MTV Trifecta: Stranded with a Million Dollars - The Finale

BY DC CUEVA                     
■ @DC408Dxtr  @ TW / IG / YT

As you wrap up your weekend and this month of April, welcome back to our view Inside the MTV Trifecta on DCBLOG. And after bringing you through a light week ahead of the final on The Challenge Invasion, and a big twist on AYTO Second Chances, it's time to bring you the main event of sorts of this week's wave of posts: the finale of Stranded with a Million Dollars in Fiji.
   Last week, the two rival camps of Team Makody and Team Algina took their war to another level when Mr. Thrive decided to take a take care of his business in the main source of water on this island: the lake, with the hope his rivals will flare out...which they did not. Watergate no doubt was the big story of this season in the wake of the other camp deciding to burn the money. And to add extra intrigue to last week, the group forgot their flare case which cost the group $100,000.
   This week, it's the finale as the game comes to an end with the intriguing mindset of the players approaching the finish line and Day 40. In a season that's seen so many twists and turns, Alex & Gina again find themselves struggling with hunger and being dehydrated, and once again that happens with his arch rival as Cody & Makani do whatever they can to force them off the island before the day they've been waiting for arrives. And of course, who of the final four will make it to the final evacuation point and claim the cash?

Coming up, we'll have the 'Pulse with action, reaction and interaction from this season finale. And after the diary, we'll take a final trip into the Strategy Room and look at the game's outcome. It's all ahead as DCBLOG presents the final chapter of Season 1 of Stranded with a Million Dollars.




►#DCSocialPulse  STRANDED - The Finale "Forty Days & Forty Nights

@MTVStranded: IT'S #MTVStranded FINALE DAY!!! How did we get here? Tell us your favorite moment and catch the final episode at 10/9c on @MTV!

@GinaPandaBaby: Season finale of #MTVstranded tonight :)

@n_zanattaMTV: Is it better to ask for forgiveness or permission?!?  #strandedwithamilliondollars I'd do it ;) #mtv @MTVStranded  https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C-N8JW3W0AAPjSN.jpg

- @makanime: @n_zanattaMTV Lolol😹if you can make one last you 40 days, you're in👀🏝✨🤙🏽

@Bella_naomi95: Tonight is the last episode of stranded with 1 million bucks! Make sure you tune in! @MTVStranded @teammakody🇫🇯

@MTVStranded: TFW you realize there's 1 hour left til the #MTVStranded finale! 😱 https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C-TOeJLWsAAVDZR.jpg

@Bella_naomi95:  Yaaaaay stranded is up next, let's do this @teammakody @makanime @CodyThrive @MTVStranded

- @makanime: @Bella_naomi95 😌❤️❤️❤️✨

@AlexApple_: Alright, let's go one more time. @MTVStranded finale starts now! It all comes down to this. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C-TbdGLUIAA2Qb2.jpg

@MTV: The #MTVStranded finale starts right now! RT if you're watching + tweeting along with @MTVStranded 🌴 https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C-TcIypXUAE8ina.jpg

@Bella_naomi95: When you catch a quick clip of yourself ❤️🌺😭

@MTVStranded: .@ginapandababy is done with this island life. 💁 #MTVStranded (GIF: "I could flare at any moment.")

@MTVStranded: .@codythrive is exhausting ALL of his options. 💩 #MTVStranded (GIF: "Desparate times call for desparate measures.")

@MTVStranded: RT IF YOU'RE #TEAMMAKODY RIDE OR DIE. 🙌  #MTVStranded (GIF: Cody - "It's game over, check mate, we win.")

@MTVStranded: TFW you're watching The Notebook and the opening credits start rolling. 😭 #MTVStranded (GIF: Gina - "I don't wanna cry but it's coming.")

@MTVStranded: Temptations are 🔑 to avoiding starvation. #MTVStranded (GIF: Alex - "This could be the meal that keeps us in this game.")

@MTVStranded: When you don't want to be obvious about your partner choice in class... 😏 #MTVStranded (GIF: Gina to Alex - "Who are you picking?")

@GinaPandaBaby: Oh my hair looks nice... just my hair and my tan 😂😂 #MTVstranded

@MTVStranded: This doesn't look right... #MTVStranded https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C-Tdra1XkAAFBWM.jpg

@makanime: @MTVStranded one more camp to achieve a #Makody final two😳😤 #itsgoingdown 😈🏝✨

@GinaPandaBaby: Why is the temptation a tablet? #MTVstranded

@CodyThrive: Talk about an unfair advantage. Wow!!! #MTVstranded

@MTVStranded: You said it, @AlexApple_ 😏 #MTVStranded (GIF: "It's about as tempting as it can get.")

@GinaPandaBaby: Why couldn't that temptation be mashed potatoes :( #MTVstranded

@CodyThrive: Haven't been vengeful??? Does he not remember camp 1 2 3 4 5 or 6?????? #MTVstranded

@MTVStranded: Would you .... 🤔 #MTVStranded   70%Leave with the 150k / 30%Hold out for 2 days   409 votes•Final results

@makanime: @MTVStranded lolol these people are crying about going home while @CodyThrive & I be #plottingonthelow 😏😈🏝✨

@AlexApple_: Should I take it? Should I consider that it takes money from Crappy and Natalie? #MTVstranded

@CodyThrive: Does anyone else think that should have been a challenge reward? Not a temptation offered to only 2 of the 4 contestants??? #MTVstranded

@CodyThrive: Algina being stupid actually helped me save money for once. Thank God they didn't take it, but WHY were they even offered that? #MTVstranded

@MTVStranded: WHAT? I did not see that coming. 😱 #MTVStranded (GIF: Alex to Gina - "Stay.")

@MTVStranded: .@GinaPandaBaby's come a long way 👏👏👏 #MTVStranded (GIF: "I didn't come this far to give up.")

@AlexApple_: I'd like to go back to Taveuni....and stay in a resort this time, of course. It's an amazing island. #MTVStranded https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C-TfVbFWsAE24wC.jpg

@MTVStranded: Mad props to #Algina 💯 #MTVStranded

@MTVStranded: Is @CodyThrive speechless? 🙊 #MTVStranded

@MTVStranded: .@makanime has a hard time believing #Algina's intentions. 😐 #MTVStranded (GIF: "It wasn't for us, it was for each other, you know.")

@MTVStranded: #THRIVE TIME ALL THE TIME. #MTVStranded (GIF: Cody - "Time to thrive, baby.")

@GinaPandaBaby: I just wanted to cook some taro #MTVstranded

@CodyThrive: This is absurd. 💩💩💩 #MTVstranded

@MTVStranded: OKAY THIS IS HAPPENING. 🙈😖💩 #MTVStranded

@Bella_naomi95: @CodyThrive you didn't wipe your Ass lmaooo 😂😂😂😂

@ChrisLacerra: lil nugget action LOL! Good aim bro 😂😂@CodyThrive

@GinaPandaBaby: Ew, I literally cannot with this scene.... #MTVstranded #HolyShit #Literally

@CodyThrive:  And with that moment Mr. Thrive has officially cemented his place in reality tv immortality. @RealityAwardsTV #MTVstranded

- @MTVStranded: @CodyThrive #THRIVENUGGET #MTVSTRANDED

- @makanime: @MTVStranded 😳y'all have no chill👀

@MTVStranded: So.. Cody poo-ing in the water.. Thoughts? #MTVStranded   40%I would have done it / 37%maybe not the best idea.. / 23%IDK ANYMORE 💩   444 votes•Final results

@AlexApple_: That dude has some issues he's got to figure out. I'll keep praying for him. #MTVStranded

@CodyThrive: Bloop bloop 💩💩 #MTVstranded

@MTVStranded: Same reaction, tbh. #MTVStranded (GIF: Gina - "Really?")

- @GinaPandaBaby: @MTVStranded Lmfaoooo I love Fiji water <333 #MTVstranded

@autumnmaurer_: Time for Mr.Thrive to lay down the law #mtvstranded

@MTVStranded:  When you honestly just don't give a 💩 anymore. #MTVStranded

- @AlexApple_: @MTVStranded Hahahah amen

@CodyThrive: Oh man. This is amazing!!! I am on another level Alex. I'm playing chess and you're playing checkers. #MTVstranded

@makanime: @MTVStranded the way he so innocently asked for the pot😂#nahfam ....when I asked you for the tent, it didn't play like that✋🏽 #foh

@shak_inabox: If there's a reality TV hall of fame @CodyThrive needs to be inducted right now.

- @makanime: @MTVStranded "He's on another level" lmao you just figured that out, alex?😹

@JoeyAmoia716: They really just showed this man shitting lmao

@JoeyAmoia716: And that's the last time I'll ever enjoy a Fiji water! Thank you @CodyThrive

@MTVKathrynP: Wait, I'm confused. You don't know how to swim & you hate water but you agreed to be stranded on a tropical island for a month? #MTVstranded

@MTVStranded: "He cannot poop in every coconut." -@AlexApple_  ... you right. #MTVstranded

@MTVStranded: YOU CAN DO IT @AlexApple_ #MTVStranded (GIF: "The worst part would be flaring out and Cody and Makani getting that satisfaction.")

@makanime: @MTVStranded "He's on another level" lmao you just figured that out, alex?😹

@AlexApple_: Cody should have read up on his survival skills. There are water sources popping up through the sand every where. #Hydrated #MTVStranded

@MTVStranded: "When I met Cody on day 1, I did not expect him to be the person I teamed up with." -@makanime #MTVStranded https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C-Tiv4MXkAQ5IT4.jpg

- @makanime: @MTVStranded Sometimes the best friendships are the ones you could never see coming😌🔮🏝✨ #TeamMakody

@AlexApple_: Anyone up for a game of cards at my place? I like spades or crazy eights. @MTVStranded: I have some nice $1000 cards we can use. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C-Ti0UAXkAIGu3a.jpg

@CodyThrive: Lol man @makanime is the greatest!!! :') #MTVstranded

@MTVStranded: LAST CHALLENGE... time to do it up, gang. #MTVStranded

@MTVStranded: 3,2,1...GO #MTVStranded

@MTVStranded: Can #Algina pull off a win? #MTVStranded   29%YESSSS / 71%NOPE. #THRIVE   322 votes•Final results

@ChrisLacerra: Challenge time 💪🏻🔥🔥 Thrive Thrive 365! You got this 👌🏻 @CodyThrive @makanime

@makanime: @MTVStranded that little flashback had me emotional🙈😿🏝💛😭

@CodyThrive: They don't call me the Rated R Reality Star for nothin. I'm the dirtiest player in the game!!! 💩💦💩💦💩💦 #MTVstranded

@AlexApple_: We've come a longgggg way since we all stood at camp one, clean shaven, watching Bria leave the island. #MTVStranded https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C-TkJozXgAEHUls.jpg

@makanime: @MTVStranded #TeamMakody are the challenge beasts😤💪🏽 #Algina y'all might as well just save your energy😆😏

@MTVStranded: #MAKODY WINS AGAIN! ... Is anyone surprised? #MTVstranded

- @autumnmaurer_: @MTVStranded Not a bit 😂😂

@CodyThrive: It pays to be a winner. In life and in @MTVStranded #MTVstranded

- @makanime: @CodyThrive 🏝✨🏆😏

@AlexApple_: Half assed that one hard

@MTVStranded: We hope so too, @GinaPandaBaby #MTVStranded https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C-TktbwXsAAzrFk.jpg

@MTVStranded: You never know what could happen... so true. 😈 #MTVStranded

@MTVStranded: OMG... That looks so delicious. #MTVStranded

@GinaPandaBaby: Did I really just cry watching that scene... #flashbacks #39days #mtvstranded

@MTVStranded: Finishing my Thanksgiving dinner like 👅 #MTVStranded

@GinaPandaBaby: Wow they're over there putting salt on their food and we're starving as fuuuuuuu #mtvstranded

@MTVStranded: 41 DAYS? 😱 definitely not what they signed up for. #MTVStranded

@AlexApple_: For those of you asking about my next country single, you'll have to live with "No Hundo" until the next one drops. http://buff.ly/2oJbEAz 

@tewsdaykate: you're being a real "Buddhist" practice what you preach. Those gremlins are the definition of awful ppl @MTVStranded

@CodyThrive: "@jla02185: @CodyThrive I think temptations should have been given to challenge winners period." RT No doubt. Easy fix going forward tho, along with a couple other tweaks. When Stranded All Stars is ready for me I'll be ready for it.

@MTVStranded: .@CODYTHRIVE is ALWAYS ready to go. 💪 #MTVStranded (GIF: "Let's get it.")

@CodyThrive: One thing we can all be thankful for is the birth of Mr. Thrive!!! What a reel. #MTVstranded

@MTVStranded: Let's get the heck off this island!!! #MTVStranded (GIF: Alex - "This will be an intense journey.")

@GinaPandaBaby: #LastJourney yeeeeeeee #mtvstranded

@makanime: @MTVStranded this journey better make them flare😳 give me something crazy😩🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🏝🔮⚡️☄️😈

@MTVStranded: This journey is the hardest. 💪 Can they prove themselves? #MTVStranded https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C-TnTlEXYAEVeMA.jpg

@AlexApple_: I've combed my hair and put some nicer clothes on since @MTVStranded ended. That blue shirt and orange hat still stink. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C-TnnAWXcAcCy-G.jpg

@MTVStranded: The adventurers are all in this together. #MTVStranded

@GinaPandaBaby: Water fall?! Noooooo #mtvstranded

@MTVStranded: #Thrivemode til the end. #MTVStranded

@CodyThrive: "@r_white_76: @CodyThrive @makanime challenge beast! @MTV is missing out on having you guys on the challenge!" RT I'm hopeful one day it will happen.

@MTVStranded: ... This is why I DON'T go chasing waterfalls, guys. 🌊 #MTVStranded https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C-ToFD0XoAAcsx6.jpg

@GinaPandaBaby: Did I mention I was scared of heights?! #mtvstranded

@MTVStranded: Can @GinaPandaBaby make it safely? #MTVStranded   51%She'll need help & flare / 49%She's got this!   249 votes•Final results

@AlexApple_: I'm incredibly appreciative for the friends I made on #MTVStranded. Great people. @iamzoewhite @GinaPandaBaby @tewsdaykate https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C-Tofu9UMAATGsZ.jpg

@GinaPandaBaby: 😂😂😂😂😂

@makanime: "@CodyThrive: @mrsmermommy I wish. I would have been down to take it to 50!!! #MTVstranded" RT Realtalk. Algina's presence is unacceptable. 😒 We need 10 bonus days with no temptations 🙏🏽@MTVStranded

@GinaPandaBaby: Holy fuuuuuuuu. Scariest moment ever! #mtvstranded

@MTVStranded: THE DID IT YALL. THEY DID IT!!! #MTVSTRANDED https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C-Tpl1jXgAEUpwI.jpg

@makanime: @MTVStranded I mean I could've repelled faster, but Gina up there giving birth or something👀😳😳

@MTVStranded: 🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌  #MTVSTRANDED (GIF: Gina - "We made it!")

@CodyThrive: What a lame ending. A tie? Really... Weak!!! #MTVstranded

@MTVStranded: 40 Days stranded, 150k richer! 👏 #MTVStranded

@tewsdaykate: Forever gratful for the wonderful friends I made ❤️you guys!! @GinaPandaBaby @AlexApple_ @iamzoewhite so proud of you 2!

@13nikoclemmons Niko Cemmons/WVEC-TV reporter: Congrats to both @GinaPandaBaby & @AlexApple_ for making it to the end.

@makanime: We did it people😌✨🏝🏆💰 @MTVStranded 🌿

@Bella_naomi95: I'm so proud of you guys for making it to the end😍 Well played game everyone! @MTVStranded @CodyThrive @makanime @GinaPandaBaby @AlexApple_

@CodyThrive: To everyone who always made fun of me for being a reality tv super fan. Eat shit!!! #MTVstranded (GIF of Cody's finals paycheck of $124,417.50)

- @ChrisLacerra: @CodyThrive Hahaha awww yeahh the hard work paid off bro

@ChrisLacerra: Here's to the ending, of a GREAT and successful first season of #MTVstranded !! 👌🏻👌🏻❤️ 🎈🎉🎉

@MTVStranded: Thanks for going on this adventure with us! That's a wrap for #MTVStranded! Congrats to the winners! 💸

@GinaPandaBaby: Day 40! Who would've thought that I was going to make it to day 40? #mtvSTRANDED

@AlexApple_: #WINNER of @MTVStranded. Beyond blessed. God is good https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C-Tq0fHVoAA59Gr.jpg

@makanime: My first helicopter ride was beautiful😌🚁🏝✨🙏🏽 @MTVStranded it's been quite the journey👣💛🌿💰🌏😌🙏🏽

@tewsdaykate: I ❤️ that the 2 tried& failed miserably to push Gina&Alex out. So proud of them for staying strong! @MTVStranded

@CodyThrive: If you want to see the full video of my reaction from the first time I watched episode 10, the… https://www.instagram.com/p/BTVUvn6hQ9g/ 

@GinaPandaBaby: So glad I was able to challenge myself and get out of my comfort zone. Thanks #MTVStranded  <3

@GinaPandaBaby: Island fam<3 @tewsdaykate @AlexApple_ @iamzoewhite ❤️

@CodyThrive: I'm rich!!! #MTVStranded

@CodyThrive: #ThriveForever

@ChrisG6: I was rooting for @AlexApple_ and @GinaPandaBaby the whole way! So proud of y'all! No food no water wow!! #StriveForGreatness #greatness

@CorinneWGAL  Corinne Lillis/WGAL-TV traffic reporter:  Proud of my friend @alexapple_ for how he did on MTV's "Stranded"

@OliviaCaridi Olivia Caridi/host at CBS Radio: Congrats to my friend @AlexApple_ on winning @MTVStranded! You handled island life better than I & now that you're rich you're buying drinks

@CodyThrive: Mood. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C-UBbR3XYAA9tB9.jpg

@CodyThrive:

 Thanks @MTV thanks @kevinrichardlee thanks @autumnmaurer_ for believing in me!!! And thank you all #ThriveNation!!! Good night.

@makanime: It's been an honor to share this life-changing journey with so many. This is just the beginning. @MTV , you've left me far from Stranded 📺🏝✨ https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C-UR9iGWAAArilC.jpg

@makanime: My first & most beautiful fans: the children of the island, Taveuni🇫🇯👣 @MTVStranded 🌿 https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C-UdrAvXgAA8Gbi.jpg

@iamzoewhite: As the season concludes, I couldn't be no more prouder than I am right now for everyone in this picture! 💯 especially my splash brother 🌊 @alexapple7 & my island 🌴 sister @ginabaybay for going #40! 🎉 Us 4 together made one hell of a team 💪🏽, but made even better friends 🖤I learned a lot from this experience & learned a lot from these guys. I want to thank @mtvstranded & @mtv for this amazing experience & all the wonderful, talented people I got to meet. This was definitely life changing & belongs in the history books. Thanking God for this experience 🙌🏽 Until Next Time...#islandFamForLife 🌴 https://www.instagram.com/p/BTWJws3lsyw/ 

@iamzoewhite: I thank God 🙌🏽 For allowing me the opportunity to experience this wild & crazy ride but such a beautiful blessing. All the amazing once-in-a-lifetime things I got to see, & the amazing family & life-long friends I made with @alexapple7 @tewsdaykate & @ginabaybay 🌴. I am very humbled. If I could do it all over again, I would. Living in Fiji🇫🇯 was awesome & I got to do it with some awesome people. I could write a book about the life long lessons taken from this journey. I am very thankful & to Mother Nature, you are a 👸 & deserve the upmost respect ✊. #Fiji #StrandedWithAMillionDollars #MTV #MTVStranded https://www.instagram.com/p/BTWK_kuF0_H/ 

@iamzoewhite: Thank you Fiji , you were amazing. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C-VbLphXkAA27Lw.jpg

@iamzoewhite: So proud of @AlexApple_ @tewsdaykate @GinaPandaBaby 💪🏽 this my family for life, don't ever think otherwise! 🌴#Core4Forever @MTVStranded https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C-VbvzkWsAAOqV3.jpg

@iamzoewhite: Just want to say thank you @MTVStranded @kevinrichardlee @MTV @JillGarelick @metalflowers @tewsdaykate @GinaPandaBaby @AlexApple_ 💯💯💯

@iamzoewhite: As the season concludes, I am very thankful for this amazing opportunity and all of the lessons that came along with it. #MTVStranded 🌴

@iamzoewhite: My island 🌴 Family for Life @AlexApple_ @tewsdaykate @GinaPandaBaby 💯

@Bella_naomi95: So excited to share this short clip of when I arrived in Fiji! This trip was one of the greatest trips of my life!!! Even though I did not last long, on stranded with $1 million dollars, I'm so proud of myself that I had the guts to be on a Survival Show. I'am also very grateful for the opportunity that I was given. I was blessed to visit Fiji the most beautiful place in the world. I've learned different cultures, food and was able to interact/ bond with the villagers. I create memories with beautiful souls. I love my @mtvstranded @mtv family. Stay tuned for more🌺 

#fiji #vacation #islands #islandlife #goodvibes #nadi #bula #villa #islandvibes #islandlifestyle #summer https://www.instagram.com/p/BTWvN9kBPpu/ 

@themercinater: People are steady in my inbox asking me to get them on the next season of Stranded when I couldn't even stay on my own season lol

@makanime: My former classmates are all graduating from unis with 5 years of debt...I just graduated from @MTV w/ a 5 year annuity😎 #howyoulikemenow

@CodyThrive: The biggest thing that I will take away from Stranded is this moment; When right after the helicopter landed, all I wanted was food, but instead I found myself passing out peanut butter and water to the Fijian villagers with Makani. The difference between the 25 year old Americans that I was on the show with and a 20 something Fijian is not even comparable. These people have nothing and work hard for everything they do have. The fact that 65k was burnt on the island and could have fed their village for years as they have struggled their entire lives is a disgrace. This picture was taken immediately after landing in the helicopter. BULA FIJI!!!!!!! .. #BulaFiji #GardenIslands #FijiRugby #TeamMakody #MTVstranded #RealityTVLegend #FijianVillage https://www.instagram.com/p/BTWe9JuhFbD/ 

@CodyThrive: Such an awesome moment for me here. This was the hug I gave Autumn at the airport in San Antonio. We're both reality tv super fans, and she had been supporting my dream of getting on a competition show for about a year up to Stranded. I always wanted to do reality tv as a kid, but was very shy, so I really had to work on that before I started applying. My message to everyone is that you can do whatever you set out to in life. Just make it your obsession, and don't listen to anyone who tells you you can't. 124k and I will always be remembered for the performance I put on. Long live Mr. Thrive!!!!!!!!!! https://www.instagram.com/p/BTWqoqqBRTx/ 

▪    ▪    ▪

 STRATEGY ROOM 

ENDGAME: THE FINALE

So after this finale, we are left to ask one thing here in the Strategy Room: What do we make of this first season of Stranded with a Million Dollars? Well, we had everything we wanted in a first season of a new competitive reality show: drama, intrigue and a good cast, plus the always fascinating scenario of those being asked to spend a month & a half of your lives with not much else except money, each other and the elements. And for those lucky to get a sample of this show after watching The Challenge Invasion, they can say that there's something unique about Stranded that kept them tuned in all season long. I was one of them.
   We started this ride back in February with ten people: Alex, Alonzo, Ashley, Bria, Chris, Cody, Eilish, Gina, Makani and Michael. They had absolutely no idea of what would await them in all of them being forced to spend 40 days in Fiji with money and just the clothes they were wearing, and having to endure everything that came their way in the middle of nowhere. Through it all, we lost six adventurers: one before they journeyed off to their second camp site, then two in one week, another one and then the last two when they were medically unfit to continue.
   In the end, it's safe to say that we had four who were worthy enough to win, even though there was a clear divide at the camp site and those watching had to align themselves to either of the two duos who've just left this island $125,000 richer. All season long, everyone from those on Team MTV and family & friends of the ten castaways, to Army vets, bar owners and those in the news business have taken sides, and they leave this show with at least some satisfaction at the season's final outcome.

● For Cody & Makani, they complete one of the most stellar runs we've seen in an MTV reality show. Yes, it will be questionable for many to see what we saw with Cody in the ladder part of this season of trying to win at all costs - even if would be of going pee or going poo in the lake in doing whatever he can to take out his opposition. Indeed, MTV.com wrote that he is the season's biggest villain, and we saw all of that go down. Now, he has a bright future ahead with these $125,000 coming to him and girlfriend Autumn... and we may not have seen the last of him on this channel.

   In the reward challenges we first got to see after we saw many a player flare up - and then just about weekly during the season's second half, Team Thrive won each and every one of them. It was there where Makani really made her name known in doing all the tasks they were given on the island, as she really proved why she came to the island in the first place. It's safe to say that she is the MVP of this season and also proved to be a valuable partner of Cody throughout this season, especially after the members of their alliance had went home.

● For Alex & Gina, not only are they lucky to be alive, they also are feeling lucky that they got to power their way through the last few days and complete this trip with money in hand. Having to persevere their way through the final few days with not much food and water - and not having power in the group buys late along with the $100,000 penalty also, they had to earn the cash the hard way by having to power their way through the final few days of this journey, which they did.
   Just as was for Cody, most will question Alex and his Core Four and of how they controlled the financial pace of this game up until Alonzo and Eilish were taken out for medical reasons. But for the most important decision he made all season, with the decision to take $150,000 and leave he put loyalty over money in staying. For Gina, it was unclear that she would make it here out of week 1, no less get to Day 40. So, getting here is obviously the best thing ever for her. And she did save her best for last in having to propel her way down the waterfall on the trip to the final evacuation point despite having a strong fear of heights. That is the definition of toughness.

In all, this was a good first season of Stranded with a Million Dollars. Obviously, after what we got to see towards the end of this first foray through 40 days of this first class surviving on their own, improvements should be made if we'll have a second season of this... but you'd expect that for a show taking its first steps. But with this being MTV's first trip into this form of reality competition shows, Stranded adds something fresh to having to survive a month-plus in the wilderness with money on the line and players not only competing against one another, but with one another; and with a Big Brother kind of feel with no host and a "fly on the wall" approach. Let's cross our fingers for Trip 2.

▪   ▪   ▪   ▪   ▪

Coming up on the WRAP, the recap of the week in The Challenge and Second Chances, plus we'll catch up with a Real World alum who knows the feeling of being a rookie making it into a Challenge final in his first appearance, and who's making it big in hip-hop. That, plus our long-planned look at AYTO's Asaf is coming up, as is a possible interview I might have this coming with a past Challenger as the final on Invasion is now underway.
   In the meantime, be sure to catch up on the entire season of Stranded on this site, as well as all of this site's superior coverage of the MTV Trifecta on here. And with both filming of the new 30th installment of The Challenge currently taking place, and the new Champs vs. Pros miniseries taking place as well... you'll want to bookmark this site for coverage of those, plus posts on sports, music, pop culture and all else during the summer Trifecta offseason.

Congrats to Cody, Makani, Alex and Gina, and to the rest of the Stranded cast for taking us on this ride during the season.  For now, have a great week ahead and see you then.

- I AM DC