I knew that this would happen, but I'm still disappointed

Sigh.
Zeke was eliminated.

I hope that Zeke can do a nice performance

So glad Amy gets eliminated.
Hoping she won't be back for merge & another season

I actually wanted Dakota to go to the merge
But good episode regardless.
Hoping beardo gets eliminated next

Good episode I guess
But I wanted to see
Staci atleast make final 4

Pretty cool, I am gonna put a list of what the elimination order might be.

ELIMINATION
Staci
Beardo
Scott
Sugar
Dakota
Ezekiel
B
Lightning
Sierra
Beth
Sam
Topher
MERGE(dakota & Beth returns) Jo
DJ
Bridgette
Dakota
Shawn
Geoff
Scarlett
Amy
Dawn
Alejandro
Sammy
Beth

I read the whole story, and it was great. Can't wait to read Total Shuffled Action.

What a beautiful, chaotic ending. The complexity of the action in those final scenes was awesome and really sold that panicked race for a million dollars. The chapter itself was pretty long compared to every other chapter, but since the original special was two episodes worth of show, it makes sense that this one would be the same.

Now for my thought on this season as a whole. I've pretty much covered all the flaws I had in past reviews and don't have much to add in that regard. Overall, it was a really fun season that took its time to set up plots but not totally resolve them. In most works of fiction, that would really annoy me, but since I know all six seasons are finished and ready to read whenever, I can really appreciate that aspect. One of the big problems with the canon show is that each season is its own thing, but because there's no sure fire renewal the writers have to revive finished plots and end up ruining a lot of what wasn't in need of continuation. When it comes to things like relationships, the way you handled them was not only more believable and natural, but more interesting because it gives Action, World Tour, and All Stars potential plots without just lazily forcing them to continue for the sake of it.

When it comes to the boot order, there were a few eliminations that happened too early and some that came too late. There were a few people who went home in a boring way that matched up with their reasons for elimination in the actual show, but there were also some eliminations that were so original and epic (Scarlett and Dawn being the standouts). Now that we're moving away from the first season by two degrees, I'm expecting a lot more deviations from canon when it comes to this kind of stuff.

With that out of the way, we have our official TSA cast!

Alejandro, Scarlett, Jo, and Beardo are the ones I'm most excited for since they were so much fun this season. Shawn and Bridgette probably aren't making deep runs again and I doubt you'd let someone become a two time winner, though a two time finalist isn't out of the question since this series has official winners. DJ, Dawn, and Sammy were locks for this season and that love triangle is going to be a big part of it unless you Gwent the hell out of it and end it in the first few episodes.

You know I'm not happy to see B again, but since he was a last minute addition to the cast I don't expect him to last as long as he did this season. At least I hope he doesn't. Beth's another one I'm questioning because she didn't strike me as the most deserving of a second chance, but hopefully you can do something interesting with her. The same goes for Lightning and Geoff, who were fun enough but didn't really pop. Sierra and Topher were expected, and I also expect them to be the first boots and hosts of the aftermath shows. It's really the only thing I can see them doing beyond more rival talk.

I'm disappointed that Sam, Sugar, Zeke, Scott, and Staci didn't make it because I really wanted some more early boots in the cast, but World Tour is always an option and at least some of those people have to make a second appearance for the math to add up.

Action is one of my least favorite seasons, mainly due to the terrible pacing and lackluster storytelling, so here's to what I hope is a solid second season that can redeem what's actually a really epic theme. I'll probably wait a couple days before starting it just to let this first season settle in my mind, and I probably won't binge through it as fast, but I'll be reviewing every single chapter once again. So keep your eyes peeled. :)

Wow! Shawn actually ended up winning the whole thing. NOT what I expected at all, and a good ending if I do say so myself. He should have had more content in the pre-merge to justify the finalist spot over more developed characters, but post-merge Shawn was pretty fun.

Now, about Bridgette. I said I had some issues with her character in my last review, so it's time to get this out of the way. For the most part, she suffered from the same things that made Sammy kind of a mixed bag. There wasn't much to her aside from being the nice girl with a boyfriend and a moral compass, and if there's one thing I don't like, it's overly nice and likeable characters who only exist to be nice and likeable. I don't want to say she was a Mary Sue, but she was definitely leaning that direction at some points. I would have liked to see Bridgette play a little dirty at some point, maybe regret it, but at least step outside her comfort zone. The way she was self-righteously attacking the villains for playing strategically left a really bad taste in my mouth sometimes,and all that "I'm only here to make friends" talk was really annoying. I'm not sure how much of that was intentional in your goal of making Shawn the more appealing canon winner, but it worked for me. Of course, it's worth stating that I don't care about Bridgette in general, so there's always that variable at play.

You're absolutely right when it comes to the alternate ending hinge though! The TDI finale coming down to Izzy standing in a certain spot is sooooo dumb (not as dumb as an out of shape fat guy keeping up with and beating a decently athletic girl in a running challenge around an entire island #GwenWonIsland), so good job on making the actual turning point more epic. No kidding, I got chills when Shawn went into a freak out rush to the finish line. It was that satisfying.

Alright, so about TSA... I'm going to guess 14 people will return plus the one debuting character halfway through as per canon, so this is my official guess for who those people are:

1. Scarlett
2. Jo
3. Alejandro
4. Shawn
5. Bridgette
6. Sammy
7. DJ
8. Dawn
9. Geoff
10. Beardo
11. Sam
12. Scott
13. Sierra
14. Zeke
15. Topher

There are probably a couple I got hilariously wrong (probably the three people who never return if my bad luck is still lurking) but this cast is about what I'm expecting. Obviously the big characters will be back to finish/continue their story lines, but those last few spots are trickier. I'm hoping you have a few pre-mergers back, because another season with the same major characters would be a little bit of a retread without some new flavor to spice things up.

I'll save my overall thoughts until after I read the TDDDDI special, but expect a glowing review because despite some flaws, this story was awesome! :D

Yeah, that punch to the face wasn't the most epic way of sending Alejandro home. Something like a really embarrassing tattoo or just getting his tooth pulled would have been way more terrifying if you ask me, especially if it came from Scarlett. It's hard to beat Heather getting shaved through Lindsay's dare after she threatened to shave the latter's head though.

Now that we have our two finalists, something I was spoiled on a couple years ago and somehow remembered for some reason. If I had been reading unspoiled, I would never have assumed Shawn would make it this far, especially to the final two. He was so under the radar for the first half of the season and I would have assumed his late game development was just setting up his elimination so he would at least go away with something to his name. Bridgette though, she was an easy pick for the final two once the merge hit, thought I may have fallen for DJ, Sammy, and Scarlett as distractions.

I'm still rooting for Shawn because I have issues with Bridgette's character that I'll touch on after I read the finale, but Bridgette would make the most sense story-wise so I'm kind of satisfied either way.

Anyways, let's get this finale on and see how this season wraps up!

Damn, this was posted around the time Carrie and Devon were revealed... Really puts into context how late I am to this party lol. (Referring to them as great though... in retrospect, not so much imo)

As expected, Jo is out. What I really loved about how you wrote her was the fact that you kept her unapologetic the whole time. Most people give Jo some kind of hidden vulnerability that comes out later in the season, but you kept her as a stone cold badass bitch all the way to the final four and I commend you for that. She was a ton of fun every episode would have made a great winner if she wasn't doomed to fourth place.

Also, I liked the ending to that challenge way more in canon. As an Owen hater, him ruining Duncan's game at the last minute and getting away with it pissed me off so much. But having Alejandro pull a cheap dick move on the girls to win immunity is way more satisfying and adds to the guy's resume of dick moves that's grown so long.

Next is one of my favorite canon episodes of all time and what I know is Alejandro's epic downfall. I don't know if you can beat Heather's downfall, but I'd like to see you try. The idea of reader-submitted dares leaves a lot of room for fun, creative challenges, so I'm hoping for some really good ones.

Yep. Saw that one coming. Lightning was fun, but he clearly had the least worth out of this final five and once he started messing everything up on the beach, he was screwed.

I've never liked this episode and this chapter didn't really change my mind. It's not bad at all, but I don't know. The concept just doesn't really interest me that much and the characters don't really see that much development because there's all the exploring going on and comic relief happening.

I really wish I had more to say about this one because it's one of the more creative episodes, but it's kind of there to trim off the last bit of fat before the final four.

As for predictions, Jo is probably out next. Alejandro's going to meet his fate in Triple Dog Dare because that episode is epic and deserves and epic downfall. That leaves Shawn and Bridgette as the final two, where I'm guessing Bridgette will win. She just feels like the more important character and Shawn was barely in the first half of the season, but I can see this being like TDI where the likeable protagonist loses to the wacky fan favorite. I actually like Shawn more, so I'd probably root for him. But who knows, maybe there will be two endings where you can pick the one you like most and they won't be mentioned in future seasons just like in canon.

Okay, I did NOT see that coming. I had Scarlett pegged to go at least one more round or at least take out Alejandro first, but you got me good. And boy... what a way to go out. As a character she was all around amazing and this downfall is very fitting even if it feels a little early. I know she comes back for at least one season thanks to spoilers, so you know I'm excited as hell to see what you do with her next because this feels like a prelude to Scarlett's overarching story which has only just begun. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if she ends up being a four timer.

Now, about Alejandro. For a main antagonist, he works really well. He's got some good schemes and pulls them off without too much godmodding or complete domination like he did in WT. He actually has some serious competition that knows how he plays this time, and there's no stupid last minute contrivances to keep his reputation from souring either. That's why All-Stars Alejandro was more effective than WT Alejandro imo. When a villain just steamrolls without anyone figuring him out and trying to stop him it just sours the whole season.

No joke, I was literally thinking to myself "You know, if I was in the position of voting someone out like they did in this episode, I would just say the name of the person I wanted out over and over" and then boom, it actually happens. That whole shouting match was brilliant and made things just different enough from canon where it still fit the structure but didn't feel cheap.

Also, I love that you had the guts to send Sammy home at Amy's hand, essentially giving Amy the last laugh for now. Villains are way more fun when they actually win once in a while and this a great turn of events.

As for Samey, I'm pretty sure she's coming back. She has waaaay to much left to deal with story-wise to leave her on the sidelines. Did I really like her character? Yes and no. Sometimes it felt like she was really one-dimensional and too positive for my liking, but her love triangle was one of the more interesting plots you came up with so she's kind of a mixed bag.

So, we're down to six. Lightning is the obvious next boot, but that's the issue. He's too obvious. One of Jo, Alejandro, and Scarlett has to go soon since I doubt all three of them are making the final five, and I guess Jo has the least going on out of those three. So yeah, Jo or Lightning is my pick to go next.