Last week of The Challenge was very bittersweet for a majority of viewers. Longtime friends Jisela and Aneesa had an argument, season favorite Kendal was defeated right before the final, and Big Easy sent Nehemiah packing for the second time in his Challenge career.
With the season quickly coming to a close, everyone was left wondering when the final would be taking place. Well, we finally have an answer to this question. Episode 7 was the final arena of the season, and the twelve remaining players have all made it to the two-part final. Everyone wants to win, and relationships are more important now than ever.
Of the 22 players who started the game, 10 have been eliminated (7 RW competitors and 3 RR) and the last 12 are officially in the final. They celebrate their accomplishments at the house as “Hip Hop Hooray” by Naughty by Nature plays in the background. Jisela has made her first final and she is proud to be there; she feels that the $500,000 is right within her reach. Darrell has never lost a final and he feels that he has a great chance to keep the trend going. Jonna has wanted to make a final since she started doing Challenges and she always knew she was capable. Mark is almost 50 but still competes like he is 25, and his age is far from a barrier.
We have been made aware that everyone is incredibly excited to be in the final, but one relationship still hangs in the balance: Aneesa and Jisela. Last episode, Aneesa went behind Jisela’s back and voted Nehemiah into the arena instead of Yes. It was best for her game but not her friendship. Aneesa approaches Jisela, wanting to make amends. Jisela doesn’t seem incredibly interested because of how important honesty is to her. She has only done 3 Challenges and Aneesa has done 14. Aneesa has wanted to run the final with Jisela since the beginning and wants to make it right before they start. Jisela is happy to be working with Aneesa on their friendship, but she still wants Aneesa to be held accountable. It seems as if Jisela feels this way with lots of people, including Kendal, but it’s good that she has expectations about people’s behavior.
The next morning, a conversation occurs that makes me upset about the one winner. Kellyanne is threatened by Darrell and Yes, and she wants to win to start a nonprofit for animals. Yes feels like those with a never-quit attitude will always win. It makes me upset because a person could fight so hard and go home with nothing. I also don’t like that men are competing against women, but I don’t know that it’ll be too mismatched.
Ruthie’s last final was Battle of the Sexes 1, and she is excited to be in the final again. Jemmye only wanted to make the final and she accomplished her goal which is spectacular. I can only guess how making the final would feel, but winning would certainly be a whole lot better so I hope that everyone plays to win, not just to finish.
It’s time to go to the final! TJ welcomes the All-Stars to a difficult final where the best of the best will be revealed and take home $500,000; everyone is excited by that amount of money. It will be a multiple day final (everyone is shocked except for Jonna, who was in labor for 20 hours) that requires multiple checkpoints/mini-challenges in a points system (5 for first, 4 for second, etc). There will be a new partner every mini challenge, and there is no double dipping. If you and your partner don’t finish, you are BOTH out. Alton is happy to just be partnered with women instead of Big Easy. Damn. Men and women don’t want Big Easy as their partner. Double homicide. It’s a joke, look it up.
If all that was not enough, T.J. has another bomb to drop. He reveals that the last place team at checkpoint two is out. It’s important your partner works as hard as you as their success is your success. The person with the most points is the winner of All-Stars.
For checkpoint 1, each competitor must complete the puzzle and wait for another person of the opposite gender to finish and be their partner. From there, the pairs get in the canoe and go to checkpoint two. Mark immediately gets nervous because he doesn’t want to come in last. Get it together, Mark. Alton finishes his puzzle first, causing Darrell to blurt out some expletives that his mother may be ashamed of. I thought it was funny, but she may not. “Doo Wop (That Thing)” by Lauren Hill plays as Alton waits for his partner and Darrell complains. Big Easy is struggling and he is not sure why.
Aneesa finishes and is paired up with Alton by default as he is the only one finished. She is upset to be with him as he seems uncoordinated. Darrell finishes and finds himself partnered with Jonna. Jisela puts the tangram on the floor in a huff. Yes coaches Jemmye because he wants to be partnered with her. Jisela finishes before them and her partner is Derrick. He is happy to have finished and he isn’t as piss poor as most people would think. To be fair, I’ve heard very few people say that, so I think he’s just self-rejecting.
Yes and Jemmye finish at the same time and are partners. Jemmye, unfortunately, has never done kayaking for more than leisure. At least she’s sober this time, which sounds pretty miserable if you ask me. Mark and Ruthie become partners, leaving Kellyanne to wait for Easy who is still struggling. Kellyanne is far from happy about this and starts pouting. I mean, anyone would be upset to be in that position. It feels like your chances are slipping away. That being said, it is far from over.
Aneesa and Alton are doing well, but it seems that nobody is that far behind. Jemmye is concerned about getting on the beach the fastest. Easy finally finishes the puzzle, and all he cares about is not being past.
He wants to prove it to himself and others that he can do this.
Aneesa and Alton are taking in a lot of water, which allows Darrell and Jonna to get close to first. Aneesa is upset that Alton is in the front of the canoe. Derrick and Jisela keep rowing and Derrick says he wants to win to buy a home for his son to play. Sounds exciting and not at all weird. Unfortunately, Yes and Jemmye pass Derrick and Jisela, and it’s not long until Mark and Ruthie do the same. Mark is feeling the pain but wants the money more than he cares about pain.
Kellyanne is nervous about getting in last, but Big Easy just wants to get there. They refuse to stop and seem to work well together. Meanwhile, water is spilling into Alton and Aneesa’s canoe due to the extreme wind, which causes them to capsize suddenly. “Waterfalls” by TLC as they try to recover but are flustered.
Jonna/Darrell take the lead and Yes/Jemmye and Mark/Ruthie pass Alton and Aneesa. I’m shocked with how patient Alton is being as it wasn’t really his fault that the wind was severe but Aneesa acted like it was. I get her frustration, though, as I could tell that he shouldn’t have sat right in front. Jonna is excited that they are struggling, but they’re able to recover and keep going. It’s 4th place, but 4th beats last.
“Slow Motion” by Juvenile featuring Soulja Slim plays as T.J. rides on a speedboat like a badass and Derrick and Jisela recognize that they suck at canoeing. Derrick tries to move up to the front to stabilize the canoe. Darrell seems pleased that they are struggling because he isn’t part of it.
Jonna and Darrell are first to finish with 5 points each, which excites Jonna a lot. Jemmye and Yes follow them with 4 points each. Mark and Ruthie come in third place with 3 points, followed by Alton and Aneesa with 2. This leaves Kellyanne/Big Easy vs. Derrick/Jisela. It’s crazy that Easy and Jisela won an arena together and now one of them will take the other out of the game. That was a quick turnaround. Derrick and Jisela are not far ahead at all, and Big Easy/Kellyanne are able to pass them. Jisela is getting upset and Derrick just wants to make it to shore, but I think it’s over for them. They’ve backed themselves into a corner literally and figuratively. Big Easy and Kellyanne are the 2nd to last to shore, and Big Easy falls out, but luckily he is at the shore. Derrick and Jisela are officially eliminated from All-Stars. Alton is emotional about it.
Derrick and Jisela make it to shore, and T..J sends them off. Derrick seems incredibly upset to have lost; he’s been waiting so long for this and he loves competing. He wants to come back more than anything. Jisela made great friends and she wants Alton to stay focused.
It’s time to pick teams for checkpoint 2. Jonna goes first and picks Yes after she sees him eyeing the bike they have to put together, and he is honored. Darrell picks Jemmye and Ruthie picks Easy, leaving Mark with Aneesa and Alton with Kellyanne. They must build a bike and race to checkpoint three. Mark feels that it is anyone’s game. Darrell feels good about the bike, but he is nervous for Jemmye. She pays people to put her furniture together, and I’m sure a bike would be included. In arguably the oddest song choice of the season, “Right Thurr” by Chingy plays in the background as the All-Stars assemble their bikes. T.J. reveals that partners will be tethered together, to which Jemmye loudly exclaims that she is excited. I’m sure Milacent is used to these comments about her husband at this point.
Yes and Jonna are in 1st place with Mark and Aneesa in 2nd. Mark has run a final with her before and they have a good chemistry.
Yes feels that the whole situation is awkward. Jonna takes a hard fall but wants to keep going. Jemmye’s bike looks a little wack to me, but she’s able to ride it. Easy and Ruthie are 4th, which leaves Alton and Kellyanne in last. Ruthie falls off her bike and Big Easy seems a bit frustrated. Ruthie is about done with the partnership as she is not used to acting like that with her partners. This infighting has put them in last, and the back tire needs to be replaced.
Kellyanne and Alton are moving quickly, but Yes and Jonna are still first. Jonna may have to walk, but she won’t quit. Mark loses a pedal, and Jemmye loses her chain. I never thought that bike assembling and riding would be a necessary skill to have on The Challenge, but I learn something new every day. Alton and Kellyanne pass Mark/Aneesa and Jemmye/Darrell to get in 2nd place. Kellyanne is happy to be paired up with Mr. Cheerleader himself, Alton. I would be.
Mark’s bike is messed up so he must ride it like a skateboard. He’s not the only one struggling, though. Yes and Jonna may be in first, but Jonna is struggling to ride the bike so Yes takes it from her. He is getting nervous about the lead, but he hasn’t given up on Jonna one bit. Luckily, they finish first and get to checkpoint 3, which is a puzzle where the points of the star must equal the same #. Yes finishes quickly and helps Jonna. They win 5 points, which puts Jonna in the lead.
Everyone starts working on the puzzle. Big Easy notices that the magic number is 15 and asks for a check. Darrell and Jemmye get 4 points, leaving the other 3 pairs to finish. “Clint Eastwood” by the Gorillaz plays in the background, and I am proud to say that I knew this song prior. Does it fit All-Stars? Not quite. Does it excite my ears? Absolutely.
Mark and Aneesa get 3 points, Kellyanne and Alton recieve 2, and Big Easy and Ruthie end up with 1. Kellyanne isn’t sure if she can recover because she only has 3 points, but it’s still anyone’s game.
It’s now time to pick pairs for the second portion of checkpoint 3. Yes picks Kellyanne because she seems prepared to go and he needs a good partner to go up against Jonna. Jonna takes Mark, Darrell picks Ruthie, and Jemmye takes Alton, leaving Big Easy and Aneesa together.
The pairs must sprint to checkpoint 4 while being tethered together. Jemmye is stressed about the length of the final and isn’t sure how much to give. Mark is somewhat nervous about Jonna, but not upset with her. Big Easy and Aneesa are last, and Big Easy will not give up even if he has to carry Aneesa. I appreciate that the men are so supportive.
Ruthie seems to be struggling and Darrell offers to carry her up the hill. Darrell is a king if I’ve ever met one. He passes Mark and Jonna up the hill and puts Ruthie down to continue on.
Yes and Kellyanne finish first with 5 points, but Darrell and Ruthie aren’t far behind. Alton/Jemmye and Mark/Jonna finish soon after. The current scores are Yes with 14; Darrell with 13; Jonna with 12; Jemmye with 11; Kellyanne, Ruthie and Mark with 8; Alton with 7, Aneesa with 6 and Big Easy with 3. It’s incredibly close, yet it feels so staggered.
For checkpoint 4, Yes picks Aneesa, Kellyanne picks Darrell, Ruthie picks Alton, Jemmye picks Mark, and Jonna and Easy are together. For the second time, Easy is last picked. I just get a feeling that he was always the last picked in dodgeball. I was last picked once and it still haunts me, and I’m sure it’s worse as an adult. Big Easy seems happy with Jonna, as she is very smart and a hard worker.
Checkpoint 4 is an eating competition with 4 carolina reapers per pair, a puzzle and a sprint to checkpoint 5. Nehemiah and Teck suffered with these, so I can’t imagine how girls or people with weak stomachs would feel. Almost immediately, people are coughing and hacking their brains out. “Danger! High Voltage” by Electric Six is a good song for this scene. This is the same puzzle as the one from Escape the Room, the puzzle that Mark and Kendal lost and needed to go into the Arena because of it. Mark is still here, but Kendal unfortunately can’t say the same. I’ll try not to get emotional about it any more.
Yes and Aneesa finish first, which is becoming a broken record for yes. Darrell and Kellyanne finish soon after. Now it’s a race to checkpoint 5, and it seems pretty miserable. Jemmye loves spicy food, but she has a weak stomach and is immediately facing the consequences.
Big Easy is unable to run and Jonna is upset that her chance at the money could be slipping through her fingers. Jemmye is throwing up a lot and Mark is trying to be supportive because he doesn’t want to go home. Darrell and Kellyanne are going quickly and are able to take first and the suffering is becoming real. Ruthie feels like her stomach is on fire; Jemmye is having cramps and can’t walk. Kellyanne is moving quickly, but Darrell needs to sit down. In a fashion that is unlike him, he insinuates that he wants to quit and asks for a medic.
Unfortunately, we won’t get to see the tail end of checkpoint 4 because the episode is over. I can’t wait until part 2 and I wish that it was all one part, but portions would’ve been cut out if they tried to stay with 43 minutes. I’m willing to wait to see what happens, and I am incredibly excited to watch someone win the first All-Stars.
That’s it for episode 8 of All-Stars. We will be back next week!
Reality TV Guide 