Horacio - The Dangers of an Underdog Edit & Unrealistic Expectations

While Horacio may not be entertaining tv, I find the conversations around him to be very interesting. At this time, Horacio has stated that he will be taking a step back from the show due to the controversy surrounding his elimination with Derrick that took place on Season 40: Battle of the Eras. While I like Horacio, I think he is a causality of an underdog edit which prompted unrealistic expectations.

Season 38: Ride or Dies

Horacio debuted on Season 38: Ride or Dies with Olivia. The pair was seen as strong from the beginning, won three (3) eliminations and made the final. Horacio won an additional two (2) eliminations, by himself, tying him for the most elimination wins in a season. On paper that is impressive....but when you start to add context it paints a different picture. Audience help has always happened on the show so I'm not mad at this at all. However, I find it interesting that other people's wins are discredited or dismissed due to circumstances, such as a weaker opponent or audience help, yet Horacio's aren't. Olivia & Horacio received A LOT of audience help in their eliminations against Turbo/Tamara and Jay/Michele. Whether they would've beaten Turbo/Tamara without help is questionable. But no way they would've beaten Jay/Michele without the assistance.

Let's talk about Horacio's individual elimination wins. One of them was against Kenny.....every male in that house would've beaten Kenny in that elimination. Now let's talk about the balls-in against Jordan. I want to start by saying that I do like the Horacio/Jordan bromance and I really liked the elimination. When Horacio won, people put him on a pedestal because he beat Jordan but let's add context. Horacio is a professional soccer player...he SHOULD beat Jordan, its literally what he does for a living and they were neck-in-neck, its not like he demolished him. Also, Horacio said that the elimination was originally supposed to be 5 rounds, but after the 3rd round TJ suddenly declared him the winner and they stopped the game. Given the Season 40 controversy, I find it interesting that production suddenly stopping the game here wasn't a big deal to him. Also, after Leroy/Tony balls-in elimination during Season 40, many people got mad at Cory for not putting Jordan in because they believed he would've lost to Leroy since it would be harder for Jordan to hold onto the ball with 1 hand. If people believed that Jordan would've lost to Leroy, why was it such a big deal that Horacio beat him....wouldn't that same concern apply🤔

I do believe that Horacio had a strong performance this season and deserved to come back. The praise that he received was unlike anything I saw for a rookie in a very long time (I've been watching the show since Rivals 1 aired). I believe that the underdog edit was a big part of it.

Season 39: Battle for a New Champion

Horacio's political game was atrocious. Early in the season when Horacio was in positions of power he made horrible game moves. He willingly followed the House and voted for people like Big T, Melissa, Chauncey and Ravyn. All decisions that made no sense for his game because none of these people were a threat to him competitively or even politically. Horacio willingly followed behind Jay/Michele, thus showing that he lacks leadership. It wasn't until he became the scapegoat, which he should've seen coming, that he expresses his disappointment....in confessionals. He never actually confronts Jay or Michele, Nurys does it for him. Before anyone says "he's quiet".....nah. Darrell typically stays out of drama too, but if someone plays in his face....he bites back. Even when Kaycee, who notoriously stays out of drama, had her back against the wall during World Championships she got confrontational. You cannot be successful in this game and have trouble making a decision or standing up for yourself.

Let's talk about his elimination with Kyland/Horacio/Zara. Once again, the elimination that Horacio won he received help. Kyland & Horacio confirmed that they were helping each other during their elimination with Zara. As I said previously, audience help as always happened so I'm fine with it. But competitors in an elimination helping each other doesn't sit right with me. I don't think this should've been allowed. Another situation that is ironic in hindsight given the Season 40 elimination controversy.

Due to Horacio's strong performance in the previous season, he absolutely deserved to be on this one. Horacio didn't win and didn't make the final, yet he still maintained the high praise he got from his debut season. Horacio was still a strong Challenger this season...but he did not live up to his hype. This is where I believe the unrealistic expectations started to set in because a lot of holes in Horacio's game were exposed this season.

Season 40: Battle of the Eras

Horacio entered the game as a member of Era 4. While I do believe that a lot of better choices could've been made for this team, I agree with Horacio being there. No need for us to debate the elimination, but I think the unrealistic expectations placed on him reached a boiling point. He was finally on a season with the best of the best, but was eliminated early. Unlike Era 1, age isn't a factor because he is the youngest person on this cast. I believe that if Horacio had lost to Jordan, I don't think he would've been as upset. I think because he lost to someone that he doesn't hold in such high regard, he had a hard time accepting defeat (even though Derrick is a strong competitor too).

Conclusion

Everyone is not meant to be a GOAT or the "face of the show". There are people on this show that are still important to the franchise that don't hold either of those titles, and I think Horacio fits this category. I don't know if Horacio will ever return to the show. But after thinking about his three (3) seasons, I don't think he was ever going to be what everyone thought. Even if he stayed, as soon as that "underdog/new rookie edit" wore off, the tides may have turned on him like its done for soo many others (i.e., Turbo, Tori, Kaycee etc.)

Let me know what you think below!