BY DC CUEVA
There, Minnesota's own Andre took center stage as he got close to Alicia and then turned his focus to Hannah, sparking the season's first fight and latest love triangle. We also had the season's first Getaway Challenge and bonds formed among the housemates, with nakedness and windsurfing included. And then, a case of something we've seen a good deal since Season 2: a group coming into a Matchup full of confidence, and leaving with feelings left in the night darkness.
Coming up - in addition to recapping last week's episode and all related to it, we'll look at where this game stands from inside the Strategy Room, post the latest AYTO blackout. Then, we'll answer the question of who that host of the After Match is, and hear from the latest AYTO couple to throw in the towel. All that is ahead.
THINGS TO KNOW
♥ NEW & OLD BONDS: First, as the group puts on their first nighttime party after their first Matchup, new bonds form in the house while others get a little closer. Staten Islander Mike and Houstonian Casandra find something as he opens up about having a more tougher life than his body would suggest, with his parents being broke and living in physical therapy. For Taylor & Tyler, they agree that everyone in the house is acting a bit trashy, while Kathryn & Ozzy that he's her peace in the mansion. And for Eddie and Kam, he gets naked in the shower and she provides him with a towel - a sign they're taking their relationship seriously.
♥ LOVE SMELLS: The season's first Getaway Challenge sees the girls do the job as they get blindfolded and have to pick out the date partner of their choice... all by just using their noses. Love Stinks sees the women having to use smell to find out who they're attracted to just by go up and down the guys and seeing who they think is the one for them. Hannah picks Tyler as they finish first, followed by Alicia & Andre for second, and Kari & Joey round out the podium earning the third and last spot -- all earning a trip to the beach to go windsurfing.
♥ JOEY & CAROLINA, AND DATES: It's the idea of her Buffalo crush going on a date with the New York fashion worker that has Carolina all up in arms. But in the confessional, Joey assures her that he is hopeful that they're a match and would go to the Honeymoon Suite if the lasers have their way. The tearful Brazilian becomes satisfied with his plea and lets that go off without incident. On that date, Kari lets Joey know that she was excited to join him on the beach but he still has his eye on Carolina, leaving her to wanting to get to know each other. It's not how it goes for Hannah & Tyler, which might indicate the randomness of two of the couples going out. And then, there's the third one...
♥ A TRUTH BOOTH & A BETRAYAL: As they enjoy going surfing, the bond Alicia & Andre have is as strong as any couple in week 2, and he feels that though they're likely going to the Truth Booth, they won't give up on each other regardless of what happens. When that time rolls along, it was a clear play of "doing one for the team" in her doing whatever she can to get her man, and it's no surprise that Alicia & Andre are voted into the chamber of lasers. The two have an inkling that they are certain to head to the Honeymoon Suites, but it doesn't turn out to be as the matchmakers and the lights don't agree - much to everyone's surprise, and leading to them to concede that they've been wrong the first two tries in the Truth Booth.
Inside the booth, Alicia is left in tears upon the words "No Match" appearing, and admits the doesn't understand how this genuine bond would be reject inside the hut. And for Andre? He says he'll continue to play this game...and so he does. In making it clear he will hurt break hearts until he finds his perfect match, the Minnesotan then turns his attention to Hannah. The two then kiss in the confessional, and then Alicia spots them flirting. She spots him and then confronts him in the kitchen, which sees the girls drag her away when things get out of hand. Dre tells the rest of the house that he's fine with them, him and Alicia trying to find their matches, and accuses the girls of not playing the game the way it should be played. Well, they had no idea of what would happen next...
♥ BLACKOUT: The second Matchup Ceremony begins with the group still having $1 million in the jackpot and this time, it's the guys who have to pick...and as they turn out, it becomes a bit of a wild card. Osvaldo goes first by going out of the blue and choosing Kari, followed by Jaylan picking Kam in spite of her connection with Eddie. Same thing goes for Hayden in choosing Taylor despite her having a good bond with Tyler. Some big couples do manage to stick together in Ozzy & Kathryn, Michael & Gianna, Joey & Carolina and Mike & Casandra.
But, it's the picks from out of left field that not only baffle a number of the girls on the patio, it proves to be the group's shortcoming. Once the house lights dim, they come back up again only seconds later when host Ryan Devlin turns around and lets them know that they did not earn a single light beam and gives them the dubious distinction of getting a blackout. And so goes $500,000, which means that things are now just to unravel in the house this early on. And that brings us to this...
STRATEGY ROOM
THE $500,000 BLACKOUT... AND WHAT'S NEXT
At various times this winter and spring, we'll again be unlocking the keys to the place we only visit when either AYTO or The Challenge, or both, are airing. That would be the Strategy Room, where we analyze where we stand as far as the game situation goes, especially when things get tense down the stretch in both the Dominican Republic and in Thailand when Invasion debuts next month. This week - and ahead of our chat on the ladder in a couple weeks, we're opening it up a little earlier than first planned to examine what we make of what happened this past week.
On Season 1 which premiered three years ago this past weekend, the Originals played the game and reached the 10 beams so easily that producers had to come up with something interesting to up the ante on the succeeding casts and stretch them to the limit. Season 2 brought us the 11th girl Christina, while last season gave extra incentive if the cast got a Truth Booth match on the very first trip. And of course, there's the many twists that this season has brought us which, at the quarter pole has already gotten tense.
Most paramount in the twists we've had to these seasons has been of what happens when the house is left in the dark. When we last visited the Caribbean, week 4 of Season 2 saw Christina and friends elated when they notched their first Truth Booth match in Pratt & Paris. But at the ensuing Matchup, they started at one light when the patio lights went dark, and then turned on again just seconds later. That was the first time when a cast had gotten no lights at a Ceremony, which later became known as a Blackout. Two weeks later, it happened to them again at the sixth Matchup, but after that the group got back up, notched three Truth Booth matches en route to the $1 million.
This inspired the Blackout twist we first saw two years ago on Season 3 where if the cast didn't record a single light and a perfect match in the outdoor air, they would lose $250,000 -- and four of them would mean no money. It was in this same Week 2 on that season in 2015 where the group not only saw Kiki & Devin become a no match, but also experience that blackout, and they pretty much stayed in the lower end of the 10 for 10 number line until Big D's Houdini act at that last one. And last year, the blackout occurred in Week 8 - and both times there, the casts would ultimately get back up and win the $750,000.
Below is of who picked who, and in parentheses are additional notes...
Now, in the manner of what makes this site unique, we'd like to give you some unique facts that you'll probably won't find anywhere else. First, out of those picks in week 2, all but one of them were different from the previous week, and that one was Joey & Carolina who were also paired in both MC #1 and the first date. Second, the only pair who were picked to go to the Truth Booth there was Andre & Alicia and we know what happened there last Wednesday. And Third, as noted by a Twitter user to Chelsey from Season 3 after that matchup - and after the same exact thing happened to them on her season: the five instances where the cast have blacked out at a Matchup have come in an even week, which is the guys pick.
To my thoughts on this: to me, this is surprising in a way, but I'm not surprised at all that they blacked out last week. Kam and some of the girls had a sense that most of guys were making these odd choices from left field and, though there's a few matches who I thought were those beams, there was that uneasy feeling that they were gonna not get a light... And that's what happened there.
As for the twist of losing money, I do think that it is a bit harsh that this penalty shouldn't fit the crime that they've committed of getting no lights. When they began this thing, they were told to follow your hearts and play with your heads... Apparently they didn't get that message and here we are. I feel that they should've kept the loss at just $250K instead of half a million - which is a bit too much in my view and most especially coming this early on. This brings us back to what we had with Season 3 and Season 2 where they dealt with blackouts early and then managed to get back up again, esp. the 3rd one with the money loss that had.
The list of those who we thought were matches isn't perhaps as broad as what we had on Season 2, but it does come as a shock that Joey & Carolina and Ozzy & Kathryn aren't matches. We saw the first two enjoy each other these first two dates and I'm sure they were shocked to find that the matchmakers didn't have them as a match, same also for that other pair who really felt each other last week. My feeling of who the two week 1 beams were are Kam & Eddie and Taylor & Tyler... we saw the both of them have good chemistry and they should've stayed the course and stayed together instead of the bad night they had a week ago.
Kari tweeted afterwards, "Honestly the blackout must've been a blessing, it's time to start playing this game and get this money." She and Morgan from last season are right: it is worth losing money to start anew and now they have a sense of what they have to do. It is early, and they do have to go back into the drawing board and go back to week 1 to see who those beams belonged to, aside from Carolina & Joey. The wise thing is to revolve those picks around the two couples we discussed above and hope they get more beams...let those two re-pair up and then let everyone else pick other people and hope they can get out of this sudden hole they're in.
And for the Truth Booth trade-in? Again, it is early and I do believe that they are now in desperation mode to try and reverse the tide of what they've just went through. But the smart thing here is, find out first who the couples are that go on that date, then see what the vibe is like for each of them, and then can make the call for whether they're good enough to go ahead and see if they're a match. If they're not and if there's someone else good enough for them, take the money, recoup what you lost and hope it was the smart move.
Now, this game has really begun. How will Team 22 recover? We'll find out.
This inspired the Blackout twist we first saw two years ago on Season 3 where if the cast didn't record a single light and a perfect match in the outdoor air, they would lose $250,000 -- and four of them would mean no money. It was in this same Week 2 on that season in 2015 where the group not only saw Kiki & Devin become a no match, but also experience that blackout, and they pretty much stayed in the lower end of the 10 for 10 number line until Big D's Houdini act at that last one. And last year, the blackout occurred in Week 8 - and both times there, the casts would ultimately get back up and win the $750,000.
Below is of who picked who, and in parentheses are additional notes...
WEEK 1 (Girls' Pick)
Kam & Edward
Taylor & Tyler
Kari & Mike
Casandra & Jaylen
Carolina & Joey
Tyranny & Osvaldo
Gianna & Ozzy
Hannah & Michael
Alicia & Andre (TB)
Kathryn & Derrick
Shannon & Hayden
WEEK 2 (Guys' Pick)
Osvaldo & Kari
Ozzy & Kathryn
Jaylan & Kam
Eddie & Shannon
Derrick & Alicia
Hayden & Taylor
Andre & Hannah
Michael & Gianna
Joey & Carolina (2)
Mike & Casandra
Tyler & Tyranny
Now, in the manner of what makes this site unique, we'd like to give you some unique facts that you'll probably won't find anywhere else. First, out of those picks in week 2, all but one of them were different from the previous week, and that one was Joey & Carolina who were also paired in both MC #1 and the first date. Second, the only pair who were picked to go to the Truth Booth there was Andre & Alicia and we know what happened there last Wednesday. And Third, as noted by a Twitter user to Chelsey from Season 3 after that matchup - and after the same exact thing happened to them on her season: the five instances where the cast have blacked out at a Matchup have come in an even week, which is the guys pick.
To my thoughts on this: to me, this is surprising in a way, but I'm not surprised at all that they blacked out last week. Kam and some of the girls had a sense that most of guys were making these odd choices from left field and, though there's a few matches who I thought were those beams, there was that uneasy feeling that they were gonna not get a light... And that's what happened there.
As for the twist of losing money, I do think that it is a bit harsh that this penalty shouldn't fit the crime that they've committed of getting no lights. When they began this thing, they were told to follow your hearts and play with your heads... Apparently they didn't get that message and here we are. I feel that they should've kept the loss at just $250K instead of half a million - which is a bit too much in my view and most especially coming this early on. This brings us back to what we had with Season 3 and Season 2 where they dealt with blackouts early and then managed to get back up again, esp. the 3rd one with the money loss that had.
The list of those who we thought were matches isn't perhaps as broad as what we had on Season 2, but it does come as a shock that Joey & Carolina and Ozzy & Kathryn aren't matches. We saw the first two enjoy each other these first two dates and I'm sure they were shocked to find that the matchmakers didn't have them as a match, same also for that other pair who really felt each other last week. My feeling of who the two week 1 beams were are Kam & Eddie and Taylor & Tyler... we saw the both of them have good chemistry and they should've stayed the course and stayed together instead of the bad night they had a week ago.
Kari tweeted afterwards, "Honestly the blackout must've been a blessing, it's time to start playing this game and get this money." She and Morgan from last season are right: it is worth losing money to start anew and now they have a sense of what they have to do. It is early, and they do have to go back into the drawing board and go back to week 1 to see who those beams belonged to, aside from Carolina & Joey. The wise thing is to revolve those picks around the two couples we discussed above and hope they get more beams...let those two re-pair up and then let everyone else pick other people and hope they can get out of this sudden hole they're in.
And for the Truth Booth trade-in? Again, it is early and I do believe that they are now in desperation mode to try and reverse the tide of what they've just went through. But the smart thing here is, find out first who the couples are that go on that date, then see what the vibe is like for each of them, and then can make the call for whether they're good enough to go ahead and see if they're a match. If they're not and if there's someone else good enough for them, take the money, recoup what you lost and hope it was the smart move.
Now, this game has really begun. How will Team 22 recover? We'll find out.
POLLS
After what we saw tonight, do you think this season's #AreYouTheOne #Blackout penalty of the cast losing $500k is...
● Too harsh? 75%
● About right? 23%
● Too light? 2%
Which pair were you shocked to find they were not a match in last night's #AreYouTheOne #Blackout?
● Ozzy & Kathryn 50%
● Joey & Carolina 25%
● Mike & Casandra 8%
● Michael & Gianna 17%
After both hooked up with Andre this week and went at it on the After Match, whose side are you on?
● Alicia 82%
● Hannah 18%
FANTASY TRAX
Now, the first look at the Fantasy Scoring from MTV.com...►WEEKLY POINT SCORERS
1. ANDRE: 70 Points
2. ALICIA: 50 Points
T-3. Three tied at 25 Points
T-6. Five tied at 20 Points
10. CAROLINA: 10 Points
T-11. Three tied at 5 Points
►TOP 10 TOTAL SCORERS
Same as Above
►WEEK'S NOTABLES
● ANDRE: Andre scored 70 Overall Points: 40 Competition Pts. for being voted into the Truth Booth (20pts), being chosen to go on a date (15pts) and winning a challenge (5pts); 15 Romance points for hooking up in the confessional (15pts); and 15 Drama points for having a meltdown.
● ALICIA: Alicia scored 50 Overall Points: 25 Competition points for Truth Booth (20) and winning a challenge (5pts), and 25 Drama points for being part of the love triangle with Andre and Hannah.
● 25-Pointers: Three players scored 25 points: Edward (25 for Nudity in the shower), Hannah (including 15 for her hookup with Andre), and Kari (w/ 20 Drama pts. for getting rejected).
● 20-Pointers: Five players scored 20 points: Hayden (romance for getting rejected), Joey (date-related), Osvaldo (rejected), Taylor (meltdown and crying) and Tyler (date related).
● 20-Pointers: Five players scored 20 points: Hayden (romance for getting rejected), Joey (date-related), Osvaldo (rejected), Taylor (meltdown and crying) and Tyler (date related).
● Others: Carolina got 10 points for talking about her ex, while Kathryn, Shannon and Tyranny got 5 for crying in the aftermath of the blackout.
#DCExtraTime
MIKAMERON CALL IT QUITS
Last year, Cameron & Mikala got to know each other when they and their Season 4 cast moved into the house and while everyone else were making news, the two never let go and went about their business. It was only a matter of time before they were put into the Truth Booth and emerged out of that Week 3 with a quick trip into the Honeymoon Suite in record time, and then stayed together afterwards in both moving out west.
Well, things weren't meant to be for the two, and last week through two Instagram posts the couple announced their split. The two posted the following captions accompanying them...
● Cameron: "For those of you who are wondering, Mik and I are no longer together. Out of respect for her, I hope everyone can just leave it at that. Despite this being the end of us, I truly do hope the best for her. I'm sorry if this disappoints anyone out there, but things change, people change, that's life."
● Mikala: "One day you're going to remember me refusing to give up on you, my kindness to a fault, and loving you so hard that you literally asked me to stop... And im going to remember the ultimatums, broken promises, and the names you let him call me... So there came a time when i needed to stop begging to be understood and just needed to say "you win, you're right. I love you... goodbye." Because my love, if I treated you the way you treated me. You would hate me."
Well, things weren't meant to be for the two, and last week through two Instagram posts the couple announced their split. The two posted the following captions accompanying them...
● Cameron: "For those of you who are wondering, Mik and I are no longer together. Out of respect for her, I hope everyone can just leave it at that. Despite this being the end of us, I truly do hope the best for her. I'm sorry if this disappoints anyone out there, but things change, people change, that's life."
● Mikala: "One day you're going to remember me refusing to give up on you, my kindness to a fault, and loving you so hard that you literally asked me to stop... And im going to remember the ultimatums, broken promises, and the names you let him call me... So there came a time when i needed to stop begging to be understood and just needed to say "you win, you're right. I love you... goodbye." Because my love, if I treated you the way you treated me. You would hate me."
WHO IS TERRENCE J.?
The summer sees the broadcast networks take cable's example of filling those prime time hours historically devoted to reruns to airing low-budget reality shows. That's where the likes of Survivor, American Idol and The Bachelor/Bachelorette began their long runs during the lean part of the TV year and eventually made their way into their respective network's regular schedules between September and May. And of course, that season is ruled, in a reality sense, by Big Brother. Last summer saw the show for which we saw the After Match host earn his spot on this season.
That show on FOX was called Coupled, one of the many shows coined by that genius of reality TV, producer Mark Burnett. There, 12 single women were flown in to Anguilla, a remote tropical island in the Caribbean, and here they met face to face with eligible single men. There on the spot, the ladies had to decide if they felt chemistry with the guys they met and want to spend more time with, or if not just wait for the next guy. There, new couples formed and they had to discover if they had the capability to make their relationships last.
The man who hosted that show, as well as "The Dunk King" on TNT last summer, was Terrence J., who has quickly made a name for himself in Hollywood in having the total package of being a TV and film actor, host, philanthropist and author. As he hosts this return to television of the Are You The One? After Match after show, this marks a return of sorts to his roots in the Viacom family, where for seven years hosted hip-hop's own TRL, BET's 106 & PARK. Coincidentally enough, a movie he recently starred in opposite Paula Patton is fittingly titled, The Perfect Match.
Terrence's acting CV might not be as broad as AYTO host Ryan Devlin, but he does have a leg up on him in having honed his craft more on the big screen than on TV in being part of box office hits such as Think Like A Man and its sequel, and doing a book - The Wealth of My Mother's Wisdom. From taking part in the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service as someone with an eye on what's happening in our imperfect world, to being in commercials with Kyrie Irving and Puff Daddy's Sean John clothing line, he's taken on that role of being a jack of all trades in being very versatile.
The man who hosted that show, as well as "The Dunk King" on TNT last summer, was Terrence J., who has quickly made a name for himself in Hollywood in having the total package of being a TV and film actor, host, philanthropist and author. As he hosts this return to television of the Are You The One? After Match after show, this marks a return of sorts to his roots in the Viacom family, where for seven years hosted hip-hop's own TRL, BET's 106 & PARK. Coincidentally enough, a movie he recently starred in opposite Paula Patton is fittingly titled, The Perfect Match.
Terrence's acting CV might not be as broad as AYTO host Ryan Devlin, but he does have a leg up on him in having honed his craft more on the big screen than on TV in being part of box office hits such as Think Like A Man and its sequel, and doing a book - The Wealth of My Mother's Wisdom. From taking part in the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service as someone with an eye on what's happening in our imperfect world, to being in commercials with Kyrie Irving and Puff Daddy's Sean John clothing line, he's taken on that role of being a jack of all trades in being very versatile.
Some including Andrew Kirk feel that he should become the de facto host of every After Show and Reunion that comes around for the Trifecta and other MTV shows, and I do agree. Terrence is well known around the entertainment fields and has his roots at 1515 Broadway, plus he has that added incentive of having hosted a romantic reality show. He is the right host.
▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪
And that will wrap it up for our look at Episode 2 of AYTO. Just a couple notable webcasts...
● The folks at AfterBuzz TV are at it again covering Are You The One?, and in the first two weeks they have been joined by two duos: Taylor and Hannah in Week 1, and Ozzy and Andre in Week 2, both stopping by to join the panel. Check out those podcasts at AfterBuzzTV.com.
● And there's a new webcast covering Are You The One?: the fittingly-titled Truth Booth Cast with fans Leia and Kate as they discuss the show and all the dealings inside the Dominican Republic. Check out their first two podcasts at soundcloud.com/truthboothcast.
Ahead this weekend...a busy slate: we'll of course have the Pulse covered plus Andrew Kirk and I will review the first three episodes of this season in the coming week's Wrap. We'll also kick off our countdown to the new season of The Challenge with the first of a three-part series looking ahead at what awaits us on Invasion of the Champions. We'll reveal the rest of this week's subject matter after tonight's episode airs on the west coast at Twitter @DC408Dxtr, for which polls and more will be at while the live tweets are at DCNOW @DC408DxNow.
Also, in case you missed it, DCBLOG is asking fellow fans, webcast hosts, bloggers and castmates to take part in timely discussions throughout our Trifecta coverage this winter. See Part 2 of the 2016 Debrief for more details on how you can join in on the conversation we plan to have on here during this upcoming Challenge, this AYTO season and what's ahead in the reality TV world, as well as doing your part to expand our site's exposure.
That's how we look at it this week that was in the MTV Trifecta. Do join me later tonight at DCNOW for AYTO and until the weekend here, talk to you then.
- I AM DC
That's how we look at it this week that was in the MTV Trifecta. Do join me later tonight at DCNOW for AYTO and until the weekend here, talk to you then.
- I AM DC
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