‘Opposite Worlds’ review: When subtraction is an addition
Is it safe to say that we are becoming addicted to “Opposite Worlds“? While there still are some flaws in the show here, we are starting to find out more and more about the various wrinkles in this complicated game that cause us to be closer and closer to hooked.
Let’s start with the fact that in this game, there are clearly some good players and some terrible players … and Wyatt was a terrible player. He was only loyal when it worked for him … which meant that he wasn’t loyal at all. Steve actually has the great makings of a player already despite being new to the game; after all, he realized that this guy was imploding, and he just sat back to watch the insanity. Wyatt being put up was the right move for Epoch from a physical standpoint, and ironically, him losing was the best thing to happen to them.
Thanks to this move, whiny Wyatt is now out of the game, and the one person not really a part of the unified group is gone. Steve is probably now the guy in the most danger, since JR for whatever reason has everyone eating out of the palm of their hands. The sad thing is that while losing Wyatt helps the team in terms of unity, they may not really have a chance to ever get a guy like Frank out of the game. With the physical nature of these challenges, we run into the big problem with this game: It’s unbalanced. A guy like Frank is going to run the table; while America may have power, they are mostly over petty things. The people in the game ultimately determine who compete.
Is there any problem facing Team Kronos moving forward? Not unless there is a twist. They may not be likable, but they are strong. What we are ultimately facing is a predictable game (for now); this is why we feel like there’s a twist coming, which could cause the teams to be rearranged at some point. Syfy has a success story here, and they want to keep it going.
For now, we’re still enjoying what we’re seeing. Grade: B+.
What did you think about this episode, and do you agree that Team Epoch is actually helped by losing Wyatt? Share your thoughts below, and also visit the link here to read some more news related to “Opposite Worlds.” Also, sign up now to see some more news straight from the CarterMatt Newsletter.
Photo: Syfy
Erick Lee
January 31, 2014 @ 7:39 pm
Terrible move by Lauren IMHO. I feel the best combination would have been Steve vs the weakest Chronos player – whoever you think he has the best chance to beat (better than 50/50, at least). If he loses, it’s a smaller loss to the team – the risk is more acceptable. He is an unknown who has not made strong bonds/pacts/alliances yet, and he probably wouldn’t even be offended. Bonus: no one would really be bothered with picking the ‘new guy’ to duel. It’s not viewed as a stab in the back. Heck it would actually make Lauren look more loyal. Stab an ‘old guy’ in the back though and every other ‘old guy’ is going to be suspicious from now on.
I feel if you have control of a matchup you should always pit one of your strong players vs. their weak players in order to reduce the other team’s numbers. Pick the easy ones off one-by-one. Then when the inevitable merge/mix-up happens, more of your original allies will remain in the game. They should have been more patient in trying to take out Jesse.
By choosing Wyatt vs Jesse, they sort of put themselves in a lose-lose situation. If Jesse wins, well…you’ve lost your physically strongest competitor. If Wyatt wins, then you’ve pissed him off and created a fracture in your group.
Don’t choose either of these guys to duel this week. Pander to Wyatt, keep him around and use his strength – outplay him later. Jesse – don’t worry about him for now, and wait for a challenge he’s ill-suited for. This early in the game it’s all about team sizes, and building/keeping early relationships..