Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Gauntlet Episode 4: Mud & Guts

By the time you read this, the World Series is now under way. It promises to be a wonderful World Series this year... unless you’re a Mets fan like me, then you can only hope for the ticker-tape parade gets delayed by a week’s worth of rain. Yes, being a Mets fan in October is much like being the Grinch, frowning down upon all the happy residents of Whoville. And the only way my heart will grow two sizes too big is if Mets management makes some good moves. Or if I eat myself into a mild coma.

Previously on The Gauntlet: each team won a challenge and $10,000 for their banks. Katie was inexplicably voted into the Gauntlet and she did not take it well. She managed to stay on, defeating Montana in Ride ‘Em Cowboy, living to invoke her Tragic White Girl Head Bob in Veronica’s direction. “She thinks that she’s not going to get sent to the Gauntlet,” Veronica interviews, “she’s got another thing coming to her.” Don’t you have roommates to rip off, Veronica?

Credits. It’s worse than last week, since Montana and David share the same space. I try to put some positive voiceovers in there. Montana: “Hey! Don’t worry about us! Me and David, we’re having a party in here!” David: “Yeah, please don’t tell Matt. If he finds out we’re drinking virgin margaritas, he’ll never leave!”

Awesome shot of Telluride, in the valley of the mountains. Katie is hanging with Trishelle and Nathan. He’s still wearing the same dot-com shirt from previous episodes. Very sad. He wonders what the next challenge will be. Katie figures that it’ll be something extreme, and she’ll end up in the Gauntlet again, since she hates her team as much as they hate her. She interviews that she doesn’t think the voting is fair. “I try to remember it’s a game,” she says, “instead of taking everything so personally.” Yeah, good luck with that. She tells Nathan that she’s not used to people not liking her, but she’ll remain fierce in competition. Trishelle interviews that Road Rules is sabotaging themselves with their dishonesty. Katie rants some more. Then Nathan plans on going mountain biking.

Country shots. Trishelle interviews this is her first time on a mountain bike. Cue the tense music, and a really, really lame black-and-white shot of a bike rolling by itself. Norman is on the cell, with Matt nearby. The news? Trishelle fell from her bike, going over the handlebars. Norman on the phone: “Then she needs to go to a medical place.” I don’t know what’s funnier: Norman using that term or Matt nodding as if to say, “Yeah, I’ve heard of those.”

Emergency sign. Some of the players enter the room. Trishelle’s face is banged up. She says that she went too fast, pressed the forward brake, and went over the bike, rolling down the hill in the process. Katie takes a picture. Trishelle says she’ll be back tonight and the others leave. Mike stays behind, hugging her. “I definitely saw a side that I never seen of Trishelle,” he interviews. “I believe that she has the biggest heart I’ve ever seen out of a girl.” Mike, did Tara mean nothing to you? Trishelle interviews that she’s thankful to be on a team with Mike. He asks if she has scratches on her chest. Such a smooth operator, isn’t he? She laughs, “I do, and you’re not touching them!” [Editor’s Note: FYI, it was just announced that Trishelle will be on the second edition of The Surreal Life.]

Sunset. Nighttime at the mansion. Veronica and Matt read off the clues on the sponsor phone: challenge tomorrow at 9 a.m., wear bathing suits and sandals with team colors. Adam: “I have a feeling we’re either going to get messy or wet.” Trishelle interviews that she feels fine, but she admits to others that she has a concussion. She adds, “I’m not gonna let something like this affect my ability to compete at missions.”

New day. New site. Jonny welcomes everybody to Mudbath, a last-man-standing challenge. The objective: secure giant balls from the mud pit to the safety zone. The catch: there will always be three less balls than players, and the three players who don’t have balls at the end of the round are eliminated. Like in basketball, the ball can be stolen, without intentional physical contact. Theo V. drawls what Jonny just said in his interview, but he adds “save your soul.” Hey, that’s Matt’s department. Last person standing gets $10,000 for the team bank. Tina expositions that her team has a two-person advantage.

Both teams talk strategy. Alton interviews that RW has to win for the sake of morale. Trishelle meets with Emil, the on-site EMT. He tells her that she could exasperate the concussion, even though she’s not worried about it. Norman expositions that RW is now down by three players, since Trishelle is sidelined, and they have to go in twice as hard. Theo V. urges his team to “go nuts,” thinking that speed and strength will win it. Adam figures that RR has momentum since winning a challenge and two Gauntlets. Jonny gets everybody ready on his megaphone. Matt: “Any time you put mud and balls together, it’s gonna get dirty!”

After the commercials, Jonny blows his airhorn. There’s running, grabbing, and rolling. As the mud clears, Katie looks around as teammate Rachel R. rolls her ball back to the safety zone. Airhorn. Eliminated: Katie, Cara, Coral. “I am very nervous at this point,” Katie voiceovers. “I’m assuming right now that I am at risk for getting voted into the Gauntlet again.”