All Star Rivals marks a long-awaited return for Challenge champion Frank Sweeney, but so far, we haven’t seen a lot from him. He came into the season in great shape, and it feels like he’s been ready to compete for the past decade. The same can’t be said about his partner Sam; she’s been struggling a lot so far.
In the first three episodes, the team has gassed out on two challenges and refused to compete in the heights portion of Edge of Glory. That doesn’t mean we should count Frank out, he’s already invested in the strategic game.
On episode 3, we saw Frank having a heart-to-heart with Kellyanne. She found a lot of comfort in this conversation, but Frank was just being a temporary friend. He seemed very ready to cut Kellyanne loose as soon as it’d be convenient.
That moment came sooner than expected. When Adam & Steve requested Frank & Sam as their Jungle opponent, power team Leroy & Devin approached the RW: San Diego duo. Frank immediately suggested sending Kellyanne & Sylvia into the Jungle because this was an opportunity to strike at a strong team. So, Frank successfully avoided the Jungle and picked up two allies in the process.
This was a very swift move, and it looks smart, but it might be shortsighted.
It’s no secret that Frank is a champion and he was quite successful on Battle of the Seasons and Rivals 2. Leroy knows this — he was also on Rivals 2 — so he knows that Frank has potential to get power, even with Sam as his partner. Devin & Leroy also know that they’re the only other male/male team aside from Adam & Steve, so they needed to use their power position to get some allies. Likely, that was their intent all along.
Frank’s game is likely to get really messy really fast if he builds relationships on lies. From an entertainment standpoint, this could be interesting. We don’t see a lot of sneaky players on the show any more. Many competitors are concerned about building their resumes for future seasons, but Frank may not have this concern because he hasn’t built his life around The Challenge.
It would be very premature to call Frank a strategist this season, but he’s definitely a wild card. He’s the type of player that won’t let the Vacation Alliance skate to the end unchecked.
Frank’s partnership with Sam isn’t ideal because she’s obviously holding him back in competitions, but it also forces him to play the political game. That was something that was emotionally taxing for him on Battle of the Seasons, but he also did it well. If Frank had a strong partner (like Ashley K., for example), he’d probably be earning power in challenges. Instead, he’s going to have to politic to get power, and that’s more likely to give us a roller coaster of a season.
Stop Being Polite 