Red Sash Temple Run - Shrine door being open intentional or production error?

[The Red Jaguars]

One thing I never understood about the Red Sash run was that the Room of the Secret Password door was left open from the Shrine. Brandy never had to actually complete the Silver Monkey to enter that room at least. When I see people talking about this run, half of the people claim that it was left open intentionally by the producers in order to make this layout a little easier, while others claim that it was a production error. So what do you guys think it was?

I am unsure because there are arguments that could go both ways. There were a lot of tough layouts in Season 3, but most of the times the producers never left doors open for other teams. Take runs like Discarded Seal and Belle Boyd for an example. On the other hand, Brandy and Quentin's layout was pretty tough to begin with. So maybe the producers decided to be a little lenient? I want to know what you guys think. I am leaning towards it being left open intentionally to make it easier for the Red Sash team...

[Purple Parrots Fan]

I kind of think it was a production error. There's really no reason why they would keep doors opened randomly. I mean, remember the Shrine/Forest door being opened in the Harriet Tubman run, even before the players entered the temple? I think this was a production error. It was probably a door the production crew accidentally left opened. I really don't think they'd make a run THAT easy.

[JCW555]

^ I sentiment PPF's statement. I don't think the producers would make a temple layout easier, especially in season 3.

[PurpleParrot4Life]

I believe the door was intentionally left open. Although it was rare for a door to already be open upon entering a room, the same thing happened during the Smashed Printing Plate of Frederick Douglass in the Room of the Secret Password, so it was not like it was unheard of in Season 3. Additionally, it was probably left open so that Brandy and Quentin could either (a) go directly into the Secret Password and encounter the guard in that room, or (b) assemble the Silver Monkey and have the ability to avoid the Secret Password and its guard since the Quicksand Bog opened as a result of assembling the Silver Monkey. In nearly every episode, at least one temple guard was avoidable, and for the Red Sash run, it was the guard in the Secret Password.

Another thing to consider is how easy or difficult this run was intended to be. The other episodes from this production day were Broken Trident of Poseidon, Lily-Crested Crown of Clovis I, and Mussel-Shell Armor of Apanuugpak. Each of the other three episodes were fairly doable and could have been winnable (or were victorious runs) if the team was competent, so this probably also holds true for Red Sash. This finding makes me believe that they intentionally left the door open to make Red Sash a bit easier than forcing the team to enter at least 10 rooms.

[JCW555]

^ Interesting perspective PP4L. Didn't think of it that way. Now I'm 50/50 on this.

[Purple Parrots Fan]

I really don't think they'd just leave a door open on purpose, just so a team could win. The only time I felt like the production crew was being too generous, was on the last production day. Especially in Good Luck Watch, where the team was literally forced to take the Shrine/Forest passage. Then again, that whole last day was rigged to make up for all of the days full of losses. But in Red Sash, I really don't suspect any rigging there.

[PurpleParrot4Life]

I really don't think they'd just leave a door open on purpose, just so a team could win.

We know that the producers had a limited number of grand prizes to allocate each season. If you look at Season 3, the wins prior to the Red Sash run were Much-Heralded Helmet of Sir Gawain, Lion-Headed Bracelet of Chandragupta, Secret Map of the Bandit Queen, Ivory Hunting Horn of Roland, and Lost Hornpipe of the Pirate Captain. That means that they had already given away half of their grand prizes for the season, and had already passed the halfway mark for episodes this season. They probably wanted to give the teams a chance to win (or at least do relatively well) since they still had half of their grand prizes left.

EDIT: I want to clarify that, including the Red Sash's taping day, there were 16 runs left for the season. Of those, a good number of them had to be wins to meet the production team's budget (if I recall, there was an interview where somebody had mentioned that there was a limit to the number of grand prizes they could give away, but had to give away at least some number of grand prizes also). In order to "spread the wealth," they most likely wanted to give all of the teams a shot at potentially winning. By the time they got to the last production day, there were still a lot of prizes left, so they made the paths for those runs easy enough so that the teams were more-or-less "forced" to win and take away a grand prize.

Another thing to consider is ratings: Would viewers watch or continue to watch the show if every run was a complete disaster with a ridiculously long path that left the team with no chance of winning? They had already had that occur during the Discarded Seal day, taped two days prior. And then the Royal Torque of Queen Boadicea and Enormous Feather of the Me Linh runs taped the day prior also featured long paths, even though those teams were both pretty successful. Rather than have another day of insurmountable paths, they probably wanted to give the teams some ability to succeed. So even if they didn't leave the door open so that the team could win, it could have been to at least allow them to make for an exciting run that left viewers with some hope that the team would be successful.

[The Red Jaguars]

It looks like most people think that the Red Sash temple run had a production error. I agree with PP4L that they did it for the Red Sash team to make the layout a little easier. Brandy and Quentin already had to enter 9 rooms enroute to the artifact. By leaving the Secret Password door open though, they could've bypassed one of the hardest rooms on the show. But if they chose to assemble the Silver Monkey, they could've had a shorter route in the Quicksand Bog. Yet, both players still ignore that shortcut. Quentin would've definitely grabbed the Red Sash if he entered the Quicksand Bog. Also, here are other runs where there was some sort of objective completed:

- Great Seal: The rock slab covering the Dungeon ladder was already lifted up for Nick.
- Shaka Zulu: The Treasure Room chest was already open for Bobby during the temple run.
- Harriet Tubman: The golden door to the Shrine was already open when Chris entered the Dark Forest.
- War Fan: The skull was already sitting on the Headless Kings throne when Jeremy entered the room.
- Smashed Printing Plate: The Room of the Secret Password door was already open for Jason to the Quicksand Bog
- Red Sash: The Room of the Secret Password door was already open for Brandy from the Shrine of the Silver Monkey.

I am not sure what could be considered a production error and what can be considered "intentional" on the producers parts.