The Challenge: Free Agents Recap #1

The Challenge: Free Agents Recap #1

the-challenge-season-25-free-agents

It’s baaaaack!  That’s right.  After a long, cold winter, MTV’s The Challenge is back and ready to heat things up.  This season the format is shifting to more of a “Duel-ish” one as players are out for themselves.  Alliances be damned as this season is all about individual performances.  From the outset, it looks like everyone is finally playing CT’s game.

What’s up Uruguay! TJ’s first comment is that this is the 25th season.  That kinda blows my mind.  Random selection for pairs, teams and individual performances?  Sign me up.  The Draw being how you get sent into elimination is the greatest thing ever.  From the outset the weirdest thing about this season is that the girls don’t really have many alpha dawgs.  Laurel and Camila sure, but there’s a lot of girls that don’t seem like they can really throw down.  I know I’ll be proven wrong, but after last year with beasts like Emily, Paula, and Cooke, having none of them back is somewhat deflating.

 

Challenge #1: Out on a Ledge

The first challenge of the year is a team challenge, so nothing seems all that different. Random captains being Nia for the black team and Chet for the red team is awesome.  Chet from the outset looks like he CRUSHED the draw. However, you never sleep on the team that has CT on it.  The stairclimb was all Chet’s team, the puzzle was all Nia’s team, and the rolling log death walk bell-ring was the black team yet again, thanks to Jes The black team (nia’s team) won so the red team (chet’s team) gets screwed with the weird elimination and the black team has to deal with picking a vote with no allegiances.  A lot of different voting styles come into play now.  Laurel wants to vote on challenge performance, others want to vote out the weak links, others want to save their friends on the red team, and Johnny wants to send strong people home, while they have the chance. They voted LaToya in which makes sense for a first vote.  Chet was voted in by the crowd.  The random picks (“The Draw”) were Jemmye and Frank, so without even finishing the episode (I’m writing in real time) Im going to assume Jem and Frank lock this up.

Elimination #1: Balls In

The men’s challenge was pathetic as Chet quit over a busted chin (TJ doesn’t respect you dawg), but the women’s challenge more than made up for it.  Who knew Jemmye and LaToya could throw down like that!  I expected Jemmye to take the win home without question, but LaToya had a lot to prove, and she just put a lot of women on notice.  Any way you slice it, it was a great first episode and the new format takes The Challenge one step closer to being a real sport.

 My Fantasy Challenge rankings can be found below!

Men’s Rankings

  1. C.T.: I wish he was my grandpa. Until anyone can prove they are deserving of this spot it will remain his to lose

  1. Frank: At least Frank can’t flip out on the pure luck of the draw for putting him into an elimination challenge.  He’s so lucky he got Chet.  I do however think, that Frank will hold his own this season and prove he’s better at “the game” than Johnny B.

  1. Zach:  He’s a monster.

  1. Leroy: See above.

  1. Jordan: I think Jordan will do extremely well in the lone wolf competitions.

  1. Johnny Bananas: Putting Cara Maria in a chokehold because he was gassed on on the stairs was one of the most Johnny Bananas’ move ever.  What a piece of shit.  But on the other side, he’s dead on right about eliminating the strongest people early.

  1. Dustin: Making pacts with a girl you aren’t dating to not hookup with girls because you don’t want to embarrass her is a clear sign you aren’t over that girl, bro.

  1. Cohutta: You’re weird dude.

  1. Isaac: See above.

  1. Brandon: He’s been on about 182121 challenges so far and no one still knows who you are or what you do.

  1. Johnny (Portland): Didn’t stand out at all.

  1. Swift: “Is the Jasmine of guys” said Cargile, The Gamemaker.  So accurate.

  1. Preston: One day I want to see him come back to one of these things jacked out of his brain.

Women’s Rankings

  1.  Laurel: Laurel might be playing this game a little too honestly.

  1.  Camila: She’s a goddamned beast.  The way she crushes that log is exactly why I will forever have a crush on her.

  1. Theresa: I didn’t know you could stripsketball like that…

  1.  Nia: Nia’s team was stupidly put together, but she won, so I guess I can’t hate too much.  I think she’s going to be a tougher out than people may think.

  1. LaToya: Hospitalization on episode one.  Classic rookie move. That sent you right into the challenge.  I’m impressed with her guts in the elimination, but less so with how personally she took being voted in.

  1. Cara Maria

  1.  Jessica: I could bathe in Jessica’s fear of getting across that log, but I’ll give her credit for getting across that log.

  1. Nany: I think she’s got potential, but it never comes together for her

  1. Emilee: All I know is that she is inherently better than the people below her.

  1. Jasmine: “I want dick and balls all day” really Jasmine? Gross.

  1. Jonna: The only thing I’ve noticed about Jonna so far this season is that she has about 79% more fake ass hair.

  1. Aneesa: Aneesa likes letting her actions speak for themselves.  So she sucks?

  1. Devyn: Still looking like a tranny after all these years…

GOODBYE LOSERS:

  1. Jemmye: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I love you forever.
  1. Chet: Ya bitch! Your face ain’t that nice son.  Seriously.

My rankings for this week were built on past performance as well as this weeks challenge.  Do you agree? Disagree? Are you in a Fantasy League? Leave comments below and let the smack talk begin!

About Russ Stevens

Russ Stevens is an editor and writer at Rookerville and a guidance counselor at Nyack HS. He mostly writes about either loving or hating things. In his spare time, he performs Improv comedy with his troupe Priest and The Beekeeper and is a co-producer of their monthly variety show Pig Pile. He loves all the New York sports teams that are historically bad, and he hates lateness more than anything in the world.

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