So... How was TPOT 18? (Review of the episode + bingo card)

HOWDY!

Honestly, this episode was kind of predictable, but that's fine by me! The bingo card actually went quite well because of that (I didn't get any patterns despite that... BUT I did guess quite a handful of predictions)! Now I'll be going over each point that I think is worth mentioning and I'll say whether it was correctly guessed. I'll also give the timestamps (but even if there are multiple scenes to be shown, I'll still only give one example).

"This prediction is connected with a couple of others I made that are mentioned later on in the bingo. I predict the episode will be focusing on a couple of stories that are usually shortly continued in the post-credit scenes of TPOT, so Firey, Leafy and 8ball + Match, Ruby, Bubble."

Match was present in the episode. Maybe she didn't play a very crucial role in the challange of episode, but she did appear in it! And not only that: "I predict the episode will be focusing on a couple of stories that are usually shortly continued in the post-credit scenes of TPOT". Although it wasn't the main focus, the story of Match, Ruby and Bubble was definitely an important part of this episode. Check!

"If the contestants from season 4b and TPOT will make an appearance, both of them will be in the EXIT, and if the episode will be fun and silly, then I wouldn't be surprised if there was a moment dedicated to everyone catching up together, that includes mentions of Flower's and Gelatin's new business from BFB 30 that we still haven't gotten any new information on as of writing this."

Now, unfortunately, the area Lollipop was in wasn't the EXIT, it was the Have Cots tower from BFB post-split (completely forgot they still had it lol). What I WAS right about, however, was that Gelatin's and Flower's business would be mentioned. This episode shed some light on how it's going, thanks to Lollipop... wanting to (not really, it was rather Gelatin and Flower who asked for help) help them out by teaching them about how to run a business. Check!

"Honestly, I'd be surprised if Gaty makes any sort of appearance in this episode at all, so..."

Gaty didn't make any appearance in this episode nor did 2 get over his depression. He's still bed rotting. Check!

"There was a BFDI filler episode done once before (BFDIA 13). It didn't put anyone UFE (up for elimination) nor did it have a cake at stake. Instead, it was simply a worldbuilding episode that also cleared up some plot holes (updated designs for contestants and rocky having his barf back with it also being... well... acid instead). If this is going to be a filler episode, I'm guessing it will be the same."

This episode didn't put anyone UFE and it didn't have a cake at stake. This episode, unlike BFDIA 13, had a challange because 4 turned Lollipop's request into one. Some questions that got answered this episode were: "how are the 4b contestants doing?", "how is Gelatin's and Flower's business holding up?", "what's up with Match, Ruby and Bubble?", "do all algebraliens know about 1?", "how does Loser feel towards Winner?", and probably a couple of more. Check!

"I'm guessing she will make an appearance to get a smooth transition to the next episode.

Other than that, im 99% sure the episode will have barely any 1 appearances, so the end appearance will be to give the audience a taste of what's to come in the next episode which, unlike TPOT 18, will very likely be 1 centered."

This episode didn't feature any 1 appearances, however it did show the whiteboard at the end. I still wouldn't count this prediction, because I was talking about the character appearing directly, not as a smeared unintelligible by some whiteboard that's a reference to past episodes. That scene was probably still meant to be some sort of transition.

"TPOT 11 had an exclusive intro for the EXIT. I wouldn't be surprised if they made a new intro for this episode with the TPOT and BFB post-split contestants, especially since this will be an episode premiered at Vidcon."

Some might argue that it wasn't technically a new intro and I must agree that it was at first tricky to answer. I was wondering whether I should check this, however the last part for SURE was a changed part to the original BFB intro, so now I can for sure say that it's new! Check!

"This one's a bit of a stretch, but if they were to make an appearance at all in this episode, I'm guessing it would be somewhere in the end, since we've never seen X in the EXIT."

This one turned out to not be a bit of a stretch, X appeared on the LAST scene of the episode, post credits. Check! (this one was pretty spot on LOL)

"Montage scene of literally anything, it's self explanatory."

There were actually 3 montage scenes this episode! One with Lollipop and Blocky, second with Lollipop, Blocky and Taco, third one with memory Ruby, memory Match, memory Bubble and actual Bubble (and Spongy!). It was one huge reference to BFB 27's "best friends" montage scene with Flower and Teardrop. There even played a remixed instrumental version of the song throughout all of them! Check!

"it happens EVERY. TIME."

PROFILY. THEY WERE SO ANNOYING THIS EPISODE GOODNESS GRACIOUS IT WAS SO BAD. But honestly, in comparison to whatever happened in BFDIA 20, the crashout itself wasn't THAT bad! I'll give them that. Check!

"If this episode will be about clearing plot points up (Firey, Leafy and 8ball/ missing TPOT contestants), I think it would be a good opportunity to catch the audience up with what Match, Ruby and Bubble are doing."

Again, episode cleared up a couple of plot points (not Firey, Leafy and 8ball/ missing TPOT contestants), however a part of the episode WAS dedicated to Match, Ruby and Bubble. Check!

"Immediately TPOT 16 and 17 come to mind LOL. There's no reason why I truly think this episode would feature a moment like this but... I suppose it's because of the pattern?"

Well, it was very disrespectful of Blocky to kill Bubble because he didn't agree with her, but I have to say that she DID say what she learned after a cute bonding moment (montage), so it counts! Check!

"Silly fun episode guys! Now, watch this:

Lollipop on the TPOT 18 & 19 update post is seen with a microphone, Purple Face will likely be in this episode and Blocky will also likely be in this episode (he's less likely to be hosting the podcast, however). It all just lines up so nicely!"

... THAT WAS A SPOON. A SPOON PEN. WHAT.

"Self-explanatory prediction. X, 4, 6, 1, whoever! What's important is that I think it won't be a regular object."

Four started the intro. Check!

"This show does these a LOT. There was a couple of BFB references last episode too! This episode, other than the BFB post-split contestants making an appearance, will SURELY have at least one, let's be honest."

Alright, I think next time i make a bingo card I'm not including this point, they literally happen every episode. But look! This time the number 2763 was said out loud by a character! No subtle hints or anything, just said! Check!

"Crashout scene. Seems to be an ongoing pattern in TPOT as of recent."

...No. Lollipop getting angry over losing billions of cash isn't a crashout. She was mad, sure, but this prediction was purely about crashout scenes. This one just doesn't meet the criteria.

"COME ONNN WE GOT NEW TRACKS FOR THE LAST 2 EPISODES!!! I'M HOPING WE'LL GET MORE CUS THEY'RE SO GOOD!!!"

Best friends montage scene instrumental remix :D ! I noticed a couple of other short melodies that were new, however this one is definitely the most notable one! Check!

Another issue I had was... Lollipop. Don't get me wrong, she's one of my favourite characters, but something just felt off about her this episode. In BFB she was a very nonchalant individual that's also very good with business. This episode she MOSTLY stayed the same... But what was bugging me most was her attitude towards Gelatin. It's almost like she stopped caring about the friends she made in BFB once the season ended and placed business and money as her top priority. I try to reason this, saying that she could've been distrustful of others this episode because of the stolen card or maybe she didn't want more competition in the market, but still. Gelatin and Lollipop were pretty close afterall. If there are any hardcore Lollipop fans out there that are willing to rant on this topic in the comments or know of any detailed video essays, let me know, please!

Third issue I had was Profily, full stop.

What I did like about the episode though? It couldn't have been all bad, and you'd be right! I really enjoyed the humor this episode, some jokes were pretty good! Other than that, the references made me excited. They are the type of references that if you aren't familiar with the OSC you probably wouldn't have caught on them, but as not just a fan, but a whole self-proclaimed air conditioner of object shows, I had a blast. The pacing this episode was alright too. I saw a lot of people complaining about it. but honestly it wasn't even that bad.

I'm not sure whether I see myself rewatching this episode in the future, this definitely doesn't beat my favourite episode of this season which I suspiciously will not say but since I'm a Pillow fan you could probably tell, however I think that since we haven't seen these guys in, like, 4 years, it's great to get some updates on them. But honestly I expected something more! It just felt kind of... well... VERY boring that they haven't changed (or barely changed) ever since the season ended 4 years ago. This was literally, just like the title of the episode suggests, BFB 31. 3/10.

I'm aware that TPOT 19 and BFDIA 21 will both be releasing after they've stopped premiering at the BFDI & II 2025 tour. I'll try avoiding spoilers as much as possible to make the predictions squeeky clean from any spoilers (which will probably be impossible but I'll still try), but I'll also be waiting until the final announcements for the TPOT and BFDIA episodes just so I can see the the release date announcements. TPOT comes first though!

Thank you SO much for reading! This was a long one. Have a good day! :D