Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Gauntlet

The Gauntlet was the seventh season of the Real World/Road Rules Challenge. It featured 28 castmates competing in missions with an immunity life-saver awarded to the best individual performer. Each team would then select a player from their team to go into the Gauntlet elimination challenge. This challenge was held in Telluride, Colorado. It was hosted by Jonny Moseley.

Cast

Host
*Jonny Moseley

Game summary

: "Real World" Team.: "Road Rules" Team.

Final mission

Norman, Nathan, Coral, Mike and Alton were the final "Real World" team. Roni, Veronica, Theo, Adam, Darrell, Rachel, Sarah, Cara and Dave were the final "Road Rules" team. Team "Road Rules" pulled off the win.

Gauntlet

Gauntlet notes

* David was sent in because he was the first eliminated in the first challenge.
* Montana was sent in because the Real World team wanted to send a woman instead of a man in, and Montana was considered the weakest woman.
* Tonya was injured in a mission and was consequently sent into the Gauntlet.
* Katie was not only considered the weakest link, but the most problematic teammate.
* There was no specific reason for Tina getting sent to the Gauntlet.
* Matt was sent in because he had trouble fitting in with the team.
* Elka not only injured her leg but was also was not considered a team player. Alas, she was sent in.
* Steve was considered the weakest of the men.
* Trishelle was considered a weak link and a distraction.
* Rachel was eliminated the first in the mission prior to her Gauntlet and was thus sent in.
* Laterrian was sent in for his disappointing team performance.
* A tie in Road Rules' voting resulted between Sarah and Abram. Theo, who won the lifesaver, decided to save Sarah, for he felt her previous four Gauntlet wins have been more beneficial to the team than anything Abram had done.
* Irulan volunteered herself into the Gauntlet.
* Theo (RW) was sent in because Alton felt Coral was more deserving of staying in the final mission.

Memorable moments

* Sarah was sent to the Gauntlet five times and won all five, defeating two men in the process. Although teammate Adam felt that the Gauntlet was where Sarah did her best, and stated that he would vote her into the Gauntlet every time if he could, constantly being sent into the Gauntlet was a source of emotional pain for Sarah, particularly when she beat opponents that she liked. She crowned herself "Queen of the Gauntlet". Jonny Moseley called her the "Gauntlet Specialist".
** She defeated David in episode 2 (episodes 1 and 2 were aired back-to-back) in the "Dead Man's Drop" challenge.
** She defeated Matt in episode 7 in "Dead Man's Drop".
** She defeated Trishelle in episode 10 in the "Perfect Fit" challenge, which involved using puzzle pieces floating in the pool. (Interestingly, Trishelle had beaten Steve the previous episode in the same game, despite the fact that puzzles were a perceived weakness of hers.)
** She tearfully defeated her best friend Rachel in episode 11 in the "Ride 'em Cowboy" challenge.
** She defeated Irulan in episode 14 in "Dead Man's Drop" in the rain.
* After Abram was eliminated, he had a threesome with Rachel and Veronica in the shower.
* Dave stated that he was proud of how Cara looked riding the bull in the Ride 'Em Cowboy Gauntlet.
* During the show, Mike and Trishelle began dating, which had repercussions during the rest of the show and into the next "Challenge", "The Inferno".
* Mike cast the deciding vote putting in Coral in the Gauntlet, as he felt he had the responsibility to look out for his team's best interest. Coral was devastated, as she felt it was a betrayal of their close friendship and possibly a result of compromised objectivity on his part stemming from his relationship with Trishelle. On one crass moment, Coral stated that Mike was "hypnotized by [Trishelle's] vagina."
* Before the final challenge, Coral was bitten by a spider, resulting in an allergic reaction on her part. After struggling, she quit, penalizing the already lagging "Real World" team. The "Challenge" crew stepped in when they noticed Coral was having trouble breathing. She was airlifted to the nearest hospital where she was treated in the ER.
* Tonya got upset when she was voted into the Gauntlet because of her leg injury.
* Trishelle suffered a bicycle accident and needed to be taken to the hospital.
* In the early stages of the show, Katie confronted Veronica on her voting motives. This turned into a fight that would have long-term effects in the "Inferno".
* Irulan was booed before and after she went into the Gauntlet. This caused huge animosity between both teams.
* In episode seven, Sarah faced off against Matt in Dead Man's Drop. Irulan, knowing Sarah was distracted by loud noises, went over to the Road Rules side and started shaking a noisemaker. Veronica told her to stop, but when Irulan ignored Veronica's requests, Veronica grabbed Irulan's wrist so Irulan would stop. This then led to a heated argument between the two.

Trivia

* This "Challenge" was originally intended to be held in Newport, Rhode Island. The mansion for the site of the "Challenge" was already selected, the house had been renovated and there had already been website postings about the house, with its location and look revealed. Luckily for production, the Newport City Council barred production from filming there and filming was moved to the Wyndham Peaks Resort in Telluride, Colorado. Almost no one knew where the "Challenge" was filmed until it had ended.

External links

* [http://roadrules.mtv.com MTV's official "Road Rules" website]
* [http://www.mtv.com/onair/realworld/ MTV's official "Real World" website]