S27.E12: True Blood

[OnceSane]

The final three teams begin the final challenge, which is set in a major city.

[TiffanyNichelle]

Cara Maria crying over that beer was the worst. I wanted her to shut up so much. Puke or pee, just get the liquid out and move on. Go Jenna and Brianna for kicking ass and staying in the lead.

[whirlingdervish]

Man, I've been there, though...that awful place where you just know you'll feel so much better if you could just throw up, but you can't manage to do it.  At least she finally rallied, though.  I think Jamie's got a point, that Cara Maria does pretty easily get to that place of despair where she just wants to give up. 

 

Color me super impressed with Jenna and Brianna for keeping it together and hanging on to their lead. 

[WhosThatGirl]

Well, this challenge season really has soured me on Cara. I really liked her in the past but this challenge, she just bugged me. Rooting for a Jenna/Brianna win. 

[Lantern7]

Brutal final mission, as usual. Kept flashing back to Luke getting his bladder filled in TAR18 watching Cara Maria handle beer after beer. She does have a point about things coming down to "janky carnival games."

 

Anybody else expect Jenna & Brianna to falter at the puzzle? They should have been awarded with a free kick to Johnny's nuts. I'm not certain that they should win . . . .they would be the first team not to have been initially cast on The Real World or The Challenge.

 

Next week should be fun. A tiny part of me wants all three teams to drop out so Aneesa can finally get a win. Or would the prize money be rolled over into the next season?

[Maharincess]

I just started watching here on the West Coast and I'm already sick of the whining and complaining. Nobody is making you do this, you can quit any time you want, and if you're not going to quit, then shut up and do it!

Geez, the whining is just too much.

Brutal final mission, as usual. Kept flashing back to Luke getting his bladder filled in TAR18 watching Cara Maria handle beer after beer. She does have a point about things coming down to "janky carnival games."

Anybody else expect Jenna & Brianna to falter at the puzzle? They should have been awarded with a free kick to Johnny's nuts. I'm not certain that they should win . . . .they would be the first team not to have been initially cast on The Real World or The Challenge.

Jenna was on Real World.

[Lantern7]

Jenna was brought in midseason of Ex-Plosion as Jay's ex. I don't consider her a full-fledged cast member. Same with Camila coming from Spring Break Challenge.

 

Idle thought: who would you want to see competing on this season from True Blood? Off the top of my head, I got Sookie & Jason and Tara & Lafayette.

 

ETA: From Brianna's Twitter: "There was a 5th checkpoint! We had to do ANOTHER LOOP and then race up like 1648262528591647 million flights of stairs "

[Racj82]

Brutal final mission, as usual. Kept flashing back to Luke getting his bladder filled in TAR18 watching Cara Maria handle beer after beer. She does have a point about things coming down to "janky carnival games."

Anybody else expect Jenna & Brianna to falter at the puzzle? They should have been awarded with a free kick to Johnny's nuts. I'm not certain that they should win . . . .they would be the first team not to have been initially cast on The Real World or The Challenge.

Next week should be fun. A tiny part of me wants all three teams to drop out so Aneesa can finally get a win. Or would the prize money be rolled over into the next season?

I couldn't care less about whether or not Aneesa wins money. Win the game. Win the money. She wasn't cheated. She just lost. Go keep a real job.

Edited February 13, 2016 by Racj82

[BK1978]

I think it was kind of messed up when they did that recap commercial and the voiceover woman said something like, "And what's her name?", when talking about Brianna.  There were/are a ton of invisible players on this season.  In fact I have a hard time remembering who Mitch is.

[NikSac]

I think it was kind of messed up when they did that recap commercial and the voiceover woman said something like, "And what's her name?", when talking about Brianna.  There were/are a ton of invisible players on this season.  In fact I have a hard time remembering who Mitch is.

 

There's a Mitch? 

[Maharincess]

Jenna was brought in midseason of Ex-Plosion as Jay's ex. I don't consider her a full-fledged cast member. Same with Camila coming from Spring Break Challenge.

Idle thought: who would you want to see competing on this season from True Blood? Off the top of my head, I got Sookie & Jason and Tara & Lafayette.

ETA: From Brianna's Twitter: "There was a 5th checkpoint! We had to do ANOTHER LOOP and then race up like 1648262528591647 million flights of stairs "

I have no clue who Sookie, Jason, Tara or Lafayette are so I can't answer that one.

Jenna is more of a Real World cast member than somebody like Cara. Wasn't she from Fresh Meat?

[shelley1234]

I was impressed with Jenna and Brianna in this challenge.....they just kept trooping through and little to no complaining.  The finals always pushes you in every way possible and those two just took every challenge and went after it.  

 

As for Cara and Cuz...they would waver back and forth between who was whining.  I did feel for Cara in the beer challenge.  She tried to puke and wasn't able to make herself.  I have drank a lot of water and felt very full before...and it gets painful.  I guess in addition to running miles and miles to prepare, she shoulda practiced puking on command.  And even though I agree with Jamie that Cara sometimes gives up on herself...she still kept going.  I have seen a lot of people in a finals just give up.  She didn't do that.  Sure, she felt super frustrated and was a whining little brat...but she kept doing it, she kept going.  

 

I personally love that Cory and Mitch are in last place.  I think they thought that because they were a guy guy duo that this was going to be easy for them.  Yeah, not so much.  

 

I still think this is anyone's game....and from the previews, I imagine the gross food aspect will kind of level the playing field.  

[luckyroll3]

Plus Cuz was complaining waaaaaaay more than Cara Maria was, particularly during the running portion.  But he expected Cara Maria to leave him alone and go at his own pace while at the same time also expecting her to just suck it up when had difficulties.  

 

However, it was kinda fucked up the guys had to run with 120 lbs on their backs while the girls only carried 60.  Crazy!  As may of you have said from a couple challenges ago, the weight should have been based on a percentage of each person's weight to be fair.  

 

Was it just me or did the puzzle seem easier than normal?

[AngryCarrot86]

I do think the 120 lb bag for the guys vs. the 60 lbs for the girls directly impacted the first round's outcome.  Jenna/Brianna come in first - they have a combined 120 lbs.  CM/Cuz in second - with a combined 180 lbs.  Lastly, Cory/Mitch - combined 240 lbs.  I agree with the above posters who said the weight carried should be based off the weight of the challenger.  That said, I'm SO SO SO rooting for Jenna and Brianna.  It would be amazing for the girl/girl team to win and upset all the misogynist men this show glorifies. 

 

Cara was really annoying me tonight - which only makes me root for Jenna and Brianna more.  CM really does have a sense of entitlement on this challenge.  Yes, she trained.  Yes, she worked hard to stay in the game - but who's to say Jenna and Brianna didn't work hard as well?  Perhaps they didn't dedicate the past year of their lives to training for this show like CM did - but that really only makes CM look more pathetic, IMO. 

 

I agree with BK1978: It was EXTREMELY rude to refer to Brianna as "what's her name" in the commercial, when we have the likes of Mitch and Cuz still on the show.  I much prefer her to the other bloodlines.  Being an agreeable, sensible woman gets you no love on this show.

Edited February 11, 2016 by AngryCarrot86

[KerleyQ]

As long as Cory and Mitch come in third, I'm good.  (Hey, John is no longer here, so it's already a better final than most seasons, so I'm easy.) 

 

I totally agreed with Cara about "janky carnival games" being a big deciding factor in the final.  I guess that now, when we go to our local carnivals and summer fests this spring/summer, we'll see all sorts of Challenge cast members hunkered down at the game booths with a big ass stack of singles, trying to hone their skills - maybe as they have a friend running back and forth to buy them a shitload of beers to guzzle as they play. 

[Primetimer]

It's the first part of the final challenge, and you know what that means! Lots of vomiting. No, like A LOT.

Read the story

[Lola82]

I don't mind the weight difference between the bags because both Brianna and Cara are petite, I'm sure 60 lbs felt like a lot to them. I'm impressed once again how Jenna and Brianna went through the whole thing without any complaints. Too bad they slipped on the tire, they'd have a really nice lead otherwise. 

 

I was really enjoying the lack of Johnny but at the same time it would be really entertaining to watch him and his huge cousin try to fit on one tire.

[KerleyQ]

I was really enjoying the lack of Johnny but at the same time it would be really entertaining to watch him and his huge cousin try to fit on one tire.

 

 

Oh, you just know that lunkhead Vince would have fallen off more than once.  It would have been hilarious. 

[WhosThatGirl]

It would have been funny to watch Vince try to do anything. Can you see him trying to smash the beer glass in the can? It would have been hilarious to see him miss everytime.

[KerleyQ]

And then he'd get pissed when he realized it was non-alcoholic beer he was chugging.  

[Jobiska]

How about Brianna and Jenna falling off the elevated portion of the dance floor?  I guess the alcohol made them more floppy and they didn't get hurt?  Yikes, though!  How awful it would be if you hurt something badly enough you couldn't participate in the final.

[NikSac]

I don't mind the weight difference in the bags, but as others have said I think it should be proportionate to the person, not just based on whether they are male or female.

 

I thought the puzzle looked a little easy but fun. I liked how one of them said it was like Tetris. It was nice to see something different than the usual tangram puzzle.

 

Definitely over the "make them puke" challenges. Can they just start leaving that part out? Please? I was glad it was non-alcoholic beer though. I thought the show was trying to kill them at first. Although, locally to me a woman died in a stupid radio competition where they had to drink too much water too fast so I still think that was actually kind of dangerous (http://www.nbcnews.com/id/16614865/ns/us_news-life/t/woman-dies-after-water-drinking-contest/ in case anyone is interested).

 

I liked Jenna and Brianna's cooperation again. I'm kind of okay with any of them winning at this point but rooting for those two.

[WhosThatGirl]

I don't know. I don't want Cara to win, before this challenge I liked her a lot but I do feel a sense of entitlement from her this season. Don't get me wrong, I think she does deserve to be there but she this attitude of entitlement and that she's the only challenger who has done so many and not won and I just want her to shut up.

[luckyroll3]

How about Brianna and Jenna falling off the elevated portion of the dance floor?  I guess the alcohol made them more floppy and they didn't get hurt?  Yikes, though!  How awful it would be if you hurt something badly enough you couldn't participate in the final.

Oh yes.  Totally forgot about this!  I'm shocked they didn't get hurt because it was so high!  We have a small dance floor at my job, that's less than 6 inches off the floor, and we had someone break their ankle when they weren't paying attention.  

[jmonkey]

I'm loving this finale so far just because there's no Bananas.The first stage seemed pretty rough, but I imagine The Challenge attempts to up the ante every season. We'll see how the remaining 2 stages play out and how this finale stacks up against previous ones. They made a big deal about the finale taking place in a city for the first time. I thought they would utilize Berlin's landmarks a little more and be surrounded by locals like the contestants are on TAR, but it was just the challengers doing the finale that could've been done anywhere. The tailor coming to measure them was kind of weird. I wonder what that was all about. Was it for winner's jackets?

 

I do think that they will all finish. Heck, even 3rd place's $25 K is a nice chunk of change for 3 days of hell. I thought that beer challenge was pretty sweet. I figured that leg would be easy for these cats since drinking too much is a typical Tuesday for them. Of course the fact that it was non-alcoholic beer was probably a shock to their systems.  I can see Bananas and his Neanderthal cousin watching this and slamming down some O'Doul's in preparation for the next challenge.

 

Jenna and Brianna: These two are beasting through this finale like 2 kindergartners on field day. It's refreshing to have a team that isn't yelling at each other. I don't want to take anything away from their awesome performance so far, but being able to carry around lighter bags than the other teams seemed to be an advantage. The guys seemed to be struggling more carrying around the extra weight than the women were. The tire challenge also seemed better for smaller people. Of course that was the only part that Brianna screwed up on. They really seem to have a great attitude, good endurance and no one was expecting them to do this well. I wouldn't be opposed to this team winning, but I just can't root for Jenna because she dated Zach, the biggest misogynistic douche ever to appear on The Challenge.

 

Cara Maria and Jamie: Cara Maria sure did struggle with that beer challenge. I can't imagine how much that would suck not being able to vomit and have all that NA beer swimming in your stomach. Team Cuz sure does like to bicker back and forth. That's annoying. I know if I was running this race that I'd want my partner to shut up. But given how much CM wants to win, I understand. They don't seem too far behind Jenna and Brianna and should be able to catch up with them if Jenna and Brianna stumble again. I'm rooting for CM so she can retire from The Challenge on top a la Sarah from last season.

 

Cory and Mitch: I loved Cory making that funny face at the camera during CM's histrionics over the beer challenge. He made a good point. It's not like it was fish brains. That's probably coming though. I'm not rooting for these guys, but if they pulled it out, I wouldn't be mad. They were the ones who sent Bananas in to the pit to get eliminated. Cory estimated they were an hour behind. That doesn't seem like that much in this game. One team struggling during a puzzle, eating challenge, or swimming challenge or somebody cramping up and they're back in this. But I also see Cory having issues with his knee and Mitch needing frequent rests. Cory has been decent to Mitch so far, but I can see him getting more frustrated with him as the finale continues. I'm pretty sure these guys will finish last, which isn't a bad showing for rookies.

Edited February 13, 2016 by jmonkey

[dangwoodchucks]

When I saw Johnny in the opening it was so nice to remember that he wouldn't be in the final. Although as others have said, it would have been enjoyable to see Vince slowing him down. Brianna and Jenna lapping them on one of the loops would have been worth the price of admission. I love those two girls. They worked well together, didn't whine, and even took having to start the tire thing over again in their stride. I loved Jenna's simple "I hate beer" comment after having to drink a glass. She did what she had to do and carried on. I felt for Cara on the beer thing. I'm not as small as she is but I get filled up pretty fast on liquid. I'm sure she was miserable.

 

I'd love to be able to see the old Road Rules shows or the early Challenges. Anyone know why they don't make all of them available to watch?

[Zima]

I'd love to be able to see the old Road Rules shows or the early Challenges. Anyone know why they don't make all of them available to watch?

A lot of the old Challenges are on Youtube and Dailymotion. 

 

I miss Abram and his brother. 

Edited February 12, 2016 by Zima

[RedheadZombie]

 

Definitely over the "make them puke" challenges. Can they just start leaving that part out? Please? I was glad it was non-alcoholic beer though. I thought the show was trying to kill them at first. Although, locally to me a woman died in a stupid radio competition where they had to drink too much water too fast so I still think that was actually kind of dangerous (http://www.nbcnews.com/id/16614865/ns/us_news-life/t/woman-dies-after-water-drinking-contest/ in case anyone is interested).

 

Not to get too technical, but water is a hypotonic solution. Too much water too fast, can lead to brain swelling and death. Google tells me that alcohol-free beers claim to be isotonic, which is the same as our body's. If true, excessive alcohol-free beer in a short period of time wouldn't be as risky as water. Most of them seemed to be throwing up enough to prevent fluid overload.

[SnideAsides]

Even so, it seems odd and in poor taste they'd make everyone drink ridiculous amounts of beer so soon after it was revealed that alcohol was one of the key factors in Knight's overdose. Like, the coroner's report was released in the middle of March last year, and this final challenge would have been filmed in early-to-mid July. That's four months, tops.

[LotusFlower]

Even so, it seems odd and in poor taste they'd make everyone drink ridiculous amounts of beer so soon after it was revealed that alcohol was one of the key factors in Knight's overdose.

But they didn't. The beer was non-alcoholic. Knight didn't overdose on non-alcoholic beer.

Plus, they make alcohol readily available to the cast throughout filming, and encourage everyone to drink and party. And then they feature the drunken antics prominently.

[NikSac]

Not to get too technical, but water is a hypotonic solution. Too much water too fast, can lead to brain swelling and death. Google tells me that alcohol-free beers claim to be isotonic, which is the same as our body's. If true, excessive alcohol-free beer in a short period of time wouldn't be as risky as water. Most of them seemed to be throwing up enough to prevent fluid overload.

 

Thanks, that is really interesting to me. I still don't want to watch people barf... but glad to know it was technically safer, and I always like learning new things. I was listening to that radio contest I referenced where the woman died from the water and I was super upset the whole time. Nurses were calling in saying they were going to kill someone and the DJs just laughed it off (well up until she died). That's how I felt with this beer challenge except I knew it was taped awhile ago, so I figured everyone must've survived.

[LotusFlower]

 

Sounds like the problem is that you just don’t want to watch Are You The One in order to keep up, am I right?

 

If the evolution bothers you that much, just stop watching. Plain and simple.

Are you a producer for the show? Your knowledge on the evolution of the show and all its details is certainly extensive. I don't really get the point of informing someone of the option to stop watching just because they complained they don't like the cast. I think we all know we're not being forced to watch, and we can quit whenever we want. But The Challenge is just like any long-time tv show - a likeable cast, or recurring cast members keep viewers coming back. IMO, it's ok to complain if we don't like them. Or one of them. Or the new direction of the show. Or TJ. Or the beer, etc., etc...

[yogi2014L]

I finally watched. I thought it was kind of boring. The beer stein challenge was kind of funny but ITA about all the puking. GROSS. Over it 

 

Anyway totally rooting for Team Jenna and Brianna!!!

[gunderda]

Cara Marie is SO FREAKING DRAMATIC.  ughhhh so over her.  I want her to come in 3rd but then we'll have to hear more whining so it's kind of a win/lose situation.

 

 

GO BRIANNA AND JENNA!!! I'm totally routing for them because they are the underdogs and I want Jenna to redeem herself from last season and then shove it in Jay's face.

[Tatum]

Cara Marie is SO FREAKING DRAMATIC.  ughhhh so over her.  I want her to come in 3rd but then we'll have to hear more whining so it's kind of a win/lose situation.

 

 

GO BRIANNA AND JENNA!!! I'm totally routing for them because they are the underdogs and I want Jenna to redeem herself from last season and then shove it in Jay's face.

 

I never minded Cara before this season but I really don't like her now. I think she's gotten more screen time than usual this season and I don't think that's a good look for her. She's very whiny and entitled. I love how some of these people seem to think that showing up for a bunch of these challenges and then losing means they are owed a win.

 

I really don't mind Mitch and Corey. Like Jenna and Brianna, they seem to realize that 1. just by finishing, they're going to win some money, so they're already just glad to be there, and 2. they're family, and need to treat each other with respect.

 

Win or lose, I am sure this is not the last we've seen of Cara.

[Steph619]

I don't feel like Cara has a sense of entitlement to the win. I think that she just simply points out that she's worked very hard to be in great physical shape to succeed on the Challenge and based off of that, deserves to get to the final and win, in her opinion. She definitely doesn't cruise by on these challenges like other people do as she's seen her fair share of elimination rounds and she's not afraid to stand up to people like Johnny Bananas. I'd really like to see her get her first win along with her cousin Jamie.

Kudos to Jenna and Brianna for doing so well on the final so far. A lot of people underestimated them and viewed them as weak competitors, but they're obviously not.

[KerleyQ]

I think that every time we see someone who's done a lot of these without winning end up in a position where the win finally looks possible, they act like Cara Maria has been acting.  I think it's kind of natural, when it finally seems like you have a real shot at it, to be at a kind of heightened emotional level towards the whole thing.  For the first time, really, she's in a position where there's no reason she shouldn't win.  She's trained for this, she and her cousin have been among the top performers all season long, she knows a lot of people were angling to get her out of there, and not only didn't they succeed in getting rid of her, but she beat John in an elimination round.  

 

I think there's a special kind of pressure when something is seen as "yours to lose," and I think that's how she's feeling.  She knows she's performed well all season, she knows that everyone viewed her as a threat to win, and it gets to you.  And I think the carnival game really freaked her out and threw her off her game, because it would really suck to have it boil down to "well, you didn't win because you couldn't get the beer stein in the barrel quickly enough."  I think that once they got past that game and got to the third level, she was more composed.  

[karenc3]

I agree about the weights.  It should have been based on body weight,  having the guys carry twice as much weight was unfair because I'm sure their weight isn't double what the females were.   Also even among the females, Cara is much smaller than Jenna.   I really think that put Jenna and Brianna at an advantage, they didn't have any trouble carrying their weights while the others struggled.

 

I was worried too about them drinking so much fluid, they shouldn't make them drink so much they have to puke. Those glasses of beer were kind of big too.  Looks like more of this to come from the previews for next week.

 

And, also, them going through the city to do tasks, and even the tasks they were doing seemed a little like the Amazing Race.

[luckyroll3]

I'd love to be able to see the old Road Rules shows or the early Challenges. Anyone know why they don't make all of them available to watch?

 

A lot of the old Challenges are on Youtube and Dailymotion. 

There are also some seasons on Amazon.

[Dr Epi]

I think that the weights should be a little bit more proportional BUT they should not be based completely on body weight.  Women carry extra fat in their breasts and hips than me.  Useful for having babies, but not functionally useful muscle.  So it would really penalize women versus men if the women had to carry weight as a proportion of their body weight and that proportion included excess body weight that women carry around.

 

Maybe if they did it as a proportion of muscle weight, or muscle weight and height, that would be fairer.

 

However, in general, for these kinds of endurance+weight challenges, men would have an advantage being taller and having longer legs. (Men still run faster marathons than women though the times start to converge at the ultra marathon level.) So it is not as if one can balance out things perfectly.

[scrb]

All the guys were struggling with the weight.

I guess proportionally, 120 pounds was more of a strain on them than the 60 pounds on the girls.

Looks like eating challenge on the second part.

[lilabennet]

Were they required to carry the weight packs on their backs?  I think that a fireman hold on the shoulder would have been a lot easier, especially for the guys.

[RedheadZombie]

All the guys were struggling with the weight.

I guess proportionally, 120 pounds was more of a strain on them than the 60 pounds on the girls.

 

But there may be more to it than the weight.  Jenna, Brianna, and Cara have amazing endurance.  Jenna and Brianna seemed to practically breeze through everything.  The cousins have already shown that endurance is not their strength, but I'm not sure about Cuz.  The women possibly appeared to have an easier time because they have superior aerobic fitness.

[SunshineOnMe]

regarding the weight- I was thinking about the race when unloading bags of pellets out of my car. They're only 40lbs, and I can't imagine having to haul them long distances. 120lbs seems insane lol So my hats off to all of them for completing that.

[yogi2014L]

I agree about the weights.  It should have been based on body weight,  having the guys carry twice as much weight was unfair because I'm sure their weight isn't double what the females were.   Also even among the females, Cara is much smaller than Jenna.   I really think that put Jenna and Brianna at an advantage, they didn't have any trouble carrying their weights while the others struggled.

 

I was worried too about them drinking so much fluid, they shouldn't make them drink so much they have to puke. Those glasses of beer were kind of big too.  Looks like more of this to come from the previews for next week.

 

And, also, them going through the city to do tasks, and even the tasks they were doing seemed a little like the Amazing Race.

Percentage would make more sense but I would bet that Cory weighs twice as much as tiny Brianna!

 

Briana probably weights close to 100 lbs and cory has all that muscle I wouldn't be surprised if he was 220. But I don't know how tall any of them are.

[Nena]

Oh, you just know that lunkhead Vince would have fallen off more than once.  It would have been hilarious. 

I like to imagine Vince would've gotten them kicked out before it even started by using his tough guy act on the tailor.

[ShowPolish]

I never thought I'd say this because I've always liked and sadly pitied Cara Maria, but, "Go Jenna and Brianna!!"  They are killing it.  They are clearly having the most fun, not bitching, and are actually managing to be entertaining.

Edited February 18, 2016 by ShowPolish

[Granimal]

Yeah I didn't get that it was non-alcoholic beer either. Super dangerous. I wouldn't put it past this show. Pretty sure one recent Challenge final involved drinking/chugging beer. (!!)

 

Someone please remind me, how are Cara Maria and her partner related? Is he her gigolo possibly? (Yes she was annoying, AND she got a lot of THs...) I always try to guess based on amount of THs (and their facial expressions/appearance) who will win. (I know it already aired but it's not on my DVR.)

Edited February 19, 2016 by Granimal