The Challenge: Ride or Dies | Season 38 Episode 12 - "Frenemy of the State"

Spoiler Alert!

Hello people!

Back already with a new The Challenge rant and this episode was actually such aa ride!

I'm going to get straight up to it and say that I'm so happy that Team Moriah finally won a daily challenge! I had a feeling it would happen in this episode, but you never know. And it was actually so good not only game wise but also in terms of morale, as Devin said. Granted, they only won for two seconds but a win is a win and that's all that matters.

Then, all hell broke loose because Team Fessy really wasn't ready to loose and to go into elimination (this week a male elimination). Actually, when it comes to Team Moriah, their decision was pretty easy, and it worked really well for me as well.

All of them wanted to save Chauncey - not that I really wanted to save Chauncey as well, but the truth is, Fessy and Nelson are 'friends' and that left Bananas really 'vulnerable' and an easy target, therefore, Chauncey and Bananas basically teamed up. At the same time, obviously Amber wanted to save her boyfriend and, honestly, it's better for Team Moriah to keep Chauncey because all the others are 'stronger' than him. So, their plan was to save Chauncey and, of course, Nany also wanted to save Bananas so it worked for both of them. That only left Nelson and Fessy to pick as the main vote. It was pretty torn, honestly, and it all pretty much came to Jordan who, initially, wasn't going to but because Tori f*cked up, he voted for Fessy and, in the end, yes Fessy was the direct vote.

Somehow, their plan worked really well - Chauncey took the SAFE dagger in the draw and saved Bananas - so it was Fessy against Nelson once again. And honestly, this time I really thought Nelson had a chance at winning... But unfortunately he didn't... And the worst thing about all this, besides Fessy staying, which is already annoying, is that there's no chance for Nelson to come back because Nurys was eliminated last week so... This still wasn't Nelson's time to win... Still, this was a huge season for Nelson and I started to like him a little bit more.

As far as the next episode goes, there will be some sort of eating challenge so I'm looking forward to that. And since it's an eating challenge, it got me thinking - does Team Moriah has a chance to win again? Well, considering the team members, we know that Jordan is good at those challenges, I think Amber and Devin are fine as well, Nany isn't the best but she has experience and, when it comes to Horacio and Moriah, I have a feeling they might be good (I mean, Horacio looks like he's good at everything so...). And thinking of Team Fessy we obviously know Fessy is awful, Bananas is fine, but from what I remember Aneesa and Tori aren't the best... Kaycee is good as well but we don't really know about Olivia and Chauncey so... Overall, there's a good chance of Team Moriah winning, so let's hope that happens. And that's pretty much it.

Let me know your thoughts on this epsiode - were you happy that Team Moriah won? Or are you Team Fessy? Tell me everything and I'll talk to you in my next rant!

Love,

Daniela.

The Challenge: Ride or Dies | Season 38 Episode 11 - "Nelly: Ride (or Die) Wit Me"

Spoiler Alert!

Hello people and Happy Holidays!

I know I'm late with this rant but you know... Birthdays and Christmas and all sorts of Holidays so... I think you can understand. Either way, I'm finally here to talk to you about this episode and, unfortunately, I did come accross some spoilers so most of the episode wasn't a surprise to me... Still, I had so much fun with the Trivia challenge and that elimination was quite something, so let's get to it!

Now more than ever, I could totally see all the hints at who was going into elimination and who was going home when it came to the beginning of the episode. I knew before hand that Amber and Nurys were going into elimination and they both really were the focus of all the 'drama' in this episode... Them and Toria and Jordan, once again! Actually, before I get into the daily challenge, I need to talk about this whole situation with Toria and Jordan... It's really getting old at this point! I get it... Their relationship was a huge thing and I get that Tori is hurt and all their feelings are valid, but it's getting pretty annoying. And I feel like the producers really are trying to capitilize on this whole situation as much as possible... But enough is enough!

Anyway, now that I got this out of my chest, let's talk about the Trivia challenge!

Trivia is always fun! This time they added something even more exciting with them stuck to spinning wheels, which made for some really interesting shots and a crazy editing - but that worked really well! And when it comes to the actual questions, I liked that they went with mostly questions about Ride or Dies. However, they also added some math and spelling questions and that's not exactly trivia, which isn't fair for how it ended because both teams where tied (Team Moriah was loosing for a long time but they were able to pull through) and then Bananas got a math question and... He got it right. And once again, Team Fessy won... Obviously I already knew this, given that Amber and Nurys were going into elimination their Team had to loose.

Then elimination was a no brainer, honestly and for me there was no anticipation. Their plan worked - they sent in Nurys as the direct vote and they basically made Moriah make a deal with Nany in order to save her and Amber basically had the same deal with Nany so... Team Fessy was trying to save Nany, that was about it. However, Nany wasn't the one to take out the SAFE dagger, but Moriah was, and so their plan worked no matter what.

Now for the exciting elimination - a new version of a Pole Wrestle and given the fact that Amber and Nurys have a similar shape, it was a really ballanced match. And I honestly didn't know who I was rooting for. I feel like Nurys is really strong and I've been liking her this season, but they always underestimade Amber and keep sending her over and over again so I sort of wanted her to win as well. I guess deep down I was rooting for Nurys the most, mainly because she's a rookie and she was the direct vote, so they really didn't want her back, but... Amber ended up wining and I was fine with that as well.

Of course, with the twist that she can still come back into the game if Nelson manages to stay, there's always hope she comes back which, honestly, I think might happen... I still have that feeling that, because Nelson and Nurys are like the main team on the cover for this season that, at least, they will get to the final, therefore, Nelson stays till the end and Nurys will come back. I have that feeling.

But that's pretty much it from me for this episode. Next one will be a water challenge and there will be more Tori/Jordan drama, unfortunately.

Let me know your thoughts on this episode and I hope you had a Merry Christmas!

Love,

Daniela.

The Challenge: Ride or Dies | Season 38 Episode 10 - "Dancing on My Own"

Spoiler Alert!

Hello people!

I'm back with a new The Challenge episode and we are finally figuring out how this whole thing with the teams is playing out. 

I gotta be honest - it wasn't the most exciting thing, starting with the daily challenge, but they threw us a curve ball at the end which I loved! But lets start with the daily challenge.

Going into this episode knowing that it was going to be teams now was pretty exciting! Not only I was super curious to see how things would play out but I also had hope that, even though Moriah's Team looked 'worst', that they could pull out a win and surprise everyone (not me though). Unfortunately, this first challenge as teams was purely based on strenght which, although that is part of The Challenge, we all know it's not just that! Heck, the final is mostly endurance and intellegence which I think Moriah's Team excells at (unlike Fessy's Team which is basically just big people). So, right away, this challenge was rigged. It was pretty obvious that Fessy's Team was going to win, and that was exactly what happened. Some of the matches were interesting and surprising - for example Horacio vs Bananas, in which Horacio won (and I lowkey was rooting for Horacio) and Chauncey vs Jordan which, although Jordan is part of Moriah's Team, I was rooting for Chauncey (I like me some underdogs). And yes, Chauncey did win against Jordan. Apart from that, it was pretty straight forward and obvious and yes, Fessy's Team won. 

Then it was time to find out the new rules of the elimination.

So this week was a Men's elimination (so no more double eliminations from now on) and all four men from Moriah's Team went into Interrogation so Fessy's Team could pick one of them. They're choice was revealed at the actual Elimination, but not as a Team decision. Instead, everyone voted and the player with the most votes went straight into elimination. Of course the only person that has it the worst is the first one to vote because pretty much everyone else after them (in this case it was Fessy) goes with the same vote, and that vote here was Horacio. Obviously, Olivia was the only one that voted differently and went with Kenny. There was a lot of debate on who they should go with - should they go with the easy vote, should they play big and send in someone like Jordan but, obviously, at the end, they went with one of the easiest choices - the rookie that has been winning every single elimination he goes into. And, spoiler alert, he kept on winning. 

But rewinding a bit... So Horacio was Fessy's Team choice and the three remaining went to the draw, in which Devin took the SAFE dagger right away. Again, he sort of had a decision here - save the strongest player and keep the team strong (aka Jordan) or save the weakest player in order to go against him in a possible future elimination (aka Kenny). Devin went with the clear best choice which was the save Jordan. And so, Horacio went against Kenny.

You already know that Horacio won, but it was pretty obvious he was going to win anyway. Kenny was able to catch up to him at the end, but Horacio is just that good and yes, he sent Kenny home. NOT.

That's right, there was a twist - obviously! 

We still don't know all the details, all we know is that Kenny didn't went home and, as long as his Ride or Die (aka Kaycee) stays in the game, he stays as well, and that's pretty much all we know.

My bet is that he's going to a house and every player that gets eliminated goes to that house as well and, if their Ride or Die manages to stay in the game until the end, then it will be revealed that they were still in the game this whole time and the Final will probably be pairs again - the original Ride or Dies. That's just my prediction. Either way, this changes things a lot and I'm super curious to see who's able to stay in the game. Also, I'm happy that Kenny isn't really gone because, just like TJ said, he's a sweetheart and I want to see more of him (plus, it would be super cute to see him and Kaycee in a final). 

Well, that's it for this episode. Next episode is going to be Trivia and I'm so excited for that! Moriah's Team does have a chance in this one and I'm confident they will pull out the W. Besides that, just more drama between Tori, Jordan and Nurys... Honestly, this is getting old but we'll see what this brings... That's it from me.

Let me know your thoughts on this episode - Did you like the twist? Who were you rooting for in the elimination? Tell me everything in the comments and I'll talk to you in my next rant!

Love,

Daniela.

The Challenge: Ride or Dies | Season 38 Episode 9 - "Split Decision"

Spoiler Alert!

Hello everyone!

Back (on time this time) with a new The Challenge rant and there's so much to talk about so let's jump straight to it!

First of all, this episode felt long! Multiple times I was afraid we weren't going to get the 'full' episode, elimination and all, and we didn't have it, if we really think about it, but we had what they promised for this episode. I'm just going to get stright to it - things switched up and now we don't have pairs anymore, now we have Teams! I guess I should have seen that coming because the beginning, when they usually hint at who's winning the daily challenge and who goes into elimination, they focused on all pairs! It was still pretty obvious that Fessy and Moriah were going to win the daily challenge, which was exactly what happened, but they talked about the bond between every single Ride or Die and I should have suspected.

When it comes to the actual daily challenge, this was a mini final, and those are always interesting. I still can't believe that Fessy and Moriah won and that, if they didn't, the win was mostly going to go to Nelson and Nurys again, which is so surprising. It was also really surprising that Bananas and Nany were last when Fessy won... Also on that, they usually let everyone end the challenge but not this time - as soon as Fessy and Moriah crossed the finish line they stopped everyone else... I guess they really didn't care for everyone else because it was all up to the winners - who were going to get a lot of power in the game. I was really afraid that that power was going to be sending someone home straight away and that someone would most likely be Bananas. Thank got it wasn't! It was, as I said, being the Team captains and picking their Teams. Obviously this wasn't going to go that well for Moriah - not only Fessy knows these people best but he's also a snake and, guess what?! Yes, he tried to manipulate Moriah and that was so shady!

This whole Teams thing, although defeating the purpose and the name of this season - Ride or Dies - is somehting really interesting and a twist that we sort of needed. I felt like everyone was getting really comfortable with their ride or dies and this is going to switch things up - a lot!

So, now, for the actual teams... I guess Fessy got his way - that's the team in the banner of this post - and he got the 'most experienced players'. Oh, I completely forgot to mention that the pairs had to split up so the ride or dies couldn't be in the same team, which made everything more difficult. Fessy got to pick first and he picked Kaycee right away, which was fine...Moriah got Kenny and I actually don't mind that. We haven't really seen much from him so he can still surprise everyone. Then, the moment of truth - Moriah had to pick a guy and the whole discussion they had previously in the Interrogation was that Moriah wanted Jordan but she wanted Bananas as well and of course Fessy wouldn't let her have that - she could only have one or the other and, believe it or not, even though she has been hooking up with Bananas, she picked Jordan! People say that's because no one really wanted Aneesa but, honestly, I would pick Aneesa over Jordan... Jordan is too full of himself and Aneesa is more loyal and supportive. And, obviously, I would pick Bananas, no questions asked. 

At the end of the day, the teams turned out like this: Team Fessy - Bananas, Aneesa, Olivia, Kaycee, Nelson, Tori and Chauncey; Team Moriah - Nany, Jordan, Horacio, Kenny, Nurys, Devin and Amber.

In my opinion, even though it looks like Fessy has the better team, they are all 'big dogs' which means they could have some communication problems, and because of that, I think Moriah's team is better and I am obviously rooting for her team. The only person that I like that's on Fessy's Team is Bananas, apart from that, I like Horacio, Nurys, Devin and Amber. If I had to make a team, I would basically pick almost all of Moriah's picks - Horacio, Kenny, Nurys, Devin and Amber - I would just switch Nany and Jordan - I would rather have Bananas and Aneesa - that would be a stacked team with a bit of everything. Still, Team Moriah all the way!

So, this episode had a lot happening so I'm curious to know all your thoughts on it. Do you like the switch from pairs to teams? Which Team are you rooting for? If you had to make a team, who would you pick for your team? Let me know everything and I'll talk to you in my next rant!

Love,

Daniela. 

The Challenge: Ride or Dies | Season 38 Episode 8 - "Born to Ride or Die"

Spoiler Alert!

Hello yall!

I know, I know... late once again. I can't really do much about it. Life has been crazy and I do what I can. But let's not waist any time and get into this 'awful' episode.

Honestly, this episode left me really mad. Mainly because of the ending, but even the daily challenge annoyed me a little bit... So let's talk about that.

The daily challenge looked really good in the trailer. Well, it was indeed challenging for the guys. This really felt like a one-sided challenge and one to make certain teams win. All the girls had to do was sit on top of a car... While the guys had all the work and had to jump on top of moving cars. It did look bad-ass and super cool, but it's all up to the guys, if we're being honest, and in this case, the teams didn't really matter, in my opinion. With saying that, I was happy that all my favourite teams (or should I say my favourite guys) did pretty well, with Jay and Michele being one of the best ones. Unfortunately, Jordan and Aneesa did it faster and so they were the winning team.

With everything that happened, the deliberation was pretty simple - Jay/Michele, Nelson/Nurys, Fessy/Moriah and Olivia/Horacio (the later being the hardest for them to vote in but they couldn't really pick anyone else - it was an easy vote). 

Well, needless to say that they picked Jay and Michele and the direct to elimination, right?! Which I understood, that wasn't the problem... The problem was what happened next (but let's talk about the draw first).

The draw was another intense moment, with the possibility of Nelson having to choose between his girlfriend and his friend (Fessy). Obviously, that was exactly what ended up happening, and it was indeed an intense moment. And once again, Nelson just showed how bad he is at playing the actual game, because he decided to save Fessy, which is so damn dumb! Not only they had all that history of fighting and trying to be friends again but, overall, Fessy is more of a threat to him, in my opinion. Also, I just thought Fessy was easier for Jay to go against and beat him... 

Anyway... So Olivia and Horacio go into elimination once again, and this is where things get pretty bad and I get so angry at the whole thing.

Obviously the whole house (except for Devin, props to him) wanted Jay gone and Olivia to stay, so they all helped Olivia and Horacio. I mean, they didn't exactly help them, more like kept Jay and Michele from winning because this elimination was all about comunication and, because everyone was shouting, Jay and Michele couldn't hear each other, and that just made me so mad! I never liked the fact that people watching could help who was in the elimination... People say 'it's part of the game' but these eliminations should be about the players that go into elimination, to actually show how good they are and if people keep helping (or distracting) them, you can't really say they 'earn their stay in the game' as they say and this elimination just solidified my hate for this whole thing. Also, that's why I prefer physical challenges - because who's watching can't really help so...

As you can tell, Jay and Michele did loose and I was so sad and so mad at this whole thing... Jay was the one that I wanted to win the most... And, although Bananas has always been my favourite, I kind of agree that I would like to see someone else (aka Jay) win... So, because Jay can't win anymore, I guess I hope now Devin or actually Olivia and Horacio win the whole challenge. I know they sent Jay and Michele home, but it wasn't exactly 'their fault' and they have always played an honest game so either team I would love to win. I mean, if Bananas ends up winning (which I highly believe he will) I will be happy as well, but I have to be honest and say that he sort of pissed me off in this episode (him and Jordan).

So, these are my thoughts on the latest Challenge episode. I know there's one coming out tomorrow and I hope I review it either tomorrow or today but we'll see. In the meantime, let me know your thoughts on this episode and tell me, who are you rooting for? Let me know everything in the comments and I'll see you, hopefully, tomorrow.

Love,

Daniela.

The Challenge: Ride or Dies | Season 38 Episode 7 - "Deep Web"

Spoiler Alert!

Hello people!

I'm sorry I'm late with this episode. But I'm here now, so let's get to it.

Last week's episode wasn't the most exciting one. I mean, there was a lot of drama and I was kind of mad at the fact that all my favourite teams aren't exactly working with eachother. Right now I'm rooting for Jay, Bananas and Devin and, honestly, all of them have been pretty problematic, mainly in this episode.

It actually started with all of this - who was working with whom, people not trusting Amber, Jay worried about Jordan, Devin making deals with everyone... And that was the main issue.

I'm going straight to it and say that, believe it or not, Nelson won another daily. And that's when this whole mess starts.

Remember the Vets all working together? Well, it seems like the "new" Vets are tired of the same people winning the gam and so they form another alience. Devin, Jay and Nelson decide to team up and target the Champs, but the thing is, no one really trusts one another in this alience. Also, as I mentioned, Devin promised a lot of things it seems, and it started to backfire.

Nelson and Nurys decided to nominate Bananas/Nany, Jordan/Aneesa, Darrell/Veronica and Amber/Chauncey - the later was the main issue, because Amber thought they were working together. Well, they sort of were and Nelson had a good plan to save Darrell (that's why they nominated Amber) but... Of course things didn't work as planned.

A lot of shade started to be thrown, mainly at Amber. However, Amber was just stating facts - that somehow Devin has avoided nominations all this time, and that started to be suspicious.

Well, as much as I "sort of" like Devin now, I really didn't agree with what he was doing, as well as what he did then, when he realized people were starting to question him and he basically started to gaslight Michele. And honestly, out of all my faves, I would rather see Jay win, just because I feel like he's the most honest and straightforward with his gameplay.

Anyway... Of course things didn't go as planned, as I said... Nelson chose Amber and Chauncey instead and, lucky or not, Nany and Bananas took the SAFE dagger and they saved Jordan and Aneesa, sending Darrell and Veronica against Amber.

The elimination itself wasn't as exciting either, and I wasn't necessarily rooting for one in particular. I do prefer Darrell, but Amber has never done anything wrong and, for some reason, people just keep going after her. That's why, when she won, I wasn't super sad. Yes, I wanted Darrell to win, but Amber winning is fine as well.

And that's basically it. Nothing more happened, but it looks like the next episode will feature a pretty good daily challenge (and more drama, of course) so let's see...

Let me know your thoughts on this whole drama - who are you siding with? Do you agree with Devin's gameplay? Tell me everything and I'll see you in my next rant.

Love,

Daniela.

The Challenge: Ride or Dies | Season 38 Episode 6 - "Come Michele or High Water"

Spoiler Alert!

Hey guys!

What an interesting and exciting new episode!

Honestly, this was a redo of last week's episode - a much better one, to be fair.

Something odd that happened in this episode was the amount of "drama" they started the episode with. I get it, with everything that ended up happening, they had to set up everything really well, but it sort of took a bit too much time. The good thing is that, once it got into the daily challenge, it was non-stop of what we love about The Challenge - daily, deliberation, nominations and elimination.

The actual daily challenge wasn't that interesting, honestly. What was interesting was how things developed. Heat 1 was super intense with all my favourite teams competing in that one. Needless to say that I was rooting for Bananas and Nany (mostly because I just had a feeling they were going into elimination), but I was rooting for Jay and Michele as well because of everything that happened last week. It's crazy because Jay and Michele were one of the last teams to get to the puzzle and, somehow, they won heat 1!

I was happy indeed! And as far as Heat 2 goes, Olivia and Horacio won that one, which was also nice.

Ultimately, I wanted Jay and Michele to win and, guess what?! They did win, which was good and bad for them. Good because, obviously, they were safe, but bad because, if everyone was already pissed at them, they were about to make even more people angry.

This time around, however, I feel like they made the right choices (I feel like I should also mention that Jay made most of the decisions this time, which was something that people criticized last time - how bad at decisions Michele is).

Well, this time they decided to, indeed, make some big moves and I personally agree with the people they chose. Laurel and Jakk were an obvious choice - they were already pissed at them; Bananas and Nany were kind of obvious as well because they got so much backlash last time for not putting them in; then, Jordan and Aneesa were sort of obvious as well - they picked them last time so no need to make anyone else angry and plus, they are indeed a strong team; lastly, the not so obvious choice, Kaycee and Kenny, but I actually agree with Jay and Michele's thought on this one - their goal was to send Laurel home and, in order to give Nany and Bananas a better chance at being saved, Kenny and Kaycee were the better choice (also, they are a strong team as well, so if they went in and went home, nothing was lost).

Well, obviously, with these choices, they did make a lot of people angry - mostly the vets - which is ironic and sort of hypocrite of them to be angry at Jay and Michele for making big moves and sending into possible eliminations strong (vet) teams.

Things did change a little bit last minute, however.

As I said, their plan was to send in Laurel and Jakk right away - easier. But, Jordan f*cked things up in the interrogation, calling Jay weak and whatnot and, honestly, they had it coming.

Yes, Jay and Michele decided to throw Jordan and Aneesa right away which wasn't exactly a bad move, honestly. Even more when, at firt try, Nany and Bananas take out the SAFE dagger and, obviously, they saved Kaycee and Kenny - therefore sending Laurel and Jakk against Jordan and Aneesa - two strong teams. And even though Jay sent in Jordan, I gotta be honest, I was rooting for Jordan and Aneesa to win. I just never liked Laurel and she was really getting on my nerves these past episodes. Jordan is also sort of annoying but I think he got better over time. Also, we just have to be real - he is an amazing competitor and he truly deserves to be there.

I guess I got what I wanted because Laurel and Jakk went home. This isn't the best case scenario for Jay and Michele because now Jordan is pissed and Tori is pissed as well and Nany and Kaycee are pissed so... A lot of teams are against them, which makes it even more fun to be rooting for Jay and Michele!

In terms of next week, I have no idea what's going to happen because the promo was really vague. However, one thing is for sure - Devin and Tori don't win the daily challenge, because they were talking about something to do with being saved or something... Can't remember exactly but that's what I got from it.

But that's it for this week.

Overall really enjoyed this episode and I would love for Jay and Michele to keep winning daylies so no one could touch them (also would love to see them win, but I'm pretty sure Bananas and Nany are going to win this season).

Anyway, let me know your thoughts and I'll talk to you on my next rant!

Love,

Daniela.

The Challenge: Ride or Dies | Season 38 Episode 5 - "Get Rich or Ride or Die Tryin'"

Spoiler Alert!

Hello people!

I know - AHS. Well, that will have to wait for a little longer, honestly. I'm already a few episodes behind and I'm not sure when I'm going to be able to watch them so I'm focusing on The Challenge right now, so let's get to it.

This episode was a whole mess! Not in terms of production or editing - just the choices that were made.

They really tried to foreshadow a lot of the things that ended up happening, with that party in the beginning of the episode, which was actually nice! Loved the songs they used in this episode, they were epic! Not only that but I enjoyed the whole first part of the episode. Actually, I liked the whole episode, it just didn't end the way I wanted it to end.

As I mentioned, they really foreshadowed most of the episode, starting with Jay and Michele winning the daily challenge, which I'm not mad about. I really like Jay and I think he's so underrated! Unfortunately, he keeps getting paired with rubbish people and I feel like they just slow him down. Not literally, not in terms of challenges because, clearly, if they won, it's because both of them were great, but more in the political side of the game. 

After they win it's time to pick four teams to maybe go into elimination, and they do a really bad job with that! Not only they throw in one of Jay's best friend's in the game - Jakk - but they also don't put in Bananas and Nany. I'm fine with them not putting Bananas, because I obviously want him to win, but it was just not a smart choice to do that. Instead, they put in for possible elimination Darrell/Veronica, Jordan/Aneesa, Colleen/Kim, Jakk/Laurel. Basically all bad choices and it was clear that they f*cked up.

Needless to say that everything after that was a mess. Everyone was angry with them and they didn't even make that much of a power move. On top of that, they chose to go straight into elimination Jakk and Laurel which, considering everything, I thought it was the smartest choice - they were already p*ssed at them no matter what, so might as well just try to send them home. Well, but that also backfired.

When it comes to the Draw, Darrell and Veronica pulled out the SAFE dagger and again, they tried to trick us into believing that they would save Colleen and Kim but no... They saved Jordan and Aneesa and so Colleen and Kim went into elimination once again. And, as if things couldn't get any worse, Laurel and Jakk won the elimination, sending Colleen and Kim home, which were a Team that I was really starting to like, but also they went back into the house and now they're going after Jay and Michele. Not just them but everyone really, which is a shame...

Anyway... Jay and Michele did really mess up with their picks and so I guess it was fair for everything to backfire. I wish they had made smarter choices, but it is what it is.

I didn't get much from the preview, when it comes to the next episode, but it looks like there will be some drama between Bananas and Nany in the daily challenge, so let's see what's that about, but I guess that's pretty much it.

Let me know your thoughts on this episode - who do you think Jay should have picked? Tell me in the comments and I'll see you in my next rant!

Love,

Daniela.

The Challenge: Ride or Dies | Season 38 Episode 4 - "O'liv'n on the Edge"

Spoiler Alert!

Hello people!

Back with a new The Challenge rant! (I know I still have a few American Horror Story ones to rant, I'm sorry for the delay).

Although this wasn't an epic episode, it was still a pretty exciting one and I'm still pretty happy with the direction this season is taking.

We start this episode with the not so surprising entrance into the game of Darrell and Veronic, which was way more anticlimatic than any of the other teams that came before them. I don't know if it's because it's already kind of late in the game or if it's because they aren't just as epic as Bananas or Jordan but I just felt like the shock wasn't as big with Darrell and Veronica. So much so that, spoiler alert, they are one of the teams to possibly go into elimination. I know it was all a plan, and I'll get to that, but still... I think that says a lot about how everyone else sees them in the game.

Getting into the actual daily challenge, this was an exciting one - and also one that was pretty hard to accomplish. Only two teams were able to finish it properly and those two were Jordan/Aneesa and Nelson/Nurys. And guess what?! Nelson finally won a daily challenge! I felt like they foreshadowed it so much during this season that it was about time this happened.

Post that, it was up to Nelson and Nurys to pick four teams to possibly go into elimination - and Olivia came up with the perfect plan! Not only Nelson didn't get any blood in his hands but also they tricked everyone into thinking that he was ruthless, by putting Olivia /Horacio for possible elimination.

But it was pretty obvious that it was Tommy and Analyse to go straight into elimination and, against them, that's when Olivia's plan came into play. Olivia and Horacio basically made a deal with Veronica and Darrell to save each other and Nelson asked Colleen and Kim to save Olivia. However, everything worked even better when Olivia and Horacio pulled the Safe  dagger and so they didn't have to rely on anyone else. And they did kept their word and saved Darrell and Veronica and everything worked out well.

As far as the elimination goes... It was sort of simple - Kim and Colleen won easy because Tommy couldn't pull Analyse in order for her to do her part of the elimination. It was actually pretty sad to see Tommy try and try again and just not being able to do it. Plus, seeing him cry at the end... Really heartbreaking - like TJ said, that's when you know that meant so much to that person.

Well, that's basically it for this epsiode, to be honest. It looks like there won't be any more new teams added to the season so now things will start to really get complicated and it looks like the next episode is going to create some drama so... Let's see what happens. We didn't get much from the preview so I don't really have predictions. But let me know yours as well as your thoughts on this episode and I'll talk to you in my next rant!

Love,

Daniela.

The Challenge: Ride or Dies | Season 38 Episode 3 - "A Bumpy Ride"

Spoiler Alert!

Hello people!

Back with a new episode of The Challenge and... Fessy is back. 

That's right, we weren't able to have that many episodes with Fessy going under the radar. And in this episode he was actually the main event. Not only they had a little story of how he wants to go by his first name Faysal, to shed light on his culture and what his name really means (a foreshadowing of how the episode would go), which I completely understand, although I will probably keep calling him Fessy, but yes... He was the winner of this week's challenge. I really wanted things to go down another path but... No luck this time.

This season I'm facing something that has never happened to me - I pretty much like everyone. I like most of the rookies this season, and I do have a soft spot for the rookies, but Bananas is part of the Vets and there's actually a few Vets in this season that I love, so it was hard for me to side with someone in this episode.

I've talked about the daily challenge, which Fessy and Moriah won, but two rookies were so good in this challenge - Ravyn/Johnny and Horacio/Olivia. Clearly the rookies are stepping up this season and that's why Fessy and Moriah decided to pick all rookie teams to maybe go into elimination - picking Ravyn/Johnny (the second best of the daily challenge) to go straight into elimination. And then it was time for the draw.

Something really dumb happened the night before with Tommy and Analyse. I actually like them but they really weren't smart about their game - they went to both Olivia/Horacio and Colleen/Kim and made a deal with them, saying that if they picked the Safe dagger, they would save them. Guess what?! They did pick the Safe dagger and they had to choose someone to go against Ravyn/Johnny. Just that was not smart at all, but what they did next was even worse.

The elimination was clearly a Double Hall Brawl so you would think Johnny and Ravyn would do pretty well and, because of that, you should pick Colleen and Kim - that way Johnny and Ravyn would stay, be a number on the Rookie Alliance (a team that does perform really well and wins challenges) and send home the team that they basically scr*w over. But no... They picked Olivia and Horacio to go into elimination and the worst case scenario (for Tommy and Analyse) happened - Oliva and Horacio won. To me, it was the best because I do prefer them over Ravyn and Johnny, but for Tommy and Analyse it wasn't. Now the team they scr*w stayed and they sent home a strong rookie team... Really not smart.

That was pretty much it in terms of game. I guess the only other thing I need to mention is Jordan and Aneesa getting into the game. It was major for everyone, yes, but it was even major for Tori, and her conversation with Jordan was actually really powerful. I never really liked Jordan but since him and Tori got together (and now broken up) I can see he has changed... It must have been really difficult for Tori to have Jordan come into the game without her knowing (because he knew she was there) and having that talk... It really was a powerful moment and I had to talk about it.

Of course, this episode ended with another hint at another (and I think last) new team to come into the game. I don't know why they kept it a surprise because we all know it's Darrell and Veronica so... Really unecessary, but I guess not everyone is up to date with the cast (in that case, sorry for the spoiler, but it is in their Instagram so...).

But I guess that's it from me. Not as eventful as the last episode but I'm still excited for the next ones. Next episode is a heights challenge so that's going to be fun. Let's see what happens! Also let me know your thoughts on this episode as well as predictions for future episodes - do you already have a feeling of who might win this season? Tell me in the comments but please, if you do know spoilers of who wins, don't share it because I do not want to know - predictions only, please! I'll see you in my next rant!

Love,

Daniela.

American Horror Story: NYC | Season 11 Episode 2 - "Thank You for Your Service"

Spoiler Alert!

Hello!

As promised, here I am with episode 2 of American Horror Story: NYC. Unfortunately, there's not much to talk about this episode.

I sort of predicted this but, to me, this episode wasn't as interesting as the previous one. Some things happen but, in my opinion, nothing to really further the plot.

We sort of find out who kidnapped Gino, who's then freed because of his Marine tattoo, we see a bit more of Dr. Wells involvement in all of this (this whole thing is probably about AIDS) and we see the police not really doing much about what is happening.

Honestly, this episode was kind of messy with a lot of things thrown that aren't really that well explained (which I assume is because they have to build things up) but it just felt like messy writting.

The last interesting thing that happened was, while out in a bar, Gino and Patrick basically witness the killer stabing a man in the neck and, later on, the police discovering body parts in an alleyway strung up on meat hooks.

There's already a bunch of ideas being thrown around, one of them being the fact that Big Daddy might be a ghost, which I could see happen, after all, this is American Horror Story, as well as the possibility of there being two killers, which I also believe.

Ultimately, if this is about AIDS and the conspiracy of how the government maybe created the virus, I don't see why there's multiple killers but... we never know... 

That's it from me, to be honest. As I said, not much happened in this episode but I'm curious to see where this leads...

Let me know what you think is happening - do you think there's multiple killers? or is this just about AIDS? Tell me everything in the comments and I'll talk to you later with new rants!

Love,

Daniela.

American Horror Story: NYC | Season 11 Episode 1 - "Something's Coming"

Spoiler Alert!

Hello people!

American Horror Story is back and, of course, I'm back to talk about it.

Reviewing AHS is an interesting task... You never really know what you're going to get each season and, for the past years, people just started loosing faith in the show (it's actually so surprising how this keeps being renewed! I guess people just keep watching it.) and that's sort of what happened to me.

In past seasons I was sort of excited about the themes. I was still afraid that they would mess things up, which they usually did with their last episodes, but for the first time, I was just not feeling this season - which I guess was a good thing. For the first time they didn't do that thing of hinting at the theme and giving little trailers for people to guess... They did ask people what they wanted to see but nothing really came out of that (unless that was just them really asking for ideas for future seasons, who knows). Instead, they just dropped the theme and title suddenly and nothing else. They gave us some character posters but, truth be told, NYC is not exactly a very clarifying theme, so I really didn't know what to expect from this season.

As I said, not knowing and having low expectations was sort of nice. Not that I'm saying this season looks amazing, because it doesn't, but at least it's a change of pace - literally. 

This season is all about a serial killer targeting gay men and, because of that, we sort of have a crime thriller mystery instead of a full on horror show about ghosts, or spirits, or demons. It's something more subtle, which I enjoyed.

However, obviously there's some thing that are just repetitive and just annoying. I like that Ryan Murphy is staying true to himself and having a story focused on the gay community but most of his shows are just overly sexualized and not that it bothers me, it's just that it's the same thing over and over again in all of his shows. If it wasn't for the slow thriller aspect of this season (at least, the vibe I'm getting for this first episode) this would just be your typical Ryan Murphy show - because yes, even his other shows that aren't AHS are like this.

Anyway, so we follow a bunch of characters that are part of the gay community and that one way or another are 'connected' to this serial killer - there's the police officer, the reporter, the photographer that is somewhat a psychic as well... There's a lot of cliché characters, now that I think about it, but they are well stablished in this first episode and the story seems coherent (as of now) so let's see where this leads.

At the same time, there's another story that doesn't really look connected to this serial killer one - it's the plot revolving around Billie Lourd's character, Dr. Hannah Wells, who's doing some research on a virus and commands her team to shoot and kill a herd of deer on Fire Island in order to contain this virus. I can see where this might be connected to the main plot (sort of a metaphor for being gay being a virus and someone out there killing all these men) but I hope I'm wrong and they do something different with this. Let's see...

But I guess that's it from me for this first episode. I'm going to watch the second one right away so expect a new rant pretty soon. In the meantime, let me know your thoughts on this new season and I'll talk to you really soon!

Love,

Daniela.

The Challenge: Ride or Dies | Season 38 Episode 2 - "Friend or Faux"

Spoiler Alert!

Hello everybody!

Back with a brand new The Challenge rant and what a ride (pun intended)! I don't know if I'm just being really biased but this season is already looking amazing! And it feels like it will have a lot more to offer so I'm excited for the next episodes! Well, needless to say that this episode was really exciting as well!

We started of with a proper introduction to Bananas and Nany (not that they really needed one) and, at the same time, they hinted us at some of the things that were to come. We saw a little of Devin and Tori, a lot of Turbo and bits here and there of Jay, Michelle and some of the other rookies.

Moving on to the daily challenge, we are hit right away with some news - Emmy decided to leave the game, therefore Nam was 'eliminated' as well. That really was a bummer because we all wanted to see more of Nam and it looks like he just can't catch a break! Every single time he comes into The Challenge, he leaves because of his partners... The Challenge really isn't his game.

After that, we see the actual challenge and we start with a bang! Horacio and Olivia are first and they smash it! Then, everyone else after them completely fails, including Turbo, who talked a big game and then... Nothing. There was a montage of everyone that wasn't able to finish the challenge until it was time for Tori and Devin, who obviously were able to. Lastly, it was time for Banany which, even though I'm not a big fan of Nany, it's obviously the team I'm rooting for. Also, obviously they finished the challenge. But, that wasn't the end of it. TJ surprised everyone, once again, and brought a new/old team back - Kaycee and Kenny. Because Nam and Emmy left and I guess Kaycee and Kenny were still around (because the only reason they left was because they tested positive for Covid) they came back. And they also were able to finish the daily challenge. And it actually looked like they were the fasted ones to do it, luckily they weren't - Bananas and Nany were the winners, showing everyone why Bananas is the ultimate champion of The Challenge! 

As we should have been expecting from giving Bananas the power, the started stiring the pot right away - but in a smart way, not just to create waves. He saw how the elimination plays out (with the daggers and all that) and his plan was to send in teams that were friends and were working together, that way that would should people where everyone stands and maybe break some alliances. However, one team just had to be put in even though they weren't really part of any alliance - Turbo and Tamara.

Turbo really pissed me off in this episode and he just had it coming. The only person (besides Tamara) that he was friends with in the game was Nany and he also attacked when she genuinely just wanted to talk to him. Obviously he was chosen and everyone knew he would be the one to go straight into elimination. I sort of felt bad for Tamara because she looked like a good person, but she was partnered with Turbo so... The other teams to possibly go into elimination were Jay/Michele, Johnny/Ravyn and Olivia/Horacio. All of them were picked for a reason and, although all of them were a bit mad that they were picked, I feel like everyone knew why. But ultimately, what Bananas wanted was to break that rookie alliance - which he sort of acomplished.

When it got to the actual elimination, obviously Turbo and Tamara were the ones that Nany and Bananas picked and then Jay and Michele got the SAFE dagger, which was the best came scenario for me, to be honest. I'm kind of sad that Jay is not on Bananas side (because, believe it or not, Bananas and Devin are now working together and that makes me happy) but at least he was safe straight away - now he just had to pick who else to save, which was sort of easy, in my opinion - just pick your actual friend, which was what he ended up doing, sending Horacio and Olivia into elimination.

The elimination was pretty simple though - a straight up Memory Game. On top of that, no one wanted Turbo back in the house so, because of that, everyone helped Olivia and Horacio and, needless to say, they won and everyone got what they wanted! Bananas won the first daily challenge he was in, Bananas and Devin are working together, Jay was safe right away and Turbon went home - I couldn't be happier with how everything worked in this episode!

Lastly, they had to end with a bang! They hinted in the beginning of the episode when Tori was talking about her break up with Jordan and... Yes, Jordan showed up right at the end of the episode - alone. We know that he's partnered with Aneesa, which is going to be even more chaotic, having in mind that Aneesa is best friend's with Tori and Jordan is Tori's ex so... It's going to be interesting. Still, him showing up was quite something already and I can't wait for the next episode!

I have a feeling that Bananas will be able to win this season again (also, he's with Nany and I think they're setting up Nany as this season's winner, with everything about her mum) cause he doesn't have a lot of enemies. But overall, I'm digging the season and I like a lot of people (which doesn't happen often) so... Let's see. Let me know what you thought of this episode and what are your predictions and I'll see you in the next one!

Love,

Daniela.

The Challenge: Ride or Dies | Season 38 Episode 1 - "Don't Die for Me, Argentina"

Spoiler Alert!

Hello people!

Back for a new main season of The Challenge and I gotta say, I'm pretty stoked about this one!

There's a lot of familiar faces, which is nice, but at the same time, a lot of those people I'm not a huge fan of so... There's that. What really gets me excited about this season (and I'm going to start with the end) is that Bananas is back! He has been away from The Challenge for the past 2 seasons (not counting the special ones such as USA and All Stars) and I've missed him. You don't know how happy I was when I saw him and Nany get into The Zone after the elimination! It was amazing! And that's going to shake things up for sure!

But let's talk about some of the teams and the actual challenges.

So, there's a lot of new players, which I liked most of them - Analyse & Tommy look pretty strong, Colleen and Kim seem fun and, obviously, Johnny and Ravyn won the daily challenge which not only lets us know that they are a pretty good team, but also turns the tables and, for once, the Vets are not in control - a rookie/rookie pair won and, obviously, they are going to save the rookies and target the vets. However, there's a twist, of course.

As I said, Johnny and Ravyn won and so they're safe from elimination and will choose 4 teams to interrogate. From those 4 teams they pick one to go straight into elimination, which is only revealed at the actual elimination. In this case the teams that they picked were Kailah & Sam, Colleen & Kim, Jakk & Laurel, Devin & Tori. And their pick to go straight into elimination was Kailah and Sam, which would be my pick as well. Then, comes the twist!

The other teams are not safe yet and have to go to a Draw, where they take some daggers from a stone and, initially, the first two teams (Jakk & Laurel, Tori & Devin) take out a dagger that doesn't say anything which they assume means they're safe. Well, that's until Colleen and Kim take out their dagger and theirs have written on it SAFE which means they are the ones safe and then, of course, TJ comes with another twist - Colleen & Kim (aka the ones that are safe) pick another team to save and which one goes into elimination against, in this case, Kailah and Sam. Well, they ended up saving Jakk & Laurel and sending into elimination Tori & Devin which not only isn't what I wanted but I don't think I would do that either because Jakk talked a lot of sh*t about Colleen in this episode and, I know she doesn't know, but she still saved him so... Curious, but okay...

And so, the elimination was Kailah & Sam against Tori & Devin - needless to say that I was obviously rooting for Tori and Devin. And actually, Tori and Devin smashed Kailah and Sam... I was actually curious to see more of Sam, to be honest, but I just don't like Kailah so... I'm fine with how this turned out.

After that, the big moment - Bananas and Nany come into the game! What's even more fun about all of this is that they're not the only ones to arrive 'late' in the game - we know Jordan & Aneesa will come as well as Darrell & Veronic so that's going to be fun! Oh, and I completely forgot to mention and Kaycee and Kenny (her brother) had to leave the game just before the daily challenge and, because of that, they brought in Nam and Emmy (a friend of his) which is better, in my opinion. 

I guess that's pretty much it for this first episode! I'm pretty stoked to see what happens in the next episodes, mainly because I know Bananas will stir the pot (I'm curious about the dynamic between him and Devin because they weren't a fan of each other in the past but since then I've started liking Devin so... let's see how this plays out). 

Anyway, let me know your thoughts and predictions for this new season and I'll talk to you in the next episode!

Love,

Daniela.

The Challenge: USA | Season 1 Episode 11 - "Home Of The Brave"

Spoiler Alert!

Hello people!

So here I am for the final episode of The Challenge: USA, and what an episode this was! I was sort of afraid that, because they were putting everything in just one big episode (the final daily challenge, final elimination and actual final) that it wouldn't be as exciting or it would be kind of messy. Well, it actually pretty great and had so many things and twists that I was not expecting!

Let's get the first part of the episode out of the way and talk about the first thing that I wasn't expecting!

First of all, this last daily challenge was an overnight one, which doesn't happen that often on the challenge. They usually have an overnight bit in the actual final, but not an overnight daily challenge - and certainly not one this close to the final. In a way, I thought it was perfect that they did this so close to the final because it was the perfect tast of the final. Besides that, it was also super surprising the outcome of it all. Tyson and Domenick tied for first place and, because there wasn't a tie breaker, they ended up both winning, alongside Sarah - this last bit really not what I wanted... And on top of that, Angela lost and went straight into elimination. Again, not what I wanted...

When it comes to the nominations, we knew this would be between Alyssa and someone from Sarah's alliance - it was Cayla. Tyson picked Cayla, Sarah picked Alyssa and Domenick ended up being the tie breaker and he went with Alyssa. I actually thought it would go Angela's way (aka not Alyssa) but it kind of worked in her favor because this elimination was a Pole Wrestle and, let's be honest - Alyssa was the easiest to beat, which was exactly what happened.

Moving on to the actual final, as soon as they got the place where the final would happen, Ben was imediatly disqualified because of a medical injury, which was so unfortunate! As you knew, he was my favourite to win and have him go home right away, without even starting the final... It was really sad.

Then, not even 30 minutes into the first leg of the final, Enzo quits... And because he was paired with Desi, Desi was disqualified as well, which was awful! I felt so bad for Desi and I felt so mad at Enzo - this is why all the girls wanted to send him home. I admit, I was rooting for him last episode, but after this... I really regret it, honestly! I'm sure David would've done better - at least, in this first part of the final.

But let's move to some nice things. I was so surprised to see Danny win multiple of the legs and, for a long time, he was ahead in terms of points. Tyson ended up almost catching to him but Danny did great most of the time and I so surprised with that! Then, we get to the overnight part of the final and things take another turn!

I kind of forgot to mention but, because Ben was DQed, one girl had to be alone each leg of the final. In this overnight bit it was Angela. The challenge basically was to carry a bunch of dirt and one person would do that while the other would sleep, and then they would switch. Well, because Angela was alone, she couldn't switch. With that in mind, she decided that she would take the least amount of points and just went to sleep. In the moment I kind of thought that was a nice strategy, but then I started thinking and, the thing is - she didn't sleep a bit and kept moving dirt, no. She just basically 'gave up', and that ended up biting her in the ass. The next morning, when TJ arrived, he told Angela that she basically quit and so, she was DQed. That was another surprising moment but I guess it makes sense. I was just kind of bummed because I also sort of wanted her to win.

Well, like there wasn't enough people out of the game, when it got the the individual bit and they had to actually climb the mountain (and do some puzzles as well) things got pretty grim and Tyson, Domenick, Justine and Cayla quit! I was shocked honestly! Mainly with Tyson because he was so head and he talked such a big game and then... He just quit. I was also surprised with Cayla because, as soon as she got to the Sudoku, she got really excited because she was good at it, but I guess the cold was just too much and she wasn't able to do it... Everything about this final really was so shocking to me! Either the final was really hard, or these people just weren't prepared for a final.

In the end, Danny and Sarah were the only one to actually finish the final. therefore The Winners! Danny winning was great, actually! I never really thought he was going to be the one winning (I always thought it was going to be Tyson, honestly) but I was super happy with that! The same can't be said with Sarah winning. I just don't like her... So I'm not going to say anything else.

So I guess that's it from me. Overall, I'm pretty happy with this season and with this final and I can't wait to see all the other versions of this from all the other countries! Plus, Season 38 of the main show is coming back in October so... A lot more rants are coming so, stay tuned!

Let me know what you thought of this final, the winners and the season overall and I'll talk to you very soon!

Love,

Daniela.