Episode 39 promised an outdoor terrace, a pool and a challenge. What r/TheBlock got was a circus, a gender reveal, an ad for an ad and a rooftop terrace that may or may not exist. The live thread had the mood of a group chat that has collectively decided to be tired but stay anyway.
Roofgate: Tayla, the Unlikely Adult in the Room
The big talking point was House 4’s rooftop terrace, and the thread’s surprise hero was Tayla, who simply went and asked what the deal was. One commenter admired that she finds out the facts instead of conspiring; another called tenacity her superpower. Jolene and Lisa, meanwhile, were gently reminded that if you ask a question and never follow up, the answer tends not to arrive on its own. The terrace render also looked suspiciously like a roof pool to several viewers, which did not help anyone’s mood.
The Great Terrace Debate
Plenty of Blockheads pointed out that council approval and an actual terrace are very different things, and that nobody was about to rip up a finished roof now. The more practical crowd noted that an approved permit is still a value add for a buyer, while the cynics wondered who spends a quarter of a million dollars on a rooftop for what is basically an Airbnb. The only point of agreement: production had been very quiet about it all season.
Cirque du Soleil and the Ad Load
Then came the circus. Rick and Tayla proved to be unexpected circus veterans, and many viewers loved seeing Rick this happy. Others asked, in various levels of capital letters, what any of it had to do with renovating. One regular summed it up as the circus getting a ten minute advert; another noted the show was “ads all the way down”. Add a sports carnival with Hamish Blake, a cross-promo for his new show, and a Stan plug, and the consensus was that The Block has become one long paid advertisement.
The AI Slop Counter Hits Ten
The sub’s unofficial AI sloppage tracker finished the night on ten, with the family reunion photos taking most of the blame. Several viewers found the AI-animated old photos of contestants and their relatives genuinely off-putting, with one calling it the worst thing the show has done with AI so far. It is a long way from the days of a simple home video.
Brackets, Decks and Mansplaining
The deck build gave Courtney a rough night. Viewers were unimpressed that the Cursios treated her request for brackets differently to Troy’s, with “the mansplaining to Courtney is gross” drawing one of the thread’s biggest upvote tallies. Dan’s decision to pull decking out for the posts only added to the sense of a week stretched thin on very little building.
Chantel, Wyatt and the Case of the Missing Interest
Chantel and Wyatt’s “we don’t care that much” energy did not go down well, with the thread splitting between those who think they are only there for exposure and those who think they should have given the spot to someone keen. The ugly tiles turned out to be Tayla’s order, the gym footage got teased once again, and a few kind souls noted that Chantel’s ex wanting the kids kept off camera is a pretty reasonable call.
Lando, the Gender Reveal and Hamish
Lando made yet another appearance, this time via a gender reveal from Scotty Cam, which prompted one viewer to describe it as “a hell of a sentence”. Hamish Blake, in PE teacher shorts, was the night’s most universally welcomed guest, even if the thread noted his new show appears to have more building in it than The Block.
The Verdict
r/TheBlock gave this one a collective shrug with a side of exhaustion: too much circus, too many ads, too little hammering, and a rooftop terrace storyline that is still more render than reality. The bright spots were Rick’s smile, Tayla’s directness and Hamish’s shorts. Next up, the show heads back to its Sunday to Wednesday schedule, so we are due a proper room reveal; let’s see if anyone actually builds something.
