Finished Seasons 1-10, here are my thoughts so far. SOME SPOILERS
So I've decided to watch the challenge from the beginning all the way up to 41 + all the spinoffs. I've watched seasons 33, 34, and 39, but I wanted to see how the show has evolved from earlier seasons up until now, and I must say I've been having a blast. Here, I will give my thoughts on each season from 1-10 along with my fave players and some misc thoughts.
Road Rules All Stars: Basically, this was just Real World contestants doing Road Rules, and it wasn't bad. It's not what The Challenge is today, but I do appreciate what it brings. The song that they made at the end was super cute. C-Tier.
Real World/Road Rules Challenge: This season brings the best of RW and RR, and they battle it out to see who will come out on top. From what I remember, Road Rules dominated while The Real World was pretty much just there for vibes. Some of my favorite missions were basketball/dog washing with Kobe Bryant and Reggie Miller, and the army one was pretty cool. An upgrade from season 1 but still C-Tier for me.
Challenge 2000: Veronica's first season!!! But honestly, Heather B. was the standout this season for me. Her energy and presence were everything to me, and I loved it. Road Rules dominates again, but it was fine nonetheless because it was a good performance from both teams. The redneck games were awesome, and the way RW pranked RR with the fake mission was so funny. B-Tier season for me!!
Extreme Challenge: They finally make a good RW team, thank god. Jamie, Dan, Julie, and Kameelah were my favorites this season. James and Rebecca's relationship was kinda cute. I am surprised they didn't stay together. Ayanna gets kicked off here, but I am glad she comes back for future seasons. Also, Emily is in this season, which is just... I'll get to her soon. The Navy challenge and the tightrope challenge were some of my fave challenges to watch. Also, the paintball one where Syrus and James get into it was awesome to watch, then the court case afterwards lol. RW wins, and it's satisfying to see. B-Tier.
Battle of The Seasons (2002): Here starts what the challenge is kinda like now with vote-offs and such. The point system is kinda one of my least favorite things about this season, but it's not a bad season... but it's not good either. This season has major summer camp vibes, and it just felt like a big fun party and celebration, which I loved. Even the second half of the season was okay since the challenges were interesting, and the cast who made it to the final were interesting to watch as well. Mike, Theo, and Coral are huge standouts this season and my favorites. Poor Lindsay didn't stand a chance with Stephen as her partner. I felt bad for her. However, my gripes with this season are that Veronica, Yes, and Beth get voted off first, which is annoying. Belou brings her whole baby with her onto the challenge, which was just an odd thing to see. Also Chadwick and Holly were annoying. This season had its moments, but it's a C-Tier season for me.
Battle of The Sexes: ELITE CASTING. So far, this has been one of my favorite castings ever. You have so many heavy hitters such as Veronica, Julie, Emily, Melissa, Ellen, Ruthie, Rachel, James, Shane, Mark, Jamie, Syrus, Beth, Dan, etc. I could go on and on about how I love this cast. However, the game format for this season was very flawed, as I did not like the point system, and some of the voting decisions were ridiculous. Did it bring drama? Yes. Do I appreciate it now? Yes. But watching the season, I was just very annoyed because my favorites kept going home. I never wanna see Puck do another season of The Challenge ever. Ayanna gets redemption here and I'm glad. I wish Ellen would come back for future seasons, she was cool. Emily orchestrating Veronica's elimination, then QUITTING when James leaves, was just like omfg. I do not like Emily at all. A pregnant Gladys is also here for some reason. The men dominate, but the women still hold their own... better than on BOTS2. Despite its flaws tho, this is still an A-Tier season for me because the drama and challenges are on point.
The Gauntlet: This season introduces eliminations, and it was super cool to see. Sarah completely dominates this season (in terms of the guantlet), and her journey is satisfying to see. I would recommend this as a starter season for anyone new wanting to get into the show, just because it's the earliest season where eliminations are introduced and it's a well-rounded season even though it's not the best. However, this season suffers from a weak cast. David was a predictable first boot. Why was Montana brought back?? Most of the rookies were fine, but none really stood out. However, two rookies who did stand out were Katie and Abram, and they definitely are players who make a nice impact in the later seasons. Katie brings the drama, and Abram proves that he's a top competitor. This season also focuses back on the Mike/Coral/Theo trifecta, Elka has a sophomore slump, and RR wins, which I am glad because my favorite, Veronica, secures another win. B-Tier season overall. UPDATE: to add onto the gauntlet more besides the cast, the theme song is the most addicting so far. “EVERYBODY WANNA BE A ROCKSTAR”. I was also shocked to go from sunny Jamaica to western Colorado but honestly it worked well. The challenges/eliminations were okay. Eating ice cream with snot all over it seems like a nightmare and the gauntlets were only from a small selection but all worked fine. Dead Man’s Drop is a classic.
The Inferno: S-Tier season, let me just start off with that. Casting is a 10/10. Drama is at its best with Julie vs. damn near everyone, especially Coral and Veronica. Veronica vs. Katie, Julie vs. Katie, Trishelle vs. Mike and Coral. Julie trying to unhook Veronica's safety harness was wild to see. Everyone just brings it this season. It's CT's rookie season, and he gives off a solid performance. Syrus also proves that he still has fire in him despite being the oldest. RR dominates this season by a long shot, and Don't Toss Your Cookies is still one of my favorite eliminations. Katie being the reason why RR lowkey wins is very iconic. 10/10 overall.
Battle of the Sexes II: If you want to see the men dominate the season from start to finish, except for 2.5 episodes, then this is the season for you!! This season also suffers from weak casting, as most of the rookies are just not interesting to watch, except for like Brad. Anglea has the potential to be a solid rookie villain but doesn't live up to it. This basically becomes the Tina, Coral, Tonya, and Robin show as they are the main females that make the season kinda interesting. Mark, Theo, and Eric with his jump rope are like the 3 main men this season, and Dan is there as well. Arissa and Sophia are just there, unfortunately. This season also sees a lot of heavy hitters go home kinda early, such as The Miz, Katie, Abram, Rachel, and Veronica, which sucks to see. The format this season is a lot better than the previous BOTS, with the inner circle changing depending on who wins. Mark and Robin's relationship is not really fun to watch, and honestly, this is just a disappointment overall to watch, but I wouldn't possibly mind rewatching it someday. Also, this season would've been perfect to have eliminations in, and then they just don't do it? C-Tier.
Inferno II: What a solid season, it builds off of the first Inferno and switches it up a bit, splitting the players into the Good Guys and Bad Asses. Casting was perfect as it was nice to see players such as Dan, Julie, Beth, Darrell, and Brad back again. Rookies were fine. I thought Jamie would've had a bigger presence, but she didn't, but she was still fine to see. Dave Mirra finally fits in as a host this time around. Also, holy people with beach blonde hair and Landon and this stupid skull haircut killed me. Why in the world was Jon brought back? Also, I enjoyed how it could've been anyone's game as both teams went back and forth, but the Good Guys took the victory. The drama was kinda mid as Beth quit, as it would've been nice to see her go far for once. Tonya vs. The Mean Girls was not that interesting, as I kinda just felt bad for Tonya, but also didn't care if she left, so yeah. Still a solid season though. A-Tier.
So those are my thoughts on the first 10 seasons. I love how the game evolves with each season and, additionally, how each season has a different aesthetic to it. Some of my favorite players to watch are:
- VERONICA!!!!
- KATIE!!!
- Coral
- Abram
- Julie
- Mike (The Miz)
- Dan (RW: Miami)
- Jamie Murray
- Darrell
- Rachel
HM: Theo, Jamie (Inferno 2), Ellen Cho, James Orlando, Roni, Brad, Sarah (Gauntlet).
Those are all of my thoughts for now!! I plan on starting The Gauntlet 2 today and watching that, so I can't wait to officially get into Era 2 of the show!!