BY DC CUEVA
Last week saw the Challengers compete in one last mission before the final, as well as spots in the final for the remaining Underdogs being determined. But nothing prepared us for the shocker that took place in the last female elimination in the mighty Laurel being handed her first defeat in Camila beating her out. And down in Australia, the couples had to endure a 10k trek around an obstacle course, which led to Devin & Rashida to regain power couple status, and saw Tori & Morgan being put into The Choice...but unlike the last two weeks, they decided to share and stay.
All of that will be recapped on this installment of the WRAP with an extended Things to Know recap of the past two weeks on Invasion, among other things. And we'll also have a look at one Underdog finalist going through her rite of passage to becoming part of New York's bravest. All of that is next.
THINGS TO KNOW
● UNDERDOG BLOODBATH: First, we begin with Week 10 from Thailand, and for the first time ever on The Challenge, there is a multiple-player elimination week. After TJ dropped into the house party in Week 9 and announced that there were too many underdogs remaining in the house, those on Team Red were put on alert. For the first part of this surprise elimination week, the players play "X-It" in same-gender heats, with the last place guy and girl being eliminated.
All of them are harnessed up, connected to an X and the aim to move that cross to their puzzle pieces scattered around them. Once they have those pieces in hand, they then must unhook themselves and work on the puzzle, which happens to be a traditional ancient puzzle where every line much add up to 21, and no symbols have to be in the same row or column. Think, a more complicated version of that Japanese game, Sudoku.
For the guys, it becomes more of a challenge than they thought, as Shane, Cory, Nelson and Hunter collect their pieces in that order, but then struggle to come up with the right code and advance on. In the end after 105 minutes, Shane is the first to complete his puzzle, followed by Cory at over 2 hours, then Nelson...meaning Hunter is eliminated after a good rookie Challenge. And for the girls, the task is more speedier for Ashley, Nicole, Jenna and Amanda, but it's the Pop-Off Queen who figures it all out in 20 minutes. Ashley gets it right on second check, and Nicole gets the third spot... and for the first time, Jenna goes home before a final.
● FORTRESS: After everyone bubble baths and do yoga, the remaining players enter the Fortress and once again take to same-sex groups and are again put to a harness. This time, they are put into a circle and their objective is to run out and ring their bell on the outside of the circle...all while everyone is trying to be pulling their way to their bell at the same time. The objective in the first of this two-part elimination is be the first to ring their bell to gain safety, and the two who lose then have to battle it out for the other spot, and the loser being eliminated.
The girls take to the floor first and it becomes an intense battle from the opening horn with it becoming anyone's for the taking. Nicole aims to turn around and pull in Amanda and Ashley, which works to her advantage though Ashley complains the metal from her harness is getting close to her stomach. Ash then decides to work in tandem with Amanda to move Nicole away from her bell and get close. It's Ashley who takes the win, much to Nicole's dissent.
Nic then faces off with Amanda, again being harnessed together at the waist and are forced to pull their opponent with both their feet outside the circle...the one who wins the best 2-of-3 match advances. Heat 1 lasts only a few seconds when both get on the edge and get out at the same time, but by a whisker Amanda doesn't get her feet out in time as Nicole wins that. Amanda manages to even up the affair in Heat 2, but then Nicole takes a close Heat 3 to advance and knock off Amanda.
● TEMPERS FLARE: Then come the guys, and it's Nelson, Cory and Shane who will dispute who among them will be safe after the Fortress. At first glance, it appears to be just an even-handed affair, but from a closer look Nelson appears to be working on both sides of the ball, with the two others thinking they'll be working with them. However, things turn for the odd as Nelly decides to put into a plan of his own when after TJ brings out the starting horn, he flies out of the starters block and hits the bell faster than we could say go and he wins safety.
Not surprisingly, Cory is understandably upset about this as he has a feeling deep down inside that he got played, and Shane is also throwing some fuel to the fire as well. Cory decides to get into Nelly's face and pushes him, and security has to come in to restrain him before it gets more violent. The bad blood continues with the both of them before Cory proceeds to face Shane in Round 2 of the last Underdogs elimination. And given his strength, it's no surprise that Cory sweeps away the Road Rules veteran to make it out...there's no mention of if they're in the finals, so for now the underdogs are in the dark. And Cory does squash things with Nelson after they return.
● CAGED: For last week's mission, the teams are for the first time being even on both sides. For "Caved In," the teams must guide themselves through a series of eight cages which are all connected to one another, with each having different obstacles inside and only one exit to make their way out of it. Once in the eighth and last cage, the teams must find a key to unlock a lock inside to get out, and the first to get all four of their players out will add $30,000 in this money grab challenge in this Champs elimination week.
The battle becomes an even affair for most of the game, as the Underdogs go out to an early lead, but towards the end the Champs come back towards the end when both go head to head in the final cage. Precious seconds tick away as both teams try to find their key hidden under a large pile of coconuts, and both do get the key. But the Underdogs unlock their door first and win yet another challenge to now have $85,000 in their bank, to the Champs' $25,000. And afterwards, tensions get tense with Camila and Laurel getting into words.
● LAUREL BEATEN: And as if things in this season has been crazy, it gets even more complicated in the last female Champs elimination. But first, earlier there was some drama involving peanut butter just as it was on Stranded, but this time Nicole's jar of that PB was hidden inside the bushes and it's brought out there that Laurel got inebriated and someone came up to give her the jar and was told to hide it somewhere. But she does talk it off and Nicole doesn't get upset.
As for the Fortress, the flashback champs challenges continue with "Knot So Fast": two rounds where the players have 10 minutes to tie their rope around a pyramid and make it difficult for their opponent to untie it in round 1, and then have as much time in round 2 to untie their opponent's pyramid the fastest to gain their ticket to the final. Andrew Kirk and I discussed on our chats that this was a weak choice for the last champs elimination and though it might be the case for the guys, choosing a game with strategy more than equals the playing field for Camila.
On paper, this is supposed to be an elimination Laurel should win, considering coming into this she was 9-0 in these "win or go home" duels. And it's no surprise that she's taller and bigger and moving the rope around easier in competing this game for the first time. For Camila, it appears that she's struggling to get the rope around a pyramid and it appears as it she was out of it. When the ladies switch sides for round two, Laurel gets tangled up on her pyramid and in what's uncharacteristic of her, she loses her focus and appears to give up. This allows Camila to unravel that rope and when she finally finishes, she knows this is the finest moment of her Challenge career in doing what Cohutta did to Wes on The Duel II: hand the seemingly invincible elimination queen her first loss.
♥ COUPLES CONNECT (and Disconnect): Down in Australia, in the wake of what happened with Hayden & Carolina there's reason for Asaf & Kaylen to feel relieved that they're still in the house. For Mike & Alicia, it's not the case where after things heated up with the both of them, it has now cooled down a bit. And for Devin & Rashida, there's even something brewing with these two beyond just their friendship phase...even to the point that she fantasizes with Kay that she had a dream that the two had sex... well, one might wonder what her parents might think about that...
♥ OBSTACLES: For the week's mission, the six remaining matches arrive in a field near what appears to be the Flemington Racecourse, home of Australia's biggest horse race, the Melbourne Cup, for a true endurance test: a 10K obstacle course which includes a run through a park and a mud pit. Mike & Alicia but heads while on their trek through the park, bringing to light that disconnect they had above, which brings to mind the importance of communication in these missions.
On the other hand - and just as it was in the Rivals III final in guiding new MTV mom Cheyenne through the desert, Devin again sheds that villain persona to provide positive motivation to Rashida to help her out of that pit. It's no surprise that Dashida take the win and regain power couple status... even if it takes for him throwing up upon finishing. The last element of this challenge is a bicycle ride and having to put together an entire bike before going on that last phase... Adam & Shanley led for most of the race until they reached the transition area where her difficulties of putting together their bike proves to be their downfall, and after having struggles of working together Adam explodes in frustration upon finishing.
♥ TORGAN: Coming into this season, Tori and Morgan had come out of a tumultuous relationship which saw her get close to his roommate, Season 3 alum (and Real World Bad Blood's) Mike... but being in a house on an MTV show does spark something with the two as they seem to be having some romance once again. They know that they are the pair that has the most to lose in this Second Chances game, and Devin talks to the last place pair of Asaf & Kay about sending Torgan in with the belief that since Tori is untrustworthy they believe she will steal the pot from Morgan and the last placers will stay in. Well, it's no surprise that Barbie is feeling that pressure when she and Ken get chosen for The Choice and much to Big D's dismay, the two choose to share and stay.
DC FORUM: POLLS @DC408Dxtr
As for the guys Challenge elimination, not only does it end before CT and Darrell take to the course, we will recap that, as well as the rest of this season on an extended edition of Things to Know on the Finale WRAP coming up in a few weeks. And that leads us to this week's poll...
Which guy do you feel has the
best shot to win it all?
● CT 58%
● DARRELL 35%
● CORY 8%
● NELSON 0%
OUT OF 38 VOTES
▪ ▪ ▪
FANTASY TRAX
#DCCHALLENGE
■ WEEKLY POINT SCORERS
T-1. ASHLEY M. and CORY: 50 Points each
3. CAMILA: 45 Points
T-4. NELSON and NICOLE: 40 Points each
6. LAUREL: 25 Points
T-7. CT and DARRELL: 10 Points
■ TOP 10 TOTAL SCORERS
1. CORY: 420 Points
2. NELSON: 395 Points
3. ASHLEY M.: 355 Points
4. SHANE: 315 Points
5. AMANDA: 285 Points
6. NICOLE: 280 Points
T-6. CAMILA and HUNTER: 265 Points each
T-8. JENNA & SYLVIA: 215 Points each
■ THE WEEK'S NOTABLES
As this season's last regular challenge contains a mass start, all competitors receive 10 points for being first to do a mission, and as the Underdogs won - all of the four members of Team Red each receive 20 points for winning that challenge.
● CORY: As co-top scorer in Week 11, Cory scores 55 overall points this week, and adds to his lead at the top of the overall points standings at 420 points. For winning the elimination, he scores 10 points, and also scored 10 points for verbal fighting with Nelson while in their battle (for which my Challenge ExtraTime subject also receives those points too).
● ASHLEY: As co-top scorer in garnering 50 points also, Ashley scores those aforementioned points above, plus 20 points for a meltdown when she finds a bug in her food. She remains the top female in the overall points table at 355 points.
● CAMILA: Camila scores 45 overall points this week on top of those above: 10 points for verbal fighting with Laurel after the champs' challenge loss, 10 for winning elimination, and 15 points for crying three times: dedicating her elimination to her family, after winning, and getting to the final.
● NICOLE: Nicole scores 40 points this week where in addition to above points, she gets 10 points for crying two times during elimination; Laurel gets 5 points for crying herself in hugging Nicole after losing.
STRATEGY ROOM
AYTO SECOND CHANCES: HALFWAY THROUGH
A brief trek into the Strategy Room to look at where AYTO Second Chances stands. Five couples are left with us in Australia: Adam & Shanley, Devin & Rashida, Cameron & Mikala, Morgan & Tori, and Alicia & Mike. Of these couples, the second and the fifth teams in that order have accounted for all but one of the mission wins, and all of these pairs have placed in the top three at one time or another to gain money in their bank account.
As we get late into the season, things should start to get serious and we should identify the power couples who are the strongest. It's probably safe to say that Devin & Rashida and Tori & Morgan should be safe for the final, depending upon what that shapes up into, and the battle for who might be the third couple to join them in the final three could shape up into a possible battle between Cameron & Mikala -- the only true perfect match here, and Adam & Shanley... and after what happened last week with them having difficulty putting together their bike, it's the reason why they're fourth in my power rankings. But his strength should prevail and they should Dashida and Barbie & Ken in the final. It would be an absolute surprise if Alicia & Mike go all the way to the final and take down two of the final three... but remember, we have seen surprises on AYTO in the past.
POWER RANKINGS
1. DEVIN & RASHIDA
2. TORI & MORGAN
3. CAMERON & MIKALA
4. ADAM & SHANLEY
5. ALICIA & MIKE
▪ ▪ ▪
#DCExtraTime
NICOLE JOINS NEW YORK'S BRAVEST
But we know one thing: she is already a winner in gaining a famous girlfriend in Laurel, and she might be on the verge of big things to come as far as her Challenge career is concerned. And as the lone remaining first-timer left in this season full of fresh faces, she should have my vote for Rookie of the Year when we get to hand out our season-end awards on the mid-year Reality Debrief in about a month from now. But as I always say, first things first comes career, and there's the day job Nicole has in the Big Apple that will make you love and appreciate her that much more.
The Fire Department of the City of New York is the largest municipal fire department in the western hemisphere, and the world's second-largest firefighting force behind only Tokyo. More than 10,200 firefighters, nearly 4,000 EMT's, paramedics & fire inspectors, and more than 1,000 civilians work for the FDNY. And there are 10 divisions, 53 battalions, 255 stations, 200 engines and 143 trucks on standby for a region that has 8 million people living throughout the Tri-State Area.
For the events that took place that September day sixteen years ago, it was the Fire Department who suffered the greatest loss of life of any one family: 343 firefighters and fire chief Peter Ganci perished in the World Trade Center when they fought bravely to not only fight fires inside, but save as many lives as they can at Ground Zero. 9/11 was, obviously, one of the worst days so many of us have ever experienced, but it was when the department's motto "New York's Bravest" meant so much more.
 |
| Nicole, 3rd from right, with the six FDNY Fire Academy graduate women (FDNY Facebook) |
Concurrent with being part of this Challenge, Nicole has been working with the FDNY Fire Academy on Randall's Island the past four months. At The Academy, she learned how to respond to fire and medical emergencies, dealing with hazardous materials and to do building inspections in this, the nation's largest city and where there are four other boroughs where anything can possibly happen.
And last week, she and five other women -- Cassandra Colletti, Carla Mendoza, Mickea Pinckney, Shannon Maloney, and Constance Fripp -- joined nearly 300 other Probationary Firefighters for graduation day in Brooklyn as they took their oaths and become the newest members of New York's bravest. Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro noted the milestone of those six women joining a list of a record number of female firefighters--63--in the department's roll call, which also includes 37% of them being of color - reflecting the cultural melting pot New York is renowned for.
 |
| Twitter @N_ZanattaMTV |
Laurel, Jenna and, of course, the Zanatta family were among those in the audience in Brooklyn seeing Nicole go through this moment of becoming a FDNY firefighter. One notable Staten Islander and member of Team MTV who wasn't there in, as we like to say around here, getting set to jet off on a spring vacation out of town, had this to say to her fellow resident:
@MarieeTBD: "Shoutout to @ChallengeMTV @mtv very own @n_zanattaMTV for joining the ultimate #wolfpack ... the #FDNY !!! Represent us ladies Nic!! 🔥🔥🔥"
● @n_zanattaMTV: "@MarieeTBD @ChallengeMTV @MTV Thank you for that xoxo miss you and I can't wait to start this new chapter :)"
Whether or not we'll see Nicole on a second Challenge after what sure looks to be an appearance in a final in her first season, we will leave that decision in her hands. But she's already winning for taking up a profession that a lot of kids aspire to be: fighting fires, rescuing people when their lives are at risk, and saving lives when the time for help is most needed. There is so much more to the profession that the youngsters think is easy, but it sure isn't. And there comes a great responsibility of donning a uniform tens of thousands do every day in the New York City Fire Department. Now Nicole is one of those lucky people to have that nice day job in the Big Apple.
▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪
And on that note, that will bring this week's DCBLOG MTV Trifecta posts to an end here. As we conclude, there are two notable podcasts of interest to share with you...
● This past weekend, Andrew Kirk (@CSUGradAKirk) continued his stellar Challenge season of his own in gaining the first exit interview with Shane as they discussed his comeback season on Invasion, everything that took place in Thailand and his Challenge/Road Rules career. Check out that interview here, plus his chats with Cory from over a week ago, Ashley from earlier in the season, and all of his other shows on YouTube, Blog Talk Radio, Reality Radio and post-Challenge aftershows on Periscope. Of course, Andrew and I will gather here on Memorial Day weekend for our mid-year Reality Debrief, and also follow him for Survivor and Big Brother talk too.
● Check out Rob Has A Podcast with Brian Cohen (@CohenBrian_) and, as Ali Lasher (@LashTweets) is taking time off for law school, some special guest co-hosts for Challenge talk. This week, Brian was joined by Lita (@LitaTweeted) as they discussed last week's episode and all related events there. Listen to that pod here, and all other Trifecta podcasts at RobHasAWebsite.com, along with full coverage of Survivor Game Changers and all things reality TV.
Of course, make sure to bookmark DCBLOG for everything MTV Trifecta, taking you beyond the screen for the stories behind the story, social reaction and so much more. This includes our next edition of ExtraTime In-Depth when we'll be focusing on The Many Sides of Asaf, coming soon. We'll be back over the weekend for week 1 of the final, the season finale of Stranded with A Million Dollars and Week 6 of AYTO Second Chances...we'll be announcing this week's subject matter after The Choice is made in Melbourne on Wednesday.
That's is how we look at it in the MTV Trifecta...thank you for joining us. And until we talk on DCNOW tonight and over the weekend here, see you then and enjoy the show.
- I AM DC
No comments:
Post a Comment
Got something on your mind? Let us know! But please be mindful and do not post spam or negative comments (due to that, all comments are subject to blogger approval... and we reserve the right to disable these sections if things get way out of hand).