Special Forces-Mind Over Matter: When Fear Takes the Lead

Special Forces-Mind Over Matter: When Fear Takes the Lead

Podcast Summary: Special Forces S4 E4 – “Mind Set”

Episode 4 dives deep into mental toughness, fear, and the power of mindset under extreme pressure. Fourteen recruits remain as Day 4 begins.

The episode focuses on two main challenges — a terrifying 300-foot repel and an underground tunnel mission — testing not just physical skill but emotional control.

Ravi opens up about how humor is his defense mechanism, but his constant talking puts him on the DS radar. During a tense interrogation, he reveals the heartbreaking story of losing his infant daughter, Sachi, which reshapes the audience’s understanding of his struggle and strength.

Andrew wrestles with self-doubt and living in the shadow of his wife, Olympian Shawn Johnson. Despite his insecurities, he steps up as a leader in the tunnel mission and earns the DS’s respect for his growth and composure.

The repel challenge exposes the recruits’ deepest fears — from Nick Young’s panic to Chanel’s forgotten code — while Shawn Johnson and Ravi excel. However, Johnny Manziel’s mental breakdown in the tunnels leads him to tap out, unable to overcome his fear, disappointing his team and himself.

By day’s end, 13 recruits remain, mentally and physically drained but showing signs of resilience and leadership emerging from struggle.

Transcript

Wendy (00:01.698)
Welcome to We Why Whenever, I'm Wendy.

Lori (00:04.325)
And I'm Lori.

Wendy (00:06.104)
We are talking about Special Forces Season 4, Episode Number 4. This one is called Mindset, which is a good name for this one.

Lori (00:15.033)
Yes.

Wendy (00:16.66)
It is day four and there's 14 remaining and it is 06.03 hours, which is 6.03 AM. And we start out with Andrew and Ravi are talking and Ravi says that he loves this and he feels like he feels bad for his wife. And then we see him talking in his confessional and he says his wife and his whole family are all terrified for him for doing this. And when I'm watching it, I was like,

Lori (00:40.933)
Right.

Wendy (00:43.692)
That's a little odd, like I don't know too much about it, but we'll see at the end, like there's way more to this story. And that's what I said about this show that I really wanna know is I wanna know about these people. I wanna hear their story and like why they're there. yeah, yeah, it definitely is what makes it.

Lori (00:57.157)
Mm-hmm. Yeah, the backstory is what makes it.

That, and I also think what makes it is I really enjoy the psychological aspect of it. What the staff is trying to accomplish and their insights and I enjoy that end of it also.

Wendy (01:12.184)
Yeah.

Wendy (01:22.646)
No, I agree. So today the challenge is, the first challenge is their mindset. And when you were in the combat stress, do you panic or do you understand the stress for what it is? And that's what they're going to have to try and overcome. You must keep your composure is what the DS is telling them.

And this is where they're going to induce panic and fear and they want to see how the recruits are going to act and what they're going to do. So they're going to take them close to the edge and they want to see if they can either deal with it or they won't be there anymore.

On the way there, Cody is talking to Andrew and he says to him, Cody, listen, I'm not a fan of Cody. don't, I honestly, every time he opens his mouth, I'm just like, right? Yeah, yeah. So he says to Andrew, like, you know, you're experiencing football, like you were a long snapper. So it's not like you were getting a lot of the glory.

Lori (02:15.877)
Yes, it's insert foot. Most definitely.

Wendy (02:27.798)
And Andrew said, yeah, know, first I was a linebacker, then they switched me and they made me a long snapper. you know, then I got married to Sean Johnson and now like nobody cares about Andrew. Everyone's like, you know, he's like, my ego doesn't get a chance to shine. Everyone's like, you're Sean Johnson's husband. And I get it because she is, listen, she's an Olympic gold medalist. And you can see on this show, she is a force to be reckoned with. She's got, she's

Lori (02:54.533)
She's a badass is what she is. She's a badass.

Wendy (02:57.516)
Yep. She's got the mental and physical strength to pretty much do anything. And it's honestly, it's so interesting to see the two of them because he is a big guy and she is a tiny woman. Right? And, but she's carrying it. She's carrying it.

Lori (03:11.367)
Tiny girl, Mm-hmm. Yep.

Lori (03:18.501)
And do see how Cody says, know, he's always has to have some back ass comment like, you can do the dishes, Andrew. Stop it. Let's see what your wives have to say about you.

Wendy (03:24.557)
Yeah.

Wendy (03:28.204)
Yeah. Like, yeah, exactly. And he even says, well, he's only left with one because all the rest of them are like, we're done with you. Right? Yeah. I mean, Andrew even acknowledges like he's, he knew she was tough, watching her prepare for this course, like she's locked in, like he's never seen before. And he is even intimidated by his own wife, which honestly, that says a lot. That says a lot.

Lori (03:36.91)
That's what I'm saying.

Lori (03:51.856)
Mm-hmm.

Wendy (03:55.892)
I mean, I'm intimidated by her to be quite honest with you.

Lori (03:56.166)
Yeah.

There were certain things that happened that I've noticed from past episodes and then this episode that, you know, you're always, I'm always wondering, especially with the reality TV shows, you know, what's scripted and what has, what is really taking place. But there were several times where she was like a mother henning him a little, like nitpicking at certain things or just.

pointing certain things out and it makes me wonder whether it was really their relationship or were those the things that production has brought about? Like does Cody really always walk around shirtless or did production just present those scenes repeatedly so that it seemed like he did? You're always wondering.

Wendy (04:49.838)
Yeah, no, I get that. get that. On the way there, we Gia says she doesn't want to drown again, so she's like little fearful of water.

Lori (05:00.343)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And I wrote down, like, I would be thinking myself, okay, whatever this challenge is, at least we're going by some water. Because you know it's got to be hot as hell there. So water has to be a blessing no matter what, you know?

Wendy (05:14.12)
yeah, that's a good point.

Yeah, that's a good point. the DSs tell them one of the things they're asked to do when they're in special forces is to infiltrate key national structures. And they turn around and they are on the one of the biggest structures in the world. And it's this huge dam, which is intimidating. Have you ever, have you ever like, have you ever been to Hoover Dam?

Lori (05:38.729)
Mm-hmm. most definitely.

No, I always wanted to go. I've never been to the Grand Canyon. I've always wanted to see that too. I'd like to see something like that. Like you say, it's just this overwhelming vista of something.

Wendy (05:53.228)
Yeah, it's massive.

So I have been to Hoover Dam. I have not been to the Grand Canyon. And it is massive. it's like, it's kind of, I mean, it's hard to imagine it like you saw it there. It's kind of like Niagara Falls. Like you can't imagine it until you experience it in person. Right. And that Hoover Dam and this dam looks kind of the same way. It's just this huge, massive structure. So, you know, the DSs tell them that like you're going to need to

Lori (06:09.073)
Mm-hmm.

Lori (06:13.017)
until you really see it.

Lori (06:22.288)
Mm-hmm.

Wendy (06:27.95)
you know, not doubt, no self doubt, you need to get it, attack this with self confidence. So you can't like just second guess yourself, you need to go out there and just do it. So what they're gonna do is they watch the first guy do it, he's a special forces guy, they're gonna drop, they're gonna do an extrication, they're gonna drop down 300 feet.

Lori (06:38.629)
Mm-hmm.

Lori (06:49.403)
Yeah, repel. my gosh.

Wendy (06:51.99)
Yeah, repel on a line and they're going to give them a set of coordinates and when they get to the bottom, they have to repeat those coordinates to the person that's meeting them down there so that they can extract their person, right?

Lori (07:05.157)
which sounds really simple, but I'm sure it's not. mean, I'm sure I would forget everything that they told me before I left. Yeah, you're concentrating on just like repelling and not, you know, crashing, not on the sequence of letters and numbers that they want you to remember.

Wendy (07:07.523)
Yeah.

Wendy (07:15.022)
Chris, you're concentrating on not dying.

Wendy (07:23.627)
Right.

Wendy (07:27.818)
Exactly. So the first one to go is Nick Young. And Nick Young is our NBA player who's like seven feet tall with the big earrings, right? So, so far he's failed every single task he's had. And he says up there when he's up there, he's very scared. He's like, this, this is scary. And like, F this. Like he's terrified. You can tell it. Like he, he's not hiding it.

Lori (07:37.447)
Mm-hmm.

Lori (07:52.281)
You can, yeah, definitely. No.

Wendy (07:56.82)
So the DS tells him legs shoulder width apart, walk backwards, and then he gives him his code, golf alpha five six four six, right?

Lori (08:08.271)
Again, that's just like the helicopter thing. That's probably got to has to be the scariest moment is when they make you lean back like that over this huge, you know, space, open space. That's got to be terrifying.

Wendy (08:17.485)
Yeah.

Wendy (08:22.082)
Yeah. Yeah. So he's like, his feet are up against the wall and he's leaning back and he gives him his code and his eyes are closed. He goes back, but he doesn't jump. So he winds up falling. Like his legs don't repel like they're supposed to. And he's like dangling and the DS is yelling at him, like, open your eyes, get control, look over your right shoulder. Like he's giving him instructions, right?

Lori (08:39.344)
Mm-hmm.

Wendy (08:49.646)
So he winds up finally lowering himself down. gets down to the DQ and he's like, okay, what's the code? And Nick is like, alpha 2469. Nope, that was not the code. He's like, you fail.

Lori (09:02.971)
But I mean, I was really proud of him because he did it. He like accomplished it. So whether he passed or failed, like he did it.

Wendy (09:08.91)
Like, yeah, I agree. I agree. The next up is Ravi and he says that they don't like when you're funny or sarcastic. And he gets up there and the DS says, well, you're going to tell me like what you're going to do. Right. And he's like, I'm not going to speak unless I'm spoken to.

And then in his confessionally, tells us like that's his defense mechanism. Like he's an actor. So he's used to just kind of improving and, you know, like just talking, just like kind of talking and not leaving like dead air. That's what he's used to doing.

Lori (09:41.041)
Mm-hmm.

Lori (09:47.365)
Yeah, and it's the same thing with Nick. He said the same thing, that that's kind of his MO is to kind of like just make a joke.

Wendy (09:52.206)
You used to making, yeah, making jokes, right.

So then the DS asks him, like, where are you from? He's like, you know, I'm from England. And then Robbie's like, well, I enjoyed this conversation. And the DS is like, I don't, dimwit. I was like, boy.

Lori (10:09.447)
Well, this is the thing. They're not up there to make conversation with you. You're lucky the guy gave you England. Don't ask him whereabouts in England. It's like, what are you doing? It's yeah, no, no, they're not about it. They're not about it.

Wendy (10:20.02)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, right, right. So then he gives him his code, which is GA6534. He's like, okay, control walk, walk, like walk it back and push it off. And actually like when Robbie did it, I was like, wow, he totally nailed it. Like I saw him repel and I was like, I feel like he's done this before. Like I didn't feel like that was his first time. And

Lori (10:40.219)
He did.

Wendy (10:48.02)
He gets down and the, I think it's a DQ asks him like, what's his code? And he gives him the code GA6534. He's like, you passed. So of course he feels like a rock star and everyone else watching him is like, wow, like you did a great job. And he did. I mean, you can't take that away from him. He did a great job. Then we see Brianna is next. And in her confessional, she says that she's terrified.

Lori (11:03.27)
Mm-hmm.

Wendy (11:14.604)
I think she did a good job of hiding it when she was up there, they don't really give us their whole experience. We just get hers next, then we get Chanel's next, and then we get Johnny Manziel's next, and he's worried about failure.

Lori (11:22.128)
Right.

Wendy (11:32.782)
We see Shawn in her confessional and she's talking about everything she sacrificed in her life, her whole life just for her sport. So she knows how to focus because that's all she's ever known. This is what she grew up with.

Lori (11:42.556)
Yeah.

Lori (11:47.943)
Well, yeah, this highly disciplined, know, it's a highly disciplined person when you when you're somebody who's that type of athlete.

Wendy (11:50.734)
100%.

Wendy (11:57.642)
I think any Olympic athlete has to be highly disciplined or otherwise, right? You're not going to get there. It's funny because you would think that of the NFL or the NBA, but it's not the same. It's not the same level. It's not. And you could tell by this competition, like the cream definitely rises to the top, right? So Andrew says he's never really seen this competitive side of her. So he's kind of like,

Lori (12:01.44)
most definitely. Yeah, no, no, no.

Lori (12:09.367)
No, no, not at all, not at all, no, not at all.

Lori (12:18.152)
Most definitely, yeah.

Wendy (12:27.008)
almost in awe and intimidated. Jesse James Decker goes and she does great. Cody after he goes, he's like, that was great, I wanna do it again. And the DS says to him, stop smiling. So I guess he passed.

Lori (12:30.203)
Mm-hmm.

Lori (12:42.415)
Yeah. I saw things on him how he like intensely, intensely trained for this show. Yeah, like worked out four hours a day, went to climates so he could climb mountains that had a higher altitude, like...

Wendy (12:52.876)
Really?

Lori (13:07.203)
He's, I think that he's so narcissistic that for him to fail at it is just, I think that probably for months he has focused on nothing except for that. But they said that he was, you know, he's the oldest on the, on the show, but yeah, he's the oldest and he really intensely trained. And they said,

Wendy (13:28.427)
I didn't realize that.

Lori (13:35.488)
Members of the cast said it was almost like he was on like speed like He would pass the younger people, you know scurrying up and down the side of a mountain like Someone half his age and they were like, whoa. Whoa he was just super intense and They said like his yeah and his like cardio was like off the chain Yeah

Wendy (13:55.918)
Focused.

Wendy (14:01.272)
That's interesting. How old is he that he's the oldest?

Lori (14:04.719)
I don't remember.

Wendy (14:07.586)
Because I thought Teresa was like 53, so he's gotta be in his 50s.

Lori (14:11.993)
Yeah. What's his last name?

Wendy (14:15.512)
Cody Brown.

Lori (14:17.019)
Let's see. How old is Cody Brown?

56.

Wendy (14:27.694)
56, okay.

Lori (14:29.411)
Yeah. So interesting.

Wendy (14:32.238)
Yeah, that is interesting. I mean, and he's not an athlete either, you know, so So, you know what good for him, even though don't like him good for him So then we see Chanel forgot the code Brianna passed Johnny Menzel passed Obviously Chanel failed Shawn Johnson passed Andrew tells her she was perfect form out there and like thanks for showing me the way and then it's his turn and he's the last to go

Lori (14:35.959)
No, no, no, no, no.

Lori (14:40.859)
Yeah. Yeah.

Lori (15:00.784)
Mm-hmm.

Wendy (15:02.826)
So he's like, you know what, like he gets up there and he said like, she set the bar high. goes, if I went first, I would set the bar way too low. Like she is basically, you know, he feels inferior to her. He says that, you know, he.

Lori (15:18.087)
Yeah, yeah. But you know, like I said, she can be a little, I don't know that she necessarily means it, but she can really come off like cocky. Like he was like, my knees are shaking. I'm nervous. was like.

Wendy (15:35.51)
I don't think she means it. I think she is very focused on what it is she needs to do. Yeah. I think she's just focused. And he says to the DS up there that, you know, he thinks that they're a good team. I think that they're a good team too. I actually really like them together. I really do.

Lori (15:36.097)
You know what mean? Like she's just like, I don't know what's wrong with you. Yeah.

Lori (15:55.142)
Almost definitely. And you see them later on, they show just like a moment where they're just sitting on a cot together, leaning on each other. And you can, there's no doubt of the connection and the peace that they have with each other. It was just one of those moments where you, when you have something like that with someone else, that the rest of the world melts away and you can just...

Wendy (16:08.632)
Yeah.

Wendy (16:23.937)
Yeah.

Lori (16:25.209)
You really don't even have to say anything, but just the way they were sitting together, was really, it was very nice.

Wendy (16:31.744)
No, I totally agree.

He gets his code. He said that when you know his football career didn't pan out how he wanted it to and Sean saw him when he was at rock bottom and he's like I want her to see me like to be the guy that steps up to the plate and he gets down there and he fails because of the code. He got the code wrong. It was BG 7127 and he said

Lori (16:51.431)
Mm-hmm.

Wendy (17:02.494)
UG7127, like he was one letter off. He was so close. I know. But of course, like he's pissed because, you know, he wants to, he wants to say, they all want to succeed. He's like, I'm going to have nightmares about that number. You know, like this was like my chance to do it. And I screwed it up because of this stupid number. So then they say like, let's, you know, let's grab your bags. And one of them is like, I got to pay.

Lori (17:06.351)
Yeah, I mean, come on. Yeah.

Lori (17:11.921)
Mm-hmm.

Lori (17:23.687)
Mm-hmm.

Wendy (17:32.374)
And someone says, does anyone else got to pay? I don't know who said these things.

Lori (17:35.707)
Yeah, I don't remember either. I know one of them was Ravi.

Wendy (17:40.27)
Ravi, yes. So then Diaz says, hold on just a minute. He says, you all want to go for a pee. Ravi says, like, we can all go over there by the gate. And there's an entrance over there. And the Diaz is like, oh, wait. So you're going to tell me what my job is? Do you want to get up here and do my job? And Ravi starts to walk.

Lori (18:03.143)
Gracie, what is wrong with you? What is wrong with you? What is wrong with you? Because really, it should have been...

Wendy (18:04.91)
was like, what are you doing, Robbie?

Lori (18:12.007)
Sir, we'd like permission to use the head, sir. That's how you ask to go to the bathroom. You don't just be like, let's go pee over there. No.

Wendy (18:13.964)
Yes. Yes. Yes.

Wendy (18:23.072)
Yeah, right. Right. Exactly. Exactly.

Lori (18:27.047)
And he was like, oh, what do do? I was like, oh, Lord. You asked him exactly where'd he live, making chit chat on the top of the dam, and now you're fucking around with bathroom breaks. That's what you did.

Wendy (18:29.773)
Yeah, like

Wendy (18:42.093)
Yeah.

So then he announced who's the fails are. I mean, he announced the numbers. I didn't bother to look them up, but four, 11, five, eight, and 13 all failed. That's one third of the team failed. He's like, failure in the battlefield means a loss of life. And when you look at it that way, like that's huge. That's huge. Right. And he says to seven, you are a pass, which is Ravi, but.

Lori (18:56.155)
Mm-hmm.

Lori (19:03.535)
yeah, that's huge pressure. Yeah, huge.

Wendy (19:12.642)
you're highlighting yourself. He said, you know what that means. And he's like, no. He's like, you're on our effing radar. Like even then he doesn't realize like what he's doing wrong. Like he doesn't know. And he actually whispers like, what am I doing wrong? I'm like, my God, are you not there present? Like, I mean, we can all see it. How can you not, right?

Lori (19:21.239)
Mm-mm, doesn't get it. Mm-hmm.

Lori (19:27.355)
Mm-hmm.

Lori (19:33.48)
Yeah, yeah, yeah. But, you know, we're, we've been watching for a couple episodes and, you know, we're not in it. And we get the, we get the, you know, we get the 411. This is about military discipline. It's like military. But for someone who's never been around the military before, I'm sure he's like, okay, let me do what I'm told, you know, but not realizing what he's doing, you know.

Wendy (19:40.696)
Yeah.

Wendy (19:48.033)
Yes.

Wendy (20:00.076)
Right.

So they get back to the camp and the DS's are deciding like who they're gonna take back and they all decide that, know, number seven, Ravi, is a little bit cocky. So he's the one they're gonna call back. And before he goes back, when they call him, Randall says to him, like, listen, Ravi, don't say your first thought or your second thought. He's like, say your third thought and think about your answer because that's what his problem is.

He's just spouting out whatever comes to his mind. It just comes out of his mouth. Exactly. So he gets back there and they ask him, like, why do you think we brought you here? And he's like, the ironic thing is normally I have quite a lot to say. And he said, think that it's you pointed out that like I talk too much. And the DS is like, well, you're not supposed to talk. He's like,

Lori (20:32.78)
Whatever comes to his mind. Right. It's just improv-ing a little too much.

Wendy (20:58.39)
you spout off way more than you should in this environment. And Robbie's like sitting there now he's not talking, he's like nodding his head and the DS says like, are you, why? And he said, I think my personality takes like calibrating in this type of environment. I feel like I've made improvements, but obviously not enough.

Lori (21:18.619)
Yeah, and then that's so funny because like he said, he thinks he's being really quiet and subdued. So I bet you he just must be like the chatterbox personality, like, he's yakking away. So for him, it's like, I'm being so quiet.

Wendy (21:24.938)
Yes, exactly. Exactly.

Wendy (21:31.959)
Yeah.

Wendy (21:37.216)
Exactly. And again, this is only day four and he is like, I feel like he didn't train. I feel like he didn't watch the other seasons. Right? I feel like he didn't. Yeah, I feel like he didn't know what he was getting himself into. He's like, I just, he says to him, I just want to be clear, like I never meant to be disrespectful. This is not at all what I put out. And I believe him when he says that. I don't think he meant to be disrespectful. I just don't think he realizes.

Lori (21:47.099)
Probably not. Yeah, yeah, that's how I feel too. He was just like, okay, I'll do it. Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Wendy (22:07.454)
where he is and how he's supposed to be behaving.

Lori (22:10.521)
Right. Yeah.

Wendy (22:14.179)
So he also says to them, listen, I'm pulling from places I've never pulled before. So he feels like he's digging down deep. And I think that he is, especially for the physical stuff, because this isn't stuff he's used to doing. And the DS tells him, you're just seeing the surface. This is going to get way harder. This is not even right. And then they say to him, what's the hardest thing that you've ever had to do?

Lori (22:37.716)
We're just starting.

Wendy (22:47.04)
And that's when he drops it. He's like, well, you know, I lost my daughter five days after she was born a couple of years ago. And as soon as he says that, I'm like, like that's heartbreaking.

Lori (22:53.489)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Lori (23:00.411)
Yeah, so I think basically she had some...

brain damage and so I think what they had to do was maybe make the decision to take her off life support because she wasn't going to thrive, you know, so.

Wendy (23:14.456)
Mm-hmm.

Right. Yeah, because the DS says like, how did it affect your, the first thing he said was how did it affect your wife? And he said, well, it was awful for his wife and for his daughter, you know, who was six at the time. He said his daughter's school was right across the street. And like they said, we're going to have to, you know, we're going to have to make a hard choice. And he said, well, I want my daughter to meet her. So he went and got his daughter and he,

Lori (23:39.003)
Mm-hmm.

Wendy (23:45.196)
you know, his daughter met her, her name was Sashi, and they hung out for a little bit and they cried together. And, you know, he got, she got to meet her sister, but it was a hard time. And I, yeah, yeah, yeah. But then when he brings up that he's feeling guilty about being there while his wife is at home, because earlier we, I remember he said, like, his wife and family don't want him to be there.

Lori (23:56.452)
brutal. I can't even imagine. I can't even imagine.

Wendy (24:14.158)
And I'm like, well, why would they not want him to be there? Well, I think this is why they didn't want him to be there because one, they didn't want him to be away from the family after, you know, what had happened. And two, they probably watched the show and knew what he was going to be going through.

Lori (24:14.395)
Mm-hmm.

Lori (24:27.727)
Yeah. And they're like, that's she in the wave is probably that's the last thing I need is you with like a busted leg or something.

Wendy (24:34.664)
Right, exactly. And then he says like, after she passed, like I felt the weight of my family on my shoulders. Like, you know, my wife's experience was deeply emotional and physical. And like, I don't want to lose sight of anything. Like I'm trying to use my time the most efficiently as I can. Like I know that time away from my family is precious because I don't know how much time I'm going to have. So, you know,

Although he knows it's a, I mean, he's got to know it's a 10 day challenge. They're going to be there for 10 days. If you last the whole time, I guess in his mind, he's like, I'm just going to give it all I got for 10 days. And his idea of giving it all he has is with his mouth. Like he needs to just shut up, right? And then they tell him like, for all the talking you've done, like you really haven't really done a lot of physical exertion yet. Like this.

Lori (25:20.975)
Yeah, you just yeah. Yeah, absolutely.

Wendy (25:33.856)
is going to get way worse physically.

Lori (25:35.751)
Mm-hmm.

Wendy (25:39.808)
So he goes back and they ask him how it was and he tells them how it was and then they're going to do the second exercise of the day. And they have to get all their gear and what they're going to face now is a brutal real life combat mission.

This one was tough.

Lori (26:02.189)
please. On the way there, I forget who it was that said it, that they're like, somebody's got to go. Because this is the longest they've had people hold on for. So I guess from previous seasons, maybe more people left. But at this time, know, than have left now. So.

Wendy (26:12.706)
yeah, they were talking about

Wendy (26:20.48)
Earlier. Yes.

Wendy (26:26.486)
Yeah. So they tell them the next goal is the main goal is to be able to move into enemy territory, covertly kill and get out. So we're going to test your ability to navigate through tunnels. Your target is the signal tower and they're going to split you into four teams. Each team is going to have a leader and that leader is going to be selected by the DS. So that's

Lori (26:51.405)
Now, there are no women leaders of teams.

Wendy (26:58.69)
Who led Sean's team? Because I couldn't tell who led her team. I thought she might have led it.

Lori (27:03.527)
I don't think so. I think every team leader was a guy. I think every team leader was a guy.

Wendy (27:05.821)
You don't?

Okay.

It was, I'll be honest with you, was very hard for me to tell with this challenge.

Lori (27:15.847)
Oh yeah, there's a lot going on.

Wendy (27:18.722)
So the first team was a team of three and Johnny Menzel was the leader and it was Johnny Menzel, Gia and Chanel.

The DS hands Johnny Menzel a grenade and he's like, okay, follow me. Let's get down to the ditch. And then they enter a half a mile of like this claustrophobic underground tunnel. when Johnny gets in, gets in, and then it's time for G to go in. And she's like panicking. And she's like, I'm having an anxiety attack. And DS Foxy's like, you gotta do this. She's like, can I take off my helmet? I can't breathe.

And he's like, you're breathing right now, like just do it. And she does it. She does it. it was, listen, she was actually having a panic attack and she did it. And I'm proud of her.

Lori (28:01.735)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Lori (28:08.369)
Almost definitely. So I just want to show you as I'm writing my notes, look. No, no, no, no. No. No, no. That's how strongly I felt about it. Like I was, cause I get a little claustrophobic with things like that. And there's no, no, no, no, no way. No way.

Wendy (28:14.115)
no, no, no. Fuck no.

Lori (28:38.193)
Like I was freaking out just watching it. Just watching it. But you know, again, I always have this thing where I'm really thinking about it and I'm like, like I understand that we see them do these things. And I do think there's a lot of things that they do. But sometimes when I just watch scene by scene, I'm like.

Wendy (28:42.018)
Yeah.

Lori (29:04.497)
There's certain things that maybe they're doing a lot less than they show, because they do really amp it up. They really do amp up the drama of the show. So I don't know. Like, when you look at all the scenes, they look really real, but I don't know that they went through the whole entire thing of the tunnel. I don't know. I don't know. Just question, just, I don't know.

Wendy (29:29.437)
that's interesting. I definitely think they went through it. You don't think so?

Lori (29:34.6)
I don't know. just don't know. There's just some parts of me that when I watch like scene by scene, I think to myself, well, when you put those all together, it really looks like they did A, B, and C to its fullest. But when you look at them separately, it could be some massaging. I don't know.

Maybe, maybe, again, maybe that was just my overall fear of it that like, no, this can't even be. Like there's no way people could have actually done it and made it through. I'm not sure what it was.

Wendy (30:13.186)
That's interesting, because I definitely think that they're doing it. I'm just a little disappointed that we don't get to see all of them do it, like to completion.

Lori (30:20.943)
Yeah. And it's doing something like that certainly, certainly makes you work as a team. Because like you were saying, the first team, you know, they got to a thing in the tunnel where it was kind of a dead end. And, you know, he really didn't even communicate. He freaked out. He started backing up without even telling the people behind him. He was coming.

Wendy (30:29.231)
for sure.

Wendy (30:38.861)
Yeah.

Lori (30:49.903)
And everybody had to be like, shit, okay, I guess we're backing out, you know, just, it certainly makes you work as a team.

Wendy (30:57.27)
Yeah, and I'll be honest with you, when they did get to that dead end, he actually isn't even the one that figured it out that you had to back out. Like he was gonna try and dig it out. The DS has had to tell him, you have to turn around, you have to get out, you can't go any further. So he's, like you said, he starts moving back and Gia is, obviously she was the last one in, so she's gonna be the first one out.

Lori (31:07.696)
Mm-hmm.

Lori (31:12.635)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Wendy (31:23.52)
and she's there like coaching Chanel and she's calling and coaching Johnny. Like she's really there leading. Yeah, she's leading. She really was. And then he all of a sudden pops his head out. I didn't even know they had these like places you could pop your head out. And he's like, I'm out. And the DS is like, are you sure? Like you're only three meters away from the rest of your team. Like he's yelling at him. Like you're only three meters away.

Lori (31:28.913)
yeah, she definitely stepped up. She was like the team, she was like the team leader.

Wendy (31:51.898)
And he stopped for a minute and he thought, he's like, no, I'm out. And then he gave him three shots and he said, I'm out. And I was like, I mean, that's so honestly, I feel like that is so weak. Listen, I've not been in that situation. So I'm sitting here judging from, you know, the comforts of my own basement. But I feel like the fact that Gia did it and Chanel did it, Johnny Menzel, a Heisman Trophy.

Lori (31:57.762)
You still said I'm out.

Lori (32:10.8)
Right.

Lori (32:17.786)
Right.

Wendy (32:21.416)
NFL player, you should have been able to back your ass out three more meters.

Lori (32:22.95)
Mm-hmm.

Lori (32:26.727)
But I think, and I think part of even the premise of the show is it's all about your mindset. yeah, he wasn't, he's not in the correct mindset. and like I said, I am claustrophobic, so I cannot even imagine even attempting. So I had a lot of sympathy for him because just cause

Wendy (32:33.112)
Well, that's what it, I mean, that was the name of the episode.

Wendy (32:41.58)
Right.

Lori (32:58.299)
Just because you messed something up doesn't mean that you can't be a leader or you're not a leader. And I'm sure him having the lead role in it and not being able to complete it was horrible for him. such, you know, I'm sure he felt like he really let himself down. But one thing I know for certain is I'm good. I have no interest in ever doing any special forces activities.

Wendy (33:27.15)
you

Lori (33:27.655)
of any kind. When the world goes to shit, I'm sure that I will step up for a lot of stuff. And I'm sure just like him, I will immensely fuck some things up. But I have no interest. I'm with Nick. I'm good. don't... No. No. Never. I'm good. Yeah. Yeah. yeah. No.

Wendy (33:44.802)
Yeah. Okay. You don't want to play army anymore? That's Nick's quote, right? I mean, when it's all said and done and he gets out, like he's there by himself and you could see, he my biggest struggles within myself are giving up times, giving up and times losing my battle mentally. He admits it. He knows where his failures are, you know?

Lori (34:09.307)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Wendy (34:13.582)
And Chanel thanks Gia for helping her and getting her through it. And the two of them are like, I can't believe Johnny quit. I get, yeah, no. No, I mean, that's what he's saying. This is my problem is that I quit too easily and I give up. He knows where his failures are. Chanel said, actually, I swallowed so much dirt, I'm shaking. And I could see that at that point. And even when we,

Lori (34:20.603)
Mm-hmm. I'm sure he can't believe it either. You know, I really felt bad for him.

Wendy (34:43.362)
finish the whole course, you could see everyone physically is struggling. You could see it on their faces. You can see them coughing. I think that they all swallowed and inhaled dirt on these missions, not to mention the water when they get to the water portion of it. I mean,

Lori (34:56.871)
Mm-hmm.

Lori (35:00.871)
And you know, I was thinking to myself, like I said, I don't know if it's all real, but no matter what, there must have been some serious legal sign-offs for this show. Because the things that they, it must be like, you have to sign the paper that whatever happens to you, too bad, sad. We're not interested in, you know I mean? Like,

Wendy (35:23.084)
Yes.

Yes.

Lori (35:28.493)
You, there must be some serious sign-offs on this show.

Wendy (35:32.108)
I'm sure there's a clause that says, consequences can be up to and including death. I'm sure that verbiage is in there, right?

Lori (35:38.5)
Absolutely. Yeah. So I don't know. I guess, I don't know. guess maybe it is my own fear that made it seem like this challenge was like super risky. Whereas other people would think, well, it's risky propelling out of a helicopter too. But I don't know. There was something about this that if it was a hundred percent real and if they really had to do all that they had to do that was shown.

Wendy (35:53.261)
Yeah.

Lori (36:08.635)
then to me it was like a super, super risky. I don't know.

Wendy (36:18.232)
So then the next team is Brianna and she's up there and she's saying that she can't do it. They're saying if you don't want to do it, give me your armband. But she does it. She gets through it. Nick Young is in there. He's having a hard time. Randall Cobb's doing it. Christie Grandpone is doing it. Sean is doing it. I put she's a leader. I thought she was a leader because I thought she's the one who gets there and it's blocked and she's the one who backed it up. They didn't even have to tell her. I mean, I could be wrong.

Lori (36:46.715)
know it was him. It was him. It was Andrew. It was the husband. He got to the port and the tunnel. Yeah.

Wendy (36:53.142)
Okay, I do have that one too. No, do. Yeah, do have, Andrew was a great leader actually. That's when we find out when the next team goes that when they get to the target that they launched the grenade because we didn't see that with the first team because they never got there. And then like you said, it was Andrew and he was the team leader and he had Mark Estes and Jesse James Decker and one other person. So he had a team of four.

Lori (37:06.423)
Mm-hmm. Yeah, yeah.

Wendy (37:21.484)
Whereas the other team was a team of three. And like you said, he got to the end and he's the one who said, let's back it up. And he actually really did a great job leading the team. He really did. I thought he did an awesome job. And even when he got back in the car, I loved how he said great job team. he is a very good leader. He really is a good leader.

Lori (37:35.618)
he was, he was excellent.

Lori (37:42.535)
yeah, yeah.

Lori (37:47.951)
And a great team, like a team player, definitely a team player.

Wendy (37:50.764)
Yeah. So then they get back and it's day four, it's 2210, which is 1010 at night. And there's 13 recruits remaining because we lost Johnny Menzel. And they're talking about who they're going to take back next to talk to. And they decide that they want to talk to Andrew because he's kind of been a roller coaster and he didn't get the code right. The second challenge he did good.

Lori (38:04.091)
Mm-hmm.

Wendy (38:19.982)
and they want to see like what you know what's he all about so they bring him back and

Lori (38:25.861)
Now, did you notice he's going to walk out the door because they call him and his wife's like, fix your hat.

Wendy (38:30.115)
Mm-hmm.

Wendy (38:34.088)
I didn't notice that.

Lori (38:34.663)
Oh, yeah, you start to notice like if you pay attention, you'll start to notice there's and like I said, I don't think that I don't think she's a bitch and I don't think she necessarily means it. I think it's just her way. I can I think that in some ways she might even not realize it, but in some ways she adds to his.

his feelings of doubting his self worth. I don't think that she means to, but I think that she's just so strong that...

Just my.

Wendy (39:11.938)
think that's what it is. I think that she's so strong. And I can honestly say myself as kind of a type A, which is Sean is, I feel like Sean's a type A person. If my husband was walking out and his hat was crooked, I would tell him to. You know what mean? I would be doing the same thing. So I can totally like, you know, you just want to help them out, right? And I get that. I totally get that.

Lori (39:28.999)
Yeah, you talked, fixed that, fixed that. Yep, yep, Yeah.

Lori (39:38.043)
Yeah, yeah.

Wendy (39:41.582)
because I'm kind of the same way. Like I like things done, I like them done at a certain time, I like them done a certain way, and that's kind of a type A personality, which is what Sean is, right?

Lori (39:51.205)
Right, right.

Wendy (39:53.356)
So he gets back there and they ask him, you know, how is he feeling? And he's like, well, you know, it's been a roller coaster. I didn't get the code right, which we know he was pissed off at himself about that. He's like, you know, the second challenge, you know, I did, I did good. He's like, and they're like, but wait, you led the team. Like they're telling him.

Lori (40:04.582)
Mm-hmm.

Lori (40:11.471)
Yeah, he said, yeah, he said, the team did great instead of saying, you know, took it away from himself. Yeah.

Wendy (40:15.469)
Right.

Wendy (40:18.926)
Right, he's not owning his part in that. Like he was the reason that team did so well. And they have to point that out to him. Like you are the reason, like you are the leader. You were a great leader. And they ask him like, are you self-critical? And he is, he absolutely is because he tells them like, listen, was, you know, my rookie year, I was the snapper and...

He was doing good, but then all of a sudden he was making mistakes and I guess he lost it. It sounds to me like he got fired. I don't know what his exact story is, but it sounds to me like he got fired, right? He wasn't doing what they wanted him to do. And right now he doesn't trust himself because he had this great NFL football career and he didn't live up to what they wanted him to. And I think he felt like he let himself down and...

Lori (41:03.601)
Mm-hmm.

Wendy (41:10.86)
you know, this is where he's at in his life. And now he's married to an Olympic gold champion, you know?

Lori (41:16.325)
Right, Taipei. Yeah. I thought it was really cool when they said...

Wendy (41:19.198)
Yeah, exactly.

Lori (41:26.609)
that they felt the most important thing was that he allowed himself to be there for himself.

Wendy (41:36.3)
Yes, absolutely, absolutely. And I feel like that's what it is for every single one of them. Like they need to be there for themselves. And I think that, I mean, we'll have to see because I think that's Nick's biggest problem. I feel like Nick is not there for himself. Like he's still not even there for himself. And as soon as he can figure it out to be there for himself, I think that's when he'll maybe, maybe succeed, you know?

Lori (41:53.851)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Lori (42:04.475)
Yeah. Yep.

Wendy (42:06.574)
Um, he's, and Andrew, Andrew says like his biggest fear is finding a blind spot and letting it cripple him. And that comes back to his football. What happened when he was, you know, the snapper and he didn't do what they wanted him to do. So he lost it.

Lori (42:23.973)
Yeah, yeah, I think he just got so overwhelmed with self-doubt that, you know, he just didn't... People thought he could do all these great things and he just thought, well, no, I can't. And then that was it, that he couldn't.

Wendy (42:29.324)
Yeah.

Wendy (42:39.926)
Yeah, I think for him this is his biggest challenge is his mental game. It's not his physical game, it's his mental game.

Lori (42:45.755)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah. And when he goes back to the tent and they ask him, how'd it go? And he goes, uh, you know, yeah, I got a lot of, you know, they told me that, uh, I'm not celebrating. And they're like, that's the note you got. Everybody got their ass handed to them on a platter. And you come back with the note that you're not celebrating enough.

Wendy (43:03.914)
I know.

Wendy (43:14.336)
I know, I know. I really enjoy this show. I'm looking forward to next week. It'll be week five. We'll be halfway through because there's only 10, there's only, it'll be week five. It'll be day five because there's only 10 days. So I'm looking forward to next week and see what the next challenges are.

Lori (43:34.15)
Yeah, it's fun. It's a fun show. And I like trying to, now that it's in my, stuck in my craw, now every time I watch it, I'm going to be like, all right, so if you do scene A, B and C, did they really do it? But like I said, I like the psychological aspects of it. I like how they kind of really try and get in there and...

Wendy (43:41.774)
you

Wendy (43:49.903)
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

Lori (44:01.532)
Because that kind of stuff is good for everybody to hear. You know, good for everybody to hear. I reposted something onto, I think it's our TikTok. The Fox social media special forces page has a lot of really great little clips that they put out. And one of them was like a behind the scenes thing where Ravi,

Wendy (44:05.548)
Definitely. Definitely.

Wendy (44:22.625)
Okay.

Lori (44:31.257)
is in his tent and he's in his underwear and he says, well, I have to go out and talk to DS Foxy. So he leaves in his underwear and he goes out into the yard and DS Foxy is standing up on the wall, you know, above him and he has a piece of paper in his hands and he says, I just want to let you know about some, things that cast members are missing. So he says, I'm missing my second pair of pants. What this why I'm here, my underwear.

And somebody else was missing their underwear and sock packet. Somebody else was missing this and that. And he's like, DS Fox, he's like, okay, well, that's great. Throw me up the note. And then there was some other thing that he was talking about with washing clothes or something that they needed a bin or something. He just throw me up that note and he goes, from now on.

These requests come to me within 30 minutes after we come back from the challenge, not in the middle of the night. It was really cute. You have to look at it, but you should look at Special Forces box, their own little social media posts. They're really cute. There's a bunch of them. And they show some behind the scenes filming, which is really cute, like that scene. But there were a couple other different ones.

Wendy (45:37.069)
Ha ha.

Wendy (45:44.204)
TikTok.

Wendy (45:49.271)
Okay.

Lori (46:00.263)
So it's interesting.

Wendy (46:01.57)
I'll have to watch it. I don't know if you know this, I saw, think it was DS Foxy, but they, all of these DSs, they do like the US show and then they have like a week off and then they do another country and then they have like a week off. Like they do this all the time. This is not just like, this is not just like the US, like this is the US version, but they do this all over the world. I thought, wow, that's,

Lori (46:20.263)
all the

Lori (46:27.96)
wow.

Wendy (46:30.638)
Crazy. Yeah. So I thought that was interesting.

Lori (46:37.745)
So we shall see.

Wendy (46:38.104)
So yeah, we'll definitely see. Until next time.

Lori (46:40.788)
I think Cody's gonna make it to the end now.

Wendy (46:45.192)
God, I hope not. I mean, I don't like to not root for somebody, but I don't want to root for him. I really don't. I don't. You know who I want to see make it? I want Gia to make it to the end. I want Gia to make it to the end. I want Chanel to make it to the end. I definitely want Sean. I want Brianna to make it to the end. Yeah. Yeah.

Lori (46:46.307)
I really do, think so. That's my prediction.

Lori (46:52.065)
No, no, but I think he is.

I want you to make it, too. Absolutely. Yeah, I want all the girls to make it.

Mm-hmm. Chicken fry, want them all. Yeah. I want them all, all the women to make it to the end. I think that would be great.

Wendy (47:13.11)
I want all but Cody. He's the only one I don't want to make it to the end.

Lori (47:16.315)
Yeah, I know, I know. But unfortunately, think that his narcissism is going to propel him.

Wendy (47:22.189)
He's going to.

Wendy (47:27.488)
Okay, we'll have to wait and see. We'll have to wait and see. All right, until next time, thank you for watching and listening. Please subscribe and give us five star reviews. Bye.

Lori (47:37.659)
Bye.

All right.