The Challenge: USA | Season 2 Episode 2 - "Blurred Battle Lines"

Spoiler Alert!

Hello people!

Back with a new The Challenge episode and thank god this ones was back to the usual format! Yes, we did have the elimination from last week's episode but we also had a full challenge and another elimination in this episode, so basically this was a double elimination episode (kind of).

So, where to start?! Well, I guess the first elimination was kind of anticlimatic because the vets sort of got what they wanted, however, Michele was the one to be picked by The Hopper so it was her against Ameerah. The game was a different one but kind of lame and, int he end, Ameerah went home. There was, however, a plot twist - TJ revealed that when you win an elimination, you can choose to switch teams and take someone else's spot (so a switch up) but Michele decided to stay in the Red Team.

Moving on to the week's challenge, it was a pretty fun one, above water, with them trying to get from one platform to the other and where a bunch of people failed. I do have to highligh some people such as Bananas (of course) - he showed why he's the biggest challenge legend/winner/vet - Desi was one of the few to get across and she not only did it once but she did it twice and they had to give Amanda some spotlight (even though I don't want to give her the attention because I  really dislike her). In the end, the Green Team won and that made for a huge plot twist this season. For once the rookies are teaming up and because they actually have an advantage in numbers over the Vets, they were able to go through with their plan. 

The Green Team went with Bananas and Tori for their picks (and it was actually pretty funny to see Wes trying to change his mind but being outvoted by everyone) and, somehow, everyone else was able to give Jonna a bunch of votes and so she was the one picked by The Hopper - that meant two vets against each other, which was exactly what they wanted. And although I sort of like Tori (I like her as a person, but as a competitor she gets on my nerves most of the time), I was rooting for Jonna. Unfortunately, Tori showed them why she's so feared (Jonna really had no chance) and she won, sending Jonna home... 

After winning Tori also decided to stay on the Blue Team so... So far nothing changed.. 

And that's basically it for this episode. There's no real big preview for this week because what we saw was a rundown of the whole season, but I'm liking where this is going with the rookies teaming up and trying to take down the vets - this will be make us see who really are strong vets and who isn't, which is also fun. I'm excited and I can't wait for the next episode (I still want Bananas to win tho... Team Bananas all the way!).

Let me know your thoughts on this season so far and who are you rooting for the most, and I'll talk to you very soon!

Love,

Daniela

The Challenge: USA | Season 2 Episode 1 - "The Riskiest Season Yet"

Spoiler Alert!

Hello people!

Long time no see right?! Well, since the last episode of The Flash ended there just hasn't been any new shows that I would like to cover here on the blog nor there hasn't been any new episodes of The Challenge - until now!

That's right, The Challenge is back - and back with their spin-off The Challenge: USA. And this new season is extra special because they brought some inforcements. (Well, I guess their last season didn't have a lot of views so they had to bring players over from the MTV version - aka The Vets). Of course I'm thrilled with this because it means my favourite is back - Bananas! And let's be honest, a season with Bananas in it is always more fun. However, surprinsingly, throughout this episode I found myself rooting mostly for the rookies and 'underdogs', which is interesting.

The downside of this season though is that it also brought back a ton of my least favourite players - Josh, Fessy, Amanda and even freaking Paulie is back... Ugh!! Seriously, a lot of these players are insufferable and I can't stand a lot of them, I'm just hoping that a lot of the new ones are good and interesting enough to overshadow all of these people that I don't like. But enough talking about the players, let's get to the actual game!

Everything started with picking Teams and, unfortunately, I have to talk about the players again because somehow all of the Teams have at least one of those guys that I don't like, which makes it really hard to root for one Team in particular. And the worst part is that Bananas' Team is the worst, with both Josh and Paulie in it... Ugh! I guess, as of now, I'm mostly rooting for Desi's Team, which only has Amanda out of the people that I don't like (it also has Wes in it but honestly, I'm okay with Wes now... He has become more of a joke to me, the fact that he's just so good at everything). 

Anyway, after picking Teams and getting into the house and having a welcoming party, it was time for the first challenge - a pretty standard one with them carrying some heavy statues and solving some puzzles. Basic. 

Team Blue ended up winning which is not awful (even though I hated what Tori and Cory did after the challenge, when it was time to nominate people from the other teams). And speaking of nominations, the twist of this season - the loosing Teams will vote for who they want to go into elimination but the votes will be secret! Honestly, I just loved that twist! That not only keeps the game from being rigged but also allows people to make bolder moves, which is what we like to see in the game! And that's what Jonna did right in this first episode - they all agreed to vote for a guy on the opposite team but guess what?! Jonna voted not only for a woman but also someone from her own team - Michelle. I sort of like Michelle but I have to stick with Jonna because that's how you play the game and that's why I really want the rookies to, for once, succeed in sending the vets home, or at least try, because I feel like most of the time they're just afraid to do something, and with secret votes, they don't need to be afraid. It is revealed at the end though, that we do find out who got votes and how many, but you never find out who voted for who, so you just have to keep your mouth shut and play your game in a smart way.

And that's basically what we got in this first episode. We only see who the winning team nominates - Ameerah and Luis (who are voted because Tori and Cory manipulated everyone) and the episode ends after TJ revealed who got voted and how many (out of the other two teams). 

A new episode will air tomorrow so you'll have another rant pretty soon and hopefully there's more twists and turns! 

As of now, let me know what you thought of this episode - the cast, the twists and how the game has been played so far. Tell me everything in the comments and I'll talk to you really soon!

Love,

Daniela.

The Flash | Season 9 Episode 13 - "A New World, Part Four"

Spoiler Alert!

Hello everyone!

So here it is... The final episode of The Flash! 

I wish I brought you an amazing rant and I wish I was excited about this ending but... That isn't the case. 

As expected, the finale of The Flash was just like the remaining of the season (and the past few seasons) - just average (if not kinda bad). The thing is, they rushed everything so much! I get it, they had a ton of storylines to wrap up, but I guess they should have thought about that in the previous episodes. This episode should have been exciting and so unpredictable and, apart from one little detail, it was just more of the same... Same rushed plots, same lame conclusions and same focus on all the other characters that you don't care so much about...

The beginning of the episode was actually pretty exciting, with Eddie - now Cobalt Blue - resurrecting Thawne, Zoom, Savitar and Godspeed, all the past villains. Well, needless to say that I was pretty excited about Zoom's comeback but all of that was shortlived. They are all defeated by the halfway point and the remaining of the episode is focused on tying up loose ends. I mean, I liked having Zoom back and, as much as I was tired of everything being about Thawne, I also liked having Tom Cavanagh back for one final episode.

And, in true The Flash fashion, Barry defeats Eddie by talking him out of it. I guess it is true what the show has always been, right? So Barry convinces Eddie/the Negative Speed Force to coexist and Eddie destroys the crystal. 

The next morning Nora is born and the most surprising thing of this episode - Khione ascends as the natural order's protector and as she does so she returns her body to Caitlin so yes, Caitlin is back! That was indeed surprising and was what made the episode better for me.

One week later Joe asks Cecile to marry him (which was kind of odd because I didn't even realize they weren't married yet) and Barry unleashes a lightning bolt and chooses Avery Ho, Max Mercury and Jess Chambers as new speedsters. And that's how the series end...

Personally, it was really unfilfilling... I wanted something more shocking! And as much as people might have said that it could be copying Arrow, I wish the show had ended on a 'worst' note, maybe with Barry still vanishing. They have been hinting at that throughout the whole show, and I know it was supposed to happen in crisis, but they could still make it happen and that would have been a full circle moment but... Okay...

Let me know what you thought of the series finale - Did you like it? Was it what you were expecting? What was the most surprising thing that happened? Tell me everything you thought on this finale and... Well, I guess I'll see you on a The Challenge rant or maybe on a brand new show rant... Who knows... Until then...

Love,

Daniela.

The Flash | Season 9 Episode 12 - "A New World, Part Three"

Spoiler Alert!

Hello people!

So here we are... This is the second to last episode and I know I'm super late with it but I had to review it before the very last episode of the show... This is really bittersweet because this episode (episode 12) wasn't the best and that doesn't give me any hopes for the series finale. It's weird because the previous one was pretty bad and all we wanted was for them to focus on Eddie's storyline... Well, they did focus on Eddie in this one but it was just weird! Not a lot made sense and the episode just had a strange vibe overall. I can't pin point exactly what it was but it just felt wrong...

Once again, the crystal possesses someone - Nora West-Allen this time - in order to get Eddie to accept being the Negative Speed Force's vessel. Of course Barry appears just in time and escapes with Eddie. Then we learn that Eddie is angered by how his sacrifice didn't erase the Reverse-Flash and how he was forgotten and Barry lived an 'happy' life and married Iris. 

Then, there's another side plot that, honestly, that might have been why this episode just didn't make much sense and was kind of a waste of time, because we focused on Cecile after she projects her consciousness to the future and learns that she hasn't been visiting Joe and their daughter as much in the last few years and that just messes with her and makes her unable to help Team Flash in the present. That until Chester has a 'deep talk' with her and of course she suddenly is able to help them and frees Nora from the crystal's influence. 

At the same time, in the future, Eddie asks 2049 Iris to be with him again, but she rejects him. After that the timeline begins to fracture and 2049 Iris talks with present Barry before he is pulled away again. The episode ends with Eddie accepting the power of the crystal and opening up a portal.

We do know that this last episode will deal with multiple villains from all The Flash's seasons, one of them being Zoom, which I am indeed excited about, but I'm also cautious because from the last few episodes, it doesn't really look like they will be able to wrap everything up the best way but we'll see... 

So this is the final time we are able to speculate and theorize so let me know, in this last few minutes, what do you think will happen in the series finale and do you think Barry will vanish at the end? I would say yes and I that's the way I would want the show to end - no happy ending - but I hope they will be able to surprise me (in a good way, of course). Anyway, let me know all your final thoughts and I'll see you in the last The Flash rant! I will miss the show even though this past few seasons have been sh*t.

Love,

Daniela

The Flash | Season 9 Episode 11 - "A New World, Part Two"

Spoiler Alert!

Hello people!

Back for another The Flash review and, just like that, they're back to the bad episodes.

I guess it really was hoping for too much to keep doing solid episodes... But the truth is, they had something really interesting to work with here, but instead on focusing on that, they decided to focus on something that doesn't make a lot of sense to begin with. What I'm talking about is the Khione storyline.

Don't get me wrong, I like Khione and her whole dynamic with Mark is really interesting, but her character since the begining felt odd and forced. Getting rid of both Frost and Caitlin so we could have Khione, on the final season of The Flash felt wrong and this episode just proved that they rushed this whole thing and it just doesn't sit ride with audiences.

Basically this whole episode was about Mark coming back, possessed by the blue crystal (as we later in the episode learn) and try to seperate Team Flash from each other in order to get to Iris. It's then that we learn that the blue crystal has something to do with the Negative Speed Force, and that's also when Nora (the Speed Force) appears to save Iris from 'Mark'. 

Also as I mentioned before, the other main plot of this episode was get Khione to her 'full potential' and that's her who 'defeats' Mark in a pretty cool scene, I might add, but again - everything felt really rushed.

Apart from that storyline, the other more interesting one dealt with Malcolm Gilmore - Eddie's doppleganger. We follow him trying to figure out who Eddie was and later in the episode he hears a voice telling him to find Iris. In all of this he ends up digging into Eddie's grave just to find it empty. The episode basically ends with him realizing that he is Eddie!

Well, needless to say that I was very confused with this last bit and with the episode in geral. Mainly because all of this was supposed to be happening at the same time as the events in the last episode - and that wasn't made very clear in this particular episode. It's also a shame that the main focus of the episode was the whole thing with the Negative Speed Force and with Khione because, honestly, the bits with Eddie were way more interesting. And with only two episodes left, needless to say that my hopes that the show will end on a high note are slim to none. The only thing that still gets me going now is the fact that Zoom hasn't appeared yet so he might be the villain at the end and I'm not mad at that. We'll see...

But I guess that's pretty much it from me for this episode. Unfortunately, not a good one. But let me know what you thought of this episode and do you think they'll manage to end the show in a good way? Let me know all your thoughts and predictions and I'll talk to you next week!

Love,

Daniela.

The Flash | Season 9 Episode 8-10

Spoiler Alert!

Hello people!

I know, I know... This time I've really messed up and I didn't post for a whole month (or more, I can't even remember) and so, because of that, because I've missed two posts already, I decided to just rant about the last three episodes all in just one post - I hope you don't mind. So, I have a lot to get through so let's get to it!

Episode 8 was a whole mess! I don't remember a lot from that episode (I guess I blocked a lot of it because it was that bad) but I remember that it was about Barry and Iris being trapped in the STAR Labs with a few DOE agents and then, when they realize what happened, they get trapped in a time loop until they figure out who stole a time magnet. The whole thing was so cliché and felt like a recycled storyline.

This season we've had them stuck in the same day, Iris trapped in a dream and now them trapped in a time loop?! It just felt like more of the same and, right away, I was so uninterested.

Everything became even worst when they figure out who did steal the time magnet and it all came down to the person that didn't know the name of a particular thing (don't ask me what because I don't remember it). Barry then is able to convince her to restore the time magnet and be arrested instead of dying and so the time loop stops. That was it for episode 8 - really underwhelming. Luckily, things got better so let's move on to Episode 9.

Episode 9 was the one I was most excited about - Stephen Amell's come back as Arrow! And I'm so happy that Oliver was there for real! 

The way the episode started really looked like it was going to be something set in a dream or it was just an illusion (because it was all about Ramsey Rosso messing with Barry again) but gladly it wasn't 'fake'. Basically Ramsey 'possessed' Wally and Wally killed Barry. But before Barry really died, in a 'purgatory' world, he met with Oliver who helps Barry accept the guilt he feels and then resurrects Barry. But not just that! In order to help him defeat Ramsey, Oliver also comes back to the real world and Barry, Oliver, Diggle and Wally both fight Ramsey to restore the multiverse! Everything was really emotional and having Oliver back, even if just for one episode made everything worth it! 

The latest episode, Episode 10, was the beginning of a new storyline, the ending one and, after that last episode I really wasn't hopeful. I really thought having Oliver in the episode was the peak for this season and, even though Episode 10 wasn't the best, I'm gald I was wrong and this new story looks pretty interesting. It's just unfortunate that it took them 9 episodes to get to the actual storyline they wanted to pursue this season... What a waste of 8 episodes...

But anyway, this last episode sees Barry travel back in time to the day his mother dies. As you can imagine, this episode was really nostalgic, with a lot of references to the first seasons, which was great! Barry goes to Joe for help and, for the first time, Barry seems really careful with everything he does so he won't mess up the timeline. Unfortunately Joe can't really help and when he goes to someone else he's attacked by Thawne - yes, Thawne again. That's when his parents help him, not knowing who he really his, and take him to the hospital and later they all have dinner together. It's after all of that that Barry meets with Thawne and the later gloats about Barry not being able to stop his plan of killing younger Barry. 

After a few things happen, Barry participates in the fight in which Thawne kills Nora and we have one of the coolest scenes with a ton of Barrys from different timelines and with the 'present day' Barry warning one of the other ones to not interfere. Afterwards, Barry tells Thawne that he has made peace with Nora's death and is transported away again.

The episode ends with someone that looks like Eddie Thawne being struck by lightning and finding a file about Eddie's death, wondering who he really is.

As I said, this final episodes look like are going to bring something interesting and I did like both episode 9 and 10 and loved all the nostalgic bits and references to ealy seasons, so let's hope the remaining 3 episodes are just as good as this past ones and hopefully it's not about Thawne again because, although he is one of the best villains The Flash has ever had, I'm tired of being always about him. Also, Zoom hasn't appeared yet so... Let's see how he comes back and how everything ties in.

Well, that's it from me and again I'm sorry for not posting for so long. Hopefully you're still interested in my thoughts and I really didn't want to just stop posting, not when there's one three episodes left. With saying that, let me know your thoughts on the last episodes and what are your predictions for the next three episodes!

Love,

Daniela.

The Flash | Season 9 Episode 7 - "Wildest Dreams"

Spoiler Alert!

Hello people!

I know, I know... Late as per usual, so let's just get past that move straight to the episode!

Last week's episode was... Okay... I can't say it was bad because I was fairly entertained, the thing is... Again, this is the final season and this episode didn't add anything to the overall plot... It just added more things and made it more complicated... I mean, not exactly complicated but they're entertaining plots and characters that we didn't really remember and bringing characters from other shows which, I know they are an important part of this final season but c'mon! We want more Flash and less everything else. On top of all of that, it looks like they're coming to an end with a very specific character's story and that just makes me really sad because it was someone that I was starting to like and I thought he gave so much to to actual story... Anyway, I've rambled enough, let's get into specifics.

As I said, this episode was all about soemthing and, to be honest, didn't really matter for this season - Nia Nal searching for some type of dream energy. 

First of all, I haven't seen all of Supergirl so I barely knew who Nia was and second, why do we need that storyline on The Flash?! The only thing that connected all of this was Nia seeing Iris in the dream/nightmare where she lost her powers and so, because of that, she went to Central City to ask for Iris' help. Of course there wasn't much Iris could do and this whole thing got them stuck in a dream/nightmare with the sole purpose of making Iris realize that destiny is not one choice, but the result of a lifetime of choices (that because this whole episode is about Iris and her article that will get her to win a Pullitzer).

The end of this 'dream' is really anticlimatic because Iris realizes that and Nia has to realize that she needs to give up control and when she does so, she meets the spirit of the first Naltorian with dream abillities and after that they wake up... So anticlimatic!

Besides that storyline we follow that other storyline with Mark and Khione which I was really getting into but they had to screw everything with this episode. 

Everything started with Mark taking Khione out to do activities that he liked to do with Frost and completely ignoring everything that Khione actually wanted to do. Of course she realizes that he's doing and leaves. Later, Mark apologizes to Khione and decides to leave Central City, causing Khione to inadvertently freeze Cecile's banquet. 

This last bit was interesting, yes, but I'm kind of angry that they're just 'getting rid of' Mark just like that... I was really enjoying the dynamic between those two and it almost made me forget about the whole Caitlin/Frost fiasco. The show really screwed up with killing Caitlin. Not only she was a character that most people liked but creating Khione to replace her and not give her enough episodes to grow... It's really disappointing and at this point I've lost hope that they'll be able to finish this season on a good note.

Of course I'm going to keep watching but I already know that Oliver is going to be in episode 9 so... I'm not going to be that pumped for the remaining of the season... But we'll see... I'm not really hopeful but I guess I'll keep watching to see what stupic things they do with the remaining of the show.

So, the new episode comes out tonight so I don't expect a lot of feedback from this post but, if you're still interested, let me know your thoughts and what are your predictions for the rest of this final season. Do you have hope that this will have a somewhat decent ending? Or you're not expecting that anymore, just like me? Tell me everything and hopefully I'll see you very soon with the new episode!

Love,

Daniela.