They Got It Right, Finally on 'The Challenge: All Stars Rivals' | "Rivals in the Ruff"

This season of The Challenge: All- Stars Rivals finally got it right. It only took until its third episode, “Rivals in the Ruff.” 

The cameras capture as much action as possible, the directors try to add gas to some fires, and the producers put together as compelling a game as they can to expose players’ weaknesses and strengths. But the difference between a good episode and a great episode of The Challenge comes down to the edit. Those editors, who rarely get the credit they deserve.

This week, it was all about what those editors decide not to put into the series this week: little from Nicole, Corey, Big T, Dario, Katie, and Veronica. What a boon for the with Beth eliminated! The less Turbo mumbles on screen, the better. Sort-of-hate Faysal or straight-up-hate Faysal, his ego makes for good TV, especially when you know it’ll crumble – a breaking of false self-confidence without any recognition from Fessy himself. 

Sadly, editors decided to force KellyAnne’s love for dogs into the narrative. It’s been done. It wasn’t funny then; it’s not funny now. It allows for Sylvia to recap her screaming match with partner KellyAnne the night before to Shane, who is her friend, but notes he cannot help. Partners in rivals are supposed to be a pain. 

Frank, too, gets an earful about the same fight but from KellyAnne. He gets it. He’s sympathetic. But he claims privately that he does not care and he’s only using information to his advantage.

Which takes us to last week’s elimination winners: Steve understands the game, and he knows that he and Adam are going to The Jungle every week that they can be voted in. Well, that’s horrible news because Adam is in the bathroom with diarrhea, vomiting, and a fever (which he later says is “respiratory”?!). It’s a question of how well Adam could do, but he hits the daily challenge with effort – more than Beth and half the others last week who were not sick in the least!

The editors, once again, do a wonderful job of overlaying stories on top of the daily: Aneesa fears the cargo net because of a previous injury, Adam’s sickness needs attention, the pairs have to move the balls without losing them (which Corey and Big T cannot do), some of the other rivals’ stories make sense here, as Nicole and Melissa try to communicate, and Veronica admits to some plan of laying low? Does that mean she won’t win, because so far, it’s implemented in a stellar fashion.   

Sam quits on Frank, and Devin and Leroy win to no one’s surprise. They’re the pair to beat, which allows them to cut some sort of deal with…Frank and Sam?! Frank fancies himself a mastermind and Devin feels similarly about himself with receipts to prove it. The question to ask is why Devin, who has a brain for the game, accepts an agreement with those two. Even Frank admits that Sam is a liability, and because of her, they won’t win this season. 

Two things occur in the meantime: KellyAnne and Sylvia make amends and Steve and Adam are voted into elimination for a second straight week. This is a common theme of most seasons of The Challenge: once someone goes to elimination and wins, it’s “easy” to put them in elimination again. It makes sense from one angle, but I don’t get it. Yes, Adam was sick and you want the illness not to spread. So get him out. But this is a method used with healthy players. It’s a weak, frightened way of voting, and I cannot stand it. Plus, I like Steve and Adam, particularly Adam’s quips and Steve’s solemn-meets-goofy facial expressions. 

Devin and Leroy send in Kellyanne and Sylvia at Frank’s behest. In The Jungle, the two pairs must solve a puzzle and rush to a rope and chain that are unwinding from a beam. The pairs are to pick them up off the ground and keep them from touching the base for five minutes. Due to solving the puzzle faster, Adam and Steve have an easy time and get the win. And any elimination with a timer makes me lean forward in my recliner! Can they beat the ticking of the clock!? 

It’s the way that we got to this week’s elimination, though that makes it an interesting episode overall as it asks one of the best questions of recent Challenge seasons: can Frank become the puppet master of someone like Devin, as both of them are known for tight gamesmanship? If that’s one of the motifs of this season of Rivals, it just improved by a lot of points. 

These episodes of All-Stars have been saving some extra footage for the end, which is different. Earlier, Aneesa claims she trains in the off-season yet she doesn’t do anything while in the house. It upsets her partner Ashley Mitchell and sets up some big drama where Ashley complains about her lack of effort. Aneesa overhears and next week promises to have some conflict due to it all.  

Confessionals

• It’s been stated and proven online that Nicole thickens her horrible accent for TV, and we’re over it. Nicole, stop. Speak plainly and enunciate. 

• Turbo is almost interesting and likable when he doesn’t give any confessionals. 

• Speaking of Turbo, there isn’t a lot of drama with him and Nany, which could lead to some wins for the two. 

• I am hoping for an Adam and Steve victory in the coming daily challenge so they can give the middle finger to those who vote for them every week. 

• Not much from Dario this week, and that’s fine with me. He is boring in the worst way: bro-boring.