BY DC CUEVA
■ @DC408Dxtr @ TW / IG / YT
Usually, the original portion of our episode coverage would see us recap the episodes with the week's key moments and other related material. But as mentioned here last week, DCBLOG has a different custom whenever we get to the finale of any of the major series we cover, where that week's entire WRAP post is dedicated to that show. This means that, if you're here for coverage of either Champs vs. Stars or Ex on the Beach from this week, you'll have to wait for that to come -- we'll have more on when you'll see those at the end of this post. But, we do have a lot of ground to cover in reviewing what was an uneventful final, a deserving champion, and take one more trip into the Strategy Room to discuss what went down on this season. All of that, and thoughts from the champion is ahead as we recap The Challenge Vendettas as we begin this week's ride Inside the MTV Trifecta. And, welcome to the weekend... thanks for joining us tonight.
THINGS TO KNOW
THE FINALE
● THE FINAL: This season's final is taking place not on a deserted island, a large mountain range or in a large city, but being built all around a castle in the Czech Republic, just as it was when Brad won his Challenge title with then-wife Tori on Cutthroat. Half of the field -- Cara Maria, Leroy, Nicole and Zach -- have finals experience, while the rest are at this stage for the first time in their careers -- two of them as rookies. All of them have made valid reasons for making it this far, from two of them having titles and being among the favorites to win, to a first-time finalist having a breakout season after much hard luck before late last season.
Kost Castle greets the eight finalists for this four-stage, two-part final run in one day rather than two of late, which sees some intriguing twists: first, Bananas and Melissa return as mercenaries to make things more interesting for the ones they consider their vendettas, especially newfound ones in Europe... all part of a three-stage obstacle course which also sees the finalists wear a part of the .
Then, TJ Lavin drops a bomb on them where just the top four players - two of each gender - will move onto the second half of the final, and the rest of the players who finish short of the final four will be eliminated and whatever is left in their bank account is wiped out.
For the back end of the final, one gender-less winner will be crowned for the first time in the show's history. Concurrent with seasons past, the winner receives a six-figure final paycheck - in this instance it's $150,000, while the 2nd place finisher earns $35,000, 3rd place gets $10,000 and 4th place receives $5,000... if they finish. The champion will also receive all of the money that is left over from the pool of eliminated players, which is also in the six-figure range. And unlike the finals of recent seasons, the one who finishes the final first wins the title.
● TORCHES & STEALS: For Stage 1, the players run from the start line, grab tokens and head to "Torch Bringer", where they grab torches from their bucket, run 100 yards to another bucket down the way... and where they can steal torches from each other on their return trip and place it into the bins of those players. For the guys, Tony goes out fast at the start, but at the torches Leroy takes the momentum when one of his torches is stolen by Tony and Zach... but Kyle shocks them when he exits out of the stage in first when no one even bothers to steal his torches. For the girls, Cara and Nicole go out early but the ladder then finds a puddle induced in swamp and feels that her ankle has a crack. For the former, she tells her opponents to not steal from her box if they agree not to do so, but then Nicole steals one of her torches and Cara loses her mind. Shortly after, Nicole finds out that her ankle is sprained, and is medically evacuated as she is teary-eyed on the ground.
● MERCENARIES RETURN: Stage 2 sees the finalists face off against Bananas and Melissa, and it's almost as if the dungeon they will enter will feel like the Excalibur Hotel in Vegas for what takes place here. It's the childhood card you and I played as kids being brought to The Challenge in a best-of-3 War, and where the players will get one card and decide if it's over or under, and the Mercenaries will deal their card as if they're blackjack dealers. If the player gets it right, they continue on their journey, but if not Johnny or the Brit will use a grenade against them: forcing them to drink water, do jumping jacks or bury a log in the ground while also losing valuable time.
Because what happened in Spain is still fresh in his mind, Bananas has his sights set on getting back at Tony and Zach, and doing what he can to help out Leroy. Nothing meaningful takes place with the guys and Kyle keeps his lead over the vets after the guys take their turn at the poker table. For the women, Cara comes in with a big lead over the rest of the field and has a short visit with Mel, so does Kailah. But Kam loses her turn at the table in three sets, and Mel pays back for the fight they had all the way back earlier by forcing her vendetta to bury a deep hole down in the ground to fit a log, which costs her a lot of time.
● ARMORED KNIGHTS: The third stage sees the players become knights for a day by donning a suit of armor, race to a station, and play not one but two challenges that combines pegged swords with eating (no final would be complete without that, right?). Here, the swords are inside pegs, and the finalists can remove 1, 2 or 3 of them for a chance in a game played one on one, and where the one who has that sword winning and forcing their opponent to have hot chocolate, eat cheese or have soup... and all of this takes place while they have to wait for someone to catch up to them.
Kyle has been beasting the first two stages of the final, but after arriving first he then has to wait it out a bit for Leroy to arrive... and it's the ladder who wins their battle and forces Kyle to have some cheese, and for the first time in guys leadership takes place with Leroy in 1st as the Brit eats his cheese quickly and goes back out. Zach arrives after and has to wait for Cara who then pulls out the swords, but she then has that hot cocoa when he wins. When Tony gets there, he realizes he has to wait for Kam or Kailah to arrive, and because of Kam being slow and Kailah struggling Tony's chances to get to the final four are slipping from him. The players finally get to remove their armor for the sprint to the finish, and Leroy gasses out as the rest of the field overtake him.
● PUZZLES FOR FIRST PRIZE: For Leroy, Tony and Kam, they come up short and have to live with the feeling that dreams of winning their first title have gone by the wayside when they come up short. For Cara Maria, Kyle, Kailah and Zach, they move onto the final: for Cara and Zach, a chance to win their second titles in being the two remaining finalists who have had previous experience going for the cash in the end. For Kyle, him winning would replace Gauntlet champ Sarah Greyson as the biggest surprise Challenge winner ever as the only rookie in this field and who came into this season with no knowledge of what this show is about and how this game operates, and for Kailah - it's just sheer luck that has brought her to this dash for the cash.
And no final challenge would be complete without having a puzzle... and here, two colored puzzle boards will separate the finalists from the prizes, which the players will have to learn from just sure memory if they want the money. And there are two of them: one located outside the castle which they must get first, and another located inside which they must also get correct... and if they get both of them correct, a jog up the stairs to the top of the castle is all that's left to raise the Vendettas flag and claim the win. And to the victor: a payday that not only factors in the $150,000 first prize check, but because of Tony and Kam losing their banks and those being added to the $220,000 players pool, will amount to a $370,000 final check for the champion.
The first place man and woman from the first stage receive a head-start on their competition... in this case, Cara and Zach have first dibs at the puzzles and both having mixed histories with colors: she took out a similar pattern on Rivals II when she came in a replacement, while he had one of those tirades on Jonna when she didn't memorize this color puzzle on Exes II. The battle between Cara and Zach eventually becomes heads-up between them when their opposition, Kyle and Kailah, encounter difficulties with putting together their puzzles in struggling with their boards due to both memory and inexperience putting them together. And after what seems to be the longest two-week wait ever due to this being shown at the end of the reunion (which is why we tabled this WRAP for after the finale), eventually Cara gets both of the puzzles correct and is the deserving winner.
■ FINAL ORDER
1. CARA MARIA $378,750
2. ZACH $75,000
3. KYLE $20,625
4. KAILAH $25,625
5. TONY (app. $40k)
6. KAM (app. $19k)
7. LEROY
8. NICOLE
Parentheses - lost bank in final
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STRATEGY ROOM: ENDGAME
Now, what do we make of Season 31? We still have the whole season to discuss when Andrew Kirk joins me to review that when we, finally and hopefully, get to do our Reality Debrief very soon. But after an uneventful final, a reunion that delayed the inevitable moment for two weeks that saw everyone go off in that studio, and those like you on social media put MTV on blast for dragging it all the way to before Champs vs. Stars began, we are left with having to put this all into perspective.
In ascending order, we begin with the also-rans, with the winner getting her own post at the end.
THE ALSO-RANS
● 8th - NICOLE: For Nicole, this was her second final and unfortunately she had to drop out when that puddle of mud cost her a chance to perhaps challenge Cara and make the final stage a more interesting battle than it turned out to be in the end. And yes, we saw her get some heat from the social verse for boasting her claim that she could beat her at the reunion when she had that injury and her not being able to master puzzles which are a key element of every final. Still, Nicole is one of the strongest girls of this new generation of challengers, and she hasn't yet been in a true elimination in a one-on-one scenario (her only time being in this scenario was the Purge on Invasion). But the best years should be ahead of her: Cara, Laurel, Emily, Sarah and Paula all had to wait a few seasons until they finally got to lay claim to the throne... Nicole shouldn't be that far off.
● 7th - LEROY: Despite him not having won a single challenge or banking any money and dodging all bullets that came his way, there were inklings from a lot of us going into this final that perhaps, Leroy could win. Obviously, him gassing out in the homestretch of the first half of the final turned out to be his undoing... and with what he has going on with him taking up a new chapter in his life now, perhaps he has let his biggest chance at getting that crown slip away. We don't know if he'll get another shot at winning his first Challenge, but if he does get another shot at this there won't be as many chances because his competition is more younger and athletic. Still - and as what happened last season is a sign of that, Leroy is one of this franchise's most respected and beloved figures, and that is the legacy he leaves behind if he does decide that his career has passed by.
● 6th - KAM: In the record, it will read that Kam got to the final, didn't make the cut for the second half and left here with no money. But that won't paint an actual picture of the kind of great rookie showing she had on Vendettas, and being able to completely redeem herself and give a cast infamous for what they achieved last year on their original show something to be proud of. Being able to win three eliminations in one season is something a good number of challengers have done over the years, but doing it as a rookie makes it a much greater accomplishment and just as good as winning a title. Yes, Killa Kam won her first two eliminations over mercenaries Tori and Ashley, but her being able to win #3 over who played the strongest game of the women here in Natalie staked her claim to being, in all likelihood, rookie of the year. This should be the start of something big for Kam.
● 5th - TONY: This was the man who no doubt played the best game of anyone on this season, one which vaulted him from just a run of the mill challenger to someone who can now become a force going forward for this show. We have written many times about Tony and what he has gone through in the six Challenges he has been on, but he made as huge an impact as you can have in a season that makes the title "Breakout Performer" all the more appropriate for one who now has the title "Tony Time." Seven Troikas and dailies wins, a $40,000 bank, two power plays that sacrificed friendships he had with two of the house's biggest names, and him making a final is something he can boast proudly despite going home broke. This is now the new Tony, and we now expect him to make it to the end from here on out, and Tony Time will be the new order in this generation.
● 4th - KAILAH: Yes, let's make it clear: Kailah got here just by luck and not by what she got to do last season making it to the last purge on Dirty 30 and not making the final. It was so underwhelming a Vendettas season for her that we won't elaborate on it much as we have the other finalists, other than for her proving that momentum is what got her here of having a good last regular challenge to punch her ticket to the final. Kailah still has a lot of work ahead of her as she goes through Champs vs. Stars and her Challenge future, but with being part of this next wave of female competitors out to challenge Cara going forward the best should be yet to come for Kailah.
● 3rd - KYLE: For the handful of you who had Kyle make it to the final as a rookie and a newcomer to those of us on this side of the pond, as we always like to say - make sure to frame that betting receipt in your rec room... one that translates for him to a roughly £15,000 British pound check. Along with Kailah, he got to prove that just playing the social game could get you to the end of this game, but unlike her - him also being able to back that up by putting on such a strong effort in the final and leading for most of the first half proved that there was more to this lad from Newcastle than the partyer those in Britain and overseas saw on the five series he was in the Geordie Shore flat. He bested Kailah, two past finalists and two who had killer seasons here to notch bronze... that's good as gold and a strong achievement for Team GB here.
● 2nd - ZACH: What we saw on Champs vs. Stars this winter was the new Zach: someone who was anything but the guy who was arrogant, emotional and not always the big beast he is on previous Challenges and on his original Real World so long ago. The Thor that came to CvS I and to here is the one who was that great competitor who came to and won his first Challenge, and unlike six years ago is someone who was more focused on the game and business at hand. Six challenge wins, just as many Troikas, winning the automatic spot in the time trial in Spain to get to the Czech Republic and contending in this final to finish 2nd, and you can make a case that Zach should be in that elite group of guys ready to challenge Bananas for top dog in the seasons to come, something we didn't expect when he was in & out on Invasion. Watch for this new Thor to take over.
● 1st - CARA MARIA: See Below...
IS CARA THE BEST EVER?
At the top of his post on her on Medium that he posted last week, Allan Aguirre (@TheAllanAguirre_) noted the interesting facts that those who have been hating on Cara have directed to her in the now eight years since she debuted as a Challenge rookie on Fresh Meat II, where she and Darrell were the first ones out in Vancouver. From being sent into elimination in some seasons and relying on her boyfriend too much in competition, to letting someone who's her equal in this era - Laurel - beat her the last time Cara didn't make to a final years after they were paired on Rivals I, and her two titles being based solely upon factors not relating to having a full-on, dominant performance when it counted most.
And in our own post on Cara after she won Champs vs. Pros with Darrell last year which included videos of her impersonating both Challenge competitors and Wonder Woman, we wrote about how she was once that wide-eyed Bostonian who might be like those from that great region of being tempered but also being well educated and her true love being her beloved horse. But we have seen her evolution from being one of the many who didn't get her start on a Real World to one who has aced the elimination arena, one who is friends and rivals with everyone who has crossed paths with, who had a romance with someone who also shares that spirit of being a rebel in this game, and who has been at the center of the circus both in competition and in the house.
But now after she won her second Challenge title and her third final overall in a 14-month span, is it safe to say that Cara Maria is now the best female Challenger ever? She has certainly made a case for that by way of what we have been able to witness in the twelve Challenges she has graced us with her presence. She has as decorated a list of records and achievements as anyone in this show's history: reads: two Challenge titles and that Champs vs. Pros win, a female-record six finals appearances, 12 elimination wins which stands second only to Wes all-time, and total prize money of $604,501 that places her second only to the man who she has settled some bad blood in the past year, Johnny Bananas. And she shared top billing with the six-time champ in the Facebook and Twitter headers for this Vendettas season, and now it's clear that she is this show's the prominent female face in proving with this win that girls rule the world, and girl power ruled the castle.
It's no surprise that Cara shares that same mentality that he has on this show for a long time and that the Patriots, Cowboys, Yankees, the Maple Leafs, Duke and Manchester United are to sports fans: the one you love to love or hate. There are many who love Cara for her being as great a competitor as she is of having made the final in exactly half of her twelve appearances and in four of her last five overall starts, winning three of them and two of her last three. There's those who despise her for having that cocky attitude after becoming a champion, of how she can't beat Emily, Paula, Evelyn, Camila and Laurel when it mattered most, how her only Challenge title came with weak opposition, and when the rookies doubted her before she went onto this final. But with her being able to climb to the top of the castle and claim the Vendettas crown, she has no doubt shut down the doubters and has ascended into true elite status on this show. And because she's not tied down to Abe, her being able to let her guard down a little and hang out with Kyle brought out the fun side of her for a change.
If Cara goes onto Season 32, she will have a target on her back for not only being the champ but also the headliner in the minds of fans and viewers of this show. Allan wrote that if she wants to continue to tilt towards being the competitor those would want to root for on this show, she has to keep on dominating this game the way she has for a long time and prove that already great elimination prowess that we haven't seen from her since that loss on Invasion. But he also added that she also has to help nurture the new generation who are coming in the same way CT and Wes have for the guys, and perhaps help push other competitors to excel and even win with her. For some background: Evelyn gave Paula her first Challenge win and then helped Emily to her crown on the same Rivals II season where Wes gave CT that first one. And Bananas helped Camila to the first of her two crowns, while Sarah helped give Jordan that win on Exes 2... Cara may embrace that role.
It wasn't that long ago that Cara was on the way out in that first elimination in Canada eight years ago this month -- one of the handful of rookies to be given that treatment along with Bananas and then use that experience to eventually ascend to the top. But, but what a Challenge life she has had ever since in just becoming the first champion to take the first place winnings all by herself in this show's history, and will continue to be on every season as long as they give her the call to be on their next season. And as the results of our poll below do suggest that the majority of you by a small margin think someone else is likely the best female ever on this show - and unless they decide to maybe make another run, perhaps those like Laurel and Emily would prefer to just be armchair analysts than competing. But in the minds of this blogger - and despite having not watched as much Challenge as most everyone else until earlier this decade, Cara is now the best female challenger ever. Now, let's see if she can stay at the top of this game... it will no doubt be a gargantuan task.
After her win on Vendettas, where
do you place Cara Maria on your list
of best female Challengers ever?
do you place Cara Maria on your list
of best female Challengers ever?
● BEST ONE EVER 32%
● ALL-TIME TOP 3 37%
● ALL-TIME TOP 5 13%
● ALL-TIME TOP 10 10%
ON @DC408Dxtr● ALL-TIME TOP 5 13%
● ALL-TIME TOP 10 10%
Last but not least, Cara in her own words - specially transcribed from MTV.com.
"With this final, it's tough because I had a few grenades thrown at me. And when you have grenades thrown at you, you get put on a team that's supposed to lose. Nobody can take away anything that I did because everybody in the final -- girl and guy -- was all for him/herself. Nobody could help each other. I wore the same armor as every guy, I carried the same box as every guy, I carried the same chains around my ankles as every guy. So it goes to show anything can happen -- anything. And I'm all about girl power. A girl did it, and I couldn't be happier."
▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪
And with that, we put a bow on our coverage of The Challenge: Vendettas. But as that season comes to an end, we are just getting started on this week's ride Inside the MTV Trifecta as we are now into spring, two shows that we are now well into covering here a great deal, and in a few weeks the fifth anniversary of this very site and our long-promised 2017-18 Debrief. So, here's our plan...
This week, The Challenge is into week 2 of Champs vs. Stars as the two sides compete as mixed teams for the first time, and the Pulse of that will appear first - coming on Saturday. Then on Sunday or late Saturday night, we'll have likewise for Ex on the Beach as we'll have our first look at the Shack of Secrets and our first elimination. And in a change of schedule from what we had stated last week, we'll begin our Double Shot WRAP of recapping the first two weeks of both shows. Plus, we'll also take a trip down to the greatest music festival on earth to see how Team MTV spent their weekend, or weekends, at Coachella... and also of who the new baby daddy in Team MTV is.
So, that sets the tone for what is coming your way here as we begin this last weekend of April. See you here in a matter of hours... and have a great weekend everyone (and enjoy Infinity War too but remember to know the code).
- I AM DC
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