Last week on The Challenge, 34 U.S. and international players started the season with the goal of getting their hands on their share of a $1,000,000 prize. The premiere was full of drama; partnerships formed, veterans aligned, competitors fell in love and a list made waves through the house. Michaela and Renan were the first to leave the game, and Ed Eason from The Circle came in as an alternate to replace Nam.
Upon getting back to the house, Michele/Corey L. celebrate their win. It’s always great to win the first elimination and show the house that you are not one to mess with; however, it puts a threat on both of their backs. Having Tori and Devin as partners could be a good shield, but there’s still the elimination twist.
Another person with a possible target on their back is Ed as he came in later than everyone else and got to miss a few challenges. Coming in late as a rookie could very well be a death sentence. Fortunately for Ed, people seem interested in getting to know him, especially Nelson. He’s a very likable and outgoing individual, and it doesn’t hurt that he has an Ivy League (Cornell to be specific) engineering background.
It’s party time already, and I like it. Gabo talks to a few veterans and Michele about his love for Jersey Shore and his happiness about being on American reality television. Everyone is hanging out, drinking and just having fun. It’s great to watch everyone having a good time and not worrying about the game. It’s not all about competition 24/7; it’s okay to let loose and form friendships.
The first episode introduced us to the relationship between Ashley and Nelson, but now there’s another girl in the mix. Nelson is cuddling with Berna one minute and in Ashley’s bed the next; he says there is nothing between him and Ashley but the cuddling says otherwise. Ashley tells Amanda and Nany about the hookup and Amanda is worried that Nelson will do something bad. It will be troublesome if Ashley finds out about the love triangle.
I have really come to notice how nice the weather is. It’s sunny and the pool looks welcoming, but the ironic thing is that nobody is in the pool. People are either talking, tanning or exercising. Tracy talks to Michele about losing Devin; Michele does not want Tracy to be upset at her. The unfortunate thing for Tracy is that her new partner doesn’t seem to like her and he is a physical threat.
Kelz likes competition and wants to stick with the rookies. The vets alliance, on the other hand, is still staying strong. Josh believes that Kelz is leading the rookies and is able to have a lot of competitors on his side; his veteran friends agree with his statement. I personally believe that their efforts are directed at the wrong person; CT has won four championships and could easily skate to the final. Fortunately for him, this new alliance will keep him safe and probably help him win a fifth.
Esther and Fessy try to get over the nerves regarding the daily challenge. Fessy is following Ramadan and can’t eat or drink anything until sundown, which is hard because he needs energy to compete. He recognizes the drawbacks to participating in Ramadan but is prepared for everything that the game throws at him. Esther is also willing and able to compensate for anything Fessy is unable to provide.
It’s time for the daily challenge. Everyone walks to the setting and T.J. pulls up in a Lamborghini with Range Rovers and a helicopter surrounding him. He exits the car and greets his players. Today’s daily challenge is called Heli Heist, and not gonna lie, it sounds a bit childish. Two teams will compete at once. One person will be in a helicopter and toss gems to their partner, who is catching from the sunroof of a Range Rover. Once all possible gems are collected, the partner in the car will race to the finish line with their bag of gems. The team who gets the most gems the fastest wins and will form The Agency, the ONLY team safe from elimination.
The first matchup is Corey L. and Tori vs. Tacha and Jeremiah. I love the energy from both teams; they match up well together and are very entertaining, yes, even Tori. Corey L. and Jeremiah both do a good job with catching the gems despite the throwing being difficult for Tori and Tacha. Tori explains this challenge as a crapshoot, which is a fair assessment. It seems a lot harder than it needs to be and could become repetitive. The cars stop and both guys make a run for the finish line. Tacha/Jeremiah finish with 18 gems and Tori/Corey L. with 19.
The next matchup is Cory and Bettina vs. Kaycee and Emanuel. Bettina laughs which terrifies Cory. I’m confused as to why Cory is in the helicopter; it seems best for the girls to throw the gems and the guys to run. I surely hope for their sake that their strategy works out. Emanuel books it to the finish and he/Kaycee finish with 28 gems. Bettina and Cory finish with 20 gems.
The third round is between Big T and Little T (Tommy) vs. Emy and Ed. Emy is afraid of heights but still goes in the helicopter with plans to get over her phobia. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work because she starts crying like crazy. Big T is also afraid of heights and Tommy is trying hard to compensate. It’s hard with the sun, the distance and the fear of heights from the girls.
Emy and Ed finish with 13 gems, and I’m not sure how many Big T and Tommy got. Emy is upset with her performance and has a full-blown meltdown. Ed is very supportive of her and lots of other challengers come to her defense. I don’t like Emy that much but I feel bad for her. It’s difficult to do well when you’re faced with fears, but limiting beliefs are ultimately detrimental to any success you could have.
The champions (Ashley and CT) and their partners face off against each other. Ashley and Hughie collect 10 gems; Berna and CT collect 16. Tracy and Kelz collect 6, which was honestly upsetting to find out. Aneesa/Logan collect 15. Michele/Devin collect 20; Amanda/Kyle collect 25. It does seem that the middle group did poorly but the scores are going up; the sun could have had something to do with it. The next matchup is Nany/Gabo vs. Priscilla/Nelson. Berna gushes over Nelson and congratulates him for collecting 26 gems; Nany/Gabo collected the same amount. Ashley and Berna share time with Nelson, but he doesn’t seem worried about the love triangle.
The last round is Esther/Fessy vs. Josh/Lauren. Unfortunately, Lauren was deactivated and had to leave the game. Most viewers would hope that this sends Josh home, but he is getting a new partner instead. To be honest, I’m not that upset that Josh gets to stay. He’s annoying but not that bad, at least so far. I have no idea who his partner will be, but I’m hoping it’s Amber. I didn’t understand why she wasn’t on the season to begin with, but it could be because of the U.S./international ratio.
I end up being correct. Amber walks out of the Lamborghini like a badass with “Red Mercedes” by Amine as her introduction. I’m very excited to see her. I have always liked her and was happy to see her win. Kam was the first choice but Amber was a very deserving winner. Josh is super excited to see her, but Fessy is not. Amber knows that people are not happy to see her but she doesn’t care. The only thing that is strange is that two international players were replaced by two U.S. ones.
Esther/Fessy finish with 30 gems, and I assume there are 30 possible, which is a perfect score for them if I am correct. We don’t know how many Amber/Josh got. The winners of the challenge are, of course, Esther and Fessy. Kaycee/Emanuel are the runner-ups, a familiar story for both of them. Esther is very excited that she is the first Nigerian to win a daily challenge, and Fessy has an emotional moment about overcoming Ramadan. T.J. explains the upcoming schedule and sends the competitors on their way. Cory is nervous about Fessy’s power and isn’t sure if he should trust him.
Josh tells Amber that he is ready to win. I do believe it will be difficult for him to do so, but Amber could give him a good shot. Josh is part of the BB alliance, but Amber feels like her BB alliance betrayed her. Josh has her back and is focused on putting the BB alliance issues aside to all get to the end.
Emy is afraid about going in; Ed is new and Emy is erratic. Nelson and Ashley tell her to stay positive as anything could happen. Ashley believes that somebody will have a breakdown and Devin assumes it will be her.
Everyone heads to the second party of the episode; music is bumping, drinks are flowing and everyone is enjoying themselves like the first time. I can’t tell if this club is inside the house like the “igloo” from Double Agents, but either way, it’s a nice club.
Amanda and Fessy are still hooking up, but Amanda says she cares more about “securing the bag” and a relationship is not her first priority. I have a lot of respect for Amanda for coming back on the show and trying to win money for her son. It’s hard out here, but she’s determined. Meanwhile, Ashley and Nelson talk about Ashley’s feelings; Nelson doesn’t believe that he and Ashley would pursue anything serious.
Kelz and Fessy pitch a possible alliance, but Kelz isn’t interested. My mom was also not interested in Kelz’ low-cut shirt, which I found to be funny. I think it looks alright. Kelz feels like he is safe because of his relationship with Esther and doesn’t want to make a deal with Fessy just because he is in power. Fessy goes to his alliance and pitches throwing Kelz in, which Josh is already down for.
Nelson and Berna talk, which makes Ashley jealous and angry. I’m surprised it took this long to get a reaction out of her. Cory feels like Nelson is playing with fire. Back at the house, Ashley convinces Berna to leave so she can talk to Nelson. Berna isn’t interested in the love triangle or making Ashley feel bad. Ashley yells at Nelson; they call Berna “Bertha” and Amber corrects them.
Nelson feels that Ashley is only interested in him because he likes Berna, which I’m sure there is a little truth to. That being said, they had a thing before Berna came along and I’m not sure that Nelson respects that. Everyone tries to calm Ashley down, but Devin says Ashley is “Ashley Meltdown Mitchell” instead of “Ashley Millionaire Mitchell.” Nelson tries to reassure Berna that she is safe, but Ashley has a lot of power.
Josh and Devin discuss voting for Kelz and Tracy as Kelz has “made multiple promises” and is the ringleader of this rookie alliance. Devin tells Aneesa and Tori that he wants any rookie-rookie team to go in, but this puts Tori in a bad spot because of her alliance with Kelz. Tori doesn’t want to go against Kelz, but she can’t afford to go against the vets.
At nominations, Josh immediately calls Kelz out for making promises and playing a shady game. Josh refuses to say names and pinpoint alliances that Kelz has made; this is a classic method of lying and throwing someone under the bus, but Josh is seasoned enough to have people take his word seriously. Kelz says that Josh is not the person to figure out if he is making big moves, which solicits a reaction from Josh’s alliance. CT and Tori’s reactions nearly had me on the floor. Way to make it obvious, you two. Kelz calls Josh a liar and tries to prove that he hasn’t made any deals by asking individuals about their relationship with him. Priscilla feels that the vets are trying to set Kelz up to expose his game.
Devin asks Kelz who he would vote in, but Kelz doesn’t offer a name. I respect that he doesn’t throw another rookie under the bus. Esther speaks up and says that she doesn’t want the person she votes for to come back, and everyone applauds her. She is a lawyer, which explains her ability to remain calm under pressure and speak eloquently. Tracy speaks up and asks for the opportunity to stay in the game. Tracy and Kelz are compromised. Tori feigns shock, which doesn’t make sense to me. Kelz must have known he was going in and Tori was trying too hard to act like she didn’t know.
Kelz talks to his rookie friends about the vets’ attempt to force his cards; I’m happy that he stayed strong. He is hoping for an individual challenge, as I assume most people are. 1-on-1 challenges are better because you don’t have to rely on a partner. Fessy and Josh argue about The Agency vote; Fessy wants Amber to go in but Josh is not willing to compromise his partner.
It’s time for the elimination. Big T loves the dungeon vibes and jokes that this is a familiar scene for her; I could never imagine Big T enjoying naughty sex games. T.J. invites Kelz and Tracy down to the Lair and asks The Agency for their competitors. Esther sends Emy down because she can’t trust her, and Fessy sticks by Esther. Emy feels blindsided. Fessy puts fear into his fellow veterans’ heads about going into elimination but ultimately votes for Ed.
T.J. asks Emy about her thoughts regarding being voted in and she starts crying. Being blindsided sucks, but Emy can’t be trusted and isn’t particularly close to The Agency. Ed, on the other hand, is ready to go in and win.
Tonight’s elimination is called Flipping Agents. One teammate will be strapped to a cage; the other teammate will flip them forward. The flipped teammate will need to use a magnet to collect puzzle pieces. Once all twelve pieces are collected, the pair will solve a puzzle. The first pair to complete the puzzle wins; the losers are out of the game.
Emy and Tracy are collecting the puzzle pieces. Emy gets queasy after the first flip and I can’t imagine what will happen for the next few. I also can’t understand how Ed is so calm with her constant screaming; I would go off on her. Eliminations are stressful enough, and it doesn’t help to have someone yelling at you. Tracy drops a few of the pieces because she grabs the magnet instead of the box.
The elimination is pretty close, but Emy and Ed are slightly ahead. Tacha gets upset that Tracy is dropping the pieces, and I’m sure we are all feeling the same as her. Emy and Ed have eleven pieces, but Emy can’t find the magnet for the last one. Her struggle allows Tracy and Kelz to catch up. Tracy wants to win the money for her family, which is allowing her to keep going.
When we get back from the commercial, Emy still can’t stick the magnet to the puzzle piece. She is trying to push it closer to her, and she is finally able to flip it over and connect it to the magnet. Aneesa applauds Emy for lasting through five seasons of Survivor. I can only imagine how difficult 39 days is, much less five months.
Devin tells Ed that the puzzle is a world map and Ed screams back, “I know that!” I know Devin was embarrassed. Tracy and Kelz catch up, and Corey L. becomes nervous that Kelz could come back. Fortunately for him, Emy and Ed figure out the puzzle quickly and win the elimination. Ed makes a pun that is absolutely out of this world, and Emy screams in excitement.
Emy and Ed won, so Tracy and Kelz are out of the game. I feel bad for Kelz but also believe that he is in a good position to come back. Tracy is proud of herself for trying something new. Tori is sad that Kelz is gone, but she is only there for herself and the money.
T.J. congratulates the winners and asks them if they want to infiltrate, which they decide to do. Ed selects Tori and Emy excitedly yells for Devin. I’m surprised they are the first to be stolen twice in a row, but they have good connections in the house. Because their partners were stolen, the first elimination winners Corey L. and Michele are together. I would love to see them win another elimination, but Corey L. doesn’t want to go in. The new partnerships are going to shake up the game, and the social game is now of the utmost importance. I would just talk to Tommy if you need help with that.
This was another good episode. I would change the daily challenge, but the episode had all the elements that make The Challenge so great. I hope the upcoming episodes are as good as the first two.
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