Season 12 Episode 1

 The Kickoff

Well, it turns out the "teams" thing doesn't really seem to matter. I read that the groups were formed to exemplify the concept of the ninja community and to make sure that everyone got real support on the sidelines. I think this is very thoughtful, but at the same time, "teams" or "groups" still feels a little pointless. I thought the teams were going to hurt the season, but it seems fairly normal. It feels pretty weird because there are no fans, and no family members on the sidelines, just "teammates." Everything feels so spread out and empty. It must have been even more hectic back stage. I wonder how many people were actually in the building at once. However, they still skip over people, and they still devote time to the sob stories. Honestly, when you think about how many people are shown in full (meaning not skipped over at the commercial break), there really isn't that many. Commercials take up a lot of the 2-hour time frame, but so do the bios. The stories are probably half of the show time. They also feel like they're getting longer, which is annoying. I know these people have back stories, inspirations, motives, personal lives, struggles, and everything else, but they spend so much time on them only for those people never to be seen again. What exactly is the point? Then, if you don't have a story, you get totally screwed over even if you do well. Case in point: Tyler Gillett. He was one of the "mentors" or "leaders" of the team, and he's done really great in the past, but he was sent to a commercial break, while people who failed on the second or third obstacle earned a 2 minute bio. There's not a lot of fairness in it, nor is there much logic. I know they can't focus on the same people all the time, but it seems harsh and rude to skip over finishers. 

My Conspiracy Theory

Okay, hear me out. I think with everyone gathered in one place, they can stack the deck. By this, I mean that they can place a specific person(s) on a specific night in order for them to succeed or in order to have all the favorites succeed, at least on the qualifiers. It would appear that the obstacles are different each night, so that is very similar to how it is set up in the regular season with the different cities they travel to. Now, when it was geographically separated, they had some control. For example, if they wanted Jessie to do well, they knew which city she would be in, and they probably could choose the obstacles based on her abilities. I don't know if they actually do this or how much thought goes into the obstacle choices, but I have to imagine that it crosses peoples' minds, pairing certain athletes with certain obstacles. Now, with everyone gathered in one place, it's probably even easier to do that. Previously, they could have requested that someone go to a different city even though it was farther away, like they did with Drew. He would always compete in Florida or Georgia even though he lived in Connecticut. Again, I don't know if this was very often, but they could probably ask people to be where they wanted them regardless of geography. That isn't even a factor anymore. Now, they can decide who runs on which night and which obstacles they get. It could also be that the running order is random, and that people drew numbers to determine the order, but it also might be rigged. If it's not rigged, not only could they set up who runs when, but they can set up who runs against whom. There are still only 12 spots open each night, and if they want all of the favorites, then they wouldn't set them up against each other in a single night. You know, you wouldn't have Najee, Jessie, Jesse, Flip, Adam, Sean, Joe, Grant, Jake, Kevin, Meaghan, Nick, Jamie, Karsten, Ethan, Michael, and a handful of other favorites all running in the same night. Of course, even in the regular season, the fan favorites and the best are usually spread out, but again, that's more due to geography, at least for Qualifiers. I don't know, I guess none of this is making any sense. It's just that this is still technically "reality TV" is it not? And that means that things are rigged and set up for a specific result. Not everything is what it seems. Even some of Matt and Akbar's comments are recorded after, or at least I would imagine. The order people run in on a single night is varied. This is most obvious because they're all in sets of 3, yet a whole team is not shown at once. But why would you pull 3 people out only for one of them to run, then usher them back stage, then bring them out again. You know what I mean? So, they probably all run while they're out there, but the editing staggers the runs. There's producer magic happening, it's just hard to know what is altered and what actually happens. Do I really think that the deck is stacked this season. No, not to the point that the results are significantly skewered. However, if it isn't random--the order of the athletes or the night on which they run--then it makes a lot of sense that it was all planned out. Of course, you can't force someone to do well, necessarily. Take Flip for example, people couldn't really cheat his success. He could have messed up on purpose, but it's hard to give them the buzzer if they can't physically complete an obstacle. I don't know, I wasn't there; I'm just skeptical.

The Course

Shrinking Steps

Weight For It

Ring Chaser

Rib Run

Slingshot

Warped Wall

I really actually liked this course. I thought that Weight For It and Ring Chaser were really neat and more unique and technical than previous obstacles. Slingshot is also a really good 5th obstacle. It's not too intensive or even too technical. Obviously, I don't know what the other qualifiers courses are going to look like, but this might have been the most basic. Weight For It may be more challenging than the other courses simply because of its position in the course. As the second obstacle it may prove to be more consuming than other second obstacles. Rib Run also seemed really hard. I think it was because the steps looked so spaced out from each other that there was no way someone could really run through it gracefully. I was surprised when Nate Hansen and Allyssa Beird made it through. They were really forward moving, quick, and light, and that's usually the key to balance obstacles. Overall, I was a fan of this course. I think there will be other obstacles in the future that I like more, but I also think that the future courses will be harder. It'd be interesting to see all the athletes run the same course, like in Vegas, but I understand that it might get a little boring to see the same obstacles for 4 weeks.

The Athletes

Let's talk about Allyssa Beird first. Honestly, I was a little surprised that she made it. I wonder what obstacles the other women will get. Allyssa, for me, is like a wildcard woman. Kind of like Warnky, where I know they get a lot of hype, and I know they've hit buzzers before, but I never really know what to expect when they step up there. Anyway, it was nice to see her hit the buzzer. I wish James was still competing because he was a great athlete on the show. I think it's really sweet that they're dating because they probably met through ANW, although I don't know their story. James was one of the OG, though, and the last time we saw him, he didn't make it to Vegas, but he had a great run. I remember writing about that because he did the best on the obstacle in question (the 8th one in a city finals), but he wasn't fast enough nor did he finish. I don't know what year that was, probably 2 or maybe even 3 years ago. Anyway, this isn't about James. 

Sandy was also impressive. Not going to lie, I kind of thought she might have been a one-hit wonder. I wasn't sure how well she'd do, but I don't think I expected her to make it all the way to the Slingshot, which is really great for her. She did well. Hopefully, she can make it further, though, next time.

I'm not sure what they'll have for the women, because if it is the top 8 or whatever competing on the Power Tower for the $100k, how will any women be a part of that? Even the best like Jessie and Jesse, although efficient, aren't fast. Allyssa was the slowest finisher of the night, and I remember some women like Michelle finished in 8 minutes. (I think that was last year's finals course though.) The new setup they have this year isn't really fair. Granted, I don't know the specifics of how it's going to work, but if the $100k prize is based on speed, that kind of shuts a lot of people out. Even some of the fan favorites and the best don't stand a chance because they're not fast. 

Take Grant for instance. He had the second slowest finishing time at over 4 minutes. A lot of people may love him, but he probably isn't winning that $100k, not if he has to go up against people such as Jake, Daniel, The Kid, Ethan, or anyone known for speed. Others such as Jamie Rahn or Najee Richardson--they're great, but they've never been ones to go for the fastest times. Rerouting back to Grant, I don't actually have much to say. He was the only one to go for the Mega Wall, which was interesting. 

I thought for sure that Jody Avila would. I know he wanted the fastest time, and it was obvious he was going to get it because they showed him last. Now, a couple of times the last person was not the fastest time, but they came very close to it. It's just that the last person usually has the fastest time (because they edit it), or they get the Mega Wall, which like I said, I thought he was going to do. He would have had a great chance at it. I think he should have gone for the $10,000 because what does the fastest time get you? What's the point of beating Gillett by 1 second? Bragging rights? Pride? Avila probably could have had $10,000 instead, but whatever. I was surprised that he had the fastest time, though. I guess when it came to the Ring Chaser and even Rib Run, his wingspan and height were a big advantage. It's just that Tyler Gillett is much more ninja size, you know. Normal for this show. It's true that the bigger guys don't do as well. Avila may have proved that wrong in the qualifiers, but he'll slow down as things progress. 

Which brings me to Jon Alexis Jr. Can we talk about how they totally gave him the cold shoulder? With Gillett, they just skipped him. Quick detour: they should not have because until Avila, he had the fastest time, and he finished with the second fastest time overall. I know he's not a rookie, and maybe they're saving his story for a later episode, but they also might keep skipping him. I've seen him passed over a lot. As a finisher, it doesn't seem fair, especially when you only have 8 finishers. Like, you can't show all of them? Anyway, back to Jon, cause he got screwed over even more. I realized that he was there because one of his "teammates" ran over a commercial break, but then I forgot that he should have been running, too. Then when the scoreboard showed at the end, I saw he had finished 4th overall! Why did they skip him? What did he do or what did he say to piss someone off? I've seen this happen before. People just randomly appear without so much as a nod. That is absolutely unacceptable, I think. It's more than just rude. It's mean and doesn't make any sense. It's not like there isn't time. If you can't give him 5 seconds for a shoutout, then cut someone else's time down. You know, like someone who failed? I know half the show is about inspiration and finding diamonds in the rough or whatever, but the show should also highlight the strong people, those who are finishing, because--like I've said before--that is ultimately the whole point of the show. It's still important to see people finish. Even if Jon Alexis Jr. isn't my favorite ninja, he deserved to get some recognition. I'm sure he will in future episodes, but he still deserved it in this one because he finished. 

Okay, let's move on to someone else. How about the newcomer Nate Hansen? He was dynamite. He really proves that some people have this gift; he ran the course so smoothly, so naturally. Some people are truly cut out for these kinds of obstacles and tests. Everyone works and trains hard for the show, but some people just naturally do better than others. Joe and Daniel are like that. From the get-go, they just excel. They didn't need a couple years to rise, they've just always had a talent. So, I'm really excited to see Nate continue. I love seeing these people who just look like they were made to be on the course. Those are the most exciting. The people who fly through it with complete ease. The test will be in the next round when the course gets longer. What I noticed from The Kid a year or two ago (however long he's been on), was that even though he finished his city final, he was very visibly tired and out of breath, so maybe he needs to work on stamina or something. That seems to be a potential weak spot for these natural born rookies. Being on the course is also a mental game, and knowing how to work yourself seems to be something that veterans have a lot of experience with. Anyway, it was cool to see him. I hope they start giving attention to the new rookies because they talk about "the next generation," so I hope they actually start developing that. 

Dave Cavanagh was a shock. From all the hype he got last year--the time, the finals, the Power Tower--it was weird that he dropped so soon. I guess weird isn't quite the word, though, because anyone can fall at any moment, really. I'm sure it must really suck because it's like a whole year wasted. He was also sent to commercial break land, which couldn't have helped. Casey Suchocki also didn't advance. He's a veteran, but he's in the middle. He got sidelined, so I guess that tells you something. 

Seth Rogers also got skipped. I don't remember if he was mentioned at all. He had a lot of attention last year during his rookie year, so I'd be a little surprised, but he didn't advance. That's kind of a shame. David Alvarez was also skipped, I think, which surprised me. He was the one who was looking for his little sister last year, so I thought they'd be interested in doing a follow-up, but I guess not. I'm very surprised at the people they've already skipped. Because they have the power to show specific people's runs and who gets a story, they kind of shape who your favorites are. It's like you can't help but love Grant or Daniel or The Kid because they're always being shown. Even people like Adam Rayl and Jamie Rahn get skipped. I wonder if this year, more unknowns will be shown over long-time veterans, especially because they probably outnumber them (50 to 100). We'll see, but I have a feeling a lot of people we know will be sent to commercial breaks. 

Wrapping up

Well, I think that's pretty much all I have to say. As the season progresses, and I get a stronger understanding of how things are working, I might have more to say. For now, it actually seems relatively normal. At least a lot more normal than I was expecting. The "teams" thing is a relief. I still think the finale will be a disappointment, but we can only wait and see. So, I guess until then, I'm signing off. (Maybe I'll work on a signature sign-off, since mine is pretty lame right now.)