Some Thoughts about Temple Runs

[PurpleParrot4Life]

I realize that it is commonplace to say that Lissy is the "reason" that she and Nate lost their temple run. However, I would like to bring up the fact that the majority of Season 3 contestants completed their third room objective with approximately 2 minutes on the clock. This does not include teams where the frontrunner was removed as they entered the third room, or runs where both entrance rooms were entered (making the Pit the third room). So, in terms of comparing Lissy to the average contestant, she was completely and entirely "on track." It's clear that she and Nate did not win, but I would not say that it was Lissy's "fault."

And as far as comparing Royal Torque of Queen Boadicea with Good-Luck Watch of Empress Eugenie, I would say that the Royal Torque team was more successful overall. Their path forced them to enter the Chamber of the Sacred Markers, which the Good-Luck Watch team did not need to complete. Even with having an extra room objective, Lissy and Nate still were able to reach their artifact and make more progress in exiting the temple. So while Janeen was memorable for her hesitations and temple guard encounters and Jay was very quick in the temple, Lissy and Nate were able to do more in less time, making then the statistically "better" team in terms of success.

[The Red Jaguars]

Yeah, there was no doubt that Lissy and Nate were a better team. They had to take a longer path and they grabbed the artifact with more time. Lissy was probably a better contestant than Janeen too. Not by much, but I am pretty sure if she was Jay's partner, then the Good-Luck Watch team would've won. The Queen Boadicea team was slightly stronger than the Good-Luck Watch team, mostly because Lissy was slightly better than Janeen. I kind of like Good-Luck Watch better because it is a pretty whacky run.

Also, another temple run I find a little overrated is Bandit Queen. Don't get me wrong, it is probably my favorite Silver Snakes win. But I never understood the extra love it seemed to get. People always rag on Egyptian Queen for Randy's exit and the easy layout, but Miriam's mistakes in Bandit Queen were more detrimental than Randy. And their layout was exactly the same. Miriam was almost as bad as Karisa in my book. If she was not taken out any sooner in the Dark Forest, then the Silver Snakes might've not won. Luckily, Zac knew how to run in the temple. But this run gets a little too much love sometimes. I love this run a lot, but it is pretty much on the same tier as Egyptian Queen. And I honestly like Egyptian Queen better than Bandit Queen.

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Yeah, I always liked Metal Beard better as well, and Metal Beard gets a lot of bad flak just because of Randy's exit plan. It's not like Randy was the only contestant to enter every single room of the temple upon exiting with the artifact. Brett from Dr. Livingstone anyone? But nobody ever talks about Brett because the Dr. Livingstone run as a whole was forgettable, win or not. Plus, both TJ AND Randy were fast in the Metal Beard run. Just Zac was fast in the Bandit Queen run, as Miriam was way too hesitant in the temple. I also prefer Metal Beard over Bandit Queen, like TRJ said.

[Red Jaguars Fan]

Had they not reduced the number of snakes to put into Medusa's head to 2, "The Lucky Medallion of Atocha" and "The Applewood Amulet of Emiliano Zapata" would've been losses. Imagine that.

[The Red Jaguars]

Don't forget Butch Cassidy too. Paula would probably have 10 seconds left on the clock if four snakes Medusa's Lair was in place for her layout.

Also, I still think Ty would've won too. I would think that as time went down the wire, he would probably pick up the pace a little bit. It's not like another two snakes would've taken him a long time anyways. He handled the first two snakes, and he was much more competent than Tony from Stone Head. I can trust Ty over most teams with that room. 

[PurpleParrot4Life]

Had they not reduced the number of snakes to put into Medusa's head to 2, "The Lucky Medallion of Atocha" and "The Applewood Amulet of Emiliano Zapata" would've been losses. Imagine that.

That is interesting to think about.

Ty was a good contestant, but I don't think he would have "picked up the pace" if he was running out of time upon his exiting of the temple. Nearly all contestants kept their pace, even if time was running short. Some examples include Kristen (Polynesian Girl) and Nate (Queen Boadicea). Ty finished his run with 8 seconds left on the clock, and I believe he would have taken more than 8 seconds to place the other snakes. With four snakes, there were places to try each snake, which would have caused Ty to use up more time, even if he was a good contestant.

Robert and Olivia-Emma finished their run with 1 second on the clock as it was. Any additional obstacle placed before them would have resulted in this being a failed escape run.

[The Red Jaguars]

I'd like to think that some contestants would put up a better effort when their backs were against the walls. Especially when time was running low for them in the temple. Look at some contestants like Kristen from Polynesian Girl who really hauled ass on the bottom floor, Shem from Henry Morgan who completed the Observatory in like 6 seconds, and Katie from Imperial Wizard who ran her ass all the way to where Jared was taken out. Not at all contestants had the potential, but there were some that went "above and beyond" during crunch time. As for Atocha, I complete forgot Ty only finished with 8 seconds. I was thing he had 20 seconds left in his run. He was still a very solid runner, so I would think it would be an Applewood Amulet or Icarus ending if he had four snakes Medusa's Lair.

[Purple Parrots Fan]

What does everyone think of Billy the Kid? Back in the old days of the forums, it seemed like everyone hated this run just because of Tony's exit plan. And people would say they didn't deserve to win because this win was supposedly given to them on a silver platter. What do you guys think? Was this run deserved and a very strong performance by a very strong team? Or did you think the producers thought "You know what, this season is almost over, and the Purple Parrots still haven't won yet. Let's just give them this one out of pity." I want to hear your thoughts on this.

[The Red Jaguars]

Yeah, I remember some people comparing Billy the Kid to "         ". I definitely don't think Billy the Kid should rank low on the totem pole like Silk Ladder and Shaka Zulu. I don't think the producers gave Tony and Kelly a win on a silver platter either like they did for the last production day of the show. It was just luck of the draw that they ended up with a more simpler layout. Plus, it always felt like the Shrine temple runs had the simpler paths anyways. Davy Crockett, Roland,             , Dr. Livingstone, Bandit Queen, and Egyptian Queen were all similar paths to Billy the Kid. Even runs like Icarus and Poseidon had very simple paths too where the contestants reached the artifact with a lot of time.

As for the win itself, I think it deserves more credit that it already gets. A win to me is not always about the layout. This run is very memorable for the fact it was the very first Purple Parrot win and how strong Kelly and Tony were pre-temple rounds. And I don't think Tony's exit was that bad either. He could've been like Ron, Tara, and Jason who blew their runs by taking inefficient routes. The only real flaw to me was Tony detouring to the bottom of the Ledges. But he pulled it off in the end, and even with some time on the clock. I have no problems with this win or run at all. It's probably the Purple Parrots biggest shining moment next to Freydis.  

Also, it always made me wonder if the producers kept track of "temple statistics"? Like did they realize the Purple Parrots never had a victory before Billy the Kid? And how certain runs like bottom of the central shaft artifacts were never successful? This is pretty interesting to think about. IIRC, in Zac's interview, the producers told him that he held the record for the fastest temple exit on the show. So it does make me wonder if the producers knew that the Purple Parrots were winless before Billy the Kid?

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Couldn't agree more, I thought Billy the Kid was a great run. Tony only made one mistake in detouring at the end of the Ledges at the end of the run. It's not like he was like Jason from Icarus, who was clueless from the beginning. Plus, their layout wasn't all that easy either. The Crypt, Laser Light Room, Jester's Court, not exactly the easiest rooms ever. I thought Billy the Kid was a very exciting run, and it's the first time the Purple Parrots truly proved they were a strong team.

And I'm not sure about the producers knowing all the stats of all the teams. I'm pretty sure they know about how fast a player was running through the temple. Like with Zac that you mentioned, and I believe Joel was told by the producers he broke a bunch of records in his interview as well. So maybe they did know that the Purple Parrots has yet to score a victory. I couldn't really tell you on that.

[The Red Jaguars]

Billy the Kid is one of those wins that get picked on because the temple layout was supposedly easy. Some people act as if the temple layout only matters, especially on Youtube. But I don't like a win just for the players. This win probably ranks around in the middle for my favorite wins on the show. I am honestly stunned when people having runs like Trojan Horseshoe ahead of Billy the Kid. I have nothing against Trojan Horseshoe, but that run was unexciting. Billy the Kid was very memorable and you can't help but to root for Kelly and Tony. And the criticism that this run gets can be said about certain other runs too. Like Brett from Dr. Livingstone exit plan sucked more than Tony's. He wouldn't have won if his temple rooms weren't so easy. This is one of those runs that are given a hard time because it is popular. And people that complain about Tony and Kelly's layout don't realize that the players can't choose their episode. I am sure if the Purple Parrots were part of an episode like Silk Sash or Annie Oakley from that day, their layouts would be harder. They just happened to be part of the episode that featured a more simpler layout.

And I like to think that the producers did keep track of some sort of stats for each team and the temple. I think the best example is the Priceless Portrait episode. It was obvious they shoved that artifact in the Laser Light Room because they never used that room before for an artifact. And the producers almost always tried to use a room at least once for an artifact. Hopefully that makes sense.

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Plus, everyone praises Joel for screwing up with the monkey, AND pulling a Ron and Tara and going all the way down the central shaft. And his layout was easier than Kelly and Tony's layout. He had the luxury of moseying across a swamp and busting through the wall. All while avoiding a temple spirit in the process. Same with Shane from Tall Turban, which somehow gets compared to Billy the Kid. Mosey through a swamp, bust through the wall, ride elevator, among all things Shane did. Layouts are irrelevant, it's the players and their performance that matters. I honestly prefer Billy the Kid to Tall Turban, Dr. Livingstone, and even Enormous Iron Nose Ring because it had a more nailbiter ending. It honestly would've been a shame if Kelly and Tony lost, regardless of reason. I mean, look what happened to the Leopard Skin Cloak kids, even though Chandra not taking shortcuts was entirely her fault.

I also agree about the producers knowing some of the stats of the teams. And it's so obvious the Priceless Portrait was shoved into the Laser Light Room since an artifact was never ever placed in that room. The only other bottom central shaft run Season 2 had was Electrified Key. So that's the only way Priceless Portrait's artifact location could make sense.

[Red Jaguars Fan]

Plus, everyone praises Joel for screwing up with the monkey, AND pulling a Ron and Tara and going all the way down the central shaft. And his layout was easier than Kelly and Tony's layout. He had the luxury of moseying across a swamp and busting through the wall. All while avoiding a temple spirit in the process. Same with Shane from Tall Turban, which somehow gets compared to Billy the Kid. Mosey through a swamp, bust through the wall, ride elevator, among all things Shane did. Layouts are irrelevant, it's the players and their performance that matters. I honestly prefer Billy the Kid to Tall Turban, Dr. Livingstone, and even Enormous Iron Nose Ring because it had a more nailbiter ending. It honestly would've been a shame if Kelly and Tony lost, regardless of reason. I mean, look what happened to the Leopard Skin Cloak kids, even though Chandra not taking shortcuts was entirely her fault.

I also agree about the producers knowing some of the stats of the teams. And it's so obvious the Priceless Portrait was shoved into the Laser Light Room since an artifact was never ever placed in that room. The only other bottom central shaft run Season 2 had was Electrified Key. So that's the only way Priceless Portrait's artifact location could make sense.

Technically, The Secret Battle Plan was intended for The Throne Room for S2L1 (And we all know the theory of the two keys in the pots), so who knows where The Electrified Key would've been in had that run gone through properly.

I wonder how certain teams would've fared had there been no production errors or postponements at all.

[The Red Jaguars]

I think the bottom of the central shaft room space was the most under represented room space on the show. Honestly, if they actually put more artifacts in that room space, then we would've had a victory for sure. Instead, that room space only had 2 artifacts in it for both Season 1 and 2. I am not sure why they never used it more either because it made an interesting temple run. And it was not impossible for teams to win either because the Queen Boadicea, Empress Eugenie, and Polynesian Girl teams all came close too. They would've had at least one victory if there were more artifacts in that room space.

Here are teams that were screwed over by production errors and postponements:

- Belshazzar (Postponement AND production error)
- Dead Man's Hand (Product errors galore)
- Nathan Hale (Postponement)
- Golden Stallion (Production error)
- War Fan (Production error)
- Pirate Captain (Production error, but they still won)
- Stone Marker (According to Keeli's interview, they had to restart the temple run 3 times at least)

I am probably missing some other runs too. There is no doubt that these teams would've done better if there weren't any production errors or postponement. Especially in Belshazzar where Sean and Katherine had their temple run postponed already and only for them to have a broken layout. If you watch the actual run, both players moved fast and tried taking every route possible to them. Even when Katherine ran into the dead end in the Room of Harmonic Convergence, she still record from it quickly. I think this team was screwed over the most out of all of the players on the list above.

[Purple Parrots Fan]

I really don't believe the pots theory at all. Honestly, I just think James and Christina were too exhausted to do the temple run, much like the Belshazzar kids. So that's the real reason they postponed it. I realize pots changed between temple runs, but I just don't think it was because there was problems with the pots. I know I'm alone on thinking this though.

And yeah, the Belshazzar kids really did get screwed over. They had worse luck than the War Fan kids.