DC SocialPulse: Are You The One? S3 - "Getting Lei'd"

*** Advisory: DC SocialPulse contains adult language, objectionable content 

and spoilers for some readers. Viewer Discretion is Advised. Due to its long 
length, take frequent eye breaks if you're reading this top to bottom. ***

BY DC CUEVA                           
> @DC408dxtr / @DC408dxnow

Happy Halloween to all of you out there, wherever you are on this big last Saturday of October. And what did DCBLOG bring to you today? It's this DC SocialPulse diary for Episode 306 (Season 3, Episode 6 if you're scoring at home) of Are You The One? to check out as part of your pregame to tonight's trick-or-treating and costume parties. And just as it was last week, there's both tricks and treats on this show too.
   Last week, the house came to the realization that they're not playing this game as they're supposed to, and realize they have to move on from their non-match crushes. We saw Chuck get caught kissing Britni and we had an explosive . But we also had the first right move in the game this year: Chelsey going with her instincts that Connor is her match, and the truth booth confirmed that she was indeed right on target. But that was the only good news as far as the game play was concerned.
   So how can we top what some of us call the best episode in the three seasons of AYTO? This week, the drama continues with what's become an AYTO tradition: a chance to let loose in the night sky for a group in desperate need of good news. There, a wild luau, a Hawaiian party full of entertainment, provides us that in telling us who is getting laid, or lei'd to make things better, and who's getting played. Jealousy on the part of our New Englander causes Devin to flip his lid in frustration. And confusion reigns when the guys decide to bring strategy in an effort to reverse the momentum.
   We have everything covered with the interaction from this week's episode and the proceeding lead-up and aftermath, including some of the girls' weekend visit to SoCal. Also included in this week's diary: reaction to the World Series from KC and NY points of view of Team MTV, an AYTO castmate showing love to an ESPN anchor, and .
   And then on ExtraTime, the record year Team MTV has had in the baby department has gotten even better...find out who the latest castmate to become a parent is. You may be surprised to find out who it is, but don't be surprised when you consider how changed a person the new mom/dad is now.

- As we begin, please note there is explicit language in many of the tweets below, but I am keeping it uncensored in order to retain the heat of the moment. So if you are mature enough, please read with discretion. :-)
- Plus, if you haven't watched the episode yet, or if you're an international fan and this episode has yet not aired in your territory, then do not proceed. But don't worry, be sure to bookmark DCBLOG as I will compile all of these tweets into these posts after every episode so you won't be in the dark of how your favorites saw this all unfold.

So, Join In after the jump for all things AYTO, Pulse style.

DC's View: Halloween Madness

BY DC CUEVA

> @DC408dxtr

As we reach October's end, I'm taking a break here from my wall-to-wall MTV coverage (and of Season 3 of Are You The One?) to bring you something that's been a post in the making for two years. But due to certain things, it has not been posted...until now, just a few days before the big day. So, dig in to this DCBLOG Special...

When you head to the local grocery store in your neighborhood for a store hop like I typically do, there's always a place inside that sells things related to the season or time of year we're living in. Recently, we had Americana decorations to celebrate Memorial Day and 4th of July, summer & water gear for my favorite season of the year, back to school supplies and football party gear. And as we head deeper into the fall, next week we'll be thinking about the holidays and Thanksgiving & Christmas, for which some of that is already up at the local Big Lots.

   Right now in stores across America, there's a haunting feeling that most people get when they head into the Halloween section with all the costumes and decorations, and of course the candy; and obviously, it's a busy section this week, When I went to the hometown Wal-Mart shortly after Labor Day, and the Big Lots even before that, they had already swapped out the back to school supplies for the Halloween decorations, fall/autumn decor and of course the candy. If you check out my Instagram @DC408Dxtr, you'll find pics of all the scarecrows, the decor and the goodies.

For as long as all of us remember, there's something unique, special, frightening and exciting that comes with the coming of Halloween season. We can all think of the time where we think of the sight of kids dressing up, going trick or treating, getting candy and all the gobs and goblins that come with the end of October. For over a decade since I decided that the days of dressing up and going out into the streets was getting old hat for me, it's been my duty on the night of October 31st to pass out candy upon the kids who say "trick or treat" to those who knock on the door of my house.
   Two years ago, there was a good amount of kids who came to our house for candy simply because they had seen our house on two local newscasts due to a crime that took place in our neighborhood. This year, there should be a greater amount of people getting candy at our door than usual as this is one of those years where Halloween falls on a Saturday night; thus, no worries about parents getting off work early to help dress up the youngsters and the kids can stay up late as well. This is the latest chapter in the madness that is the holiday of Halloween.

DC SocialPulse: Are You The One? S3 - "The Little Merman"

*** Advisory: DC SocialPulse contains adult language, objectionable content 
and spoilers for some readers. Viewer Discretion is Advised. ***

BY DC CUEVA                           

> @DC408dxtr / @DC408dxnow

It's the weekend before Halloween and before you go out and pick your costume and begin to stock up on that candy for the big occasion next Saturday night, I have this DC SocialPulse diary of Episode 5 of Are You The One? Three to share with you. And we've had both our tricks and treats for the cast, both during the season and most particularly this week.
   Last week, it was déjà vu all over again as we saw non-matches keep staying together and putting a hurdle in the quest for the cash, despite a bounce-back from the blackout. But again, the pressure that comes with playing this game of love and money came to three girls: Britni and Hannah when they got into words at the Truth Booth, and Rashida bolting from the Match-Up when Devin picked Stacey over her. And we saw Mike get caught in the act once again by Amanda, and they lost a light at that MC and picked a wrong TB choice, creating for some uncertainty.

   This week, the house finally realizes what they're doing as they lose it when their crushes are finally deciding to play this game and move on. Chuck finds himself between a rock and a hard place when the roommates see him get it on with another non-match. But Chelsey has other ideas than most of the house, as she has her sights on proving that the Gentle Giant Connor is her match...is she right? Plus, we have a most gross challenge to contend with, along with a black and white party as well.
   We'll have all the interaction from Episode 5 and its lead-up and the aftermath. Included there is the joy Team MTV got to enjoy when Sabrina the Teenage Witch became their latest follower, some of the girls reunite in L.A. and reaction to last weekend's Michigan St./Michigan tilt which was of huge interest to both an MTV host and a Real World alum who was there at the Big House. And speaking of the reality icon, on ExtraTime we'll bring you more on where the next RW season will be at, which is in a very familiar place to both MTV fans and yours truly.

- As we begin, please note there is explicit language in many of the tweets below, but I am keeping it uncensored in order to retain the heat of the moment. So if you are mature enough, please read with discretion. :-)
- Plus, if you haven't watched the episode yet, or if you're an international fan and this episode has yet not aired in your territory, then do not proceed. But don't worry, be sure to bookmark DCBLOG as I will compile all of these tweets into these posts after every episode so you won't be in the dark of how your favorites saw this all unfold.

So, Join In after the jump for all things AYTO, Pulse style.

DC WRAP: Are You The One? S3 - Episodes 3 and 4

BY DC CUEVA                           

> @DC408dxtr / @DC408dxnow

Welcome back again to DCBLOG and this double WRAP of Episodes 3 & 4 of Are You The One? Three. Due to DC Vegas last week, I moved the recap of last week's episode to this week's recap, and things are indeed starting to get real in Hawaii. When last we did a recap for Episode 2 two weeks ago, we saw the group dealt two big blows: the best couple so far of Devin and Kiki being put into the Truth Booth and emerging out of it a No Match and of course them getting a Blackout at the ensuing Match-Up and losing $250,000.

   Obviously, the group was distraught by this dating disaster, which led to yours truly posting on IG a picture of a Hawaiian Ohana hat to help cheer them up. But they didn't easily take this news to hand, as them keeping on hooking up with their non-matches from that blackout put a damper on the house in their quest to go 10 for 10. Additionally, we saw Amanda go all in on Ryan Devlin & on Mike, Hannah get into words with Kiki & then with Britni, and Rashida buckle under the pressure. And we saw Hunter bare all too. Quite the last two episodes.

   We'll have the ten things to know (five from episode 3 and five from EP 4) and winners of the night from the latest episode on this edition of DC WRAP. Plus in ExtraTime, if you think you see the host of this show on your screen more often than just Wednesday nights on MTV, you're right...we'll explain that story and also his business venture. So, stick around for all that after the jump.

DC SocialPulse: Are You The One? S3 - "Dazed and Confused"

*** Advisory: DC SocialPulse contains adult language, objectionable content 
and spoilers for some readers. Viewer Discretion is Advised. ***

BY DC CUEVA                           

> @DC408dxtr / @DC408dxnow

I've just returned from the usually big trip I make to Las Vegas that I have every year or so, and obviously I enjoyed it if the pics on my DC IG and on DCNOW are any proof. But I'm glad to be back on the blog grind to bring you this DC SocialPulse diary of Episode 4 of Are You The One? Three. And if Vegas is proof, fortunes can rapidly change in an eye blink, which is exactly what the Ohana in Hawaii have been through after three episodes.
   Last week amidst my DC Vegas preparations, the house had to deal with the week 2 blackout at the matchup that cost them $250,000 and obviously with the tears and frustration they took the loss hard. However, the players had a hangover from that bad night as they still can't separate from their non matches for the sake of the team, and we saw Kiki finally but temporarily get over Devin by making a play for Hannah's guy Chuck, which causes a riff. But it's staying together for most of the group that led the house to take notice of that shadiness, despite a matchup bounce back.

   This week, we see the same thing from last week of non-matches keeping on hooking up and, just as it was last year, preventing the house from trying to sweep away the 10 for 10 table. The house does everything they can to let off some much needed steam, but a blow-up among two of the girls at the Truth Booth and then a Match-Up meltdown with another proves that some will crack under the pressure of love and money. Plus, we get to see Magic Mike do his thing once again along with a first-ever nighttime getaway date as well.
   If you want to relive the interaction from Episode 4 or if you're catching up for the first time, we've got you covered along with the lead-up and the aftermath to all that. Afterwards on ExtraTime, we'll have life-changing news for three ladies of Team MTV, which includes a follow-up to our subject from last week who not only is helping online daters find romance they're also now engaged herself.

- As we begin, please note there is explicit language in many of the tweets below, but I am keeping it uncensored in order to retain the heat of the moment. So if you are mature enough, please read with discretion. :-)
- Plus, if you haven't watched the episode yet, or if you're an international fan and this episode has yet not aired in your territory, then do not proceed. But don't worry, be sure to bookmark DCBLOG as I will compile all of these tweets into these posts after every episode so you won't be in the dark of how your favorites saw this all unfold.

So, Join In after the jump for the week that was in AYTO World, Pulse style.

DC SocialPulse: Are You The One? S3 - "Libido Limbo"

*** Advisory: DC SocialPulse contains adult language, objectionable content 
and spoilers for some readers. Viewer Discretion is Advised. ***

BY DC CUEVA                           

> @DC408dxtr / @DC408dxnow

In a matter of hours from now, I will be in Las Vegas for the time of my life, part 7, in Sin City. But before Saturday evening comes, there's this DC SocialPulse diary to take care of as we look in on Episode 3 of Are You The One? Three. Through two episodes we've seen just about everything, and we do mean everything.
   After Alec's kiss-fest and spin the bottle in the premiere, last week we saw Kiki and Devin be put through the ringer of the truth booth and emerge out as a non-perfect match much to the cast's shock, but stayed together in the house bringing back memories of Cranley and Bristina. But aside from a trip to the strip club and a revealing challenge, it didn't prepare the house for what happened at the week's Match-Up: an early blackout and them losing $250,000.
   It's them dealing with that gut check that this week, we see of course all the aftermath from getting no matches quicker than any truth booth match in previous seasons. The gameplay is thrown for a loop by non-matches still not separating for the sake of the team and ultimately the house takes notice as the group tries to bounce back. And what happens when the girl half of the house's most notorious pair makes a play for the first AYTO castmate to enjoy home field advantage?
   We'll have all the interaction from Episode 3, plus the lead-up and the aftermath for you here in what will be a one-post only review this week...the reasons are for obvious reasons as this fan is ready to head to Vegas tomorrow. But afterwards on ExtraTime, we'll catch up with a Real World & Challenge alum who's now following the footsteps of Nev & Max and helping with online romance.

- As we begin, please note there is explicit language in many of the tweets below, but I am keeping it uncensored in order to retain the heat of the moment. So if you are mature enough, please read with discretion. :-)
- Plus, if you haven't watched the episode yet, or if you're an international fan and this episode has yet not aired in your territory, then do not proceed. But don't worry, be sure to bookmark DCBLOG as I will compile all of these tweets into these posts after every episode so you won't be in the dark of how your favorites saw this all unfold.
- And featured in the After Hours section is a discussion of, shall I say, intimate matter that also makes it NSFW viewing and is for mature audiences only, though luckily there's nothing of an visual explicit nature in there (after all, I want to keep it PG-13).

So, Join In after the jump for the week that was in AYTO World, Pulse style.

DC ExtraTime: T.J.'s Road to Recovery

BY DC CUEVA                           

> @DC408dxtr / @DC408dxnow

We are two weeks into a new cycle of what this longtime fan refers to as the MTV Trifecta, bringing you social interaction, stories, opinions and perspective of the three shows that matter most to this longtime, passionate MTV fan. Yes, Season 3 of Are You The One? is our focus here right now, but before you know it we'll be into covering Season 27 of The Challenge and Season 31 of Real World. And of course, all of them are given extensive, wall-to-wall coverage right here on DCBLOG.
   But before we move into an all-new episode tomorrow night as the AYTO cast deals with an early game-changing, money-losing blackout, for me there's also anticipation growing for my trip to Las Vegas coming up in over 100 hours from now. It's not only my favorite city outside of the Bay Area, it also happens to be the hometown of the subject we are covering here.

Something that makes our coverage of these shows different from other sites and forms of media is that we focus in on the stories and people of this ecosystem, and provide a unique angle on the Trifecta you probably can't find anywhere else. I'd like to think of this page as a complement to the recaps, rankings and interviews of other pages, in that there's more to these people than what you see on TV. After all, no kind of programming is best suited to this kind of coverage in thoughtful insight, analysis, reflection and perspective than MTV reality shows. And there's no channel out there with a deeper, intimate and more closer relationship with its viewers than MTV as well.

   It's with this in mind that DC ExtraTime offers the chance to go beyond the hookups and the drama to cover this franchise in a unique & interesting way. In the past, we've brought you a slew of stories through the prism of the Trifecta, from a Canadian teen inspired by the volunteer work of the RW Back to New Orleans cast post-Katrina to castmates Nany and Jay dealing with untimely passings of members of their family while filming their RW seasons. It's telling the stories of the Trifecta that brings a different side of the people that makes them relatable and prove that there's more to them than pretty faces and moments of drunken drama and conflict that reality TV is known for.

In this first dedicated edition of ExtraTime of this new cycle, and a special one in fact, we'll focus on one of Team MTV's most-revered members and the man who's the face of the so-called "fifth major pro sport." For TJ Lavin, he has been host of The Challenge for a decade now, seeing the show's growth from just a simple friendly battle of two sister shows to the great program it is as something unlike anything else in the reality TV world. But, it was something that happened five years ago next week outside the MTV cameras that became the greatest challenge he has ever endured. And it was how he was able to not only come all the way back from a horrific, life-threatening accident, but also be brave enough to host a Challenge season just months a fateful night in his hometown that nearly changed his life forever.
   We told you his story before in brief during Rivals II here two years ago, but this time on the 5-year anniversary of that fateful night in October 2010, this story is more than deserving of a second look in an expanded form. Taken from interviews he did in the months following the life-changing crash in the last BMX event he would compete in, after the jump TJ reflects on the most devastating time of his life, in his own words. Then, DCBLOG tells the story and provides reflection on, along with the late Diem Brown's battle with cancer, the ultimate comeback story in Challenge history.

DC WRAP: Are You The One? S3 - "Can't Buy Me Love"

BY DC CUEVA                           

> @DC408dxtr / @DC408dxnow

Welcome back once again to DCBLOG and our look back to Episode 2 of Are You The One? Three. While last week was the perfect introduction to this season in cramming everything we want in a season of reality TV in one hour, this week it matched it and then some.
   We saw episode 2 of The Kiki and Devin Show once again as they got to enjoy their date on the scooters, he got to utter his trademark catch phrase and then be brought back to earth by being sent into the truth booth and emerging out a no match. We also saw Magic Mike being let out of the cage, Connor confess his obsession with One Direction, and saw more of the housemates than we saw in the premiere. But of course, the lasting moment from this episode, and of the season through two episodes, is obviously them getting punched in the gut with a blackout at the 2nd matchup and being docked $250,000 for not garnering a match.
   Yes, things are getting real around the house on the big island, and we have the things to know and winners of the night from Wednesday for you on DC WRAP. Plus in ExtraTime, we'll share you a back story involving this very fan and this cast, and a consolation prize to help cheer them up in the wake of what we saw on episode 2. So, stick around for that, along with the announcement of the next new show I will be live tweeting this fall.  That's next after the jump.

DC SocialPulse: Are You The One? S3 - "Can't Buy Me Love"

*** Advisory: DC SocialPulse contains adult language, objectionable content 
and spoilers for some readers. Viewer Discretion is Advised. ***

BY DC CUEVA                           

> @DC408dxtr / @DC408dxnow

Well, welcome on in to the month of October and to DC SocialPulse's look at Episode 2 of Are You The One? Season 3. If our Ohana of this season promised to all of us that this season would be something else, than for those who watch this show loyally it is delivering the goods so far...and we are only thru more than a furlong into this roller coaster.
   On the Premiere episode last week, we saw just about everything you can cram into a season in one night: Alec kissing four girls, Amanda & Kiki going at it at matchup, Devin at the heart of a triangle and of course spin the bottle. And we saw host Ryan Devlin give them a rather unpleasant welcome to the Big Island of Hawaii of a twist that could change the game at any moment.

   This week, Kiki keeps her eye on Devin in spite of his questionable behavior, while other couples begin to fall hard for one another around the house. We also have a trip to the strip club in the comfort of the AYTO house, as well as a revealing challenge that even reveals a closet One Direction fan. But, it's a completely bewildering Truth Booth and an even more shocking Match Up Ceremony that leaves the house in nothing but stunned silence. Yes...that happened.

   We'll have all the interaction from Episode 2, plus the lead-up and the aftermath for you here for what again is a two-part post; DC WRAP will bring you the episode's big moments and a DC FORUM to discuss matters in depth later this weekend or early next week. After the interaction on DC ExtraTime, we'll join with fellow Team MTV'ers in Washington as they honor the late Diem Brown with Congress, plus find out who my latest famous Team MTV follower is and her storied career.

- As we begin, please note there is explicit language in many of the tweets below, but I am keeping it uncensored in order to retain the heat of the moment. So if you are mature enough, please read with discretion. :-)
- Plus, if you haven't watched the episode yet, or if you're an international fan and this episode has yet not aired in your territory, then do not proceed. But don't worry, be sure to bookmark DCBLOG as I will compile all of these tweets into these posts after every episode so you won't be in the dark of how your favorites saw this all unfold.

So, Join In after the jump as we enjoy dancing, biking and more with the AYTO kids, Pulse style.