Some Thoughts about Temple Runs

[The Red Jaguars]

Do you guys think it is unfair to call the players in the Belshazzar and Dead Man's Hand run "slow and clueless" players? I have been reading a lot of old posts about these runs and it seems like some old members feel that they deserved to lose. I am shocked that people even give these teams a hard time. If you watch these two runs, you should see how f**ked up their layouts were. Especially Dead Man's Hand, that layout was just broken. If you gave Jennifer and Damian this layout, they would've made the same progress as Sarah and Josh. I always never try to criticize the Belshazzar or Dead Man's Hand kids at all. They definitely get a free pass in my book. 

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Yeah, they definitely get a free pass for me too. I don't remember any criticism that both the Belshazzar and Dead Man's Hand teams got. But they don't deserve criticism at all, period. Like you said, their respective layouts were completely broken, and victory was impossible. In Dead Man's Hand, Sarah did backtrack through the same rooms, but she couldn't help it. She just kept encountering Dead End after dead end. Same with Belshazzar. Katherine encountered a dead end on the bottom floor, and was therefore forced to backtrack. Besides all that mess, both teams seemed like competent player. They just encountered some bad luck.

[The Red Jaguars]

I agree, especially about the Belshazzar kids. Katherine actually moved pretty fast in the temple IIRC. Yet, she hits two dead ends with no direction to move forward in site. They totally deserve a second chance for both players, no questions asked. No team would've won in their layouts.

I also give Stone Marker and Leonardo Da Vinci a free pass to a certain extent too. That was another screwed up layout. The fact they brought it back again in Stone Marker was even more screwed up. Neither of these teams were bad at all, they just got stuck with an horrible set-up.

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Yeah, and Stone Marker and *gasp* Paintbrush had the exact same layout too. Why did the production crew insist on repeating a layout? Especially a layout that was so broken. And I hate to to be bias, but I think the Leonardo Da Vinci team was a little less to blame for their loss. I mean, in Stone Marker, Keeli failed to try all three gargoyle tongues. In Leonardo Da Vinci, Katie was screwed from the beginning.

[Purple Parrots Fan]

And while we're on the subject of Stone Marker and Paintbrush, I'm curious to see which episode is "better" if we compare the two of them. We did that with some episodes one page back, and I wonder how we could compare these two episodes here. Even though neither episode is that exciting, they do have a lot of similarities.

[The Red Jaguars]

I have to say Leonardo Da Vinci ( ) is better than Stone Marker ( ).  I remember much more about Leonardo Da Vinci than I do Stone Marker. Before Keeli's interview, Stone Marker had to be the most forgettable episode ever! Seriously, there is nothing that sticks out about that episode. Most episodes have something going for them, but Stone Marker is just average to a T. On the other hand, I actually kind of like Da Vinci. I remember the really close SoK where there were no wrong answers. The temple games were also very interesting for the Orange-Blue pair and the "paint spilling" temple game. And you have to sympathize with Katie and Roberto more than Aqila and Chris for their layout. Although it is crazy how similar their two layouts are. All jokes aside, Leonardo Da Vinci is clearly the superior episode. 

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Keeli, not Aqila.

But yeah, I agree. Leonardo Da Vinci () was a better episode. It was more memorable, and it had a little more going for it, for all the reasons you stated. Stone Marker () was just plain average, interview or not. And it is crazy how similar their layouts were. Both impossible layouts at that too.

[PurpleParrot4Life]

Having rewatched the Bent Shaving Pan of Jedidiah Smith, it seems as though Brian would have had to complete the Chamber of the Sacred Markers en route to the King's Storeroom. When Irish entered the Ancient Warriors, she tried the leftmost and rightmost armors before getting caught by a guard in the middle armor. Along with her screaming, a sound effect of a door went off. In comparing this sound effect with other episodes in which teams progressed to the right after completing the Ancient Warriors, it seems as though the sound effect matched those from the Comet-Embroidered Battle Flag of William the Conqueror and the Mussel Shell Armor of Apanuugpak (where the team went from the Ancient Warriors to the Chamber of the Sacred Markers), not that from the Enormous Feather of the Me Linh (where the team went from the Ancient Warriors to the King's Storeroom). For this reason, I believe that Brian would have been forced into the Chamber of the Sacred Markers instead of being allowed to directly access the King's Storeroom.

[The Red Jaguars]

I went back and watched the Bent Shaving Pan run to see if we can see what door actually opened. Unfortunately, we don't get a good enough angle to see what door opened or not. I always felt though that the King's Storeroom door did open after Irish tried the last armor. Maybe both doors opened like it did for Shem in Henry Morgan? I don't know if just the Chamber door would open, that seems kind of "out of character" for a central shaft artifact. But then again, it is Season 3 and they came up with layouts that went against the status quo. I will check Battle Flag ( ) and Mussel-Shell Armor later to compare the sound effects because I never really thought about that when it came to temple runs. Right now, I still believe the King's Storeroom door DID open like in Ivan the Terrible and Enormous Feather. But it wouldn't be too far of a reach to believe that the Chamber opened either.

[PurpleParrot4Life]

I doubt that both the Chamber and King's Storeroom opened, since there were only very few instances where multiple doors opened at once during Season 3. Besides multiple doors opening from the Pit of the Pendulum, the only other cases where this happened was in Bifocal Monocle of One-Eyed Jack (Chamber leading to the Ancient Warriors and Tomb of the Headless Kings) and Upside-Down Compass of Henry Hudson (Chamber leading to the King's Storeroom and Ancient Warriors). Season 3, in general, kept players on a more clearly defined path with fewer options for deviation... at least in comparison with Seasons 1 and 2.

[The Red Jaguars]

Poseidon is another one too. The Jester's Court and Chamber opened up for Kimberly from the Headless Kings.

But yeah, it is hard to tell where the team was suppose to go. Sometimes at the end of the temple run, the camera shows a whole shot of the temple and you can see all the doors the teams unlocked. Unfortunately, the camera stops in the Pit for the Bent Shaving Pan run. Also, you don't really get a good shot when Brian is running through the temple either. I do have to admit that this temple guard layout was unfair though. One room away guards were uncommon in Season 3. This would've been the type of run where the team had to encounter all 3 guards to have a chance at winning. Unfortunately, Irish and Brian simply could not handle the temple with their slow speed.

[The Red Jaguars]

I have been watching some Legends episodes again lately, especially ones that I haven't seen in years. One that I rewatched recently was "Cosa Rara". Aside from the really ridiculous legend and being extremely boring, I totally forgot how disappointing this temple run was. This run was just as bad as "Cracked Crown" and "Charles Lindbergh". Justin made amazing time in the temple! He made it all the way to the King's Storeroom with a 1:45 left on the clock. And that included a trip up the central shaft. But Jessica screwed up big time in the temple. It took her over a minute to get where Justin left off, and she had trouble with the King's Storeroom and Shrine. She didn't even finish the Silver Monkey either. Basically, she only added one extra room of progress with 1:45 to herself. Why doesn't this run get criticized more? Is it because of how forgettable it is? 

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Yeah, pretty much. People must've blocked the episode out of their memories due to how awful the episode is. I mean, there is nothing redeemable about this episode whatsoever. The moat was long and heavily edited (seriously, just look at how Red, Orange, and Purple are just dangling in the moat), the legend was ridiculous, the temple games were okay I guess, and the temple run sucked. And the sad thing is is that even if Jessica had gone first, the team would still be doomed for failure. This temple run would've been an artifact grab, if not a WIN if Justin hadn't been paired up with Jessica. Also, does anyone else think that Justin is really underrated and overlooked? I mean, we always talk about strong male players like Ty, Shem, and Joel, but never the temple running losers like Justin. Maybe it's because he was featured in such a lackluster episode? Maybe he's just not memorable enough compared to the temple runners who did win? But yeah, Cosa Rara is a very lackluster episode and it definitely deserves to be criticized more.

[The Red Jaguars]

I definitely agree that Justin is overlooked and underrated. He made great time in the temple taking into consideration that he had to traverse the central shaft. He completed the Rock Quarry, Laser Light Room, Medusa's Lair, Stone Column, and part of the King's Storeroom before being taken out with 1:40 left. That is amazing time indeed. But Jessica really ruined it though and she only added one room of progress. Justin deserves to be recognized more, but Jessica also deserves to be criticized more too. We always criticize Kerry and Kim who ruined their runs. But Jessica was no better. This temple run was exactly like Pirate Captain's too, except Jessica didn't know what she was doing. And Kirk referring to her as Jessie was dumb because never once did she say in her episode that her name was Jessie. And that is not a short name for Jessica either. I thought he confused her with the Silk Sash one, but that episode came after Cosa Rara. But yeah, I definitely would b more than willing to praise Justin from Cosa Rara more.

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Yeah, I agree. Justin from Cosa Rara definitely needs to be praised more. I mean, the guy completed two bottom rooms, and the entire central shaft, and still had 1:45 left on the clock upon his removal. That's amazing. That really takes some skill to pull off. And Jessica definitely deserves to be criticized more, especially since she's not any better than Kerry or Kim from Missing Weather Maps. She just didn't know what she was doing, at all. And like I said above, even if she had gone first, the temple run still would've been a fail. I'm willing to bet she would've given Justin only 50 seconds on the clock if she had gone in first instead. But Justin needs to be recognized more, since he was amazing. I'd even go as far as saying he was better than some of the Season 2 winners on the show.