The Challenge: USA Recap: The Individual Game Kicks Off With One Grueling Arena Battle — Who Made It Out Alive?
Last week, TJ turned the Challenge house upside down when he dismantled the game's teams. On Wednesday's episode, we witnessed all of the twist's effects, as the season's social politics were kicked into even higher gear.
At the top, the newer Big Brother players (Tyler, Alyssa and Monte) agree that they must stick together if they want any chance at survival. Alyssa cries because she's overwhelmed, but luckily she has Tyler's bold, blonde locks to sop up her tears. She's crying because the game is hard, then crying more later when she escapes elimination. It's exhausting. Isn't there a dating show out there that could've cast her instead?
Bananas does some work to try and pull Michaela closer to him, despite his team throwing her into elimination last week. She knows Wes won't save her and having Bananas on her side could help her move forward. (Clearly she hasn't seen Rivals III.) Good luck with that, Michaela!
DAILY CHALLENGE | In "Spell-lunkers," players must jump off a giant cliff and head out to an underwater word puzzle. The answer unlocks a flashlight, which will help them with an even larger word puzzle. Break that code, release the smoke flare, stop the clock. The man and woman to do it the fastest wins safety from the Arena and will select another man and woman to put at risk.
The first four players (Cassidy, Alyssa, Faysal and Tyler) struggle to see anything at the first word puzzle, thanks to some very murky water. As the other three head to the lock to guess at the answer, Cassidy spots "panther" on the puzzle and realizes that "cats" is the first code. Alyssa then guesses the right answer and tells the boys, allowing her and Faysal to win Heat 1.
Bananas takes Heat 2 for the men, while Chanelle wins for the ladies. The other heats' winners are Tori, Wes, Desi and Josh. But which two did it the fastest? Tori and Bananas.
NOMINATIONS | With the vets in power, Tori and Bananas decide to have a chat with Michaela and Desi. Tori wants to throw them a bone, hoping that if she keeps the stronger women safe this week, maybe they'll return the favor in the future. They agree (for now, at least). As a result of that handshake deal, Tyler and Alyssa are chosen for possible elimination.
Tyler tries to fall on his sword, telling people to throw a guy in so Alyssa can be saved. Since Tori nominated Alyssa alongside her showmance, Alyssa wants to return the favor and have the house vote in Sebastian. Chris has other plans. He wants to continue attacking Big Brother by throwing Monte in against his friend.
THE ARENA | The secret votes are as follows:
Sebastian: 6
Cassidy: 1
Monte: 7
When TJ pulls a ball from the Hopper, the night's match-up is decided: Monte will compete against Tyler.
In "Too Cool for Spool," players must race to a stack of balls and recreate it on top of a large spool. But they're tied and wrapped around the spool, so every time they move, the spool will spin. The elimination looks absolutely brutal! These guys are creeping and crawling, slow and steady, to stack these balls properly. Tyler completes his stack, but loses it while trying to hit the buzzer. Then Monte inches his way to the buzzer, and his stack crumbles. Both men struggle hard, but refuse to give up. After nearly three friggin' hours, Tyler gets the job done and sends his buddy Monte packing.
Was that one of the most grueling eliminations we've seen in a long time? Were you cheering for Monte or Tyler? Let us know by dropping a comment below!