Warning! The following contains spoilers for the Stars On Mars Season 1 episode “Distress Signal.” Read at your own risk!
William Shatner has officially made his way to the habitat, which really brought home the fact that Stars On Mars is almost over. This episode was a big one as it narrowed down the celebrities who would compete to be the final contestant left in the finale. Unfortunately, I can’t help but feel it’s going to be a bittersweet competition with my favorite competitor out of the mix. Farewell to Marshawn Lynch, who definitely felt like the true “star” of Stars On Mars.
The NFL running back hardly went “Beast Mode” throughout Stars On Mars but always felt like a meaningful piece of the team, whether it was through his usefulness or keeping spirits light throughout the game. Ultimately, when it came down to whether he or Porsha Williams Guobadia would remain in the game, he seemingly didn’t push as hard as usual to stay in the fight. After jokingly threatening to “throw hands” with former astronaut William Shatner if he didn’t allow him to advance, the superstar packed his bags and left ahead of the Season 1 finale.
This meant that Porsha would join Cat Cora, Tinashe, Paul Pierce (my second favorite celebrity in the show), and Adam Rippon in the finale. Overall, that’s a solid lineup, and I do like that there’s a mix of newcomers with the people who originally started the show in the mix. I initially didn’t think that any of them would last this long, so to see two of the four still in the game is pretty awesome.
As awesome as it will be, I'm definitely upset we won't get to see Lynch, considering all the great moments he's provided throughout Season 1. My personal favorite was when he was challenged by the "intimidating" Ronda Rousey to a fight to be base commander and was quickly taken down by the former UFC champion-turned-WWE superstar:
The above is just one of the countless moments Marshawn Lynch was a part of on Stars On Mars Season 1, which furthers my argument that he should be on as many reality television shows as possible. I'd love to see how he'd fare on a show like Celebrity Big Brother, though who knows how likely that is to happen with the WGA writers' strike and SAG-AFTRA strike ongoing? In any case, there's no shortage of cooking competitions, game shows, and other programs he can be a part of in the future, so I highly encourage any casting director to sign him up immediately because I need more of "Beast Mode" on reality television.
Stars On Mars wraps up its season on Fox on Monday, August 28th, at 8:00 p.m. ET. Catch up now with a Hulu subscription, or wait until after the season finale and binge it all at once while waiting for more new television to arrive.
