The component that is probably most interesting about America's Got Talent is the fact that the show brings together a slew of performers from different genres. Some of these genres are dangerous, as we've seen this season with blindfolded tightrope walkers, daring knife throwers and one dude who has an incredible ability to swallow large objects. Unfortunately, last night a major trick involving an arrow went wrong live on the air. You can watch the mishap, below.
During last night's episode of America's Got Talent, Ryan and AmberLynn performed their first live competition on the air. Ryan has tended to prefer to warm up by swallowing a sword or some other large object, and that portion of the show went off without a hitch. However, they opted to heighten the danger a bit by having Ryan swallow a target that AmberLynn would then shoot a crossbow at. Sounds super safe, right? (Not at all.) Looks even safer, right?
During the episode, it seemed as if AmberLynn totally messed up a shot she had attempted numerous times in the past. You see the daredevil get shot in the neck, but luckily the arrow doesn't actually puncture him. The two contestants later stated that AmberLynn's aim had actually been correct and that the scary mistake was not her mess-up but was a result of broken equipment. They later stated that the notch on the backend of the arrow had broken, thus forcing the arrow to veer right instead of straight into the target. Still, the result was not pretty to watch, and the judges really didn't like it either.
Honestly, you don't see it in the video, but the judges were not happy about the mishap, at all. The danger acts have never been Heidi Klum's favorite, and the fact that an accident did occur during the live show only seemed to make her concerns relevant. Simon Cowell kept telling Ryan he needed to see a medic, despite the fact that Ryan said he was OK. The grossest thing to me was not the actual accident itself but the panicky way that Ryan pulled the target from his throat afterward, which is also not shown in NBC's video. I don't know if he swallowed too deeply after getting shot in the neck or what happened, but he was not casually taking that target out of his throat, at all.
That's the thing with danger acts, though. People who enjoy them go to see them because there is the feeling that anything can happen at any minute. Sometimes that means that someone misses a target or a grip or a cue. Sometimes that means that someone does end up getting hurt. Overall, Ryan and AmberLynn have seemed pretty in control of their act, although last night did make it abundantly clear that accidents can happen. The good news is that Ryan really wasn't particularly hurt, even though he was hit in the chest by a flaming arrow. We'll see if America votes to give him one more chance.
New episodes of America's Got Talent air on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET, only on NBC. In addition, you can also check out what is headed to TV this fall.
