Wonka’s The Golden Ticket Reality Competition on Netflix has been wild from the moment the contestants entered the factory. Each factory test tested a different skill level: persuasion (gumball machine coins), endurance (licorice twist), leadership (lickety splits escape room), perception (Oompa Loompa portraits), and many more. With each new skill, alliances were formed, crumbled, and put on high alert. Teams were broken, and some succeeded.
At the end of the day, a lifetime of money is on the line. Each contestant has to make tough calls to keep themselves or their teammate in the game. Feelings are bruised, relationships grow stronger, and time grows shorter as more people are terminated.
Steal or No Steal results
Six contestants remained at the start of Steal or No Steal. Who made it out and who was terminated on the spot? At the end of episode 7, one person had already been terminated, others were good eggs, one remains a mystery, and Garrison's fate hangs in the balance?
As we open the episode, Gabby and Taylor have been revealed as good eggs and escape termination. The Steal or No Steal game proved the contestants were in it to win it. It also proved some alliances may not stand the test of time. With Jackson, Ziad, Bryce, and Austin's picks uncertain by Garrison (the Operator), the audience, and other contestants, this game could go either way. Everyone wants to be safe, but someone must go.
Sadly, Jackson may get blindsided by his "friend." Just as he's saying he's got faith, his egg is deemed bad, and he falls down a hole. No goodbye, no warning, just gone. He had to risk his alliance to save himself.
With Jackson deemed a bad egg, Garrison is closer to escaping termination. Both Ziad and Bryce are good eggs and move forward in the tour. Only Austin remains: Did he stay on his egg, too?
Austin reveals he switched to an unchosen egg. A movement Garrison doesn't know about, and the others have no idea if it is a good or bad egg. I'm going to need a minute to process the turn of events. Austin's egg is deemed bad, and he's gone from the tour in an instant. This move solidifies Garrison as safe to move forward in the tour.
Who's been terminated?
Moon exited the game through a gumball. Jason rolled out of the TV room backwards, while Nick went out in a box of licorice. James was voted out of the house.
Marcy and Joanne were unlucky bees. Bill exploded on the spot. Poppy lost the jellybean brain buster. Kayla failed at being team lead. Shawn went out when Kayla chose her.
Hunter's building skills failed him. Jeff sacrificed himself. Kellye lost the draw. Sasha missed the target. Ava's lies caught up to her. Everett was sorted out with the candies. Tatum guessed the details too late. Jackson and Austin are deemed bad eggs.
Who's tour continued after Steal or No Steal?
Taylor and Bryce are the last full team standing. Gabrielle, Ziad, and Garrison round out the remaining contestants. With the tour down to give, it's anyone's game.
With Austin's termination, Ziad changes his tune. He's lost his reason for being here and his spirit to win. But at the same time, he wants to bring it home for his partner. Yet, it's really weird how he went from evil to vulnerable so quickly.
Amidst their emotional turmoil, Wonka comes over the radio to remind them they are never alone. They're a family with him, his Oompa loompas, and each other. Now, it's time to go to the Blueberry Lounge for guilty pleasures. Wonka informs them that it is their final night in the factory. He brings the excitement back when he reveals they'll be getting messages from home for their achievements in making it to the final five.
Although all the videos are heartfelt, they ignite a fire under them to win. Their stories touched my soul. Now with the reminder of who they're playing for, they're ready for tomorrow.
The end is nigh
Ben, one of the Oompa loompas, escorts the contestants to Wonka's half office for the final time. The twists start as soon as they enter the portrait corridor where Wonka tells them to line up in the order they lost their partner in the tour: Garrison, Gabrielle, Ziad, Taylor, and Bryce. One by one, except Bryce and Taylor who will walk in together, they will step into the half-office alone.
Wonka tells Garrison there are four golden eggs in front of him and he must pick one. Whichever one he picks will impact the next test depending on what's inside the egg. He chooses an egg and leaves the half-office as Bryce panics in his voiceover.
Finally, Taylor and Bryce enter the half-office to find only one egg remaining out of four. Wonka reminds them the guests before them were half a pair and they are not. His contract was clear: “Section 66B, subsection 4, item 1.1.1.13, sub-item 87—no pairs may remain going into the final factory test.” They feared they'd go against each other, and now thanks to the fine print and their signature, one will move forward while the other is terminated.
He gives them the chance to go head-to-head in a Jellybean Brain Buster. Taylor as the holder and Bryce as the guesser. Either Bryce will guess correctly and move forward or he will fail and be terminated. The pressure is on as they play best of three. Taylor wins the first round and then becomes the holder for round two. Taylor wins the second round. Bryce gladly takes it and roots for Taylor to win. He sacrifices his game to give them the best chance at winning. They say goodbye, and she takes her egg to join the others in the living quarters.
Egg cracking
Upon Wonka's instructions, the final four contestants head into the kitchen to crack open their eggs. Inside will be a number, and the lower the number, the bigger the advantage: GARRISON (1), GABRIELLE (3), ZIAD (4), TAYLOR (2). They file out behind Ben and enter into the portrait corridor alone to complete the first task.
Two coins lay on each contestant's hat. Since Garrison pulled number one out of his golden egg. Everything is up for grabs for him, just like when he went first in the half office. Wonka tells him, "You could either only take your two coins or take your two coins plus any other coins on top of the Wonka hat.”
But whichever he picks will factor into his survival in the next factory game; he must choose wisely. Despite wanting to walk away with all five coins, he doesn't want to take from everyone else. He avoids temptation and greed, hoping it works in his favor in the next factory test. He goes and stands beside Ben at the giant gumball machine, hoping he has enough coins.
Taylor follows her gut, sticks with her lucky number 2, and knows she doesn't need an advantage. Wanting to put Ziad at a disadvantage, Gabrielle gives into greed and takes all five coins. Ziad isn't fooled by the lack of coins, gives into his disadvantage, hoping it still comes out the other side.
But it's not a true Ziad moment without his recap on him “doing everything for everyone throughout this game," and now he's going to make them pay. With the amount of voiceover/hot seat scenes he's getting, I don't have a good feeling about how the tour is going to look ending episode 8 and starting episode 9. The finale is down to the wire, and the heat is on.
The smack talking happens immediately as Ziad realizes Gabby was greedy with the coins. But she makes a good point. They don't know what the coins will give them an advantage. So although the others want a fair playing field, as Ziad points out, Gabby could be right, and she could be the one that is at a disadvantage. Even though Wonka states that the coins will determine your survival, he didn't say how they would determine their fate. Whereas the lowest number put them at an advantage. He did not say what the coin amount would do to their advantage.
Wonka tells them one by one, they'll place coins and the slot of the guess they wish to remain on the tour. It takes three coins to save someone, but there are only enough coins to save three of the remaining four contestants. Unfortunately, this is another game where they have to rely on each other and can't save themselves. He gives them five minutes to strategize, talk, and form connections because their time and his factory depend on it.
I'm getting a little deja vu from the Wonkavator challenges. If you remember, Kellye and Jeff met their end due to connections and strategy. Crushing Room: “They can pour the candy into anyone's cylinder but their own. This game seems to be about connections and loyalty.” Now, the time has come again for the contestants to rely on their bonds to secure their safety. Not only are we back to a game of loyalty, but also the giant gumball machine. In episodes 1 and 2, this gumball machine tested loyalty between Everett, James, Moon, Hunter, Marcy, and Joanne. Now, it'll test the loyalty between Ziad, Taylor, Garrison, and Gabrielle.
Ziad surprises me by pulling Gabrielle first to strategize. Yet he doesn't quite persuade her when he throws. I've done this for you, and you've not repaid the price. She doesn't see it that way, and honestly I agree with her. Although he was helping others in the game, it was also pushing him further in the game. Maybe he was solidifying his safety by helping others, but in turn it looks like he's gaslighting people into being loyal to him. I don't blame Gabriella for being suspicious because of the way he wants to take her out and she wants to take him out. This is not a friendly conversation even though it's posing as one at the beginning.
I absolutely love that Gabriella calls him out on his mansplaining. But their rage is noticed by Garrison and Taylor, who can tell they're yelling at each other. The powerful woman comes out, and she tells him like it is. She does not appreciate the way he's gone about conversations over the course of this game, and I agree. His strategy is to make himself look good, but in turn it does come off as gaslighting, and Gabby is pointing that out. She sticks a knife into this conversation, making him walk off, which is already a win in her book to me.
It's obvious from the voiceover and hot seat interviews that Gabrielle and Ziad are gunning for the other's termination. So will it be Gabrielle or Ziad going home? I believe Garrison and Taylor are safe as Gabrielle and Ziad go head to head in this challenge of loyalty.
Find out who aligns with who when we enter the last episode of Wonka's The Golden Ticket competition only on Netflix.
All episodes of Wonka's The Golden Ticket are steaming now on Netflix
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