OPINION: This season of The Block has a serious judging problem

As a reality TV obsessive, I have been glued to this season of The Block, but after watching House 1’s Adam and Jolene and House 4’s Courtney and Sev go head-to-head in Outdoor Terrace and Pool Week, I have to ask: what exactly are we judging here?

To be clear, this isn’t an argument that Courtney and Sev didn’t deserve praise. Their spaces have been beautiful, and Darren Palmer, Shaynna Blaze and Marty Fox are perfectly entitled to their high praises of their outdoor area, but I am struggling to understand what the scoring system actually rewards from week to week.

Take Adam and Jolene’s outdoor space. It is undeniably impressive. There’s a Nook sauna, pizza oven, outdoor bar, pool and that spectacular Mount Eliza outlook. Yet the judges picked apart the way they used the space, including concerns about privacy and a table positioned in a way that apparently compromised the view.

Fair enough. Those are legitimate design considerations. But wouldn’t you prefer to sit somewhere TO enjoy the view? I wouldn’t want to be hanging over the railing to catch a glimpse. I’d like to be sat with somewhere to pop a glass of wine, which is exactly the environment the cattle station managers created. But what do I know?

And then we get to Courtney and Sev’s outdoor space, where a giant couch sits on an unfinished deck, there’s a drinks bench Shaynna herself described as “really high”, too high to in fact even use as a table, and elements of the space arguably make the giant outdoor area feel less resolved.

And yet the praise comes thick and fast – that is where I get lost.

Because if the brief is about creating a home that will appeal to buyers, surely how well you use the space you have has to count for something. Not just how impressive the house could be once it is finished, or how much bigger and more expensive the property is than the competition.

This has become particularly difficult to reconcile with Darren’s own explanation of the judging system earlier in the season.

He explained that each score out of 10 is split across four categories: finish, design, inclusions and marketability, with 2.5 points available for each.

So let’s talk about finish.

Courtney and Sev received two perfect 10s for their Rumpus and Laundry Week reveal, despite their laundry not being completely finished. Their 29.5/30 win was hugely praised, with Marty and Shaynna awarding 10s and Darren giving them a 9.5.

Then, just one week later, Lisa and Rosco were told their Kids Room could have been a 10 if they had painted a small section of skirting board.

Darren literally said the room would have been a 10 if the skirting had been painted.

So, while he stuck to his word of not awarding 10s for either Courtney and Sev AND Lisa and Rosco for the finishes on their spaces, respectfully, what criteria are Marty and Shaynna then sticking to?

If unfinished work affects the “finish” component of the score for one judge, shouldn’t that principle apply consistently across the board?

This is not just something I have pulled out of thin air. Lisa herself was visibly upset by the apparent discrepancy, and the issue has since become one of the biggest judging talking points of the season.

And then there is the question of scale.

Courtney and Sev had the largest amount of outdoor deck space to play with. That is an advantage they earned by choosing House 4, and they have certainly made the most of it in many respects.

But when Marty says the girls “made the right choice” by swapping houses, it can leave me wondering whether we are judging the room they have created, or the inherent value of the property they are creating it in.

Because those are two very different things.

If one team takes a smaller or more challenging space and makes it feel bigger, more functional and more desirable, shouldn’t that be rewarded just as heavily as a team filling an enormous space with expensive inclusions?

And this is where The Block’s judging gets fascinating.

The judges aren’t just scoring interiors. Their comments can influence how viewers perceive a house, and potentially how future buyers perceive it too. When a judge tells us a particular property is more marketable, adds more value or was the “right” choice, that carries weight.

So when we hear repeated admiration for scale, inclusions and future potential, I think it is fair to ask whether the actual room in front of us is still the star of the show.

Because at the end of the day, this is a renovation competition, not a property auction preview.

I don’t want the judges to be harsher. I want them to be consistent.

If unfinished skirting costs one team a perfect score, it should matter when another team leaves work unfinished.

If making the most of a view matters, it should matter across every house.

If marketability is worth 2.5 points, tell us what that actually means.

And if bigger really is better, then perhaps just say so.

Because right now, I’m not convinced The Block has a judging problem because the judges disagree.

I think it has a judging problem because sometimes I’m not sure what they’re actually judging.

The Block airs Monday to Wednesday at 7.30pm and Sunday at 7pm on the Nine Network and 9Now.

TV WEEK has reached out to The Block for clarification on judging criteria.