I remember meeting Cara Maria on Fresh Meat 2, but really getting to know her through seasons like Cutthroat and Rivals. Back then, she was a true underdog and a little bit of an oddball. Over the years we’ve seen her become a staple of The Challenge, but since she was won on Bloodlines she seems to be a little bit different. Not always in a bad way, but I think we’re looking at a difference person now.
Firstly, she’s always with Johnny Bananas now.
Remember how ecstatic she was to beat Bananas on Bloodlines? It seems that feeling toward Bananas has passed. No longer do we see Cara Maria trying to rid the game of Bananas, rather they seem to be working together. Look at Champs vs. Pros. When Wes wanted Bananas to get voted in, Cara Maria voted to keep Bananas safe. This was such an obvious excuse to vote in her long time foe, but she opted not to. To be fair, some of their friendship may have evolved organically. I know Bananas and Cara Maria are two of the biggest names on the show and they do a lot of promo together. Perhaps they’ve developed a better friendship through forced time together. Still, views need to expect to see these two working together in the future.
Secondly, we have the whole chip incident on Invasion as well as other pranks that season. I think putting chips in the bed is an innocent enough prank, and I don’t think 2012 Cara Maria is above pulling this prank. However, when confronted she claimed it to be an initiation ritual for the rookies. I thought Cara Maria would be the type who wanted to end this cycle, but perhaps I was wrong. Now that she has the support of her other vets, she seems to be willing to participate in rookie hazing.
The above isn’t a huge deal to me, but this week Cara Maria showed her position as a vet when she wanted to send in Briana because she was the replacement. Having been a replacement twice, Cara Maria was victim to going into multiple eliminations. I hoped that would give her a different perspective and she’d want to use her power to make a better game move than to sacrifice the newbie. However, Briana is being sent straight to elimination and it seems Cara Maria’s excuse was enough for everyone else to demand her to “earn her stripes.”
Moving forward this season, we’ve seen the trailer when Cara Maria says “it’s not my fault you don’t know how to use a condom.” Presumably this is toward Tony, and while we don’t know the circumstances around the statement, we do know Tony will often reference his two children. Regardless, this judgment seem uncharacteristic from Cara Maria. I’ll reserve judgment toward her for later in the season, but I can’t see a lot of situations where this comment wouldn’t be malicious.
However, all of Cara Maria’s changes aren’t bad. She’s become a beast in the competitions and may be the most feared female this season. She even completed a puzzle on Champs vs. Pros, which is a great step toward a performance improvement.
What are your feeling toward Cara Maria?
Stop Being Polite 
She was such a youngster on fresh meat, I think she’s handling everything now the way she should.
Cara was a vet when she appeared on BOTS and Rivals 2. If I was her, there would be NO way I’d let someone on their second challenge a free pass from the first elimination.
Cara’s had to “earn her stripes” multiple times on multiple seasons so makes sense she put Brianna in there.
I’m fine with her voting Bri. But Cara and Camila are in their entitlement phases and high horses. On social media they seem to have a chip on her shoulder and it must be related to this season. We shall see how it unfolds.
Hey even Johnny Douchebag (Bananas) changed, remember HE WAS ON THE GOOD GUYS on Inferno 3.
I used to root for Cara hard when she was a true underdog. She was sweet, athletic, and capable; but the “cool kids” wouldn’t except her or give her a chance to proceed in the game, because she was a little odd and easy to single out. Now that she’s won a challenge and the cool kids have accepted her, she’s turned into a bit of the kind of person she used to stand up against. Her aggression towards Kaila was completely unnecessary and reminiscent of the way that the “cool kids” used to bully her. I no longer root for Cara. Her attitude since winning is not admirable, honorable, or anything to root for… Yes, you are physically amazing, but so are many of the challenge cast. What makes a great competitor has a lot to do with your character and not the number of “W’s” under your belt.