By DC Cueva
Before my review and give my predictions, my evaluation on this season is that it is totally exceeding my expectations I had for Rivals II. I expected this to be a very good season, maybe to match the excitement of the first Rivals challenge from two years ago which I saw just before this season, and for it to exceed what I saw last year in Turkey, and it is doing exactly that. As I've told many of my twitter friends many times, Battle of the Seasons was just a reintroduction for me to Challenges after having not watched them previously, I only intended on giving it a trial run after both becoming twitter friends with the RW/Challenge family & watching London 2012 last summer. Compared with last fall, and with all due respect to that great arena battle with Zach & CJ, the big house fight and people who I was more familiar with than others, it is certainly a much different story, and I'm definitely liking Rivals II so much more than BOTS. There's that veteran presence that was lacking in Turkey with more of the show's big names returning from their one-season hiatus, and it appears that they continue to rule the roost as if they never left. There's a bit more maturity in this cast than last season with only 5 rookies (the entire Portland contingent and Cooke) taking the trip to Thailand compared with 15 on BOTS, and it's the right mix of both experience and new faces that's been able to satisfy both the passionate fan and relative newcomers like me (and I only had to write a post here just to introduce the rookies to those fans as a courtesy). And if what we saw with Johnny & Wes leading the cast toasts, there's a spirit of fun and energy among this cast that we didn't see much of last year.
After eight episodes and with at least two left before the finale & ensuing reunion (which will appear to be a live affair rather than taped in advance), I've definitely enjoyed everything on Rivals II. The competition is much more intense with the missions testing the brawn and brains of the teams, and testing the patience of everyone in trying to get over those tensions of being partnered up with their enemies to try and win. Maybe with the exception of the last one that saw two of my favorite people in Nany and Robb lose, I'm liking the jungle eliminations as much as the arenas I saw last year, though there's slightly more variety in it with an additional game being added to the rotation. And there's been a lot more drama in the house, with plenty of fighting among the cast, flirtations between both the veterans & rookies, and backstabbing aplenty that has left fans shaking their heads. And while some of my favorite people have gotten eliminated earlier than I thought (with the exception of Ana & Jess, most expected them to get cut first as the new rookies, with all due respect since I enjoyed them & both follow me on TW), there's also some other favorites who have won missions too, so I'm getting the best of both worlds being a true fan with great respect to everyone. No wonder why this so-called dysfunctional family really looks to me as a great fan of this franchise.
As for my favorite moments from this season, there's a few episodes left but there's been plenty of them, but a few stand out.
- My favorite mission of the eight that's been contested to this point has to be the first one from the premiere, when all of the competitors had to jump into their partners' arms. There's nothing like that first mission where everyone competes and where the tension is as most intense, aside from the final of course.
- My funniest moment is a tie: the 3X Games with the competitors had to do weird stuff like holding onto one another upside down and causing two teams to quit & get penalized, and of Knight chasing around Jemmye with a bottle of ketchup in his hand, which is a bit weird but, after all, it is my favorite condiment & I wonder why Jem doesn't like having ketchup on her fries.
- My most-surprising moment was also the most heartbreaking too. There's no worse feeling than when you think you had won something, but you in the end lose on something that happened during it. That's what happened when Zach & Trey were disqualified in the EP5 jungle on Thor breaking the rules by smashing the window when it Trey was supposed to do it, after Zach threw his helmet to the other competitors after apparently thinking they won and giving the win by default to Leroy & Ty on that technicality. After my did my live tweet of that jungle the night that happened, Trey responded, "it was really hard to relive it again." As I stated in one of my posts, no doubt Trey will use this as motivation to turn this agonizing loss into perhaps future Challenge success, just as JB used his gulag loss to CT to win his last two Challenges.
- My favorite non-competition moment has nothing to do with the drama in the house, but of something very positive: Diem dancing at the club at the end of EP4. As I stated in my post on my cast memories, it was so touching to see Diem be herself on the dance floor, knowing she had overcome cancer twice, including just before going to Thailand, and having the most twitter support in over 135,000 followers, as well as that of the casual viewer drawn to this season by her remarkable story of recovery.
And my favorite moment going into the stretch? It has to be the jungle between Leroy & Ty and Marlon & Jordan. For those who watched it last year, it brought me back to watching the EP8 Arena on BOTS, which was my favorite moment from Turkey. There is nothing better in The Challenge than an epic elimination battle between great competitors, and when it's a physical one where players go literally head-to-head, it makes for even greater television. And in the cases of both, it pitted a team of established veterans versus upstart rookies. In Turkey, it was Zach & Sam vs. CJ & Jasmine and it was the guys that stole the show with a close, epic battle that lasted two rounds (tiebreaker included after both teams split first two) & five heats that Zach eventually won and helped propelled him & Team SD to victory. In Thailand, it was a veteran pair that had each gone to a final & barely returned from the last men's jungle after Zach & Trey's DQ, against a pair from RW Portland who had just been voted into their first elimination but with experience donning that football gear.
As it was with the Zach/CJ arena, both Leroy & Ty and Jordan & Marlon split the first two heats of the best-of-3, setting up a golden tiebreaker that in TV time was just a few minutes, but per AfterBuzz, actually lasted 10 minutes. In one of the most exciting things many have seen on a Challenge, Ty was only a few feet away from ringing the bell & sending Team Rookies home, but Jordan made a miraculous twist escape to run through the tunnel to his end of the court, ring the bell crashing into the wall and pulled off the stunning upset. Marlon was articulate in summing up this classic battle: "going into our first elimination round & winning is just--were on cloud nine, yo. We competed, and we won. That's the best feeling ever. The target is still on our back more than ever. So just one week at a time. We're fighting for survival." Leroy was very classy in congratulating them, "The rookies won, flat out. There's nothing else I can say. They won, they deserve to be here. Hats off to them & good luck in the future."
And for a big name who hasn't been on a Challenge since the first Rivals and watching it as an armchair analyst in the Screening Room wrap, Kenny summed this epic arena up this way: "This is what the challenge is all about. This is why it's a great game. This is why I go back, every chance I can because of moments like this. That was a huge win for (Jordan & Marlon), definitely put them up there, it gave them legitimacy as a team. Beating a great team like Leroy & Ty puts them up there right with everybody else. You know, a lot of times, people look at the rookie teams as expendable...I'm thinking these guys just gave themselves some stars. They got some stars on their shirt now."
Before the start of this season, while I didn't write a post on my predictions as I had Vegas on my mind at the same time as the premiere, I looked over the list of teams and thought of those who could factor in on being favored to win, who could possibly contend, and who could be a wild card sneaking into the final three. On the girls' side, I had Paula & Emily winning it - probably the most-predictable result because both are undoubtedly the strongest competitors amongst the ladies, followed by Diem & Aneesa, and my wild cards had Sarah & Trishelle and Camila & Jemmye. For the guys, I had five teams who could either win, contend or sneak in, considering the much deeper talent well in their half of the draw. I had CT & Wes to win, Johnny & Frank as my 2nd choice, Zach & Trey as choice #3, and my wild cards were Leroy & Ty and, in a sort of surprise for them being rookies, Jordan & Marlon.
At this point, with one jungle remaining on both the men's and women's sides, some things have changed - four different winners of the last four girls missions & five different guys' mission winners overall, but some have remained the same. For the ladies, after winning the five of the first six weeks, I still have Paula & Emily down to win this Challenge, and perhaps run away with it when the final comes a calling. But after winning the 7th mission and continuing to contend for that top spot, Diem & Aneesa have the experience of being able to hang with everyone else and still have an outside shot to overtake Paula & Emily. Thanks to getting a new partner in the process when Naomi left, Cooke & Cara Maria have emerged as a legitimate pair to contend, having won both their jungles but yet to win a mission. And after winning both last week's mission & a jungle, Camila & Jemmye have also put themselves in consideration to sneak into the final. After seeing Paula & Emily struggle in the water with their swimming, I believe it's just an flash in the pan, and both the combination of endurance & CrossFit experience will still see them win. It's just a matter of who will contend and who, among the last two, could be lucky to either win the last pre-final mission and jungle to join them in the run at the cash.
> MY GIRLS CHOICES: Win: Paula & Emily / Place: Diem & Aneesa / Show or Cut: a dead heat with Camila & Jemmye and Cooke & Cara Maria
And for the guys? Well, my top two choices are still the same: CT & Wes as 1st choice and Johnny & Frank as 2nd choice. The stunning jungle losses that the two teams I had as contenders, Zach & Trey and Leroy & Ty, have opened up the wild card race considerably and you might say that Knight & Preston are lucky to still be here. But, I have to also give it up to Marlon & Jordan. With respect to last year, it's remarkable what the guys' half of Team Rookies are doing, being able to hang with the big names, winning a mission, being able to work/communicate very well & complement each other, and gaining the appreciation of one Mr. Beautiful thanks to a jungle win. Of the four left in the men's draw: it's a mix: one has the most experience - CT & Wes - having done countless Challenges, but have had only one final win between them (Wes winning Duel 1). Another has a mixed pair of one that's done a lot of these & on a 2nd show but know how to carry momentum into the winners circle: Johnny & Frank won both their last eliminations & carried them to a season win. The third are each on their first Challenge and have already made their mark: Jordan & Marlon winning a mission & earned respect in beating an established veteran team. And the last is a pair from NOLA who, aside from some house drama, haven't been a factor in a mission, but Knight & Preston have been able to hang on, winning a jungle too. But experience will make the difference in the homestretch. That fourth choice will inevitably suffer that final defeat to set up the final 3, and just as it was with Evelyn giving Paula her long-awaited Challenge win on the first Rivals, Wes & CT will get the victory, the legion of fans who have followed New England's most-renowned MTV'er will finally be able to sleep well after seeing him his first Challenge, and a region that suffered heartbreak in every sense of the word while this season was filmed & during the past several months will get a much-needed morale boost.
> MY GUYS CHOICES: Win: CT & Wes / Place: Johnny & Frank / Show: Marlon & Jordan / Cut: Knight & Preston
So, with about 75% of this spectacular season of The Challenge in our rear view mirror, both the last jungles for both the men & women coming up, and of course the big-bad final mission still to come, along with a first-ever live Challenge reunion show as well, this season has been getting better and better every week since this began in the heat of the summer. Now, with autumn in the air, just as in baseball when the competition heats up in the sun & ends when the weather cools off, this fantastic season of Rivals II is about to reach its inevitable and exciting climax.
And not only that, I can also take pride in one of my friends from high school where I live, OJ, and his band Northern Son contributing one of their songs to this upcoming episode where, no doubt, tension in Thailand will rise on the playing field with the penultimate mission & last guys' jungle, and most especially in the house. Perhaps could there be another confrontation in the works as things wind down? Gotta stock up on that popcorn.
My social media platforms, DC Blog & Twitter @dc408dxtr, will follow the quest for the cash from Thailand to its conclusion: from my As DC Sees It live tweets to taking part in cast chats, plus these blogs. I will be providing a wrap up of the two halves of this season as well as the season finale, which will cover the cast's one-liners & tweets and my analysis. Should any of my followers go to the live reunion show, expect me to give you the scoop from Times Square. And shortly, I'll start to begin the buildup to the upcoming Real World taking place right here in my Bay Area backyard. And during this weekend, I'll be posting pictures from my trip on my Instagram, the first part of showcasing my recent trip to Las Vegas, check it out at Instagram.com/dc408dxtr. And more to come at www.youtube.com/user/dc408dxtr and www.flickr.com/photos/dccueva.
If you haven't had the chance, check out my previous DC BLOG articles relating to Rivals II:
- The big news of one of my high school friend's music being featured in this week's upcoming episode: http://dc408dxtr.blogspot.com/2013/08/rivals-ii-what-big-news.html
- Memories of all of the Rivals II cast: http://dc408dxtr.blogspot.com/2013/08/rivals-ii-memories-memories-memories.html
- SocialPulse of Episode 1 (contains adult language): http://dc408dxtr.blogspot.com/2013/07/rivals-ii-countdown-real-world-nola.html
- Who Are These Newbies?: http://dc408dxtr.blogspot.com/2013/07/rivals-ii-who-are-these-newbies.html
- 11:11, Inspired by Trey: http://dc408dxtr.blogspot.com/2013/07/dc-blog-1111.html
- PDX Reunion Revealed: http://dc408dxtr.blogspot.com/2013/07/real-world-portland-as-they-saw-it.html
Until then, thanks for reading, have fun, and enjoy Rivals II. And have a safe and happy Labor Day weekend.
- DC
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