Kaycee on The Challenge: Why Does She Keep Getting Cast?

We’re halfway through Battle of the Eras, half the cast is gone, but Kaycee is still there. You’d be forgiven if you forgot she was one of the seven remaining Era 4 players because she really hasn’t done much this season — a standard criticism of Kaycee’s time on the show.

Given this is Kaycee’s fifth Challenge season, many viewers are wondering how she’s gotten so many invitations to return. On this particular season, her victory on Spies, Lies and Allies may have been enough, but she’s yet to convince viewers that she’s a strong addition to Battle of the Eras.

Viewers who have noticed Kaycee on this cast seem to be irked by her commentary. Particularly, Kaycee has been critical of Jenny for her lack of connections with her teammates. Kaycee feels that Jenny is an outsider on her team because she hasn’t talked game with most people; she just talks about food, the gym, and her pets. Ironically, the implication that Jenny is boring is the same criticism that Kaycee routinely receives.

There is something else Kaycee and Jenny have in common: They’re both competitive beasts. The difference is that Jenny has had to battle her way through the season. She’s been the team captain three times and each time she had to win the challenge or an Arena. Meanwhile, Kaycee has mostly floated in the background doing the same thing she does most seasons. She protects the same old people, and in return, they’ve kept her safe for the most part.

This is not a bad strategy, but it’s a painfully boring one and Kaycee doesn’t do a whole lot to stand out in the crowd. Perhaps this is one of the reasons long-term Challenge fans don’t love Kaycee’s gameplay. It’s a Big Brother-style strategy where she remains silent during confrontations. This was seen during Era 4’s impromptu meeting where Kaycee could have tried to support Era 3. Instead, she was indecisive and let Theo and Jenny do what they wanted without taking a hard stance.

On Big Brother, Kaycee did well because she went with the crowd and explained her game in the Diary Room. On The Challenge, she blends in with the crowd and seldom has the chance to stand out. “Not standing out” can be a subjective term, but confessional count serves as one of the most objective methods of assessing character importance on The Challenge. As of episode 8, Kaycee has received a total of 16 confessionals on season 40 — fewer than anyone else who’s still on the show. In fact, Tony accumulated 20 confessionals throughout his tenure this season, and he was only there for three episodes.

If we’re being fair, Kaycee has never done anything terribly bad on the show. She plays a long-term game, and she typically makes it far. Socially, she’s very connected — though she’s never been in a position where she wasn’t spoon-fed heaps of allies from day one. But for someone with a strong social game, we seen very few social interactions other than her relationship with Nany.

Her ability to compete and her relationships have allowed her to do well, and producers see her as a dependable, inoffensive addition to competition shows. Viewers might see her as a competitor, but that’s only half the battle. She’s such a mellow player that she’s not putting on a show, and that’s a major reason people watch The Challenge.