Analysis and Comparison of Temple Run Contestants

[PurpleParrot4Life]

Well, I wouldn't have expected her to make it to the Dark Forest either. Completing the Headless Kings objective would've done something at least. But the path was so tough anyways. Same for the other paths that day like "Ivan the Terrible" and "Hans Holbein". I wonder what the producers were thinking? Although Elisa and Travis showed that a good team effort could almost win it all even with a tough layout.

I honestly don't know why the producers decided to give such grueling paths for that day. The best explanations I can conjure up are:
1. They didn't want to expend too much money on the bigger prizes, so they installed those long, grueling paths to guarantee that only the very best teams got the grand prizes. (Although, in my opinion, the "Discarded Seal" team truly did show one of the best team efforts in the show's history, and they still came shy of reaching the artifact.)
2. They wanted to force the teams to go through every room, so that viewers could see all of the rooms "in action."

Interesting theory, but I don't think that would've been a reason because it would seem unfair to expect  12 or 13 year old at the end of the day to run enter every room of the most grueling version of the temple in three minutes. But then again, Travis and Elisa almost managed to do it. And I agree, they were one of the best losing teams on the show and one of the best teams period. Travis and Elisa were basically flawless in the temple like swinging back to the platform, trying all available shortcuts, handling the rooms in good time, and running fast on both of their parts in general. I was especially surprised to see Elisa to haul ass all the way where Travis was left off. I didn't think she had it in her! I think Leah and Matthew from "Belle Boyd" was another team that was almost flawless in the temple, except they took longer paths when they didn't needed to.

And yeah, Lisa was definitely better than Tia and probably Kim from "Lost Hammer" too. But that doesn't say much though I guess.

The only things that really went "wrong" during the "Discarded Seal" run was that Travis kept trying to find the key in the Dark Forest, and then Elisa got delayed by the guard in the Ancient Warriors. Neither of those aspects were egregious, either, in my opinion. The Dark Forest could have led to using the Dark Forest/Shrine ladder. And the guard in the Ancient Warriors very easily could have been in one of the other armors as well (it just happened to be bad luck that Elisa went for that armor first).

And to go back to an earlier comment about the genuineness of the Season Three contestants: Do people feel that Elisa was being sincerely emotional/excited like Missy, or more phony and put-on like Kate? Do you feel that this genuineness, or lack thereof, was caused by the editing of the episode? Lastly, does your opinion have to do with the episode as a whole, or just particular parts of the episode?

[The Red Jaguars]

Yeah, I think Elisa would've been able to at least reach the Discarded Seal if it wasn't for that temple guard in the Room of the Ancient Warriors. Notice that she could've avoided that guard altogether because it was not the one that opened up King's Storeroom. But at the end of the day, it was such a brutal and unfair layout that those two got shafted. But at the same time, I guess that's what makes that run so exciting. 

As for Elisa, I felt that her enthusiasm was enthusiastic. She reminded me of Andrea from "Chandragupta" where she was loud, but not going over-the-top. Kate and Lacey felt more staged because they were making gestures and poses in front of the camera it seemed like. And just watch Kate when Olmec is talking to them before the beginning of the temple run. It seems like she wasn't trying to be serious. Although her gestures do kind of crack me up, like the one that she makes to Larry at the end of the temple run. But at least Elisa could "contain" herself compared to Kate and Lacey.

[PurpleParrot319]

I don't recall any instance where Travis "kept trying to find the key in the Dark Forest." He only reached through each tree once. I don't blame him for reaching into each tree, especially with a layout like that.

As for players that kept reaching into the trees, Jonathan from the Battle Flag run is guilty of this. Iirc, he reached into each tree three times. That was a big waste of time.

[PurpleParrot4Life]

And here is another set of players that we never really compared or talked about on this forum - Jeremy and Erika from " " and Shannon and Adam from "The Collar of Davy Crockett"?

Who do you think was more undeserving in their win? 

I mean the "" train kids were first in every round of the temple and won the temple run altogether, which was only accomplished one other time in "Billy the Kid". Meanwhile, the "Davy Crockett" kids finished fourth in the moat and won only their last temple game before going to the temple.

And the temple run themselves were a little similar. Except Adam and Shannon got stuck with one extra room on their layout, and they had to encounter a couple of more room objectives like the Treasury of the Golden Orbs and Observatory. Not to mention, the Room of Fallen Columns was more difficult to navigate through compared to the Heart Room.

Both layouts were simple, yet the teams still finished with less than 30 seconds on the clock. Both the girls in the temple were fast for the most part, but Jeremy and Adam were so slow. I say Adam was a little slower than Jeremy though because he made no attempt to speed up at all, even when grabbing the Raccoon Collar. Meanwhile, Jeremy at least sped up after picking up the Silk Ladder at least. But then again, he slowed at the bottom of the steps for that stupid celebration.

Here is my opinion:

If we are talking about the temple run alone, I think " " was more undeserving because they hard a more simpler layout than the "Davy Crockett" kids and still took a long time to get the Silk Ladder out. But if we are taking the whole episode into perspective, then I would say that the "Davy Crockett" kids were more undeserving because they barely scraped by the whole episode. But really, both wins were unimpressive.

The two episodes are, indeed, very similar. The Silk Ladder kids finished first in the Moat and Steps of Knowledge. The Davy Crockett kids came in a very close second in the Moat and first in the Steps of Knowledge. And even though the Silk Ladder kids won 2 pendants, while the Davy Crockett kids only 1 pendant, all of the games from both episodes were very close (it very easily could have been a 2 pendant win for the Red Jaguars in the Davy Crockett episode).

The Silk Ladder team cleared six rooms before entering the Shrine of the Silver Monkey. Erika was able to complete four rooms and enter her fifth in 52 seconds. Jeremy took 50 seconds to reach where Erika was taken out of the temple. Then he cleared two rooms, and then took 29 seconds to escape. They had 0:33 left on the clock.

The Davy Crockett team also cleared six rooms before entering the Shrine of the Silver Monkey. Shannon cleared five rooms in 1:10, and then Adam took 1:01 to reach where Shannon was taken out. He cleared one room, and then took 27 seconds to exit the temple. They had 0:05 left on the clock.

What is interesting to note is that both boys took nearly as long as their partners did to reach where their partners were taken out, even though they did not have to complete the objectives. Also, they both were smart to not traverse back down the whole central shaft in their escapes.

Still, I'll have to say that the Silk Ladder team was better. They had a better overall performance throughout their episode as a whole, and they had better statistics for their temple run. Even though the Fallen Columns was slightly more time consuming than the Heart Room and the Treasury of Golden Orbs was slightly more time consuming than the Treasure Room, the Observatory took less time than the Gargoyle Room/Room of the Royal Gongs. Altogether, I don't believe that the final time disparity should have been as large as 28 seconds if these two teams were equally skilled.

[The Red Jaguars]

I don't know, I don't think I will hold the detail about the contestant taking a little extra time to find the Dark Forest key against them. I am sure it wasn't as simple as reaching your hand in there to find the key. They probably had to feel around for a little bit in order to find it. I definitely don't remember Travis taking too much time in there. I do recall Jonathan from "William the Conqueror" spending a little too much time in there, but it wasn't tbat detrimental to his run. Its not like they wasted so much time in there like Casey from "Snow Cone" or Jared from "Imperial Wizard".

And yeah, as an episode as a whole, I say the " " performance was more deserving than the "Davy Crockett" one. Although both temple wins are pathetic, I still prefer "Davy Crockett" over our favorite " " train temple win. But really, both teams shouldn't have taken that much time in the temple. Especially the "Davy Crockett" team, but I blame that on Adam since as you pointed it out, he took his sweet old time to get where Shannon was left off.

[PurpleParrot4Life]

I made an observation just now that I don't think has been brought up at all on this whole site:  The paths for "Enormous Feather" and "Discarded Seal" were identical, except the "Discarded Seal" team had to additionally complete the Chamber of the Sacred Markers. As slow as Karisa was in the temple, she still managed to reach the artifact in her run. The "Discarded Seal" kids had a virtually flawless performance and have been called one of the best teams to have ever gotten to the temple, yet did not even reach the artifact.

What do you think caused this discrepancy? Did adding on the one extra room devastate the chance for Travis and Elisa to reach the Discarded Seal? Where would David and Karisa have finished if they had to have completed the additional room from the other run?

[Purple Parrots Fan]

If David and Karisa had Travis and Elisa's layout, Karisa probably wouldn't even reach the Feather. It probably would have been another "Pytheas" layout. David goes first, encounters first guard early, and then the second guard in the Shrine. Karisa goes in, moves oh so slow, eventually gets caught by the third guard in the Room of the Ancient Warriors, and runs out of time there. The only difference in Pytheas is that there was no third guard in the Ancient Warriors, but you get the idea. Although with one pendant, it could have been a triple capture with very little time remaining.

[PurpleParrot319]

The second encountered guard in the Discarded Seal run was in the Shrine of the Silver Monkey, 8 rooms into the run and the 9th room (Ancient Warriors) had the final temple guard. In this run, the team was given just one shortcut: Bog-Shrine. They were never given access to the Tomb of the Headless Kings from the Pit, just the Chamber of the Sacred Markers. Travis and Elise were almost virtually perfect in this run, but due to how many rooms they had to enter and the layout of the temple guards, victory was virtually impossible. Getting to the Seal would've been a victory in its own way, but because of the two problems mentioned in the last sentence, they weren't able to reach it. This was not the team's fault, blame the overall layout.

The second encountered guard in the Enormous Feather run was in the Dark Forest. This was the 5th room into the run. We're not entirely sure where the third guard was in that run, but we're thinking it was the Ledges, making it a run that had the potential to end quickly in capture. So only two temple guards were encountered and not three like with the former run. That means less time was spent dealing with temple guards. In this run, the team didn't have to deal with the Chamber of the Sacred Markers, so the shortcut to the Tomb was there for them. They also had access to the Shrine from the Quicksand Bog. This is one less room David and Karissa had to deal with, so not only was getting to the Feather a possibility, but a potential win was there too. David moved pretty quickly and knew what to do in the temple. He got taken out of the temple in the Dark Forest in just one minute. I say that's quick. Karissa on the other hand, she was way too slow and hesitant. Just watch the run again and you'll know what I mean. It's like she didn't even want to try!

So there you go. There's the discrepancy in both runs. The Discarded Seal team had an almost virtually perfect run, but the layout was way too brutal to even get to the Seal. The Enormous Feather run had a winning layout, but Karissa messed everything up. I hope this helped clear any confusion between the two runs.

[The Red Jaguars]

Yeah, a lot of season three layouts were quite similar in temple layouts like William the Conqueror/Apanuugpak or Sir Gawain/Sojourner Truth for example. In regards to Ivan the Terrible/Enormous Feather, they do indeed share a similar layout. But sometimes you have look past the layout and take into other considerations like temple guard layout and room objectives when comparing runs. Travis and Elisa had to complete the Chamber enroute to the artifact, which was a very time consuming room for season three. Meanwhile, David could simply jump off the Pendulum and head right into the Tomb of the Headless Kings. Also, Travis was taken out in the Shrine of the Silver Monkey while David was taken out in the Quicksand Bog. That was two additional rooms that Elisa had to cover which included a trek down from the Chamber. The "Enormous Feather" team had it more easy for them and they still failed pretty bad, mostly due to Karissa. The "Ivan the Terrible" layout was just plain brutal.

Which is why I don't really compare the "Sir Gawain" and "Sojourner Truth" temple runs too much. In the first one, Tiffani takes the most direct path to the artifact and she still doesn't encounter  a single guard. Eddie and Tess took the exact same path, except they encountered all three guards. Encountering additional temple guards can make or break it for a team. As nice of an effort it was by Tiffani to win in her run, do you think she would've won given the "Sojourner Truth" teams path? Especially with her slow speed?

[PurpleParrot4Life]

Which is why I don't really compare the "Sir Gawain" and "Sojourner Truth" temple runs too much. In the first one, Tiffani takes the most direct path to the artifact and she still doesn't encounter  a single guard. Eddie and Tess took the exact same path, except they encountered all three guards. Encountering additional temple guards can make or break it for a team. As nice of an effort it was by Tiffani to win in her run, do you think she would've won given the "Sojourner Truth" teams path? Especially with her slow speed?

It's really hard to say what would have happened if the "Sir Gawain" kids had the "Sojourner Truth" layout. The main factor in my saying this is the fact that we only saw Tiffani perform in the temple; her partner was not forced to enter in their episode, but would have had to go into the temple in the "Sojourner Truth" episode. He may have been as "great" as Zac Turney or as "bad" as Tia; the fact of the matter is that we don't know. Given this piece of information, it might be easier to say, but since we don't know how he would have performed, it would be nearly impossible to predict this hypothetical scenario with any certainty.

[PurpleParrot4Life]

The second encountered guard in the Discarded Seal run was in the Shrine of the Silver Monkey, 8 rooms into the run and the 9th room (Ancient Warriors) had the final temple guard. In this run, the team was given just one shortcut: Bog-Shrine. They were never given access to the Tomb of the Headless Kings from the Pit, just the Chamber of the Sacred Markers. Travis and Elise were almost virtually perfect in this run, but due to how many rooms they had to enter and the layout of the temple guards, victory was virtually impossible. Getting to the Seal would've been a victory in its own way, but because of the two problems mentioned in the last sentence, they weren't able to reach it. This was not the team's fault, blame the overall layout.

The second encountered guard in the Enormous Feather run was in the Dark Forest. This was the 5th room into the run. We're not entirely sure where the third guard was in that run, but we're thinking it was the Ledges, making it a run that had the potential to end quickly in capture. So only two temple guards were encountered and not three like with the former run. That means less time was spent dealing with temple guards. In this run, the team didn't have to deal with the Chamber of the Sacred Markers, so the shortcut to the Tomb was there for them. They also had access to the Shrine from the Quicksand Bog. This is one less room David and Karissa had to deal with, so not only was getting to the Feather a possibility, but a potential win was there too. David moved pretty quickly and knew what to do in the temple. He got taken out of the temple in the Dark Forest in just one minute. I say that's quick. Karissa on the other hand, she was way too slow and hesitant. Just watch the run again and you'll know what I mean. It's like she didn't even want to try!

So there you go. There's the discrepancy in both runs. The Discarded Seal team had an almost virtually perfect run, but the layout was way too brutal to even get to the Seal. The Enormous Feather run had a winning layout, but Karissa messed everything up. I hope this helped clear any confusion between the two runs.

I just want to clarify: So essentially the addition of the Chamber of the Sacred Markers and the temple guard in the Room of the Ancient Warriors was the major deciding factor between the two runs?

And a question for everyone: Do you think the "Enormous Feather" team would have been as successful/less successful/more successful if they had been in the "Discarded Seal" run (and 2 pendants)?  Here is something to consider in your judgment: David would have made it to the Shrine of the Silver Monkey before getting taken out of the temple, so Karisa would have already had the Quicksand Bog cleared for her, and she only would have had to have completed the Shrine of the Silver Monkey and the Room of the Ancient Warriors. Another thing to consider is that Karisa did try all three armors (which Elisa would have had to have done also to activate the door in the Room of the Ancient Warriors), so that time discrepancy is already accounted for.

[PurpleParrot319]

Of course YOU would question what I said.

[PurpleParrot4Life]

Of course YOU would question what I said.

You gave a number of points, and I just want to make sure I understood you correctly. As a visual person, I like to be able to see what people are describing, and since you gave a lot of information, I wanted to make sure I got everything right. I don't want to put words in your mouth, nor do I want to misconstrue what you say and misunderstand you. I wasn't being derogatory or condescending, so there is no need to get defensive or be hostile.

[The Red Jaguars]

Which is why I don't really compare the "Sir Gawain" and "Sojourner Truth" temple runs too much. In the first one, Tiffani takes the most direct path to the artifact and she still doesn't encounter  a single guard. Eddie and Tess took the exact same path, except they encountered all three guards. Encountering additional temple guards can make or break it for a team. As nice of an effort it was by Tiffani to win in her run, do you think she would've won given the "Sojourner Truth" teams path? Especially with her slow speed?

It's really hard to say what would have happened if the "Sir Gawain" kids had the "Sojourner Truth" layout. The main factor in my saying this is the fact that we only saw Tiffani perform in the temple; her partner was not forced to enter in their episode, but would have had to go into the temple in the "Sojourner Truth" episode. He may have been as "great" as Zac Turney or as "bad" as Tia; the fact of the matter is that we don't know. Given this piece of information, it might be easier to say, but since we don't know how he would have performed, it would be nearly impossible to predict this hypothetical scenario with any certainty.

Jahmel did win his individual temple game and he pretty much led his team to the temple, so I would assume that he would be decent at least in the temple. But Tiffani was kind of slower than the average contestant, so it would probably be a closer win than what it originally was if they had the "Sojourner Truth" path.

And I don't think that the "Enormous Feather" team would've even had close to the same success as Travis and Elisa for the "Ivan the Terrible" layout. David was fast in the temple, but I don't think he would've really outdone Travis's performance in the temple. That additional Chamber objective for the "Ivan the Terrible" team is like an additional 20 seconds right there off the run. Plus, Karissa was so painfully slow that I would be astonished if she even completed an upper floor room t her speed. It wasn't just the Quicksand Bog she got lost in.

And I just want to point that even if David and Karisa had one pendant for the "Ivan the Terrible" layout, it didn't mean that the run would end in triple capture. The armor that opened the King's Storeroom door was not the same one with the temple guard in it. So that temple guard was technically avoidable. This also happened to Andrea in her temple run too.

[The Red Jaguars]

And here is sort of a different question. What are some runs that would have a different outcome if the second player actually went in first?

The first one that comes to mind is "The Mystical Spellbook of the Imperial Wizard". In that run, Jared moved at about an average pace, but he also made the blunder of entering the Dark Forest and wasted time there when all he had to do was plow through the wall. And then when Katie enters the temple, she hauls ass all the way to where Jared left off. Except she actually enters the Quicksand Bog from the Shrine, a place where Jared missed. My question is, do you think that this temple run would've been a win if Katie went in first? I mean her speed to where Jared was taken out was incredible. If she went in first, she might've even cleared the rooms faster than he did. And when she is taken out in the Quicksand Bog, then all that Jared would have to do was simply follow her steps, and he should have enough time to reach the Mystical Spellbook and bring it out. It was a tough layout, but this team really should've won.