The Challenge: Total Madness | Season 35 Episoe 18 - "Behind the Total Madness"

Spoiler Alert!

Hello people!

So, here we are with the last rant for a while. It's kind of a bummer because we're ending with kind of boring episodes, although I already knew going into them. The truth is, the Reunion episodes never are as good as the rest of the season but still... I like to watch them and, of course, talk to you about what happens in them.

In this last one they kind of did things differently. This time, they didn't separate the Reunion into two parts (technically). Episode 17 was the real reunion while this episode was only showing 'scenes' that were cut out of the official episodes which, in a way, makes things more interesting. Overall, I feel like this episode was more interesting than the previous one, but still pretty boring compared to the overall season.

In this one was saw a bit more about people's mental state with, once again, people complaining about the bunker and what that did to them. I mean, I wasn't there so I can't say for sure but it looks like it wouldn't be that difficult. Heck, I was stuff at home for 3 months during this quarantine so... How hard can it be to be in a bunker?!

Anyway... Besides that, of course, there were a few more hookups that we didn't see, such as Melissa and Josh which wasn't really a hookup, just a snuggling, and Melissa and Nany and, to be honest, a bunch of girls. From what they said, they were playing truth or dare or something like that and they dares Melissa to kiss Nany and suddenly Aneesa was also kissing Jenny and apparently they all kissed each other?! I don't know, but it was a lot of hookups just between the girls.

They also went into some of the 'fails' such as the whole Kyle and Nelson thing with the car but, to be honest, that was pretty lame.

Something that was kind of surprising was that Jenna wasn't the only one with love trouble back home. Turns out that Nelson also had some fights with his now ex-girlfriend, Angela, who was also on The Challenge a few seasons ago, and apparently she was accusing him of cheating on her with Dee?! I mean, that was totally fake because we didn't see that at all! Regardless, it looks like they're not together anymore...

And well, there's a few other stuff that they talked about (Zach and Jenna again, Kailah and Bear and her boyfriend finding out) but those things were pretty boring to me. I did like though when they talked about Big T's injury and how she wanted to be all glamours to go to the hospital. That was pretty funny and that's the type of content I feel like we need to see in this type's of reunions and on The Challenge in general.

To finish things up they also went into their nights out and how Nany lost a tooth/veneer when she was drunk. Again, the type of content that it's funny and interesting at the same time.

But that was it guys. I know, not a lot and, overall, a bit lame but that's what we've got. Regardless, I would love to know your thoughts on not only this episode but on the season in general and when do you think we'll have a new season?! I mean, the show was renew for Season 36 and I've heard a rumor that they're starting filming it in August so... I would love to have a new season in October but maybe only November... We'll see. But that's it from me.

Once again, tell me all your thoughts and I'll see you when the shows (all the ones that I cover on the blog) come back on air.

Love,

Daniela.

The Challenge: Total Madness | Season 35 Episode 17 - "Reunion"

Spoiler Alert!

Hello people!

So, here we are with the The Challenge Reunion (part 1, I might add. part 2 coming next week - as usual). Reunions are always difficult for me to review because, the truth is, I've been commenting during the whole season and now, it's just themselves commenting on stuff that I have already commented on. However, this time the Reunion was a bit different. Because of this whole pandemic thing, the reunion had to be via Zoom so it was a different environment. In a way, I liked it better how did it now. It felt more real (because everyone was in their own houses) and, in general, it looked like they were way more friendly with each other which, we know that most of we see in the show, is 'fake' and just to make the show interesting. Apart from that Zoom thing that was different, all the other things that they touched on were kind of boring.

They started out with the winners, as per usual, but there really wasn't much to talk about, to be honest. They did touch on Bayleigh's injury and, something that I was looking forward to, Melissa's pregnancy. The truth is, the was already 4 months pregnant when she got to the final and that really shocked me. I also liked the whole Bananas and Wes alliance and to see that most people truly didn't know that they were working together. Those two teaming up really cracked me up (during the season and in this episode). And speaking of Bananas, they also touched on the 'love triangle' between him, Jay and Morgan but, truth be told, there wasn't much to talk about. Jay and Bananas talked about it before going into the show and yeah, there's that. Ashley tried to make a thing out of it but it didn't work.

Something kind of major, not only during the season, but in this reunion was the whole Nany, Aneesa an Kaycee thing. This was what gave this episode the biggest 'argument' and then, what pissed me off the most, was that Nany left the video call because it was already her bed time... That really annoyed me! Nany sometimes is so annoying... I have such a love/hate relationship with her. I do feel like she's a bit underrated but she also doesn't do anything to establish herself and she does have some childish and annoying attitudes so... Yeah, there's that.

Apart from that they also touched on the whole Kailah and Bear thing but they didn't stay on that for long (I think because Bear wasn't there) and they also talked about the whole Jenna and Zach thing, which is another topic that really annoys me. I'm so tired of that drama. Although, I also have such a bittersweet 'connection' to that relationship like, I love to see them together and the whole Barbie and Ken thing is so cute but, at the same time, Zach really treats her badly and she's really possessive over her and don't really think that relationship is healthy so... I don't know... Maybe behind closed doors it is different but... I don't know.

Anyway, that's basically it for this first part of the reunion. Next week we'll see some behind the scenes footage so, maybe it will be more interesting. Regardless, it is still fun to see them react to the footage and interact with each other so... Yeah, looking forward to it.

I know there's not much to say about this Reunion but let me know your thoughts and I'll talk to you next week!

Love,

Daniela. 

The Challenge: Total Madness | Season 35 Episode 16 - "It's the End of the World As We Know It"

Spoiler Alert!

Hello everybody and OMG this episode!

The final is here and, actually, this was the last episode of the season before the reunion (which caught me a bit off guard) and... F*ck yeah my favorites won!

I'm sorry but I have to start with this. That's right, both Bananas and Jenny won! It was actually two winners, a girl and a guy, which I wasn't expecting - I thought it would be only one winner - but what matters is that the right people won this season! Also, I'm sorry but I have to say this - I've been saying for weeks that Bananas was going to win this season and I was right! I just had a feeling. And, if I had known that it would be a guy and girl winning I would totally say that Jenny was going to win but yeah. Now that I've expressed how happy I am with this outcome, let's rewind a bit and talk about the actual final.

I must say that I'm a bit disappointed. I mean, they did do kind of a twist after the first part of the final where the first place guy and first place girl formed a tribunal and there would be an elimination. I wasn't expecting that so that was nice. So the two members of the Tribunal were Cory an Jenny, who picked Bananas and Kaycee to go into this last elimination, and then the rest of the 'house' went with Rogan and Melissa both who actually nominated themselves. Rogan said it was because he wanted to prove himself again and Melissa just basically volunteered to later quit. I mean, it gave Kaycee an unfair advantage and I was actually rooting a little bit for Melissa but now, thinking about it, I guess she did the right thing - keeping in mind that she was pregnant at the time. Anyway so that left Rogan an Bananas to battle it out in this last elimination which looked pretty easy but once they started didn't look so easy. Well, needless to say that Bananas won that elimination (and later on won the entire season). With that, the winners of both the first part of the final and the elimination got to sleep in a house, where it was warm, while the remaining two - Fessy and Kyle - had to wait four hours in the cold. Oh, and I guess I should mention that Bayleigh also had to 'quit' because she had a knee injury and couldn't continue so, for the girls, it was only Jenny vs Kaycee. 

Moving to the next day, this second part of the final was just a pretty long run, with a bit of math in the middle, and that's where it disappointed me. It didn't have any big checkpoints that could turn things around. I mean, the math problem did give Kyle and Fessy an advantage over Cory who, at that point, was in the lead but that was pretty much it. And then it wasn't even about the best time, it was just a run with who got to the top of the mountain first would win (and you already know who did).

I do have to mention though that Kyle got second place for the guys and I'm really happy about that and really proud of him. Cory even said in this episode that he wasn't a threat. Well, he got second place and Cory in third so... And Fessy, who everyone thought was a big threat, gassed out and ended in 4th. This just shows that you shouldn't underestimate anyone, and I'm also looking forward to see Kyle again in The Challenge because I actually think he has a shot at winning one day.

Well, and I guess that's it for this season. There will be a Reunion episode, which was shot through Zoom and I'm still going to cover that but, after next episode, the blog will be a bit quite for some time. Still, I would love to know your thoughts on who won and what you thought of the actual final and yeah... I'll see you next week!

Love,

Daniela.

The Challenge: Total Madness | Season 35 Episode 15 - "Crash Into Me"

Spoiler Alert!

Hello everyone!

I'm so stoked to talk to you about this week's episode like...! OMG what a freaking amazing episode!

I was a bit bored int he beginning but as soon as it got to the elimination... That made up for the entire episode! Oh and, once again, I guess I was pretty much right about this episode (which is always nice). There's a ton to say about this episode so let's get into it!

As I said, the beginning was a bit boring. The truth is, with the red skulls thing, everyone wanted to go into elimination and so that kept the show from getting a ton of drama. Everyone was okay with sending in the people that wanted to go and that just made basically everyone be friends with everyone. Well, now everyone had red skulls so that created a bit more tension, but only after the week's challenge.

This week's challenge was one that wasn't really that interesting. It was basically a giant bowling, with one person in a car trying to make as many barrels as they could fall down. It was funny because of some people (aka Kyle and Nelson) but that was it. I did like the outcome though, with Bananas winning for the guys (and basically winning over everyone since he was the one that knocked out the most barrels) and Kaycee winning for the girls. Well, then for the third person in the Tribunal, Kaycee wanted Fessy, but Bananas talked her out of it saying that Kyle needed it the most otherwise he would be the house vote and he was sure Fessy wouldn't be the house vote so yeah... In the end the Tribunal members were Bananas, Kaycee and Kyle. A good Tribunal, in my opinion. Then, trouble began.

With not many people in the house, and everyone being okay with everyone, the voting became hard and a bit controversial. Right away Bananas, Kyle, Jenny and a few others said that they would vote Rogan in. Knowing that, Nelson told Rogan and that just made the voting easier. He knew that he was outnumbered so Rogan just voted himself in. As for the girls, it was a bit more difficult. The girls basically split the voted between themselves, with each having one vote, and then the guys voted and, because she went behind Rogan's back, a lot of people turned on Jenny and she was the house vote. I must say, I wasn't that worried because I knew what the elimination was going to be and I knew she was going against Dee so... Yeah, I really didn't need to be worried.

Anyway, when it came for the Tribunal to vote, once again, I wasn't really focused on the girls nominations because I knew Dee was going in, but I was curious to see who they were going to nominate for the guys mainly because Bananas made a deal with Fessy saying that he wasn't going to nominate him and... Well, we all know how Bananas is so... But, I was happily surprised to see that he kept his part of the deal and he didn't nominate Fessy. So, there was only Cory and Nelson left and, against Rogan, I really didn't know who would be a better match and who the Tribunal was going to vote in. I was really leaning into Cory, because I feel like he would do better in a Final so they wanted to get rid of him but then, something changed. Nelson went to Kyle and Bananas saying that he wanted to go in because Cory needed the money the most and that was so sweet of Nelson. Really, he might not think before he speaks sometimes but in this last few episodes we have seen that he is a really loyal friend and I appreciate that.

Well, in the end, the Tribunal did vote Dee to go against Jenny, as I already knew, and they did answered Nelson's request and put him in against Rogan so... To anyone saying that Bananas is a snake... Well, he was pretty trustworthy in this episode.

And now it was time for the actual elimination. The girls went in first and OMG what was that?! I mean, I knew Jenny would beat Dee but like that?! She literally carried Dee and... WOW! It truly was one of the best, if not the best, eliminations that I've ever seen! And yes, Jenny won, of course.

The guys round was equally as impressive, but they were better matched. I did not know that Nelson was that strong though! They wrestled for a long time in the middle of that wall thing, in both rounds but, in the end, Rogan won. It might have been the fact that Rogan was a Rugby player before but again, it's just curious that the ones that won were the house votes... Just getting that out there again.

So, with this amazing elimination done... It's time for the final!

That's right, the final is next episode and I keep my prediction - Bananas is going to win this season. Not only because I see everyone that he's going up against (mainly rookies) but also because he has been doing this for a long time and there has been rumors that he's going to become a producer and not compete anymore and what better way to 'end' than as a winner of the latest season?! I'm pretty stuck on that and I can't really see anyone else winning this season, to be honest (and obviously, I'm rooting for him to win).

Anyway, that's it for me this week. I'm so happy with this episode and so stoked for the final! Let me know what you thought of this episode and who do you think is going to win? Next episode isn't going to be the last one, I'm pretty sure, but episode 17 is most likely the end of the final and then episode 18 the reunion.

So, tell me all your thoughts and predictions and I'll see you next week with the final!

Love,

Daniela.

The Challenge: Total Madness | Season 35 Episode 14 - "Your Time Is Gonna Come"

Spoiler Alert!

Hello people!

Back with a new The Challenge rant (feeling so much better than last week, I might add) and with quite a few thoughts so... Let's get into it.

Once again, I was half right. For some odd reason I feel like my predictions are way better than what they actually end up doing in the show (so you MTV if you wanna hire me for the creative department of The Challenge or something, hit me up @danixinhahhh) but it's fine. It's still pretty interesting to see where I was right and where I got way ahead of myself and got way too creative and 'complicated'.

So, this week's episode I feel like went by very quickly (even though it was an hour long) and a lot smoother. We didn't have much drama in the beginning and we jumped right into the week's challenge, which apparently appeared out of nowhere for them, what was really funny to see - everyone's sleep face and going to a challenge in the middle of the night. And well, there wasn't much to the challenge - they just had to put heavy stuff in someone's container and, in the end, those people had to hold their container and who lasted the longest would be in the Tribunal. Pretty straight forward. My prediction was that it would play a part on the red skulls thing or that someone would be automatically eliminated but... No. It was just for the Tribunal and nothing happened to the people who lost.

In the end, Fessy and Jenny were the ones to win (Jenny was an easy win). This created a bit of drama between Fessy and Cory because Fessy promised both Cory and Josh to put them as the third member of the Tribunal if they 'gave up' which was totally wrong of Fessy to do, to promise two people the same thing (we saw how that worked for Nelson) but again, Cory really overreacted and, to be honest, I don't know what was the big deal here - both Josh and Kyle were the ones that didn't have a Red Skull, both wanted to go in so... It was pretty simple to me but, of course, this being The Challenge, they had to create some drama. Anyway, in the end, Jenny decided to go with Josh as the third member of the Tribunal and then, they had to pick two guys and two girls because yes, this was a double elimination week. My prediction was that it was Kyle vs Josh and Dee vs Bayleigh and... I was also half right with that. Kyle did go against Josh (Kyle being the house vote) and Bayleigh also went as the house vote but then... The Tribunal nominated Melissa and Aneesa so... Something was up there. Right away I knew this wasn't going to be the last episode before the final. I know Dee is going in again (in that wall elimination) and I have a few more thoughts and theories when it comes to that but I'll get into them in a minute.

Well, in the end, the Tribunal went with Aneesa to go against Bayleigh which I guess was fine with me. I felt bad for Aneesa though because she never got into a final, but I also didn't want Melissa to go in not just because she just got her Red Skull but also because I feel like I like her a bit more than Aneesa. Still, it was shady of them to put her in just because they don't want to be paired with her in the final-

Anyway so the elimination was a knots one which would be a nightmare for me but I said right away that Kyle and Bayleigh had an advantage, they are smaller and thinner than both Aneesa and Josh so they would do better at going in and out of the car. And guess what?! Yes, both won! I don't know if it was that but my sister has a theory that everyone that goes as the house vote ends up winning and if you really think about it, most of the people that are still there went as the house vote so... I don't know, just something interesting to think about.

Now, to my predictions for next week. As we see in the preview, it's that well elimination so we know that Dee is going in. My theory now is that it's going to be another double elimination. I say that because there's way too many people to run a final. Six guys and five girls. They will most likely be four of each. I'm just torn between the next episode being the one before the final or if there's going to be another episode and then the final. It looks to me that they're stretching this season so... I don't know. I really have no clue on that. The only think I know is that Dee is going in next week and I would love to see her against Jenny in that particular challenge. And if it is a double elimination, I would like to see Rogan against Fessy - that would be a good match in my opinion (obviously I don't want Bananas to go in because I want to see him run and probably win the final - yes, I still think he will win this season).

So, this are my thoughts on this episode and my predictions for the rest of the season.

Let me know your thoughts and predictions and I'll talk to you next week.

Love,

Daniela.