The Challenge All Stars 5: Rivals Episode 8 Recap: 5 Biggest Takeaways
The 8th episode of The Challenge All Stars 5 is in the books. You probably have some thoughts, so let’s compare. Instead of giving a simple summary, I decided to focus on the 5 Biggest moments/takeaways from Episode 8.
If you prefer audio/video, my podcast recap can be found above/below:
5 Is It Okay To Make A Living Room Couch Your Bedroom?
I want to open this section with a personal anecdote. Growing up, I did not get my own bed or bedroom until I was 16 years old. For most of my childhood, I slept on living room couches, recliner chairs, sleeping bags, and floors. I was essentially Michael Oher from The Blindside, except without having the potential to be an NFL athlete and without Sandra Bullock as my hot new stepmom figure. Now, I bring this up because I have experience living in communal spaces and know how inconvenient it can be for others around you.
Turbo choosing to sleep in a communal space when there are not only open beds but entire open rooms in the house is fucking preposterous. To claim what is supposed to be an area for everyone as your own is rude and a straight-up inconvenience, given the limited space in the house itself. The fact that Turbo got mad at people for living in what is their “living room” is hilarious and is a reflection of his extreme narcissism. I really wish that we could sometimes have a second person from Turkey on the show just so we could compare their actions to Turbo’s (and when I say that, I don’t mean Berna either). Although there is a language and customs barrier with Turbo — it’s not like he’s dumb. You watch him compete in these challenges, and he’s clearly intelligent. That said, he uses his “lack” of English knowledge to essentially do whatever he wants at times. He’s continually testing the limits of what he can get away with, and if someone challenges Turbo, he blows up on them and claims that they’re “attacking” or “disrespecting” him. It’s a bit impressive how much Turbo has cultivated an armor around him so that he never has to take responsibility for anything.
Now, I will defend Turbo by saying that people in The Challenge House leaving their dirty dishes around has been a consistent issue for 20+ seasons that people need to better about. At the same time, his issues with Adam farting are not fair because Adam is old. Adam is old as fuck, and he eats healthy as fuck, so farts are coming out of that man regardless. Fat people commonly get stereotyped as farters, when in reality, clean eating and good gut health produce much more gas. Which is this relevant to the episode? Not really. I just hope you learned something here.
Adam vs. Turbo was fun to watch because they’re two power players, and seeing power players at odds is always exciting. Maybe they can hash things out in elimination.
4 Bleh Daily Challenge
Gosh, this daily challenge sucked. The players solved a simple 9-piece puzzle and drove an ATV a short distance off a cliff to grab a Star. It was not exciting whatsoever, and while it wasn’t physical by nature — the factor of having to grab the star at the end basically made the two women teams of Veronica & Katie and Melissa & Nicole incapable of winning due to a lack of reach. Obviously, Melissa & Nicole taking 20 minutes on a 9-piece puzzle is what kept them from winning. Even if they didn’t, though, there was almost no shot at them winning because of the addition of the Star grab.
Adam & Steve won again — they’ve now racked up 3 daily challenge wins & 4 eliminations through 8 episodes. Statistically, they are putting up a historic season, yet I somehow forget Steve is on the show constantly. You could argue Steve has been the stronger player between them in eliminations — that said, Adam is the clear standout character.
3 Melissa vs. Turbo
The Melissa & Turbo arguments from this episode were great because it was pure pretty Reality TV drama. This season has been so game-heavy that it was nice to see two people butting heads in a genuine fashion. Melissa definitely inserted herself into the drama Turbo got into with Adam at the beginning of the episode, but her distaste had likely been bubbling for weeks till now.
At the club, Melissa confronted Turbo in an aggressive way where there was no chance she was going to get an apology. Nany’s comment that you need to open with “I’m sorry” if you want Turbo to listen to is insane yet also probably accurate. If you feel wronged by someone and did not wrong yourself, you shouldn’t have to say you’re sorry to placate them. As I mentioned before, Turbo is a narcissist who has built this armor to where he can’t accept complete fault or responsibility for anything.
Melissa choosing to leave food in Turbo’s living room bedroom got a chuckle out of me. It’s a very non-serious move, and yet it’s what The Challenge is missing sometimes. Plus, Melissa finally got some real camera time that wasn’t her mad at Nicole for being an idiot.
2 Shane vs. Frank
Shane spent the entire episode trying to remind everyone, including Steve & Adam, that Frank & Sam have a Star. So, at the House Vote deliberation, when Shane had the audacity to say that he’d been working to ensure Frank was safe from the House Vote, I couldn’t help but laugh. Shane is such a shithead in the best way possible sometimes. His ability to smile and lie with conviction, even when everyone knows he’s lying, is remarkable.
I find it interesting that Shane is so focused on getting Frank out. When Shane returned on Invasion, he was always willing to make high-risk moves to get out bigger threats before the Final to give himself the best shot to win. Shane should be in lockstep with Veronica & Frank based on how he’s played before. Likewise, as much power as Frank wields in this game, he & Sam could be key to a Shane & Da’Vonne win in the Final. Truly, the only reason I can find that Shane is so gungho about going after Frank is because he feels outshined. The last time Shane was on The Challenge, he was the brain of the Lavender Lady alliance, was getting into drama, was pulling strings, was a strong competitor, and, importantly, a big character. This season, Frank is doing all the same things Shane did, and in the process, Shane has fallen into his shadow. Not only that, Frank is now buddied up with Veronica, who has been Shane’s friend for over 20 years.
Shane’s emotions are getting in the way of his game when it comes to Frank. Although Frank is outplaying and making more noise than Shane, I do have to give Shane credit because he’s getting under Frank’s skin the most out of anyone on this cast. This is a fun rivalry, and it’s gonna come to a head in the next week or two.
In regards to the outcome of the votes, Dario & Ashley got voted in as it was easy for everyone to say a Star holder name that they’ve already said before. Steve & Adam didn’t vote for Frank & Sam, and it was the smart move because, ultimately, those two are not threats in the Final. Instead, they went after their most significant threats in Turbo & Nany.
1 Good Looking On Their Way In and Out
The second I saw this elimination — I knew there was no shot that Dario & Ashley were winning. Among the four players, Turbo is far and away the best puzzle player. It was ultimately a countdown as to when Turbo would solve it, and it took only two attempts.
Dario & Ashley were a solid pair this season — Turbo & Nany are just better all-around players, plain and simple. Now, do I want to see Dario & Ashley on another season? Well, Dario showed a lot of promise this season where he got into some drama with Devin, and he & Ashley won a Star and an elimination together. My issue with Dario is he showed the same amount of promise early in his Challenge career and then slept through his last couple of seasons. If he can maintain the energy he brought to All-Stars 5, bring Dario back for another season. I just fear we’ll get a Dario who is only there to cash an appearance check once again. In regards to Ashley — she’s pretty to look at and is sweet, yet she doesn’t bring any entertainment or drama to the table. Ashley is best friends with Frank (who is insane), she had a kid with an NFL player, was maybe still into her ex/partner (Dario) this season, and yet there’s somehow a lack of substance when it comes to her. Everything around Ashley is intriguing except for her. I am rooting for Dario & Ashley to get back together because they do make a beautiful couple.
Nany & Turbo remain in the game, and they are Steve & Adam’s biggest threats to winning the Final. It is between those two teams right now, and if anyone else wins the next daily challenge, it would be idiotic not to pit them against each other. Also, congrats to Nany — with this elimination win, she’s now 5 eliminations in a row and 6 out of her last 7 dating back to Double Agents. Her overall record still stands at 8–10; nonetheless, 8–10 is much better than 2–9.
With Dario & Ashley out, a Star opens up, and there is a 1/3 chance that Shane & Da’Vonne, Katie & Veronica, or Melissa & Nicole will be getting a Star. The concept of one of those teams, along with Frank & Sam, making up half of our potential finalists, is crazy.
