been a while since I posted these! I got into a little rut at school, but now I am all better and have more time to write more of these. I want to reach the 100 episode mark by the end of the year. Like I promised, here is Benzibab.  I am going to do Blackbeard after this one.

THE RUBY EARRING OF BENZIBAB

MOAT: 6/10

The moat for this episode reused a moat challenge from an earlier production day (Imperial Wizard/Smashed Printing Plate day). Basically, in front of the six teams was an abandoned finishing net and an old vine. The first player had to run out and grab the vine and then swing across to the fishing net. Once they reached the fishing net, they had to climb over it and reach to the other side. Their partners had to cross the same way as the first player. If a player falls into the water while trying to cross, they had to start over and cross the same way. The first four teams that made it across and hit their gongs will go onto the Steps of Knowledge. This moat was kind of long compared to the other uses of this moat because some of the teams took a long time to get across, notably the Silver Snakes and Green Monkeys. But it wasn't a bad moat at all. The idea was actually good, which I can see why the producers decided to use it again.

LEGEND: 7/10

One of the most power rulers in African history was Bilqis, Queen of Sheba. In 1900 B.C., Bilqis visited Jerusalem to see King Soloman, the ruler of the Hebrews. The Hebrews were impressed by Bilqis' caravan of gold, and Solomon invited her into his palace. Solomon was curious on why Bilqis was bringing gifts to him. She stated that she got a coded clue that there was a traitor among Solomon's men. She was unable to decipher the coded message, but Solomon determined that the final clue to the puzzle was "Ruby Earring". Bilqis looked around the palace and noticed a giant guard named Benzibab wearing a Ruby Earring. Benzibab attacks Bilqis, but Solomon stops him and has him arrested. He gives Bilqis his Ruby Earring as a token of his gratitude.

The legend was actually interesting, but the voice acting ruins it like for most Season 3 legends. One point in the legend, Bilqis and Solomon are having a conversation. Bilqis stated that she went out for a joyride, which is why she visited Jerusalem. Legends had some pretty lame one-liners in Season 3. Other than that, the plot for this episode was pretty interesting. It would've gotten a higher score if the lame voices and bad one-liners were not part of the story.

STEPS OF KNOWLEDGE: 7/10

There is not much to say about this Steps of Knowledge round. The Silver Snakes and Green Monkeys were the first two teams to reach the second to last step, but the Red Jaguars made a comeback and tied with them. Kevin of the Silver Snakes also got one wrong answer because he never let Olmec finish all of his choices. The Silver Snakes would eventually be first in the Steps, followed by the Green Monkeys.

TEMPLE GAMES: 8/10

The second to last temple games round ever featured Paula, who was into soap box derby races and plays the piano, and her partner Jason players baseball and was into dirt bike riding of the Green Monkeys. The Silver Snakes featured Annie, who was into gymnastics and played the violin, and her partner Kevin liked to draw. Notice how Kirk blazes through the team interviews and temple game instructions? I guess the producers had a time constraint or something this round? Which is funny, because later on you will see that they are trying to pass time after the temple run. The temple games used in this episode were pretty fun, and these temple games rank among my most favorite temple games on the show. I like how all of these temple games were used in Season 2 also. It was like the producers were choosing the best stuff from the show and utilizing it for the last day? I am not complaining though. 

Temple Game #1 - Queen of Sheba's Caravan

Annie and Paula had to unpack all of the jewelry from the Queen of Sheba's Caravan. To do this, they must traverse through a mini-maze and find the correct matching pieces of jewelry. Once they find it, they must bring it back to their team bucket. If they find incorrect pairs, then they had to replace it with another jewelry and search for a match. The player that gathers the most jewelry after 60 seconds will win. In the end, Annie and Paula had two matches of jewels a piece, resulting in a tie.

Temple Game #2 - Travel by Camel

Kevin and Jason were on a giant rotating pendants and had to spin it in a clockwise pattern in a full 360 degree circle. Once they make one full rotation, they will earn one point. While running on the giant pendant though, they had to becareful not to run too fast or they will fall off. The player that earns the most points after 60 seconds will win. In the end, Kevin outscored Jason with a score 15-14

Temple Game #3 - Traitorous Bodyguards

Each team had four traitorous body guards, and they must work together to knock them down. Each player will take turns loading a catapult with a boulder and firing it at one of the bodyguards. Their objective is to knock down all four guards. The team to knock down the most guards after 60 seconds will be deemed the winners. Kevin and Annie demonstrated that they were better shooters, and won with a score of 3-2. This put them up 2-0.5 and paved their way into Olmec's temple!

TEMPLE RUN: 7.5/10

The last production day of Season 3 resulted in some very generous temple layouts. In this case, the temple layout resulted in the fastest team win on the show. That doesn't change the fact that this win was still exciting and Kevin and Annie were really good players. Finishing with over a minute left on the clock in the Season 3 temple is never a fluke. Annie had one of the quickest frontrunner departures on the show, as she was removed 23 seconds into the run. Kevin was very fast as a secondrunner, and completed all of the bottom floor objectives swiftly. He didn't even try the Dark Forest-Shrine passage and instead took the Pharaoh's Secret Passage up to the Room of the Secret Password. After grabbing the Ruby Earring, he races out of the temple and finishes with 1:01 left on the clock!

This win was amazing, but it definitely is not as great as people make it out to be. The temple layout was way too convenient for this team and the bottom floor was pretty easy for a Season 3 run. I am not trying to downplay Kevin and Annie's amazing performance, but I don't see them finishing with a lot of time if they had the "Imperial Wizard" or "Lost Taj Mahal Turban" layout. It is still a good temple run though and a nice fast team victory is a nice way to end the last production day on the show 

On a side note, this temple win was so quick that Kirk tried the milk the time at the end by talking about Annie and Kevin's temple performance. Thank you, Kirk. 

FINAL VERDICT: 7.1/10

"Ruby Earring" was the second to last episode to be ever produced on the show, and it was a pretty solid closing one to boot. Maybe it was because the producers put in extra effort in the final production day, but the whole episode is enjoyable. None of the rounds of this episode were dull at all, and the entire episode was consistently. This episode ranks high on many user's lists, and for good reasons to. However, I didn't find it as amazing as some people make it out to be. The temple layout was too generous and the Silver Snakes benefited from an easy production day. But still, this episode is a great watch and I would recommend it. We know a certain user here who would easily recommend it too.  

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Benzibab was a good episode, I especially liked the temple games in this episode. Though the first game was never used in Season 2. Kirk seemed to be acting more enthusiastic and quirky than usual too. Like after the Silver Snakes won the temple games, Kevin high fives Kirk rather roughly, and Kirk says in a plain, monotone voice "Ouch, that hurt." And I do vaguely remember Kirk's commentary at the end of the temple run. As for the win, it was a great effort by Kevin and Annie, but you're right, it's not as great as people make it out to be. But it's MUCH better than other easy wins this show has seen before.

Overall, great review. I'll probably do Freydis next. I'm starting to run low on episodes I have left to rank though.