MTV’s The Challenge: All-Stars recap

Episode 1: Legends Never Die

I got Paramount + solely for this because I’m so excited for this season. I think we can all agree though that “All-Stars” might be a stretch. They should have continued with “OG’s” like it was pitched to them because that is much more appropriate. Sure, Big E is a nice guy, but remember when he literally almost died?! Not an All-Star. Remember Arissa from Las Vegas Real World anyone? Could you pick her out of a lineup? Not an All-Star. Ok, let’s dive deep into the first episode of MTV’s The Challenge: All-Stars Episode 1!

They start out by introducing people, and they say what they’re up to now. I’m the most excited to see Katie. (IS an All-Star) I forgot all about Tek. I’m excited to see him again too. I like Darrell and Aneesa, but they went home from Season 36 like two weeks ago, so I’m a little confused why they’re here. It’s been at least a decade since most everyone else was on tv.

The daily challenge

It’s a water challenge and it’s clear they are not ready for this. I am loving all the mom bods though! I feel seen! They get split into 2 teams: Silver and Copper. The Copper team looks stacked-they have all the people who look like they’ve been working out for the last 20 years.

You have to pick girl and guy captains. No one wants to do it. Finally, Jisela and Tek step up for the Silver Team and LT and Kelly Anne for Copper. This challenge is not what these OG’s are used to. They used to grind on some ice and climb ropes, now they are doing math puzzles, diving into the water for some blocks, and swimming the heavy block a long way back to shore. I’ve never seen so many medics and lifeguards on this show. It makes me wonder if they always have this many, and we don’t see them? Or did they take into account everyone’s age, and hire more medical personnel?

A lot of these people haven’t done anything athletic since the last time they were on The Challenge. KellyAnne yells to a teammate to “put on your eye things!” Goggles, you guys. She means the goggles.

People like Alton, Mark, Nehemiah, and Yes (who fun fact, is a mathematician, who knew) dominate the swimming. Jisela is a surprising stand out though and I’m so excited for her. The Silver Team somehow wins. TJ says that the losing team’s captain will automatically go into elimination. It’s a guy’s day so it’s LT. I am liking this old-school twist and I hope newer seasons re-adopt this rule.

Deliberation

Everyone gets together to decide who’s gonna go against LT. LT had said he wanted to go against Ace, strictly because he doesn’t have a relationship with him. He just met him so there’s no history or allegiance. This makes sense to me, and everyone else on the planet, except for Ace. Ace’s feelings are legitimately hurt and he looks like he’s going to cry. He calls them “monsters” and is just not taking this well. I’m not sure he knows how this game is played and in his confessional says a weird thing about “monsters and heroes” and how he just wants to win this money so he can give it away to charity. I go back and forth between rolling my eyes at him and wanting to protect him from this harsh world.

Party time

The challengers decide to have a 90’s themed dance party and this is the content I want! If you’ve been watching The Challenge all these years, you know that these parties used to be epic. They were filled with alcohol and bad decisions and I was there for it. Now it’s all strategy on a secluded couch and it could not be more boring.

The music is good. Everyone looks great. They have a good time and it feels like I’m looking at the old Challenge. I might actually be smiling as I’m watching. Even Ace comes around and joins in the partying.

The elimination

You can tell right away it’s going to the Challenge staple: pole wrestle. I’m sure you know it: where each person grabs onto a stick, and you have to wrestle it away from the other person. Ace looks like he’s going to shit his pants when he realizes how physical this is going to be. LT won but not without a fight. Ace actually did much better than I expected him to. I don’t think anyone else would have done much better in the same position.

In his exit interview Ace cries about missing his dog. I don’t think we’re going to see him again. His heart is too pure for this world, let alone MTV.

In the preview for this season, they showed a (possible) Jemmye hookup, a lot of fights (YES) and someone even quits. (My guess is Trishelle)

What did you guys think of this episode??? See you next week for MTV’s The Challenge: All Stars episode 2!