Episode 21 dropped the Living, Dining and Alfresco reveal on the same night as a cheating subplot, a budget-blowout for the ages, and judging so contradictory that half the thread gave up trying to make sense of it. Reddit had a lot to say, and not much of it was kind to the scorecards.
The Judges Contradicted Themselves All Night
One house got dinged for skipping a barbecue, another got dinged for having one. A couch too far forward here, a couch too far back there, and everyone was somehow meant to “orientate to the view” without blocking it, missing it, or turning their back on their own dinner guests. Fans catalogued the whiplash room by room: “House one gets reamed for not having a bbq. House 3 is dragged for having a bbq,” as one commenter put it, before concluding the scoring “doesn’t actually mean anything.”
Adam and Jolene’s Win Split The Room
The big spenders took out the week, and the thread was divided down the middle. Plenty were thrilled (“thank fuck Adam and Jolene won”), plenty weren’t, with more than one commenter admitting the win felt hollow given the pair’s history this season: “the more I watch them, the less I like Adam and Jolene.” Nobody disputed the room looked good. Plenty disputed whether the judges were rewarding design or just rewarding the biggest cheque.
Rick and Tayla Spent Big And Got Nothing
If Adam and Jolene proved spending pays off, Rick and Tayla proved the opposite: nearly fifty grand down and no result to show for it. Tayla’s on-camera thumbs up after the scores landed became the moment of the night, with the thread landing somewhere between sympathy and disbelief: “Tayla really does live in her own little deluded world.”
The Girls Did Everything Right And Still Got Smashed
The most consistent complaint of the night: the team that finally nailed its budgeting copped one of the harshest scores anyway. “Their room was honestly better than their scores especially considering how much better their budgeting has become,” one fan argued, with others noting the lesson contestants will take from tonight is exactly the wrong one, spend more, budget less.
Bring Back Keith (Or At Least Neal)
With the judging under fire all episode, the nostalgia arrived on schedule. “Oh please be Keith bring him back I beg you, he can save us from this train wreck,” one commenter begged, while another pointed out this year’s panel didn’t mention the lack of lamps once, a Neal Fenwick-shaped hole nobody has filled.
The Verdict
r/TheBlock came away from Episode 21 more confused by the judges than by anything the contestants built, with Adam and Jolene’s win, Rick and Tayla’s budget wipeout and the girls’ harsh scoring all pointing to the same complaint: nobody can work out what these judges actually want. Bring a raincoat and a calculator, next episode’s going to need both.
