Challenge Invasion Episode 1 “Gimmie Shelter” Random Thought Thread

Allan Aguirre
7 min readFeb 8, 2017

Thought #1: The show is looking very sleek and way more colorful in terms of details. I watched it for the first time on a decently blurry illegal stream, and if it came across with better definition than any prior season, then man this season is highly produced.

Thought #2: Are we just going to ignore that Cory lost to Nate? I feel like that is way more embarrassing than the Backpack or Wes getting carried up a mountain. MTV has obviously invested too much money into Cory being a future stat.

Thought #3: Nobody in the cast had seen Real World Bad Blood yet, so I wonder if this is ever going to be mentioned.

Thought #4: As much as I hated Dario when he first came on, the dude is actually growing on me. He becomes way more like-able the more you see him. Glad he took a job doing real estate, not like he took a leap to do modelling or something.

Thought #5: Is it just me or did anyone think that Shane’s voice was going to be deeper from Fresh Meat 1? Just me then. I love Shane, and I am surprised his first words was so much about his backstory. Would have thought he’d wait till episode 1.

Thought #6: Nelson is back on this season, and he hopes you remember him from last season, but you probably don’t. Nonetheless he is trying to make his mark on the game. He may have spoke more already than he did on Rivals 3.

Thought #7: It is cool to see LaToya back, and she basically gives the same intro that she did from Free Agents, except her hair style is much better and she is funnier this time around.

Thought #8: Pour a drink out for Drunk Tony — literally. While I completely support Tony’s sobriety, losing him as a drunk loses so much good television. Also, if he is a dick now, that means it is his honest personality and not the alcohol.

Thought #9: I may be one of the few, but I actually enjoyed Amanda last season and it’s good to see her come back. She might be a legal drug dealer as she works at a dispensary, but the fact she has nursing degree and license is very impressive. Heck, she’s more impressive than 1/3rd of the people watching and most of the people on the show. Crazy to think that you could end up in a hospital and Amanda is the one taking care of you.

Thought #10: One the second watch, my uncle was in the room and had never watched the Challenge before. When he saw Dario, he asked why A-Rod was on MTV. Glad he gets it.

Thought #11: When TJ tells them that the Champs are not here, the hype is way too real. Nelson and Cory are visibly passionate, as two of the biggest dudes in the house, I understand why.

Thought #12: I love when Nelson talks about being thuggish, they bring up his MySpace like 2006 photos that are heavily edited, most likely by him. I like Nelson, but he’s pretty lame and a dork.

Thought #13: Hunter has the man-bun look without the man-bun. He is a good looking male, he is really holding himself back from the get go. Also, I did not know he played soccer, that level of footwork makes him so much more impressive in my book.

Thought #14: Wow. We knew this already, but Anthony is so good looking, and his interviews are quite spectacular. Surprised he wants to jump to the WWE, but the Miz did it and Anthony is better looking. Quite surprised that of all the girls in the house, he went after Marie. Then again, Anthony has hooked up with so many girls in the past, that he can probably see through someone like Kailah and go for a working girl like Marie.

Thought #15: By not training for the Challenge, Marie has put a target on her back. It is very sad, as on Battle of the Seasons 2, she beat Cara in oil wrestling. Which is insane as Cara is a beast.

Thought #16: Nicole and her girlfriend broke up due to her going on the Challenge. And she picked the Challenge! I love it when a rookie makes that type of choice, it means they are in it to win.

Thought #17: I feel bad about Bruno being homeless, but he is still too lame and simpy.

Thought #18: Sylvia and Shane get naked and go into the ocean to clean themselves. Is this acceptable day 1 behaviour? Absolutely not. Super cool for television though. I think Sylvia got naked on her first episode of Real World too. I also believe that all gay males past the age of thirty should be allowed to be naked on reality television whenever they want.

Thought #19: Good job by Kailah running onto the beach in her tiniest thong. That attention could get you far in the game, or at least the support of many guy fans. Also surprised that MTV didn’t censor her butt, it was very much out there. Was not the biggest fans of the girls talking shit, but they were on the money with their critique.

Thought #20: Hate that Theo is talking about the same stuff he did on Real World. On the other hand, his Real World season still had not aired before he went on and filmed the Challenge.

Thought #21: Cory brings out the blue food colored Vodka(according to former cast mates they make the vodka blue so they can track it in and outside the house). Tony leads the toast even though it is Cory with the bottles, and Nelson has had a lot of screen time. 3 alphas trying to emerge.

Thought #22: The inslopsication is real on the first night(sloppy-intoxication). Jenna is giggly and stuttering on her words, people are touching their faces way more than usual, and there is a friskiness in the air.

Thought #23: Kailah goes after Cory which is a dynamic I love. New promiscuous girl going after one of the top players in the house is always a good move. Best parts of their interaction is Theo dancing behind them doing sexual suggesting motions, and a very drunk Shane yelling at them to take off their shirts and kiss. Gotta love a sloppy gay drunk.

Thought #24: While it may be lame to some that Nelson cares about respect and the game, knowing that he cares about doing well is something I think is cool. I like real competitors, and he is one.

Thought #25: It looks like the cast gets mostly the same type of food that they would on any season. The setting is much better accommodated than the Island. Wouldn’t be terrible if the whole season was in the Shelter.

Thought #26: The Over-Under is one of the most intense first challenges that I have ever seen, maybe the toughest. Usually the first event is quick and simple due to the massive amount of people going, but this is physically intense and I could imagine a lot injuries if not safe.

Thought #27: I love that Tony created his mini-squad while the rest of the house just went on the other side. Complete respect for Nicole for not leaving one team, that displays good character. A bit disappointed that Hunter got tired so early.

Thought #28: Ashley leaving her team for broke due to it being a individual competition is great. The camera man also got some really too close shots of her butt.

Thought #29: Nelson letting Cory up his side of the hill is the coolest bro move. They worked against their team, and Nelson still let Cory up. That is just awesome sportsmanship for someone who is bigger than the first challenge.

Thought #30: “I downloaded so many app puzzlesss..” Nelson just has this way of speaking that shows he is a dork, but he also thinks he is cool. His body also says that he is a force of a nature, so I really don’t know what to say.

Thought #31: I am not surprised that Nicole is the first girl to punch her ticket to the Oasis, as she is the strongest rookie girl entering this season. Dario just won his second daily Challenge ever, and with all the vets gone making him a vet-type person, it should not be surprising that he won. Welcome to the Oasis, Dario! He’s guaranteed to be there until episode 4 at least.

Thought #32: Cory finishes in second for the guys, so he better thank Nelson. Shane finishes in third on his first daily challenge in over a decade. He might have puked after, but that’s pretty darn good.

Thought #33: I do not like Marie quitting, but I do enjoy the fact that she knows it’s better that she goes into the elimination than her friend LaToya.

Thought #34: Bruno is still lame. Nelson instigated the drama with Tony, but he did have a good point, Tony left him out to dry. With his attitude, it is apparent that Bruno is not going to do well on the Challenge.

Thought #35: Dario enjoys mani-pedi’s. Respect.

Thought #36: Great first episode.

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Allan Aguirre

27 years old. I blog about MTV's the Challenge and will dabble into other subjects occasionally. Follow me on Twitter for the occasional bad joke.