Battle of the Sexes 2 Episodes 1-2: Follow the Leaders

It begins. One of the worst seasons in the history of The Challenge. Well, maybe it's just me. I'm posting this as Final Reckoning is airing . . . and that might be the absolute worse. I'm thinking of blogging abut that . . . but lets be real, I think about blogging a lot, but I seldom get around to it. Just a mess of twists and inconsistencies. Also, Shane is being a little bitch yet again. I miss Classic Challenge Shane. And there are Big Brother people there, and they can ruin anything.

Okay . . . shutting up about the present now. Moving on to the horror from the mid-2000s.

Episode Aired: October 11, 2004
Recap Posted: October 17, 2004

A new Battle brings new rules and new rivalries. Can the guys continue their dominance? Will the women be able to rebound? And what is Derrick doing with that frog?

Before we start officially forgetting the abysmal season that was The Inferno, I just want to thank you guys for reading my stuff. This is my fourth season; if I had a life, maybe I wouldn’t be doing this. Then again, making you guys happy after watching the Challenge makes me happy as well. Keep sending those e-mails.

We start with an Old West vibe, complete with rattlesnake noises. The guys are on a bus. Cut to a close-up of a man’s sandaled foot, tapping in anticipation. The girls are on another bus. Jonny Moseley, gold medalist and guy who really needs a career change, magically materializes. The buses arrive, and everybody piles out. Jonny welcomes everybody to the Vista Clara Resort & Spa in Santa Fe. Battle of the Sexes 2 is officially on.

Credits. This years theme is “Come Out Fighting” by The Vandals. The bad news: no ultra-cheesy opening sequence. It’s just eighteen pairs in front of a blue screen. There is cuteness, like Cynthia swiping Jacquese’s glasses, and Coral attempt to give Dan a noogie, but the lack of a third dimension bugs. If you want to try and figure out patterns, here are the pairs: Rachel/Nick, Adam/Ruthie, Frank/Kina, Ace/Arissa, Derrick/Katie, Jacquese/Cynthia, Veronica/Brad, Mike/Robin, Shawn/Ayanna, Mark/Tina, Sophia/Randy, Angela/Abram, Aneesa/Steven, Chris/Tonya, Coral/Dan, Cameran/Eric, Ibis/Theo, and Genesis/Shane. Take another look .... Coral and Mike aren’t together. End of an era, folks.

Back to the action: Jonny introduces himself. Coral’s wearing one of Mike’s “Miz” shirts, while Tonya’s top says “Boy Beater.” Make your own jokes. Jonny tells the kids that they’ll be competing every day foe $180,000 in prize money. The field will be narrowed down from 36 players to six. “I would do anything for this money,” Tina interviews. “I will stab a chick in the back if need be!” Good to know, Tina.

Jonny lays out the rules: once the teams find out what the mission is about, they appoint three team leaders who would be responsible for strategy. The leaders of the winning team decide who to send home. The losing team convenes to boot out one of the leaders. Coral cackles at the news. Rachel interviews that people are never safe in this game. Jonny dismisses the group, telling them to get ready for the first day.

As loyal viewers would expect, there’s a lot of awe as the players check into the lodges. Randy loves the ranch setting. Abram rides around on a bike inside. Dude, Dave Mirra was so last season. Eric lays claim to the “old guys room.” Jacquese interviews that it’s time for the new boys to step up.

At the main lounge, Cameran says hi to Coral, who doesn’t know who she is. Cameran interviews that she thought people would be friendlier. She voices her concerns to Robin, who interviews about not feeling the need to prove herself to anybody. Katie high-fives Kina. “I came back to do this Challenge,” Katie interviews, “because I won the last one, and it avoids getting a real job.” At least she’s honest. Veronica interviews that she and Katie don’t actively hate each other. Damn… so much for looking forward to their seasonal fight. It would’ve been tough for Katie to top her tantrum from last season.

Derrick starts yelling, clearly happy about his new surroundings. He interviews that being a new guy is a demerit since the veterans are in their cliques. The guys sort out their beds. Nick: “Can I sleep on top of you, Shane?” It’s the first day, Nick! Take it easy! Ace interviews that he’ll be going all-out this time. “If there’s going to be a safety cord,” he adds, “I’m like, ‘No safety cord!’” Can you say “overcompensation?” Guy gets ripped after he couldn’t handle a few dozen bugs to his face, and suddenly he’s Evel Knievel. Mark expositions that there’s a 200-yard dirt path between the boys and girls’ lodge. Theo contemplates getting naked in the pool.

At the girls’ lodge, Aneesa sings a happy tune about the number of lesbians on her team. “With girls, it gets a little catty, it gets a little petty,” she interviews. “I’m hoping it’s not going to happen.” Cynthia interviews that she’s a mother to a two-year-old son. To her credit, she didn’t bring the kid over with her. That only works if you’re Dutch and insane, like Belou. Kina interviews about moving into her first apartment and looking for a job.

Eric and Coral relaxing on massage chair. Mike and Coral indulge us in half-assed impressions of Dave Chappelle impersonation Rick James. “It’s a celebration, bitches!” is so old. How much do you bet that he’ll be doing Dave doing Lil Jon before he leaves? “Coral on the opposite team is going to be so great,” Mike interviews, “because she is going to just screw with all those girls’ minds.” Coral: “My motive is to win all the cash, all the prizes, and to cuss a couple of bitches out.” She’s gotta play to her strengths. Derrick shows off a beer funnel to Adam and Jacquese. Rachel: “You will see me on Senior Citizens Challenge when we’re all 60.” Some of the guys ride around in a golf cart, and they slam into Derrick. “Derrick is blunt and brash,” Nick interviews. “He’s a character.”

A time lapse shot segues into the sponsor phones ringing. Mark and Genesis read the clues. In the women’s lodge, you can see Sophia dancing. It’s her hair ... makes her easy to pick out. The details: get on the buses at 7:45 a.m., and wear bathing suits for getting wet. Jacquese tells us that he can’t swim. Oh, Ja. You never learned after being stuck in the life jacket during your season? It’s one of the first rules of reality television: learn to swim!

Girls meeting. Everybody debates on how to eliminate. Ruthie interviews that there’s a separation between the new girls and the veterans. Rachel and Angela go back and forth. “I think we all know who the ringleaders are,” Angela interviews. “They’re the bullies.” Sounds like something I’d say, but we’ll get back to that later. Ruthie tells us that Angela and Rachel got off on the wrong foot, since Rachel told her to take notes. Rachel lectures the women about “stepping out of your pride” to listen to the leaders. Veronica asks Tonya if she’d take her top off, an obvious dig at the Battle of the Opposite Sexes fiasco from two years back. Tonya: “I’ll eat it, suck it dig it, swim it!” She interviews about being a competitor, and she wants everybody to see that.

Guys meeting. Eric introduces the jump rope, which a guy must hold to speak. You’re thinking that Eric is a leader for making rules ... until you find out that he has starred in a number of jump rope exercise DVDs. [2018: ropesport.com is defunct, and that's probably for the best.] Trust me ... you will learn to hate the jump rope. Adam expresses the need to play fair. “I’m here to do three things,” he interviews. “Maintain old friendships [shot of ex-roommate Ace], make new friendships [shot of Chris, which could be foreshadowing], and win that [bleepin’] money.” Mike tells the new kids to prove themselves and have fun. Derrick goes on about respecting one another and “not be conniving little bitches.” At this comment, Shane looks shocked. Chris interviews that Derrick hasn’t left a good impression. Mark: “Unless the missions are Dust the House or Do Laundry or something like that, I think we’re going to win every mission.” I don’t know if this stems from Mark’s divorce, or if he’s just trying to rally the troops. But to me, this is the first sign that our love affair with Mark is coming to an end. Tina: “Those guys’ heads are so far up their own ass!” Cut to Mark breaking a stick off Eric’s leg.

Sunset. Derrick is having fun, bringing booze for the ladies. He talks to Eric about not getting hung over. Eric has the jump rope around his neck, like a scarf. Yikes. He interviews that Derrick’s drinking causes concern. “It shows signs of weakness,” he goes on. “This is a competition. We’re here to perform. Partying will affect performance.” Derrick gets away from Eric and Chris (wearing a t-shirt which says “no.”) to get some alone time. “I’m a rebel,” he tells us. “I’m a renegade. Whatever you want to call it.” He then engages in a classic outsider activity: following a frog around and talking to it. He even sings “My buddy, my buddy” to it. Cut to people in the pool having fun. “See?” Derrick sighs to the frog. “This is why I have you.” Sounds like somebody needs another heart-to-heart with Chris.[2018: I think the link originally went to a RNO recap covering the X-Treme/South Pacific face-off on Road Rules.]

Daytime! The kids roll into the mission site and pile out. Abram and Coral walk together, and I get a little nauseous. Jonny welcomes everybody to Cochiti Lake and the first mission: Dangle Drop. The deal: a contraption is set up over the water, holding nine punching bags. The players must hold onto the bags as long as possible. The winners of each of the four heats go on to the final to decide the mission’s winner. The prize: Student City Spring Break trips to Cancun, worth $90,000 ($5,000 per person). Eric seems enthused, even though he belongs at Spring Break as much as he does on Santa’s lap. Jonny gives the teams 30 minutes to decide who the leaders will be.

The boys huddle up, and Abram steps up to be a leader. He interviews that he needs to start things off right. Eric and Adam follow. Steven reminds us that if the guys lose, one of the leaders will be going home. And that’s all we get from Steven this week. Maybe the editors are ticked off that his hair is short and he’s not starting drama. Over on the women’s side, Genesis has ideas, so she volunteers. Tina steps up, having no fear of losing the mission. Rachel completes the leader list. “It’s good,” Coral interviews, “because if we lose, then we can vote Tina off.” Either she’s joking, or she wants a repeat of their Gauntlet, complete with Coral’s patented Evil Witch Stare.

Jonny calls up the team leaders, and they put their respective nameplates on a board. Jonny tosses a coin to determine who gets to set up position first. Genesis calls heads, but the coin lands on tails. As a result, the guys get first position and get to pick either four or five people on the bags in the heat.

Rachel starts picking people, going with Katie, Ayanna and Arissa. Genesis interviews that there are some people she can’t trust, naming Coral, Veronica and Rachel. Looking for filler, Rachel brings up Angela. Watch out, Rachel ... Angela’s packin’ adjectives. “It’s one thing to not like me for some obscure, jealous, bitchy, childish, high school reason,” she interviews. “But it’s another thing to make it affect me in the mission.” Maybe Rachel meant “filler” in the best possible way. Ever think of that? Theo thinks Derrick might be a liability. He adds, “This guy’s a contraption waiting to happen.” See, Theo can get nasty, but the way he says it is usually funny. Derrick volunteers for the first heat, looking to gain respect from his peers. Chris: “Hold your hats tight, because it’s gonna get crazy.”

The guys and girls hug one other as they prepare. Ruthie interviews that the guys have been talking smack, and the girls have to kick ass. Jonny goes over the rules again, adding that the players have 15 seconds to get positioned on the bag. Genesis expositions that holding the bag over the seam or grabbing the chain results in a disqualification, but players can rest their chins over the seam. Jonny blows his airhorn, and the players get on. A second blow, and the rig slowly positions everybody over the lake. The editors put cards on both sides of the screen to show who is doing the heat. It’s mildly annoying, but it’s informative. For the women: Ayanna, Veronica, Arissa, Katie and Robin. For the men: Steven, Eric, Derrick and Chris. Everybody hangs on, and those on the beach look on.

Veronica is the first to slide off. Yeah, that did make me happy. Shawn (who?) sees Arissa dangling from the bottom of the bag, ready to fall. “Arissa’s solid,” Coral spins. “I don’t know what Arissa you’re looking at. She’s just readjusting.” Arissa apologizes to her comrades before falling. Cut to a rafter shot of Katie. Cut to Theo: “If that was a big Marlboro, Katie would hang on all day.” The other guys laugh, as do I. Katie slips off ... but she’s officially one-up on Veronica today. Robin yells before falling. Ayanna struggles, climbing back up the bag, but she drops. It’s a clean sweep for the boys, and their sidelined crew celebrates. “I think the guys’ team is really, really funny,” Tonya interviews. “I feel like they’re constantly just trying to show off. I think they’re ridiculous. I’m hoping that was edited out of context, for her sake. The guys drop off. This heat’s winner: Derrick the Frog Whisperer. Mark interviews that he thought Derrick was abrasive. “The guy’s an animal,” Mark adds. “I think he’s going to be an asset to this tea,.” Eric declares that there’s no reason why every guys shouldn’t beat every girl.

Heat Two. For the women: Kina, Tina, Aneesa and Cynthia. For the men: Mark, Shawn, Abram, Brad and Ace. Kina drops right away, followed by Cynthia and Aneesa. “I don’t like to say it looks grim,” Coral interviews, “but [bleep] is grim.” Tina interviews that she’s trying to psyche out the guys by telling them she can hang on all day. Ace drops, followed by Shawn. Coral admires Mark’s legs before he drops. Brad drops. Now it’s a showdown between Tina and Abram. “I’m up there with a freak of nature,” Tina interviews. “It’s Abe!” She adds that she’s numb and sweaty. Sure enough, she falls off, giving Abram the second heat. Tina tells us that her sweat causes the fall.

Mark interviews that the girls don’t have a prayer to win the mission. I’m starting to lose my patience with Mark, and it’s only the first week. Genesis goes off to mediate. She interviews: “I think that now we’re just about pissed off enough to hang on as long as we can to take this home.”

Heat Three. Jonny demonstrates lifting on the bag, saying that lifting arms and elbows above the seam will be called. Coral interviews that her team has to prove to the guys that they can win. For the women: Ibis, Ruthie, Rachel, Sophia and Genesis. For the men: Theo, Mike, Adam and Frank. Coral talks trash at Mike from the beach. Ibis drops. Jonny hustles over to the pier, bullhorn in hand. Mike adjusts his position on his bag, only to be called out by Jonny. Sophia drops. Jonny tells Adam that he’s out. Adam lets go with his arms, hanging onto the bag by his legs. Adam is one interesting guy, I can say that much. Frank expositions that Mike and Adam were called out because they held onto their bags above the seam. Adam does a 360 into the water. Genesis slides off. The guys on the beach cheer, sensing another win. The remaining players hold onto their bags, and Frank smooches his. Genesis gets sympathy hugs from some of her teammates, and she tells Aneesa that if the team loses, one of the leaders will go home. Frank drops. Rachel adjusts her position, while Ruthie looks peaceful. Finally, Theo slips off his bag, giving the victory to the ladies. Ruthie drops from her bag, advancing Rachel to the final round.

Heat Four. For the women: Angela, Tonya, Coral and Cameran. For the men: Nick, Randy, Dan, Shane and Jacquese. Shawn yells encouragement to Jacquese, but he slips off. Mark notes that Jacquese fell faster than any of the guys. Cameran drops, screaming on her way down. She interviews, “I think a lot of the girls that have done this make you feel, in a subtle way, like they’re better than you.” Shane struggles before sliding off. Nick drops. The girls shout encouragement to Angela. And now it’s time for Out Of Context Theater. “I don’t think Angela’s a positive influence on our team,” Rachel interviews,” and I am a good judge of character.” This coming from a girl who was out to bulldoze Sarah in The Gauntlet. I’m not ready to let that go just yet. Anyway, Angela falls, followed by Randy. Dan holds tight, shaking hard. Coral interviews about telling Tonya to hold on, but she ends up dropping. So now it’s Coral versus Dan. Seriously, I’d put my money on Dan, since he’s been Superman throughout his career. Coral climbs up the bag. Dan shakes, then falls off. Coral advances, and she’s now 1-0 on Mike in this Challenge. Go figure. Abram goes over the winners and laughs, unable to believe that Coral won.

After commercials, Jonny brings in the heat winners: Derrick, Abram, Rachel and Coral. As they get on the bags to start the final heat, Rachel interviews that she and Coral had no time to rest. Both sides look on as the bags go over the water. Katie’s screeches for her teammates pierces the air. Unable to wrap her legs around her bag, Coral struggles and drops. The guys cheer. Rachel adjusts her position ... and sees that Angela and Cameran are playing in the water, not even watching her. As much as I don’t like Rachel, she has a legitimate beef. “If she doesn’t win,” Angela interviews with Cameran standing behind her, “maybe I see what I can do and get her to go home, because I know that’s her plan for me.” I hate them both now. Back at the mission, Rachel grimaces on her bag. The guys seem comfortable where they are. Derrick interviews that he wants Rachel to fall. Rachel tells us she has no strength in her arms. Sure enough, Rachel drops. Game Over, guys win. Adam sets a speed record trying to get to Abram and Derrick, and he nearly kills three other guys before falling in the water. Derrick and Abram hang from the rafters before falling off. Jacquese foreshadows that Derrick stepped up, and he would’ve been the first voted out. Rachel: “I think if somebody sends me home, you’re gonna see some broken noses tonight, that’s all I gotta say.” I reckon shouting “This game is ug-lay!” is passe nowadays.

Denouement. Jonny awards the prize package to the guys. The guys’ Inner Circle will be their three team leaders. The girls’ Inner Circle will be everybody but their leaders. He gives both sides one hour to deliberate.

Adam expositions that the Inner Circles go back to their respective lodges, while those on the chopping block wait at the Main Lodge. Tina interviews that the vote will come down to her and Genesis, and she thinks that performed well enough to stay on. Genesis feels it is difficult for her team to decide. Mike feels he performed like crap, since he rarely gets disqualified. Jacquese feels that it’s a Catch-22 trying to do good. Ace feels that it is tough to decide who goes home without a points system, and he adds that the new guys would go first.

Outside, Angela tells Derrick that the guys won last time because they weren’t catty. I would add that Emily did a lot of damage with her “bloody axe” before leaving her teammates in the lurch. Angela adds, “I never had to not trust 35 people.” Hey, welcome to my world. Derrick thinks it’s not about trusting people, but rather on performance.

Boys’ Inner Circle. Abram brings up Jacquese, and the others agree. Eric tells us that whoever didn’t “show up” in the mission had to go. Adam agrees, since Jacquese fell first. Abram adds that even the guys who got disqualified hung on longer than him. “I’m ecstatic to be here,” Adam interviews, “but it is kind of bittersweet, because you got to take a guy you know is a good guy, and give him his pink slip.” [2018: "Adam"? Looking at one headache, typing the name of a different one.]

Rachel tells us that there’s a battle of power in the Girls’ Inner Circle. Inside the lounge, the girls snack and get their meeting underway. Sophia feels that the vote is between Genesis and Tina, since Rachel deserved her spot on the team. The others agree, but Angela doesn’t. She feels that Rachel wouldn’t listen to her. She asks the others to give her more encouragement when they lead her. “I feel like Angela is dead weight,” Coral interviews. “She’s a nice girl, but she doesn’t know how to win.” As opposed to Coral herself, who has lost her last two Challenges. But hey ... if Coral finds somebody dumb enough to verbally smack around, then I’m happy.

Cynthia feels Rachel is a good player, but Genesis and Tina motivate her. Ibis feels goodness from Genesis. Ayanna feels that Tina stepped up, and that she loves Genesis, but Tina held on to the bag for so long. Veronica votes for Genesis. Katie feels that Tina wants it more. Cameran doesn’t have a vote of her own. Ayanna asks if anybody can abstain, and the others shout her down. Coral’s vocal opposition is so strong, Ayanna withdraws while shouting “daaaanng!” It’s all in good fun ... for now, anyway. Cameran: “Not everybody is here to win that money. Some of us are here to try and chill out, meet cool people, play a game and have fun.” Anybody else think Cameran should have stayed home to do those things? She votes for Rachel, and Coral thinks Cameran is crazy, given how Rachel beat most of the guys.

Tina gets votes from Ibis, Robin, Kina and Ibis.  Ruthie feels like throwing up and starts to break down. She interviews that she can’t vote out Genesis, but Tina had such a great performance. She is unable to make up her mind as we head for commercials.

Welcome to Elimination Hill. Jonny asks each team to bring up a representative to delivery the verdicts. The guys send in Eric and his jump rope/scarf, the girls go with Sophia. Eric explains that the vote was based on ability, and that Jacquese is going home. Jacquese smiles, which is basically in his character to do. The guys are all smiles and no hard feelings.

Sophia’s turn. She declares that the vote was “more than impossible.” She keeps going, on the verge of tears, and boots Genesis from the game. Genesis is more worried about Sophia’s well-being, and has to comfort her. Just once, I’d like to see the men break down in tears over a decision, for the sake of novelty. Genesis laughs in her interview, saying that she thought being a leader seemed to be the right thing to do. After a girls group hug, Jonny gives Jacquese and Genesis until 10 p.m. to pack up and leave.

Jacquese packs his bags. “We’re all going to be going home,” Theo drawls. “It’s just different days.” Jacquese jokes about getting a free trip. He says goodbye to Derrick (wearing a Miz shirt) and hugs Abram. “I’m not upset that I’m leaving,” he interviews. “It kinda sucks to leave first, but it’s all good.” I guess he’s too punk rock for this cast. Yeah, I don’t actively hate Frankie, but I couldn’t let that line go by.

Genesis packs up, as a piano plays a mournful tune. It’s kinda funny that the woman whom made thefirst elimination announcement at BOTS1 is the first to go home in BOTS2. “I’m really rooting on the fact that the girls are going to finally win this year,” she interviews. “Their energy is great right now, and I hope that they carry that with them throughout the rest of the competition.” She hugs Rachel and Aneesa. She and Jacquese get into cars and exit, stage right.

Night lapses into day. A snake slithers on the ground. Random animal shot, or blatant symbolism? Inside, Angela cries as she gets hugged by comforting females. She interviews about being a target after speaking out against Rachel. She tells the women about wishing to have the balls to be strong. Tonya cocks an eyebrow, but Sophia encourages her to let it out and not be intimated. Remember, the Challenge was filmed around the time Road Rules: X-Treme was airing, so there’s a chance Sophia never saw Angela in action.

Elsewhere, some of the veterans (and Arissa) chill out. Coral and Rachel talk about the number of Challenge they’ve done, then attempt to name all of Veronica’s Challenges. In case you’re keeping score: Challenge 2000, Battle of the Seasons, Battle of the Sexes, The Gauntlet, The Inferno and Battle of the Sexes 2. “The next time Angela is in a voting-off position,” Veronica interviews, “she will probably be the one to go. She doesn’t know who she’s messing with.” How bad is Angela? Bad enough to have me agreeing with Veronica.

Onto the lighter side of Santa Fe: Tonya and Ayanna plot to swipe one of the massage chairs at the guys’ lodge, since the women have none. Next thing, the guys try to hold off the girls, but she manage to grab one (with Mike still attached) and ride it off in a truck. Abram’s retaliation? Swipe the toliet seats in the girls’ lodge. He goes solo, slipping into the bathrooms and unscrewing the seats. That just screams “Abram,” wouldn’t you agree? He tells Mark, who loves it. Fade to black.

Two episodes down, roughly fifteen to go. What’s coming up next? Bicycle stunts. Tina to Tonya: “You’re the biggest liar in this [Oedipus Rexin’] house!” Players get bit by snakes. Eric: “The best guy in the world versus the best girl in the world, the guy is going to win every time.” Shut it, old man. Go down to Florida and watch the big dogs chase the bunny around the track. Angela cries on the cell phone. Adam and Brad grouse about the treatment of rookies. Wild West-like showdown with paintballs. Katie: “Yippie kay yay, [Oedipus Rex]!” Teams paddle with boards. Mike: “Girls suck at challenges.” Coral yells at Eric. Jonny reminds everybody of the no-violence policy. Cut to Shane with his head bowed. Somehow, I don’t think Shane would be going home. He learned his lesson in his season against Darrell. Ayanna: “I slept in my uniform last night because I wanted to win today!”

Club footage. Random dancing. Ruthie: “Half of the team is lesbians, and the others are bisexual.” Coral hugs a guy, and it’s clear that somebody is going home. That’s the question of this Challenge: who lasts longer? Mike or Coral? Teams rub their bodies on ice blocks. Stuff gets tossed into a wood chipper and the players catch it with buckets held on their heads. Mark gets covered in leeches. Ruthie and Sophia tug on chains. Sky diving. Tina: “You the only bitch who’s bitchin’ about [long bleep!]” Tonya: “When you watch the show, you’ll find out, okay?” Tina: “I’ll watch the show! We’ll see what they [bleeping] say about your white [Oedipus Rexin’] ass!” Yes, I can’t wait to see what I have to say about Tonya’s ass, either.

 Sophia breaking down would be a running trope that season. Once again: I had interviewed her in 2001, and I was rooting for her. Seeing her in tears was not fun here. It would get worse down the line.

I was spoiled on the first two sets of eliminations. Jacquese getting voted off first was sad. For me, he was the best cast member from Real World: San Diego. I mean, Brad was the dopey meathead, Randy was the dopey stoner-type, but I would've gotten along better with Jacquese. He was sane and funny, which I found was a rare mix on BMP shows. For the hell of it, I searched his name in Facebook, and I found this. He doesn't post much; my takeaway was his current picture. I never would have pegged him for a beard. I did miss him. Meanwhile, we got bug-eyed Brad on The Challenge, with the relationship with the younger Britni. Not unlike the Mark/Robin situation, as you'll see the the recaps to come.