‘Criss Angel’s Magic with the Stars’ Recap: ‘Submerged’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Four of ‘Criss Angel’s Magic with the Stars’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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One would think, that trying something that is out of one’s comfort zone… would prompt caution and trepidation. After all, there’s no comfort or familiarity there, ergo… low confidence… so we deem it best to just take it slow and see what happens. But when the circumstances are right and something big is on the line, stepping out of that comfort zone could potentially bring forth one’s finest hour. For it could potentially push a person to new heights and really motivate them to buckle down and give their absolute best and for proof… look no further than the past couple of episodes of Criss Angel’s Magic with the Stars on The CW.
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For last week’s tale saw Lolo Jones, an Olympic Athlete, push herself like never before to earn a big win over a seasoned acting veteran and this week… saw a pair of singers that were uncomfortable with magic, take the stage and drive themselves to be the best nouveau magician they could be. But not before a hard wakeup call took place in ‘Submerged’. For the opening act, a Shock Illusion, came into play. One that Ginuwine performed well by working the crowd and throwing on the charm and sadly his opponent, Jeff Timmons (98 Degrees) just went for it and tried his best to get through the presentation in a quick and clean manner and that brought forth some low scores, making it appear as though Ginuwine was going to ride that pony to the finish line. 

But Jeff wasn’t good with just sitting back and letting that happen and he stepped up his game in the Close-Up Magic Round and really did a phenomenal job with his illusion, Card Stab, and it’s a good thing he did. Because Ginuwine was Captain Charm once again and had fun and kept it both loose and engaging. But Jeff did enough to keep the competition close and well, this was our first example of how being out of one’s comfort zone can bring the best out in someone. Because it cannot be emphasized enough, Jeff really stepped up his game in round two and clearly wanted to stay in this and win it and that wasn’t the only moment where we saw this take place. 

Because the Grand Illusion of the night, the Submerged Illusion, where both men would get one breath before being submerged in water, wherein they had to unlock themselves from chains and the very box they were trapped within… put Ginuwine in a tough place mentally. For he was genuinely out of his comfort zone and worried that he might not be able to do pull this off. Which led to trouble since he pushed too hard and struggled and stayed under for too long in the practice round. Which motivated Criss and the safety team to pull him out, where he then passed out. Leaving Ginuwine to wonder if he should walk away from this challenge. But he wasn’t going to quit, he wanted to make this happen and during a tense presentation… he did it. He pulled off the illusion without an issue. Once again proving how getting out that comfort zone can inspire us to do incredible things if we seize the moment.

As for Jeff, well he was so motivated on this night that he actually decided to up the ante during his run through the illusion and add more locks to the whole thing. Which brought forth more tense moments. Because he took his time after that one breath. But he also completed the illusion without incident and that led to another tough decision for the judges and Criss. But of course, we won’t be revealing the winner here. No, we’re just here to discuss what turned out to be on inspirational episode. Because it was so uplifting to see these two talented and iconic singers push themselves to be the best on stage and fight to win, and that’s something we can take into our everyday lives… while we wait to see what other incredible illusions and inspirational themes await us as season one of this delightful show continues along. Until next time.

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