Episode 2: Hook Up

Episode 2 "Hook Up"

I'm never one for burying the lead so lets get right into the DOME.   Dome is definitely not one of my favorite iterations of the Gauntlet, Inferno, Gulag.  Personally, I think they should have stuck with the Gulag.  The Gulag was freaking nasty.

But a MAJOR changing of the guard may have just taken place.   As previously mentioned, I loved RW LV2 and Leroy was a pretty like-able character, but his performance in the Dome solidified his place in the next generation of Challenge super stars.   Really tough pill to swallow for Wes, but if we are being serious this is three times in a row Wes has had a fall from grace.  It might be time to start reconsidering Wes as an elite guy.   Two Final Challenges in a row he sputtered, in one being outrun by his female partner and now he was just dominated by Roy Lee.

The other main story line to this episode was Vinny ripping off Mandi's shirt.   Apparently there is a rule that you can't take off someone's shirt?  When did this rule get invoked? What happened to the days of incessant pantsing?  Was it because it was in a public place.... was it because everyone was embarrassed by how fat Vinny is?   What i wouldn't give to get a full list of the rules and what constitutes getting kicked out.  How come that lunatic Jasmine didn't get kicked out for straight up punching Tyree?

Anywho - Vinny and his love handles were removed.   And that was the real amazing aspect of Vinny.  His lower back just Ooooozed fat.  I'll miss those shots of Vinny's back.

Unfortunately for Sarah - she had to go home with Vinny.   Now, I'll be the first to admit that Sarah's reaction was about 10 times too extreme.   She was balling like she just learned her parents had died in an acid accident.   But why did she have to be removed?  As soon ago as last season when Adam was kicked off Leroy got teamed up with Mike and made the finals.  Again - pretty inconsistent from MTV.   Another sign that maybe they didn't have alternates and weren't as prepared as usual.

The Challenge itself was a little disappointing.   It was very similar to episode 1's Challenge, but I'm sure they are just getting warmed up.  Seemed a bit unfair that after Bananas and Camille dominated the opening round that they had to compete in a 2nd heat, but thems the breaks.   I also think Johnny and Camille should be the power couple as they came in 2nd, but this was a good excuse to reshuffle the deck as Bananas so astutely put it.

Not a whole lot else going on in this episode - but we lost two couples and in essence lost an episode in the long run.   Thats the true tragedy in Vinny's departure.

Let me know your thoughts?  Should Sarah been able to stay?  Was Vinny the 2nd most out of shape competitor in Challenge history?

Until next time....