[7/10] A pretty divisive season in the show’s history.
The reason why some people don’t like this season is because of what happens at the end, but I disagree. The editing does a good job of foreshadowing very early on of what may happen to the stacked Veterans team in the final, and it leads to a good payoff.
It’s one of the few seasons when I actually agree with Bananas and his assessment with how they should treat eliminations. Unfortunately, the sexism that was being utilized by the males on the Vets side was hard to swallow even in 2008.
What works for this season the most, in my opinion, was how Frank and Jillian were characterized. They were by far the 2 most consistent players on the Rookies team, but they had to deal with the politics of The Real World Austin alliance that would constantly vote them into eliminations.
What if: Big Easy is not on the Vets team for the final? Well, CT, Brad, Paula, and Bananas get their first win earlier. Players like Diem, Robin, and Adam King would be champions. The Ruins probably doesn’t even happen because there wouldn’t be enough Challengers to build a team.
That’s stuff I think about when it comes to The Challenge.
Shout by Jackie ChanVIP 5BlockedParentSpoilers2022-08-08T03:16:14Z
Frustrating season to watch. It's no fun when one team wins all the time, and the only time they lose is when it's in purpose. I did somewhat enjoy the foreshadowing in the editing, how they kept showing the veteran guys saying over and over again how they have to "trim the fat", in reference to the girls, and keep all the guys, and the girls ended up being a complete non-issue in the final. Having the winner win by default is a bit anticlimactic, but the team I wanted to win won, so I guess at least there's that.