Mega City Block (LEGO® Masters)

Episode 5 of LEGO® Masters USA aired on March 5, 2020. In the challenge, contestants built a mega city block with the goal of collectively completing a LEGO® city. However, after 14 hours of building, judges threw a curveball at the aspiring LEGO® Masters. With four hours tacked onto the clock, each team went back to the drawing board in order to add monsters to their scene.

For the second week running, Boone and Mark won the challenge. Starting with a little food stand, they built a multi-tier dining complex featuring food truck upon food truck. In their imaginative twist, lightning struck to create giant, mutant hot-dogs. Interestingly, this episode featured the first show of discord between the Bearded Builders. Early in the challenge, they did not agree on the construction of the model’s base support. However, friendship and compromise prevailed. Ultimately, the guys came up with a clever and original story.

You can’t go wrong with mutant hot-dogs.

Second place went to Aaron and Christian. Much like Boone and Mark, this team had their share of difficulty this week. In an epic bid to build the tallest structure, the duo created a 14-story tower. However, disaster struck as the team went to move their block into place after the initial 14 hours. Their table hit some stray bricks on the floor, and a large portion of the tower came crashing down. The team, fellow contestants, and judges all gasped in horror. The pain was palpable as Aaron and Christian tried to place the remainder into the overall city. Luckily, the announcement of the episode twist gave the team a second breath of life and a chance to repair their ill-fated tower.

Sam and Jessica started the challenge feeling a little out of their element. Neither one felt they were experts in LEGO® architecture. However, they decided upon a fairy tale inspired block featuring a bean stock growing between city buildings. Atop the buildings, the duo aimed to produce fairy tale themed houses. The task was very ambitious, and the team struggled to realize their vision in 14 hours. Additionally, one of their fairy tale homes crashed to the floor just as the first phase of the challenge was ending. Much like Aaron and Christian, Sam and Jessica received a second chance when the judges announced the twist.

Builds were breaking left, right, and center this week!

Married Thespians, Flynn and Richard, came up with an adventure complex. The build consisted of four themed towers: a tropical rainforest, a fun-in-the-sun beach, a winter-wonderland, and a fantasy forest. I enjoyed the overall concept, and it inspired some ideas for my own city. However, I feel the details fell a little flat with many of the upper-story windows being opaque. Consequently, there were no stories to see inside those portions of the buildings. In the team’s defense, they did only have a limited time to produce this. But, to be top contenders this week, details were key.

Newlyweds, Tyler and Amy, pushed the limits geometrically with three buildings that spiraled around each other. However, the episode did not highlight much interior detail to the buildings, which leads me to believe there was not much. The twist brought about a three-headed dragon attacking the complex. Judges felt the monster lacked conviction, and I agree. Additionally, I did not understand the body of the beast. It looked like another building. After the epic space creature produced by the team in episode two, my expectations were higher. Their building was amazing though.

The competition is fierce, and all about details at this point.

Amie, Krystle, Mel, and Jermaine found themselves at the bottom this week. Mel and Jermaine produced mixed results. Their buildings resembling LEGO® bricks inspired me, but other constructs in their city block fell flat. They too opted not to develop building interiors much, which was their downfall this week. The judges noted that while the team built a nice glass tower, the tower was essentially empty. Next to Aaron and Christian’s fully stocked interiors, Mel and Jermaine’s tower looked bland. Additionally, Brick Master Amy pointed out that the different buildings did not have a cohesive feel.

On the other hand, Krystle and Amie started out strong. They produced an epic cyber-punk city block that used colors masterfully for added effect. They were one of the standouts in the first half of the challenge. However, with the addition of the twist, team Unicorns started to flounder. As with previous challenges, the duo struggled to have their build tell a story on its own. The Brick Masters felt the construct needed explanations to understand what was going on. Finally, when asked, Krystle and Amie themselves had trouble explaining their monster’s role in the story. Ultimately, after hitting the bottom three weeks running, Krystle and Amie went home this week.

Season one rundown:

For a rundown of how contestants have fared so far this season, check out the table below:

Team	Episode 1	Episode 2	Episode 3	Episode 4	Episode 5
Jessie & Kara	Safe	Lost
Travis & Corey	Safe	Safe	Lost
Manny & Nestor	Bottom	Safe	Safe	Lost
Krystle & Amie	Safe	Safe	Bottom	Bottom	Lost
Sam & Jessica	Bottom	Bottom	Second	Safe	Safe
Mel & Jermaine	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe	Bottom
Aaron & Christian	Won	Safe	Safe	Safe	Second
Tyler and Amy	Safe	Won	Safe	Second	Safe
Richard & Flynn	Safe	Safe	Won	Safe	Safe
Mark & Boone	Safe	Safe	Safe	Won	Won

Episode five, Mega City Block, certainly provided thrills. Consequently, it was the most entertaining episode of season one so far. I loved the theme, and I got several great ideas for the development of my own city. Additionally, for the second week running, Mark and Boone took the win. Meanwhile, Krystle and Amie sadly went home. Next week, contestants will race cars and build bridges when LEGO® Masters returns on Fox, Wednesday night at 9:00 pm ET. For more LEGO® Masters coverage, click here. Additionally, check back on Tuesday for an interview with Krystle and Amie!

Until next time,

-Tom

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