Taskmaster NZ Season 7 Episode 2 Recap: Morgana O’Reilly Wins a Chaotic Night

Taskmaster NZ Season 7 is only two episodes old, but the new group is already beginning to settle into the peculiar rhythm that makes the format work. Dave Fane arrives with the confidence of someone willing to commit completely to a terrible idea, Rose Matafeo has enough previous Taskmaster experience to know that experience rarely helps, and Rhys Mathewson seems increasingly aware that writing for the show was considerably easier than participating in it. Morgana O’Reilly and Hoani Hotene, meanwhile, continue to find their own unpredictable ways through Paul Williams’ traps.

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Episode 2, titled “And Then the Pālagi’s Got Involved,” gives the contestants their first team task of the season, along with bouquets, misleading VHS tapes and an unexpectedly demanding live rap battle. Dave dominates much of the episode, but the final task completely reshapes the leaderboard and gives Morgana her first episode victory by the narrowest possible margin.

The Holiday Prize Task Gets Personal

Jeremy Wells begins the night by asking everyone to bring in the best thing they acquired while on holiday. Rose turns the category into an elaborate memory of the 2002 Easter holidays, arriving with a Moonlighting DVD, mozzarella cheese and a toasted sandwich maker that recreate the routine she remembers from the time. Rhys takes a more narcissistic route with two caricatures of himself drawn during separate trips to New York.

Morgana initially appears to have an unbeatable answer when she reveals that she met her husband while on holiday. She immediately undercuts the sentiment by arguing that her Shewee was an even better acquisition, explaining the freedom that the travel urination device gave her. Hoani offers a Scottish fridge magnet built around a joke involving his partner, while Dave brings in a Muppet version of his Our Flag Means Death character Fang, a gift he received while travelling for an event connected to the series.

Jeremy gives Hoani one point, Rose two and Rhys three. Morgana’s decision to rank a Shewee above her husband earns four, while Dave’s personalized Muppet takes the full five points and gives him an early lead.

Catching a Bouquet Becomes an Extreme Sport

The first filmed challenge sounds considerably simpler than it becomes: catch a bouquet in the most impressive way. With 30 minutes and unlimited attempts available, nobody is interested in simply standing beneath some flowers.

Rose designs a makeshift catapult and turns her attempt into a combination of a wedding, an American football play and a skateboard stunt. Paul supplies increasingly dubious Bible references as Rose tries to catch the launched bouquet while skating past, eventually producing the kind of needlessly elaborate success that feels perfectly at home on Taskmaster.

Rhys also leans heavily into spectacle, including a physical stunt that briefly convinces the studio that he has considerably greater acrobatic ability than expected. Hoani goes in the opposite direction by attempting his catch blindfolded while Paul throws a series of objects toward him, an approach that results in several painful near misses before the bouquet finally lands where it should.

Morgana constructs a miniature romantic comedy around her attempt, riding past on a bicycle while loudly lamenting that nobody will ever love her before the bouquet changes her fortunes. Dave, however, turns his effort into an action sequence. His performance earns Jeremy’s five points, while Rhys receives four, Rose three, Hoani two and Morgana one.

Two tasks into the episode, Dave has a perfect 10 points. It looks briefly as though the night might belong entirely to him.

The First Team Task Creates the Episode Title

The first team task of Season 7 produces a particularly interesting split. Dave and Rose form the two-person team and quickly establish that, although they had not properly known each other beforehand, their shared Samoan heritage gives them an immediate connection. Hoani, Morgana and Rhys make up the opposing trio.

Their challenge is to build the longest successful domino run while simultaneously keeping balloons aloft. Players cannot touch the same balloon twice consecutively, and teammates must alternate when placing dominoes. Any rule violation gives Paul permission to destroy their work.

Both teams struggle with the number of moving parts, but Hoani eventually finds a workable rhythm for the group of three. Unfortunately for him, maintaining that rhythm requires Morgana and Rhys to follow it. Watching the footage back in the studio, Dave praises Hoani’s plan before joking that everything was going well “and then the pālagis got involved,” providing the episode with its title.

There is also a lengthy debate over whether a popped balloon remains a balloon and whether a balloon resting somewhere can technically be considered “aloft.” Jeremy ultimately allows the disputed interpretations to stand. Hoani, Morgana and Rhys manage a 12-domino run, while Dave and Rose reach 27, giving the trio three points each and the winning pair five.

The VHS Task Hides Its Answer in Plain Sight

The strongest conceptual task of the episode begins with five VHS tapes and one instruction: “Do what the tapes are asking you.” The fastest contestant wins. Naturally, everyone assumes they need to watch the tapes.

Each VHS provides some variation on the message that it is the wrong tape, sending the contestants deeper into a search for another cassette. The actual trick is in the wording. Different types of adhesive tape around the room form the instruction “dance,” meaning contestants can stop the clock simply by dancing.

Morgana wins almost accidentally. She never properly identifies the hidden instruction but dances naturally during her search, allowing Paul to stop her clock after 11 minutes and 40 seconds. Rose finishes in 15 minutes and 28 seconds, while Hoani takes 26 minutes and 31 seconds.

Rhys produces the episode’s most painful failure. He spends 94 minutes and 37 seconds hunting for the solution and repeatedly comes dangerously close to completing the task by moving rhythmically. When Paul questions what he is doing, Rhys specifically insists that he is “jiggling” or walking rather than dancing, unknowingly preventing himself from finishing earlier.

Dave’s attempt is even worse statistically. He gives up before finding the trick and later completes the task in the studio, leaving him with a joke time measured at more than 109 days. Jeremy awards Morgana five points, Rose four, Hoani three, Rhys two and Dave one.

That result finally damages Dave’s commanding lead. Going into the live task, he still sits first with 16 points, followed by Rose on 14, Morgana on 13, Rhys on 12 and Hoani on nine.

The Live Rap Battle Changes Everything

For the final task, each contestant must unwrap a mystery present and immediately rap four lines about whatever is inside. They have only five seconds to begin, with two contestants eliminated after the opening round before the remaining three compete again.

Morgana starts with ice, Rhys gets toast, Hoani receives an orange, Rose unwraps beans and Dave finds a Frisbee. Jeremy eliminates Rose and Dave after the first round, leaving Morgana, Rhys and Hoani to compete for the five points.

The second round becomes increasingly unhinged. Morgana raps about a pot, while Rhys unwraps the moon and immediately turns his verse into an aggressive attack on astronauts, including Buzz Aldrin. Hoani is left attempting to build a rap around a computer mouse.

Jeremy ultimately puts Morgana first, Rhys second and Hoani third. Rose receives two points and Dave only one, which proves disastrous for the man who had led almost the entire episode.

Who Won Taskmaster NZ Season 7 Episode 2?

Morgana O’Reilly wins Episode 2 with 18 points, beating Dave Fane by a single point. Dave finishes on 17, while Rose Matafeo and Rhys Mathewson tie on 16 and Hoani Hotene finishes with 12.

It is an unlikely result considering where the episode stood after the first two tasks. Dave looked almost untouchable after scoring a perfect 10 to begin the night, but his disastrous VHS performance and last-place finish in the rap battle leave enough room for Morgana to overtake him at the end.

Morgana therefore heads to the stage to collect the night’s collection of holiday prizes, including Dave’s Muppet and the Shewee she had already admitted was more valuable than meeting her husband. More importantly for the season, Episode 2 confirms that this cast is unlikely to produce an easy frontrunner. Dave can dominate two tasks and still lose the episode, while Morgana can take one point for catching a bouquet and somehow finish the night on top.