You don’t know when your gift is gone until it’s too late. One minute, you have the world as your oyster. The next, you’re just a hollow shell of yourself. This is what happened to Darrell Taylor. A top competitor on The Challenge franchise, he won the top prize on his first four seasons, all resulting in a streak that still stands to this day. But after an ugly fight on his next appearance, the empire he built around him started to crumble and decay. Not all at once, but it was a slow demise. Today, we look at the tale of Darrell Taylor and everything that happened to him after his fight on The Ruins.
Some seasons of The Challenge have moments that are meant for the history books. They could have an elimination upset, a crazy fight, a shocking quit or something else that cements itself in history. Season 15, The Gauntlet 3, is one of those seasons. It’s one of my favorites because of how wild it is. When you read this recap, you will understand why.
Last week on The Challenge, 34 U.S. and international players started the season with the goal of getting their hands on their share of a $1,000,000 prize. The premiere was full of drama; partnerships formed, veterans aligned, competitors fell in love and a list made waves through the house. Michaela and Renan were the first to leave the game, and Ed Eason from The Circle came in as an alternate to replace Nam.
The Challenge has created lots of different labels. There were Champions, Bad Asses, Rivals, Exes, you name it. Now, there’s a new label: Spies. It sounds corny, but it’s the expectation of this new era. Last season, players infiltrated, stole, and played stealthy games in order to make it to the end and fight for their share of $1 million. The season is shaping up to be the same. This is The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies.
Last week of The Challenge was very bittersweet for a majority of viewers. Longtime friends Jisela and Aneesa had an argument, season favorite Kendal was defeated right before the final, and Big Easy sent Nehemiah packing for the second time in his Challenge career.
With the season quickly coming to a close, everyone was left wondering when the final would be taking place. Well, we finally have an answer to this question. Episode 7 was the final arena of the season, and the twelve remaining players have all made it to the two-part final. Everyone wants to win, and relationships are more important now than ever.
Last week on The Challenge: All-Stars, Alton was the man of the hour. He gassed out in a team challenge, allegedly slept with Jisela, and defeated his friend Syrus in elimination. Also, a new twist from T.J. meant that every elimination would be a double elimination with one man and one woman going home. Aneesa was Alton’s partner, and Beth went home with Syrus after a near-shutout elimination. This was a twist nobody saw coming.
Previously on The Challenge: All-Stars, we took a long time to put out the previous recap. We apologize for that delay. Both Madisonkirkpatrick1998 and I had a lot going on over the past two weeks. But nevertheless, we finally got it out and got to talk about Mark winning the lifesaver, Katie getting saved with the lifesaver, and Arissa quitting on the Arena after she got voted in.
For this week’s episode, which actually aired last week, so that’s how far behind we are, we get to see the twists and turns you usually see on contemporary Challenge seasons throw our old school All-Stars for a loop. No gold skulls this time, though. Be thankful for that. So don’t be a lump on a log. Time to jump right into episode 5 of The Challenge: All-Stars!
Narrator: On March 3rd, Madisonkirkpatrick1998 was asked to remove herself from her workplace. That request came from her boss. Deep down, she knew he was right, but she also knew that someday, she’ll find a job that better suited her. With nowhere else to go, she appeared at the office building of Reality TV Guide. Sometime earlier, chief recapper Turk182 was told to fill a vacancy left by a departing staff member. Can these two reality TV writers collaborate on an episode recap without driving each other crazy?
THE UNLIKELY DUO
STARRING MADISONKIRKPATRICK1998
AND TURK182
BASED ON THE BLOG
REALITY TV GUIDE
FOUNDED BY WARREN MITCHELL
(Turk182 and Madisonkirkpatrick1998 are currently in the lounge area. Madisonkirkpatrick1998 sits back on the couch.)
Madisonkirkpatrick1998: It’s great to be here as the best female Bay Area 22-year-old Challenge podcaster.
Turk182: When you say Bay Area, what part of the area do you live in?
Madisonkirkpatrick1998: It’s a small town near San Jose. Probably the only other podcaster in town is my brother. Small competition pool over here.
Turk182: Small competition pool?
Madisonkirkpatrick1998: Maybe even almost no competition pool. He talks about politics. Now if I was in LA, that would be a different story.
(Madisonkirkpatrick1998 puts her feet up on the coffee table.)
Turk182: Hey, what is this? What the fuck are you doing?
Madisonkirkpatrick1998: The best female Bay Area 22-year-old Challenge podcaster does what she wants.
Turk182: Not when it comes to a nice, expensive coffee table. It ain’t a fucking ottoman!
Madisonkirkpatrick1998: Pardon me. I am attracted to nice, expensive coffee tables. Can we just move forward with the recap, please? I didn’t come here to get scolded.
Turk182: I’m just teaching you a little manners around here. Besides, you’re in the Pelican State now!
Madisonkirkpatrick1998: I guess I have to take a flight home now.
Turk182: Oh, I’m sorry. Did that offend you?
Madisonkirkpatrick1998: Yes. I didn’t realize you were my mother. Also, what kind of name is the Pelican State? I hate to offend Louisiana folks, but I don’t like that.
Turk182: Well, have fun returning to a part of California that’s so cold, the Golden Gate Bridge should be renamed to Icy Gate Bridge.
Madisonkirkpatrick1998: Ok, I’ll give you that, but I’d still rather be in California than Louisiana where an alligator could bite my leg off anytime. I don’t trust the swamps out here.
Turk182: You’re talking about Florida, dumbass!
Madisonkirkpatrick1998: According to my research, Louisiana has twice as many alligators as Florida. You don’t even know your own state.
Turk182: Okay, now you’ve asked for it!
(Madisonkirkpatrick1998 and Turk182 get ready to fight each other, but it freezes into a tableau.)
(studio audience applause)
Madisonkirkpatrick1998: I hope what just happened doesn’t ruin the recap.
Turk182: Nah. I wasn’t planning on letting it.
Madisonkirkpatrick1998: Good.
Turk182: Previously on The Challenge: All-Stars….
Madisonkirkpatrick1998: The challengers participated in a throwback challenge with chilling results and Teck Money popped off for seemingly no reason. Fan favorite Kendal worried about the lifesaver. To end the episode, Nehemiah and Teck participated in an elimination that heated up quickly and left us with a photo finish that saw Teck leaving the game. It sucks, but that’s what happens when you talk a ton of mess and then offer to go in.
Turk182: For this week’s episode, we’ll be dealing with another female elimination, and with the unknown mystery of the lifesaver looming over the All-Stars’ heads, get ready to witness the mental aspect of the game hit these competitors so hard that they won’t be able to shit well the next day.
Madisonkirkpatrick1998: This episode is appropriately titled “Semi-Charmed Lifesaver.” I like the song “Semi-Charmed Life.” I hope they play it during this episode or else it would really be a missed opportunity.
Turk182: As long as they don’t include that note at the end of the chorus. Stephan Jenkins can’t hit a high note to save his life.
Madisonkirkpatrick1998: This is episode 4 of The Challenge: All-Stars!
My name is Madisonkirkpatrick1998, and welcome to Reality TV Guide, where we come to make everyone feel better about themselves.
Sequels always have big shoes to fill, and “The Gauntlet 2” is no exception. The first “Gauntlet” was incredibly popular, so I’m hoping that the second one can match up. I will be talking about all the biggest moments from the season, so be ready. This is the recap of “The Gauntlet 2!”
Veterans vs Rookies
The Challenge has seen a lot of returning players/veterans compete, but they have all been rookies at some point. This season pits a team of veterans against a team of rookies. Veterans have each done more than 2 seasons, whereas rookies have done a maximum of one Challenge in the past. A fun fact about this season: Jamie Murray was placed on the Rookies team despite competing on (and winning) two challenges prior.
The Rookies immediately feel like they have an edge over the Veterans. In the words of Rookie/future Challenge icon Landon Lueck, “the veterans should be afraid of breaking a hip.” I’d be interested to see if their hips stay intact this season.
Royal Rumble
The first challenge of the season is called “Royal Rumble.” Teams must push other team members off a platform over the water. The last rookie and veteran man and woman standing will win the challenge. The rookie guys are the first to compete. They are so young, raring to go, and ready to bust some heads open. They have a lot to prove, and prove they do. After an incredibly hard fought battle, Alton Williams wins for the rookie men. He is a freak of nature who was expected to excel in this type of challenge.
You might be wondering what we get from the veteran men. We get a dangerous and riveting game of Rock, Paper, Scissors. It’s smart, really. There’s little point in injuring yourself and having broken limbs before a physical season. Adam Larson wins the RPS battle. Definitely a testament to his physical strength. 😉
The rookie women are the next to go. Feeling the need to take a page out of the veteran playbook, they decide to also participate in a healthy game of Rock Paper Scissors. Jo Rhodes wins this game. We have not seen Jo on MTV since 1994, when she replaced Puck Rainey on Real World: San Francisco. She’s one of those people who you don’t know if they will compete well at all, but you want to root for them as the underdog.
Finally, the veteran women compete. Unlike the veteran men and rookie women, the last group to go decides to actually brawl with one another. They have a lot of history and want to get down and dirty. Ruthie Alcaide wins this installment. She’s small in stature but a very strong-willed competitor. It’s hard to not want to see Ruthie succeed.
Team Captains
Winning the Royal Rumble challenge comes with a major responsibility. Alton, Adam, Jo and Ruthie are now captains of their team. If the captain’s team wins the challenge on the day of their respective elimination (for example, Alton’s team wins on a male elimination day) the captain will be safe from elimination and win a prize. However, if they lose, they will be automatically placed in the Gauntlet elimination round. Either the captain or the team will choose the opponent. Whoever wins the elimination round will remain or become the new captain.
Being captain is a major risk/major reward position. If you win, you’re safe and get a cool prize. If you lose, you could be going home. It will be interesting to see the toll that being captain takes on people.
Manhandled on the Island of Trinidad and Tobago
From what I have seen from prior seasons, the challengers loved to party. It was more about having fun with friends at challenges and the house than it was hurting one another, but the money was also an incentive. During the first episode of the season, Robin Hibbard decides to throw a birthday party for her “boyfriend” Mark Long. I use boyfriend loosely because they seem to have a friendship-type relationship but are also trying to date. It’s weird, but it works.
Jo Rhodes seems like an incredibly tame woman. She hasn’t been on MTV in 11 years, and I would assume it’s because she doesn’t start drama. We soon find out that my assessment is very wrong. This party gets crazy quickly (I mean, coming from me that probably means little) and Jo seems incredibly uncomfortable with everything. She doesn’t even fully participate, that’s how bothered she is.
Jo’s final straw is when competitors grab a bottle of chocolate syrup and pour it over Derrick Kosinski. She calls an unnamed source (my assumption is someone in production) and says that she is being manhandled on the island of Trinidad and Tobago. She threatens to call the police and sue the island if she is not immediately escorted. Julie Stoffer calls her crazy. Derrick repeatedly asks her, “What’s wrong with you?” Ruthie Alcaide tries to come to Jo’s defense. Jo does not care. In a huff, Jo quits the game and becomes the first person to leave the season. Kina Dean, who came second in the Royal Rumble challenge, becomes the new captain.
Many people think that this was a perfect excuse for Jo to leave. She had such a large gap from television and seemed to have no interest in being on The Challenge, especially after she learned that she would have to go into every elimination as the team captain. Poor Jo. We hardly knew ye.
During the second episode of the season, the Veterans and Rookies compete in their first challenge. The results are incredibly close with the Rookies just beating the Veterans. This forces Veteran captain Adam Larson into elimination. Kind of serves him right. I like Adam, but I wanted to punch him for how he treated Sarah Greyson in The Gauntlet.
At the first deliberation, the Veterans express interest in having a secret vote (they will not know who voted for who). Derrick is appalled by this idea and yells at his team. Unfortunately, his tirade puts him into the elimination.
The chosen elimination game is “Name That Coconut.” Our lovely host T.J. Lavin will read a question and the competitors must choose the coconut with the name of the person that corresponds to the question. They can tackle each other, but there is a safe zone. If the person who gives T.J. the coconut is incorrect, their competitor is allowed to answer the question unopposed. It seems like it will get physical QUICKLY, and get physical it does. Adam is able to hold his own, but it is Derrick who ends up winning the elimination, gaining the role of team captain. His teammates are worried that he may go on a power trip, but Derrick works hard to tone down his abrasive nature.
Brand New Host
The Gauntlet 2 marks T.J. Lavin’s first time hosting the show. Seasons prior only used temporary hosts, such as Dave Mirra, Jonny Moseley, and even Mark Long. T.J. has gone on to host every season following, even Rivals 1 which was shortly after he had a major BMX accident and was in a coma. He loves this show so much. We love you, T.J.
Goodbye, Cameran and Jisela
The second challenge of the season sees the Rookies losing. As the losing female captain, Kina will be going into the elimination. At the voting ceremony, Cameran Eubanks decides to volunteer herself for the Gauntlet with the intention of quitting. She doesn’t want anyone else to go in, but she also feels that Kina will be a better captain than her. The girls will compete in Capture The Flag. Players will have to climb up a 20-foot rope net to get a flag.
At the elimination, Cameran quits the game, upsetting T.J. He asks anyone who is interested in quitting to do it now instead of waiting, but nobody steps up. The Veterans are upset by Cameran’s choice because they feel like Cameran took a valuable spot from someone who wanted to compete. This leads to an argument between Cara and Aneesa, giving us Aneesa’s famous line, “I don’t need a Gauntlet, bitch. I will cut you with words.” Good for you, Aneesa! 🙂
A few episodes later, the Veterans lose a challenge, putting Ruthie in the Gauntlet. Jisela Delgado is chosen to face her, with the elimination game being Reverse Tug of War. Players are tied to each other, facing opposite directions. The first to get to their flag wins the Gauntlet. At the Gauntlet, Jisela is no match for Ruthie and T.J. accuses Jisela of quitting. She denies it, but rumors have stated that she wanted to leave because she ran out of vacation time from work. Gotta pay them bills, girl. A fun fact about Jisela: in every season with the possible exception of All-Stars (I haven’t watched the episode so don’t spoil it), she was the fourth person eliminated. Some things may never change.
Mark, the 3000-Year-Old Eligible Bachelor
At the beginning of the season, we learned about the relationship between Mark and Robin. However, Jodi Weatherton from the Rookies team also had a brief relationship with Mark (by brief, I mean 3 weeks. Hey, I’m not judging). Jodi is hurt about Mark’s unwillingness to give her the time of day, and fellow rookie Susie Meister is her source of comfort. Susie says that Jodi shouldn’t be so upset about Mark who is “3000 years old.” Jeez. It’s no wonder we don’t seem to get a lot of Challengers who are over the age of 35. I can’t help but call Mark a boomer, though.
Beth Stolarczyk (I hope I got that right) overhears Jodi and Susie talking and takes it upon herself to let Robin know about the conversation. Robin confronts a somewhat shirtless Mark, who takes it hard. He screams that he wants to be let off the bus and even punches the ceiling. What did the bus do to you, Mark? You can walk home next time. Just because you’re upset doesn’t mean you should abuse the transportation device.
Jodi and Alton, Friends or More?
After the drama between Jodi, Mark and Robin, Jodi makes the decision to distance herself from the situation. In distancing herself, however, she finds herself in proximity with Alton. Alton is a likeable, strong, and good-looking guy. It’s hard not to enjoy being around Alton. Unfortunately, Alton just broke up with his Real World: Las Vegas castmate, Irulan, and he is still hurting from that. He and Jodi seem to enjoy each other’s company, but later in the season they decide to just be friends. Alton doesn’t want to commit and Jodi doesn’t want to be the backup girl. Can’t say I blame either one of them; I like them a lot as friends.
Captain Beth
Beth is known as a pot-stirrer. She gets involved in drama that doesn’t concern her and always wants to be in the center of everything. Unfortunately, being in the center isn’t always a good thing. Just last season, Inferno 2, Beth informed Robin that Tonya Cooley had hooked up with Mark. Tonya didn’t like this and retaliated by throwing Beth’s belongings in the pool. Rachel Robinson, Mike Mizanin and others took pictures with the wet provisions. It was kind of funny. Mean, but funny. Beth quit after this because she felt uncomfortable being around everyone on the Bad Asses team.
At this point in the season, most people are fed up with Beth. She has few, if any, friends on the Veterans team. Beth’s villain arc hits its climax around the time of the “Rickshaw Races” challenge. Due to uneven numbers, a man and a woman must sit out of the Veterans team. The people who sit out will be safe from elimination (this is a female round). Beth is adamant about not wanting to participate due to her size, but Montana McGlynn speaks up against this. After some arguing, Montana is selected to sit out. She says that she did not even want this but she didn’t want Beth to have it either.
The Veterans lose and Ruthie is placed into the elimination. The Veterans select Beth to compete against her; they feel that Ruthie can beat her at most games. The elimination game that is chosen is Reverse Tug of War. Ruthie beat Jisela at this, and even though Jisela made little effort to win, it’s a testament to Ruthie’s strength. Unfortunately, in a shocking upset, Beth is able to defeat Ruthie and become the team captain. Her team is obviously very upset by this, so in their opinion it would not be the worst thing to lose. Is $10,000 worth keeping Beth around? Perhaps not.
Beth vs. Montana
As we have already seen during this season, Beth and Montana are not friends. They competed on an earlier Challenge together where they had their fair share of beef. Montana attempted to bury the hatchet after Beth won Reverse Tug of War (I mean, of course. She doesn’t want to go in). Beth had none of it and still has her sights set on defeating Montana.
The Veterans lose their third challenge in a row, Balancing Act. Beth refused to try, and her team is upset that they lost but not that upset because Beth has to go into elimination. As no surprise to anybody, Montana is selected as her opponent. Beth is given the captain’s choice of the elimination game, and she selects Reverse Tug of War. Though I wouldn’t say Montana was embarrassed (she held her own), I don’t know if she had the best shot to win. This is Beth’s sort of thing. She loves dragging people through the dirt physically and verbally. This means that she remains captain, much to the chagrin of her team.
Kina vs. Susie and Cara
Alliances are great, that is, if the people not in your alliance are oblivious to it. Susie Meister and Cara Zavaleta are ratted out by Jillian Zoboroski for making an alliance with veteran guys David Burns, Brad Fiorenza and Timmy Beggy. If Susie, Cara, and Jillian (she opted to not join the alliance) agreed to throw challenges on male Gauntlet days, David, Brad and Timmy would do the same on female Gauntlet days. Susie, Cara, and Timmy were already close. Timmy mimicked Aneesa as she argued with Cara after Cameran’s quit. It seems obvious that they would want to work together, but not beneficial for the girls. Every girl on their team was part of the Road Rules: X-Treme cast, so they would be outsiders regardless of an alliance.
At the “Team Strength” challenge, the Rookies give Susie and Cara insignificant duties that will not allow them to throw the challenge. The girls are upset by this and bring up their feelings at a team meeting. Kina mentions the alliance, and Susie cries as Cara tries to clear her and her friend’s name. In the next episode, Jillian admits that she was the one who told Kina about the alliance but then says that Susie/Cara never agreed to it. Despite Jillian trying to help them, Kina has no interest in being aligned with them any longer.
After the Rookies lose the “Pull Me” challenge, Kina wastes no time in selecting Cara as her opponent. It is revealed that they will compete in “Name That Coconut.” Now, Cara gets embarrassed. I can say that with full confidence. She gets shutout by Kina, handing Kina a point in the rivalry and making Susie a true outsider.
As far as the alliance, we will never know if it was legitimate. It makes little sense why Jillian would lie, other than to curry favor with the captain. It didn’t do much for her because she was Kina’s next victim, but overall, she doesn’t seem like a liar to me. Jillian is nice. Be like Jillian. That is, unless she did lie. If she did, don’t be like her. Liars suck. Like I said, though, we will never know the truth, so for now I will stick to liking Jillian.
Derrick Becomes Gauntlet King
Derrick is a scrappy dude. He’s not afraid of any type of competition, and he wants to win at whatever cost. Ace plays a major part in losing the “Team Strength” challenge because he did not put the truck in neutral, and he offers to face Derrick in the Gauntlet. The game they are participating in is Beach Brawl. Derrick is able to defeat Ace, which sucks for Ace but at least he made it further this season than he has in the past two. Several episodes later, Derrick defeats Brad in Name That Coconut. It’s hard to not feel for Brad, as he wants to win as well, but Derrick just wants it more than a lot of people.
Syrus vs Derrick
Between Derrick vs. Ace and Derrick vs. Brad, we get an iconic battle between Derrick and Syrus. Syrus was the only person to fall during the “Bucked” challenge, so he will need to face Derrick in elimination. It seems like Derrick could have the upper hand, but he makes a bonehead move and picks Beach Brawl as the Gauntlet game. I didn’t realize you wanted to DIE, DERRICK! Maybe I’m being dramatic. Probably not.
Derrick quickly regrets his decision, but brings his all to the elimination anyways. We all know that in The Challenge, nothing is what it seems. In a shocking upset, Derrick defeats Syrus. Syrus is upset and tries to challenge the rules several times, but it doesn’t mean anything. He loses and Derrick remains captain, which nobody was expecting.
Beth the Quitter
From the last time we heard about Beth, not much has changed. People still dislike her and want her out of the game, but the pool of competitors is getting smaller. Only Aneesa Ferreira, Beth, Julie, Katie Doyle and Robin remain on the female side of the Veterans team. With only two female eliminations left, the time is now to get her out. Nobody wants to share money with Beth, and despite the fact that she needs money badly, she seems more focused on screwing over her team. The “Easy Does It” challenge hands the Veterans another loss, sending Beth to the Gauntlet for the third time. She has now seen the Gauntlet the most of any female captain. I wouldn’t want to be Beth.
At the voting ceremony, Aneesa is selected as Beth’s competitor. This Gauntlet will feature a hopefully intense game of Beach Brawl. These women are both incredibly tough, and Aneesa has “a lot of heart,” so it could be anyone’s game.
At the Gauntlet, Beth shocks everyone by bowing out. She refuses to wrestle a girl with oil poured over her body. It’s “low class” and she wants nothing to do with it. I can see where she’s coming from, but you can hardly afford to be picky when there’s over $150,000 on the line. T.J. chastises her for her decision and tells her that she should have quit when the other people quit. Beth brushes off his comments and leaves with no money, but at least her dignity is intact. It’s kind of hard not to feel bad for her. Nobody likes her and she’s not able to relate to a lot of people. That being said, you can’t start drama and quit two seasons in a row and still expect people to like you. Luckily for her, she’s become more likeable on All-Stars, so I can rest assured knowing that she has learned from her past.
Derrick vs Timmy
The last challenge of the season before the final is called “Piece by Piece.” The teams must disassemble and reassemble a signature T.J. Lavin bike and the captains must ride the assembled bike to the finish line. Despite fighting hard, the veterans lose this challenge, which means that Derrick must face Timmy or David in the Gauntlet. I didn’t mention Mark because Derrick doesn’t even consider facing him. Mark is an asset to the team and is needed for the final.
At the voting ceremony, Derrick voices his frustration with David’s lack of effort in the daily. He wants to face David for that reason. Despite this, Timmy volunteers himself to go in. Derrick is not pleased with that decision as he feels like Timmy is not someone they can afford to lose either. Derrick pouts about the circumstance and kicks some furniture over. Again, what did the furniture do to you?
After a minor meltdown and an unsuccessful silent voting sequence, Derrick finally agrees to let Timmy face him in the Gauntlet. He’s unhappy, but he has no choice. It seemed unlikely that Timmy would fall back and let David go in. The thing is that Timmy doesn’t actually want to win. He doesn’t want to lose, but he doesn’t want to defeat Derrick, so that infers that he doesn’t want to win. I mean, he could’ve let David go in so he and Derrick could both stay, but who knows what Timmy is thinking.
Timmy and Derrick will be facing one another in Reverse Tug of War, and it could go in either guys’ favor. Timmy has an obvious weight advantage but Derrick is fast and agile. I’m watching this rooting for Derrick, but I would still feel bad if Timmy went home. The elimination starts off pretty even, and it’s still anyone’s game. In almost a “blink-and-you-miss-it” moment, Timmy starts inching closer to his flag. Derrick isn’t able to recover, and Timmy is able to quickly gain his footing and grab the rope.
It’s a bittersweet moment. Timmy is happy to be in the game, but sad that he eliminated Derrick. Derrick deserves to be here, and now he’s not. I can’t imagine how much it would suck to go home right before the final. You get so close, but are still so far away. Derrick definitely made a name for himself this season, and he should be proud.
The Final Challenge
It seems like this season has flown by, and now we are at the final challenge. The challenge is called “Bet Your Booty,” and you can bet your booty (hehe) it’s gonna be a good one. Well, it’s gonna be as good as it’s expected to be. A fun fact about this challenge: “Bet Your Booty” was not the originally planned final challenge, but some cast members saw the final and production had to change it so that nobody would have an advantage.
This challenge consists of 3 parts: an eating challenge, a memory game and a relay race. Each team will get 250 doubloons and must bet at least one doubloon on each part. If they win said part, they will get the doubloons from the other team, but if they lose, they will lose the doubloons they bet. Whoever has the most doubloons at the end of the challenge becomes the champions of “The Gauntlet 2.”
For the first part, the Veterans decide to go big or go home. They bet 248 doubloons on eating and are hoping to win the challenge on the first part. Mark, Julie, Robin, Timmy and David are selected to compete against Jodi, Ibis, Randy and Jamie. It seems as the Vets have an advantage; they have one extra mouth to shovel food. I’m always rooting for the underdog, though.
As most challenges do, this eating portion seems pretty even. However, human vacuum Ibis is able to pull ahead for her team. She’s shoveling this roti down and not even breathing. I wish I had her stomach. The Rookies and Vets seem to finish at the same time, but as it turns out, Julie called it when she still had food in her mouth. T.J. reviews the tapes and concludes that the Rookies won by at least 15 seconds.
Now that the Rookies have 249 doubloons, the Vets are worried. Katie must face Kina and Susie in the memory game, which doesn’t seem like an issue. The relay race is where it gets tricky. Aneesa does not feel confident that she can beat Alton, Landon and M.J. Garrett in the relay. The Vets have no other choice but to forfeit the remainder of the challenge, and the Rookies become champions of the season.
The Vets’ piss poor planning ended up costing them. It might have been beneficial to have Aneesa eat with Julie, Robin, and another guy. You can then have two guys try to race Alton, Landon and M.J. Mark said he had food poisoning so he should have been running. You can probably keep Katie by herself in the memory game. They should’ve asked me to plan for them. Really, they could ask anybody. It doesn’t take a fool to figure out that their strategy was cruddy.
Well, that’s it for “The Gauntlet 2.” The season was full of twists and turns that nobody saw coming. We got our fair share of quits, alliances gone wrong, and some iconic battles in the Gauntlet. It’s really everything you could ask for in a Challenge season.
Previously on The Challenge: All-Stars, friendships faced turmoil, two women competed in the first female elimination, and we even saw two bare asses. Lucky us. Trishelle, a well-known competitor of the show, provided lots of drama within 43 minutes, whether she was making up with Aneesa, arguing with lifelong friend Katie, or getting her ass handed to her in elimination by one-time veteran/champion Kendal. It will be sad to see her go, but all we can do is move forward.
Reality TV Guide 