Temple Guard Locations

[PurpleParrot4Life]

Moving right along, we are now on "Golden Jaguar of Atahualpa."

Encountered Guards: Heart Room, Shrine
Number of Unencountered Guards: 1
Rooms not Entered: Room of the Three Gargoyles, Observatory, Room of Three Torches

Notes: Many people in the past believed the last guard was in the Gargoyle Room because it was common for one of the guards to be in an entrance room when the team had 1 pendant. Others mentioned the Observatory as another possible location. Some people suggested that the Gargoyle Room would have led down to the Cave of Sighs, while others believed there was an alternate path that led across the Troubled Bridge and down the central shaft.

My Thoughts: The guard in the Shrine was the green-masked guard, and the guard in the Heart Room was the gold-masked guard. That only left the black-masked guard. Since the black-masked guard was always the one stationed in the Gargoyle Room, it is possible he was there. However, considering the possible paths and which guards would be forced along those different paths, it may not have made sense for him to have been there.

-- If the Gargoyle Room only led down to the Cave of Sighs, then the Gargoyle Room and Heart Room guards could have been avoided. This run only would have ended in triple capture if the team mimicked the "Jeweled Necklace of Montezuma" path.

-- If the Gargoyle Room led to the Troubled Bridge and down the central shaft, then all three guards would have been forced along the path, which would have mimicked the "Dried Apple Half of William Tell" and "Bullet-Riddled Handbag of Belle Boyd" paths. Since this team only had 1 pendant, I doubt the producers would have created a path where simply entering the "wrong" entrance room would have automatically forced all of the guards to be encountered.

-- Under these different circumstances, a guard in the Gargoyle Room may or may not have made sense. Assuming there was the second path across the Troubled Bridge, I don't think the guard would have been in either the Gargoyle Room or Observatory, because that would have created the forced triple capture scenario. In my mind, the Torch Room would have been the only logical place for the last guard to have been on this path. However, if the Gargoyle Room only led down to the Cave of Sighs, then it would have made perfect sense for the last guard to have been in the Gargoyle Room, which would have created the same path as "Jeweled Necklace of Montezuma," with the Heart Room guard potentially avoidable, regardless of the entrance room the team started in.

[PurpleParrot4Life]

Next is "Silver Saddle Horn of Hannibal."

Encountered Guards: Treasure Room, Holes of Python
Number of Unencountered Guards: 1
Rooms not Entered: Room of the Three Gargoyles, Room of Three Torches, Well, Tomb of Ancient Kings

Notes: All of the rooms were mentioned as possible locations for the final guard for one reason or another. When Vicky was in the Observatory, the door opened to go back down to the Troubled Bridge/Gargoyle Room, so some people believed the other guard was in the Gargoyle Room. Others suggested the team would have encountered the guard in either the Well or Tomb of Ancient Kings because, given the short path the team could have taken by going straight across the bottom floor of the temple, the run probably could not have been a potential solo victory.

My Thoughts: This run was a 1.5 pendant run, so if we found the half pendant, that would assist us in narrowing down the possible rooms. Even without knowing the location of the half pendant, we can make some inferences of where the last guard was.

-- If the other guard was in the Gargoyle Room, then the half pendant would have been in one of the outer temple rooms, most likely the Throne Room. The last guard would have been the one in the Holes of Python, and the half pendant was usually in the room prior to the final guard. As far as I can tell, there wasn't a half pendant in the Throne Room, so the half pendant and final guard were probably beyond the Holes of Python.

-- As far as I can tell, the second and third guards were only very rarely stationed in back-to-back rooms in Season 1, so I am very hesitant to believe the final guard was in the Tomb of Ancient Kings since there was a guard in the Holes of Python. The only run that comes to mind that had back-to-back guards was "Elizabeth I's Golden Ship."

-- Even though this team would have entered nearly every room en route to the Saddle Horn, the simplest path that would have led them to the Shrine was straight along the bottom floor of the temple. Because of this very short path and the Well's position, I think the team would have been forced into the Well and up into the Torch Room before gaining access to the Shrine. The Well/Torch Room, therefore, would have been the last room before the artifact. It was quite common for the final guard to be in the room before the artifact in Season 1.

[PurpleParrot4Life]

"Alexander and the Gordian Knot" is up now.

Encountered Guards: Throne Room, Tomb of Ancient Kings
Number of Unencountered Guards:1
Rooms not Entered: Room of the Three Gargoyles, Heart Room, Treasure Room

Notes: Everyone believed that the final guard was in the Treasure Room. The half pendant was in the Shrine, and the Treasure Room was the next room over. It was probably not necessary to enter the Heart Room, so the Treasure Room would have also been the room immediately prior to the artifact.

My Thoughts: I agree. Even though all three guards would have been forced, it wouldn't have been the first time that happened. Also, there is no way the team could have passed by the half pendant without noticing it. It was in the base where the contestants had to assemble the Silver Monkey, and the second runner was going to be the only one in the Shrine because of the prior temple guards' placements. Retina had to find the half pendant, so the run wouldn't have ended in triple capture.

[The Red Jaguars]

Yeah, the "Gordian Knot" temple layout is really weird where all three temple guards were forced. But it has happened in a few other episodes of the show. And Retina found the half-pendant anyways, so there was no need to worry about that guard.

[PurpleParrot4Life]

Next up are "King Tut's Cobra Staff" and "Dragon Lady and the Blue Pearl" from S1, L8.


King Tut's Cobra Staff:

Encountered Guards: Heart Room, Shrine
Number of Unencountered Guards: 1
Rooms not Entered: Cave of Sighs, Holes of Python

Notes: The last guard was spotted at the bottom of the Cave of Sighs during the prize sequence. Photo courtesy video posted on youtube.com by ChargerTheWolf.






Dragon Lady and the Blue Pearl:

Encountered Guards: Treasure Room, Tomb of Ancient Kings
Number of Unencountered Guards: 1
Rooms not Entered: Cave of Sighs, Throne Room, Heart Room

Notes: The last guard was spotted in the Cave of Sighs during the prize sequence. Photo courtesy video posted on youtube.com by ChargerTheWolf.

[PurpleParrot319]

Why do the guards look different in both pictures? It looks like the Cobra Staff guard has some sort of sash around him while the Blue Pearl guard looks like any ordinary temple guard.

[PurpleParrot4Life]

Why do the guards look different in both pictures? It looks like the Cobra Staff guard has some sort of sash around him while the Blue Pearl guard looks like any ordinary temple guard.

That is a great question. I think it has to do with the temple guard's posture. In the "Cobra Staff" photo, the guard is standing upright. The golden pendant necklace is higher up on his body, and his clothing underneath (the blue sash) is more apparent. In the "Blue Pearl" photo, the guard is squatting, so the golden pendant necklace falls lower down on the body, covering the sash underneath. This same "discrepancy" can be seen in a few other Season 1 runs with the guard in the Cave of Sighs.

[PurpleParrot4Life]

Next, we've got "Codebook of Mata Hari."

Encountered Guards: Holes of Python, Treasure Room
Number of Unencountered Guards: 1
Rooms not Entered: Room of the Royal Gongs, Observatory, Room of Three Torches

Notes: People believed the final guard was in the Gong Room, or possibly Torch Room. They negated the Observatory since the half pendant was found in the Shrine of the Silver Monkey, and the next room over held a guard.

My Thoughts: I think the other guard was in the Gong Room. Nearly all of the Center of the Rooms runs held a guard in one of the entrance rooms, usually the "decoy" room. I don't think this run would have broken the pattern by placing all three guards in the inner temple.

-- One interesting thing to note about this run is, when Gareth is in the Treasure Room before the guard captured him, he tried the actuator to the Observatory, and it opened.

[PurpleParrot4Life]

Up next is "Pecos Bill's Lost Lariat."

Encountered Guards: Heart Room, Throne Room
Number of Unencountered Guards: 1
Rooms not Entered: Cave of Sighs, Throne Room, Holes of Python, Tomb of Ancient Kings

Notes: In the past, people guessed the final guard was in the Throne Room. There wasn't a guard in the Holes of Python when Chris was exiting the temple. The Tomb of Ancient Kings did not open from the Shrine, so the players were not granted access to that room before reaching the artifact. During the final credits, the Cave of Sighs was shown to be clear of a guard. Photo courtesy video posted on youtube.com by ChargerTheWolf.




My Thoughts: I agree that the guard was in the Throne Room. The deductive reasoning seems sound, and the half pendant location supports the placement as well.

-- Although the photo below is blurry, the half pendant can be seen on the throne in the Throne Room. Photo courtesy video posted on youtube.com by ChargerTheWolf. Since the half pendant was in the Throne Room, it would make sense for the final guard to have been the one in the Treasure Room because there was usually (if not always) at least one guard in the room of the half pendant/prior to the half pendant. The only rooms prior to the Throne Room were the Cave of Sighs (clear because of the previous photo) and Wheel Room (never held a guard). By default, the only room left that could hold the guard was the Throne Room.

[PurpleParrot4Life]

And to finish off S1, L8, next up is "Robin Hood and Marian's Ladder."

Encountered Guards: Throne Room, Heart Room
Number of Unencountered Guards: 1
Rooms not Entered: Observatory, Room of the Three Torches, Well, Tomb of Ancient Kings, Holes of Python

Notes: In the past, people were baffled by where the last guard was, but deduced that he had to be in the Observatory. The Holes of Python was locked from both the Throne Room and Treasure Room, and there was no guard in the Cave of Sighs during the credits. The only room the team may have been given access to that wasn't entered was the Observatory, which means the last guard had to have been there.

My Thoughts: I agree. That line of reasoning is completely sound and logical. In addition, I may have been able to capture an image of the temple guard in the Observatory upon Jeremy's exit from the temple. In the top right and bottom left photos below, courtesy video posted on youtube.com by ChargerTheWolf, you can catch a small glint behind the back wall of the Observatory, in the camera-left black cut-out of the wall. That same glint is absent from the other two photos, which were taken one frame prior and one frame immediately after those with the glint. That glint very easily could have come from the golden emblem on the temple guard's headdress as he was maneuvering out of the way to not be seen by the camera/contestant.

[GreenMonkeys#1]

If that is indeed a Temple Guard in the Observatory in.  , then all the Temple Guards would be in the Central Shaft

 

[PurpleParrot4Life]

If that is indeed a Temple Guard in the Observatory in.  , then all the Temple Guards would be in the Central Shaft

That is a very good observation. Considering how the final days' layouts were in each season, it wouldn't be surprising. It seemed that the final days' runs were gimmicky, either in their paths, temple guard placements, or both. There weren't that many rooms unlocked during the "Silk Ladder" run, so there were fewer possible rooms for the last guard to have been stationed. As gimmicky as it was to have the whole central shaft stocked with guards, that is the only possible scenario for this run, and the photographic evidence further supports the reasoning.

[GreenMonkeys#1]

If that is indeed a Temple Guard in the Observatory in.  , then all the Temple Guards would be in the Central Shaft

That is a very good observation. Considering how the final days' layouts were in each season, it wouldn't be surprising. It seemed that the final days' runs were gimmicky, either in their paths, temple guard placements, or both. There weren't that many rooms unlocked during the "Silk Ladder" run, so there were fewer possible rooms for the last guard to have been stationed. As gimmicky as it was to have the whole central shaft stocked with guards, that is the only possible scenario for this run, and the photographic evidence further supports the reasoning.

Just like Queen Nzinga, one after another

[PurpleParrot4Life]

We're into the last layout of Season 1!

"Lawrence of Arabia's Headdress" is the first episode of the layout.

Encountered Guards: Cave of Sighs, Room of the Fallen Columns, Treasury of Golden Orbs
Number of Unencountered Guards: 0

All of the guards were encountered, so there isn't any question of where they were.

[PurpleParrot4Life]

Next is "Collar of Davy Crockett."

Encountered Guards: Throne Room, Observatory
Number of Unencountered Guards: 1
Rooms not Entered: Room of the Royal Gongs, Room of Three Torches, Well, Tomb of Ancient Kings, Holes of Python

Notes: Past people believed that the only room that was unlocked and not entered in the "Davy Crockett" path was the Room of the Royal Gongs.

My Thoughts: I agree. Neither the Throne Room or Treasury of Golden Orbs opened down to the Holes of Python, and none of the rooms beyond the Holes of Python were accessible either. Since the only room that was accessible but not entered was the Room of the Royal Gongs, it had to hold the final guard. In addition, the gold-masked guard was in the Throne Room, and the green-masked guard was in the Observatory. That only left the black-masked guard, who was always the one stationed in the upper entrance room.