Episodes where all three guards were unavoidable?

[The Red Jaguars]

We always talk about the episodes where the temple guards were avoidable, but what about the episodes where all three guards were unavoidable? It was a rare occurrence, but it was certainly possible on the show. Here are some runs that come to mind:

- Nathan Hale (Crypt, Observatory, King's Storeroom)
As far as I can tell, the Silver Snakes could not avoid any of the temple guards in this run. James tried entering the Ledges, but it was a dead end and he was forced into the Crypt which had one of the guards. And then the other two rooms entered were pretty much forced onto the team. Even with 1.5 Pendants, they were forced to meet all the temple guards. Which makes it even more important that this team should've found that half-pendant.

- Belle Boyd* (Tomb of the Headless Kings, Dark Forest, Room of the Secret Password)
I guess you can say the Dark Forest guard could've been avoidable because it was in the stage right tree. But of course the team is going to try and find the key with that long of a layout. So I feel that the three temple guards were forced in this run even if they could've avoided the tree guard.

- Dried Ear of Corn (Chamber of the Sacred Markers, Room of the Ancient Warriors, and Dark Forest)
This episode had a temple guard layout exactly like Sir Gawain, except none of the guards were avoidable. Even the ark Forest guard was forced.

Are there anymore runs that could be added to this list? That's all I can think of right now.

[GreenMonkeys#1]

Mussel Shell Armor of Apanuugpak (Tomb of Headless Kings, Dark Forest, Shrine): It didn't matter here, as Gator still plowed through the Temple.

[The Red Jaguars]

Yeah, I will count Mussel-Shell Armor as one. I mean the Dark Forest tree was even blocking the wall in that run I believe. I will put a * next to it like I did with Belle Boyd.

Here are a couple of more:

- Gordian Knot (Cave of Sighs, Tomb of the Ancient Kings, Treasure Room)
The last temple guard had to be in the Treasure Room. The team entered almost every room enroute to the artifact. It wouldn't be in the Gargoyle Room because I doubt they would have two entrance guards in Season 1. Plus, Retina found the half-pendant in the Shrine. So the last guard had to be in the Treasure Room. It would also fit the "one room away guard" standard for Season 1 too. This is probably the only Season 1 run where all 3 guards were forced.

- Nzinga* (Laser Light Room, Swamp, Dark Forest)
Just like I did with Belle Boyd, I felt that all three guards were pretty much forced even if Renee could've avoided one of the guards in the Dark Forest.

[PurpleParrot4Life]

Golden Spider Web of Robert the Bruce and Lost Taj Mahal Turban of Aurangzeb were other episodes where contestants could not avoid any of the guards.

Other runs where all 3 guards were encountered and may have been forced, depending on access to other pathways:

• Missing Eye of David, unless the team could have avoided Medusa's Lair by traversing through the Ledges and Rock Quarry en route to the bottom floor of the temple.
• Lost Lion Tail of Little John, unless the team could have gone along the Troubled Bridge and down the central shaft, instead of entering the Ledges.

Runs in which teams made too little progress in order to determine where the final guard was placed:

• Unless the last guard was in an inactive armor in the Room of the Ancient Warriors, then all of the guards in Marble Armrest of Xerxes would have been forced.
• Possibly the Dried Apple Half of William Tell.

Had the team begun by going to the upper entrance, the guard encountered in the Cave of Sighs/Ledges would have been "avoidable," but by the standard you've set, I suppose we can count:

• Elizabeth I's Golden Ship
• John Sutter and the Map to the Lost Gold Mine
  
• Henry VIII's Great Seal
• Silver Cannonball of Grandy Nanny
• Cracked Crown of the Spanish King
• Golden Pepperoni of Catherine de Medici

If the team could not have avoided the Crypt, then Season 3's Comet-Embroidered Battle Flag of William the Conqueror and Royal Torque of Queen Boadicea would have been forced as well.

Another issue with Seasons 1 and 2 (predominantly Season 1) was that multiple doors were unlocked from the Pit, and often central shaft rooms with guards could be avoided by entering a different central shaft room. For example, both of the central shaft guards in The Pendant of Kamehameha could have been bypassed if the team had tried to go from the Pit to the Observatory (the sundial opened back up to the Pit). Similarly, many runs may have allowed the team to bypass a guard in one of the central shaft rooms, if they had instead chosen to enter a different one. Others include Lost Love Letter of Captain John Smith and Stone Head of the Evil King.

[Purple Parrots Fan]

Had the team begun by going to the upper entrance, the guard encountered in the Cave of Sighs/Ledges would have been "avoidable," but by the standard you've set, I suppose we can count:

• Elizabeth I's Golden Ship
• John Sutter and the Map to the Lost Gold Mine
  
• Henry VIII's Great Seal
• Silver Cannonball of Grandy Nanny
• Cracked Crown of the Spanish King
• Golden Pepperoni of Catherine de Medici

You can also add Lawrence of Arabia to that list too.

[The Red Jaguars]

Wow, nice finds! I was definitely going to add Lost Taj Mahal Turban and Robert the Bruce next too. Look how similar those runs are too - both Green Monkeys 1.5 runs, both half-pendants in the Pit, both temple runs featured guards that were all unavoidable, all the guards were located past the Pit, and both teams time ended in the Quicksand Bog.

Missing Eye is definitely another one too. The Rock Quarry did not open from the Laser Light Room when Emily completed the objective. So not only did the team get screwed by the half-pendant location, but they also got screwed by the temple guard layout too.

Agreed with Dried Apple Half too. It probably would've been like Belle Boyd where one of the guards were in the Dark Forest.

I also agree with Xerxes also. The team was definitely bound to meet another guard on the top floor somewhere. I am going to guess the Shrine because it would make the layout similar to Pytheas and Mussel-Shell Armor where their last guards were in the Shrine.

As for the other runs, I think they can get an honorable mention. Runs like Golden Ship and Great Seal I would include on the list also. And Lawrence of Arabia should also be included on that list too since the temple guard layout reminds me of exactly like Lost Gold Mine (avoidable Cave guard, avoidable central shaft guard).

And Queen Boadicea and William the Conqueror () could fit on the list too. We don't know if those guards were actually avoidable or not. I will definitely add them.

The only one I disagree about is Stone Head. You can see the Medusa's Lair door open after Tony completes the objective. Which means that Heather could've tackled that room herself and probably would've done a better job. But one guard was most definitely avoidable in that run.

[PurpleParrot4Life]

The only one I disagree about is Stone Head. You can see the Medusa's Lair door open after Tony completes the objective. Which means that Heather could've tackled that room herself and probably would've done a better job. But one guard was most definitely avoidable in that run.

That was the exact point I was making about Stone Head of the Evil King. It also serves as a general precaution for many Season 1 and Season 2 runs. There were many instances where teams only accessed one door from the Pit to the central shaft, when many times there were multiple entryways available to the contestants. Depending on which doors were open for which runs, many guards in the central shaft could have been avoided.

Similarly, the Heart Room space guard was often avoidable by heading directly down from the Observatory space to the Treasure Room space in Seasons 1 and 2 (or avoid the Observatory by heading directly from the Heart Room to the Treasure Room).