The Challenge: USA is back for episode 2, the second episode in a week’s span. Keep in mind, this is just a roundup of the most prominent Challengers, not a full recap. The full episode is up on Paramount+, so you can stream it over there.
10. Johnny Bananas
Though he didn’t compete in elimination, Bananas has a huge target on his back. He was the male nominee, and the non-MTV players are gunning for him. However, he was a helpful captain on the red team during Working the Poles.
9. Michaela Bradshaw
There are many people from Survivor and Big Brother working together, but Michaela is one of the more vocal people. She rejected Wes’ logic during the nomination ceremony, and she seems to be keeping promises she made to her allies like Tiffany and Alyssa S.
8. Sebastian Noel
During Working the Poles, Sebastian was one of the few people to get across. But, his real story is his budding relationship with Tori. The two might have the first showmance of the season.
7. Tiffany Mitchell
While the Challenge legends are causing drama, Tiffany is nurturing her allies — and many of them are not from Big Brother. This season, she’s working against the Challenge legends, but she has a lot of allies from other shows. Notably, she didn’t vote Jonna into The Arena, even though most of her allies did.
6. Wes Bergmann
While Wes helped the green team win, he quickly realized he can’t control his team. At the nomination ceremony, he tried to keep Bananas safe. But, he just didn’t have the numbers, and he quickly realized that the veterans are fighting an uphill battle against the CBS cast.
5. Desi Williams
It feels like Desi is emerging as a leader on the green team. She managed to traverse platforms successfully twice during Working the Poles, but her breakout moment was during the nomination ceremony. All of the Survivor, Big Brother, and Amazing Race players banded together and nominated Tori and Bananas into elimination, and Desi was a strong voice guiding that decision.
4. Tori Deal
Last week, the blue team noticed Tori took control of the game. After an unimpressive performance in Working the Poles, the green team voted her into The Arena. But, she competed against Jonna in Drop the Ball where she could use her strength to win, and return to the blue team.
3. Jonna Mannion
Last week, Jonna tried to make a sneaky move. This week, she was on the receiving end of the trickery. She received five votes from the secret vote, and her ball was pulled. She tried to wrestle her way to victory, but Tori was able to get her out of the game in Drop the Ball.
2. Michele Fitzgerald
Michele opened this episode by winning Slam Dunked, followed by a confrontation with Amanda. While there’s an obvious feud between the two, Michele took bigger issue with Jonna. Why? Because at the first elimination there were nine votes for red players, meaning one member of the red team voted for a teammate. By process of elimination, she thinks it’s Jonna, and returned the favor by getting votes for Jonna going into the second Arena.
1. Amanda Garcia
Going into this episode, Amanda was safe from elimination, but Michele attributed her target going into Slammed Dunked to Amanda. After winning, Wes orchestrated a confrontation between the two girls. Amanda called out Michele for talking a big game in front of TJ — not in the house — but Michele attributes Amanda’s bitterness to her jealousy over Fessy. Clearly, this drama will be central to the season moving forward, but it’s not distracting Amanda in challenges. She had a break-out moment during Working the Poles when she was the first green team member across platforms, helping her team secure the win.
Stop Being Polite 