We’re only two episodes into the teams portion of season 40, but the Era 1 team has had a very poor showing so far. They lost the Gladieater challenge and came in third place in Cradled Cranium. So far, the team has been represented in both Arenas, and they’ve lost two players post Era Invitational.
To the dismay of many Challenge fans, the OGs are having a rough time this season, and their numbers are dwindling.
So far, the team has lost Jodi and Aneesa. Their first loss, Jodi, was a hard hit to the team. She was one of the girls who is know for being a tough competitor and has two championships under her belt. Objectively, she seems to be in better shape than most of her teammates and she had a lot of potential. On the other side, Aneesa has never won, so her departure may benefit the team in some ways. However, she does have a reputation as an elimination beast, so the team’s intimidation factor may have decreased due to her departure.
The four men have all remained on the team, but they’re not without their struggles. Darrell primarily won his elimination due to the support of his team (and Tony may have been throwing it). While Derrick’s heart is in the game, he narrowly defeated Horacio — though the win did weaken the Era 4 team. But, we can’t ignore the fact that CT took a hard fall during Cradled Cranium and Darrell seemingly hurt his back during the One Step at a Time elimination.
The men may be able to joke about their injuries, but it seems like the team is in trouble. Dependable players like CT and Darrell are in rough shape, leaving the team to be led by unexpected people.
The good news: Rachel remains a very strong person on the team, and many of the girls in other eras respect and fear her. Tina also seems to be a dark horse in the game, and she’s performing better than she has on prior seasons. She posted a good time during Step It Up… then she stepped it up by volunteering to be a captain for the third team challenge.
We also have Brad, who serves as the wildcard. He doesn’t seem to have a lot of deep relationships with his teammates, but Derrick and CT have recognized him as someone with a lot of potential and has improved from prior appearances.
While there are cast members who are causing concerns, every team has weaker players. The biggest problem is that Era 1 doesn’t seem to have a lot of connections in the game. Eras 2 and 3 have demonstrated that they’re aligned, leaving Eras 1 and 4 as outsiders. And so far, those are the two teams that have been losing challenges.
At this point, it feels like a few cast members could potentially weather the storm at is the team portion of the game, hoping to get to an individual game. However, it seems like Era 1 has the lowest potential of winning daily challenges. So, the Era 1 players will be fighting an uphill battle in the Arena. But, at least they seem to be getting along so far, which helps.
Stop Being Polite 