The Challenge: Ride or Dies | Season 38 Episode 20 - "Reunion Part 1"

Spoiler Alert!

Hello people!

(I know, late again) Back with a new The Challenge rant and it's time to recap everything that happened this season and spill some tea. 

Reunion episodes are interesting to get some clearance about some things but, overall, they're not as exciting as the main episodes. This one had it's moments but it wasn't very eventful.

The episode started with a look at the Ride or Dies and their fights, which there's not much to add to this and, I can't remember everything they touched on nor the sequence of topics but they touched on the final, obviously, some hookups (which, there wasn't a lot this season), and honestly the most exciting thing was the whole topic about Jay and Michele. They really were one of the biggest pairs this season and went home way too soon. 

Here they talked about the whole thing with Laurel which just made Laurel look bad as well as the thing with Jordan which he had a point so... And talking about Jordan... They talked about the conflict with Tori as well and here Tori lost her reason. I mean, she never really had a point because she basically blackmailed Jordan but here Jordan explained himself, said that indeed he acted on spite for what she did and he had a point - she said that something he did in the game would affect their relationship outside the game and that really looked bad.

I don't know what else to mention, honestly. Not a lot was memorable besides what I've mentioned before.

Well, I guess I can talk about the thing between Ravyn and Nurys which really made Ravyn look bad like I get it, I agree that your partner should have been more supportive, but what she said about Nurys sleeping with multiple guys... That was pretty bad! Plus, because Nurys didn't have a boyfriend or anything so she could do and sleep with whoever she wanted... And Ravyn's comeback?! That really was bad!

Lastly they touched on the topic of, who's in the balcony helping who's in the elimination and I believe I've talked about that before but I don't agree with them helping who's down in the elimination. I know they've done this all these seasons, it isn't knew, but that's a rule I think they should add from now on (now that this has been mentioned in the show). Plus, the whole issue now was that they weren't just helping one team - they were actually preventing the other team from actually doing the elimination which really doesn't seem fair. Of course Jordan had to defend what he did and say that you have to find a way but it really isn't fair and I think, from now on, who's watching shouldn't interfere with the eliminations... Just saying.

And I guess that's pretty much it from me. I've talked about all the main topics that they mentioned in the first part of the Reunion (I guess I didn't get into the Nany situation and how everyone was crying). I look forward to the Part 2, mainly because they're bringing in Turbo (probably just on Zoom, but still) and that's going to create a lot of drama. But yeah, let me know what you thought of this Part 1 and what do you want them to mention in Part 2 and I'll talk to you on my The Flash rant (which I know I'm super late with). 

Love,

Daniela

The Flash | Season 9 Episode 2 - "Hear No Evil"

Spoiler Alert!

Hello people!

I know, I know... A little late with this review but you know the drill... Life gets in the way and, honestly, I just have way more things to say about The Challenge so I always prioritize that... Plus, this episode of The Flash wasn't that eventful. We did have a few surprises and plots that I wasn't expecting and I can see what they're doing with this season (bringing back old characters and whatnot) but it isn't enough yet to get me really hyped about this final season.

The most exciting thing about this episode really was the whole reveal of Danielle Panabaker's new character - Snow. We got a glimpse of her at the end of last episode but in this one she introduced herself as Snow, a blank slate resulting from the Consciousness Resurrection Chamber's malfunction. And that's why Mark goes to Team Flash - in order to 'reverse' what happened. What he doesn't tell them is that he's not only trying tog et Caitlin back, obviously he also wants Frost back, which results in another malfunction.

Post that, they learn that restoring Caitlin and Frost is impossible and vote on who to restore, but ultimately they let Snow choose. 

At the same time all of this is happening, there's another storyline revolving around Hartley Rathaway who, if I rememebr correctly, got to the good side. However, he sort of almost turns bad again when a new villain, The Fiddler, attacks him and kidnaps his boyfriend. Of course Barry gets him to not do anything bad and they rescue Roderick. However, Mercer steals Hartley's sonic gauntlets and retreats with The Fiddler. 

After that is sort of resolved, we get back to the Snow storyline and she reveals that she wants to be her own person, which obviously makes Mark mad. The worst for him though is the fact that Hartley destroys the CRC, having had a nice coversation with Snow and connecting with her. 

The episode ends with the new speedster using the sonic gauntlets to stabilize into a physical form and revealing that he plans to make Central City pay for Barry's actions.

Overall, nothing really new - just a new character in Snow aka Khione which, to be honest, I don't think it was the right move to make. I know people haven't been a fan of Frost not Catlin in the last couple seasons, but this is the final season, it's already enough that we miss Cisco and Wells and Joe won't be a huge part of this season either, now they killed Caitlin... I didn't love this decision but let's see what this new character brings. Having recurring characters back, such as Harltey, is nice but it isn't enough yet. But once again, it's still really early and I'm still looking forward to having Stephen Amell back so... Maybe it will get way better, I still have hope.

Anyway, let me know what you thought of this episode and what are your early thoughts on this season and I'll talk to you in my next post!

Love,

Daniela.

The Challenge: Ride or Dies | Season 38 Episode 19 - "The End of the Ride"

Spoiler Alert!

Hello people!

Back with the final episode of The Challenge: Ride or Dies (okay, there's still the Reunion episodes, but this is the official last one)! Obviously this was going to be epic... sort of. Not saying that this wasn't exciting, but honestly, I was expecting a little bit more from this final episode, and from this final overall.

This episode started with a kind of 'dumb' challenge with them throwing chalk balls from an helicopter that only mattered to have a lead for the next part of the final, which lead to a maze. Initially the maze looked super cool but the only think it did was, once again, choose the order for what was coming next - an elimination - and because Tori and Devin got there first, the where safe from elimination, which meant it was Bananas/Nany against Jordan/Aneesa. Aneesa and Nany against each other wasn't the exciting bit, Jordan vs Bananas was, and it was indeed an exciting elimination but it was super heartbreaking at the same time because Aneesa got really injured and, needless to say, Jordan and Aneesa lost and Bananas and Nany moved to the final round - another elimination like challenge.

That's the thing that 'annoyed' me the most about this final/episode - that this was basically just a bunch of rounds of eliminations and that's not that exciting. Regardless, the Tori/Devin vs Bananas/Nany battle was pretty intense! Bananas and Nany were having the lead but then it came time for a puzzle and guess what? That's right, Devin excelled at that and him and Tori got a huge lead, to the point that Bananas and Nany just completely gave up. That was annoying though... I know that they didn't really have a chance but I wouldn't have completely give up and that looked kinda bad for Bananas. Still, in the confessionals he looked really sorry that he didn't give Nany that win, which was sad...

Well, lastly - Tori and Devin won! I can't say I'm happy with that win because, deep down, I wanted Bananas to win (again) but I'm not sad either. Devin really grew on me this past couple of seasons, unlike Tori, unfortunately, although, both of them really deserved that win so again, I'm happy for them and I think it's a fair win (even if, ultimately, I wanted Bananas to win). 

I guess I don't really have anything else to say about this episode - It was fine... I wanted a bit more out of this final and it wasn't the team that I wanted to win but it was an entertaining final and the team that won deserved it.

Let me know what you thought of the final and who you wanted to win and I'll talk to you next with a new The Flash rant!

Love,

Daniela.

The Challenge: Ride or Dies | Season 38 Episode 18 - "The Hours"

Spoiler Alert!

Hello everyone!

Back with the second to last episode of this season of The Challenge (besides the Reunion), and honestly, this episode was so much fun! Not much happened in terms of plot twists and 'surprising' things but there were a lot of challenges and some that turned out pretty nice montages - such as the one in the banner. But before I get to that, let's rewind a little bit and start where the last episode left of.

So the last episode ended with the whole thing with Olivia and Horacio (which was devastating) but they moved on pretty quickly from that... We saw Jordan and Aneesa complete that check point and after that came the 'swimming' part where they had to retrieve some puzzle pieces in the middle of a very nasty swamp and then complete that puzzle. Tori and Devin smashed that check point once again, followed by Bananas and Nany and, after that puzzle came another puzzle that, somehow, Devin smashed it again and Jordan and Aneesa and Bananas and Nany had to help each other out because they were way too tired and just couldn't do it. Technicaly Jordan and Aneesa were the second ones to finish it, and that's why Bananas and Nany gave their all in the next part of that final, which started the next day.

Tori and Devin had an advantage because they were the first ones to finish the day before, and their advantage was a head start that day. The first checkpoint was pushing a car up the road and again Tori and Devin finished first but then came the funniest bit of the episode - eating challenge! And it was a pretty basic eating challenge - just eating a ton of bread and pasta - and Bananas and Nany completely nailed that checkpoint! It was pretty nasty with a ton of vomit involved but everyone made it and Bananas and Nany got the lead on this one. 

That was pretty much it for this episode. It was pretty fast paced and, more than ever, it looks like Bananas and Nany will indeed win! I'm not mad at it, to be honest. I know I said in my last rant that I would like Tori and Devin to win but this episode kind of changed my mind on that - Bananas really is my favourite and he gives to much entertaining content to the show that, just for that, he deserves to win. I know that people are tired of him winning but I'm also tired of Jordan being in finals and possibly win so... I don't care - I want Bananas to win and I hope he does in the next episode!

But that's it from me. Let me know your thoughts on this episode and final predictions - who do you think will win this season? And who do you want to win this season? Tell me everything in the comments and I'll talk to you on my next rant!

Love,

Daniela.

The Flash | Season 9 Episode 1 - "Wednesday Ever After"

Spoiler Alert!

Hello people!

That's right, The Flash is back and, for once, I was actually really excited about it being back! I didn't necessarily had really high expectations on this particular episode and this particular season, but I was just happy that one of my favourite shows is back and I'm also really excited to talk to you about it.

A lot of people loved this episode - me, I thought it was okay. It did go by pretty fast, so that's a sign that I was, at least, enjoying it, but honestly it's more of the same story. At least, as of right now.

I guess this episode picks up right after the end of last season, just a week after Eobard Thawne's defeat, and we follow Barry being super obsessed with his future, creating a "map book" of future events that will be impactful for his life and Iris' life, including his promotion to director of the Central City Police Department CSI Division, Cat Grant buying Central City Citizen Media and his fight with Captain Boomerang. This part of the episode was pretty interesting and it did remind me of the old Barry - the Barry we had in the first seasons of the show. However, this turns into the same old storyline...

After the fight with Captain Boomerang, the battery that he was stealing explodes and traps Barry and Iris in a time loop. That's when he get to same issues about the future and, although in this episode Barry and Iris had some arguments about the future being something they create and not something that they follow from a book, deep down, it comes to same old issues - The Future. The Future and what Barry does with it... I guess this time Barry tried to be extremely careful and did not mess with the future - instead he tried to be on track which didn't work either.

The basic premise of the episode was that you just have to let the future happen, which is something nice, but coming from The Flash, sounds like something we have heard before (and we likely have heard, to be honest). 

There's not much else to talk about besides the fact that Barry burns the book he created (which is something I thought he shouldn've have done... like, okay, you don't need to be so obsessed with it, but you didn't need to burn it either), he phases with the accelerator, nullifying a nuclear blast, and Chester and Allegra share a kiss - something long overdue!

It's at the very end of the episode that something actually interesting happens - Barry meets with Caitlin and finds she is neither Caitling nor Frost, so who is she?! I bet people that know the comics know who she is but I don't so I'm really curious to find that out. And after that we see Captain Boomerang deliver the power source to a speedster with a Batman emblem, who I don't know who he is either. People are saying it's Red Death (which I have no idea who he is either) but it looks cool so... We'll see...

That's it for my thoughts on the brand new The Flash season! What are your thoughts so far? Do you get the vibes from the first seasons? Personally I'm not that impressed but I have an open mind. Either way, it will be great just for having Stephen Amell back as Arrow so... I'm looking forward to that. In the meantime, let's find out who this new villain is.

Don't forget to let me know all your thoughts in the comments and I'll talk to you in my next rant!

Love,

Daniela.

The Challenge: Ride or Dies | Season 38 Episode 17 - "Riders on the Storm"

Spoiler Alert!

Hello people!

It's time for another The Challenge rant and what an epic one this episode was! It was also super heartbreaking though... We have so much to get through so, let's jump straight into it!

We finally arrived at the final and, just like we saw in the preview, this is an epic final - 100 hours (which is, more or less, 4 days). The beginning looked pretty tamed, considering everything. They had to drive to the middle of nowhere, walk a little bit as well and them they had to pedal on stationary bikes till they reached 100 km (as a duo). That made for some really funny moments (mainly with Bananas and Nany) as well as some sexy moments, with Horacio and the guys being all sweaty and stuff... Those were fun moments. And then, it all went downhill...

After they pedaled 100 km, they set up a tent to sleep for the night. The next morning, the second day of the final started - they had a run, as per usual, with a few checkpoints. The first checkpoint was a mix of athleticism and eating challenge, which is always fun. It wasn't that fun for them, and was even worst for Olivia who got injured right away, with the skin of one finger coming off. Still, she kept going, and so did everyone else. That checkpoint got Devin and Tori to first place, which was impressive.

The next checkpoint was a good old endurance running back and forth with tires and then put them in some type of order. That one Devin and Tori crashed, once again, and they really got ahead of everyone in this first part of the final. Jordan and Aneesa were the first one to get to the second checkpoint but, not only Aneesa isn't the best at endurance, but she also snapped her foot so she had an harder time with it. 

Lastly, the final checkpoint for this episode was the hardest one to watch, to be honest. Not because it was so hard (I mean, it kind of was) but because what ended up happening. 

First of all, Devin and Tori completely smashed that checkpoint! It was that one that they had a slingshot and hit a target which, as we remember well, Devin was amazing at it and, obviously him and Tori got over that one pretty soon. After them were Bananas and Nany which they had an harder time but got through it and then... Olivia and Horacio. Not only they got penalyzied by Devin and Tori, so they had to hit the target four times instead of two, Olivia was already injured so she really struggled with it until... The ball ricochet and hit her face! It was gnarly! Honestly, this episode must come with a warning for blood because there was so much blood! She was so scared that she had broken her nose which thankfully she didn't and she also wanted to keep going which, obviously couldn't happen. Sadly, Horacio couldn't continue as well because they were a pair and Olivia wasn't able to continue which was so heartbeaking to watch! He even said that he would do double the work if that meant the could keep going... So so sad! Unfortunately he couldn't and so, just like that, Olivia and Horacio are out of the game.

It really is so unfortunate because not only they were amazing competitors but they were also great people and totally deserved to win! As I said, every single pair here deserves to win and I will be happy with either one that ends up winning, and that included Horacio and Olivia. It would have been amazing to see them win actually but, unfortunately, they can't anymore.

With that said, and even though Bananas is my favourite, I guess right now I'm rooting for Tori and Devin the most. They do have a good lead right now and they totally deserve it, being on the challenge for so long and almost getting it... But so does Aneesa and even Nany (even though I'm not her biggest fan) so... Let's see who ends up winning.

But that's it from me for this episode. What an episode, really! So let me know all your thoughts on this crazy episode and tell me, who do you want to see winning?! Tell me everything in the comments and I'll talk to you in my next rant!

Love,

Daniela.