RW/RR CHALLENGE: BATTLE OF THE SEXES 2

Week seven: Bugs up asses, in many ways

As a warning, week seven of Battle of the Sexes begins and ends with little fanfare. We open to the newcomer Robin gently talking trash to veteran Coral, and though the two are only joking, it seems the scent of alliances is slowly overshadowing the stench of melodrama.

Week seven’s challenge begins just four minutes into the show, which is a new record by my count.

Challenge: Fill ‘Er Up

Each set of team leaders are to designate one of their team members to be drenched in honey. The honey-coated teammate then has to lie down in a coffin to get covered by 100,000 worms and 1,000 cockroaches roughly the size of a tortilla chip. The other teammates have to remove the insects from their honeyed-up teammate using only their mouths and spit them into a nearby bucket.

Even before the challenge, the women admit they are going to lose (conversely, the men chuckle at the ease of their anticipated victory). Rachel, always the bully, decides to nominate Katie as a team leader so she’ll get sent home. Shortly after accepting the role, Katie realizes she is essentially being fed to the wolves and rescinds her status. Rachel boldly steps up as a team leader, but every woman newcomer begins to spite her for trying to intimidate Katie.

The challenge is so disgusting it’s actually difficult to watch. One by one, team members sprint up to their honey-and-insect-coated teammates and lick the insects off their body. With the exception of a few exciting moments of girl-on-girl action, the challenge is little more than nauseating. As expected, the men win handily.

The women’s decision is between Tonya and Rachel. The new women vote against the veteran Rachel while the older competitors attempt to vote off the fiery slut Tonya. Coral finally mentions the talk of alliances, but nothing results in the accusation except for a level-headed conversation. (Why? Why are these women using hushed voices and the use of logic? MTV, you have so obviously fallen off in your ability to manipulate the contestants’ emotions. They are drinking far less than they should be. You should know that.)

The men have a tough time deciding who to send home, but end up settling on The Miz. He seems to have been expecting it and reacts predictably: like a complete moron. The women vote off Rachel, and she is surprisingly restrained as she says her goodbyes (yet another bummer).

The women seem a lot more focused on kicking off the women they hate rather than eliminating the weakest competitors, which doesn’t bode well for those hoping for an equal competition.

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