Rewatching E6

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Stand Bags:
--"Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened." I'm kind of thinking about that as we get to the final episodes of the series; it feels a bit strange to us because some were about to turn twelve when the series went "on hiatus", and some were about to get their last chance. I'm glad endurance existed as a show at all; I just wished it became a phenomenon.
--All the dirty laundry is out.
--"Starting with so many weeks ago..." Wasn't the filming schedule only twelve days?
--Leslie: "Okay, we lied." At least Green has some self-awareness here.
--Hannah: "Well, I thought we were in an alliance, but I guess we've been lied to."
--Does the Green Team know where they buried the bodies?
--Leslie: "I didn't know what I was saying in that speech." Good move.
--This year's final three is interesting. First impressions is that it reminds me of Hawaii's (Red/Orange -- the dysfunctional team; Green/Gray -- the pair with the best teamwork; Blue/Yellow -- the underdogs), but the dynamics are quite different here. The way they interacted has a few hints from e2, though in both cases (e2, e3), we had two members of the dominant alliance facing off against a third team.
--"Let's go back, back to the beginning..."
--J.D.: "No jumping allowed." He knew.
--What would've happened if the nuts were the same color? Does the team get eliminated on the spot?
--J.D: "Jonathan on fire!" *Tehachapi flashbacks*
--That was quick. Also says a lot about Jonathan and his physical strength throughout the show.
--I'm surprised putting down the canvas without any sand doesn't count as cheating here.
--Ladies and gentlemen, this is the worst ever challenge from endurance. It seems to rely so much on luck when it comes to the end-game, especially with this weather. At least Squaring Off could be forgiven in that it worked better in theory (e.g. in a season where the alliances were less clear cut) than in practice.
--Another sudden change from the mission to the meeting place--why is that?
--Somebody should edit this scene so it cuts to black like the end of The Sopranos, haha.
--"That is a shock" is an understatement.
--Who would win?
----An athletic boy who had to run up a mountain as a child and pushed his teams to victory in physical challenges.
----One teevee nut.
--Looks like that twist worked out a little bit too well...
--Jordyn: "If I go home, I won't be taking one thing with me...I'll be taking the whole experience with me."
--I honestly thought Red went to Temple before this one; a bit of the Mandela effect for you. Had that twist not applied, then Hannah and Jonathan would've been the third team to make it to the finale without going to Temple (and the only team to not be the main puppetmasters of their season like e1 Blue or e5 Purple).
--This is the third straight season where Red and Blue went up to Temple together. I think this is the most common configuration (along with Orange/Green--in that case, Green won all three times!)
--J.D's "Welcome to the Temple of Fate" makes it all too real for Hannah.
--Jordyn: "I knew they were going to pick wood with the first one!" That came off too loud for it to be comfortable.
--This is the only Temple on e6 where it went to three rounds.
--Another editing failure, as J.D. looked like he would give a speech about Red's time there.
----That said, I can't help but feel sorry for them--they had that blowup two episodes prior and just when it looks like they were going to make a breakthrough, this happens. I think they're the most abrasive of the final-three fan-favorites, but the luck of the draw did them in. (Was there a situation where the nut draw would be considered fair? especially as it was on Moolah Beach earlier.)
--Also, is it just me, or does the final elimination get more heartwrenching every season? Sorry Ashley and Christian fans, but it just gets from bad to worse.
----e2: Tyler finally wants to do good for Michelle's sake, but they get eliminated nonetheless. That said, Green and Brown were the perfect final two.
----e3: Just...everything about Yellow's journey to get there. Winning would've been the final touches on a beautiful cake. And especially with how anticlimatic the finale was...
----e4: A little less sad considering Green was the strongest team that season, but rewatching Circle of Trust and seeing Green go out, it felt really sad. Seeing Isaac and Jeszie grieve like that just got to me. (Plus, Purple seemed to be sadder about Green going home than they made the finals)
----e5: You'd think that Connor and Taylor would catch a break (especially with the Karma advantage), but they don't. (can't you see that I'm still heartbroken by it? Red got robbed here, but this is still the worst elimination)
--This is so sad, Alexa play "In the end" by Linkin Park.

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Finale  (The episode is two parts, but I felt like the editing made it feel like one hour-long episode):
--"As the most popular team on the island..." Blue was definitely more low-key than that; it's not like everyone clamored over them.
----As for whether or not Blue was a "strong team", they weren't, at least in challenges. That said, they did have a few close calls in terms of victories (notably in Box Launch and Island Hopping), but that never really translated into actual victories and control. I'd imagine the season would've changed had they did.
--If only Orange was the first one out!
--"Squaring off for the final pieces up for grabs." Wording. Hopefully nobody gets flashbacks from this.
--J.D. mentioning how everyone expected Green in the finale implies hardly anybody else strategized this season. even Orange were basically their lackeys.
--No, that team ended up with a thirty-second advantage!
--Would this tradition have continued (the Karma vote) had the series did too?
--Caleb: "I would've given the Karma piece to the Blue Team, because they haven't done anything wrong..." The fact both Orange Team members voted for Blue is quite petty of them, but so delicious to see.
--Purple's comments on Blue are kind of sweet. Connor mentioned in his interview how they had quite a bit of fun with them, including facing mountain goats and nearly falling off cliffs on their day off. Haha.
--J.D: "What should we do with the pieces?"/Will: "I don't know--maybe a challenge?"
--"You don't want to start out behind."
--I remember Connor's beatboxing confessional! That was so cute. (Unfortunately, because Adobe Flash is no longer supported, you can't go back and watch them)
--Purple/Blue's friendship is so endearing.
--Jordyn: "I thought that [Yellow] was stronger than the Blue Team!"
----The way their comments were shoved in, it almost felt like Yellow was an afterthought. We want justice!
--They'd better have that piece of wood framed somewhere.
--Based on Will and Leslie's chemistry, I wonder if they still keep in touch.
--Ben: "I'd never thought that I'd be here." Who else did?
--Jordyn: "I didn't come up this way and go up to Temple twice and come back to lose!"
--An hour? Wow.
--Jordyn: "Good thing I have the map and not you."
--"The cool pile of rocks" haha
--Just remember the sun rises in the east and sets in the west and you're golden.
--Jordyn: "I've never felt so dumb in my life."
--Run Jordyn run!
--Go fast!
--Jordyn: "Would you like to kill me before or after the challenge?"
--Well Green got three pieces, so it's not that much of a big deal, you know?
--Ben: "If there was another clue up there, we would've just jumped off that cliff." This quote has stood out to me from when it premiered up until now.
--The producers definitely saved the best mission for last this season. It almost made up for Stand Bags...almost. Plus it was quite fun!
--Will: "I feel pretty confident--we earned all our pieces except for one, and they've received all their pieces but two. I feel like we deserve it more than they do; they almost snuck their way into the finals." While it does come off as a bit arrogant, he's not wrong about Blue.
--Several implies more than two weeks, J.D.
--But can you take sand off the beach?
--Jordyn: "The one thing I'm going to miss the most is waking up here in Fiji."
--Leslie winning would be some family redemption right there, haha
--Leslie: "It's not like [Blue]'s not strong; anything can happen."
--I am once again asking the producers why they had the final Temple in the jungle, rather than at Temple!
----Also, why couldn't they have the Temple of Fate there instead? Would it be too similar to Hawaii then?
--Ben's hinting at the odds in round three. (Too bad there weren't more brain games in this season; it would be fun to see Blue killing them!)
--Green's going all in here.
--Well, Green's got quite a bit of ingenuity throughout the game.
--For some reason, this finale just ended in a thud. 
--This is the embodiment of "David defeating Goliath", but I don't feel that same pull towards the underdogs as I have in other seasons. Ben and Jordyn were definitely lovely people, and didn't do much to rock the boat, but that's what the problem with them. In contrast, had Purple or Yellow had made it further than they did, we'd root for them more because of what the edit gave us. They've had that one shining moment in "Three to Go", but since it was one of two missions that day, it didn't feel as satisfactory as Green winning "House of Cards" or Orange winning "Aqueduct".
----And we can contrast that to Franke and Erika again, in that they won more than one mission (2, but who's counting?) and played a decent social game. Plus we got to know Red more in Tehachapi than we know of Blue, which makes them easier to root for!
----It does feel like Green was robbed. Sure, they had that smugness throughout the season, but they were utterly dominant and had the game by the leash throughout. I still think of Will as a "bootleg Isaac", but he did well. And Leslie is definitely a game girl! (On another note, if you had to choose between them and Dakota and Kelsey winning their season, which one would you pick?)
----I'd like to think that a higher power watched High Sierras and didn't like how it ended. They probably took pity on Connor and Taylor and had Blue win Fiji as penance. 
--Endurance: Fiji wasn't the dumpster fire I thought it was, but it's still easily the weakest of the six seasons. I think holding the show on Fiji was what did the whole season in, in that it took money away from shooting and implementing the big twist we were supposed to have (Cinnamon and Becca looked like awesome characters had they stayed a little bit longer in particular). They also attempted new editing techniques, which felt a bit jarring especially with the lack of cohesive storylines, but maybe they would've ironed it out had Endurance lasted longer? But still, it's Endurance, and I can look past that.
---And on another note, they should've had another season to see if they could redeem themselves somehow. But alas!