Warning! The following contains spoilers for the LEGO Masters Season 2 premiere "LEGO City Parade." Read at your own risk!
LEGO Masters' Season 2 premiere on Fox did not disappoint. Viewers were treated to some amazing displays by some of the best LEGO builders in the world, or at least it felt that way to someone who couldn't even build something with instructions as a child. The premiere came with an added twist for competitors when Will Arnett (also known as LEGO Batman) announced that no one would be eliminated in the first competition.
The news was definitely a welcome surprise for the two groups up for elimination (Maria & Phillip and Susan & Jen), as well the rest of the competitors. CinemaBlend's Nick Venable got a chance to speak to judges Jamie Berard and Amy Corbett about the decision, and as Corbett explained below, there was a great reason for giving all the teams a pass in the opening round.
I have to say, Jamie and I's happiest moments are when we judge builds and not have to eliminate anyone. We're just like, 'This is so nice.' But I think truly, especially with this first challenge, the parade challenge, we just wanted to see who the builders were. We wanted to see their personality, we wanted them to kind of prove why they were there in the competition, and what was great about them, and just give a chance for that creativity to shine through and be celebrated a little bit before things really get serious.
LEGO Masters is a serious and intense competition with $100,000 prize money on the line, and it's clear Season 2 brought some of the best builders out to win that money in the sophomore season. Even the bottom performers of the round did pretty fantastic jobs, so it's hard to argue that anyone deserved to go home without at least one more chance to show what they're capable of. Plus, brothers Zack & Wayne ended up with the golden brick of immunity for their phenomenal dragon display, so there were still stakes in the premiere.
And while no eliminations in the opening week may feel unfair to teams who weren't up for elimination, Jamie Berard assured there was an advantage for being someone who wasn't on the chopping block. The premiere is really one of the few times competitors will go against the full lineup of competitors.
And this is the challenge that they have the most competition, meaning there are 12 teams. And so, when you have that many people, how do you stand out? So it's a real success in the first couple of challenges. If you're the one that makes it to the top, and gets our attention, you're someone to watch out for. Like, I think it makes a great statement for the whole series when you can do that. So we really wanted to channel their energy into saying 'Who are we? Why are we here to win? How are we going to stand out?' and really getting that focus in there. So that way, at the end of that first episode, you just as a viewer are like, 'Oh my god, this is gonna be an amazing season.'
LEGO Masters Season 2 certainly looks off to a strong start, and with the talented displays we've seen so far, this may be a hard season to judge. Of course, tonight's premiere was a pretty smooth round, with no major mistakes made by any of the competitors. If this season is anything like Season 1 (which also didn't eliminate a competitor in the first episode), there will be plenty of mistakes made along the way that should make eliminations a bit easier.
LEGO Masters airs on Fox Tuesdays at 8:00 p.m. ET. A lot of work went into the series in Season 2, so be sure to read up on some of the behind-the-scenes work that helped make this season what it became.
