Legends Episode Ranking System - COMPLETE

[The Red Jaguars]

Egyptian Queen is a solid episode and I have always liked that episode and win better than Bandit Queen. Bandit Queen is a fun episode too, but it had more flaws than Egyptian Queen did. The legend and artifact for this episode was very interesting. I know how you feel about legends that have the really weird names too. I usually have to research some of the names in a legend because they are so hard to spell out. Also, I always thought the artifact was very weird. If you haven't watched the episode, you would wonder why a Queen would have a beard made out of metal. But it totally makes sense once you hear the legend about it.

The temple games were definitely memorable for me for the fact that the Purple Parrots won their very first and only tiebreaker.        The Purple Parrots had a terrible track record in tiebreakers and they finally won one here. The temple games themselves were pretty good too, although they really could've used more temple games variety that day. They literally used the "swinging boulder" game in all the other 3 episodes that day. I always thought the mummy-wrapped statues were pretty neat too. I am not too fond of teams that win their team game and go to the temple run by winning the tiebreaker, but I can make an exception for TJ and Randy.  It didn't bother me as much as Kamehameha and Butch Cassidy where those teams won with easy layouts.

The temple run is very solid and people that criticize it but praise Bandit Queen need to go back and watch both episodes. While Bandit Queen was amazing for Zac's speed, Miriam was also very slow and almost blew it. Both TJ and Randy were solid and fast runners. Randy's bad exit plan along with TJ's screaming did sort of make the ending hard to watch, but it was also a nailbiter and at the end of the day they won while Randy entered every room. I like this win a lot and it just misses out on my top 10.       

This was a solid episode. It looks like it fell short of beating out Billy the Kid, but that episode is special anyway that it was hard to top it. But still a 7.8 is a solid score and ranks right in the middle of Freydis (7.6) and Billy the Kid (8.0). I would personally give this episode a 9/10 overall because it is super fun to watch with very little flaws. We only have one Purple Parrot episode left to cover, which is the Blackfeet Chief.

Next I am going to do Smashed Printing Plate. Also, your Egyptian Queen review is episode #80 for this project? A great choice for the 2/3 milestone and MUCH MUCH MUCH better than Smashed Printing Plate.             

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Kamehameha was neither a come from behind tiebreaker or a win.

And I agree with everything you just said. Metal Beard was a great episode. Too bad you can't say the same about Smashed Printing Plate. Which was a downright horrible episode. Should've been the Purple Parrots in the temple, while we're on the subject of the latter team.

[The Red Jaguars]

Plus, if you compare Poseidon to both Egyptian Queen and Bandit Queen that all have the same layouts, you can tell that Kimberly failed very bad. She had a clear path all the way to the Shrine with no temple guards and still didn't win. The other two runs were team efforts and they stilled pull them off. So anyone that tries to defend Kimberly's performance up until the Shrine should stop and realize that she was sucky her whole way through the temple.

And yeah, there is nothing good about Smashed Printing Plate at all. Nothing that I can think of. I am half-way done with it now and it is not looking to good for this episode. Which is no surprise because we have all concluded that it sucks. As a Red Jaguars fan, I hate this episode with a passion and it brings shame to my favorite team.  I will be surprise to see it crack a 4.0. After I am done with this episode it is definitely going into the "Don't Watch Ever Again" Legends episodes pile along with Golden Cricket Cage Cricket Cage, Lost Hammer, Alhambra, Blackbeard, Cracked Crown, Enormous Feather, Snow Cone, Bifocal Monocle, and any other really crappy episode that has already been reviewed.

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Yeah, Kimberly had a free win handed to her on a silver platter, but blew it. At least Randy and Zac didn't drop their artifacts, and at least they still pulled off wins as a team effort, like you said. Plus, there were other players who had MUCH worse exit plans than Randy, Zac, and Tony. Joel exited through the temple via the central shaft, but everyone loves him. Tara outright blew her chance at winning by escaping the same way, and everyone praises her. But Randy does almost the same thing, but she gets criticized for it? I have a feeling the Purple Parrots get too little credit even with their best teams, just for the mere fact they're "the loser team."

And I only watched the full episode of Smashed Printing Plate once, and haven't watched it again since. I have a feeling it will probably rank in the 3 range. I don't know how anyone can defend Jason or Dana. They just didn't belong on the show.

[The Red Jaguars]

I can't believe that people even criticize Tony for his exit plan. The only part where he messed up was when he entered the bottom part of the Ledges, but that was just an honest mistake. It wasn't like Brandon, Ron, or Tara who went down the whole central shaft when they could've won if they stayed high. His exit plan never bothered me at all. Randy's temple exit plan does get mentioned a lot, but no one ever mentions Brett or criticizes him for doing the same thing. Randy was much faster than Brett at least and had a harder layout, and she still finished with the same amount of time as the Dr. Livingstone team. Joel is definitely the worst offender when it comes to his exit plan and temple run in general. He screwed up twice in both the Shrine and taking the central shaft out of the temple. He was very lucky too with the temple guard placement (or lack of temple guards). Tara's exit plan never really bothered me though because everything else she did was right. I don't really like to give her a hard time like I do with Ron or Jason because she still finished in the exact same spot as Ron and had way less time than him. Plus, her layout was pretty long and she did a solid job as a secondrunner.

I am going to have Smashed Printing Plate tonight, and for tomorrow I am going to post a review for a different episode in celebration for Halloween.  

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Yeah, and everyone calls Kelly and Tony's win undeserved just because of one little exit plan. Yet Joel gets praised for screwing up with the monkey AND scaling the whole central shaft upon exiting. Tony only made one mistake at the end of the run, it wasn't like Jason who hesitated in every room and took his sweet time getting out of the temple. Same goes with Randy and Brett. I mean, Brett from Dr. Livingstone exited the temple the same way Randy did, but no one criticized him for it. But Randy's just a bad person for her exit plan.

And another surprise review? Neat, and I take it the episode is not highlighted in the OP.

[The Red Jaguars]

Exactly, Brett never gets criticizes for his bad temple plan. People only talk about how he was the first person to enter all 12 rooms of the temple. But Randy instead gets criticism for the same thing. And her exit plan wasn't anywhere near as bad as Joel, Ron, or Jason who had a boat load of time and still blew it (Joel only won because he had ample time with an easy layout). And the Billy the Kid win in general is no where as bad as it is made out to be. I would take it over half of the wins on the show even.

And my surprise review is not a highlighted episode like you mentioned. I will give you a hint that the legend for this episode is horror-themed, which is why I chose to cover it for tomorrow. Maybe that will give it away.

[The Red Jaguars]

Well, here is my review for Smashed Printing Plate.  The overall score for this episode was not as bad as I made it out to be, but it is still not a good episode at all. In fact, I was probably generous with the legend and Steps of Knowledge score. I didn't find this episode to be good in any way and glad to get it done with. So I hope you enjoy this review because believe me, I did NOT enjoy this episode one bit. 

THE SMASHED PRINTING PLATE OF FREDERICK DOUGLASS

MOAT: 5/10

In the center of the moat was an ancient fishing net, and the players had to use a vine in the middle of the moat to swing across and reach it. When the moat starts, the first player had to run out and grab the vine and swing across to the fishing net. Once they reached it, they had to climb over it and reach the other side. Once they are across, their partners had to cross the same way. If either player falls into the water while climbing, they had to start over by swinging across again. The first four teams to make it across will move onto the Steps of Knowledge. For the most part, this moat was plain average and nothing exciting happens during it. There was some struggle to get all four teams across, and the last two teams in particular (Red Jaguars and Blue Barracudas) struggled a lot. In the end, the Silver Snakes, Purple Parrots, Red Jaguars, and Blue Barracudas all crossed successfully in that order. On a side note, the Green Monkeys in this episode featured Jeremy and Christine who would return later in "The Golden Spider Web of Robert the Bruce."

LEGEND: 7/10

One of the greatest crusaders for human rights was an African American by the name of Frederick Douglass. He fought to outlaw slavery and when the Civil War began, he encouraged blacks to fight for the Union Army. In 1847, Douglass found a paper called "The North Star". Legend has it, one evening a group of men burst into his office wanting to see Douglass. The mob wanted to destroy Douglass' machine for spreading ideas of freedom. Before they could do that, Douglass smashed his own Printing Plate himself. He told the mob that they could destroy his machines, but could never destroy his ideas. The mob left his office feeling ashamed and a piece of Douglass' Smashed Printing Plate made it to the temple.

This was actually a really good legend that was ruined by it's horrible voice acting. The legend did a solid job at portraying Frederick Douglass as a hero and advocate for civil rights. The voice acting for the mob was so cringeworthy though and brought the legend down a lot. Other than that, I don't have many complaints about this episode or legend.

STEPS OF KNOWLEDGE: 8/10

The Purple Parrots were very impressive during this round and the Purple Parrot boy got the first three questions asked by Olmec correct. After the Purple Parrots swept the Steps though, this round started to get interesting. Both the Silver Snakes an Red Jaguars got two questions correct, leaving both teams tied on the second to last step. Dana of the Red Jaguars answered the last question correctly and the Red Jaguars move onto the temple games along with the Purple Parrots.

TEMPLE GAMES: 1/10

The temple games featured Dana and Jason of the Red Jaguars going up against Gary and Sharon of the Purple Parrots. As you can tell from the score of this round, this was not a horrible round. I won't go into much detail in this part of the review, but it featured TWO instances of cheating, all by Jason of the Red Jaguars. I am usually very harsh when it comes to cheating on the show, but this episode takes it to a new level with it happening twice. The Red Jaguars swept the Purple Parrots as the end result, but they did not deserve it in any way. Just read each of the temple games descriptions below to see why I think the Red Jaguars were an undeserving team

Temple Game #1 - Deliver the North Star

In the first temple game, Jason and Gary had to ride on a bucking horse while delivering the North Star. Each player had a bunch of North Star newspapers that they had to throw in a bin while the horse was moving. If a player fell off the bucking horse, they had to climb back up and try again. The player with the most North Star papers in their bin after 6- seconds will win. In the temple game, Jason most likely cheated. The rules for the "bucking horse" game is that when the player falls off, the other player has to wait for them to get back onto the horse before they can resume their game. Well, Gary fell off the horse a couple of times while Jason kept throwing his newspapers into the bin. This seemed like an unfair advantage to me and Jason should've been forced to lose some of his newspapers because of this. Despite potentially cheating, Jason only won this game 8-7. 

Temple Game #2 - Collect the Inkwells

In the second temple game, Sharon and Dana had to collect inkwells for Frederick Douglass' printing press. To do this, they had to climb a web that contains several covered cubby holes. Each cubby hole contains an inkwell, one that is full of ink while the other is empty. Both players had to climb their webs and try to find an inkwell that is full. If they find a full one, then they had to place it into their bin. if they found an empty one, then they had to discard it and find a filled one. The player with the most inkwells after 60 seconds will win. In the end, Dana collected more inkwells than Sharon. This temple game could've been a tie if Sharon didn't fumble one of her inkwells out of her team bin. This cost her some time and she would've tied it if that didn't happen.

Temple Game #3 - Underground Railroad

The Red Jaguars and Purple Parrots had to cross the Underground Railroad in order to get to Canada to earn their freedom. They must do this by crossing a series of sinking steps to reach the other side. While doing this, they had to avoid stepping on a sinking step. If they choose an incorrect step, their partners had to cross without touching a sinking step. The first player on either team to cross will win their team game. In this temple game, Jason of the Red Jaguars clearly cheated again. This time, he tried jumping to the second row of steps instead of stepping on the first one. Luckily, it was an incorrect choice anyways and he was forced to go back. But still, it was a very cheap move and it shouldn't have counted if he did make it to the other side. In the end though, Dana made it across successfully and won the temple game. With two pendants, the Red Jaguars swept the temple games and "earn" their rights to enter Olmec's temple. 

TEMPLE RUN: 2.5/10

Season 3 featured a lot of annoying screaming girls during the temple run, but this temple run featured probably the most obnoxious and annoying one yet. Dana was very bitchy during this temple run and kept yelling at Jason in a negative tone. There is a difference between shouting words of encouragement at your partner and acting nasty towards them. In her defense though, Jason was very incompetent and didn't know what he was doing at all. He was very hesitant and wasted time backtracking between cleared rooms of the temple. In the Room of the Ancient Warriors, instead of trying other suits of armor to open the Shrine door, Jason chooses to backtrack between that room and the Chamber. You wonder why Dana is yelling at him at this point? After he assembles the Silver Monkey, he fails to take the Shrine-Dark Forest shortcut and enters the Room of the Secret Password instead. Luckily, the Quicksand Bog door was open for whatever reason. Inside of the Dark Forest, Jason is taking out while looking stupidly at the Temple Spirit's flailing arms. With around 20 seconds left, Dana was not going to do much in the temple. Yet, she still manages to look incompetent in that short time. When she enters the Ledges, she takes the bottom door to the Pit of the Pendulum and is forced to climb up the Pit wall. Her time ended in the Pit and we are also spared any more misery from this suckfest.

This was one of the most obnoxious and annoying temple runs on the show. Between Jason's incompetence and Dana's loud screaming, it was very hard to watch this run. The team didn't even do that good anyways and made a lot of mistakes. I have a hard time to find anything redeemable about this run. If you do manage to find something though, then good luck doing so as I have tried very hard to do so.       

FINAL VERDICT: 4.6/10

"Smashed Printing Plate" was a very bad episode for Season 3 standards, and not a good episode in any way, shape, or form. The earlier rounds of this episode were okay, but the temple games and temple run is where this episode takes a turn for the worst. First off, the temple games featured not one, but TWO instances of cheating. I know other players like Jeremy from "Robert the Bruce' cheated in their games, but Jeremy faced repercussions and was called out for his mistake. Jason cheated twice and was not called out for either instance. The Red Jaguars in general did not deserve to go to the temple. The temple run itself was very annoying and obnoxious too. Both players were incompetent and Dana was one of the most annoying players next to Lauren from "William Tell" when it comes to shouting at their partners. Overall, this episode was deplorable and I would not recommend you to watch. It has been a long time since I have last watched this episode and I only watched it again to write this review. But if you do choose to watch it, you better grab your earplugs.   

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Only a 4.6 average, huh? That's right around the score I figured it would get. Either way, Smashed Printing Plate was a terrible episode from beginning to end. The moat was too long because the players sucked getting across, the Steps of Knowledge were okay though. I don't remember much about the legend, but it seems interesting by the way you describe it. The temple games were just irritating to watch/read about. Jason cheated TWICE in the temple games, both when he failed to stop throwing paper when the Purple Parrot boy feel off. And in the team game when he tried to jump polls. He deserved the sank polls. If it makes the team feel any better, a least Dana won her game(s) fair and square. One thing I didn't like about the sinking steps games if how if only one player crossed, then the game was over. This also happened in the Useless Map episode. Shouldn't both players get a chance to cross the bamboo swamp? It just seems like an unfair advantage to me. And the temple run was just pathetic. Jason made more than just one measly mistake in the temple. He not only backtracked between rooms, he avoided the Shrine/Forest passage, AND he tried to climb the Quicksand Bog ladder. Hello, that just leads you back to the shrine. Then he just stares at the Dark Forest's trees just flailing around. And Dana was just a lost cause. I don't even want to waste any time talking about her.

Overall, you hit the nail on the head with this review. This team just didn't deserve to go to the temple, much less be on the show. Jason deserves all the criticism he gets. I honestly can't believe people defend him and call him a good player. Even if he never cheated once in his temple games, I would still hate him. People need to stop assuming we only hate him for that reason. He was a lost cause and a terrible contestant the entire time he was in the temple. And Dana was by far the most unlikable contestant ever. If only the Purple Parrots didn't get destroyed in the temple games.

[The Red Jaguars]

Well, here is the Halloween-themed episode I decided to review - "The Shriveled Hand of Efoua".    It was probably not the best choice for a horror themed episode, but it was the closest I could come up with. Mummified Hand or Mary Shelley would've been better, but those two are already cover. So this was the next best choice. Enjoy it though. 

THE SHRIVELED HAND OF EFOUA

MOAT: 6/10

In front of the six teams were six hanging Babylonian wheels. The first player had to swing across the moat by grabbing the hanging wheel in front of them and swinging to the next tire. They must use each tire to make it across to the other side of the moat. Once the first player is across, the second player had to cross the same way. If either player falls into the water, they will have to start over and trying crossing again. The first four teams that made it across will move onto the next round. overall, this moat was just average. It was a pretty creative idea, but it was boring and no teams were really strong. The Blue Barracudas made it across first and the other three teams soon followed suit.

LEGEND: 1/10

One of the most famous African explorers was a woman named Mary Kingsley. During the 1890's, Kingsley traveled across most of Northern Africa. Kingsley's guide warned her to only travel to Efoua during day because sometimes the people there will "have you for dinner". The village of Efoua was nothing but a few huts, but a large crowd turned out to see the white woman. The chief welcomed her and put her up for the night. In the morning, the village gave her a departing gift for her journey, the dried hands and feet of a previous house guest! Legend has it, as soon as Mary hit the trail, she through away the sack that had the shriveled parts, but a chimpanzee retrieved them.

This was by far the most absurd legend on the show. What possessed the producers to tell a story like this?  This was a kids game show, not "Are You Afraid of the Dark?". Everything about this legend was absurd from the legend to the creepy artifact. I understand cannibals exist in parts of Africa, but must they really tell a story about them on a children's game show? I am sorry, but this story gets the lowest score possible because it is just ridiculous. I am guessing the producers were having a hard time coming up with an episode plot? That is my only conclusion. This sounds a story some 8 year old made up, and the chimpanzee at the end finding the body parts was just the cherry on top for this pathetic legend. Also, the artifact is literally a severed hand. 

STEPS OF KNOWLEDGE: 6/10

After having such a bizarre legend about body parts and cannibals, this Steps of Knowledge round was somewhat decent. I liked how all of the questions asked by Olmec had nothing to do with the legend at all. I guess the producers thought it would be silly to ask talk about broken body parts? The Blue Barracudas swept the Steps of Knowledge after answering Olmec's first three questions correctly. The Orange Iguanas were the only other team to get the other three questions correct. The Green Monkeys got two questions wrong and the Silver Snakes got one wrong. It was a pretty unexciting round, but still a step-up from that ridiculous legend. 

TEMPLE GAMES: 7/10

The two temple teams included Bobby and Janelle of the Orange Iguanas and Casey and Eric of the Blue Barracudas. The temple games were pretty unique for several reasons. First off, this is the fourth and last time that Orange-Blue was used as a temple game combination. Which is too bad, because this temple combination was actually pretty cool too. Also, the temple games were very competitive and the first two teams ended in a tie. This temple game was very close to being an actual 2-2 pendant tie. I enjoyed this round very much despite most of the episode being forgettable.

Temple Game #1 - Climb Out of the Pit

On her way to Efoua, Mary Kingsley fell into a spike trap set by the villagers. In this temple game, Eric and Bobby had to climb out of a pit using two ropes and place their pith helmet at the top of the ceiling. In order for the helmets to count though, they had to remain on the ceiling. The player with the most pith helmets after 60 seconds will win. As Kirk put it, both of these players were evenly matched. They were neck and neck the whole 60 seconds. At the very end, both boys were struggling to get their second helmet up and threw up at the ceiling before they fell down. Needless to say, the temple game ended in a 1-1 tie. 

Temple Game #2 - Build African Art Collection

African Masks are popular artifacts to collect. During this temple game, Janelle and Casey had to take trinkets and trade them for African masks. To do this, they must grab a trinket out of their bin and take the zipline to the other side and trade it for an African mask. Once they have a mask, they must bring it back to the other side and stick it to their board. The player with the most African masks after 60 seconds will win. I have to say, this was a very creative temple game. I liked the concept of it as well as the design of the different African masks. Both players were close too, and the final result was a 3-3 tie. This gave both teams a 1-1 pendant score heading into the team game.

Temple Game #3 - Mary Kingsley's Locations

Mary Kingsley visited many different areas in Africa. In this temple game, the two teams will visit some of the places Kingsley visited. When the temple game start, one player had to fire a ball to their partner. Their partner had to grab the ball and place it on the spot where Kingsley visited. Once they place their ball correctly, their partners had to climb up the wall and different the other three locations. The first team to visit all four locations or the one who visits the most after 60 seconds would win. Unlike the other temple games, the Orange Iguanas dominated this one and managed to get a ball on all four Kingsley locations with 25 seconds left. With 2 pendants, Bobby and Janelle earned their right to enter Olmec's temple.

TEMPLE RUN: 5/10

Just like most of the episode, this temple run was just plain average. Bobby and Janelle were not very fast contestants at all, and the layout was sort of long too. Janelle started off on the upper floor where she met a temple guard in the Observatory and was forced into Medusa's Lair. From there, she met a second consecutive temple guard and was removed with 2:06 left on the clock. Note that the guard in Medusa's Lair that took Janelle out was wearing a headcam on his head. Bobby followed up on Janelle's path and moved just as slow as she did. After slowly completing the Silver Monkey, he was forced into the Lightning Room and down the slow Mine Shaft elevator. As time was running out, for no reason he chose to climb the Shrine ladder where his time ended. There is literally nothing to talk about with this temple run except that it was just average. Both players were short and slow, plus they had to take a long path. There is nothing they really could've done better with this layout except maybe move faster. I have nothing to really say about this temple run either.

FINAL VERDICT: 5.0/10

"Efoua" was one of the most average episodes on the show. This is the type of episode that you don't even know it exists until you look at some Legends list or is randomly brought up. It wasn't anything great or bad in anyway. If there is one thing I want to mention though is how absurd the legend was. I am sorry, but did the producers really need to tell a story about someone's chopped hands and feet? That is pretty uncreative and totally lame too. It sounded like a story some 8 year old would write. On the other hand, I enjoyed the temple games for the unique team combination and the temple games used. So if there is anything good about this episode, it would be the temple games. There is nothing memorable about the temple run either and Bobby and Janelle were just an average team all day. I wouldn't exactly recommend this episode, nor would I tell you to avoid it. If anything, this episode feels like it is just there. You should definitely watch it one way or another, but it is not a thriller in anyway and it will probably bore you too death.

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Shriveled Hand has got to be the most average, most boring episode ever. I totally agree with you about the legend. I mean, dismembered body parts? Talk about disturbing, I do not need to know about shriveled body parts. While legends like Cosa Rara and Snow Cone are the worst legends, this is definitely the most disturbing. The temple games were the staple of this episode. Especially since the games were so close, and it was the last Blue/Orange match up on the show. You're right, this temple game pair should've been used more often. Blue and Orange always looked so neat together. I always got tired of seeing the same Red/Silver or Green/Silver match up every other episode. And the temple run was just plain average. The layout was hard, and the players were too slow. There's definitely nothing to talk about when it comes to the temple run.

Great review like always. I'll probably do either Dried Apple Half or Secret Battle Plan next. Both episodes suck, but I still want to see how they rank. I'm guessing they'll rank around the same as Efoua did, only lower.

[The Red Jaguars]

The funny thing is that both Efoua and Snow Cone share the same image of the guy that I used for the "Legend" round for this episode. Efoua though had the most disturbing legend by far. Although Mummified Hand was not much better either. Efoua was still worse because the whole premise of this legend is cannibalism, and the Shriveled Hand belonged to a dead person before Kingsley arrived at the village.    Other than that, this episode was lame and average. The temple layout was hard, and this is sadly the best Swamp run from S2. Much better than Stone Head or Grandy Nanny. If Janelle or Bobby moved a little faster, they would've reached the artifact. I am surprised I knocked this episode out in one sitting.

For now on, I am going to focus on the S1 episodes that I claimed. I don't know which one I will post, but I will have it up by the weekend. Nathan Hale and Dried Apple Half are probably on the lower rung of Legends episodes. It's been a long time since I have seen Nathan Hale, but I didn't think the whole episode was bad. It did have a lot of weird moments with the controversial temple game of Christina, the layout change, and the sucky temple run. Dried Apple Half though is garbage and I think it will rank lower than Smashed Printing Plate. I hate William Tell so much and refuse to watch it. It was so boring and neither team was good at all in this episode. Even if Brett and Lauren had an easier layout like "Catherine the Great", they still would've lost.         

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Oh yeah, I remember Efoua and Snow Cone having the same image in the legend. Though at least Snow Cone didn't show the dismembered hand. And yeah, this temple run was definitely the best Swamp artifact run. At least Janelle and Bobby made it far, and knew somewhat what they were doing. The Grandy Nanny and Stone Head team can't say that. And I decided I will do Secret Battle Plan next. It was a lackluster episode, but it was certainly interesting for Christina's temple game and the layout change. Dried Apple Half has nothing interesting. Like Smashed Printing Plate, it just features incompetent players, and loudmouth second runners. I'll probably take on Dried Apple Half after Secret Battle Plan.

[The Red Jaguars]

Well, here is the final copy of "Lost Fountain of Youth". It was a pretty average episode for the most part and didn't have much going for it. It would've easily gotten a better score if the Green Monkeys got their act together in the episode. Oh well, this is one less mediocre S1 episode we have to worry about now.

PONCE DE LEÓN AND THE LOST FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH

MOAT: 6/10

One player on each team will start off by pulling themselves across the moat in their innertubes to the other side. They then had to take their innertube and throw it to their partner on the other side of the moat. When throwing the innertubes though, they had to throw it to their partner so they can reach it without falling into the water. If their partner can't reach it, then the player on the other side has to keep throwing it then. Once both players cross the moat successfully, then they can hit their gong to move onto the next round. As uncreative as this moat was, it was easily better than most of the moat crossings from the same day. This one did not take that long at all and there was very little struggle for the four teams to get across. It wasn't very exciting, but I didn't find many things wrong with this moat.

LEGEND: 4/10

Ponce de León was a powerful and ruthless man that traveled from Spain and conquered Puerto Rico. He owned vasts amount of land and riches, but it was not enough. Hearing about the Lost Fountain of Youth, he traveled up and down the coast of the Florida tip with his servant Pablo and his Indian guide. Ponce de León believed that the Indian guide was sending them on a wild goose chase, and told Pablo not to give him anymore water until he finds the Fountain of Youth. Pablo liked the Indian guide however, and rationed his water to him secretly. They never found the Fountain of Youth, and Ponce de León died without finding it. After his death, the Indian guide returned to Pablo and gave him a water bottle stating, "the water of youth is only for those pure of heart". The Water Bottle eventually made its way to the temple.

This legend was honestly pretty lame and had nothing to do with Ponce de León or the Fountain of Youth. Which is too bad, because the legend could've been really interesting. I do like the piece about the Indian guide returning to give Pablo a water bottle. Overall though, this legend was very confusing. The episode title is also pretty inaccurate though. It should've been "The Water Bottle of  Ponce de León" or something like that. Even though he or the Fountain of Youth were really featured in this episode.

STEPS OF KNOWLEDGE: 6/10

This was a pretty quick Steps of Knowledge round and Olmec only asked six questions altogether. Both the Green Monkeys and Blue Barracudas answered each of their questions correctly. On one of Olmec's questions, he asked "What the state Florida named after?", and the Red Jaguars chimed in and answered "No". Other than that, this was pretty much an average round. Also, James from the Green Monkeys could NOT contain himself either. He was a little too happy to make it to the temple games.

TEMPLE GAMES: 7/10

The two temple games featured the Blue Barracudas and Green Monkeys. The Blue Barracudas featured Elena, 11, and her partner Cory, 11. The Green Monkeys featured James, who was 10 11, and Jessica Hill (she didn't state her age.) The temple games for this round were actually pretty interesting. The first temple game was very unique and was the first temple game to use the "scale system" for determining the winner. The scale would be used for temple games in later seasons (like in Captain John Smith). The temple games were also pretty close too. This was a pretty good round overall.

Temple Game #1 - Fountain of Youth

Elena and Jessica had to climb up a ramp and turn on three faucets of water. They then had to slide back down and grab a cup and start filling their bucket with the water. When they are filling up their water bottles though, they could only collect water from the edge. At the end of 60 seconds, the player who had the heaviest bucket of water will be the winner. Both girls were very close, but Jessica was the winner since she collected more water. I thought that this was a great idea for a temple game too. It was much better than the other variations of this temple game used

Temple Game #2 - Dig Up Gold

In the second temple game, James and Cory had put two pieces of gold into their buckets and climb up the shaft and place them at the top. Once they reach the top, then they could place their gold into container at the top. The first player with the most gold after 60 seconds will be the winner. In the end, the temple game ended in a 6-6 tie. This put the current Pendant score at 1-0.5 in favor of the Green Monkeys

Temple Game #3 - Ship Gold Back to Spain

In the final temple game, both teams had to help transport gold to Spain by ship. One player had to grab a bar of gold and place it on their head. They then had to pull themselves towards their partner and allow them to retrieve the gold. Their partners simply had to grab the gold and place it in their team bin.  The team with the most bars of gold after 60 seconds will win. The temple game would've been a tie if Elena of the Blue Barracudas didn't fall backwards at the last few seconds. Even if it was a tie, the Green Monkeys still would've gone to the temple with 2 pendants.

TEMPLE RUN: 4/10

Season 1 had many temple runs where there was a one room away guard from the artifact that screwed a team over when they took a long path. The temple guard placement during this temple run was very cheap and probably the most unfair temple guard placement on the whole show. The only way this team would've won was to encounter all three guards. But then again, this team was not that great to begin with and wouldn't have won anyways. James was a pretty slow frontrunner and he pretty much walked through the whole temple. In the Observatory, he had a hilarious temple guard reaction where the guard freaked him out pretty bad. Despite the slow pace he was moving, James was still making good time. He finished assembling the Silver Monkey with 2:03 on the clock. However, he failed to take the Shrine-Tomb shortcut and entered the Pirate's Cove instead. After wasting almost 40 seconds with this detour, he races along the bottom floor of the temple. As he makes a final dash across the Swamp, there is just one problem. Due to the path James took, there were only three unentered rooms left. The Heart Room (artifact location), Cave of Sighs, and Room of the Harmonic Convergence. And with only one temple guard encounter, that means the later two rooms held the other two guards. So with 32 seconds remaining, James is removed from the temple.

Jessica had very little time to herself, but she did not use it good at all. She ran half-way to the Shrine before she decided to turn back and run back to the Observatory thinking that the Heart Room would open from there. Needless to say, her time ended there. This layout was very tough due to the temple guard placement, but the Green Monkeys were no prize themselves. James was too slow and clueless to be a frontrunner, and his partner was not better either. Plus, they took a very long route and missed a crucial shortcut. This team wouldn't have won in the temple even if the temple guard placement was more lenient.

FINAL VERDICT: 5.4/10

"Lost Fountain of Youth" was just your average Season 1 episode with nothing amazing about it. This is one of those episodes you will watch and not come back to because there is nothing remarkable about it. If there was one thing I enjoyed, I thought the temple games were pretty interesting. Especially the first temple game used. The temple run though was impossible like a bunch of S1 temple runs were. It was not exactly the players fault, but at the same time James and Jessica weren't that great of a team either. Not many teams would've won with that layout either way. I would recommend this episode since it was not horrible or anything, but I don't expect you to go back and watch it in the future.

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Ponce de Leon was an average episode, with nothing special about it whatsoever. All I remember is Jessica's temple game, and the one room away temple guard. But you're right, even if the layout was easier, they still would've lost. Though at least James left Jessica at least 38 seconds left on the clock. Unlike Kristen from Lucky Pig who never gave Scott a chance to enter the temple. And by the way, Jessica's last name is Hilton, not Hill. So all these years everyone of us forum members have gotten her name wrong.

Overall, you hit the nail on the head with the final score. I figured it would rank in the mid 5 range.