DC SocialPulse: The Challenge War of the Worlds - The Final Part 2

*** Advisory: DC SocialPulse contains adult language, objectionable content & spoilers for some readers. Viewer Discretion is Advised. Due to its length, take frequent eye breaks if you're reading this top to bottom. ***

BACKTRACKED EDITION
BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

Back in early February, just after a snoozer of a Super Bowl in another Patriots title, MTV's The Challenge set off on starting both a new year and a new era anew after an agonizing long year & a half's trilogy. War of the Worlds brought together top Challengers we've known for a long time with those from outside the MTV Reality community and the United States for a Challenge season unlike any other. And after a season that seems to have breezed by quite a bit compared to last season - and with unpredictability sending home the big name veterans earlier than planned, destiny awaits our finalists at the start of summer.

Cara Maria, Georgia, Hunter, Mattie, Ninja, Theo, Turbo and Wes were worthy finalists who more than proved themselves to make it all the way to the end for a shot at a share of $1 million, and when we were last in Namibia they had completed a one- to two-day's worth of work in the scorching heat of the desert: a 50-mile trek that began with them doing several laps of running and bicycling with puzzle stations in between in just that first day alone. When you have all of those ingredients, not everyone will make it out alive - at least as the game is concerned... and Georgia and Mattie succumbed to the pressure when they were eliminated, and Ninja almost bit the dust as well. That explains why things have stepped up for this final much to everyone's excitement, and it's only day 1.

At the end of the first half, Theo, Wes and Turbo finished in the top three and TJ Lavin made them the trifecta for one last Tribunal... one last twist to a season that's had it all. This week, they will determine who in the bottom three will they bring with them to Day 2 and which two will have to face each other to advance on. Then, all that's left is one more trip around the same dunes in this corner of southern Africa that saw Zach win his lone Challenge as a rookie, then a trip to the beach where the money will await them after battles with brains, food and brawn. They will determine who wins it all... and only the top three will cash... with $750,000 going to the champion in a final that, once again, is a cumulative timed final, with #1 not necessarily going to who crosses the line first.

After the events of last year, will Hunter write his ultimate redemption story? Will Cara or Wes become immortals with their third Challenge title? Or will a rookie follow in Thor's footsteps and become a champ in their first try? The answers will unfold after the jump on the SocialPulse of Day 2 of The Challenge: War of the Worlds Final. We're so glad you're with us here on this Memorial Day.

DC SocialPulse Extra: Before The Challenge War of the Worlds Final - Part 2

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

Happy Memorial Day to all of you in blog land, and as we celebrate summer in America, the end is just about here for MTV's The Challenge: War of the Worlds. As far as we see it here, the Final in Namibia has already had plenty of drama taking place, and all that's left is a final Tribunal and an in-final elimination before the final exam continues along towards crowning a champion.
   The 'Pulse of Part 2 of the finale comes your way here in just a bit, where by the time we're done with that we'll see who wins the whole thing. But for the time being, enjoy the in-between chatter in the MTV Reality community from before the finale, which also includes the Game of Thrones series finale, anticipation for the vets making a one-night-only return, and much more. And afterwards, more on a big summer happening taking place in just a few weeks... that's all ahead here.

DC ExtraTime: The Caucus Challenge - Rivals Roulette

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

Instagram @Dre.Media

Two years ago during The Challenge XXX: Dirty 30, DCBLOG found out about something that was unique and one of a kind that took place in the New York City suburb of Secaucus, New Jersey. It was there that an MTV superfan who has had many opportunities to meet the MTV Reality family at numerous reunion tapings and events, Andres Rodriguez, had invited some of his friends from high school, his neighborhood and everyone else's friends to his house... not for the usual watch parties among friends that take place every week in places across this country of ours, but for something totally different. It has become of one of our most popular stories, a recurring one at best, for perhaps the most unique story we could find anywhere of MTV fandom taken to a whole new level.

For nine seasons dating back a few years to when he was still attending high school, Andres and his friends have taken part in a made-for-YouTube web series inspired by The Challenge that saw the weekly challenges that he had seen his favorite challenger, Kailah and the rest of those he's gotten to cross paths with, be brought into his house's backyard in a town that's well-known for its ties to the media aspects of America's four major sports leagues and not far from the venues that make up the Meadowlands complex. It would become known as The Caucus Challenge... and when he saw this site's original story on it in fall 2017 - which tied in with him meeting the Dirty 30 cast during premiere week, Andres was touched by how what he was able to do received recognition even from a not as nationally known but well respected west coast blog site 3,000 miles away, and soon it got the attention of both MTV and the castmates who he's gotten to hang out with many times since.

Since that first post on The Caucus Challenge, Andres hosted and produced two additional seasons of the show where upgraded the series on the production side to match the same on-air look as the MTV show for Season 8 of Deception and Season 9 of Prime Revival, where the product only got better as did the competition and twists on the field and the intrigue that takes place in between with those who have competed in many seasons before and those who are joining the game for the first time. Because of the climate of the Northeast and New York City, as well as the demands of the school year and work, seasons of his show are not filmed during the fall or winter... meaning that he would have to wait for spring to arrive to film seasons of it between that time and the summer.

In a way, it almost felt like baseball season of sorts for this in this community: there's the long wait through fall, the agonizing winter and them having to wait until March for the feelings to come once more. But in the case of this year, it would make the long wait for a landmark season in this show's history a more juicy one that would be worth sitting through many months for. It's Season 10 of The Caucus Challenge, and a season unlike any other: a hybrid of a popular MTV Challenge format, and a popular Vegas casino game: Rivals Roulette.

DC SocialPulse: The Challenge War of the Worlds - The $1 Million Final: Part 1

*** Advisory: DC SocialPulse contains adult language, objectionable content & spoilers for some readers. Viewer Discretion is Advised. Due to its length, take frequent eye breaks if you're reading this top to bottom. ***

BACKTRACKED EDITION
BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

This is Memorial Day Weekend, and these are the three days that, in the minds of so many, officially begin summer in America. And as hundreds of thousands are gathering in Indianapolis this weekend for the biggest and most prestigious event in American open-wheel racing in the Indianapolis 500 - while others are in Monte Carlo for the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Monaco and NASCAR fans are gathering in Charlotte for the Coca-Cola 600, Season 33 of what's acknowledged by many the fifth major pro sport known at MTV's The Challenge has reached the starting line for the final challenge of War of the Worlds in Namibia.

When we last southwestern Africa, the last challenge before the final took place with the eight competitors who did not place first in the previous week's competition being given one last shot to earn their way into the final with one final purge to join Cara Maria and Turbo. The man who's made plenty of headlines in the past thirteen months, Paulie, opted to risk his body before the final by going all out in an over-water obstacle course... and he paid a big price by not making the final at all. Wes, Theo and Hunter made it through ahead of him by playing it safe, while the only real battle existed among the ladies: despite encountering a seal, Mattie made the final to join Georgia and Ninja and sending home Da'Vonne after she took out Dee in the last Killing Floor elimination.

The final challenge of any Challenge season is one that combines endurance, toughness, brains and every kind of emotion you can think of to produce a hour or two of compelling television that almost always has everyone talking long after TJ Lavin hands out the money and announces who wins it all. That has not been the case in a while on this show, especially after what we saw last year on Final Reckoning even before Ashley M. stealing all of Hunter's money. That won't the case this time around, as the finalists will find themselves tackling one of the hardest finals in Challenge history right in the heart of the desert, where a 50-mile journey - almost two full marathons back to back - will await them in day 1 alone... and thanks to a never-before-seen twist that goes down at day's end and the toughness of this exam, not everyone will make it out at the halfway point.

As it was for Free Agents, Invasion of the Champions, Dirty 30 and Final Reckoning, this War of the Worlds final is a cycling-style cumulative timed final being conducted over multiple stages and over two days. The winner of this season - and who places 2nd, 3rd and so on down the line - will be determined just like in the Tour de France: whoever clocks in the lowest cumulative time will win, and only those who are in the top three of the eight will cash. And as it was on Vendettas, this is a solo competitor, gender-neural final challenge, where the champion will pocket a first place check of $750,000, second place winning $200,000 and the bronze medalist earns $50,000.

So, welcome on in: it's the finale of War of the Worlds... all ahead on the SocialPulse of The MTV Challenge at DCBLOG. We're glad you're with us...

DC SocialPulse Extra: Before The Challenge War of the Worlds - Finale Part 1

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

Happy Memorial Day weekend to all of you in blog land, and here at the spiritual beginning of summer, we are almost at the end of Season 33 of MTV's The Challenge. And War of the Worlds in Namibia is on the edge of kicking off the final challenge with a prize pool of $1 million going to whoever survives one last battle in the desert.
   We'll have the 'Pulse of Part 1 of the finale coming up a little bit later, to then be followed by this week's Part 2 where the loot will be handed out. But before all that, indulge yourself in the in-between chatter in the MTV Reality community before we post that then, plus we'll look at a Memorial Day Weekend wipeout... that's all ahead.

The Look: How Far is Tattoo Far? / Just Tattoo of Us

CAUTION: Certain Videos Embedded in This Post Contain Adult Language, Themes and Scenes Some May Find Offensive & Disturbing. Viewer Discretion is Advised.

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

Ask anyone who loves pop culture, and they'll likely tell you that one of their favorite aspects is getting to see people with ink being decorated all over their bodies. In its Wikipedia entry, Tattoos are defined as, "...is a form of body modification where a design is made by inserting ink, dyes and pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment." Whether they are for decorative, symbolic, pictorial or identification purposes, and regardless of the reaction family, friends or anyone else has, tattoos have become a key part of American life.

If you have kids in your family, they've likely have had one of the temporary kind on one's forehand over one weekend that has the image of their favorite superhero. And for those who make the real deal, it's become a multi-billions' dollar industry... one that I got to experience firsthand years ago when I went inside a tattoo parlor for the first time when I walked into a Las Vegas location of Club Tattoo, a regional tattoo parlor company co-owned by the late Chester Bennington of Linkin Park, who himself was adorn with tattoos all over his body.

It's with tattoos on the minds of many that last year, MTV brought to America one of the channel's biggest global sensations to our shores: a show that brings couples, friends, family and even familiar names to a tattoo parlor to design tattoos for each other. And it's when the answer of how these people "Deal with the Reveal" that makes for the most compelling and entertaining part of every episode of a global MTV franchise that, last year, made its way from Britain to America. To those in the UK, it's Just Tattoo of Us... to us in America, it's How Far is Tattoo Far?.

DC ExtraTime: Paulie Calafiore - Waking the Lion

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

Last year, the MTV Reality family got bigger by quite a bit when the 2018 end of The Challenge's now much-maligned series trilogy, Vendettas and Final Reckoning, got to invite those from shows outside of both the U.S. channel to its draft pool of potential competitors. It was also the case for the show that Vendettas also helped to introduce to the American audience in between it and Final Reckoning when the U.S. adaption on MTV's global reality franchise Ex On The Beach debuted just after Cara Maria Sorbello came away victorious as the first solo winner of a final challenge in series history.

Someone who is on everyone's list of the Top 20, 50 or 100 of the reality stars who defined the twelve months is Paulie Calafiore, who joined this MTV family a year ago from a network that was, once upon a time, a corporate sibling when CBS and MTV were under the same Viacom ownership as part of what Disney, Comcast and AT&T's WarnerMedia are now -- a media super conglomerate. And the show he comes from is one that defines summer to both die-hard reality fans and to casual viewers during the broadcast networks' offseason... and come next month, we'll again hear those familiar terms "veto," "head of household" and "evicted" when Season 21 of that show debuts.

Paulie first burst onto the scene on Season 18 of Big Brother in 2016 as part of a twist that offered keys to America's most famous summer share to siblings of past houseguests, as he is brother of Season 16 runner up Cody Calafiore. Two years later, he found himself on MTV in eventually becoming one of The Challenge's biggest names in making the Final Reckoning final as a rookie and just falling short of a second straight trip to the dash for the cash on War of the Worlds when he got eliminated in the regular season finale Purge. But months before, he gained his MTV membership card by being one of the ten singles who formed the first cast of Ex On The Beach USA.

Along the way, Paulie has certainly become one of those figures in reality TV that viewers would love to love, or love to hate. Those who saw BB18 know about his showmance with Zakiyah Everette, his bromance with two-time runner-up Paul Abrahamian, his questionable treatment of the female houseguests including future Challenger Natalie Negrotti and Da'Vonne Rogers, and all that took place that summer. Those who watched EOTB last year saw him click with Lexi Marsella, but that came crashing down like many other romances in the Shack of Secrets. And of course, there's The Challenge and his much-publicized relationship with Cara Maria, which was sealed with tattoos for each other on the first season of How Far is Tattoo Far. And everyone has heard of the news that unraveled with them and Bachelor alum Danielle Maltby in the run-up to the past two seasons, which saw Cara and Paulie break up and then get back together amidst much public attention.

It would be easy for you to either support him or to root against him, and those who saw him struggle in the sea in the semifinal of War of the Worlds had reason to cheer either way or feel for him when he came away empty. But to better understand who the real Paul Calafiore is, you have to know more than just this divisive reality TV personality: there is a side of him who actually is well-spoken even with his Jersey accent, well-versed and has an understanding of the whole world around him, and not just of what goes on in the new section of the reality world he has entered. The title of this post brings to mind the animal which he has used to offer a platform for which he can discuss the things he wants to talk about in great detail: the lion.

DC SocialPulse: The Challenge War of the Worlds - The Semifinal (BACKTRACKED)

*** Advisory: DC SocialPulse contains adult language, objectionable content & spoilers for some readers. Viewer Discretion is Advised. Due to its length, take frequent eye breaks if you're reading this top to bottom. ***

BACKTRACKED EDITION
BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

We've arrived at the weekend, one which was anticipated for the fact that golf's second major was to have featured Tiger Woods in contention after his celebrated Masters triumph, and for public anticipation to have our third Triple Crown winner in five years. Instead, the man in the Sunday red did not make the cut at the PGA Championship in New York, and horse racing is still shook after Maximum Security's shock DQ that marred this year's Kentucky Derby. But nonetheless, the sports calendar rolls along with soccer's FA Cup Final, heavyweight champ Deontay Wilder having just scored a 1st Round KO tonight, and the NBA and NHL conference finals going along.

And as far as competition goes in the fifth major pro sport is concerned, we are almost at the end of Season 33 of The Challenge, as War of the Worlds is playing down towards its $1 million final. And when we last left Namibia -- that is, at the end of Week 13, the serious business began for the twelve competitors remaining in the game, as Paulie opted to not put himself into elimination against arch nemesis Kyle and instead gave it to fellow Brit Theo in the latest incarnation of Hall Brawl, which saw the sprinter turned Love Islander take out the win. And TJ Lavin donned a pilot's outfit for a scary challenge aboard a plane that saw them go upside down and all around, which saw Cara Maria and Turbo clinch berths in the final challenge.

Turbo also had a hand in helping to choose who goes into, what turns out to be, our last visit to the killing floor, and this week sees who faces who in the season's last elimination, which is an all-female affair... and if what happened over a week ago is a sign, he'll likely put a Ninja Warrior or a lady from Down Under in. Whoever emerges out of that battle will join the rest of the field, sans Cara and Turbo, for the last regular challenge before the final, which we here at DCBLOG like to refer to as, "the semifinal." And it is a Purge: whoever falls short in a daunting obstacle course over the water will not make it to the final... and it's what happens with one of the players deciding to go all in this close to the final that will either make or break their chance at the cash.

It's "Judgement Day" for Da'Vonne, Dee, Georgia, Hunter, Mattie, Paulie and Theo as they face the last two hurdles en route to the final of War of the Worlds... that is all ahead on the Pulse of The Challenge on DCBLOG. Happy Saturday...