In theory I'm sure Cole would have been a great finalist but considering it took just 10 days before he threw a tantrum so bad that it got him kicked off the show the idea he was ever going to make it to the finale is laughable. Cole was very fragile. Remember he spent a good amount of his last day seething at staff and being a crybaby faggot.
I disagree. I think you’re confusing the general brutality of the show with the brutality of production exclusively targeting individual fish. All fish usually crack when targeted. It happened with JC, Jimmy, Cole, and I guess people could argue Summer, although her case is a bit different. Fish usually have no problem degrading themselves or being pushed past their limits as long as it makes sense and it’s consistent between all fish. Gator squats is a prime example. Both Brian and Cole were pushed to their physical limits while swallowing cinnamon, yet neither threatened to quit because it was within the confines of a fair and consistent challenge. Femdom challenge is another good one. This is true for all fish. If the targeting is in a group setting then most fish don’t have a problem with it.
Personally, I think it should be frowned upon when production targets individual fish. They shouldn’t have done it with Simmons, Letty, Cole, Jimmy, JC, or Summer. It may be funny in the short term, but long term it could have potentially disastrous consequences.
It’s interesting because there’s a clear line that we all acknowledge. If a fish is too much of a pushover like Tay licking Frank’s boots then that’s cringe, if a fish is too stubborn like Jon locking himself in a room refusing to participate that is also cringe. A fish needs to have both some self respect and the ability to laugh at themselves to be deemed mostly respectable by the audience.
I think my individual targeting point stands in season one as well . The times when Josie was targeted individually (such as when Fatty was nude around her) she freaked out and cried in her room about it, yet Josie was still willing to degrade herself in challenges that involved the rest of the fish. She made it to the finale. All fish become fragile when targeted individually. Even Letty went to the basement and said she would quit a few times during her Hassling. Production was competent enough to keep her around though. Season two has been a constant cycle of fish being pushed to their breaking point individually, and before we knew it all the content drivers were gone.
