Before Jeffrey Dean Morgan's Comments On The Destination X Winner, I Didn't Realize How Much I Was Rooting For One Reality Star To Lose
Warning: MAJOR SPOILERS are ahead for the Season 1 finale of Destination X on NBC, available streaming next day with a Peacock subscription.
The first season of Destination X has come to an end, with the finale revealing alliances and betrayals that determined who among Rick Szabo, Biggy Bailey, and Peter Weber would win the $250,000 grand prize. I've had fun watching the series as it aired after new episodes of America's Got Talent, but no episode really hooked me as much as when the series premiere hoodwinked me earlier in the 2025 TV schedule.
I was still happy to celebrate Rick getting the win by identifying Big Ben in London, and there's some real charm in a professional birdwatcher coming out on top. But it wasn't until I read some comments from host Jeffrey Dean Morgan that I realized that part of my happiness for Rick was likely because I was rooting against another competitor more than I knew. Sorry, Pilot Pete, but I just really didn't want you to win!
Now, to be clear – I wasn't rooting against Peter Weber because of his experience on The Bachelor or The Traitors. After all, gaining fame in Bachelor Nation (whether or not you're there for the right reasons) doesn't make one a geography expert, being banished from The Traitors Season 2 cast doesn't transform a competitor into a master cartographer, and working as a pilot doesn't guarantee the ability to crack clues. No, I didn't really care that much that Peter came in with reality TV experience.
Peter Weber was just my #3 pick out of the three finalists because of one big advantage that had nothing to do with his time on ABC or Peacock reality shows: he got to join Destination X a few episodes into the season, skipping out on some early eliminations. I came to my realization not when the final credits rolled on Rick's joy or after Peter's emotional final speech, but after I read some comments from Jeffrey Dean Morgan to Parade. He said:
I give big props to the casting department. Now, going forward, say we do a Season 2. I kind of like the mix of having some newbies as well as some veterans. And maybe also it would behoove us to do kind of what Traitors does, and have an 'all-star' sort of thing of reality show vets come on and do the show. But I like the newbies. I like the guys [who] have never done this before. And you know, someone like Rick, who gets to walk away with the big prize, who we'd never seen before, a bird watcher from Canada, I think that's kind of cool. I wonder what the audience would think if Peter had come on Episode 3 and then won it, if people think that that's fair.
Peter Weber was one of two reality stars who got to make late arrivals to Destination X, as he was joined by Love Island USA vet JaNa Craig to move into the bus in Episode 3. JaNa didn't last long in competition, but Peter obviously made it to the very end. Jeffrey Dean Morgan raised the question of whether "people think that that's fair" if he'd been the champion; I can't speak for everybody, but I sure wouldn't have seen it as 100% fair.
That said, I can't disagree with Morgan's additional point that it "makes for good TV if the audience knows some people," and Deal or No Deal Island did something similar by casting Survivor legend Boston Rob Mariano for Season 1. And the format of Destination X means that what Morgan described as Peter and JaNa being "very savvy" and "very smart" about reality TV dynamics won't be enough to win. Savviness isn't enough when you also need to identify locations in Europe! The playing field would have been pretty even if everybody started at the same time.
On the whole, I'm on board if Destination X is renewed and brings in reality TV celebs on the same level as The Bachelor and Love Island vets, but would find it a whole lot easier to root for them if they also have to start at the beginning like everybody else. Was Peter Weber an entertaining part of the final stages of Season 1 thanks to his secret alliance? Sure, but I don't think I'll change my mind that it would have been unfair for him to beat Rick or Biggy.
If you want to relive the wild ride of Destination X Season 1, you can find the episodes streaming on Peacock. Jeffrey Dean Morgan seems open to returning for a second season, especially after he revealed why he finally took the hosting job. The ratings as America's Got Talent's primetime partner were also solid, so I wouldn't be surprised to see NBC bring the show back as a new summer staple.
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