By DC Cueva
We are five episodes deep into what's already been a great season so far of The Challenge: Rivals II. From the drama that's taken place inside the house in Thailand to the great competition with both fan favorites & new faces, plus the twists that have made people ponder - including what happened in these last two episodes, and of course a lot in between, I've definitely enjoying what I'm seeing so far. With all due respect to my first go at this, and aside from a couple things, it's definitely so much better than the last Challenge - it blows Battle of the Seasons II right out of the water by a mile. And we've almost at the season's halfway point, there's so much more action & drama still to come and still ahead of us. But for this edition of the DC Blog and as my coverage of this season continues, let's take an opportunity for some reflection and recollection. And as we begin, hope you got that name tag dusted off.
Being the great purveyor of history that I am as a longtime loyal fanatic of The Real World going all the way back to when I was in high school, as well as being a relative newcomer to The Challenge, I have very good memories with each & every single person on Rivals II, and of most not on this season but have interacted with. Much of these memories come from when most of this cast took their first MTV baby steps as one of those strangers picked to live in that RW house, while others come from outside of the one show that I love most. This includes the two relatively recent Challenge seasons I've gotten to watch in their entirety: the one that reintroduced me to this thing - the aforementioned BOTS, and the original Rivals of two years ago which I got to watch for the first time just before this season began. Some of the memories are good, some are bad, but everyone in not only this cast but every person in this 200+ person family who've appeared on Real World, The Challenge and/or the erstwhile Road Rules are remembered for one thing. And of course, this revolutionary, long-standing franchise, now 21 years & counting, has produced indelible moments and amazing people.
If you're a loyal fan like me who's watched this franchise as long & consistently as me, this'll bring back some good memories. And for those new to this world & wanna know more about these people you're seeing for the first time, get ready to jot down some notes. Here we go on a trip down memory lane, and it's gonna be a long one, folks...every single member of this Rivals II cast will be covered here. And we start things off with the man who is, after all, the very heart & soul of The Challenge.
