S01.E05: Love Is Not a Game / S01.E06: Expect the Unexpected

[shantown]

The final 2 parts of the documentary air on Wednesday, October 5, 2022 beginning at 8:00pm eastern on MTV.

Part 5, airing at 8pm: Can love survive in a cutthroat game? Countless couples found each other on the Challenge over its 37 seasons. Some were short-lived, others went wrong, and one was kept entirely off-camera but a few have stood the test of time.

Part 6, airing at 9pm: Jaw-dropping moments are what makes The Challenge so unpredictable. As the series has evolved, its greatest surprises have only become more life-changing!

[shantown]

Jemmye/Knight and CT/Diem were obviously going to be the big discussions. It was nice clip package for Knight, since I have a vague memory of him not having the greatest portrayal on his final challenge season. The Diem stuff is always so sad to watch, I don't blame CT for not saying much. Surprised we didn't get more from Johnny, he and Diem had been close.

Was interesting to see the Rachel/Veronica relationship talked about - not sure if it was previously known to fans or not? I would have liked to see that lead directly into talking about Nany/Kaycee for the parallels. I was surprised during the Jordan/Tori package when they talked about marriages and divorces between contestants they didn't touch on couples like Brad/Tori, Jenna/Zach, Danny/Melinda, even Sean/Rachel. 

Like most of the previous parts, this was very focused on recent seasons. Mike and Wes mentioned a few hookups on past seasons, but for the most part any relationship that got more than a mention was from within the last 5 years, 10 at most.

[AntFTW]

The Julie and Veronica moment was not supposed to crack me up but it cracked me up. I'm a terrible person.

[AntFTW]

I still...

don't feel bad for Hunter.

I felt bad for Sarah, but not for Hunter. Hunter was shitty person to his partner and Sarah wasn't.

[moonchild81]

they didn't mention chadwick/holly and michelle from road rules europe either

[AntFTW]

9 hours ago, shantown said:

Was interesting to see the Rachel/Veronica relationship talked about - not sure if it was previously known to fans or not?

I didn’t know about it.

I didn’t get to watch those earlier seasons of The Challenge. The first time I ever heard about Veronica and Rachel, I think, was maybe on Dirty 30. IIRC Aneesa mentioned that her and Veronica have the same ex, which was Rachel.

9 hours ago, shantown said:

I was surprised during the Jordan/Tori package when they talked about marriages and divorces between contestants they didn't touch on couples like Brad/Tori, Jenna/Zach, Danny/Melinda, even Sean/Rachel.

I thought, for sure, they would have at least given a mention to Brad and Tori considering that Brad was there being interviewed.

[mojoween]

Rachel was someone who I ran hot and cold with as a viewer, because sometimes I rooted for her and sometimes I was hoping she would have eliminated the day before.  But it’s nice to see she’s doing well (and jacked as all hell, damn girl!).

Knight was a bit of a shithead on the show, and this sounds morbid but because he and Diem passed away so closely to each other, Knight always was kind of forgotten.  So that piece for him was nice for the show to do.  And how could I ever forget about Jemmye’s ketchup phobia?

[MMLEsq]

Episode 5:  It was interesting that they mostly focused on couples that are no longer together (Jemmye/Knight, Jordan/Tori, CT/Diem, Veronica/Rachel)...  and yet ignored Zach and Jenna, who are not only currently married, but are expecting their second baby this year.  I realize that Zach and Jenna's relationship might be viewed as slightly problematic, but still.  Or, Cara Maria and Paulie....again, they wouldn't be my couple goals, but they are still together and seemingly happy.  Or, as others have noted, Sean and Rachel.  I can't stand him, but they've been married for 20+ years and have 9 kids, for crying out loud.

I'm kind of surprised that they held Leroy and Kam up as the ideal love story because their road to where they are now was not without some bumps along the way.  

I felt bad for CT -- asking him to speak about Diem and all the comments about how they were (paraphrasing) perfect for each other.  He's married -- were they expecting him to say that Diem was the love of his life or the one that got away...?

Episode 6:  Having watched the RW Homecoming: New Orleans show earlier this year, I'm puzzled at what Julie is attempting to do image-wise these days.  I guess lean into playing the villain in a hope to get back into the MTV fold.

And, did I miss it, or did they gloss over the entire team of Veterans (except Brad) screaming at Eric (Big Easy), who had collapsed and was clearly having some sort of medical episode, during The Gauntlet III?  They showed a brief snippet of that happening at the beginning of the episode, so I assumed it was part of a preview of what was to come.  I guess not.

And, for all of Wes's self-aggrandizing during the six episodes, I wished they would have showed the scene of Kenny having to carry Wes on his shoulders during the final challenge of Rivals.

Edited October 6, 2022 by MMLEsq

[AntFTW]

20 minutes ago, MMLEsq said:

And, did I miss it, or did they gloss over the entire team of Veterans (except Brad) screaming at Eric (Big Easy), who had collapsed and was clearly having some sort of medical episode, during The Gauntlet III?  They showed a brief snippet of that happening at the beginning of the episode, so I assumed it was part of a preview of what was to come.  I guess not.

You didn't miss it. They showed a tiny clip of it that really showed no context.

[shantown]

9 hours ago, moonchild81 said:

they didn't mention chadwick/holly and michelle from road rules europe either

I completely forgot about Chadwick and Evil Holly! Oh they were insufferable! But yes, they were married and made sure EVERYONE knew it on that season!

Pieces of this documentary series were good, but it lacked lots of moments, relationships, information about early on - the first 10 or so seasons especially. Certain long running cast members (Johnny, CT, Wes) had earlier moments shown, but it was only in relation to their time on the challenge. Overall this just wasn't that great of a documentary experience for me, as it was so focused on the last 6-7 years and 10 seasons of the show. Way too much that was too recent, and has yet to prove it will be memorable in the long-term. I gotta say, I'm disappointed.

[mojoween]

I know Jay has innumerable fans, and I don’t dislike him, but I could have gone the rest of my life without seeing him beat CT in that elimination.

Hunter *was* a jerk that season, and his reaction was over-the-top, but I will never be on Ashley’s side about anything.

[AntFTW]

14 minutes ago, mojoween said:

Hunter *was* a jerk that season, and his reaction was over-the-top, but I will never be on Ashley’s side about anything.

SAME!!!!

I didn't feel bad for Hunter. There is nothing that will make me feel bad for Hunter. I wouldn't have felt bad for Ashley either if Hunter was given the choice and chose to take the money.

[millennium]

On 10/6/2022 at 11:08 AM, MMLEsq said:

It was interesting that they mostly focused on couples that are no longer together (Jemmye/Knight, Jordan/Tori, CT/Diem, Veronica/Rachel)...  and yet ignored Zach and Jenna, who are not only currently married, but are expecting their second baby this year.  I realize that Zach and Jenna's relationship might be viewed as slightly problematic, but still.

Zach was abusive to both Jonna and Jenna (btw, if Jonna is pronounced Jonn-ay, why isn't Jenna pronounced Jenn-ay?   And what's up with pilates?  We don't say "Pa-rotties of the Caribbean."  Stuff like that keeps me awake at night.)

I imagine the producers decided it wouldn't be a good idea to hold up Zach and Jenna as a Challenge love story when, after Jenna's last appearance, so many of us in the audience wished we could somehow hold an intervention for Jenna.   At the time, Zach was sending scary vibes like one of those controlling boyfriends/husbands who start telling their girlfriend/wife where they can go, what they can wear and who they can see.  I feel bad saying that because otherwise I really like them both.    I love Zach's dry sense of humor and he's a hell of a competitor.  Jenna's a sweetheart and the original Barbie Beast.  Some of my favorite seasons feature them.

IMO the series felt hastily thrown together and incomplete.  Ashley should have been interviewed.   And Cara.  And Jenna.  Zach.  Beth.  And others.  Jordan should have been in these final two episodes, if not for the "Tor-Jor, Jor-Tor" segment then in the WTF moments.   Because that scene between Nia and Jordan in Battle of the Exes II definitely should have been included.

Speaking of WTF moments, several of my favorite confrontations were also skipped over: 

1. On "The Island," Evelyn Smith in the spotlight staring down Bananas and saying in front of everyone, "Fuck you, Johnny Bananas, and fuck your alliance."

2. Turbo and Jordan -- "You must not copy my walk!"

3. Tony and Corey -- "It was pasta!" (although a brief clip was shown without context).

4. Hurricane Camila: "You're gonna die!!!"

WHY SO MUCH JEMMYE????  I don't get the producers' motivation.   It's almost as difficult as trying to understand what motivated Jemmye to wear that awful dress. 

I appreciate that we got a bigger helping of unseen footage in these last two episodes, especially in the Julie/Veronica instance.

Most surprising moment:  TJ describing Bananas' take-the-money-and-run decision as "disgusting."

On 10/6/2022 at 11:08 AM, MMLEsq said:

And, did I miss it, or did they gloss over the entire team of Veterans (except Brad) screaming at Eric (Big Easy), who had collapsed and was clearly having some sort of medical episode, during The Gauntlet III?  They showed a brief snippet of that happening at the beginning of the episode, so I assumed it was part of a preview of what was to come.  I guess not.

Again, they would have been opening a can of worms.   Big Easy's collapse was one of the most awful moments televised on The Challenge.   There he was, on the ground gasping like a flounder left on a dock, while cast members were fat-shaming and insulting him.  It was like The Challenge: Lord of the Flies.  Not a proud moment for the show.

Edited October 8, 2022 by millennium

[jsm1125]

I think the show wants us to forget that Kenny and Evan exist, and the Gauntlet 3 final would have had to include footage of them from the final. 

I don’t think Brad and Tori are on good terms so totally didn’t expect their marriage/story to be mentioned at all.

[kimbrchick]

On 10/8/2022 at 12:28 PM, jsm1125 said:

I think the show wants us to forget that Kenny and Evan exist, and the Gauntlet 3 final would have had to include footage of them from the final.

I was just going to say the same thing and then saw you posted this. It also seems like they want to forget Evelyn existed and she too was a big part of that shit show. How was she not listed as a GOAT though?

When talking about Diem, I do like that the producers/interviewers asked CT if he wanted to say something about Diem "as a friend". To me that was a more respectful way to frame their relationship now that he's married. He got me choked up though. Gone too soon indeed.

I think this part was in an earlier episode but the Johnny Bananas backpack will never get old for me.

I wish there were more untold parts in this series. It seems like mostly stuff we already knew.

[Lantern7]

I didn't get to the last episode because I heard they got unaired stuff from Julie coming close to killing Veronica, and I really need to steel myself for that. Between that and Sarah Greyson's segment on "Underdogs," I might have to blog soon.

Nice of MTV not to run a segment on Zach & Jenn. Even if they are a good couple in real life, he was a freaking Neanderthal on the show. Also nice to run Rachel/Veronica and completely cut the threesome with Abram on The Gauntlet. He's too far gone now to be remembered in a positive light.

I want Nany & Kaycee to work out. I guess that makes me a sap.

On 10/6/2022 at 10:49 AM, mojoween said:

Knight was a bit of a shithead on the show, and this sounds morbid but because he and Diem passed away so closely to each other, Knight always was kind of forgotten.  So that piece for him was nice for the show to do.  And how could I ever forget about Jemmye’s ketchup phobia?

"Ryan Knight: He Wasn't The Douchiest Ryan on His Season!" Remember Ryan Leslie? *shudder*

On 10/6/2022 at 2:41 PM, mojoween said:

I know Jay has innumerable fans, and I don’t dislike him, but I could have gone the rest of my life without seeing him beat CT in that elimination.

It was a helluva upset. And someone recreated that using Animal Crossing!

Edited October 12, 2022 by Lantern7

[Lantern7]

Started watching "Unexpected." Went through the Julie/Veronica incident. I was doing okay . . . and then Julie came in for an interview, and I had to bail out. I wasn't prepared for her at all.

And apparently, Veronica's life was at risk. My basic feeling was "Oh, I talk about BMP's endgame is to have a player die on camera, but Veronica was probably safe." Turns out she was not. Julie was so hellbent on winning, she almost killed Veronica.

I am amused at the unaired footage of Veronica's teammates hugging her, and that included Katie. If you remember, they had beefed at the start of The Gauntlet, but Julie's near-homicide brought them together. And then Veronica and most of the RR team tried to get rid of Katie.

[millennium]

On 10/11/2022 at 11:50 PM, Lantern7 said:

I didn't get to the last episode because I heard they got unaired stuff from Julie coming close to killing Veronica, and I really need to steel myself for that. Between that and Sarah Greyson's segment on "Underdogs," I might have to blog soon.

Nice of MTV not to run a segment on Zach & Jenn. Even if they are a good couple in real life, he was a freaking Neanderthal on the show. Also nice to run Rachel/Veronica and completely cut the threesome with Abram on The Gauntlet. He's too far gone now to be remembered in a positive light.

I want Nany & Kaycee to work out. I guess that makes me a sap.

"Ryan Knight: He Wasn't The Douchiest Ryan on His Season!" Remember Ryan Leslie? *shudder*

It was a helluva upset. And someone recreated that using Animal Crossing!

Thank you for this, lol.  Some people have waaay too much time on their hands!

[millennium]

17 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

Julie was so hellbent on winning, she almost killed Veronica.

BMP appears to have enforced all the necessary precautions, safety protocols, policies, etc.   But it was entirely predicated on the players adhering to norms.   They made no allowance for a sociopath getting their hands on the equipment.