Was the Tribunal Too Hard on Sean?

One person has left Thailand, and unsparingly it’s a rookie. Sean Lineker from Shipwrecked UK was the first casualty to Team UK. Having no relationships on the show outside of Big T, it was easy for the majority of the team to offer him to the Proving Ground. This is standard Challenge practice, and despite the influx of new UK transplants, it seems the tradition of sacrificing rookies stands strong.

Tough break for Sean, but we then see Wes exploit his power as a member of the Tribunal.

Wes immediately demands two names: one from Team UK and one from Team US. Unfamiliar with Wes or the American Challengers, Sean is dumbfounded. He doesn’t have a name for Wes and can only offer Bear.

Of course, Wes wants gossip. Let’s be real, Jordan and Laurel want gossip too, they’re just not going to push as hard as Wes.

Sadly, Sean is out of the loop. He didn’t form connections on the first night and the UK kids decide he’s going to be scarified and don’t build a relationship with him. This leads Wes to ask Sean why he isn’t politicking. He questions how Sean could win Shipwrecked and not take his social prowess onto The Challenge. Before Sean can get out a solid answer, Wes breaks him down further.

Was this too much?

Honestly, no. Wes is tough, but it’s only a matter of time before someone else would press for more information. We saw Wes in the Tribunal on War of the Worlds 1, so we know this is not uncharacteristic of him.

I don’t think Wes knew Sean had no information. The sad part of the experience was Sean being so disconnected from his team. He truly had no answers to these questions because no one was talking game with him. UK just decided he’d be voted in and moved on with his life. As painful as it is to watch Wes interrogate Sean, Wes wasn’t the reason Sean had a bad experience on the show.

If Sean comes back, I hope he has a better experience. I also hope he’s most aggressive in trying to get to know people. Even if Team UK was going to ignore him, he could have tried to work with the Americans.

Ultimately, this type of thing is bound to happen when you start blending all these shows. Some people are going to have preexisting relationships. Others, like Sean, will have be forced to fight for allies. There’s no Real World alliance to cling onto for support.