In defense of Teala

I’ve never disliked Teala and I hope that over time fans have eased up on her with her participation in the show. I feel bad with how she was treated on camera (most likely the cast reassured her bts which is good to hear) and her elimination. I don’t think I’ve seen any positive posts about Teala so I figured I’d do one.

People would get frustrated that she wasn’t helpful to the group or that she wasn’t defending herself even when she was on the verge of elimination. From an emotional and psychological standpoint, I would say that it doesn’t feel good at all to be continuously targeted by a large group of people. She probably shut down in that moment (I would too), and she knew that she couldn’t defend herself so there is no point in trying to if everyone’s mind is already made up. She probably got quiet and just accepted defeat in avoiding being nominated. So it makes no sense why the cast or fans are upset that she wasn’t pleading her case.

She was the target of three subsequent challenges in a row. Hypothetically, Teala could’ve beaten Rosanna in Ep 4, but she’d probably still be targeted in challenges after that. She probably doesn’t want to stick with the group, and the group probably wouldn’t have given her praise the way that Rosanna did. I just think that in a game where everything is make believe and a competition, Teala just had a genuine human response to how she was treated in Ep 4. This plus the pressure of how strong the S3 cast is prob inhibited her performance and confidence.

When the cast was announced, it was obvious that the season was going to up the stakes. In a strong cast with hard-hitting competitors like MatPat and Safiya, or big personalities like Nikita and Colleen, it would be very hard to stand out and compete. I’m sure Roi felt the same (he said he felt pretty shy) and maybe JC too (but that was prob just his chill demeanor). It was painfully obvious who amongst the cast would make it very far.

I think that there’s cases where she’s not really trying too hard in challenges such as finding the finger at the gazebo, but she really did try her best in the game. She even helped the group with suggesting to find the finger at the gas station (which imo makes a lot of sense so I have no idea why MatPat said it didn’t).

Yes, I get that this is all a game and a show where everyone is doing everything they can to get far and keep the strongest alive and not the weakest. But the extent in which the group would target her and the massive amount of hate she received from the fandom was uncalled for.

Not to cause any hate or disagreements, but I do not consider Teala the weakest competitor. Though she was not strong amongst the S3 cast, I’d say Sierra from S1 was worse and didn’t deserve to make it as far as she did. (Tana was also the weakest competitor in S2 but she really did improve in S4). I understand if fans don’t really like her because she wasn’t a strong or pivotal character, but she definitely does not deserve the amount of hate in the way that she did. I’m not saying that she would have done well outside of the S3 cast, but the S3 cast was just really tough.

Nonetheless, I enjoyed seeing her on S3, I’m sure the cast loved her and she enjoyed her experience on it. I’m glad that they have good relationships with others outside of the show and even participated in ETN Among Us and the ETN Movie competition. Plus she had my favorite outfit amongst the female competitors of S3. I’m sure some comments may rebuttal, but I will continue being in defense of Teala.