Moments that get too much criticism and moments that don't get enough of it...

[The Red Jaguars]

After taking a month off from the show, my Legends knowledge became a little rusty. But now that I am more active, everything is coming back to me. While I was off though, I was thinking what are some moments on the show that are have been blown out of proportion? And what about moments that do not get criticized or acknowledged enough? I am going to make at least answer some of these questions:

MOMENTS THAT GET TOO MUCH CRITICISM:

"Golden Pepperoni": I have to say that this is the most exaggerate temple run on the show. I just have to *facepalm* myself whenever I see this episode included on a "worst temple run of all time" list. We all know the outcome of the run and how Aqila passed up the Golden Pepperoni when she entered the room of the artifact with time running out soon after. Was it a pretty big fail? Sure, it did cost her team a second prize. But I never have seen the big deal about this run even after watching it the first time. Aqila only had 3 seconds to herself when she entered the Room of the Secret Password. Its not like her team was going to win anyways even if she did grab the artifact. I was expecting some fail on the same level as "Golden Cricket Cage", but surprisingly this run was pretty decent.

"Dolley Madison": This run reminds me of TMH's review where he calls Ashlie a "tard" and makes her look like she was another Karisa. I was expecting another disaster run like "Enormous Feather" where the second runner blows it, but this one actually was the opposite. Ashlie was the sole reason they lost, but at least she was fast and used her shortcuts. So she had something redeemable about her and at least she tried in the temple. Ashlie is no where near as bad as other second runners who blew it like Ron, Karisa, and Brad.  

MOMENTS THAT DON'T GET ENOUGH CRITICISM:

"Lucky Pig": It always felt that Kristen got a free pass in this run because she had a hard layout and made it pretty far for a Season 1 girl. But my God, this girl was horrible. She got lost in every single room, moved so slow, couldn't climb the wall, and spent all three minutes entering almost every room and still fails to reach the artifact. She is the reason they lost this run, not because of the layout. A good contestant like Lea from "Sultan Saladin" or Jennifer "Map to the Lost Gold Mine" would've won this.

"Missing Weather Maps": I am not sure why this run doesn't get maligned enough. I remember reading several episode summaries about this run before watching itself. Basically, they just said that this team was the closest to getting an artifact in the Dark Forest. The part they left out? How Kim f***ed up this run big time. -_- Seriously, she was one of the worst players of Season 2 and the whole show. She failed miserably in this run, but her run is not mentioned nearly as much as Kerry, Karisa, Kimberly, and Sabrina. Those players sucked too, but Kim was equally as bad as them.

"Icarus": This run was cringeworthy when I first watched it, and it is still painful to watch to this day. Never did I find this run exciting or a "nail biter". This run comes off as another "Henry Morgan" sometimes due to how close the ending was. Unlike Shem and Ashley's run though, Jason screwed up big time. He was just a moron and had more than enough time to bring the Broken Wing out and still fails to succeed. He deserved to lose after all that.

Please feel free to debate anything on the list or add something of your own.

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Jennifer's shouting in Melted Head. Everyone calls her a bad person for it, but can you blame her? Nicholas spent a whole 2:20 running too slowly, and hesitating in every single room. I'd be annoyed too. Jennifer was right to shout at him, and she pulled her weight just fine in the temple run. Jennifer gets criticized way too much. Am I the only one who thinks this way? Sorry to rant but this is just my opinion.

[The Red Jaguars]

Oh yeah, I was totally going to include Jennifer from "Madame Tussaud" on the list but somehow I forgot. But I totally agree with you. Even after I first watched the run, I never thought Jennifer did anything wrong as a second runner. She used a shortcut in the temple AND made progress on top of that. And I especially don't think she is like Lauren and Dana who were over-the-top annoying and didn't do shit. I mean did people actually watch Lauren's run? She had a full minute to herself and couldn't even make it past the Pit... -_- If Jennifer had that full minute, she probably would've grabbed the Melted Head and maybe had a "Mush Pot Hat" type of ending. Jennifer definitely gets too much criticism.

[Purple Parrots Fan]

I also agree about Aqila getting too much criticism. Sure, passing up the pepperoni was a dumb move, but she did other things right too. She completed the Jester's Court no problem, assembled the monkey in a respectable time, and went back for the half pendant. Something Renee from Nzinga failed to do. What a fine player she was. And she moved at a decent pace for the most part. Yet somehow Golden Pepperoni is the "worst temple run ever?"

And PS, since when is Kim from Missing Weather Maps not getting enough criticism? Everyone hates her, remember?

[The Red Jaguars]

In my mind, there is only one temple run that be labeled the "worst run ever" and that is Golden Cricket Cage. Seriously, how could anyone not say that this is the run ever? John and Tia only made it through 4 rooms in 3 minutes. And none of those rooms had any objectives. Even Sabrina from Blackbeard made it through more rooms than those jokes. Next time I go to Youtube or IMDB and see any other run BUT Golden Cricket Cage getting that label, I am going to strap them down and make them watch that run 50 times to get it through their skulls. 

As for Kim, she does get nothing but hate. But I feel like we don't hear enough about her. I mean we hear all the time about Kerry and Claude. Don't get me wrong, they were utter trash too. But Kim really blew her load big time. Yet, all you hear about is Ashlie from "Dolley Madison" messing up or Aqila passing up the Pepperoni. 

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Here's another player that gets too much hate: Sherra from Henry Hudson. For supposedly "taking a direct path" and moving too slowly. Yet suddenly it's one of the very worst temple runs ever. It's certainly not the strongest temple run ever, but it's not bad by any means. Even if both Sherra and Derek had taken more shortcuts, they still would've lost. I don't know, I think they get too much flak too. =/

[The Red Jaguars]

Seriously, the Henry Hudson run was tricky and definitely one of the harder layouts from Season 3. We don't even know if the Shrine was the last room or that the Purple Parrots had to take the long way like in "Mummified Hand". While they moved a little too slow, Sherra and Derek's layout was also very bizarre too. Just look at it:

- The Crypt was a detour to the Ledges
- The Headless Kings door only opened from the Pit at first. It wasn't until the Chamber was completed when that door opened from the Pit.
- Both the King's Storeroom and Ancient Warriors door opened from the Chamber. Even if Sherra should've avoided the King's Storeroom, can you blame her for trying when the big sliding door opening is more obvious than that tiny Ancient Warriors door?

So yeah, I can sympathize with the Henry Hudson team. Yet, people like the defend the Bifocal Monocle layout for being hard for the same reasons. Unlike Henry Hudson, the Bifocal Monocle layout had a solo chance and it wasn't that hard at all. You just had two incompetent players who made it look harder than it really was.

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Exactly, if two doors in the Chamber open, one being a blindingly bright ladder, or a dark, tiny cramped door. Which door/room are you going to take? Obviously the door leading to the King's Storeroom. Not to mention, BOTH rooms housed temple guards. So Sherra was gonna be removed from the temple no matter what room she entered. And yes, every single door in the Chamber opened after Sherra completed the objective. And even if that weren't the case, taking the Tomb would've been easier anyways. It's either that, or waste a minute climbing the Pit walls like Veronica did.

Henry Hudson wasn't one of the best losses on the show. But it's far from the terrible run that it's made out to be. Plus, Derek dropped the monkey over the edge at the last second. Obviously he was in a hurry to get all the pieces with time running low. It wasn't like Montezuma where Kelly drops the monkey piece over the edge. Then continues to spend 40 seconds trying to assemble the monkey.