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.

The Challenge: USA | Season 1 Episode 10 - "Pleadges of Allegiance"

Spoiler Alert!

Hello people!

I know I'm super late with this rant but I had such a busy week last week that it was completely impossible for me to watch the episode. But I'm here now so let's get to it.

This is the last episode before the final so it was a little bit surprising the fact that this was just a normal male elimination week. I really thought it would be either a male and female one or they would do a Purge - which they haven't done in this season yet. But I was wrong.

The daily challenge was an interesting one. It looked fairly easy but, somehow, only one person could finish it. It was sort of hard to strategize for this one, I'll give them that. But ultimately, the winners used the best approach (which was also my first thought when I tried to think what would I do myself) - just put the initial pins in the bottom, for the feet and then go from there. And so, the only one to finish was Angela and the guy that got the fardest was Ben - a nice pairing. I also gotta say that this solidified Angela as a great competitor, for me. Up until now I really thought she just got lucky in that first challenge and then people made a huge deal about her, but she has won a few daily challenges and this one was just amazing what she did so... I'm on board with her winning the game (for the girls).

Anyway, moving on to the nominations... The guy that got last place was David, so he went straight into elimination, and Ben and Angela's choice was pretty obvious - Enzo. He's the only one (apart from David) not in their group. However, Ben is good friends with Enzo so he didn't want to send him. Well, ultimately, it was the right choice, so Enzo it was. That didn't mean I wasn't rooting for him though... 

And as far as the elimination goes, it was kind of a hard one and it went for 5 rounds and it was visible that they were so gassed out. It was tied for a long time but Enzo got it in the last round and yeah, he won! That's not the best case scenario for Ben and Angela, but it was what I wanted so... I'm happy with everything that happened in this episode.

The next one, as I said, is the final but there's also a female elimination so... I don't know how that's going to work but I'm curious. I hope Sarah goes home and I hope Angela and Ben win the whole thing. I wouldn't mind Tyson either, but I think I prefer Ben.

I know the episode is out already so, no spoilers. Also, if you haven't seen it yet, let me know who you want to win and I'll talk to you pretty soon with that final episode!

Love,

Daniela.

The Challenge: USA | Season 1 Episode 9 - "Nevertheless She Persisted"

Spoiler Alert!

Hey everybody!

Here we are with a brand new The Challenge: USA episode and this one was pretty exciting. Not because major things happened, but because I had no idea the route that this would take and that was exciting!

First of all, let's talk about that daily challenge! It was basically one of those kids games - 4 in a row, or something - but they had to get the pieces that were hidden around in a stadium and they could block people with their pieces. And that was what drove this whole episode, to be honest!

This week was a female elimination week and it was all about Sarah getting the money to qualify for the final. And, turns out, she and the other girls (apart from Angela and Alyssa) were working together. However, they didn't create the right plan. I guess all of them wanted to win and that's why no one was really trying to take a shot at Angela or Alyssa. Alyssa and Angela, however, were set on not letting Sarah in and they spent the whole daily challenge sabotaging Sarah - which worked in the end. Sarah went straight into elimination while Desi and Danny won - which was nice. I liked Danny in this episode.

Of course all of this didn't sit right with Sarah and, obviously, she wanted to go into elimination against either Angela or Alyssa. The thing was, Danny and the Survivor boys are working with Angela and Alyssa, so that created some tension.

Well, ultimately, Desi decided to save herself and they didn't go with either of the two girls. Instead, they sent Cashay, who they thought was the smarter choice.

Ultimately, what they wanted was for, whoever they sent, to get sent home so that person wouldn't tager them and... They made the right move because Cashay lost.

I must admit that I was sort of rooting for Cashay, just because I'm so tired of Sarah, but I also want Danny and Desi to be safe (as safe as they can be) so I'm happy (sort of) with the outcome.

And well, I don't have anything else to say about the next episode because the preview didn't give much away so... We know it will be a men's elimination week and that's about it.

Let me know your thoughts on this episode, as well as some predictions and I'll talk to you later this week with a new rant!

Love,

Daniela.