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I had a moment of hope that Bunny was really alive right after Mabel found out Poppy was Becky. Since the subject of one Cinda podcast wasn't really dead, I figured maybe Bunny wasn't either, and that Cinda's podcasts were normally about fake mysteries she essentially writes. Sadly, not the case. Since she was after Bunny for the painting, she likely watched her and discovered them. I figured Cinda was in on it from the way she was gushing over Mabel. Cinda doesn't gush over anyone but Cinda. So, that had to be an act. After we saw the flashbacks of her life, and then her missing person case being reported on the news, I said to my son "I wonder who even noticed and cared enough to report her missing." We never saw exactly how Poppy became interested in Rose's story, but it was something she was already interested in before she met Cinda, since she proposed it as a podcast idea during that initial meeting. Maybe she came across her story while she was researching how to disappear with no trace herself? And she clearly did her research, because she knew about the painting and that Bunny had it, and it seems she knew that was Charles's father in the painting. As for it being a reason to kill, well, she's clearly nuts. She looked at Cinda's telling her that there needed to be a murder, and she looked at Bunny who was refusing to give/sell her the painting, and, in her mind, murdering Bunny and framing Mabel, Oliver, and Charles became the answer to her problem. What's less clear to me is why she didn't take that opportunity, then, to break free from Cinda and do her own podcast. Why orchestrate this story for a podcast and let Cinda profit from it, including even giving her the title? She and Kreps were talking about how much money she was going to make, but it would seem that they skipped the part of their plan that enables them to make that money. I assume she was hiding it because of Poppy badgering her about it. And she wanted to leave Mrs. G to Oliver to drive him crazy, but she also probably figured that, given how close the two of them are, the painting would still get to Charles.

That and what is going on with Lucy are the two plot points that I hope we get more on next season. I would assume that, since Nina is in charge, we're going to see that plan for the building progress (or attempt to progress, with the residents resisting). And with Lucy, we got some hints that there are problems at home, but no real explanation. Since we saw her in the 1 year flash forward, I'm assuming she'll be around for us to get more of that story. The stories of the murders seem intended to be the catalyst for the backstory and development of the main characters. The show isn't really about the murders, it's about them. And I can get that being the angle, because the leads are freaking magical together, so their back stories and the relationship among the three should be the "star" of the show. But, I can also get how frustrating it must be for viewers who are hardcore into solving the mystery as the main purpose for watching.

From what I can put together, she discovered, at some point, that Bunny had the Rose Cooper painting. (Maybe she found out when she was with Cinda talking to residents during season 1?) She wanted the painting to use as part of the podcast she wanted to do on Rose's disappearance. It sounds like Poppy went there regularly to get the #14 sandwich (either for herself or for Cinda). She probably saw her there when she went in to order and sat down to bug her about the painting again. I think her goal was initially to frame Mabel, but when it was looking like they wouldn't be able to pin it on her (Kreps likely told her that they just didn't have the evidence to nail Mabel), she decided to start throwing Cinda clues to Mabel, Charles, and Oliver. One thing that stuck out tome was Charles telling Ben "be smart," and that made me think of Jan. We know Jan had an interest in younger men. I could see Ben hating Charles because Jan is obsessed with him, and Charles repeatedly warning him to stay away from her because she's crazy and dangerous. Outside of that, my other candidates for who "her" was were Mabel and Lucy. We know Lucy had issues with her newest stepfather, but we never really got into what, exactly, was going on with her this season. Just that she seemed to keep wanting to escape to Charles' place. Mabel felt a lot less likely by the end of the scene, because the only thing I could think of that would make it Mabel was if Ben was interested in her. But Mabel's reaction to his death struck me solely as an "another fucking murder right around us??" kind of reaction, not like there was any kind of connection between her and Ben. So, I guess I'm down to Lucy or Jan. That is really who I thought it was going to be, right up until episode 9. I figured he was with Nina to get to the building, and he was pissed that Bunny staying on would delay his plans for the building. After episode 9, I was pretty sure we were looking at either Cinda or Poppy. And I was leaning towards Poppy, since Kreps never saying his girlfriend's name, but describing her as brunette with glasses made me think it was misdirection to make us think it was Cinda.

I don't think we've ever had it explicitly confirmed. Unless I'm remembering wrong, I think Mabel said something to him about it, but he didn't confirm it was him. I think it's just an assumption that it was him since he seems to be Glitter Guy, and GG is the one who went to retrieve the matchbook after they texted that number. I think it's just as likely, though, that it could have been Cinda (or Poppy, I'm not ruling her out) who texted that night, and then, when they texted that number about the evidence, sent Kreps to go retrieve it. That conversation in the boxing ring makes it pretty clear he's essentially someone's lovestruck henchman, so it would make sense that he was playing gofer for Cinda/Poppy.

Steffy: "I've learned lately that you can't give up a minute with the people you love." And that's why, instead of being with the husband you thought was dead, you're sitting there bitching about the "evil" Logans and braiding your mother's hair while she giggles about kissing a married man. And, God, you could die of alcohol poisoning in one episode if you took a drink every time someone said Douglas belongs with his "real family." OK, Thomas. You think Douglas needs to live with his "real" aka biological family? Well, then, saddle up and go find paw-paw Marone and ask if you and Douglas can live with him. Otherwise, you're a fucking hypocrite just like your sister and mother. Does the show not get that you can't have this herd of assholes being complete hypocrites with no recollection of their own past (and present) if you're not going to give us someone reminding them that their shit does, in fact, stink. I'd pay good cash for it to be Liam (or Bill, Bill would be amazing, but Liam is the more invested party here). I want Liam to tell Steffy that she's shown him the light, and he believes that his daughter living with her mother and stepfather isn't appropriate any longer. She needs to be with her real father, and she needs to learn about her Spencer birthright. He can remind her of how magnanimous he's been to let her have full physical custody all this time, especially not raising holy hell when she impulsively fled the country, in the middle of a mental breakdown, with his daughter. He can remind her how against a child going to live with their "real family" she was when he and Hope came to take home their kidnapped daughter who Mommy Taylor bought for Steffy on the black market. Bonus points if he condescendingly refers to Steffy "taking care of Kelly" for him, like she's the babysitter. I also want Finn and Li to get an earful of her "real family" bullshit and blast her so hard her and her mother's wigs fly off their empty heads and blow over the cliff from the verbal impact. Back to the Bill option. I always wanted Bill and Douglas 1.0 to have a bond, mostly because I wanted scenes between the two of them. We didn't really get that, but I'll gladly take them retconning that he was super bonded with the kid if it gives me a scene of him ripping Steffy a new asshole for trying to take "my grandson" away, and announcing his support for Liam going for full custody of Kelly. I would enjoy the hell out of Steffy having to deal with both Liam and Bill reading her for filth and no longer being in her thrall. As for a potential custody battle, yes, let's see a judge learn all the details of how, exactly, Hope came to be Douglas's mother. Leave no details out, Hope, including how he knew your daughter was alive and living with his sister, and he kept his mouth shut, forcing others to keep quiet as well, because he needed you grieving her "death" so he could keep positioning his son as your replacement baby, to lure you into marriage. Make sure the judge knows about how he mentally and physically abused Douglas to advance his agenda. Throw in the Hopequin details. And, please, please, please, let Hope find out about Thomas's involvement keeping Sheila's crime against Brooke quiet, as proof that, no, he hasn't changed much. Having said all of that, for the love of fuck, has nobody involved in this show ever heard of split custody? The kid living half the time with one parent and half with the other? These people are all basically in each other's pockets 24/7. I think Thomas and Hope could manage dropping Douglas off at each other's homes every other week.

The combination of the "star-crossed" comment about Steam, and the way they're clearly going to have Hope unravelling and going to any lengths to get Douglas back, makes me fear they're going to kill off Hope and give her husband and baby to Steffy. I have to say, I'd be done then, just completely, utterly done. After everything they've done to the character over the past year, to give her five minutes of happiness and then just off her so Steffy can have everything she wants? Nope. Hard pass.

I will give John one tiny bit of credit for saying to CT (after they picked him to go into the final) "if I die, I expect you to pick me up and carry me like a backpack." Johnny Bananas Backpack will forever be my favorite reality show moment. I knew there was no way the stars would win, but damn, that wasn't even close. The champs were done before the stars got a single plank in place. I agree that they should transition some of those games over to the real Challenge. They used to mix some "silly" games into the Challenge, but I feel like that's largely gone by the wayside as they now just keep trying to up the ante. Sometimes silly is good, MTV. Sure, have the extreme heights challenges, but also add in some human foosball or human hot dog type (from Champs vs. Pros) kind of stuff. It will make the regular seasons more fun if there are some episodes where the game isn't necessarily going to be won by the people who do the most cross fit in between seasons or take the most steroids.

And John typically throws those tantrums over shit he just wishes he would have gotten to do first. And they should all know this about him by now, so I'm annoyed that so many of his cast mates indulged his whiny tantrum over not being made MVP, just because he staged a whole deal with the kid showing up and told everyone how great it would be to be MVP while he was there. You weren't the MVP, John. Deal with it. It's not fair to the other charities being represented there if you get to tilt the advantage and take away money that they should have been given under the existing rules. I live for the day he launches into one of his tantrums (over someone doing the kind of shit he's always doing), and the whole cast shrugs and walks away instead of trying to argue or placate him. In this one, I think Wes psyched himself out. He knew this was his to lose, and once John put in a good time, and as others did well, you could see all over his face that he was letting that get in his head. Then he hd trouble with that knot, and it was all over. Had he not gotten stuck there, he would have smoked the rest of them. Oh, and I question the official times. It seems like CT did much better than John, but there was no drama in CT getting it, so John it is. I'll be shocked if next week's finale doesn't include gross food. I'm surprised John is talking about bringing in strong players as their third. I thought, for sure, he'd want Tori, telling himself both girls are strong enough to compete with him and not hold him back, if his outcome partially depends on them, but not strong enough to outdo him. And given that he had to know the odds were high that the other side would be fielding two girls (because everyone over there apparently dislikes Matt now), it wouldn't put him at any disadvantage against the stars side. Unless he knows something about the final format, I can't believe he's pushing to bring CT in. (And, yeah, CT gets gassed on those serious endurance things, but I doubt they're taking them on a two day finale culminating in climbing a mountain on one of these charity things.)

He doesn't seem quite as 'roided up this season, so maybe that plays a part in him being less of an asshole, too? (I mean, I still think it's the hair, but who knows?) I'm not saying he's not still a big strong guy, but he seems a lot leaner than in the past. Maybe he realized that all that bulk can be a detriment in a final? I thought he handled himself really well with the whole Romeo thing. I think that, in seasons past, he likely would have gone full angry asshole over the whole thing, but he mostly seemed to be laughing the whole thing off, like "can you believe this guy went and brought his own damn security team over an incident in a fucking game?"

He's pretty prominent these days, and he makes movies regularly with their production studio. I doubt he'd have the ability to take off the time to host a full regular season, but the lighter commitment of doing these special seasons and hosting reunion shows probably works in his schedule.

Are Zach's asshole powers contained in his hair or something? Because this is really the only time I've ever liked him. (Shallow note, he looks better without the hair, but that's not why I actually like him this season.) I have a feeling he and Jenna are going to spend years getting together, then breaking up, then getting together again, then breaking up again, lather, rinse, repeat. She has tragic taste in men. Isn't it rumored that she hooked up with Vince (the Bananas cousin)? That alone should put her in the Tragic Taste in Men Hall of Fame.

I think she would have eventually still reached that point, because she seems like a generally socially conscious kid, but it might have taken longer, since she wouldn't have been invested in specific people she was speaking to and seeing how miserable they were.

I dislike Matt just because he took the possibility of immediately being rid of Riff Raff off the table. And is this the first time we've every seen someone get pissed at their teammates for not sending them in? I was so hoping Wes would get in Zach's ear and convince him to send in Bananas. But, of course, Zach took the easy way out and sent in Cory. MTV really and truly needs to be done with Camila. At this point, if they bring her back, they're opening themselves up to legal issues every single time she flips out (especially since they provide free-flowing booze and encourage binge levels of drinking, and they know what happens when she drinks that much). They know she has issues with alcohol, and they know she has some psychological issues and a complete inability to control her temper. I know they eventually let CT come back, but it was a decent length of time, and he had made some clear improvements in his emotional state. If they ever have Camila back, it needs to be after a lengthy absence, and it needs to be after she's had some treatment for her drinking and rage issues. Just having her sit out one season won't be anywhere near enough. Since Camila got the boot before the first elimination, are they going to bring in an alternate, or will the Champs team just be down a girl the whole season? It kind of doesn't seem fair to the rest of the team to bring that loose cannon on, only to have her, predictably, do something to get herself booted, and then leave them all down a person. Oh, and what set her off this time, anyway? Not that it ever takes much, but it was like all of a sudden, we're hearing the story of her latest bullshit second hand from the cast, just seeing the golf cart. Did I miss someone looking at her the wrong way for a fraction of a second? And if it turns out that John somehow instigated something or egged her on for his own amusement, like he often does, then they need to sit his ass out for a few years or so. It's disgusting that he tries to rile up someone he clearly knows has some mental health issues, because he thinks it's funny.

I had all kinds of second hand embarrassment watching Maryse, like to the point where I almost had to change channels. Mike was right, she made it weird, but, then, him saying that, while they were still sitting there, made it weird, too.

It counts if it becomes one of the big story lines covered at the reunion. (Of course, none of John's hookups are ever shown on camera or talked about at reunions, yet he always has a partner for Exes.)

I honestly didn't even give that any thought during the past few weeks of the show, but the very second she said she cheated on him, I said "I bet it was with Jordan!" So I must have picked up that vibe but just not really thought much of it. I'd be willing to bet Jordan hooked up with her so they could be future Exes partners, and she has zero idea. I think she still thinks there's some chance that, now that the reunion has happened, and she's publicly cleared the air about their hookup and her relationship with her ex, she and Jordan are going to have some kind of relationship. She just kept insisting that they're relationship is great way too many times, and it came off as kind of pathetic and desperate. Meanwhile, he's totally moved on. He got his hook up and his future Exes partner, so he's done. When Miz (who should host all the reunions from now on) asked Cory "fuck, marry, kill" with Kailah, Aneesa, and Camilla, I knew exactly how he was going to answer. Camilla in the "kill" slot is a gimme (if you ask any of those guys at this point), and it seems like he has some level of genuine feelings for Aneesa, although I'm not sure, exactly, what those are, but she seems to be the one he seems most intent on maintaining some level of relationship with. I can see why people think the network is protecting Camila by keeping her off the reunion, but, knowing Camila's need for drama and the spotlight, it's probably killing her that she's not there and that they're largely just pretending she doesn't exist, beyond having TJ stand in for her at the end. I think it would be awesome if, after basically ignoring her existence, right at the very end, they have a couple cast members make statements condemning her behavior, and there's a production announcement that she will no longer be allowed back in any future seasons, due, in general, to her repeated history of acting abusively towards her cast members and her racist comments, specifically. Very little of the drama she adores, no real spotlight on her, no chance for her to respond on air, and her Challenge career is over. And I just looked at her Twitter account. She's claiming she couldn't make it to the reunion because of a death in the family. My favorite response "I didn't realize your dignity was family." Someone defending her is saying something like "I hope all of you people calling her racist are perfect and have never made a mistake in your life." Mistakes? Sure. Drunken rant where I call someone who I claim is my friend the n-word and throw a whole bunch of racist crap at him and others, because I'm embarrassed that I got drunk and hooked up with a complete loser? Nope, can't say that I have. If that makes me perfect, so be it.

Here you go (it starts around the 2:30 mark, right after the opening credits): Rivals Episode 2 I think the talking head about it I'm remembering was in a reunion show, but this is the actual incident itself.

I love how they spent a decent amount of time having the cast talk about how a million dollars is life changing money. It's like "OK, you guys heard the part about getting 'your share' of the million, and know that nobody is winning a full million, right?" And I loved their crestfallen faces when he announced that the people in third would get $15,000 each. (Yeah, I'm evil.) I think this episode pretty much confirmed our "Jordan and CM are pretending to be paired as rivals" theory. Other than Jordan laughing to the camera about CM's freak out over sky diving, they were getting along pretty well this episode. TJ said they'd be running parts of the final as pairs and part as individuals. I wonder if they're all stuck with the partner they had for this first leg for any other legs that have them running with partners, or if each one will be like this one - the first person to a specific point gets to pick their partner when the members of the opposite sex start hitting that point. I think it would be more interesting to have them run with different partners for different legs. It would mix it up in terms of making it harder to determine who is winning, and it would be a little more fair to everyone to have a shot at picking their partner on any given leg. I'm always entertained when we have moments of "CT is just freaky fucking strong," like his performance carrying the rocks last night. He may have issues with running at high altitudes, but he certainly does a good job at countering that issue with his insane strength, whenever there's a chance to do so. I think my favorite in this category, aside from Johnny Bananas Backpack, which will always be my favorite Challenge moment, period, was the time, several seasons ago, when the other guys put that ceramic swan in one of the beds in the girls' room. It took like six of them, huffing and puffing to drag that thing to the room. When the girl whose bed it was in wanted it out, CT walks in there, hefts it up with one arm "where do you want it?" One of the guys' talking head was something to the effect of "you want to know why nobody wants to face him?"

I know I'm getting old when I'm sitting here drawing a blank on anything that happened in Free Agents. I remember it existing, and know it wasn't that long ago, but I cannot remember a single detail of that season.

Why am I not remembering them doing the partner switch during a final? I didn't see the last full season (the one where they brought in the champs at some point), but I'm trying to think back over previous ones, and I don't remember them switching.

I became convinced of this last night. Both seemed to be enjoying their confrontation over dinner just a little too much. And then it was odd when, as soon as the challenge was over, and she, Jordan, CT, and Tori had won, CM was saying to Jordan "now you're stuck running a final with me." CT is right there, and every time they're allowed to pick a partner, those two pair up. So shy did she think, in that moment, that she'd be running a final with Jordan instead of CT? I mean, yeah, technically, they'll both be in the final, but unless they're paired up, her performance has no influence on Jordan. I can see the show sticking them together for the drama. Or I could see some twist where the purged people get to pair up the people left running the final. We know at least one of Kailah/Jenna is going to be sent home, since only one more girl can get in. I could see them, especially Kailah, deciding to get one last shot in at CM and pair her up with the guy who she's been fighting with all along. But, CM thinking she's going to be his partner right then and there was odd, unless it's part of some master plan on their part.

That would not surprise me at all. It also wouldn't surprise me to learn he hooked up with Sarah precisely to get her as a partner for Exes.

I think drunk and talking to frogs Derrick will always be my favorite Derrick. I give Tony credit for being one of the only "expendable" parts of a Bananas alliance to figure out the deal and actually act on it. And now he and Hunter managed to shift the game big time, when the only guy who could be considered a favorite left in the competition is Derrick. All the other big guns, like John, CT, Leroy, and Jordan, are stuck in Redemption House, where they'll have to fight it out and most likely only one of them will get back in (I don't hold out hope that it will only be one, since I fully expect them to change it up on the fly when they realize all their pets are in there). So credit to him for that, although I still think he's a douchebag, and I hope he doesn't win. I've never liked Jordan. And as much as people can rightly say that CM has become entitled, so has Jordan. Remember when he was the scrappy underdog flipping all the cards so he could take on John? Now he's as firmly up John's ass as anyone, and convinced that being there (and avoiding eliminations) is his God-given right. Add in what an ass he is to women in general, and what he said to Jemmye earlier this season, and I just have zero use for him. I hope he loses in the Redemption House challenge in a big way. The whole thing with the room, while it may have seemed childish on CM's part, I was on her side over him. One, after all the shit he said to her (and he really just came in there swinging, trying to offend her), then he starts to plant his ass in the room she's been sleeping in, just to antagonize her further? Fuck that. And his talking head about how "since I'm the one who sent you here, I get to make the decisions"? What the fuck was that? That's not a thing, asshole. He's been drinking hard from the Johnny Bananas entitlement and sexism Kool Aid. On a related note, how is Jordan one of John's BFF's and inner circle when Sarah is the worst? Last time I checked, Jordan was Sarah's partner and equally responsible for "betraying" him by daring to make him fight for his place (after he'd already been eliminated once and shouldn't have even been there in the first place). Oh, right, because John's a sexist asshole. Carry on.

I was initially wondering why Tony would be stupid enough to deny it, when he knows he's on a damn reality show. But, I wonder if he was expecting the producers to give him the Bananas treatment and help hide his indiscretions. Didn't work out for you, did it, Tony?

I've never really cared about Aneesa one way or the other in past seasons. But the way the rest of the women in the cast are being such over the top assholes about it, I so want to see her take some of them out now. I usually like C-M, but I'm disgusted with her, in particular. Does she not remember being on the receiving end, in the not so distant past, of the kind of juvenile mean girl shit they're all pulling on Aneesa? But now she seems to be just so happy to be one of the veteran winners that she's happy to pile on to the latest target. Unless they're not showing us something relevant, it seems like the entirety of her issue with Aneesa is that she suspects she was exaggerating how much her ankle hurt. For that she's Satan?