DC WRAP: The Challenge XXX - Dirty 30: "Road to Redemption"

BY DC CUEVA                     

■ @DC408Dxtr  @ TW / IG / YT

We are coming off a once in a blue moon event of a total solar eclipse, and as you all recover from witnessing this rare event, DCBLOG returns with our WRAP of Week 5 of The Challenge XXX, before Episode 6 of Dirty 30 goes down tomorrow. Last week was all about the Redemption House and their chance at revenge, as the two who lost the previous week's elimination, Tony and Jenna, won their way back into the game and the main game, and four-time champion and winner of the Champs vs. Pros season that proceeded this season, Darrell, was upset in the week's challenge.

   Coming up, we'll head into the Strategy Room to discuss where this game all stands and what is ahead of us, plus we'll touch upon a theme from last week's episode that should shine a light on something that is bigger than the competition itself. Then, we'll let you in on the most-recent breakup in Challenge land as well as something that will sure make you want to laugh. That's all ahead.

 STRATEGY ROOM 

WHERE IT STANDS: AFTER FIVE

With Season XXX now five episodes down - and the main house not being reduced but rather being increased by two by way of what happened on Tuesday, this week we head inside the Strategy Room to look at where we stand right now. Already, we have had several twists take place, plus our usual assortment of drama and great competition too. And this is just the first month... of course, there's still a lot of that ahead of us in Columbia. So, we're asking ourselves a few questions.

First, which players have been standing out so far?
● VETERANS: After what we saw in, what happens to be, the most recent fully-contested mission, seeing Aneesa barrel into Jenna is proof of how she's determined to win this game. And what we saw with her winning last week's challenge, Jenna is feeling more motivated than ever to win. And don't worry... the time for the champs will be coming up here as we get further into this season.
● RETURNEES: After what we saw in that first Presidio, Veronica proved that even though you've been off for a long time, having the smarts to play this game doesn't get old. And it's as if Derrick K. hasn't had any rust after being away from this game for seven years. Of course, there's what we saw with Jemmye, and for Jordan his time should be coming up very soon.
● SOPHS/JUNIORS: Among those that many can classify as second & third-time participants and not true Veterans as many hardcore fans prefer to call them, Kailah, Marie and Nelson have stood out in this category. Briana may have lost last week, but her being able to hang tough in her brief stint as well as having a more positive outlook will stamp her for future go's at this.
● ROOKIES: Among the first-timers, as we wrote last week Ammo has most definitely impressed us, both competitively in him beating Tony in the last Presidio, and overall by him bringing a sense of fresh air to this otherwise intense house. And for the girls, Tori has been able to hold her own in this house despite what happened this past week, and so has Britni after seeing that first elimination.

Then, how have the twists made this game twisted?
● REDEMPTION HOUSE: Brought upon by the Purge we saw in the Premiere just over a month ago, the Redemption House offered Darrell, Devin, Amanda and the rest of those first week losers a chance to redeem themselves when the time came for their shot. And once they appeared in that boat, obviously it scared everyone knowing that this game will have just about everything. Now that the main house knows what this twist is about, now they will know that if they lose in this coming week, chances are they may be the next occupants of those quarters and may give them a psychological advantage if there is another revenge twist.
● DOUBLE CROSS: Well, this is no doubt the biggest twist of not only this season, but of what we've had on this show in quite some time. Being able to pull a box with two X's, and then using the power of what you have to throw in anyone up for elimination does change the game and have made this game even more dirtier than it was to begin with. Seeing what Jemmye, Veronica and Dario (and also Nelson) did best tells you what this season is about, and there will bound to be more of these coming up with someone who is up for getting cut getting a chance to not only save themselves but also make a move that throws everyone in for a loop will make this season even more entertaining.

Now, we ask ourselves, what's next?
● With Jenna having won her way back into the main house, she and Kailah will now find themselves in a precarious position of being the next group for everyone to take out. As what we saw with Jemmye voting the last Double Cross for her in the last Presidio, it will be clear that Barbie will be looking for that revenge. And with Kailah being the next target, it will be something to watch ahead.
● Cory made the first power move of this season in eventually taking out Darrell from this game, then won his first elimination in reply to the veterans wanting to put him in. Now with one person down from his hit-list, his job has been made a little more easier but now Cory will have to push harder to beat the onslaught of the likes of Bananas who want him out of the game.
● For another member of Cory's alliance, we just saw Nelson squander a chance to turn this game on its head by taking the safe route of putting in Ammo instead of Bananas. Here, despite the dirty theme of this game, it's possibly best to let the players dwindle before making the latest power move because if that had gone down, the target on the back of them and Hunter would've gotten bigger.
● And with seven champions and many alliances formed amongst everyone here, keep an eye out for what might go down next. We've already seen at least one alliance go down the drain here and maybe one move at the nomination or at the Presidio will cause many others to follow. The theme of this season sure is making this game perhaps the best format this show has had in a long time.

 DC FORUM: Perspective 

SPORTSMANSHIP

We were going to display the poll results here after that Strategy Room outlook,, but because of an error in one of my poll options being outdated, here we'll just type out the poll result here that the fourth option of someone possibly getting backstabbed by surprise led the way. But although Tony and Jenna won their way back into the game and into the main house, the winner of the night wasn't any of the eight competitors from the Redemption House who had the spotlight this past week, but a characteristic that is meaningful and thought it was appropriate to discuss it here.

The word "Sportsmanship" is defined in its Wikipedia definition as: "Sportsmanship is an aspiration or ethos that a sport or activity will be enjoyed for its own sake, with proper consideration for fairness, ethics, respect, and a sense of fellowship with one's competitors. A 'sore loser' refers to one who does not take defeat well, whereas a 'good sport' means being a 'good winner' as well as being a 'good loser' (someone who shows courtesy towards another in a sports game)."
   If you saw the "As They Saw It" section of our Pulse diary back on Friday night, you'll notice that, for a moment at least, the timeline of episode tweets didn't have much of the kind of bickering or beefs that take place between cast members that you see all the time on Twitter. But, there was a theme that emerged towards the end of that section continued upon what we saw in what was the signature moment of Champs vs. Pros: the symbolic gesture that took place at the end of the last elimination battle on that season.
   If you watched that season in between seasons of sorts, then what Olympian Lolo Jones did in giving Ashley M. the ultimate pick-me-upper in donating to the new Challenge champ's charity after their grueling final elimination battle emphasized the special nature of that season, and also led others to do the same too. Those gestures of goodwill helped to make Champs vs. Pros much more enjoyable for fans like myself who might've thought of it as an exhibition season of sorts, but in the end got our money's worth and learned something new about those who competed there.
   On these Challenge seasons, you see all the time all of the drama that takes place between missions, between the players and everything else that we love about the fifth major sport. And often, there are moments that make our jaws drop, just as we have seen many times over this show's thirty seasons. But something that often gets overshadowed is of those moments where one thing that is important in competition, both in sports and in this so-called sport, is something called sportsmanship.
   Having watched this show continuously for five years, amidst all the bad blood that takes place here, the players always have room to give respect to one another, to congratulate them on a job well done, and push the others to succeed, to compete well, and to finish. You saw in that timeline of how Jenna and Amanda embraced after their elimination battle after some hatred they had, and also of Tony giving a nod to Darrell after he beat the champ to regain his spot in the main house. If we were to give anyone a mention in our Winners List this week, they would no doubt earn their spot here.

Being someone who is as avid an Olympic super-fan as I am of the Trifecta, I'm used to seeing great acts of sportsmanship that reminds those who watch the world's greatest sporting spectacle that the Games are more than just sports and the major event it is, and has been for over 100 years. Some of the Olympic ideals include fair play, sportsmanship and friendship, and many times during the Games there comes a moment when someone does something noble which exemplifies those values and the unique nature of the event.
   Last year in Rio came a recent example, where during a heat for the women's 5000 meters, American distance runner Abbey D'Agostino and New Zealand's Nikki Hamblin got tangled up and the former suffered a torn ACL and meniscus. However, in true Olympian fashion, the two helped one another finish that race, and both received accolades and acclaim for this tremendous gesture that epitomizes the true spirit of what the Olympics are about: those from countries the world over competing for themselves, for country, honor and pride, and showing good examples of friendly competition and offering a helping hand.
   In this Challenge environment where big time drama, gamesmanship and, most especially in this season, manipulative gameplay is standard procedure, it's also refreshing that there are some who are thinking of the morals and values of being able to show respect for each other, both in the heat of competition and then watching it with everyone else. Seeing what we saw with the noble gestures we saw with Lolo, Ashley M. and everyone else leading up to Season 30, it's certainly good in seeing sportsmanship take place on a season where things can get tense often, but at day's end this is a competition where you get to compete with those who might be your adversaries for a moment, but at the end they're your fellow friends too when it's all done.

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 #DCExtraTime 

HEADED TO SPLITSVILLE: NICOLE & LAUREL

As we watched last week's episode unfold, there was news of another big breakup that took some minds off for a moment from this season. And after we shared with you last week that a married couple that had been together for eight years, Cutthroat winners and parents Brad and Tori, splitting last year, this couple had been together since Invasion. And it concerns a romance that blossomed with a champion who we last saw find herself part of a love triangle and losing her first elimination, and someone who we last featured on here going through her graduation day from the FDNY Fire Academy before placing third in the final.

   This past Challenge Tuesday, Nicole posted an Instagram post of her and Laurel kissing in the wilderness of the Montana countryside but also a caption that confirmed that it's now over for them. There she wrote, "Some things aren't meant to last forced, they're just there for that time. So let it be and move on, learn and grow from it. Every new relationship teaches you something: take the positives with the negatives and use it as you please."

   As we post this, we have yet to hear from Laurel, but those who watched what went down in Asia saw Laurel and Cara come into the game much later when the champions arrived, and Nicole found herself in a crush with the redhead and then fall for Laurel, which would translate into a relationship lasting for eight months after they filmed that season late last year, and adding a complicated relationship to the history of Team Black.
   That Instagram post is embedded below, and among the MTV family this is the most notable breakup in a slew of them we've had this year, which doesn't take into account, of course, the breakup this past week of Chris Pratt and Anna Faris.

Some things aren't meant to last forever, they're just there for that time. So let it be and move on, learn and grow from it. Every new relationship teaches you something take the positives with the negatives and use it as you please. 💋

A post shared by @n_zanattamtv on Aug 15, 2017 at 1:56pm PDT

PUNK'D: AYTO STYLE

One of MTV's most famous moments came on St. Patrick's Day 2003: Hollywood big shot Ashton Kutcher and his team (including Chips star Dax Shepard) deciding to head to the home of Justin Timberlake and play a prank by telling him that his house was getting foreclosed and everything was going to be auctioned off. It occurred on the premiere episode of Punk'd, where the iconic catch phrase "You got Punk'd" was told to well-known celebrities and even Real World original Trishelle. And that moment offers the backdrop to this moment when a few on Team MTV decide to get back at some of their fellow colleagues, and it features the man who will not be making it to the end of a Trifecta season for the very first time.

If you watched Are You The One? Season 3 two years ago, you got to meet Zak Longo, a Canadian-born Italian who no doubt brought not only a slice of the north and Europe to that house in Hawaii, but also plenty of charm and humor too. In the end, he had a hand in helping in the game's final outcome: him being part of the other perfect match in that tenth & final try helping to limit the amount of options that saw the cast pull out the biggest surprise ending we've seen on that show (at least until what happened last March). Zak emerged out of that experience with a girl in blonde beauty Hannah, and they are still together nearly two years after that season was filmed (for which they and the rest of that cast were revealed two years ago this past weekend). Their adventures have seen them go to several countries outside the U.S., including walking the red carpet of the Much Music Video Awards, Canada's equivalent of the MTV VMA's.

   For Zak's truest passion, it is something that has to do with holding a camera and being a filmmaker - and later during the upcoming sixth season of AYTO, we'll share with you some of his work. But before Second Chances began this past spring just after the infamous Season 5 finale and reunion, he decided to call up a pal from New England to come over to his Los Angeles pad and do something to mark five seasons of this love experiment. Devin came to the rescue and once he arrived, they thought of an idea of calling up some of their fellow AYTO alumni -- both from Team Ohana and from other seasons -- about the idea of doing other reality shows that don't even exist, by using phony show titles and them pretending to be producers of those shows.
   The videos below include guest appearances by not only Zak's girl, but also Devin's match and Second Chances co-winner Rashida, the always honest Southerner Ellie from Season 2, Francesca from Season 4 (who we featured in an ExtraTime post last year on her musical resume) and his rival from Australia and girl who just got heartbroken on last week's episode, Tori. And those who will be feeling the brunt of being Punk'd by Team AYTO include: Stacey and Connor from Season 3; the object of Big D's affection Kiki, her match and member of both AYTO and Real World casts, Mike; Nelson of this Challenge cast; Cameron & Mikala from Season 4, and from that losing Season 5 cast - Ozzy, Carolina, Michael, Hannah and Tyranny. Enjoy these videos below.

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And on that note of perhaps wanting to go grab a foamer and enjoy one with Big D and friends, we will head out and wrap up this week's look at Week 5 of The Challenge XXX. As we do, here's some reminders of fellow webcasts...
● After last week's episode, The You Killed It Podcast with hosts John and Sheldon were joined by Marie as she discussed this season through five episodes, her issues with Team Jailah and others in the house, and differences from her time on Real World St. Thomas five years ago and the three Challenge seasons she has done. Check out that interview here, plus episode pods on SoundCloud.
● On the MTV RHAP on Rob Has A Podcast, Brian Cohen (@CohenBrian_) was joined for the Episode 5 pod by friend Dain Massey (@dainerson25) as they discussed the Redemption House's revenge, which you can listen to at robhasawebsite.com, along with Ace Nichols (@AceNichols33) and her YouTube recaps.

With our usual reminder to bookmark this site for our look at the MTV world and DCNOW for live tweets at @DC408DxNow, this past Friday the cast of Are You The One? Season 6 was revealed, and of course DCBLOG will be covering that season for you here extensively in addition to our principal focus of The Challenge XXX. We still plan on doing our midyear Reality Debrief which we hopefully be up in the coming days, followed by some ExtraTime In-Depth posts as well. And rejoin us here over the weekend as we cover all the competitors getting back into action tomorrow night.

That is how we look at it this week in the MTV Trifecta and week 5 of The Challenge XXX - Dirty 30... hope you enjoyed it. For now, talk to you then and have a good week ahead.

- I AM DC