Delran woman wins ABC's 'The Quest'
Lina Carollo outcompeted three bigger, stronger guys to defeat the evil Verlox on the fantasy-world show.
Delran's Lina Carollo slashed through vines to find a scroll, solved a balance puzzle, chained an ogre in a cellar, and hit a bull's-eye to drop a drawbridge, so she could claim the magic Sun Spear and unleash its power against the demonic Verlox, winning ABC's The Quest.
Ultimately, the South Jersey school counselor was probably right that growing up with three older brothers would help her outwit and outlast three much bigger, much stronger men.
The final chapter of the fantasy-based competition show on Thursday night was also its most exciting, because en route to Carollo's final victory all 11 of the eliminated players – er, "banished paladins" – rejoined the party and got to storm a castle and, finally, engage in clanking and yelling swordplay.
The slaying of Verlox was both cheesy and cool, as beams of light from the Sun Spear held by Carollo blasted the hideous four-horned, dentally impaired Verlox into oblivion.
The show finished with familiar competitors gushing glowing praises about the whole experience.
"I was here to immerse myself in a world," said Jasmine Kyle, a mom from Media, Pa., whose luck ran out at the end of the fourth episode. "In the end, I got to live a fantasy."
"Know what your goals are. Know what your dreams are. Be a dreamer. Anything can happen," were some of Carollo's concluding words.
Well, good thing they got a lot of satisfaction, because nobody, at least according to the rules set up at the beginning, was going to win any cold hard cash or even a new car.
Wouldn't be right for "The One True Hero" to be a mercenary, producers reasoned.
Guess fat-coffered ABC is OK with failing to seem heroic.
Carollo, no doubt, will never forget the adventure – or the aftermath, assuming she's invited to appear on the likes of Good Morning America or Jimmy Kimmel.
Two shows were broadcast back-to-back, and Carollo barely survived the first one. Once again, she was one of two players standing before "The Fates," and needing the votes of others to escape banishment. By saving her and eliminating Patrick, Andrew Frazer may have cost himself the title of "The One True Hero."
But he expressed no regrets, saying he learned a lesson.
"I always thought the hero was the big guy who was able to swing the sword and ax," he said at the end. "... I have definitely changed my whole perspective."
For more about The Quest, go to ABC.com.
Contact staff writer Peter Mucha at 215-854-4342 or pmucha@phillynews.com. Follow @petemucha on Twitter.