Tuesday, October 20, 2015

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

BY DC CUEVA                           

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.



TEN THINGS TO KNOW
Again, as the Las Vegas trip took priority last weekend, I moved the key moments from Episode 3 to our wrap of Episode 4...Thus, here's the Ten Things to Know. Let's do it...

EPISODE 3: "Libido Limbo"

> THE BLACKOUT AFTERMATH
Episode 3 began with the group at its nadir and Rashida being the most frustrated of the entire house; evidence being her crying endlessly in her room. On the other hand, Chuck is still attached to Hannah and he's doing everything he can to not let her get close to the other guys. But the only one who's not reacting negatively about the news is, obviously, Devin, who's actually smirking knowing that he feels that they should play the strategy his way and wants the house to separate from their crushes. Obviously, the house confronts him for spending time with Kiki.

> STACKED CHALLENGE, AND STRATEGY IGNORED
The week's challenge saw the group head to the beach for "These Girls Are Stacked," and the guys pick up their own tires & place them on a pole representing one of the girls. The first three girls to have six tires placed on their pole will go on the date, with the guy who placed that 6th tire there being their date. When the dust settled, Zak & Kiki, Mike & Britni and Chuck & Amanda are the winners, but there isn't as much celebrating as there should be for winning a date. The girls feel the guys ignored game strategy and placed tires on girls for the purpose of going on a date instead of going on their instincts. Cheyenne is the most worried about the guys risking a TB on couples who aren't a likely match.

> UNDERWEAR, PARTYING AND HANNAH
A last-minute drinking night was very much needed for the house as the guys served up the goodies in their underwear, along with twerking too. Hunter takes advantage of this night by trying to show off his goods in stuffing his underwear with a sock, but the girls have a good eye for that. Meanwhile, Chuck and Kiki turn to each other in being a possible match, as a good chat and finding out they have a lot in common could bring them to the Suites. But Hannah is not feeling the game Kiki is playing and becomes jealous of her talking to her crush. Kiki pulls her aside and confronts Hannah about it, with the blonde accusing her of being shady, but on twitter they cleared the air about that issue which you can check out in the EP3 'Pulse.

> DATES, TRUTH BOOTH AND WORDS TO THE WISE
The week 3 dates saw our winning group go jet-skiing in the Hawaiian Pacific. And while they were going on that Rendezvous, the rest of the house votes to send one of those pairs into the Truth Booth. The best option from a romantic standpoint would be Mike & Britni, but instead we have a reenactment of Brandon from last year in Kiki being put into the booth yet again, who goes in with Zak and they're not a match. After all that, the house looks at new connections: Chelsey & Connor with their shared pasts, Alec & Stacey in a reversal of sorts of personal feelings. But it's Austin and Britni who take the lead and simply want the house to start taking this strategic game seriously, knowing it will take all 20 for them to win the cash.

> AMANDA VS. RYAN
At their 3rd Match-Up, now with $750,000 at stake, Team Ohana puts their new plan into play for the first time to avoid being knocked down by another blackout. The couples are: Chelsey/Connor, Kiki/Chuck, Amanda/Austin, Rashida/Devin, Cheyenne/Tyler, Mel/Nelson, Hannah/Zak, Kayla/Mike, Stacey/Alec & Britni/Hunter. And they succeeded on that with a good bounce back with three lights as they got back on track.
   But the key talking point for them is of if couples are sacrificing relationships with their non-match for the sake of game play. The most agitated by all this is Amanda, and she gets into words with Ryan Devlin as she refuses to get away from Mike and feels the host doesn't care about this or understands the gameplay. He responds that Amanda & Mike are acting stupid and Devin calls them hypocrites. Not surprisingly, this argument made everyone on the patio fume a bit, and if you heard the RHAP and her talking to host Ali Lasher on Twitter, Amanda revealed that production had to be halted temporarily as the crew went all in on her. Considering what we saw the previous week, we had an idea that this would happen, and it did.

EPISODE 4: "Mazed and Confused"

> FAKE COUPLES
Despite some progress in their quest for the cash, half of the group nonetheless are still frustrated. Most notable in that bunch are Britni and Cheyenne, who feel that most of the house are stocking with the ones they're not matched with. They're worried that this could be the hurdle in this game as they're ignoring their suggestions to make new connections. But at least some are trying, such as Chelsey and Connor despite him being with Kayla most of the time, which leads Chel to tears in the bathroom. Chuck still feels Britni is his match much to Hannah's chagrin, which includes a naked Brit enjoying his company in the pool. And Alec hopes his match in not Stacey and instead targets Amanda, and he brings that idea to her flame Mike, who doesn't mind it any one bit.

> "HOT DOGGY STYLE", NIGHT DATE
Going into last week's challenge, the group knew they wanted to smart this time and created pairs who they feel are matches. The GC brought back memories of the kissing mission from Exes 2, but this time it was about hot dogs as they must maneuver a hot dog through a maze using only their mouths. If they complete and are in the top two, they win the date; if it breaks or falls to the ground or let go, they're out. Some know their way around that sausage but others can barely contain their laughter. When the dust settled, Chuck & Britni and Zak & Cheyenne emerge as the top two, and their reward is the show's first night getaway date in the dark of the Hawaiian sea, swimming with manta rays. Chey overcomes her fears of the sea to enjoy her date along with having s'mores.

> DANCE PARTY, MIKE GETS CAUGHT
As it was the previous week, the house again needs time to unwind from all the stress, and the solution is a dance party. As proof in great dance chemistry, Rashida is starting to feel Devin and has good feelings he could be her match. Other than that, the night's not so good for the others, as Stacey becomes a bit too clingy with Alec and he wants to distance from her, but she even follows him to the bathroom. And The Amanda and Mike Show continued when she sees him do his Magic Mike grind on Stacey in the hot tub. Mike feels she's becoming a bit too jealous of him, and brings back those past relationships he had with others and he simply wants to cut all ties with Stacey.

> ONE BAD CHOICE & BRITNI vs. HANNAH
When time comes for the house to vote their Truth Booth choice, the house goes with Chuck & Britni based on them being the one who've connected the best among the two choices, as proof in that skinny-dip earlier in the episode. But Hannah knows in her heart that she and the blond bad boy are not a match and is not afraid of Britni. The blondes begin to bicker, with the Southern Belle putting Hannah on blast for hooking up with Chuck in the shower when he got back from his date, which was of course caught on camera. Chuck & Britni do head to the Truth Booth and are not a match, and the house not only is shocked they also have second thoughts of not sending in Cheyenne and Zak, in addition to not knowing what to do. Hannah gets upset with Chuck for not defending her versus Britni and doesn't know if she'll ever forgive him when she needed him most.

> RASHIDA BOLTS & LOST HOPES
For Match-Up No. 4, the gentlemen have control in choosing the ladies. Kayla believes she and Mike are still a thing despite him possibly being a match with Chelsey. He chooses Kayla, while Alec goes with Amanda, Tyler/Mel, Zak/Cheyenne, Chuck/Kiki, Connor/Chel, Nelson/Britni, Hunter/Rashida and Austin/Stacey. But the pressure of all this becomes a little too hot to handle for Rashida, as she begins to panic and then hyperventilate when potential match Devin instead picks Hannah. Exhausted by all that, she skips the rest of the ceremony and walks back to the house to get some rest...perhaps it's a sign turbulence could be headed her way.
   In the end, the group doesn't get a blackout but the next worse feeling is losing a light...and that's exactly what happened as they got back to two lights, the same as their first MC. They have no clue which lights belong to who, and we are nearing the halfway point. The group is in need of matches in the Truth Booth or their chances at the cash could be in dire jeopardy. However, Hunter is most optimistic that they'll come back, and if the past two seasons are an indication, the turning point that could open the floodgates could be headed their way as soon as this week...ask the Originals.


WINNERS OF THE NIGHT
> CHEYENNE: There's two winners of the night to classify this week, and the first one is Cheyenne. Episode 4 was where we really saw her come out of her shell a bit in going on the getaway date with Zak, and she felt that they deserved to be the ones who could've been voted into the Truth Booth and may have given the group some much-needed momentum. But as a consolation prize, she is being one of the handful of this group who are free of drama or anything of a negative influence, and provides a breath of fresh air to what we're seeing in the house this season. It's always appreciated.
ALEC: The second one is Alec, and if you heard the RHAP for Episode 4 he really has grown on both Brian Cohen and Ali Lasher. They thought they would not like him, but after what we saw this week in him bringing Mike aside to talk about Amanda it really gave them and us some more respect after what we saw from him to begin with. I can sense there's more coming from Alec in the weeks ahead, but for now Alec is a WOTN.



#DCExtraTime
R-DEV's EVERYWHERE

Credit: @Tindel10
As you saw with two pics - one posted by Alec during the lead-up to Episode 4 on the 'Pulse last weekend and another by Brandon from Season 2 which is on your right, if you're thinking that you're seeing AYTO host Ryan Devlin more often, then you're absolutely right on target. And besides him making buzz with him getting into it with Amanda last week, it appears that he is just about everywhere if you're a TV fan who watches a lot of scripted fare, which is obviously something that I'm not into as much as I am into the MTV world. But I am familiar with him from other shows listed below, and after what we saw with him and Amanda, I felt I had to give the host some much needed justice.
   When he is not being our AYTO tour guide (something that at first thought we wondered why he got the hosting gig in the first place), R-Dev is a jack of all trades in this showbiz world as an actor, host, producer & entrepreneur. This pic is from one of his many acting gigs on nearly 30 TV shows and six movies, for which you can see the entire CV on IMDb. We won't list the entire resume here, but his first notable role was him playing Mercer on Veronica Mars, followed by stints on Grey's Anatomy, Cougar Town, Brothers & Sisters and CSI Vegas & Miami. Today, he has two current roles: Billy on Jane The Virgin and Stephen on Castle where Alec posted the pic. And two weeks ago, he tweeted a pic of him playing a pastor on Law and Order: SVU next year, and this was while he was in New York visiting Kathie Lee & Hoda on Today.
   Are You The One? is actually Ryan's third stint in the MTV world, and no doubt it's third time's the charm as AYTO is by far the most successful of the shows he's been on. And for obvious reasons, filming of both last season and this season has occurred in the spring/summer between seasons of filming scripted fare so he wouldn't miss filming episodes just to host AYTO. As a longtime MTV fan, I remember watching a weekly MTV version of Entertainment Tonight, which he taped at Paramount Studios around overnight Veronica Mars shoots; while the second was a 2008 music competition show called Rock the Cradle. But AYTO isn't the only competition show he's presently involved in, as he is an executive producer of Idiotest, a quiz show on Game Show Network for which I caught a portion of one day when I was getting out getting a haircut at the barber shop.
Devlin (right), with This Bar
founders Grinnell & Patel
Credit: Conscious Magazine
   And finally, there's that entrepreneur role, and perhaps this is the one that will make you respect Ryan even more. Several years ago while on a African humanitarian trip, Devlin and two of his friends, Todd Grinnell and Ravi Patel, visited a refugee camp in Liberia and saw first-hand the harsh reality of severe acute malnutrition and discovered an amazing life-saving food that was combating the deadly disease. That eye-opening experience inspired the trio to come up with a delicious, wholesome and all-natural granola nutrition bar. This Bar Saves Lives was the result, and for each bar that's purchased, a packet of life-saving food is given to a child in need. Since its 2013 founding, TBSL has donated over 300,000 packets to needy kids worldwide. Ryan's Veronica Mars co-star Kristen Bell also serves on the company advisory board.
   In all, Ryan is juggling many jobs at once, which is something that is certainly no easy task especially when you're part of the Hollywood world. He is an actor who's been on more TV shows in the past ten years than we can count on a fingers, as well as an executive producer of a cable TV game show. He is the host of a guilty pleasure MTV reality show that reaches a worldwide audience in the quest for love and money and part of this crown I call the Trifecta. And he's doing his part to help kids starving for food recieve a much-needed lifeline by way of a nutrition bar. And oh, as we told you at the beginning of this year, he became a dad too. Quite the life Ryan Devlin has.


And that will bring this week's episode 4 Wrap & 'Pulse to a close. Of course, there is a lot for those in the webcast world to discuss from last week, and here's your roadmap to find them as sort of homework to pre-game for tomorrow's episode...
- Launched last week is The Alliance Podcast with Devin and Zak, the first AYTO castmates to launch their own AYTO webshow. Last week on the premiere webcast, Alec was the first guest of the duo, and this week they were joined by Stacey on Episode 2 and by Kiki on Episode 3. Of course, you do not want to miss those shows and check them out at the links above, and follow Zak's YouTube channel for more during the season and some of his pre-AYTO YT videos.
- Of course, there's the must-listen AYTO RHAP with Brian Cohen (@BusDriversRoute) and Ali Lasher (@LashsTweets) on Rob Has A Podcast. This week, Brian & Ali are forced to eat their words on one of the castmates they thought they would hate at the start of the season, plus they discuss everything that happened on EP 4. Listen to this week's show here, plus past podcasts at robhasawebsite.com, and Brian's Bus Drivers Route blog at busdriversroute.com.
- The folks of AfterBuzz TV (@AfterBuzzTV) are once again covering AYTO on their platform. This season's panel of Lem Gonsalves, Desiree Murphy and Nino llanera were joined last week by Cheyenne as they discussed episode 4 and her thoughts at this point in the season. On Thursday, it'll be a full house in the studio as the trio will be joined by Chelsey, Kiki and Melanie...you don't wanna miss it on www.afterbuzztv.com.
- Also, follow Andrew Kirk (@CSUGradAKirk) and his YouTube page, SpreeCast & BlogTalkRadio sites and his Big Time Reality TV blog. Due to job matters, he's taking a temporary break from webcasts but do expect AK and I to discuss what we've seen in the episodes on here frequently on the FORUM.
- And, if you're anxious for anything related to The Challenge, then check out vets Susie Meister and Sarah Rice and their Brain Candy Podcast where they discuss the broader world around them in addition to occasional MTV stuff. Last week, they were joined by Challenge stalwart Kenny Santucci, so check out their chat and other shows at thebraincandypodcast.com.


Make sure to follow DCBLOG and all my social platforms for all things Are You The One? and more.
- Of course, we are all over AYTO 3 with Pulse diaries, Wraps and more. This weekend in addition to our two posts on Episode 5, I plan to bring on my colleague Andrew Kirk for the DC FORUM AYTO Halftime Report as we discuss our thoughts of this season at its halfway point. Also check out my ExtraTime post on Challenge host TJ Lavin as last week marked five years since his life-altering crash, and as always check out other posts and your input is welcome.
- As always, follow DCNOW on Twitter @DC408DxNow for live and real-time tweets of AYTO 3, plus Thursday's season finale of Gainesville, next week's premiere of Follow the Rules with Ja Rule, Sunday's MTV Europe Music Awards from Italy and this busy sports month. I am currently posting my Vegas pics on DC Instagram at IG @DC408Dxtr, and of course, follow me on Twitter @DC408Dxtr, dc408dxtr.tumblr.com, Snapchat, Periscope and more.

Thanks again for reading and until we talk tomorrow on DCNOW for AYTO 3, or now over on Twitter, see you then and have fun.

- I AM DC

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