Here is my first ranking for the one that was randomly picked via a RNG. I also added pictures to the post to go along with the text to brighten it up a little more and illustrate some of the highlights of the episode. Please give your feedback.
THE BULLET-RIDDLED HANDBAG OF BELLE BOYD
MOAT: 4/10
MOAT: 6/10 (PPF)
The moat used for this episode was the "Ancient Fallen Bridge" one where the contestants had to cross the bridge while crawling up against it. With that in mind, this moat was very quick and all of the teams were close. Nothing really stood out for this moat either except Leah from the Green Monkeys fell at the end of it. I have to give this one a low score due to the unexcitement factor here.
(PPF's description)
For this moat, the players had to crawl across a wooden bridge without falling into the water. This moat objective was watered down from the previous episode "The Pearl Necklace of Gwalior," where the players had to run across a bridge. The round itself was just average. While the crawling across the bridge was much more challenging, it was still an uninspiring moat. The only noteworthy thing that happened during the moat was Leah of the Green Monkeys tripping just before her team gonged in for the moat. This wouldn't be the only time she trips in this episode. At the end of the round, the Blue Barracudas, Green Monkeys, Purple Parrots, and Orange Iguanas advanced to the Steps of Knowledge in that order. Making for a very rare Steps of Knowledge match up.
LEGEND: 8.5/10
LEGEND: 8/10 (PPF)
Season three had a lot of unusual and goofy legends on the show, but this one seemed more historically accurate and it was enjoyable to listen to. I am also interested in historical events like the Civil War, so this one was an interesting and good choice for the producers to pick to as a legend. The only thing that ruins this episode is the stereotypical Southern accents given to the soldiers and Belle Boyd. I mean really? Does this show have to make everything so stereotypical? This is something they seem to do mostly in season three. Was it suppose to be funny? This is not too bad though compared to another season three episode that I will come across later on. But it was still a good legend.
(PPF's description)
This legend centered around Belle Boyd, who one night overheard Northern Officers talk about their plans to defeat Stonewall Jackson. Belle wanted to warn Jackson, and searched all night for him. By dawn, she found Jackson in the battlefield fighting. She ran bravely through the battlefield very bravely. Jackson was very impressed with Belle and her saving of the army, and kept her bullet riddled handbag. The handbag eventually made its way to the temple. This was a very interesting legend. I love how brave it portrayed Belle Boyd, and it was very historically accurate. Any legend that has to do with the Civil War was interesting, and this legend was no exception.
STEPS OF KNOWLEDGE: 9/10
STEPS OF KNOWLEDGE: 8/10 (PPF)
This was one of those Steps of Knowledge where it was close among all of the teams in it. Every team got at least one correct answer and there was even a two-way tie on the second to last step. There was only one wrong answer by the Green Monkeys, and no one gave some really silly answers either. Most of the questions asked pertained to the Civil War and were not silly either. I only wish more episodes had Step rounds similar to this one.
(PPF's description)
This was a pretty good Steps of Knowledge round. There were very few wrong answers, and the round was very close where it seemed like any team could've advanced. The Blue Barracudas were the first team to advance to the temple games. And the Green Monkeys joined them on the final step not long after. The Purple Parrots got two questions correct, and the Orange Iguanas only got one question correct. All in all, a very close, albeit average round.
TEMPLE GAMES: 6.5/10
TEMPLE GAMES: 7/10 (PPF)
We start off the temple games with the introduction of our two teams: Blue Barracudas and Green Monkeys. The Blue Barracuda Ashley does some sort of weird pose when Kirk introduced her, which I thought was pretty funny. Her partner John also does some sort of lame pose too.
The temple games in this episode were very close and this was one episode where BOTH teams were competitive. The first temple game sought the two male contestants climbing up giant net and dropping a scroll into the hole in the middle of it. Matthew was slightly faster than John in this temple game, but it was still close with a Green Monkey win. The second temple game had the two female contestants jumping up to get a secret document and throwing it in their respective bins. Unlike the previous temple game, this one wasn't very exciting. Probably due to the fact that neither contestant could synchronize their jumps correctly and both of them kept throwing the documents into the bucket and missing.
The final temple game had the ladies firing balls at the guys, who had to catch them place them next to each General's name. The Blue Barracudas struggled early while the Green Monkeys struggled late. At the end it was a tie. With a rare score of a 2-1.5, the Green Monkeys get to go onto the temple. Overall, the temple games were pretty close but they were not the best bunch of games that season three had to offer. Plus, the second temple game felt a little sloppy on both teams parts.
(PPF's description)
The temple games featured some very close competition between the Blue Barracudas and the Green Monkeys. This round also featured a unique set up of games too. In the first game, Matthew and John had to launch themselves on a net, grab a scroll, and drop it in their baskets below. It was a neck and neck game and both teams gave it forth the great effort, and tied the game. In the second game, Leah and Ashley had to grab a secret document, and place it in their bins using the very common "rotating teeter totter" game. Both players struggled to get a good rhythm down, but Leah ended up winning the game at the end. The score was now 1-0.5, in the Green Monkeys favor. In the final temple game, the female players flung balls at their male partners, who would catch the balls, climb the walls, and place them next to the General's respective names. This was yet another close game, which ended in another tie. But, the Green Monkeys earned a trip to the temple, beating the Blue Barracudas 2-1.5!
TEMPLE RUN: 8/10
TEMPLE RUN: 8/10 (PPF)
This is probably the best part about this episode is the surprisingly exciting temple run. In my opinion, this is one of the most overlooked losses on the show. We all talk about how exciting some losses like "Henry Morgan", "The Dragon Lady and the Blue Pearl", and "Ivan the Terrible" are - but this one was a great effort too. It was one of those temple runs where both players were fast in the temple and didn't struggle at all with any of the rooms. Unfortunately, this team had a brutal layout that required them to take a long route filled with many time consuming rooms. But it didn't help that neither Leah or Matthew didn't take the most direct path at times and actually added a couple of more objectives to their route to the artifact. And unlike some of the losses that are heavily praised, this one is not too memorable and nothing really sticks out. Which is probably why most people don't talk about it in the first place. But this was still the most exciting part of this episode and it was a great effort by the Green Monkeys at the end of the day.
(PPF's description)
This temple run featured a solid performance by both Leah and Matthew. Even though this team lost, this was a very exciting temple run. Leah volunteers to go in first, where she trips upon entering the temple. She completes all her rooms at a very fast pace, and never got turned around once. Leah's path consisted of her going all the way down the central shaft, and traversing most of the bottom floor. She was removed in the temple in the Dark Forest with one full minute left on the clock. That's amazing. Matthew goes in next and he is equally as fast. He retraces Leah's footsteps, and races to the Quicksand Bog, where a temple guard takes his pendant. Time runs out as Matthew reads the secrets passwords. All in all, this was a great temple run. Both Leah and Matthew were very fast, but unfortunately encountered a very lengthy and difficult layout. However, it would've helped if both players had taken more shortcuts. Both Leah and Matthew avoided the Pit-Chamber door, and Matthew didn't even attempt the Quicksand Bog/Shrine passage. Had they taken more shortcuts, they would've at least reached the handbag, and maybe even brought it out at the pace they were going.
FINAL VERDICT: 7.2/10
FINAL VERDICT: 7.4/10 (PPF)
This episode has some redeeming points for certain segments for the episode. I felt that the Legend was really well done and a nice choice to focus an episode on. The Steps of Knowledge was also pretty competitive with competent teams and not a lot of silly questions and answers. And the temple run is an underrated loss where the team puts up a great effort in a tough layout.
On the downside though, the moat was pretty unexciting and lasted only about 30 seconds it seemed. The temple games were close, but they were not too exciting or memorable.
Overall, this is an episode that is worth coming back to from time to time to watch. My suggestion would be to watch it mostly for the legend and temple run though.
(PPF's description)
Overall, Belle Boyd was one of the better Season 1 episodes. None of the rounds were lackluster, and the interesting legend and the temple run are the main highlights of this episode. The rest of the rounds were just average for the most part. Where nothing interesting really happened. But definitely watch it for the temple run, as Leah and Matthew did a fantastic job in the temple despite losing. However, if they had taken more direct routes, this team would've had a much better chance at winning. This was still a decent episode, and I recommend it to anyone.
Topic: Legends Episode Ranking System - COMPLETE (Read 87698 times)
