Legends Episode Ranking System - COMPLETE

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Wow, a 2.8? That's almost as bad as Alhambra. I knew it would rank low though. I've only seen the episode twice, and all I remember is the episode was so boring. And don't even get me started on the temple run. If you don't have the upper body strength to pull yourself out of the Pit, then you don't deserve to make it out of the moat, let alone go to the temple. Just one more thing I'd like to point out though: Veronica was taken out in The King's Storeroom, not the Tomb of the Headless Kings. So you might want to fix that part. This is definitely an episode I'll never rewatch again. And I haven't rewatched it in a while. Anyone who thinks this isn't a bad episode is as retarded as Veronica and Thomas were. [/TMH]

[The Red Jaguars]

Apparently, upper body strength was not present in the Bifocal Monocle episode at all.  The Orange Iguana boy could not life himself through the hole in his temple game and Veronica could not climb. I was wonder what would've happened if she never made it out of the Pit? Then this would've been worse than Cricket Cage. But yeah, this episode belongs on the black list of episodes not too watch. Along with Cricket Cage, Lost Hammer, Alhambra, Snow Cone, Lost Lion Tail, and Cracked Crown. I hate this episode and I remember this was the last episode a certain member here needed for 100% completion. Too bad for them. 

Oh, and I fixed the Veronica mistake too. The next one for me will be Benjamin Franklin. 

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Red Jaguar boy. You are really slipping with these Fogg Ups.

As for me, I'm probably gonna do Pecos Bill's Lost Lariat next. That episode should rank decently, even for the temple run.

[The Red Jaguars]

Heh, that's what happens when you post without paying attention to the details of the post. It made me thinking though about how embarrassing this Red Jaguars team was. I know I pick on the Purple Parrots a lot for losing to John and Tia, but the Red Jaguars losing to Veronica and Thomas was just as embarrassing.  And even worse, the Red Jaguars actually looked incompetent and they didn't even enter the temple. I guess this answers the question about what episode was worse - Bifocal Monocle or Snow Cone. While both are absolute crap, it looks like Bifocal Monocle is slightly worse in my eyes anyways.

Lost Lariat is a good episode too. Interesting legend, funny temple games from the Blue Barracuda girl's horse impression to the close temple games, and the temple run is pretty exciting IMO. It is also very frustrating too. But it still was a fun episode and the temple run is pretty unique for everyone making mistakes. I bet this one will get a good score despite Chris' incompetence.

I can't wait until I review Electrified Key either.  I haven't seen this episode in a while, but I do remember liking it. There were quite a few chokes like the Green Monkeys and temple run, but overall I remember it to be a good experience. Too bad Michelle and Peter didn't win. Imagine having a production day with both the first center of the temple victory AND first bottom of the central shaft victory? It would've been a legendary day. Especially for the Barracudas. 

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Close, first bottom central shaft victory. We got our wish with the first center of the room victory with Missy the following episode, remember? And I should have Pecos Bill up by tomorrow. I can do it from memory and I have it screencapped, so it shouldn't take that long. And Bifocal Monocle was slightly worse than My. Kilimanjaro. But they're both bad, so I guess it's no real contest.

[The Red Jaguars]

The Blue Barracudas would've had back-to-back historical victories if the Electrified Key team won.  I will definitely be looking forward to Lost Lariat also. I expect a high resolution picture for the Lariat artifact. That had to be the most magnificent and inspiring artifact ever used on the show. 

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Here it is, my episode review on "Pecos Bill's Lost Lariat."

PECOS BILL'S LOST LARIAT

MOAT: 7/10

For this moat, the players had to pull themselves across the moat by using a rope, while lying on a tube. Once on the other side, they must throw the tube back to their partner, so they can cross in the same manner. If the player fell out of the tube, they must got back and start over again. This particular round was very close, it was like any of these teams could've moved on to the next round. Seriously, these players were crossing literally at the same time. In the end, The Blue Barracudas, Silver Snakes, Green Monkeys, and the Red Jaguars were the four teams to advance from the Steps of Knowledge, in that order.

LEGEND: 7/10

The legend centered around Pecos Bill, a cowboy in the Old West. On a stormy day, Pecos Bill bragged how he could ride anything, regardless of how wild. One of the cowboys bet he couldn't ride with a twister approaching. But Pecos Bill got up, went outside with his lariat, and roped up the twister. The cyclone touched down, and he held on for dear life. The cyclone ran on for three states, and finally turned into a rainstorm in Arizona. All the rain created the Grand Canyon, and Pecos Bill crashed to the ground in California, and created Death Valley in the process. The lariat eventually made its way to the temple. This was a decent legend, like most Wild Wild West tales are. But I only gave it a "7" because the legend felt a bit silly to me. While trying to ride a twister is interesting (and brave!), it seemed a bit silly and parodic to me.

STEPS OF KNOWLEDGE: 6/10

Pretty average round to me. There were quite a bit of wrong answers though, especially at the beginning of the round. Where the first two answers given were literally wrong. So that kind of brought the round down for me. Colleen and Janelle of the Blue Barracudas answered all the questions their their respective teams, and there was a three way tie on the second to last step. Eventually, the Blue Barracudas and the Green Monkeys secured their spots to advance to the temple games.

TEMPLE GAMES: 8/10

The temple games here featured a decent sequence, and featured some very competitive rounds. Plus, you gotta love Janelle's horse impersonation that she did, much to her embarrassment. In the first game, Chris and Hank had to take a rope, and hang it up on the wall on top. Hank kind of struggled in this game, as his ropes kept on falling. Chris did a decent job with the game, and beat Hank 2-1, giving him a half pendant. In the second game, Colleen and Janelle had to maneuver across a soapy mat and brand each pole on the four corners of the field. Janelle was a BEAST in this game, as she won with 24 seconds left on the clock, tying up the pendant scores for the two teams. In the third game, the players had to slide down a soapy chute and reach a set of cattle, and put it in their bucket at the end of the ramp. The Green Monkeys ended up barely edging out the Blue Barracudas, giving them a full pendant, and access to the temple!

TEMPLE RUN: 6/10

While this temple run had a nailbiter ending, it was also very frustrating. Colleen goes in first and she is easily the fastest girl in Season 1. She makes it all the way to the Observatory, where she spins the celestial lights, and the bar leading to the Treasure Room delays being opened. Noticing that, Colleen traverses down into the Heart Room. Unfortunately, that move ultimately decided the runs fate. And wouldn't you know it? The bar doesn't open up until after Colleen turns her back. Stupid Season 1 and their faulty doors. In the Heart Room, a temple guard takes her pendant, and in the Treasure Room, she is removed from the temple completely. Chris goes in next with 2:20 left on the clock, and he is a painfully slow runner. He pretty much walks through the whole top floor of the temple, and even wastes time with the Torches in the Torch Room. Eventually, Chris makes his way into The Well and grabs the Lost Lariat (which he had trouble finding) with 52 seconds left on the clock. Victory looked certain, as Chris climbed the ladder leading up to the Shrine. Unfortunately, Kirk just happened to open his big mouth and tell Chris to bust through the wall. This is advice Chris took too literally, and then took his sweet time exiting the temple via the bottom floor. Just as he was climbing the Wheel Room ladder leading to the Cave of Sighs, time ran out. While this outcome was so frustrating, and completely avoidable, both Chris and Colleen still entered 11 rooms of the temple, which is quite impressive. In a way, I feel like Colleen, Chris, and Kirk were all equally responsible for this temple run being a loss. But I blame Chris the most, since he moved MUCH too slowly. Oh well, at least they reached their artifact. Which is something the Ponce de Leon kids can't say.

FINAL VERDICT: 6.8/10

This was a decent episode. The close moat round and temple games were fun to watch. The temple run is rather frustrating, but it's still a good watch nonetheless. And I definitely think this was one of the better Season 1 episodes. I would recommend this episode to anyone.

[The Red Jaguars]

Lost Lariat is a pretty infamous episode due to the temple ending. The episode as a whole was pretty good and it does sort of get a bad reputation for how the temple run ended. I definitely remember the legend though for how Pecos Bill supposedly rode a cyclone. It was a pretty neat story for me and one of those you can't forget. But you're right, some of the parts of the legend sound a little cheesy. Like Pecos Bill creating Death Valley. The artifact is so lame though. Really? A piece of rope?

The Steps of Knowledge was very close to a four way tie on the second to last step, much like "Missing Eye" and "Leonardo Da Vinci". I definitely remember Janelle's horse impression in the temple games.   That sounded so authentic and she looked totally embarrassed at the end.   It's funny to see Chris winning his own temple game while Colleen getting dominated by Janelle. The temple games were definitely a nail biter though and it came down to the wire.

The temple loss was a very rare occurrence where everyone is responsible for losing. Colleen was probably the fastest girl of S1 next to Jennifer (Map to the Lost Gold Mine) and Tara (Sir Edmund Hillary). Unfortunately, she missed the Observatory door opening to the Treasure Room. But in her defense, the bar delayed and didn't really open by the time Colleen went into the Heart Room. She was taken out in the Treasure Room, and Chris had 2:30 to himself to reach the Lost Lariat. He was pretty smart for avoiding the Heart Room detour, but it goes down here for him though. In the Shrine, he sort of struggled with the Silver Monkey. And then he completed the Torch Room objective for no reason. No problem though, because he grabbed the Lost Lariat with 53 seconds left. But as he cleverly decides to use the Shrine passage, Kirk tells him to plow through the wall. Chris takes the hardest way out of the temple and basically loses in the end. But even though he took the bottom route, he still had plenty of time to win. If he wasn't so slow and dumb, then this team would've won. I give most of the blame to Chris for this team losing. Any second runner that had all the time like he did should be able to win no matter what. Too bad, but the temple run was not that big of a disaster though. It was still pretty exciting in it's own way and way more exciting than most S1 runs.

Great review, and this was one of the very few exciting S1 episodes. I know the temple loss is frustrating, but the whole episode is worth a watch. I would recommend it too.   Good job on this one.

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Thanks! And yeah, Pecos Bill does get sort of a bad rap. The rest of the episode is still exciting, and the temple run is quite memorable. But like I said, Colleen, Chris, and Kirk were all equally responsible for making this run a loss. Though it would've helped if the Observatory bars didn't take so long to raise. Seriously, the precise second Colleen turned her back, THAT is when they were finally raised. But even then, this still could've been a win if Chris didn't move like a slow moving rock. So I guess now it's time for "AMBASSADOR! AMBASSADOR! AMBASSADOR!" next?

[The Red Jaguars]

Yeah, I am definitely doing "Benjamin Franklin" next.  I have a feeling that it might receive a lower score than it deserves. I like this episode a lot, but it had a couple of bad moments. Hopefully this one is not as painful as "Amelia Earhart" and "Bifocal Monocle".  I haven't seen it in a while, so I will need to get a little more familiar with it. I should have it up by tomorrow for sure.  With Lost Lariat done, I believe we have covered 45 episodes? That is pretty good and we have basically covered 1/3 of the Legends episodes already. Still have a ways to go, but we are almost to the half-way point.

I plan on doing Electrified Key, Atahualpa, Sultan Suleiman, and another win in that order. Maybe I will do "       " or Shaka Zulu as that next win. 

[The Red Jaguars]

Now it is my turn to post my next episode review, which is "Benjamin Franklin". The episode did not rank bad overall, but it definitely was a VERY eventful episode.   

THE ELECTRIFIED KEY OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN

MOAT: 6.5/10

The moat crossing for this episode featured the "Ancient Rod" moat. The first player will be dangling upside down on the rod and had to shimmy across with their hands and knees. Once they reached the other side, the second player had to cross the same way. If the player fell into the moat, then that team had to start over. Once both players made it across, then they will be able to hit their gongs to go onto the Steps of Knowledge. This moat was just average at most. The first set of players had no trouble getting across except for the Orange Iguanas. The second set of players struggled though, especially Peter of the Blue Barracudas. The last two teams to clock in (Silver Snakes and Blue Barracudas) were close calls.

LEGEND: 6/10

Benjamin Franklin was one of the most patriots of the American Revolution. He was the Ambassador of France during the American Revolution and helped write the Declaration of Independence and Constitution. His greatest contribution though was the discovery of electricity. One night, Benjamin's wife Debra saw him fly a kite during a thunderstorm. He tied a Key at the end of the kite for a new flying invention. Just then though, the lightning hit the kite. Benjamin Franklin then discovered electricity and then listed some of the stuff that could be used with it including electric shavers and blow dryers. The Electrified Key made it's way to the temple...

This legend sounded like it came from your middle school U.S. History book. It wasn't a bad choice for a legend at all, but the producers made it sound way too wacky and childish. They actually show Benjamin Franklin getting electrocuted during the legend with the same silly animation that is used in cartoons when someone gets electrocuted. The wife Debra also had a really awkward voice. The worst part of the legend though was when Franklin listed all the stuff that could be made from electricity including electric shavers and blow dryers. Really? I am sure that during his times that no one had any idea what an electric shaver or blow dryer was. If it wasn't for these silly details, this legend would've ranked higher. 

STEPS OF KNOWLEDGE: 7/10

If you have never watch this episode the first time, then keep note of the Green Monkeys boy who kept cutting Olmec off during the Steps of Knowledge. He never allowed Olmec to complete his questions before ringing in to provide his answers. While the Green Monkeys didn't have any wrong answers, they get their comeuppance later in the show. The whole Steps were pretty good though. There was a four-way tie on the second step after four questions were asked. Michelle was pretty smart too and got the Blue Barracudas onto the next round rather quickly. The Green Monkeys eventually join the Blue Barracudas for the temple games.

TEMPLE GAMES: 6/10

The temple games featured Margaret and Ronnie of the Green Monkeys faced off against Peter and Michelle of the Blue Barracudas. The temple games were average for the most part. It came down to a One Pendant tiebreaker which included a "very special" moment. This moment was so special that it got it's down sub-section in this episode review. I usually never make a separate section for the tiebreaker, but this one whole heartedly deserved one. Read below to find out more why it got its own section. Other than that, the competition was pretty average and the temple games used some of the most common game of Season 2.

Temple Game #1 - One-Handed Clock

Michelle and Margaret were on a giant rotating wheel with an image of Olmec on it. The girls had to turn the giant wheel and make one full rotation of it to earn one point. While rotating the wheel, the girls had to retain their balance and try not to fall off at all. If they fell off, they had to get back on it and start over again. The player that completed the most rotations would be the winner. Michelle was the better player in the end and won 12-8.

Temple Game #2 - Benjamin Franklin's Kite

Peter and Ronnie had to traverse a giant wall by punching in various cubby holes in order to find a path leading up to the kite at the top. Once they found the correct cubby hole, they had to keep ascending the wall until they reached the kite at the very top with the Electrified Key. They then had to pull the kite back down to the bottom in order to be victorious. Peter won this temple game handily and gave the Blue Barracudas a score of 1-0 heading into the final temple game.

Temple Game #3 - Knocking down British Soldiers

The two teams were armed with a catapult and standing in front of them were four British soldiers. The players had 60 seconds to use the catapult and knock down all four soldiers. Each of the players would have to switch out while attempting to load their catapults. The team that knocks down the most British soldiers after 60 seconds will win. In the end, the Green Monkeys were able to knock down all of their soldiers before time was up and force the 1-1 tiebreaker. Now we move onto the most epic tiebreaker fail on the show... *drumroll*

TIEBREAKER:

While I am not providing a score for this section, I want to point out how big of an epic fail the tiebreaker was. Remember how the Green Monkeys earlier kept clocking in early at the Steps? Well, it will come back to bite them in the ass now because they failed hard with this tiebreaker question. The tiebreaker question was, "What country did Benjamin Franklin serve Ambassador too?". The minute the Green Monkeys boy heard the word "Ambassador", he chimed in and screamed "AMBASSADOR! AMBASSADOR!" as his answer. The question was deemed wrong as that not even one of Olmec's answers. Peter was smart enough to allow Olmec to reveal the answers, and he answered it correctly, which was "France". Meanwhile, Ronnie of the Green Monkeys was praying on the pedestal while the Blue Barracudas were winning. He looked pissed at the end when they got it correct. Hey buddy, you are only to blame for getting this answer wrong...

TEMPLE RUN: 7/10

There was no excuse for a Season 2 contestant to try and beeline for the direct path like Peter did. The very first thing Peter did when he entered the Pit was try for the Throne Room door. Really, Peter? Do you think that the Throne Room would've opened that easily from the Pit? After being forced up into the Observatory, Peter makes another attempt at the direct path. Both the King's Storeroom and Medusa's Lair door opened, but he entered Medusa's Lair in hopes to get to the Throne Room from that room. As a result, he met an avoidable temple guard in Medusa's Lair. After completing Medusa's Lair, Peter was removed from the temple with less than 1:30 left. Michelle took over and almost pulled a "Harriet Tubman" right off the bat when she entered the temple by almost running into the unentered Crypt. She corrected herself though and followed her path to where Peter was taken out, and she was smart enough to avoid Medusa's Lair also. After having one of the fastest King's Storeroom completions and assembling the Silver Monkey, Michelle enters the Mine Shaft and races along the bottom floor of the temple before time ends for her in the Swamp. This team would've won if it wasn't for Peter's obsession with the direct path. Out of all the bottom of the central shaft runs on the show, this one was probably the most winnable. Peter and Michelle weren't a bad team, they just didn't make smart choices. Too bad they didn't win, but the run itself was still pretty exciting. This would've been a legendary win if they had actually won.

FINAL VERDICT: 6.5/10

"Electrified Key" featured quite a few big fails in one episode. The Green Monkeys tiebreaker question was definitely one of the biggest "dumbass fails" on the show. The hilarious part about this was that the Green Monkey boy kept cutting Olmec off in the Steps of Knowledge, and it came back to bite the team in the tiebreaker. They didn't deserve to go to the temple anyways. The rest of the episode was above average for the most part. On a production day that featured all wins though, this episode was still a disappointment. There is no reason why Peter and Michelle couldn't have won in the temple. Their temple run was designed to allow for a solo victory, and they blew with their flawed strategy. But still, the run was pretty exciting and they weren't a horrible team. Despite all the fails this episode had, it still got a pretty good score. I would definitely recommend watching it because I don't find it awful in any way.

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Electrified Key was certainly an eventful episode, from the Steps of Knowledge to the temple games. And it's something else to have a separate section for the tiebreaker. But it totally serves the Green Monkeys right. That's what you get for ringing in too early. I mean, I know there are a bunch of teams that get all their Steps of Knowledge questions right before the choices are revealed. But the Green Monkeys here did it constantly, and it came back to bite them in the ass in the tiebreaker. Even Kirk was getting impatient and saying "Guys, you might want to hear all the choices before you come up with your own answer." By the way, Michelle answered the tiebreaker question, not Peter.

Another thing I found funny about the tiebreaker fail? When the camera is on just Peter and Michelle, and Kirk says to them "We got a good shot of that, didn't we?" I think I know what he was referring too.... XD Overall, great review. I figured this episode would score in the mid 6 range. The next episode I'm gonna do is "The Helmet of Genghis Khan." Which I predict will rank almost the same as Electrified Key.

[The Red Jaguars]

I was originally going to give a separate score for the tiebreaker round, but I didn't want to do that and make this episode look bad because it definitely wasn't bad. But yeah, the Green Monkey boy was asking for it after doing it at the steps the whole time. I am glad Peter and Michelle went to the temple anyways because they were more deserving all around. Too bad their temple run was kind of disappointing. But the whole tiebreaker round was hilarious, from the Green Monkeys boy praying to that Kirk Fogg line. This episode was definitely "special". I am not sure why I said Peter answered the tiebreaker question when Michelle was the one answering in the picture... 

Genghis Khan is a good choice for an episode too. It is literally the only Red Jaguars episode in S1 I liked. Becca and Taylor did good before the temple and the episode did have a few standout moments. Genghis Khan will probably rank in the same range as Benjamin Franklin too. After you are done with that one, then I am going to do "Atahualpa" next. I also see that you plan on doing Emiliano Zapata. When you do that one, then I will probably do "Atocha" and that should complete that amazing production day. 

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Yeah, Peter and Michelle should've won in the temple. If Peter hadn't tried for a direct path, it would've not only been a 4-on-4 day, but it would've been a legendary run too. It would've been the first bottom central shaft victory, but Peter blew it. I realize a lot of contestants beelined for a direct path, but with contestants like Peter and Kevin from Montezuma, their constant detours is what cost them a chance at winning. And by Season 2, you should know that retrieving an artifact from the Pit to the Throne Room won't work.

And yeah, Genghis Khan is definitely gonna be my next episode review. I should have it up by tomorrow. Other episodes I want to cover are Silver Horseshoe, Applewood Amulet, Golden Pepperoni, and Hans Holbein. If I do Applewood Amulet, you should totally do Atocha after that. Just so we have a full production day complete. I'll save that one for you, I promise.

[The Red Jaguars]

Peter is the worst offender of the direct path in S2. He tried for it one two different occasions. If he only tried the Pit-Throne Room door and still got a solo win, then I wouldn't really make a big deal about the direct path. But he did it on two separate occasions. Luckily neither player was bad though, which made the run pretty exciting. And if they won, this would've been the best production day on the whole show!

I would love to see you do Butch Cassidy also. Knowing how you have a "special place" in your heart for that one. And I promise whenever you get around to Emiliano Zapata, then I will do Atocha. Those two episodes go hand-and-hand because their legends are very similar...