Intro
Okay, so I'm going to make this post quick because I'm 3 days late, but I still wanted to post something. Overall, the most I have to say about that night is not about individuals, just the overall course and running. So, let's get down to business.
Power Tower
So, at first, I was quite taken aback because they didn't have the Power Tower last week. Clearly, there were different sections of people to run the course because the course was altered for this batch of people. I don't know when all the filming happened (over four days, two days one long day?), but the first week episode's people didn't have their Power Tower shown. I highly doubt that they just didn't have a Power Tower competition for them, because that would clearly be super unfair, but it's also obvious that the week 1 people were separate from the week 2. This is also proven because Grant McCartney was on the "camera" sideline, when we know he did compete. So, clearly, he wasn't in the building when he was on camera. My point with all that is that we should have seen a Power Tower last week. My best guess is that course was the one Drew ran. Obviously Drew is dead to ANW, and rightly so. Though the show won't be talking about him, I will bring him up every now and then especially because of his position with the show. I would bet that Drew ran that course, and most likely had the fastest time, and was competing on the Power Tower. He also probably won. That is my guess for why the Power Tower was missing during the premiere. They may not have filmed that group first, but they probably aired it first so that the Power Tower wouldn't suddenly disappear after a couple weeks. This would also explain why Jody Avila was going for time and not the Mega Wall (which with his height would have been a logical choice). Of course, in the original editing, they probably had him running against Drew's time and not Tyler Gillett's, but what would the fastest time get you if not a chance on the Power Tower. Really, even with the Power Tower in question, he really should have just gone for the money. I know height isn't the only thing you need on the Mega Wall, but I think him racing for the Power Tower make sense. Drew probably won the Power Tower, but obviously, they couldn't show it. So that's my guess. We'll have to wait and see if the next two weeks have the Power Tower. It would explain the first week though. Drew ran that night (or whatever time), but they couldn't show his teammates, him, or the Power Tower.
And, of course, we can't get away without talking about Jake Murray vs. Ethan Swanson. That was a race I didn't expect. I really thought Daniel Gil would be up there, but I'll get to him later. With these two running, I actually would have bet on The Swan. He has the height experience, and the Power Tower experience, and he is fast. Even though Jake had a faster time on the course, I still thought Ethan would have had the upper hand, but when they replayed where Ethan went wrong and Jake got the upper hand, it did make a lot of sense. It wasn't like they were neck-and-neck the whole way through. Jake genuinely ran the Tower smarter. Really, it was a fantastic match-up, and I would have been content with whoever won. I will say that the new Power Tower reward sucks. Having your teammates advance if you win is so lame. I know they don't have the traditional Vegas, so they probably couldn't work in a "life-saver" reward, but the winner of the Power Tower doesn't really actually get anything. What if both their teammates advanced? Maybe that would be rare, but it is possible, right? Then what would happen. Just pride and satisfaction? Boring. I thought it would be for money, but maybe they didn't want someone winning both the Mega Wall and the Power Tower? Although, who would really do that? (I know Drew did it last year, but Drew is kind of rare, and also screw Drew, right?) Anyway, I really like Jake, and it was great to see those guys go toe-to-toe.
The Course
I don't have much to say. I like that they kept some of the course and altered only a couple obstacles. I think this keeps each week fresh, but also maintains a little bit of continuity and fairness. Now, next week might be a completely new course, but I do hope some (more than just the Warped Wall and Shrinking Steps) stays. I still like that they added some new obstacles because even though it's technically not fair, it does help things from getting stale. Also, it proves that there were distinct batches/groups of people. Like, week 1 people ran at a different time than week 2 people, and we know that because of the course they were on. Again, I don't know exactly when things were filmed, but having distinct groups (and certain people on certain days and courses) kind of keeps things from being sketchy. It's like how we can guess that Drew ran that first night's course. None of this really means anything; these are just observations, I guess.
The Athletes
Again, not too much to say. It's really convenient that the top women are almost all running on different nights, though. Allyssa on Night 1, Jesse on Night 2, Jessie on Night 3, and probably Meaghan on Night 4. This is probably to ensure that they advance, which also leads me to believe that people were specifically chosen to run on certain nights/courses. The fact that Allyssa, Jesse, Jessie, and probably Meaghan are all running on different courses proves more that it was intentional and they weren't randomly selected. Other than what I noticed with Jesse, I was very impressed with Ashley McConville. I definitely didn't see her coming. I don't know if she'll be one of the greats for women, though. It's a lot harder to tell with women.
Jake did fantastic. Honestly, his time was unbelievable. I always get nervous with those speed demon types. It's so much fun to watch them breeze through the course, but that doesn't mean they don't have the chance to screw up. It was very relieving to see him hit the buzzer, though. His time was insane! Even if Daniel hadn't gone for the Mega Wall, he still wouldn't have beaten Jake's time. That's pretty cool.
Speaking of Daniel...I guess I shouldn't have been surprised that he went for the Mega Wall. He did it last year and the year before, and he made it both times, so it really shouldn't have been weird. I guess last year he still made it to the Power Tower, but now he was "running against" those like Jake and Ethan, so he probably made the conscious decision to pursue the Mega Wall. He probably could have beaten Ethan, but the Mega Wall is really a better choice. It was a shame that he didn't make it, though. For most people, there is a specific choice between the Mega Wall and the Power Tower. Like I said, the majority of people can't have both. I guess Daniel was the next closest thing because he almost had it last year. The final point is: Daniel made it, and that is a very good thing.
It was also kind of cool to see Jake, Ethan, and Daniel all running together/on one course. Usually, all three of those guys are in separate cities. So, Daniel probably isn't used to seeing these guys' speed. Of course, he's seen them in Vegas, but the city competition is kind of a different game.
And how could I forget Jamie Rahn! I love Jamie Rahn; he seems like such a sweet soul. One of the first times I remember seeing him was in St. Louis, I think, and he was the first one shown to pass this obstacle. It was like a variation of the Ultimate Cliffhanger, and I remember it being insane, but he was one of the only ones to best it, I think. This was quite a few years ago, so I have no idea what I do or do not remember. Anyway, Jamie is a good personality, honestly.
And then there's Nick Hansen. I just read that this year, those who finish might not make the advancing cut. Literally, only the Top 12 + the 3 women will move on (plus the Power Tower winner's teammates). Let me just say, that even though he won the $10k, him not moving on is the stupidest, most unfair thing I think this show has ever done. If you finish, you advance. It should just be that simple. You should be rewarded for hitting the buzzer. And on top of that injustice, Jake's teammates can move on even though they didn't hit the buzzer! That is absolute bull! I'm legitimately upset about that ruling. Nick finished the course. He did what was asked of him. I don't care that he made the decision, or whatever, to take the money and not advance. He shouldn't have to make that choice! I know they have some restrictions because of the Covid rules, but seriously, that's stupid. I feel like Nick deserves to be at the semi-finals.
Caleb Bergstrom was a bit interesting. I guess I was expecting him to succeed, just like everyone else. You know that he was the most dramatic thing that night because of how much time they spent on his failure. They showed a lot of faces, and they returned to him in his disappointment. It was ANW drama. Honestly, it was probably a rookie mistake. I know this was his sophomore year, but what happened really seemed like a rookie move. You really wouldn't see someone like Ethan or Daniel doing that. Like I said, being a speed demon doesn't secure your place. Fortunately, he has plenty of time to come back and hit buzzers. His sister was a surprise. Even though she basically had a repeat of last year, on the same obstacle and all, I remember I wasn't very impressed by her last year. Maybe it was lucky that the other women weren't so great? I don't know. I don't know what the rules will be for women in the semi-finals, but I'd really be surprised if she goes any further.
Along these lines is JJ Woods. I feel like I haven't seen him in forever, and I definitely thought he'd do better. I don't actually have anything more to say. Just wanted to acknowledge him, since his run was so much shorter than I expected.
I also remember Jackson Twait. He was a little too crazy and eccentric for my personal taste (hopefully that doesn't sound too weird), but he hit the buzzer with the third fastest time. I guess he needed to be back on the Power Tower to get some screen time. (I think he was on the Power Tower last year. He might have even gone up against Ethan???) It's just a bummer that in the second hour of the show, they start skipping everyone like crazy. Skipping the finishers is what bothers me the most, because they spend so much time on the fluff and all those people drop. Even people like Chris DiGangi get passed. Donovan Metoyer did great and he got skipped, too. It's just kind of bogus. Anyway, great people running. It kind of felt like more "big names" ran this night.
I know I'm not talking much about any of the lesser known people. I'm mostly sticking to the really big names, but that's just who I remember. I do look at the finishers list, but I can't remember all the failures. There's quite a few, you know. I vaguely remember Daniel, Jake, and Ethan's teams, but not that much. Daniel had actual connections with his teammates. They train with him at the gym, I think, so that was nice to see. And Jake was friends with at least one teammate, I believe.
Wrapping Up
Well, they kind of gave away Jessie's run in their preview. I am going to assume she hits the buzzer because they showed her at the wall in her costume for this year, so we can guess it's not a replay of another year. Maybe somehow it's edited, but they still showed a lot. I feel like if you want to pique interest, you don't show her at the wall. The balance obstacle and maybe one of the earlier ones is enough. They just gave everything away. I'm still watching, but seems like a bad decision.
Najee is also up next week I think. So, that should be interesting. I'm excited to see if my Power Tower theory is right, and who will be on it next. I'm also interested to see the next people running!
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