Challenge: USA Recap: Vets Come Under Fire, as Two Players Are Sent Packing
For over two decades and approximately 50 seasons, we’ve seen veterans dominate The Challenge and absolutely wipe the floor with fresh-faced rookies stepping up to the plate. But Tori was right: The tables really have turned this season.
In Episode 2 of The Challenge: USA‘s second season, a new mixed alliance of Big Brother and Survivor players formed and they refuse to let the MTV legends steamroll the game. After everything was said and done, the episode’s second elimination round saw two vets going head-to-head thanks to some masterful orchestration by the CBS players.
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But before we get into all that, let’s recap from the top and break down Ameerah and Luis’ fates first.
FIRST ARENA | The tension is high as TJ revs up the Hopper to pull out a name. The unlucky contestant is: Michele. Thanks to luck, Luis is off the hook and rejoins the group. Ameerah, however, will be taking on the Survivor winner in the elimination round titled “Slam Dunked.”
The women are suspended over large tanks of water. Their goal: remove the most balls from the pools when they’re plunged down below. After 15 total dunks, 18 balls make the difference between staying and going, and this time, Michele comes out on top to make BB24‘s Ameerah the game’s first victim.
In another surprise twist, the winners of the eliminations gets a chance to defect. Michele can choose to swap positions with any other female on any other team… or she can stay with Team Red (Flag). She ultimately decides to stay put. Meanwhile, Jonna is hoping Michele doesn’t find out that she was the teammate who voted her in…
Back at the house, Amanda goes Full Amanda and immediately starts going in on Michele. Listen, we love a great reality villain, but doesn’t Amanda seem just a little bit needy for attention and callbacks?
Chanelle believes that Jonna is the guilty party, and in a conversation with Tiffany and Desi, they decide they’re going to play dumb, but their targets are solely on the MTV legends. And rightly so, as Wes pointed to last episode. Will they be able to pull off a big move this week? (That answer is a resounding YES.)
DAILY CHALLENGE | In “Working the Poles,” a giant structure is raised 30 feet above the water. Players must leap from pole to pole in order to get across the contraption as fast as possible. The team to get the most players across the fastest wins the challenge and will be safe from elimination.
Blue takes an early lead, as Sebastian and Chris make it to the finish line. But Green, hungry to avoid elimination, takes the lead after Heat 1, as Amanda, Tyler and Desi make it across. In Heat 2, Red and Blue drop like flies, while Desi (who goes twice), Wes and Michaela get the job done. The horn blares and Green is declared the winners.
NOMINATIONS AND VOTING | While tensions heat up between Tori and Amanda (have you been following the Twitter drama between these two?), Michele tells Alyssa, Michaela, Chanelle, Tiffany and more that she thinks Jonna was the Red player who voted for her. Can they somehow get Tori and Jonna thrown into elimination together? “It makes sure that a vet goes and it does my dirty work for me,” Michele tells us.
The Green team meets, and Wes is entirely out-voted. He knows they’d be doing the house’s dirty work for them, but it falls on deaf ears. The majority of his team select Tori and Bananas as the nominations for the week. Even Amanda, who’s a “vet” herself (yeah, we’re gonna use that term loosely here), votes for Tori and Chris, but she states she DGAF if it’s Bananas either. Shots. Fired.
ARENA | The losing players vote and everyone heads to the elimination where TJ reveals the votes: Paulie gets two votes; Alyssa L., one; Dusty, three; Alyssa S., two; Sebastian, one; Cory, two; and Jonna, five.
When TJ pulls a name from the Hopper, it sets up our very first vet vs. vet showdown: Jonna vs. Tori. In “Drop the Ball,” a Plinko-like machine drops balls that players must catch and put in their goal. Black balls are worth one point, silvers are worth three. Wrestling is allowed, but if the ball drops, it’s dead.
When the horn blares, Tori throws Jonna around like a rag doll. Jonna recovers a bit, but when the final score comes in, Tori wins 29-15 and decides to stick with the Blue team.
It’s been a long time since Jonna lost an elimination round, but did she ever stand a chance against Tori? Hit the comments and let us know your thoughts.
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