Saturday, January 11, 2020

Inside MTV Reality: The Siesta Key WRAP - The Season 3 Premiere

BY DC CUEVA                      
■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

On a normal weekend, we'd be in an upbeat mood here to cover the week's MTV Reality activity for those of you who've been following DCBLOG's coverage of these shows for seven years. But this is not one of those: we are standing alongside our friends from Are You The One? as they mourn the sudden & unfortunate passing of Alexis Eddy of Season 6, and this week's posts are starting a day later than first scheduled as we grieve with her family, friends and former castmates during this tough and unexpected time. We'll pay a final tribute to Alexis later during this week's posts, but first we move onward with the top priority at hand of covering this week's episodes...

Ever since I first got to write a preview of the show before it debuted in July 2017, I've become increasingly fascinated with the older, college-aged version of the MTV show of the mid 2000's that changed the game in reality TV and inadvertently introduced me to social media. The experience of having watched Lauren Conrad & Kristin Cavaliari battle for Stephen Colletti's heart on Laguna Beach a decade & a half ago made it a smooth transition to go from being obsessed with the world revolving around The Challenge, Are You The One and The Real World into taking an escape to watch Siesta Key... and it continues my growth to now covering more of the MTV Reality beat than it was a few years ago.

It's been quite a first two seasons of a show born out of the spirit of both Laguna and The Hills, and where we've seen romances blossom and melt away in the steamy & sultry heat that is summertime in Florida. And thanks to the many things that made its predecessors out on the West Coast so addictive to watch for those who grew up watching that show and those who've been introduced to this subgenre in Florida -- the fascinating people, the cinematic filming style, the cool musical soundtrack and of course all of the drama, I've become a fan of Siesta Key in these three years... it's no surprise given my increasing appreciation for everything else in this reality bubble of ours in recent years.

The last time MTV viewers left the Key eight months ago, it ended the same way as the second half of the first season did a year earlier: Juliette and Alex breaking up... only this time, it was after Chloe discovered a video of him with an unidentified girl at a local concert in one of those investigations she loves being able to do -- and after the King gave the Queen a necklace on her 21st birthday. We also saw Cara lose it with Garrett and Pauly stir some drama at her end of summer party at her beach house... all coming at the end of our second summer in this paradise that began with her & Jared crashing Alex's party, saw rekindled feelings, broken hearts and a whole lot in one summer.

What has gone on in this part of the Sunshine State in the time since that season ended on TV last April and up to now is so fascinating with its many twists & turns, perhaps it's no surprise that starting here and now Siesta Key has its own weekly DCBLOG post. And it's because of Spencer Pratt's Cosmopolitan recaps being a thing of the past that we now have this opportunity here to step in and do as best a job we can to review the episodes as we see it here... and we begin at the beginning of another summer in central Florida as Juliette goes through one of every young adult's biggest rites of passage. Welcome back to paradise...


 THINGS TO KNOW 
THE PREMIERE ▪ "What Are Your Real Intentions with Juliette?"

● THE GRADUATE & THE BACHELOR - In a year's span, Juliette has turned the legal age of 21, has received a Florida State graduate's diploma, and has took on the role as de facto lead star as both its primary narrator and the one with the largest social following... not to mention bailing out of the eventual toxic situation she found herself in of being in the overarching storyline and romance of the first two seasons. Upon her saying farewell to Tallahassee, she & her parents share a moment to think of what's next: her dad wants her to apply for law school, but she has other ideas in spending her summer working on the business end of her friend's boutique, and most importantly "to get under someone" in suppressing her feelings for the ex.
   The perfect way to get some revenge is to get close with someone who has grown a notoriety in the reality TV world for falling in love, and who recently had a showmance with someone from a show airing the same night as Siesta this winter. Robby Hayes was last seen on TV dating Vanderpump Rules queen bee Scheana last year, who first made ways on the same 2016 Bachelorette class that's produced three Ex On The Beach singles, and finds himself in a reality TV sex tape scandal as he joins Team MTV. And fittingly enough, the two got to meet each other at country music's version of Coachella, the Stagecoach Festival - which if you're a Bachelor fan, you know that it's THE pickup joint for whatever drama might arise with those who loves romance and roses.
   He and Jules have a dinner date together at a local steak house upon her coming back into town, as she looks to get over Alex with the biggest newcomer this show has ever had. Ironically, it was what happened with them that divided him and Chloe last year, but it took for his parents' new business ventures to bring them back on the same page. When they're at the Kompo house to smooth her over his clothes, the gossip queen, Alex & his mom, Beth, get some time to gossip about the new power couple in town, all brought together by his social company Rebella - which also works with several other MTV family members.



● MADISSION & HER PRODUCER BOYFRIEND(!) - If you know your Real World history, you can recall those two times where intimate relationships with the crew made it onto the show: Becky bringing Bill the director under the covers during her Season 1 cast's Jamaican rendezvous, and David melting down in front of casting director Kira in Seattle. None of us - old school and new school viewers - could envision something as wild as those taking place on Siesta, but it has become the case... and it has inadvertently brought together two of those who were at each other's throats at Chloe's Tiki Bar birthday but are now rooming & working together in Jules and Kelsey.
   For the ladder's close friend Madisson, she started last year with her friend Ben, but at summer's end then she rejected Brandon after they collaborated on a music video and subsequently moved out to Hills land. There in L.A., she got to take acting classes and then got to become girlfriend to a man 21 years older than her and who knows the cast well: Ish, aka Ismael Soto, was a co-executive producer on Season 1 over two years ago, and also worked on Stranded with a Million Dollars (which we covered here in 2017), multiple seasons of The Amazing Race, Evil Dick's 2007 season of Big Brother, Naked & Afraid, The Buried Life, and America's Got Talent.
   It's when Chloe finds out about this romance that saw us giggle along with the girls and created an all-time meme moment for all of us who love those GIF's in deciding to chug wine - like what Hannah Brown did last year.





● THE GYM RAT & THE JERSEY GIRL - Last year saw Alex's ex Cara come back to Siesta from where she calls home the other part of the year up in Jersey, and instantly bonded with Chloe as she fit with everyone else except the queen.
   She got to catch Garrett's attention as he got over what went down with Kelsey the previous summer, and midway through last season they were together. It was a much different situation once the sun was setting on last summer when after making some progress, the gym hunk was looking over a new opportunity that began to change things for them, and her going on a family trip to Europe as well.
   Now Carrett are on opposite sides of the room, and the tension with them goes into stride at her house and later outside of it when he doesn't notice Cara's recent rhinoplasty surgery (the same nose job Angela Babicz got before she went onto Bad Girls Club), and when he makes mention of his ex... even as Garrett brings over flowers and cookies to try and smooth things out with Cara, who arrived in town on her own private jet.




● PARTY FOR THE GRAD - For our first two summers in the Key, it was Alex's birthday party at his mansion that kick-started it all, but for this year's opening act he's nowhere to be found - and rightfully so to avoid the kind of drama that marred last year's rager as well as last summer's messy conclusion. But when you graduate college, it's reason to throw a party... and Jules gets to do just that with everyone else coming over to fete the new grad over in Tampa. And in case you're curious, it's not far from where the Floribama Shore kids are calling home this season in St. Pete Beach.
   Everyone who's invited to the grad party (a much more elaborate affair than the intimate one I had many years ago) feels excited for the guest of honor except for, once again, Cara, This time, it's for the fact that Kelsey is on the invite list and still harbors some jealousy for her... a possible precursor to what might happen this season perhaps, most notable when the exes had a face off on the side.
   But for the most curious moment of premiere night, it's when Robby comes to the party that not only sees him gift the grad a summer trip to Greece, but draws the most interest from Chloe and Amanda, one who will have a bigger spotlight on her this season than in the past. Taking a page from what Nilsa will be doing again, they get to interrogate Robby about his relationship with Juliette, and Amanda's one-liner of her thinking that Robby "...reminds me of those Fyre Festival guys."






● HERE COMES ISH... - There seems to be something about entrances that get our attention in the MTV sphere: for me, I'm reminded of Alicia's two entrances to EOTB Season 1, the Champs coming to The Challenge Invasion and the Exes crashing Real World Ex-Plosion (including Zach's future fiance Jenna). But they're nowhere near what we've seen at Siesta's summer kickoff parties that's had our jaws drop: Kelsey on Season 1, Cara & Jared last year, and if you count the finales - Jules & Chloe to Alex's apartment when he wore that infamous ugly sweater. And then, there's this...
   It seems almost appropriate that, near sunset in the Bay Area night, that Madisson is a late arrival to the party, and fittingly in the most unannounced fashion for any party crasher, she brings along Ish as well. Their entrance comes much to the surprise and shock of just about all of the cast who saw once him as a father figure on the other side of the camera when they were just getting this thing started. In a place where secrets are not safe, even when the bombshell of what goes down here later on this season, to think of what Maddy had to hide from them and everyone else of her relationship with her former producer surely has to be the best kept secret this show has ever had. No one expected this.
   The person who is most stunned by Ish's entrance to the party is understandably Brandon, who clicked with Madisson during that first summer, then broke up after that Halloween bash, then made up last year, and now has to go through he & his castmates' old boss getting together with his ex... and it doesn't take long for things to get out of control.



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 #DCSocialPulse 
TUESDAY'S TOP TWEETS

We wouldn't have a normal week of covering MTV Reality around here without covering how the cast saw the episodes on Twitter. But in a break in tradition of what we've done with covering The Challenge, AYTO, Floribama Shore, Ex On The Beach and Real World in our seven years with the Pulse of those shows here, below are some highlights embedded from Tuesday's premiere. The most telling tweet is of when Barbie posted a picture of her and her Ken from when she graduated - and an answer back to Cara. And here's what else the cast got to post on premiere night, including Madisson's man and her ex...


















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 ENDGAME 
AND THAT BOMBSHELL...

And along with the baby news that surrounded Alex & Alyssa around the time of the trailer drop for this season the weekend before Christmas, there's the one thing that perhaps might bring to this world fans of the show we cover the most on here of The Challenge (after all, Laguna Beach was launched out of Karamo Brown's original season of one of its feeder shows, The Real World back in 2004)...
   If you remember our look at when MTV personalities went to the 2017 Video Music Awards, the Siesta Seven were among the invitees and they got to hang out with Johnny Bananas and his Dirty 30 Challenge cast. And last year, Brandon got to join the six-time champion, fellow Challenger Nany, his Final Reckoning crush & two time Ex On The Beach single Angela, MTV and Big Brother alum Jozea, Nilsa of Floribama Shore, Vinny of Jersey Shore and Wild N Out's Justin Valentine for Spring Break 2019. Cara also got to join BG for the end of winter festivities in Mexico last March, and that's where the root of the latest rumor to swirl around Siesta'ville is taking place.
   On the Monday night before the premiere, Juliette raised eyebrows when she spilled some major tea on Twitter when, in the post below, she accused Cara of cheating on Garrett with the Banana man himself, and received further proof from Nilsa, who is again hosting the MTV.com after show, Siesta Key Interrogation. Garrett replied with just a mere GIF of Porky from the 1994 remake of the Little Rascals. We haven't heard from Cara herself of if she indeed got it on with Johnny, though she's heard saying in the season 3 trailer that, "If I've learned anything, it's to stop cheating and to stop lying because people will find out about it." And after all that, Bananas tweeted a clapback, also below... and we may eventually get to the heart of this then.








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Our weekend here is just beginning, and there is a lot coming up: Nilsa will be dealing with something that happened to a friend of hers when Floribama Shore heads to both Nashville and South Carolina this week, while coming up here Ex On The Beach will have a midseason twist come their way to its winter version. But as we told you at the top, this week in MTV Reality has been marred by the unexpected death of Alexis Eddy, and again some perspective on her will be offered following the Pulse of this week's episodes which begin here later... Do be sure to rejoin us here then.

- I AM DC
#DCBLOG
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