LEGO Masters France

Season 2 Episode 2 part 1 – Recap

Our French LEGO Masters journey continues with the teams returning after a massive first episode that put their skills to the test, seeing one team leave.

Challenge 1 – Explosion Challenge

Returning from the Aussie series, each team must randomly pick a cool hero who is walking away from an explosion made up from an assortment of materials such as glitter, water or slime. Story is key here as the teams must work out what exciting turn of events lead to the grand explosion. The winners also get an advantage in the next challenge. They have ten hours.

The Builds

Éric and Alex – The Pirate & Glitter – The Aventures of Captain Scarlet on Candy Island

A pirate and her crew raid candy island hoping to take the best candy. The island is guarded by a unicorn which they trap in order to escape. Paulina loves the concept of a world made out of sweets and their myriad of building techniques used to create assorted elements. The blast goes off and the pirates escape intact. Georg praises how well the scene blew apart.

Étienne and Christine – Caveman & Water – Invasion of the Raptors

A prehistoric world where dinosaurs are dominant. The cavemen decide to destroy a dam in hopes of flooding the dinosaurs. Paulina loves the colours and setting but notes the waterfall is a bit too smooth and lacks detail. Georg loves the society of dinosaurs with hats and things like a pub.

The explosion goes off and is deemed a success with small things like a cap flying dramatically across the scene.

Marin and Alexandre – Viking & Water – Vikings Vs. Serpents Of The Sea 2: The Revenge

Settling on a seascape the team has a Viking boat being attacked by a sea serpent. The warlord Viking sends a bolt of lightning into the serpent. The judges drop by with concerns over the staging of the scene going back to the drawing board to refine their concept a bit more.

They set the scene at the end of a battle on the high seas between Vikings and a sea creature. Georg praises their accomplishments in detailing the scene from their initially uncertain story. Paulina praises the story for being very simple and easy to read.

The explosion rips apart the beast revealing pink bricks coming out of the inside. The boat is rocked off the wave from the blast and the Viking knocked off from his stand. A dramatic result.

Céline and Stéphane – Cheerleader & Slime – Attack Of The Plants No. 2

A cheerleader is trying to save spectators at a football game as carnivorous plants rise up to eat everyone. She plants to blow up the stadium to save everyone. The judges come by and Paulina notes the colour scheme of yellow and blue is a bit basic. Georg also notes the build quality is a bit too solid for something explosive and runs the risk of minifigs in the stadiums flying around when they are supposed to be saved. Taking into account the feedback they swap the blue for red, necessitating a complete rebuild.

The judges praise the construction but note it’s not what was described as Paulina and Georg sees the scene as being set in a jungle or at Rio carnival not a football field. The explosion does tie the story together, to a degree, and appears well received by the judges.

Benjamine And Marine – Mad Professor & Slime – The Improbable Experience Of Dr Laloose

In an industrial factory, there is a vat of chemicals that explodes all over the lab. A chaotic lab overflowing with green goo sets the stage. The green slime has given life to creatures that are threatening to take over the lab, so the doctor has one option left. The setting thrills Paulina who can’t wait to see how it turns out. The explosion takes out the entire lab and creatures leaving the professor intact.

Sandor and Loïc – Astronaut & Glitter – Idiots In Space

The two struggle to brainstorm a solution and come up with a story where earth has run out of glitter and needs to explore other planets to find a new supply. They happen to find a large deposit that explodes everywhere. The judges come by and don’t quite get the concept. They also note the use of a jungle setting doesn’t really sell an alien planet forcing a rethink of their concept. Their story changes a bit so that it’s now a crash site. The astronaut’s over-enthusiastic use of glitter as a thermal generator sets off an explosion. The judges are back to assess and note the change is still all over the place. They try to work up a new concept.

They decide the planet is full of idiots who one accidentally activates the machine. Paulina notes they did try to take into account criticism but wonders if there could have been a big rocket or something to give a bit more detail to the scene. Georg loves the decor and scenery but notes the placement of elements are often blocked by other things in the scene.

The glitter goes off and sprays the scene in blue glitter with several burning chunks of debris bouncing off the baseplate. Georg notes the placement of the explosions was great but felt there wasn’t any dynamism to the explosion as everything was on the same level, collapsing into a heap.

Aurélien and Vincent – Secret Agent & Glitter – The Rescue Of Prince Charming

Their secret agent spy is hiding in a fantasy castle world. Her mission is to rescue Prince Charming who is being held by a dragon. She hopes to escape through a portal with an explosion sending the dragon up.

Paulina loves the colours and humor of the design giving praise to the dragon. Georg is a bit confused with the dragon as it’s darker tones look out of place with the bright castle along with the assortment of minifigs that muddle the narrative. However the explosion has been deemed a success with the dragon and castle dramatically blasting apart.

The Verdict

As the smoke clears the teams are lined up. The team that won the first challenge is Marin and Alexandre. Theirs was praised for a simple and dramatic story. The two pairs at the bottom are Céline and Stéphane and Sandor and Loïc. To be continued in part two.

Next time – Things shake as the teams must construct a sturdy tower.