User blog comment:JERealize/Progress Bar: Issue 027/@comment-1874924-20131101052613

I'd have to say that I liked this episode as well as any so far this season. And yes, that's saying something. For the most part, I've been pleasantly surprised at the quality of TDAS.

Duncan's bunny and crossbones was worth the proverbial price of admission. I also laughed aloud--something I don't do often--when Duncan reacted to Cameron's stratagem by lamenting, "Even Cameron's edgier than me!"

What's at the top of the creepy tower? My first guess is something that will enable Mike to defeat Mal, so Mike is likely to encounter obstacles enroute.

I didn't much care for the way Al won. Not because it was corny, but because it really shouldn't have taken him that long to figure it out.

When Chris reacted to the destruction of his "cottage" (which looked a lot like the Playa from Season 1) in much the same way as he reacted to the destruction of his plane in TDWT, that was a clear signal that Duncan would be eliminated summarily. I was a bit surprised, though, that someone else wasn't eliminated normally. With the earlier no-elimination episode, there has to be a double elimination at some point unless the finale is going to have three players instead of the usual two. So Mal's vote rigging (which Chris unquestionably knows about but doesn't care) was wasted. For external dramatic reasons, he can't do it again.

As for Duncan, he's facing hard time not only because of the scope of his crime, but also because he's probably 18 by now. Unless, of course, the characters are perpetually 16, which is also a distinct possibility.