The Challenge: Total Madness | Season 35 Episode 12 - "Pictures of You"

Spoiler Alert!

Hello everybody!

Wow! This episode really took me by surprise! I guess I was wrong this time... (I also have a few new predictions, but I'll leave that for the end).

So, let's talk about the elephant in the room. This had already happened last week, but this time MTV really let us know and had a 'warning' type of thing in the beginning letting us know about the whole Dee situation. And if it wasn't obvious last week, this week was really obvious that they tried to cut her out of the episode as much as possible. Unfortunately, she has been winning and stuff so it was harder for production to cut her out but... I guess they did a good job. It was obvious, but now we know.

Now, let's talk about where my predictions went wrong. I said (and I've been saying this for a while) that this week it would be Cory against Kyle, and I was almost right. I thought Kyle would be the one to win the challenge and he almost did. Can we talk about that for a moment? This week's challenge looked pretty hard, but pretty cool at the same time, and it must have taken them hours to fill those tanks. And, to everyone's surprise, the two teams to move to the second part of the challenge were the ones with two girls in the team. Who would've thought, huh?! Guys are nothing without the girls... Anyway, unfortunately, Kyle, Aneesa and Jenny lost against Fessy, Bayleigh and Dee and... Well, it was pretty obvious that Swaggy was going in as the Tribunal pick. They tried to trick us though, but he did go into purgatory in the end. As for the house vote, unlike my prediction, it was between Cory and Kyle (instead of Josh and Kyle) and, unfortunately, Cory got the majority of the votes. Right away I felt really sad and bad for Kyle because, in my mind, this would be the last guys elimination. (But I'm doubting that now).

Before I get into my final predictions, let's talk about the elimination. It was a pretty fair one - Cory against Swaggy C. And I wasn't necessarily rooting for either of them so... I guess I was fine either way. Cory won in the end, which is fine by me and now... Well, I guess there's more to this season than meets the eye.

This week we didn't have a Preview for next week. Instead, we had another of those previews for the rest of the season and it looks like there will be more eliminations than the one next week. We knew there would be another girls elimination because we saw Dee going into one of those wall eliminations so we knew that. We also knew that Kyle was going and, with this preview, it's even more clear that he's going so, right now, I feel like everyone is going to have a chance to get their red skull, which is kind of shame because I would love to see their faces when TJ tells them that they wouldn't even be able to get a chance at that. Although, I'm happy that, at least, Kyle can fight for it. Well, but not only that. I feel like even after everyone has a red skull, there will be some type of Purge were a bunch of people, already with red skulls, will be eliminated and then it will be the final.

I'm just happy because, as of now, it looks like it's an easy win for Bananas. I don't want to be that hopeful and jinx it but, considering the competition, Bananas has a pretty good shot at winning this season, and I'm going to be rooting for him (obviously).

And I guess that's it for my predictions and this week's post. Let me know what you thought of the episode and which are your predictions and I'll see you next week with a brand new rant!

Love,

Daniela.

The Challenge: Total Madness | Season 35 Episode 11 - "You Ain't Right"

Spoiler Alert!

Hello everybody!
So, this was a short one. However, we have a lot to talk about so let's get into it.

First of, let's talk about the actual running time of the episode. You might have noticed that it was way shorter than the previous episodes, and I think I know why. I don't know if you're up to the news but Dee was recently fired from The Challenge due to racist comments. The show did tweet that they were going to keep airing the episodes because of the fans but I'm pretty sure they tried to cut as much as they could from her in this specific episode. And because she was a big part of it, the episode turned out shorter than usual. You might have not noticed her 'absence' but if you go back and re-watch the episode, it's pretty clear that she 'should've' been more permanent (mainly with the whole Tribunal thing - that was pretty obvious, in my opinion).

Apart from that, well, it looks like I was half right. My prediction last week was that there were going to be two more eliminations - a girls one, in this episode, and a guys one in the next. Well, I don't think that anymore. I'm pretty sure there will be one more girls elimination. Not only because, this way, the girls will be outnumbered but also because I remember vividly Dee's elimination (which was that wall thing) and that wasn't the elimination this episode so, I'm getting ahead of myself (as usual) and I predict that Dee is going in again. Because yes, that's right, she did go in this week but she came back.

However, I was right about Mattie going in. I mean, I think I said that Bayleigh was most likely but I wanted Mattie. Not only because I like Mattie but also because I thought the could take out Dee on that wall elimination. Well, turns out that wasn't the elimination and so Mattie lost. I pretty sure if it was a more physical one Mattie would nail it but... Oh well, at least Bananas is still in the game.

Well, I don't know if there's a lot more that I need to talk about. There wasn't much drama in this episode (for obvious reasons) and the actual challenge was pretty cool and not a lot happened. I mean, a bunch of people were disqualified because they 'cheated', there's that. And because of it, it was easier to pick the people for the Tribunal - which ended up being Melissa and Josh (who won the challenge) and Bananas, who they picked. I'm having a feeling this might be Bananas' come back and he might have a good shot at winning this season (I mean, look at the people that already have a Red Skull - they're not much of a competition for Bananas. Maybe Fessy and Jenny but I don't know how they are in a final with eating challenges involved and endurance so, they might not do great in those things) but I don't want to jinx it so I'm just keep rooting for him.

Next week is a guys elimination and the preview didn't give us much. However, I do know that Kyle and Cory both go into elimination so, I still think they're going against each other and this is going to be the last guys elimination. The preview did show Cory with some sort of injury so I don't know how that's going to work but... Let's see... Maybe it's nothing really serious and he can still get it. The only think really relevant that the preview showed was Melissa and Josh arguing (obviously about the whole Dee thing that happened in this episode) so my bet is that both Josh and Kyle will want to be the house vote and so the house will have to vote which one of the two is going in. Hence why Melissa is yelling basically saying that she's not going to vote for him.

And I guess that's it from in this week.

Let me know what you thought of the episode and what you think of this whole Dee thing (her being fired and what not) and I'll see you next week with a brand new rant!

Love,

Daniela.

The Challenge: Total Madness | Season 35 Episode 10 - "The Final Countdown"

Spoiler Alert!

Hello everybody!

OMG! What an episode! Unfortunately, I got it spoiled for me in two different occasions...

Anyway, first of all, I'm sorry I'm posting this later than usual. I had a bit of trouble finding the episode online and that's one of the reasons why I had the episode spoiled for me. Not only I couldn't find it anywhere and I kept seeing articles about what happened in the episode but then, when I finally found an episode online, they messed it up. For some reason the episode that I found started with the elimination and so yeah... I basically saw the whole thing backwards. It was a bit of a bummer but I kind of already knew not only from the spoilers before but also from the preview that Bananas was going to be involved in the elimination somehow and... Yeah, let's talk about it.

Because that was the way I saw it, I'm going to start with the actual elimination. Bananas vs Wes. Well, let's be real, who didn't think this was going to happen?! After watching the elimination and watching the events knowing what happened, it was so obvious that they were setting it up. Still, it was huge. Although I don't know why people kept saying that this was long overdue because they went to an elimination against each other in Champs vs Stars so...  I don't know. It's now really their first time. Anyway, needless to say that I'm so excited about the result! After having Jay go home, and then Jenna, I really didn't want Bananas to go home as well so have him beat Wes was the cherry on top. It was sweet though, then having them hug and being real with each other. It made me like Wes a bit more and well, now that Bananas stopped hating Wes, I can stop as well.

As for the elimination itself, I think it was a bit unfair. Yes, it relied a bit on strength and endurance, but it was also 50% luck and I just don't think those eliminations are fair. It's not like a hand-to-hand fight or a puzzle, something that relies solely on yourself... But well, Bananas won so I'm fine...

Now that we got that out of the way, let's talk about the beginning of the episode and then talk about predictions because I have a lot (and I'm 80% sure that I'm right).

So, it looks like now everyone wants to go in. We see a bunch of guys and even girls say that they have to go in, and one of those people is Bananas. Wes also mentions that to Nany so that's where some tension starts 'bubbling'.

Then, we got my favorite challenge - Trivia. This one wasn't as good, I must say. They didn't answer that many questions and some people, including Bananas, just gave up and yeah, that was a bit lame. In the end, Wes, Dee and Rogan formed the Tribunal. Because of that, Wes thinks that this is his time. However, Bananas has his mind set that the wants to be the house vote and so he asks everyone to vote for him. When it's time to vote, Cory is basically the only one that doesn't want to give this one easy to Bananas but he eventually does and yes, Bananas is the house vote and he even jokes around when he puts Wes' name next to his (another overshadowing of the events that come next).

Learning that, Wes gets a bit conflicted. He thought this was his time and it can still be but because of the alliance with Bananas (and because it is Bananas) he doesn't really want to go against him... That creates a kind of argument between them (but an healthy one, I would say) where Wes 'complains' that he thought now was his time to get the red skull. And I get both sides. Bananas was playing his game and he did what he thought was best for him. Wes tried to get into the Tribunal to 'run' the game and have his red skull. Well, there should have been a bit more communication between the too but, in the end, it is an individual game so you can't blame either for doing what they think is best for themselves without telling the other.

Well, we know what happened next. The Tribunal nominated Kyle, Swaggy and Cory but, ultimately, Wes went against Bananas.

I guess now it's the time to talk about predictions. So we know that the Final is really near and I think there will only be two more episodes/eliminations before the final. The next one is a girls elimination and then a guys elimination. That way there will be 4/5 girls and 4/5 guys (depending how those eliminations end). From a previous preview, we know that Dee, Kyle and Cory go into an elimination so my prediction is that Dee is going against one of the girls (probably Mattie or Bayleigh) next week. My money is on Bayleigh, as the house vote and then the Tribunal sends in Dee. Who wins I don't know, but to be honest, I would rather have Mattie against Dee and Mattie winning. Anyway, as for the guys, it's going to be Kyle against Cory, and that's it. I hope Kyle wins because he's other of my favorites right now, to be honest. After that TJ will probably let them think that there will be more eliminations but no... That's the end and whoever doesn't have a red skull will go home instantly. I can't wait to see their faces when they realize that! It's going to be priceless.

So yeah, this was an intense episode! Unfortunately it was kind of ruined for me but at least Bananas won and I'm happy about that.

Let me know what you thought of the episode and who were you rooting for - Bananas or Wes? And who do you think is going in against Dee next week? Tell me everything and I'll see you next week with a brand new rant!

Love,

Daniela.

The Challenge: Total Madness | Season 35 Episode 9 - "Backstabber"

Spoiler Alert!

Hello everybody!

First of all, I'm sorry I'm posting this a day late (had to deal with some life things). Second, I'm really sad with this episode...

Well, needless to say that my prediction was completely wrong. From the preview, I thought Dee and Jenny were going to go against each other in elimination but no... Not only that but it was a double female elimination! But, as always, I'm getting a bit ahead of myself so let's talk about the beginning of the episode.

As I predicted, this week's challenge was pretty fun. They basically had to go down a sewer, swim, find some puzzle pieces and complete the puzzle. It was fun to watch and it looked like something fun to do, to be honest. And everything was going fine with Bananas' Team being one of the Teams to be in the lead. Unfortunately, his Team didn't win and, instead, Wes' Team (Wes, Bayleigh, Nany, Dee and Cory) was the winner and the Tribunal. After that, everything became really messy.

It was obvious that a lot of girls had to be nominated and, because three were already in the Tribunal, only one would be left out. I don't know what I thought would happen but I was kind of surprised that they left out Mattie (the Tribunal, I mean). As for the whole house, they nominated Kaycee and Aneesa, even though they basically nominated themselves. That left Jenna, Kailah, Jenny and Melissa to be the ones nominated by the Tribunal and, to be honest, against Aneesa and Kaycee, I couldn't really see anyone from the Tribunal nominating themselves to go against those two.

I'm going to go straight to the point and yeah, they nominated Kailah to go against Kaycee, which was fine, Kailah wanted to go in, but they nominated Jenna to go against Aneesa which left me so sad. I had hope in Jenna, and she almost beat Aneesa but, in the end, she didn't and both Kailah and Jenna went home. It's really bittersweet because Jenna already had a red skull and she deserved to be in the final and, to be honest, to win the whole thing, but at least she went home with her best friend. It's just a bummer that this whole thing happened because of Zach like.. F*ck him!

Anyway... That's the core of the episode but I need to add a few things.

First, Dee is such a snake and I freaking hate her. I get it like, Jenny is super good but, if she's your friend, it wouldn't matter if she can beat you like.. Ugh! These people don't know what real friendships are. Second, Rogan for once did the right thing and told Jenny about Dee wanting to put her in. And Third, Nany is starting to piss me off as well. Jenna only went in because of her. If Nany had stick up for her friend, like for real, she wouldn't have gone home. I mean, I get it, it's the best thing for your game but... Are you really that afraid that Jenna is going to beat you in the final?! I don't know, I guess I just value a friendship more than money...

Well, these are my thoughts on the latest episode. I guess now I'm mainly just rooting for Bananas and, from the look of it, I guess he's going in next week. I hope it is because he wants to but... I don't know. In the preview there's a conversation between him and Wes and how they were doing this season together and now Wes was betraying him... Something tells me Bananas' is going in not from his own will. Also, I have a feeling he's going against Kyle which, although I like both of them, I like Bananas' more and going against Kyle looks like an easy win to me so... Let's see. I just hope I don't loose another of my favorite players.

That's it for now. Let me know what you thought of this episode. Who were you rooting for? Aneesa or Jenna? Kaycee or Kailah? Tell me everything and I'll see you next week with a new rant!

Love,

Daniela.

The Challenge: Total Madness | Season 35 Episode 8 - "Live and Let Die"

Spoiler Alert!

Hello everybody!

What another crazy The Challenge episode! We knew this one was going to be big because of the double elimination but... Oh, man! It was huge! And kind of heartbreaking, to be honest.

I shouldn't really start with this but... I was really sad about Jordan. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a big fan o Jordan and, just like Wes, I'm happy he's gone, but also just like Bananas, I felt really bad about him going against Fessy. First of, I never thought they would actually put in Fessy, but it makes sense. If there's anyone that is going to beat everyone in a final it's Fessy. But on the other hand, who can beat him in a elimination?! Certainly not Jordan... And out of everyone that is left and that were up for elimination, I don't think anyone could beat Fessy, not with that 'game'. And that is the other thing that makes me feel really about Jordan going into this particular elimination. Not only he's going against Fessy, who's intimidating by himself, but going against him in a physical game that relies a lot on hand/wrist strength which is an huge disadvantage for Jordan. I was still hopeful though, but ultimately I knew he was going to lose. In the end, it's sad to see him go like that... Also said to see go is Bear. Bear might be loud and obnoxious but he's also pretty funny and he's not a bad competitor. Actually, I thought he had a few chances against Nelson. Plus, Nelson has been really annoying and yeah, I was rooting for Bear. Unfortunately, he was sent home as well, just like Jordan, and now we have some pretty annoying people up for the final - Nelson and Dee. Next week is going to be a girls elimination and... I have some thoughts, but I'll leave those for the end of my rant. Now, let's rewind a bit and talk about the beginning of the episode as well as the actual challenge.

Well, I guess I should start by saying that it's nice to have the usual type of episode - challenge, nominations and elimination. I suspected that would happen but it's nice to see that they got back to the usual 'template'.

With that said, let's talk about this week's challenge. It was a pretty funny one. I loved to see all the different strategies. Needless to say, my favorite was Bananas'. Like, did no one noticed what he noticed? You can say all you want about Bananas' but he's smart and he doesn't need all the «political» game that Wes has. Although, this time them working together... *chef's kiss* It's so funny and kind of cringe at times seeing them working together! And their interviews together! OMG, I can't! They always crack me up and I'm loving their Team Up thing. (It's the sort of thing I never knew I needed). The icing on the cake was Wes being in the Tribunal (alongside with Mattie) and then picking Bananas to be with them. That was also pretty funny but I'm afraid that gave away their whole game. I mean, I don't know. It seems like people are noticing something is odd but they aren't realizing that they're actually working together... It looks hard to me that no one has figured it out but... Maybe there's way too much going on in that bunker.

Apart from that, the whole thing with Big T and her foot was also pretty funny. In the previews it looked like it would be a much bigger thing but it was just something silly. Hope she stays though...

And yeah, I guess that's pretty much it. I've already covered the elimination so there's no need to talk about that again. What we need to talk about though is that preview. So, we see some nice challenge, it looked pretty fun to me, but we also see Jenny mad at someone. My prediction is that it's going to be Jenny against Dee in that wall challenge. I say that because we saw in the other preview that Dee was going again and Jenny was mad at someone and it looked like the house picked her or something so... My bet is that next elimination is going to be Jenny against Dee. It would also make sense for them to not only take out someone else with a Red Skull but also get rid of Jenny, who's basically the female version of Fessy, or Dee, who is pissing off a lot of people. I don't know about you, but that's my guess.

Let me know what you think of my prediction and if you have a completely different prediction and I guess I'll talk to you next week!

Love,

Daniela.

The Challenge: Total Madness | Season 35 Episode 7 - "Should I Stay Or Should I Go?"

Spoiler Alert!

Hello people!

Back with a new The Challenge rant and, after this episode, I guess we're back to the usual programming (challenge, nominations, elimination). Needless to say though, that this episode dragged a lot!

As we were expecting, this week episode focused only on the girls elimination (as well as the nominations). I figured it would be either that or we wouldn't get back to the 'normal' type of the episodes. In a way, I'm happy they chose to 'waste' this episode on getting things back to normal. Well, at least I hope they do get everything back to normal. But as for this episode, it was filled with necessary drama. However, it did have an unexpected ending which not only I was happy about, but made up for the overall boring episode. Don't get me wrong, there were a lot of heated moments in this episode, but personally I don't watch The Challenge (only) for the drama, I mainly watch it for the challenges so have a drama centered episode wasn't really my taste. I enjoyed it in the end though...

So, the Tribunal had actually a good plan. Have Tori be the house nomination and then pick 'easy' people to beat in case neither Jenna nor Nany wanted to go in. For this the Tribunal chose Kailah, because she's friends with Jenna and Nany and might want to give her a chance to win a red skull, Dee because she rubbed Jordan the wrong way and she already has a red skull, and Big T which was only by default, to be honest. All of them said they love Big T and, to be honest, I don't think they ever thought of send her in. Jenna and Nany still had the chance to go in and both of them looked 'easy' to Tori (I guess). Everyone kept betting on Jenna, because she kind of wants to leave the house and we even see another call to Zach where he basically gives her an ultimatum. Initially I don't think Jenna intended to go in but that call really triggered her and yes, she took the chance and volunteered to go against Tori. I must say - I was kind of scared. Tori is a good competitor and, although I know Jenna is good, she isn't as strong physically as Tori (I think) but, I had faith her (unlike most people in the house). Well, I guess that beat them in the ass, huh?! 

That's right, in the end Jenna beat Tori and I'm so happy for her! It's interesting because I watch The Challenge with my sister and Jenna is my girl and Tori is her girl so we were basically rooting for each one. (I just thought I would let you know that). Anyway, now I just need Bananas to get his red skull and I'll have my two favorites in the final (I mean, if they don't get put into elimination again). To be honest, I don't think they'll put Jenna in again. There's bigger threats (in their opinion) and, for the most part, she flies under the radar. As for Johnny... Well, if he does get a red skull, I'm pretty sure he will be targeted again.

Well, that was the 'game' part of the episode. But as I said, there was a lot of drama, the main one revolving around Nany. I just have to say that she was clearly drunk. She starts a fight with Aneesa and she even talks rude towards Jenna and... She was drunk. It's not really an excuse but someone should keep her from not drinking that much. I guess she's a bit like Tony - Nany and him just can't drink otherwise they'll start a fight and make stupid mistakes.

But yeah, that was pretty much it. There was also a thing with Nelson which was so stupid and he was not drunk so he doesn't really have an excuse. Anyway, it's just way too much drama.

As I said, I hope the next episode goes back to normal and... The preview doesn't give much away, besides a fight between Kyle and someone that I can't really remember (I'm sorry). Oh, there's a double elimination, so that's going to be fun! I'm pretty sure the Final is pretty close so let's see who makes it there.

In the meantime, let me know what you thought of the episode. Do you like this format or do you want to get back to challenge - nominations - elimination? Were you rooting for Jenna or Tori in the end? Would you forgive Nany like Aneesa did? Tell me everything and I'll see you next week with a new rant!

Love,

Daniela.

The Flash | Season 6 Episode 19 - "Success is Assured"

Spoiler Alert!

Hello people!

And, just like that, we arrived at the season finale of The Flash... It's really a bummer because we were supposed to have, at least, three more episodes this season, and I'm pretty sure those would've change the whole thing.

But anyway, after watching the episode for a second time, I realized that it wasn't that bad. It was actually pretty good if you keep in mind that this wasn't supposed to be the Season Finale. Initially I thought it was a lame ending and, although I still think some parts were lame, I think it worked as a finale. The downside is that we're stuck with Eva as a villain for, at least, the beginning of next season. I did understand Eva a bit better this episode but still, I don't think she works as a villain. Plus, her work is done - she killed Carver - so... What's her deal now? I guess we'll have to wait for next season (maybe next year) to find out.

I've talked enough without getting into the actual episode so let's get into those details.

Well, needless to say that this whole episode was about protecting Carver against Eva. It starts out small, with Barry and Ralph finding Carver's warehouse where he kept stuff about people that he could 'manipulate', including Sue Dearbon's parents.

That leads me to a little side-story - when Ralph contacts Sue's parents just to find out that she is already with her parents and, later on, Ralph finds out that she actually traded places with her parents and became part of the Black Hole - all in order to kill Carver.

But, rewinding a bit... Barry offers Carver protection, but he doesn't accept it, thinking that Ultraviolet, Doctor Light and Sunshine are enough to protect him. What he doesn't know is that Eva got to them and they're now working for her. Well, that only leaves one option - accept Barry's offer. And, just as they're leaving CCPD, Mirror-Singh appears to take Carver and that's when another 'side-story' (not really though) happens - when Mirror-Singh makes a proposition to Barry. Carver in exchange for Iris. This raises some questions inside Nash's mind (now full of all the other Wells') and he later on confronts Barry. I don't know if they're going somewhere with that 'suspicion' but it looked like it was the end of it.

Fast-forwarding a bit, they decide to hide in the reinforced McCulloch building just to then be attacked by the meta-human trio. There's a whole fight scene which, although I thought it was kinda cool, it was a bit too much for The Flash and, at times, the CGI wasn't the best (which is unusual for the show - I let it slide because of the virus). While Nash, Allegra, Ralph and Sue fight the trio, Barry tries to save Carver against Eva but... He fails. Eva kills Carver which, I can't blame her, and leaves Barry and Team Flash live, saying that her work is done. Although Barry promises to keep going after her.

After that, Eva reveals herself to the public, saying that she was held hostage by a crime syndicate and rescued by Carver, who was killed moments after they reunite. She gets her company back but that really isn't the end of it. Eva frames Sue for Carvers murder and so Team Flash now not only have to try and rescue Iris, Kamilla an Singh from the Mirrorverse but also clear Sue's name.

The episode ends with Team Flash agreeing on this plan, Joe returning from witness protection, Caitlin departing with her mother and, while in the Mirrorverse, Iris and Kamilla find Singh just to, right away, Iris inexplicably vanishing before Kamilla's eyes.

That last part sounds promising, although you know I don't care much for the Iris' story-line. It wasn't the best Season Finale but, considering everything (the virus and how this season was going) it wasn't the worst either. I just hope Eva doesn't stay for the whole Season 7.

Anyway... This are my thoughts on The Flash's Season 6 Finale. Let me know what you thought of the Finale and the Season overall and I'll talk to you tomorrow (if you watch The Challenge).

Love,

Daniela.