Hunh?

It's starting to dawn on me that my team wouldn't exactly win any Mensa contests. I mean, Derrick was confused by a few words on a sign and got visibly frustrated, and Brad isn't the greatest grade school speller, as proven on Inferno 3. Kim doesn't seem terribly bright either and we already know Shauvon's biggest assets weren't exactly located in her head. So the only intelligent person on my team might be Ibis -- she just got her Masters degree!

Don't you kind of wish that these challenges would incorporate some more mental components? Maybe do a Beauty and the Geek type thing where people have to study a certain subject and then answer trivia questions. Assemble a bottle rocket. Or an Ikea bed. Something with instructions. Or show everyone playing some Catchphrase. Round up the troops and give them a few Kumon worksheets. Anything that challenges the mind versus the muscles. I mean, don't you want to know how smart these people are?

Nearly everyone seems pretty dumb in the context of the show but I bet some of them are sneaky intelligent. If you had every waking moment taped I'd bet you could be edited to look pretty Neanderthal-like too so I want to give some of them leeway. But I really do need to know which of these people are like actually smart.

Oh and the greatest thing the show could add would be a Mafia challenge. How fantastic would that be? If only they'd let me produce the show (Bunim/Murray/Yang?) or become a house member, I'd have everyone playing games 24/7. Of course, the hookups and drunken debauchery would be much less likely to occur and ratings would plummet but still. I just want one episode per challenge dedicated to non-physical challenges.

As Yasmine pointed out, the dumbest person of all might have been Brianna, who willingly pitted herself against Susie "Ms. Invincible" Meister. That's like Cohutta calling out Evan because he wants to prove himself. Really? You don't think taking out midget Katie or drunk Tonya would be a bit easier Brianna? You deserve to get eliminated. And I was just starting to like her too. She's got a little attitude and fire. Oh well.

One thing I'm a bit irked about is how little airtime some of the cast receive. I'd like to know what Sarah is up to. Is she bonding with the other players? Is she writing letters home? And what about Darrell? He's an undefeated champion but barely gets on-screen. What kind of politics is he playing behind the scenes? I want to see less of Evan, Johnny, Kenny, and Wes. More Danny, more Syrus, more Ibis, and more Kim. Not so much Dunbar though, he seems incredibly boring.

I hope future episodes will highlight some of the lesser characters but I'm starting to suspect that the challengers team will be all eliminated by the halfway point of the season. Has the ever happened before? When one team just wins every elimination matchup and TJ has to declare them automatic winners of the grand prize? It could this season right?