For the past five seasons, we’ve had a new elimination form on The Challenge: The Purge. Rather than fight for your life in elimination, competitors needed to be better-than-the-worst to survive in the game. This is not longer a twist on the show, it’s really more of an expectation at this point in the game.
So, are these Purges worthy additions to The Challenge?
To be honest, I don’t mind certain Purges. Especially when they come closer to the end of the game, they can be an interesting alternative to an eliminations. When they come early in the game, they’re usually indicative of some random fuckery no one wants in the game.
On Dirty Thirty and Final Reckoning, the Purge was done really wrong. Redemption can be interesting, but using the Purge to usher people into the Redemption House seemed forced and unnecessary. A lot of good competitors were omitted from those seasons thanks to the Purges forced into the show.
However, The Purge was done well in some cases. Vendettas opened with a Purge, and it was actually an interesting addition to the show. They also had a Purge near the end where Devin and Jemmye left, and that meant the final would become more competitive. War of the Worlds also ended with a Purge, and it added to the competitive nature of the season. When people actually leave the game due to a Purge, it can be interesting.
We need to remember, seasons like Free Agents, Exes 2, Bloodlines and Rivals 3 saw “lay-ups” getting to the end of the game. This is a strategic move in many instances, but it doesn’t create an interesting final. The Purge is the prefect remedy to this phenomena and it has been effective. The finals over the past five seasons have been more competitive than the five prior to that.
In my opinion, lose Redemption and keep the Purge.
Stop Being Polite 
It worked for Dirty 30 as a one-off thing and bc the format was planned to be a mix of previous formats but every season after it was inconsistent and unnecessary. If a “layup” made it to a final, let them be, they played a good social game. Let things just pan out normally. You will end up with good competitors still going home whether its implemented in the beginning or end anyway.
I like the Purges because it forces people to compete and not rely on political game to get ahead. Ideally, (though unlikely) I would want to see a Purge that took out a strong player and watched layup go to the final as a result.
The best ones are usually closer to the end because the ones at the beginning could be considered a qualifying round, so the speak.