For the past two episodes, women have gone home. This week, the men were in jeopardy. 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. Josh Martinez
Capsized was a good challenge for Josh, because he’s a strong swimmer, but his team still lost. At the secret vote, some people in the Secret Garden alliance picked his ball, mostly because he’s been identified as someone playing both sides of the house.
9. Michele Fitzgerald
After the first two episodes, Michele was a bit less prominent. But, she emerged as a member of the “secret garden” alliance and she kind of took a leadership role during Capsized when she memorized the flag pattern. However, she messed up for her team and forgot some of the flags, which could impact her down the road.
8. Sebastian Noel
While the blue team won, they can thank Sebastian for his boating skills that helped them capsize the boat. Then, at the team’s deliberation, he was one of the only people to vote with Tori rather than vote with the CBS alum.
7. Faysal Shafaat
This week, Faysal showed that he’s a strong swimmer, but he also confessed that he was sick of Bananas’ shit. Maybe he really felt outnumbered at the blue team deliberation, but he was a vote to send Bananas into The Arena, and he didn’t even try to defend himself when Bananas confronted him.
6. Amanda Garcia
After butting heads with Tori at the start of the episode, Amanda mellowed out, but she’ll never get a day off. She was the female nominee, but she hoped that by laying low, people would just vote men into the Hopper to force a male elimination. This mostly worked — Channelle got one vote, but her ball wasn’t pulled so Amanda lives to fight another week.
5. Alyssa Lopez
Going into the nomination ceremony, Alyssa realized that she needed to make a deal with Cory because the vote didn’t go her way after the team’s first challenge win. So, she played a strong role during the deliberation and guided the vote toward two veterans: Bananas and Amanda.
4. Tori Deal
Tori entered the episode with good and bad moments. Firstly, she argued with Amanda who didn’t keep her safe last week, but she also reconnected with Paulie, who has experienced personal growth since his last Challenge. But, despite winning, she’s outnumbered on her team. This time her team voted in Bananas and there was nothing she could do about it.
3. Cory Wharton
Cory is frustrated — despite the fact that he won this week’s challenge. He sees all of the CBS players coming for the MTV vets, and he agrees to make a deal with Alyssa. So, he voted Bananas and Amanda into elimination, hoping this will help his long-term game. Bananas called him out, but it’s clear no MTV vet has the numbers to keep Cory safe or vote him in.
2. Paulie Calafiore
Coming into the episode, Paulie had a touching moment where he talked with Tori about his journey in therapy, and the fact that he felt like he showed a bad version of himself on prior shows. He also seems to have buried the hatchet with Bananas, but he ended up getting three balls in the Hopper. He faced Bananas in Fire & Ice, and for a moment, Paulie had the upper hand, but he missed his final beanbag toss. This caused his ice to melt much faster. He left the game, but he felt better departing in this position.
1. Johnny Bananas
Thus far, Bananas has served as a captain for the red team, and he took a leadership role during Capsized because he knows his ass is on the line if his team loses. Well, they lost and the blue team quickly put a target on Bananas’ back. He was angry, especially at the veterans who voted for him like Cory and Faysal. But, his fate was set and Paulie’s ball was pulled at The Arena to play in Fire & Ice. Luckily, Paulie missed the final beanbag toss, which helped Bananas win. Now, he has the choice to stay with the red team or switch to blue.
Stop Being Polite 