Full Metal Jousting: Episode 7 “A Killing Machine”

One final joust before the quarterfinals begin. No major injuries this week but we see a massive hit that results in a double unhorsing!

Episode 7: ‘A Killing Machine’

The episode opens at the jousting match-up platform. The jousters need no introduction, they are the only two who remain. The final joust will be Joe McKinley versus James Fairclough. The coaches choose the horses, Coach Rod picks Jefferson for Joe and Coach Ripper picks Gulliver for James.

During Practice James has a difficult time with Gulliver. After a few passes Gulliver refuses to run anymore. He just stands there and no one is able to move him. Coach Ripper and James agree that a horse switch should be made. James finished practice on Superman.
Joe – Jefferson vs James – Gulliver/Superman

The Joust

Pass 1:
Black Team, Joe: Miss
Red Team, James: Broken Lance +5

Pass 2:
Black Team, Joe: Strike +1
Red Team, James: Strike +1

Pass 3:
Black Team, Joe: Miss
Red Team, James: Miss

Pass 4:
Black Team, Joe: Miss
Red Team, James: Miss

Pass 5:
Black Team, Joe: Miss
Red Team, James: Miss

Pass 6:
Black Team, Joe: Broken Lance +5
Red Team, James: Miss

Pass 7:
Black Team, Joe: Broken Lance +5
Red Team, James: Strike +1

Pass 8:
Black Team, Joe: Strike +1
Red Team, James: Unhorsing +10

Final:
Black Team, Joe: 12
Red Team, James: 17

James Fairclough wins and moves on to the quarterfinals. The final pass was the best of the joust, both jousters delivered a crushing blow. While James was able to hang on, Joe tried and tried but in the end he ended up in the dirt.

The jousters for the quarter finals are finalized. They are:

• Josh Knowles
• Jake Nodar
• Josh Avery
• Matt Hiltman
• Rope Myers
• Paul Suda
• Nathan Klassen
• James Fairclough

Shane tells the jousters he and the coaches will deliberate and the quarterfinal match-ups will be announced in the morning. He then dismisses the jousters.

Quarterfinals Match-ups

Match-up #1
Josh Knowles
vs.
Paul Suda

---

Match-up #2
Rope Myers
vs.
Josh Avery

---

Match-up #3
Jake Nodar
vs.
James Fairclough

---

Match-up #4
Matt Hiltman
vs.
Nathan Klassen

Paul thinks Jefferson will be a good horse and give him the best chance of winning th ejoust. Josh picks Paladin, a horse that wasn’t available for the preliminary jousts.

Practice was about the same for Josh and Paul. Both were getting comfortable with their horse and jousting their teammates. Josh had the best practice, breaking lances at will and even unhorsing his opponents. Paul had a shaky start but by the end he was looking much better.

It seems jousting and theatrical jousting to be specific is a small world. We saw in a previous episode two jousters who worked together and this joust is the same. It turns out that Josh trained and worked with Paul in theatrical jousting for years. They are good friends, but one of them will lose.

Quarterfinal Joust #1

Josh Knowles riding Paladin
vs.
Paul Suda riding Jefferson

Pass 1: Outside strike zone (re-pass)
Black Team, Josh: Unhorsing; No points awarded
Red Team, Paul: Strike; No points awarded
On the first pass Josh got a huge jump and when the jousters clashed Paul was not in the strike zone. The judges called off the pass and awarded a re-pass.

Pass 1: Re-Pass
Black Team, Josh: Broken Lance +5
Red Team, Paul: Strike +1

Pass 2:
Black Team, Josh: Miss
Red Team, Paul: Strike +1

Pass 3:
Black Team, Josh: Miss
Red Team, Paul: Strike +1

Pass 4:
Black Team, Josh: Miss
Red Team, Paul: Miss

Pass 5:
Black Team, Josh: Miss
Red Team, Paul: Miss

Pass 6:
Black Team, Josh: Unhorsing +10
Red Team, Paul: Unhorsing +10

Pass 7:
Black Team, Josh: Unhorsing +10
Red Team, Paul: Miss

Pass 8:
Black Team, Josh: Miss
Red Team, Paul: Strike +1

Final:
Black Team, Josh: 25
Red Team, Pau: 14

Josh wins and moves on to the SemiFinals. Shane congratulates them both and we get a preview of next week’s episode.

The double unhorsing on pass 6 was massive! Both jousters hit the sweet spot and ended up eating dirt. They weren’t injured and were able to continue. Watch the joust below.

I have to say that the editing in the last two episodes has been bad. Last week when I was watching, in slow motion, an unhorsing HISTORY Channel showed the hit three times. The first two were fine a nice hit high on the grand guard driving the jouster back. The third time it wasn’t even the same hit. The third hit they showed was low, off the grand guard and didn’t phase the rider.

This week during a practice session they showed a replay of a hit and the lance was painted solid red. They only use the painted lances during an actual joust. During practice they use plain non-painted lances. I don’t know if they are trying to make the hits look more dramatic or if they are just lazy. Either way better attention needs to be paid to the editing process. Right now it is lacking

With only three episodes left we are almost guaranteed two jousts per episode. Stay tuned for more quarterfinal action!

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