Do you sympathize with the Bifocal Monocle team with their layout?

[The Red Jaguars]

The past couple of months I have been reading some old topics on here. One opinion that I found interesting was that some people feel that Bifocal Monocle's layout was unfair for Season 3 standards and that Veronica and Thomas get too much criticism. Veronica and Thomas have a bad reputation around here for having one of the worst performances on the show. But their layout was pretty unusual for Season 3 standards where it featured dead-ends and detours. This was definitely bazaar for Season 3 standard. Do you think that Veronica and Thomas get too much criticism?

In my opinion, Veronica and Thomas deserve their criticism 100%. They were a horrible team that made some of the worst mistakes on the show. I mean Veronica literally spent 1/3 of the temple run trying to climb out of the Pit. -_____- And the Ancient Warriors dead end could've been avoided easily if they didn't think the direct path would be so obvious. And she had no reason to run into the King's Storeroo either. Thomas was equally as clueless for pulling books in the Crypt and running into the same rooms as his partner. I have to admit that their layout was a little confusing and brutal for Season 3 standards. But that doesn't excuse them for their pitiful performance. I might have more sympathy for them if they didn't act like John and Tia in the temple.

What are your thoughts?

[Purple Parrots Fan]

No. They deserve all the criticism they get. I don't care how "hard" the layout was. Anyone who has that much trouble scaling a simple wall does not belong on the show. Not to mention, Veronica could've very well have gone straight into the Tomb. It was open. But no, she insists on taking a direct path by entering the Room of the Ancient Warriors for no reason. And then she detours into the King's Storeroom? Hello, there's nothing there for you. Of course, Thomas wasn't any better. Yeah, great idea pulling all three books in the Crypt. Just one little thing: IT'S ALREADY BEEN DONE. That's just further proof that this team did NOT deserve to so much as pass tryouts to be on the show, let alone make it all the way to the temple. Their layout was a little strange, but that doesn't excuse their temple performance whatsoever. No sympathy. They were a terrible team, and I would even go as far as saying this was WORSE than that dreaded Snow Cone episode. How people can defend them is beyond me.

[AimYourBrent]

They deserve criticism, but that wasn't the question posed. The question was do I sympathize with their layout. And the answer is absolutely. That was a very tough layout and I don't know that they would have been successful even without Veronica's issue in the pit. And really, that was their ONE issue, Veronica navigating that pit. If it had been a Season 1 or 2 style pit, that never happens. I hold Veronica and Thomas to Nick and Kim status. They aren't as terrible as the Snowcone, Keys, Blackbeard teams or god awful John and Tia. They are one step up from all of them in my opinion. 

[The Red Jaguars]

Thank you! I am glad that I am not the only one that hates this abomination. I'm sorry, I just can't feel sorry for a team that makes some of the dumbest mistakes on the history of the show. By Season 3, you should know better that the direct path won't work. So no sympathy for Veronica from me. And didn't this temple run had a solo shot chance too? Now that I think about it, the Orange Iguanas could've avoided the Ancient Warriors and King's Storeroom guards. I totally forgot about that. Honestly, this layout wasn't that challenging at all. Bandit Queen and Egyptian Queen's team would've won. Hell, even the Roland team could probably win since it was one extra room most likely.

The Bifocal Monocle layout was a little tricky, but I cannot sympathize for such an incompetent and lost cause team. If it was a run like Golden Stallion or Stone Marker where the layout was tough but the kids put up a good effort, then I can show them a little sympathy. But not this run. And by Season 3, you shouldn't be making these stupid mistakes either. Even though runs like Golden Cricket Cage and Alhambra are shit too, I can have a little understanding for their struggles since it was very early on in the first season. But not a Season 3 run.        

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Yeah, I agree with Stone Marker. Both the Room of the Ancient Warriors and King's Storeroom had very avoidable temple guards, and like I said above, Veronica could've very easily have avoided it. This could've been a solo victory (maybe even a lot like Poseidon), had Veronica not been so clueless. So in retrospect, this layout actually wasn't that tricky at all.

[The Red Jaguars]

Yeah, the Bifocal Monocle layout was very similar to Poseidon except that the team had an extra room with the Chamber of the Sacred Markers. Hell, the layout is very similar to Roland if the Dark Forest open in Bifocal Monocle's run. And I kind of disagree with Veronica and Thomas being compared to the Missing Weather Map kids. These two were lost causes and deserve to be ranked as low as Cricket Cage, Snow Cone, Lost Hammer, etc. There was no excuse for Veronica to waste over a minute in a Pit. That was worse than Tony from Stone Head spending over a minute in Medusa's Lair. And Thomas as a second runner had plenty of time to make progress, but he screws around way worse than Dana or Brian from Shaving Pan.

It is like the William Tell run. That had to be the toughest layout on the show and no team had a chance to win. But Lauren and Brett were a horrible team and I don't sympathize with them at all for their poor performance. Especially when teams like Belle Boyd and Discarded Seal outperformed them with almost similar layouts.

[GreenMonkeys#1]

Why should anyone feel bad for this team. Veronica and Thomas were awful in this episode. They would've lost the Sforza layout. 

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Exactly. They were a terrible team, period.

[The Red Jaguars]

It's like the Silk Sash run too. I have seen people try and feel sorry for Jessie and Steven. Their layout was not that hard. I am sure the Observatory would've opened if Steven put the column together correctly. Instead, the team was running all over the place and moved slow. Attila the Hun's layout was more brutal than this one, and Rachelle made it further than the Silk Sash kids. 

[Purple Parrots Fan]

And coincidentally, both Silk Sash and Golden Goblet were filmed back to back. Neither run was great, but when even a single player makes it further along than a whole team, you know you're in trouble.

[The Red Jaguars]

Yeah.\, I can never feel sorry for a team that sucks ass in the temple no matter what their circumstances are. Even if the layout is tough or there is a cheap production error, at least try and put up an effort. I don't mind runs like Imperial Wizard or Sir Edmund Hillary where the players make mistakes but at least try and put an effort in their layout. Here are some teams that I can never feel sorry for despite having low odds of winning:

- Silver Saddle Horn
- Silk Sash
- Lucky Pig
- Marble Armrest
- Dried Apple Half
- Bifocal Monocle
- Shriveled Hand
- Plumed Headdress

Those are some runs I see people giving sympathy for. While they may have had hard layouts, I can't feel sorry for teams that have players who mess up big time.

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Wait a minute, you're including Efoua on this list? They weren't a bad team at all. Slow yes, but not terrible. I actually sympathize with them A LOT. They had one of the most impossible layouts in the history of the show, and actually made it very far with the layout they had. I mean, they made it what, TWO rooms away for such an impossible layout? That's very remarkable honestly. If that doesn't say they did a pretty good job, I don't know what will. They are sympathized with for a reason. And I am also someone who actually does feel sorry for them. Even if their run wasn't the greatest. It was boring, but not so bad they deserve to be criticized. I'm sorry, but what? =/

[The Red Jaguars]

Impossible layout? Okay, it might've been one of the harder layouts of Season 2. But it was definitely winnable though. Bobby and Janelle had to enter 7 rooms enroute to the artifact, which seemed to be pretty standard for S2. The only difference was that they had to complete some of the tougher rooms. But still, I just didn't find their performance that great. It was just below average to me. They moved slow through every room and they avoided the Mine Shaft shortcut from the Shrine and took the slow elevator instead. I don't hate this loss at all, and it was wrong for me to include it on the list with the other losses. But I just feel like if Rachelle gets criticized for moving slow with her layout, than so should the Shriveled Hand team. They are on par with each other in my books.

[Purple Parrots Fan]

It was below average yes, but entering 8 rooms is hard for any team. I just feel like Bobby and Jenelle actually made decent progress compared to say, the Dried Apple Half and Hannibal teams. But, back to Bifocal Monocle. I hate to say it, but that run was more memorable than Efoua. And by memorable, I mean incredibly bad. So Bifocal Monocle is definitely remembered in a bad way. O_O

[The Red Jaguars]

Yeah, Bifocal Monocle is very memorable for the piss poor performance.  That's because it features some of the stupidest mistakes on the show (Veronica taking over a minute to climb the wall, Thomas pulling books in the Crypt, and the team's no sense of direction.) I remember it way more than Snow Cone, and that team entered less rooms than Veronica and Thomas. In my mind, this is the second worse loss on the show after Golden Cricket Cage. Yes, I hate it more than Alhambra, Lost Hammer, Lost Lion Tail, etc. These two were a waste of space.