RIVALS II - That Was The Season That Was

By DC Cueva

@DC408dxtr

Editors Note: Sorry for the delay in posting this final Rivals II article, I've been busy the past few months and have been sidetracked by other things, which has taken time away from properly editing this article & posting it well after the finale. So, please accept my apologies.

For right now here as winter is in the air (including a cold snap as I finally post this), reminiscent of what we had back in early February, things have been calm in Real World/Challenge land; albeit with buzz surrounding the next season of The Challenge, and buzz for Real World Ex-Plosion about to begin, having wrapped filming recently right up the road from where I'm situated in Silicon Valley, episodes being edited as we speak and the trailer now out there for everyone to see. By now, those who follow this franchise as passionately as me are recovered from the excitement of a great Challenge season that saw two deserving veteran teams winning the Final on Rivals II, followed by the first-ever live Challenge reunion which made twitter headlines for an punch in the face that was seen live on MTV's airwaves...an explosive end to this exciting season to say the least.

   As we post this here in December at the beginning of the holidays, many of our favorite RW/Challenge personalities are back on their social platforms after being frozen for a month & a half (which also meant they weren't able to wish me happy birthday on Wednesday, November 13) as they were out of country for Challenge 25, returning on Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend. And shortly after they departed for that Challenge, a new set of seven strangers re-emerged on social media from filming in the City before the RW buzz begins anew, with big shoes to fill after a standout Real World season up the I-5 in Portland, now with a huge twist. As you would suspect, I have welcomed the Season 29 cast with open arms, just as I have for the ladies of Big Tips Texas and the nurses of Scrubbing In, which both have been providing me with a good warmup for RWSFO (for which I've also extended my twitter welcome mat to both casts). For now, nearly 3 months after the finale (it's better late than never), we wrap up our coverage of Rivals II with my debrief & thoughts on the season that was in Thailand.

My evaluation on Rivals II is that it was a very good season as I expected it to be, and I definitely enjoyed it as much as everyone else. Whether or not it matched the excitement & audacity of the first Rivals is up to everyone else's opinion, but it most definitely exceeds what I saw last year in Turkey when I got to watch my first Challenge. As I've told my twitter friends many times, Battle of the Seasons was just my reintroduction to Challenges after having not watched them previously, only intending on giving it a trial run after both becoming twitter friends with the RW/Challenge family during RW St. Thomas & being inspired from watching the competition at the London Olympics. And compared with BOTS, aside from the great battle with Zach & CJ, the big house fight and people I was familiar with more than others, I would take Rivals II in every argument of which season I liked better. There's that veteran presence that wasn't in Turkey with more of the show's big names returning from their one-season hiatus, and they continue to rule the roost as if they never left. There's more maturity in this cast with only 5 first-time rookies (Team Portland & Cooke) taking the trip to Thailand compared with 15 on BOTS. We had the right mix of both experience and new faces that was able to satisfy both the passionate fan and relative newcomers like me. And there was spirit of fun & energy among this cast that we didn't see much of last year, evidence being the cast toasts and the hilarity of the pranks, hookups & more during the clip show.

   As with the first Rivals season back in 2011, all the teams had to overcome tension that they developed on either a previous Challenge or back on the Real World, and in the case of one, a beef that emerged on twitter amongst two season winners who had never been on a Challenge together. At the start of the season, while I didn't write a preview or predictions post as my Vegas trip loomed at the same time as the premiere, I looked over the competitors list and thought of who could win, contend or sneak in as a wild card. For the ladies, my top choices were Paula/Emily & Aneesa/Diem, while Sarah/Trishelle & Camila/Jemmye were my wildcards. And for the deeply-stacked field for the guys, there were five teams who could factor in the end in any order: CT/Wes, Johnny/Frank, Zach/Trey, Leroy/Ty & Jordan/Marlon. As the season went on, some of the big names hung tough right up until the end, while some key contenders were eliminated much earlier on to open the race up considerably. And we had probably the most impressive rookie season ever on The Challenge, brought to us by a group I've been lucky to have followed their growth ever since they finished filming in Oregon last fall.

> In the extended 90-minute premiere, we saw a lot of coming attractions to this season, along with the usual fanfare surrounding the first mission & jungle. Not to mention, there was the shock on everyone's faces when instead of the presumed veterans vs. rookies matchup that they & most fans wanted, this would be Rivals II, another multi-player Challenge. The fight was between CT and Marlon, setting the stage for all the drama that would take place this season. And we saw two hookups: CT & Diem and CT & Anastasia, along with Jasmine colliding with a glass door. The first mission, the only one where everyone competes, saw a predictable winner - Paula & Emily, and a surprise winner - Zach & Trey. But that was just the beginning, after the usual politicking that goes along among the competitors, including CT putting Bananas under the bus early, the cast voted, and then found out that just the opposite gender would be voting teams into the jungle, another big twist and one that would radiate throughout the entire season. The competitor who left was Naomi, but unlike Rivals I where fellow Vegas castmate Adam left after punching Ty, this departure was bittersweet as she had to fly home to her ill dad, and received Cooke's support (it would be the right decision as Mr. Defensor would pass away shortly thereafter). There was also some fun with the cast turning the house into a club & Tyrie in the bathroom. Speaking of him, he & Dunbar falling first in the mission brought them to the jungle, where they faced Derek & Robb in a physical elimination, Last Chance, reminiscent of BOTS' Hall Brawl, and it was a closely contested affair that saw Team Sunshine win.

> On EP 2, we saw water balloons, the new girl arrives, the funniest mission of the season, two fights and Team Portland starting their takeover. Being in a house with no media whatsoever and house talks being the primary non-Challenge thing, the cast had to come with something to keep themselves entertained in between. And because the AC wasn't working in every place in the house, some became ninjas & threw water balloons all over the place. The fight was among CT and Frank after CT's fling with Diem. As for that new girl, it was very clear, Cara Maria was once again the outsider when she came in to replace Naomi at the start of the 2nd challenge. And this saw the funniest mission, 3X Games, where the competitors had to do some, well, steamy things to win, and it was déjà vu again, Paula & Emily and Zach & Trey winning. Portland's takeover really started this week where Anastasia went after CT after finding out about him & Diem, just before she & Jessica had the early shortcomings of being eliminated in their first elimination. And at the end of an episode that saw him lift weights with only one full hand, Jordan began making some moves by getting close with Sarah, and them making out in one of the closets as a hidden camera showed all that. We didn't see much of that from him in PDX.

> Episode 3 saw two big fights, the 2nd person to leave the house, one lady get screwed yet again and another good mission. The first fight was among relative newcomers Knight & Marlon during a game of charades when Knight made a distasteful joke in front of Marlon, this just as RWPDX was airing back home & no one except Team Portland knew of that shocking secret by him. The 2nd was among veteran ladies Aneesa and Trishelle where one landed what my buddy Andrew Kirk called "the people's elbow" and led the other to leave the next day, and also led TJ to send Sarah home once again without going into elimination, just as it was for Vinny & her on Exes. And, of course, that left everyone stunned and continued this unfortunate string of bad luck on these shows for poor Sarah. The week's mission saw one over water, and while Paula & Emily made it a hat trick, we saw a different team win on the guys side with Johnny & Frank taking it. We also saw, in my view, the cheapest elimination game invented for Challenges with teams having to dress like ninjas, and having to break sticks in a best-of-3, and Knight & Preston beat Team Sunshine.

> Episode 4 brought us a rap, a ketchup bottle, a rainy Challenge, a bobble head, an electric elimination and an inspirational dance. We started with the question of who wrote a rap that got everyone in the buzzing, Diem or Nany? Everyone loved it, obviously. The hot & humid climate of Thailand saw rain pour down on the week's mission where players had to complete a maze while holding a pole which AK didn't feel it. But the good news for him & me was that in the end, Jordan & Marlon took that challenge; while Paula & Emily won again in this, a girls elimination day. We then had the strangest moment of Rivals II when we found out that Jemmye has a fear of ketchup, and Knight chased her around with that bottle as if we're in school lol. We also had the first sighting this season of Johnny's bobble head as well, stretching some fans' perceptions of him of being the most loved & hated man in Challenge world more. And then with Theresa & Jasmine and Cooke & Cara Maria we saw the scariest elimination the competitors had to go through a pair of electrical batteries & try to outlast the other. But that was all for naught as TJ told both teams that they were safe, and it was just a scare tactic to the two teams who stayed, this after the events of the previous week, leaving everyone surprised. But we ended on a high note with Diem leading the cast to the club afterwards and her dancing without her wig on, truly the season's most inspiring moment.

> Week 5 was an eventful episode to say the least, and it began with Leroy & Theresa hooking up in the bunk above Wes, and some of the cast making up hashtags in ginger's room the day after. Ironically, Theresa also hooked up with Wes during her first Challenge, causing a conflict of interest. In the mission, players crossed a platform while not getting hit by players in what appears to be big marshmallows. It was CT & Wes who won for the guys, while Jasmine & Theresa snapped Paulmily's winning streak, though many thought their wins were assisted. But the thing that came out of it was of what happened at voting: the female winners fumbled a throwaway vote & put in Leroy & Ty after T.Time hooked up with Mr. Lean Body, and so did Nany & Jonna. And that led to, of course, a lot of backstabbing on the account of the girls, showing a voting flaw. And perhaps there's no feeling worse then when you think you won something but in the end you don't. That was what happened when Zach & Trey were DQ'd over the complicated issue of a technicality. When they finished first in their jungle, it felt like they had won over Leroy & Ty and Zach threw his helmet towards the cast. But thanks to technology, Trey's helmet cam caught Zach breaking the glass, not Trey. All Trey could tweet to me after that when I live tweeted the EP was, "it was really hard to relive it again." That ranks as the most stunning and most-heartbreaking moment of this season and I really felt for Trey in this instance. And while Zach felt the most pain of losing, there was satisfaction in that he flew home to see the newest member of the Nichols family just after being welcomed into the world. This after he broke down after missing that birth and losing it. Maybe work on getting those emotions straight, bud.

> The 6th episode saw true feelings revealed among frenamies, more backstabbing and revenge bite back at one competitor. No Challenge season would be complete without a test of the competitors' brains, and with that in mind, we undoubtedly had the shadiest one this season with a dose of the Newlywed Game and trivia mixed in when the competitors had to match answers to those of their partners strangled above water. We saw secrets pour out amongst the competitors that made things awkward for everyone. And in a nice show of respect, in one question about who the trashiest girl in the house was CT actually pleaded the 5th & put Wes in the water during this female challenge week, and earned applause from the ladies. In the end, Paulmily regained their winning form, while the guys side saw the 4th different winner with Leroy & Ty winning. Continuing with what happened the previous week, there was more backstabbing amongst the players when they went into voting. After the veteran guys teams made their votes, Jordan & Marlon made the gutsy move of putting in Theresa & Jasmine instead of Diem & Aneesa, breaking the alliance they had with her. This led to Theresa going after Jordan afterwards, which saw people question of whether it was a smart move or not. In the jungle where last place finishers Camila & Jemmye faced Theresa & Jasmine, Team Subtitles won comfortably (though the jungle edit might've proved otherwise). And then, Jordan's love escapades continued when he flirted with Jonna and eventually hooked up.

> Episode 7 was when the Rookies really made their biggest splash on this season, along with another one of those Frank-outs and, first up, an electrifying mission. We saw the season's most shocking competition to say the least, literally, with the teams having to make their way through a maze blindfolded and with wearing shock detectors on their sides. We saw teams make their way easily through that maze, the three Team NOLA teammates go together, and even had a laugh with Jonna & Nany having a lot of giggles. In the end, CT & Wes took the mission in this guys elimination week, while Aneesa & Diem won for the ladies, with Diem having a victory dance. We then saw Frank get into some heated words with Jordan after his partner Bananas elected to put him & Marlon into the jungle. This is what I figured what might happen once I found out about the cast: two guys with similar personalities of being abrasive and hot-headed getting into it. And in that voting, a continuation of sorts from the previous week with them being voted in to face last place finishers Leroy & Ty. After some of the competitors engaged in some wrestling on the patio, it helped set up another elimination battle for the record books, and a bit of a carbon copy of Zach & CJ's epic arena battle last year on BOTS. As it was in the first episode, it is Last Chance, and as it was in Turkey, it was first-time rookies against established veterans. The first two battles were split both ways, setting up a final tiebreaker that brought back that arena for me. In TV time, it was only a few minutes (plus commercial cliffhanger time, of course), but in actuality it was about 10 minutes with the players being stalled in there. Jordan's amazing twist move of getting by Leroy on his way to ringing the bell, just after Ty was unable to ring the bell at his end of the court, was as epic as the battles I saw last year. It was another great elimination battle that amazed everyone, and if you check out one of my previous posts, one person who hasn't been on a Challenge since Rivals gave Team Rookies some praise: Kenny.

> In Week 8, it was déjà vu all over again on a few fronts. First, we saw CT flirting with Diem once again at the club, renewing their world-famous love affair. We then saw yet another Camila challenge meltdown when the fiery Brazilian had an outburst at her Exes winning partner Johnny as everyone else watched in awe yet again, just as she did to Bananas on Exes. In the week's challenge, the teams all had to, circus style, jump from one bar to another, then swim all the way to the finish line by the shore. While Wes & CT won again for the guys, it was Camila & Jemmye that won on the women's side, fourth different ladies winner in as many weeks. And after all that, it was Frank who, as he did with Marie last season, voted in a friend & broke an alliance in the process when he put Jonna & Nany in the jungle. And in that jungle, it pitted them against Cooke & Cara Maria as they went into their 2nd competitive jungle (3rd overall, after the electric one that wasn't). And in the same game that saw Team NOLA beat Team Sunshine, the ninja stick game saw Cooke & Cara Maria beat Jonna & Nany.

> EP 9 was appropriately titled, "Diemniesia," in honor of this season's sentimental favorite, and it happened once again when Diem made out with CT at the club, then passed out on the bed afterwards. This episode also saw my favorite mission of this season, which saw hoops, action sports and a crossway derby combine into one that would ultimately determine the favorites going into the stretch. For Challenge fans, this was familiar territory as this was also a jungle game that ultimately saw Johnny get his revenge on CT on Rivals I. But that seems all too long ago as we saw Johnny gas out at the end and vomiting upon its conclusion, showing that perhaps Father Time will be against him on future shows. In that challenge, Wes & CT got the maximum 20 balls and dominated that mission, while Paulmily cemented their status as team to beat with a 6th mission win. And we also saw another one of those big Challenge fights when Johnny and Wes & CT get into a huge war of intimidation after the very last guys jungle vote. It casted a shadow over that last vote with Team Rookies voted in again to face Team NOLA, despite Preston proving why he was worthy to be that 2nd rep from NOLA2. The jungle, with the same game Breaking on Through that proved to be Zach & Trey's downfall, pitted Knight & Preston against Jordan & Marlon and Team Portland were heavy favorites considering their strength and winning both a jungle & mission. Team Rookies found a little loophole that allowed them to speed up cutting the chain than their counterparts, and won that jungle handily. They most definitely earned their way into the final.

> With the rather fitting title of "True Colors," Week 10 brought us the season's last regular challenge, and it was just the female competitors who took the stage, with the guys just sitting on the sidelines watching knowing they have secured their finals place. Color Correction was the mission, and the objective was to memorize a puzzle with several colors on them, and then run to a station to try & put together the entire puzzle in the exact order as they saw them, while also being chained together. In this game, it also involved some long distance running as well, reminiscent of the BOTS log challenge and previewing what the final has in store, as it also involves endurance & stamina. There, we saw teams do well and struggle. In the end, this became a true game-changer when Cooke & Cara Maria pulled away to finished first to claim the automatic berth in the final and truly crashed the party, leading to worries among the other teams that they could be the one going into the jungle. This led to a rather worrisome last vote with the guys having to choose among Paula & Emily or Camila & Jemmye to face Aneesa & Diem in the last jungle. It was very tense with who might go in with the deliberations especially for the top ladies team, but in a rather safe move Subtitles were voted in again, keeping the top names out of the jungle, just as it was for the guys. And after that we saw Diem unravel when she found out that she had been manipulated throughout the entire game and leading to words with Camila & Jemmye, just after finding out that they would square off in the last jungle to join the other five teams in the final.

> And that penultimate episode 11 started with that last elimination. I figured it would be a dead-even affair w/ Aneesa & Diem's combined experience up against Team Subtitles and their record of winning a jungle & a mission. They played the same saw game that saw Cooke & Cara Maria win in the first female jungle, but it was another closely contested battle. But in the end, Camila & Jemmye claimed the win to join everyone else in the final. While Subtitles earned their way in following in PDX's lead of winning 2 jungles & a Challenge, the heartbreak of the sentimental favorite of this season, Diem, of losing the last jungle was as painful as what happened with Trey & Zach. When everyone came back to the house, there came yet another twist: when they got their last house clue, the finalists all thought that they would be leaving behind Thailand's hot & humid conditions for the hustle & bustle of Tokyo (which was also a layover destination for the competitors en route to Thailand, per pic posted prior to the premiere). But when a group of ninjas, including TJ himself, went in to hijack the finalists and take them to their new location, in actuality they would find themselves still staying in Thailand, but in another location for the final. This pales in comparison to the last three Challenges where the final took place in another country.

   With that in mind, the final would take place on two islands: Dream Island and Nightmare Island, spread out over two days and with yet another twist added in. Only the top two teams for both genders who finish on day 1 continue on while the 3rd place team in both sides is eliminated, but walk away with a $15,000 consolation prize to show for it. The competitors began their final by a boat and swam all the way to Dream Island and there, they had to put together several puzzles within a time frame before they swim all the way back to another boat - TJ's very own yacht and march on to day 2. Those puzzles proved to be the undoing for Team Subtitles as when the two other teams swam back, they had to come to the reality that they would be left stranded in 3rd, but with a stellar showing too. From going out in the first half of the last Challenge to making the final on the next one, plus winning both a mission and two eliminations, Camila & Jemmye definitely earned their way into the last three.

> In the final, I figured it would be a battle between between the veterans on the men's side, in addition to the heads-up duel between Paula & Emily and Cooke & Cara Maria. And as Johnny & Frank and Marlon & Jordan kayaked their way back to the yacht to join Wes & CT on the yacht who had finished well ahead of them, it was Team Rookies' boat that tipped over and finished back in the pack, and their dream of crashing the veterans party ended right there in the water, but not before pocketing $15,000 & a great run for getting there. For the final four teams that marched on to day two, Wes & CT, Johnny & Frank, Paula & Emily and Cooke & Cara Maria ferried their way from Dream Island to Nightmare Island. And they had to endure the usual long ordeal of a final challenge of endurance, stamina and patience with everything on the line and so many obstacles separating them from $150,000. The goal: retrieve five idols after completing five checkpoints, snagging the golden elephant and taking a canoe back on the yacht where the final paycheck awaits in TJ's hands aboard the boat.

   All the teams swam their way to the island where they all had to complete an opening puzzle, acquire some brains in figuring out a math problem, and even endure a good old eating contest to get close to the cash. While Wes & CT led after most of the checkpoints, it appeared Team Red may pull off the unthinkable in beating the best girls team in leading the first two checkpoints. But it was the eating station, some gross out food that saw a lot of vomiting and rather uncomfortable looks on everyone in what Wes called "the worst restaurant ever" that was the turning point for Paula & Emily to take the lead. After moving body bag after body bag on the 4th checkpoint and a final search for the last idol in a pile of sand, it became all but a mere formality for another win by the veteran teams. And when, fitting for the first time winners, CT & Emily delivered the final tear gas canister upon grabbing the elephant on the last checkpoint, it was game, set and match.

> And for the reunion, it was the first time a Challenge reunion was broadcast live instead of it being pre-taped, and it also shared billing with the finale which it followed. In a tight timeframe of an hour, Jonny Moseley and the final four teams for the men & women (except for Cooke) all discussed the drama & action from this season. From cast relations and Diem to her relationship with CT and the hookups & drama, everything was covered without a single thing being left on the cutting room floor. The image that will define this reunion was one that unfolded the same time as people like Brian and Drew saw it in Times Square: Knight smacking Frank and him being restrained and not to be seen again. It was a moment none of us expected especially in the spontaneous environment of live TV, except for, perhaps, Knight, considering everything we've seen from him on his three shows. As stated in my Reunion Revealed post, it was a very good idea to have a live reunion for The Challenge, just as they do with Survivor (albeit without Jeff Probst revealing the winner), and it should be the norm for Challenges from here on in, don't know about RW. But as always, you never know.

Now, to the season awards.

- And start off with the Rookie of the Year. And considering the stellar run they had, this award was easy for me to call, and it's a tie: Jordan & Marlon. They came in with their Real World not on yet and everyone else in a grey spot of not knowing who they are & what they have in store. Typically in Challenges, the rookies would be first to go, and although the female half of Team Rookies, Jess & Ana, would meet their fate in the first girls jungle, the guys would not only buck that rookie trend, they became legitimate contenders in the process. While they & most everyone had their own drama in the house, they were focused more on the competitive aspects more than on the drama. Jordan can tout his versatility of playing a number of sports and even cheerleading to do very well in all of the missions, garnering fellow blogger David Bloom's ROTY honor and becoming a future Challenge force. And Marlon looked after his Texas Tech football experience to carry him in the physical missions and, again, may be another good Challenger in the future. Of course, they were able to work very well together considering they were almost fresh off their RW and being on more mutual terms than most other teams. And they handled the politics very well too, even being brave enough to sacrifice an alliance with Theresa just to keep themselves in the game, then proving everyone wrong when they were voted in their first elimination & won. And that leads us to our next award...

- Team Rookies are also responsible for both the season's Best Competition Moment and Best Elimination Battle. The week 7 jungle they had with Leroy & Ty brought me all the way back by nine months to the epic battle between Zach & CJ from last season, and this one, perhaps, matched it in the process, albeit with double the fun. It was a carbon copy of last year: veteran vs. rookie, competitors who had been to a final vs. first-time Challengers, and of course a physical battle with competitors literally going head on, which always makes for great television. Again, I was on the edge of my seat watching that battle and and I was split between rooting for one of the top competitors in Leroy and a duo who, along with the rest of their cast, I've been able to follow very well for a long time. So when Jordan twisted & crashed his way to the bell and stun everyone, it made me jump out of my seat, just like those who followed them since they first graced the screens in the spring. Watching them, I had a feeling in my mind while I was watching RWPDX that as long as the season rolled on and Marlon & Jordan weren't on twitter deep into it, it meant that they were doing well, and they indeed did. I never expected them to do as well as they did, and it made for the best rookie performance that many have seen on a Challenge, exceeding Team SD's easy road to the jackpot in Africa.

- The Underdog Award goes to someone who was able to overcome the odds to eventually do well on this season, and this one goes to Cara Maria. For the second straight Challenge, our favorite redhead was a late arrival, being part of a dysfunctional Fresh Meat team last year on BOTS. This time around, Cara Maria came in to replace Naomi, and when she got introduced, not one single person applauded her. So, she was once again left in a big disadvantage, but the experience of having been on every Challenge (six of them in all in case you're counting) since she debuted on Fresh Meat II would ultimately play a big role in the run to the final. She & Cooke were put into the first girls jungle against Jess & Ana, and they would win. Then after a visit to the 2nd girls jungle vs. Jasmine & Theresa that turned out to be a no result, they went into the penultimate female jungle and defeated Jonna & Nany. In the last regular mission, she was the driving force in her & Cooke beating Paula & Emily to gain the automatic Finals ticket. And in that final, they led in the early stages before settling for 2nd. This was Cara's 3rd trip to the final in four seasons (first w/o BFF Laurel), and the road to getting to that 3rd final was the toughest. For that, she earns this honor. And she & Camila also earn a bounce back honor too, recovering from going home early in Turkey to finishing in the final three.

- Best at Flying Under the Radar: The other member of the silver medal ladies team, Cooke, gains this award for being the best at flying under the radar. While Marlon & Jordan garnered my Rookies of the Year honor, the only non-Team Portland rookie on this cast also had a very good rookie showing, though a bit understated compared w/ the Portlanders. And for someone who might have caused her fair share of drama in Vegas, Cooke, like Team PDX, flew under the radar while everyone else was grabbing the attention in the house and didn't have much drama to deal with, similar to what we saw with her fellow members of Team Vegas, Leroy & Mike on Rivals I. During this season, Cooke did very well competitively and, other than being in the background during the infamous ketchup moment and flirting with CT, she was focused on the competition & not much else. She was also able to rely on that experience of endurance of running 6 miles' worth on the soccer pitch, along with Cara Maria's finals experience, to eventually be the team that pushed Paulmily to win. The moments I had of her was two: she lent her full support to Naomi when she had to fly home to her ailing dad, and though there was worry that she might go too, gained much more respect during the season, and afterwards with a charity auction supporting Philippine typhoon relief offering some of the cast jerseys.

- Best Entertainers: This cast was full of entertaining personalities, and three people stand out. Aside from the reunion, getting in some drama and many questioning why he were there longer than most of the contenders, Knight did have his entertaining moments: the one-liners in his interviews and the infamous ketchup bottle. When it comes to fashion in the house, his partner Preston won by a landslide. Who else can come in to put on a wig in one deliberation, then come in wearing a glitter top hat before a jungle? It's him. And as for the ladies, Camila once again took the cake with yet another meltdown, and a couple youtube covers as well.

- Favorite Hook-Up: The voting twist that came along in the first deliberation of just the opposite gender teams voting for the team going into the jungle played a huge part this season, and it also influenced a number of hookups in the house, and sometimes it was perhaps done as a way to get someone's vote. While there have been so many hookups in the house and of course CT & Diem, my favorite is Jordan and Sarah. Good thing BMP invested in having a number of spy cams throughout the house to capture anything that may happen, including in that closet where they kissed. When Brian Cohen had him on during this season, he & Jordan talked about why during RWPDX he wasn't shown much interacting romantically with the locals, but no doubt did this 2nd MTV show in a row depicted him as more of a ladies man than what we saw in Oregon. If he is on this next Challenge, you'll bet Mr. Wiseley will have his eyes on more people, in addition to having also hooked up with Jonna.

- Best Non-Competition Moment: it's a tie...if you wanted something epic, then you had a couple teams warring with each other just after they found out they would be going to the final. That was when Johnny and Wes & CT got into words after the last guys deliberation and after JB threw up at the end of their last mission. And if you wanted something positive, at the end of episode 4 after everyone came back after a jungle that wasn't, Diem led the group to a night on the town and decided to go to the club without her wig on. It was a very inspiring moment when she got to be herself on the dance floor just shortly after her cancer went into remission for a second time.

- And Diem is also the recipient of the Heart of a Lion award, which goes to the person who didn't give up and was able to overcome adversity to perform well. And like the rookies category, this one was determined very easily. While some might question her actions of what happened towards the end of this season, as well as of course CT, something we can't question is how she did well this season and was everyone's sentimental favorite, only to have the heartbreaking result of losing the last jungle & missing out on the money. Her story of overcoming ovarian cancer was the one that brought the casual viewer who might not know most of the competitors to this Challenge, and no doubt she had the greatest twitter support of everyone on this cast, growing to 161,000 in the months after this season ended. For what happened in the past two years of making it to the Exes final, then getting diagnosed again, beating cancer again and having a great run during Rivals II, she has earned all of my respect and regardless of what happened in that last jungle, she is already a winner in everyone's eyes.

- Now the big awards, starting with Best Female Competitor. And I gotta concur with fellow Challenge blogger David Bloom (@DavidBloom7), this is a tie. When the female teams were put together for this season, like everyone else I figured that Paula & Emily would be the favorites to win for the ladies. And though the other two women's teams in the final, as well as two other teams won either a mission or a jungle, Paulmily definitely dominated this Challenge season. Aside from the hiccup in week 8, they either won or finished in a competitive place or show position in every week, notching up six mission wins out of the ten, and eventually won the final. And like what we saw with Team Rookies, Paula & Emily were able to work well together, overcome those early tensions and with their drive, determination and solid commitment have one of the most dominating Challenge seasons we've seen. Dr. Bloom summed up Paulmily this way in his final Rivals II blog post: "They aligned from TJ's initial partnership announcement and never strayed from their dedication and support of each other. They are so much of what is so good about this fifth professional sport." [1]

- We save the best for last, and it's a double shot: taking both the Best Male Competitor and Most Valuable Player honors is CT. Though his partner Wes did his part in a deeply stacked guys' field, Rivals II eventually became CT's Challenge to win. After some early tensions, he & Wes eventually gelled and gained momentum in winning the last three guys missions to become favorites, and ultimately closed the deal with their wire-to-wire win in the final. Watching him throughout the season, CT showed the drive that has alluded him on all of his previous Challenges. And when the Boston bombing took place while the season was being filmed (production actually kept the cast informed on events back home), it also became added inspiration too. Bananas gave CT all the praise in his exit interview [2]: "You win some and you lose some, but I hate to say it, but I think that the team that deserved to win won today. Rivalry between me and CT aside, the guy’s put in his time. We’ve spilled the same blood in the same mud. It’s only appropriate for him to at some point get a win." That Bostonian we first saw ten years ago in France is the latest one to get that monkey off his back, following in what Paula did on the first Rivals and win their first Challenge.

For those last two categories, this season's winners were well deserving of the title this season, and I concur with the consensus (and well as TJ & Johnny Bananas) and say that the right teams won this season. It's been a while since we've had a widely popular winner on a Challenge; take the haterade twitter & the fan forums gave to Johnny Bananas and Team San Diego on the last three Challenges, but we have great winners in the end, as well as a fantastic season overall. 

   As much as I was rooting for Jordan & Marlon to do well in the final, and for Cooke to carry the Fil-Am flag for me, I figured that experience will eventually determine who wins this season. For Paula, this is her 2nd Challenge win, both coming in the Rivals format in getting over tensions she had with Evelyn and then Emily to get this one done. For the CrossFit queen, this solidifies Emily as a true Challenge big name w/ her first win; wasn't long ago I was following her on Elizabethany's RW DC adventures. For Wes, this 2nd Challenge win was not only long overdue, but also satisfying as well considering how he came back from two early exits & a loss to Bananas in Rivals 1 to get here. And for CT, he becomes an all-time Challenge legend with this win. No one deserves a title more than CT, and considering everything he has done over the years, and the circumstances that took place back home while this season was taking place half a world away, he deserves all the respect to finally get this win. So again, the right teams won Rivals II.

In closing, I most definitely enjoyed watching Rivals II. I only got through the door of The Challenge in summer of last year as a test run and while I enjoyed watching BOTSeasons more than others, this season obviously confirmed me as a regular Challenge viewer. Compared with what I got to see in my first go, we had just about everything you could want in a great Challenge season: all-star cast, exciting action, huge fights & house drama, big twists out of left field that got fans talking, and an epic final that crowned deserving champions, along with a headline-making live reunion too. From house drama among the big names, through the competition on the field and everything else, and of course, talking to them everyday throughout the summer & fall, I was engaged like never before in a TV show, starring all these people I've gotten to know on the show I love most. Much congratulations go out to all of the competitors, as well as the production team led by executive producer Justin Booth, on a fantastic job entertaining us during the season. Echoing my follower Morgan, to everyone involved, you all did great this season & you should be proud of yourselves.

   Now that I am as much a big Challenge fan as a Real World fanatic, I am anxious to see what this 25th edition of The Challenge has in store for us. Though I am anticipating more the RW season that's taking place here in my backyard, it'll be a hard act for the next one to follow in the footsteps of Rivals II, just as it will be for Ex-Plosion to follow Portland. Now that we've seen for the first time on the same stage both the veterans that are a vital part of this show compete alongside a new generation that I've become very familiar with, it'll be interesting to see who among the new generation step up to challenge the big names. If this next Challenge is a team format - as many other fans have been bracing for, along with a 3rd installment of The Duel, you'll bet it's gonna be can't miss television. And if the tweets from TJ from that first week of filming, and a tweet tease from one of the competitors are true, we might get a season that may exceed what we got to see in Thailand. So while I indulge in the main course that is Real World: Ex-Plosion, we all begin to await the dessert known as Challenge XXV.

Now that the year in Real World & The Challenge is in the books with the premiere of Real World: Ex-Plosion, originally The Real World: Back to San Francisco, coming up in January - and the trailer having debuted this past Tuesday, along with both that cast and the cast for the next Challenge having just returned to social media world in time for the holidays, as you've seen from previous posts DC Blog will shift our attention to broadening our blogging horizons in the interim until then.

   As promised in my very first DCB post at the beginning of this summer, I'll be covering sports, entertainment and a few other things here. This includes the NBA season, the run to the Super Bowl, the countdown to the Sochi Winter Olympics, the winter music scene and more TV shows, and a few other things too. As you saw above, that includes those two shows that will keep me company this fall & winter and will provide me with a good warmup for what comes up in January. And we'll also delve more into my travelogue including my experiences in Las Vegas, which will finally be told on here after being sidetracked by Challenge mania.

   After this offseason of RWSFO & Challenge 25 hot stove talk on the forums and among fans, our RW/Challenge coverage will shortly return into full blown mode with the recent debut of that trailer. And with both this fan's very own backyard of the Bay Area as the backdrop and with that huge twist of the cast's ex-girlfriends and boyfriends moving in to live with Ashley, Arielle, Cory, Jay, Jamie, Jenny and Thomas, it sure promises to be as dramatic as any Real World season, taking place right there in the City by the Bay. We'll be covering everything Real World for you on here - the first full RW season I'll be following on here, along with the lead up to Challenge XXV which will come on afterwards (and for which it just wrapped up). And the very first blog post of the new cycle comes your way later tonight just after we got the news that the season premiere has been moved up a week from January 15th to January 8th. And with my broad knowledge of the legacy series in tow, I've already got a number of story ideas which I'll be able to blog on throughout the course of the next several months.

And lastly, I want to give thanks to everyone for their positive feedback on twitter on these blog posts throughout Rivals II. From fellow Challenge bloggers Brian Cohen (@BusDriversRoute) & David J. Bloom (@DavidBloom7) to fellow RW/Challenge fans including my Reunion Revealed interviewees Kevin, Kaitlyn & Drew, and even a few Challengers too, I've gotten some great comments for the job I've done on DCB during Rivals II. I've been able to use this Blogger platform to cover this season from sharing my experience watching these people to compiling all those cast tweets for the SocialPulse (Yes, that's the reason why flooded those TL's every Wednesday throughout the season so I can then put them all together into those posts). And of course, I am looking anxiously forward to providing the same kind of extensive, wall-to-wall coverage during the next RW/Challenge cycle, which will have a RW season in my very own Bay Area backyard, and of course Challenge 25 to follow afterwards.

  So, nothing more to say other than, that is that. For the time being at least until we kick off our RW SFO coverage shortly, thanks for reading and congrats to everyone. Bring on January 8th and Real World Ex-Plosion. See you in a little bit, and Happy Holidays.

- DC

[1] & [2]: from David Bloom's Rivals II Postseason Awards, http://www.bishopandcomp.com/the-challenge-rivals-2-postseason-awards/.