this was a great episode imo. the power of suggestion is extremely real because I've seen a lot of people say this was an all-time weak episode with some of the worst tasks ever and I think that's entirely because greg hated the prize task and sam hated the robot task. so let's just run through em under the cut, why not. I've got a lot to say on this one
the prize task felt pretty standard to me. I think the worst effort was sue's box of broken glass. no idea what she was going for there because the fake story attached to it wasn't even funny. sorry sue! at least julian's silverware drawer was hilariously bad in and of itself
I think susan was really a victim of the unknowable whims of greg here because I really don't know why he hated the waterbed so much. totally solid prize imo, and I liked her story about how unexpectedly loud it was when they were jumping on it as kids. I've never had a waterbed because I wasn't born in the 70s so it's not something that comes to mind when I think of "makes a loud noise when you shake it", and I think that's worth points over something incredibly obvious like "a box full of stuff"
sam and lucy's were both really funny concepts and I loved the wordplay of "cream horn" but I gave the 5 to sam personally because it was just such a wild sensory experience. really, really good
onto the robot task! first of all there were two potential solutions that I can't believe nobody tried here
- just exit the area. risky because greg might argue that the stairs aren't considered part of the "floor" (also I know sometimes contestants will find loopholes that subvert the tasks so completely that alex will off-camera tell them to please just do the task, and this might be one of those situations)
- wedge yourself in the corner and hold out two of the toys as a barrier. the vacuum robots will never get you because they'll always bump into the toys and turn around
I thought it was funny that sam hated this one so much but again I really don't think it was a bad task. everyone did something slightly different which is always a plus for me. julian failing instantly was hilarious (I loved alex calling it "two and a half seconds of gold") and I loved seeing sue swing the toys around and yell at the robots. fun task!
next, the team task. this one was so good, even though lucy and sue both completely blew it. the repeated cuts back to the garage with the two of them suddenly wearing different costumes was such a funny visual, and I loved the interactions between everyone on this task. susan desperately trying to calm down sue while she's screaming at herself for saying "plinth" over and over, lucy forgetting how to use a walkie talkie, susan yelling "TITS" when time is up. lucy saying "oh for fuck's sake" when alex points out the list of banned words, and alex seemingly getting actually offended lmao
also we all had a laugh at the anti-chemistry between the team of three in the first episode but I love them now. sam and julian's shared bemusement at how weird lucy is, and how lucy always acts so scandalized at julian's innuendos like when he asked if she wanted to "suck a fisherman's friend"
heads shoulders knees and toes. this was my least favorite of the tasks this week. normally I like an open-ended creative task like this but I think the phrasing of "most powerful piece wins" was a little restrictive and it felt like most of them largely ignored it. susan's avant-garde performance was great but heavily undermined by the horse and duck props she chose (ALSO SHE CANNOT STOP USING CHAINS. THE CHAIN BASTARD STRIKES AGAIN!!) anyone who doesn't listen to the taskmaster podcast should check out this week's episode for a great story from susan about her disdain for avant-garde theater based on the student-directed performance of antigone she was in at RADA. really, really funny context for this task
sam and sue's were funny but I wouldn't call them powerful. same goes for julian's but I did actually like his drawing quite a bit. lucy's was horrifying and I can't believe nobody in the studio talked about the fact that she chomped alex's toes. 10/10. absolute madwoman
lastly, I loved the studio task! it's not often that these are open-ended enough to lead to fun loopholes like them setting the pineapples aside, which was great. susan absolutely obliterated greg. thirty grand well spent!
and then lucy won the episode, instigated a group hug like she'd won the whole series, and went completely berserk and covered herself in whipped cream! an episode for the books, if you ask me!
finally, my scoring (it's pretty low because I disqualified everyone on the team task while greg gave them all 3 points. effectively the same thing)
julian: 5 (-4)
lucy: 17 (-3)
sam: 13 (-5)
sue: 11 (-6)
susan: 16 (-1)
series scores so far
julian: 94 (-1)
lucy: 82 (-3)
sam: 108 (+2)
sue: 69 (-20)
susan: 78 (-2)
I'll be honest. I have no idea how my scores are so close to greg's, but with sue miles behind. it looks like I missed some tasks for her but I didn't lmao so I think it really comes down to her prize tasks which greg tends to like and I do not. sorry sue!
