Some Thoughts about Temple Runs

[The Red Jaguars]

I remember they showed Red Sash a lot on Nick GaS. Not like the 20 episode cycle, but it showed up there a lot. And it's not really exciting either like you mentioned or memorable. I have actually tried to force myself to like it, but it just never grabbed me like some of the other runs. But it is a big improvement over Electrified Key. And Brandy and Quentin did a really good job with a tough layout, but they came up short. Queen Boadicea though was pretty exciting in my book. 

What would you guys think of Anne Bonny if it was a win? In this scenario, let's assume Ron used the Troubled Bridge to exit. Not only would this end Season 1 with a win, but it would've made a 4/4 day. If Anne Bonny was a win, I don't think I would think highly of it. It would be another Snake Bracelet or Genghis Khan type of win where there is nothing that sticks out about it. I mean the layout was easy and Ron was a moron in the temple and moved slow. Actually, I think it would be on the same level as Shaka Zulu and Butch Cassidy because of the fact that Ron cheated in the moat and then winning in the temple. That would not be right. Although none of the hate would be geared towards Fred. I thought she was fun to watch and she was the star of this episode. Ron ruined the whole episode for me.

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Yeah, I never liked Red Sash either. It just wasn't exciting or memorable to me. I mean, Brandy and Quentin did a good job with their temple run, but it's just plain uneventful to me. It's much better than some bottom central shaft runs though.

Agreed about Anne Bonny too. I also would not think highly of the temple run even if it had been a win. It would be just like Snake Bracelet and Genghid Khan where it's just regarded as an average win. And like you said, it definitely would've been a bottom tier win like Shaka Zulu and Butch Cassidy because of Ron's cheating. Maybe if Katherine/Fred had gone in second, I'd probably like the win. But not if Ron still went in second and exited the temple the right way.

[The Red Jaguars]

Yeah, I don't think I would've liked this win especially knowing that Ron cheated in the moat. If anything, his temple exit was pretty much karma for getting away with cheating. Plus, he was so slow and clueless in the temple anyways. If Jason from Smashed Printing Plate gets maligned for cheating and being dumb, so should Ron.

Another run I wouldn't like even if it was a win would be Icarus. Only because Jason was another moron that had a lot of time and still couldn't win. I can't believe that people feel like he should've gotten the grand prize. Olivia-Emma had way less time than Jason and she still pulled off her win with a second to space. And people criticize her for having an easy path. But Jason's path in the temple was also easy. Which is why I can't stand this run.

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Yeah, Icarus is a very frustrating, annoying run. Jason was slow and clueless the entire time, and could've very easily have won that layout. I can't believe people think he should've gotten the second prize. He may have came the closest to winning without actually doing so, but that doesn't mean he deserves any second prize. And like you said, even if he did win, it still wouldn't have been exciting. And I wouldn't have liked it as a win. The temple run reminds me so much of Poseidon where Kimberly has such an easy layout, but blows it. Speaking of the latter, that's another run I still wouldn't like even if it were a win.

[The Red Jaguars]

Another thing I don't understand about Poseidon is how people thought that Kimberly did a good job before grabbing the Trident. She did an OKAY job, but not some outstanding performance. She sort of walked all the way to the Shrine and slowly completed the rooms with objectives. She was also very lucky to not encounter any guards when her layout was exactly like Metal Beard and Bandit Queen. Hell, Randy as a second runner grabbed the Metal Beard with almost the same time as Kimberly. You can give almost any average player Kimberly's layout and they would've won handily. And dropping the Trident and running away from it was unforgivable. Even Season 1 contestants like Ron and Chris from Lost Lariat knew that you needed to bring the artifact out. She was the only dumbass to do that in the temple. She deserves to be ranked as a lost cause like the other Kims.

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Yeah, Kimberly was just not impressive in any part of the temple, at all. She did not "do very well before reaching the trident," she was not "an amazing player before dropping the trident." She was slow, hesitant, and waaaaaay too lucky. Any player could've won with that layout, only they wouldn't have been stupid enough to drop the trident. Kimberly was completely average the whole way through, and dropping the trident just sealed it. She had a whole win handed to her on a silver platter, and she blew it, big time. And even if it had been a win, I still would not be impressed with it. She's just as bad as the other Kims, like you said. And those Kims were a special kind of bad, which REALLY says a lot.

[The Silver Monkey]

Any player could've won with that layout

Jon and Tia beg to differ.

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Looking past the obvious. Any average team would've won with Poseidon's layout. Everyone knows obvious bad players like John and Tia wouldn't have won with that layout. I'm talking about average, nothing special teams that could've won with that layout. Not these lost cause players who wouldn't qualify for Season 3 in the first place.

[The Red Jaguars]

Any player could've won with that layout

Jon and Tia beg to differ.

They don't count though.   Even if they had the Golden Ship layout and the Throne Room opened for them, they still wouldn't won. 

But I agree with the Paintbrush. Almost any Season 3 team would've won Broken Trident's layout. After all, most of the layout had the team travel through the bottom floor of the temple. Unless a team REALLY had trouble with bottom floor like Xerxes, then they should've won or at least grabbed the Trident. Even Bifocal Monocle's team might've reached the artifact because there was no wall climbing. But then again, the Orange Iguanas would've f**ked that layout. But it was still a very easy layout.

[PurpleParrot4Life]

Here's a thought about the Enormous Feather of the Me Linh run:

We know that this team successfully reached the artifact from the King's Storeroom, although Karisa did not progress through the temple very quickly. What is interesting is that out of the three King's Storeroom runs from this season, they came the closest to winning, even though they are often regarded as the "worst" of the three teams. The Discarded Seal of Ivan the Terrible team had to complete one extra room objective en route to the King's Storeroom, and the Bent Shaving Pan of Jedidiah Smith team had a more difficult temple guard layout, since Irish was removed one room from the artifact, while Karisa only had to traverse 5 cleared room to reach where her partner left off.

What is interesting is that the Enormous Feather of the Me Linh run could have been a victorious run if Karisa had tried the leftmost armor on the first try. She entered the room with 32 seconds left on the clock. By the time she tried the other two armors and activated the King's Storeroom, there was only 17 seconds left on the clock, meaning she used 15 extra seconds. Given that she made it to the middle of the Pit of the Pendulum and was attempting to exit the temple via the Crypt, had she put those 15 seconds into exiting the temple, she would have won, even with her slow pace and getting lost in the Quicksand Bog.

Had this scenario been the case, what would your thoughts on the run be? Would you enjoy it for being a winning episode, or would the lack of speed counteract the team's success?

[The Red Jaguars]

Heh, I literally just got done making a post dedicated to the Enormous Feather run. To answer your question, I would not think highly of this run at all if Karisa and David won in this episode. First, I would be shocked if Karisa actually pulled the win off. Even after the King's Storeroom door opened, she moved so slow and hesitated too while running up the stair case. With the extra time, I am sure she would've crossed the gate with 2-5 seconds left. But she was taking her sweet old time.

If the Orange Iguanas did win, I think that this would be my least favorite win of Season 3. I mean a contestant that moves as slow and hesitant in the temple run like Karisa has no business winning in the first place. I would watch Roland 100 times straight before watching Enormous Feather. if runs like Silk Ladder and Snake Bracelet get maligned for their slow second runners, so should this run. I am actually glad that the Enormous Feather team didn't win because of Karisa's pathetic performance.

Also, the Ivan the Terrible layout was way tougher than Enormous Feather's layout. It wasn't just a difference between one single room. The temple guard layout was also way more difficult than the Enormous Feather run. Travis and Elisa had to change floors two times in their run and they were denied a shortcut from the Dark Forest. Plus, the temple guard in the Ancient Warriors in that run was not in the suit with the correct armor and it cost Elisa some time. Not to mention, the first suit opened the King's Storeroom door for Karisa while it was the last one for Elisa. The Ivan the Terrible team was on a whole different level than the Enormous Feather team. Artifact grabbing or not, the Enormous Feather run was easily the weakest link of the two runs. Although Jedediah Smith is no prize either.

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Yeah, I also wouldn't think highly of Enormous Feather either even if it has been a win. It would be regarded on the same level as Silk Ladder. A team that only wins because the layout is easy, and the players are slowpokes. I would still dislike this temple run even if it were a win. I also agree that Discarded Seal was A LOT harder than Enormous Feather. Different temple guard placement, longer path, and limited access to shortcuts. Travis and Elisa were completely screwed over, especially since they were both very fast players. Karisa had an easy win completely given to her, and she blew it, big time.

[The Red Jaguars]

The Discarded Seal team would've torched the Enormous Feather layout. Travis and Elisa were flawless in their episode, but they still lost. And they had to enter 10 episodes enroute to their artifacts while the Enormous Feather team had 6 or 7 (not sure if the Shrine shortcut opened up in the Feather run). Hell, I think the Bent Shaving Pan team would've grabbed the Enormous Feather too. Because Irish and Brian both moved faster than Karisa did.

I remember arguing with someone on Youtube about this actually. They felt that Enormous Feather was the best run of the 3 because the Orange Iguanas reached their artifacts. Sorry, but a better outcome does not make it a better run. Discarded Seal is miles better than Enormous Feather and Bent Shaving Pan. They are not even in the same tiers. It's just like I will always take Cobra Staff over Shaka Zulu everyday despite the fact the Purple Parrots were not as successful as the Red Jaguars.

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Wait a second, somebody actually defended the Enormous Feather episode? All because they reached their artifact and NOT Discarded Seal? Man, people have no common sense whatsoever. Just because a player reaches an artifact, doesn't make them great players. An artifact grab is completely irrelevent to whether or not a player is good. Discarded Seal would've mopped the floor with a layout like Enormous Feather. Hell it probably would've been another Lost Hornpipe esque run if Travis and Elisa had won that layout!

And yeah, I also prefer King Tut over Shaka Zulu. It's much more exciting, and it comes down to the wire. I often think King Tut gets way too much hate both here and other sites. People like to put Eusinia on the same level as Sabrina or Lisa. So what if she was a little hesitant? So what if she was easily confused? At least she knew somewhat what she was doing. Which is more than you can say for literally half the Season 1 girls. I have a feeling people just hate this run just because it's the Purple Parrots, and they're the loser team. So they have this bias that the Purple Parrots always have the worst runs. I can't believe it gets hate in any way. What do you think? Is King Tut overhated and needs more praise?

[The Red Jaguars]

Here's the quote from the Enormous Feather video on Youtube:

People may give her crap about her poor performance in the temple. Although I agree that she did needed to move, I like to point out that she manage to get the artifact at the top of the shaft. She is the only person to do so. The Other two runs was featured an artifact in the kings storeroom ended in failure due to temple guard placement

I don't know, this comment sounds like we should give Karisa special treatment just because her team reached the artifact and the other teams in that room didn't (Discarded Seal and Bent Shaving Pan). But the only reason she had enough time to grab it in the first place was because David left her a lot of time to work with in the temple. If she had the Bent Shaving Pan layout and went in first, I bet that she uses all 3 minutes just to get to the Room of the Ancient Warriors. And the temple guards were not the only reason why the Discarded Seal team lost. They also had a very lengthy layout with no shortcuts. And the temple guard robbed Elisa more time than Karisa choosing the wrong armor.

And Cobra Staff is way more exciting than Shaka Zulu. People seem to rank this as another Alhambra or Lucky Pig run where the female runner was really stupid. But Eusinia wasn't even close to the likes of Sabrina, Lisa, or Kristen. She did get confused in a few rooms, but she was also very fast in the temple. Despite detouring into the Throne Room and Wheel Room, she recovered quickly from it and knew that she had to move forward. She was taken out with 1:42 on the clock despite all her moments of confusion. Lisa and Sabrina had much more time in the temple and they didn't even make any progress. Also, David moved a little slow also even if he was a little smarter than Eusinia. Plus, the layout was pretty long compared to other Ancient Kings runs. Cobra Staff is one of my favorite Season 1 episodes and it is very memorable to me. I also think that this one of the better failed escape runs too. Sir Edmund Hillary was slightly better, and Cobra Staff and Golden Jaguar are close preference wise.