Kriti Mehrotra
As a reality competition series wherein each episode revolves around two families as they compete for $100,000 in a “battle of the balls,” Fox’s ‘The Quiz with Balls’ truly breaks all bounds. That’s because the families play while standing on a platform with a glistening pool in front, with each wrong answer resulting in a team member being pushed in by a massive ball from behind. So, of course, its most recent season 2 isn’t much different since comic Jay Pharoah also returns as host, but this time, he does bring along a little extra spice in the form of a chiseled lifeguard.
Season 2 Kicks Off With an Introduction to Two New Families
With the rules of the game being fairly clear from the get-go, host Jay doesn’t waste any time welcoming this episode’s contestants while making it clear it will essentially be a backyard brawl. After all, the Montague family is from New York (aka Empire Street), whereas the Barone Family is representing New Jersey (aka Garden Street), making a heavy lifelong rivalry come to life. He first goes towards the latter, a group of 5 women all dressed in Cheetah prints, to have them make their own acquaintance with the world, which they do with bright eyes and even brighter smiles.
Samatha leads the group, introducing us to her loving mother, Rhonda, her funny sister, Carly, her affectionate cousin, Janet, as well as her serious cousin, Lisa, with the matriarch being their glue. Therefore, she is the one Jay asks if there is any particular category they are hoping to get down the line, to which she answers Movies, since she often quotes them in her day-to-day life. Immediately after, the host puts her on the spot by wondering what her favorite quote is, to which she quips, “Nobody puts Rhonda in the corner,” as a play on the original ‘Dirty Dancing’ (1987) line.
When asked about their team’s unique strength, Samantha goes on to say that because they are an all-girl team, it is their empowerment, their femininity, and their overall sense of girl power. That’s when host Jay moves to the Montagues, with the family glue Luteechia introducing us to herself, her globe-trotting cousin Demetria, studious middle sister Tinika, spoiled yet cute baby cousin Nadia, and finally peacekeeper cousin Darnell. She as well as Tinika then makes it clear that they are determined to win and prove that New Yorkers really are the best at everything they do.
The First Round Sets an Exciting Tone for the Entire Episode
The Montague family is randomly selected to go first in the Kick-Off Round, wherein the categories are Animal Science, Big & Tall, Sports, and Movies, with every right answer being worth $1,000. They choose to go with the latter as they believe they have the best possible shot with it under their belt, following which they are led to the platform and told there will be 5 right answers and 1 wrong. Their question is about the actors in the ‘Fast & Furious’ franchise, but even though Tinika admits to having seen every single one of these movies, they still get it wrong and lose her to the pool.
The Barones then decide to go with Animal Science, thinking it might be a relatively easy category, yet they are asked which of the animals in the six choices they are given predominantly eat meat. Like their rivals, they also get it wrong, so they lose Carly (who chose the short-legged marsipuarls Wombats, which are herbivore) before getting to return to their podium with $4,000 in the bank. The ball subsequently goes back into the court of the Montagues, who choose Big & Tall and are asked about which of the structures in their options once held the title of Tallest in the World.
Since these New Yorkers have already lost one family member to the sidelines, there are 4 right and 2 wrong answers for them this time around, only for them to now lose Darnell and Demetria. Hence, with a total of 6 right answers at the end of their turn in this first round, they have $6,000 in their bag, with their rivals having a chance to not just match but also possibly move ahead of them. Left with Sports, the Barones’ question is about the names of NFL team mascots, and they get 3 right answers by sheer luck, so they gladly take their bag all the way to $7,000 while losing Janet.
The Double-Up Round Sees More Splashes and Even More Money
Immediately following the Kick-Off Round is the Double-Up Round, which truly lives up to its name because each right answer is worth $2,000, giving the teams a chance to change their trajectory. The 4 categories here are In the Club, Memorable Memes, Technological Stuff, and Books, and the Barones are now the first ones to make their way to the platform after choosing the music-related group. They are asked to identify Grammy-nominated DJs and EDM artists from the 6 choices they are given, with 3 being right and 3 being utterly wrong, and they get 2 right while losing Lisa.
With the Montagues being up next, Nadia and Luteechia deeply converse before deciding to go with Memorable Memes because the latter only reads Smut and worries it might not help in Books. This obviously catches Jay’s attention before leaving him speechless, but he moves forward with the game while also making some healthy jokes about Luteechia’s preferences in good fun. The question to subsequently come forth is rather direct about Meme Names, but since only 2 New Yorkers remain, there are only 2 right answers in the 6 options available, meaning the odds are against them.
Nevertheless, Luteechia manages to get one right answer, so although Nadia makes a splash, their total moves ahead to $8,000, while the Barones stand at a significantly higher $11,000. In the next two rotations, with the Jerseyans losing no one by getting a camera components question right and Luteechia rightly naming a Dan Brown book, their totals go to $15,000 and $10,000, respectively. Then comes the third and final round, All or Nothing, with every question now being worth $10,000 to determine which team will actually get a chance to fight for the $100,000 grand prize.
A Family Makes a Surprising Splash to Pave the Way for the Golden Balls
In the All of Nothing Round, it is each question that is worth $10,000 and not each answer, meaning that to bag the money, the families would have to guess every right answer in one go. The four categories are Countries, Pop Culture, Game Night, and Sea Worthy, with Luteechia representing the Montagues being the first to step onto the high platform in front of the water. She chooses Game Night since the family does have many such evenings together, just for her to receive a question about Scrabble points that she feels confident in, thanks to her habit of playing Words with Friends.
Luteechia immediately bags the $10,000 to make her family’s total $20,000, leaving the Barones with no choice but to work smart so as to catch up and have a chance at the real grand prize. Unfortunately, though, Samantha and Rhonda are unable to correctly pick the two celebrities out of their 6 options that were born after Y2K, aka 2000, with the former making the splash. Rhonda subsequently returns to the podium, hoping Luteechia gets her next answer wrong because it’ll ensure she moves forward to the Golden Balls round, but the latter gets her Sea Worthy sailing question right. With this, there is no chance the New Jerseyan can catch up, so the Barone family leaves with $15,000 in hand.
Then comes Luteechia’s chance to shine even further for the Montagues, after having helped them secure $30,000, with Jay explaining that the Golden Balls round would be much different. Out of Diva and Inventors, she chooses the former category and is told that she will be given 6 options, but to earn the $100,000, she will have to answer all 5 corresponding questions correctly. The family glue rightly identifies Aretha Franklin as the Queen of Soul as well as Tina Turner as the first woman to ever be on the cover of Rolling Stone, but she fumbles the third question, resulting in the end of the Montague family’s run. In other words, these proud New Yorkers walk away with just their $30,000.
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