Remember when Mark, Amanda, or Tony were on Battle of the Eras? If this feels like it was a long time ago, it’s because it was. Season 40 started airing over three months ago, and we’re still weeks away from the final.
Battle of the Eras was meant to be a milestone season, and the cast definitely made a big impression when it was announced. Then, the Era Invitational packed the first couple of episodes with action, but after that, the season’s pace changed.
It feels like this season is losing steam, and that’s being reflected in the ratings. Usually, viewership increases as the season progresses, but season 40 appears to have peaked in its first five episodes. And fans have noticed that the show isn’t as enticing as a season with this cast should be.
So what’s going on? There are a few factors.
The season is actually slowing down
On episode 2, we saw eight people go home. Then, we went down to a reasonable two people per episode. Once the teams disbanded, competitors started leaving at a rate of one-per-episode (which is still an improvement from last season). However, this is also the point on Battle for a New Champion where chaos shook up the game and people started dropping quickly, but on Battle of the Eras, we’re still seeing one person leave at a time.
There are too many interruptions
At the start of this season, the VMAs interrupted the weekly flow, and this week, MTV shelved the new episode for Thanksgiving week. Challenge fans are spoiled, and we’re not used to taking weeks off.
Even if we aren’t just looking at forced breaks, a lot has gone on in the world. We had the World Series, presidential election, and an endless Diddy saga. It feels like time is flying while the season is crawling.
The lack of drama
Season 40 has given us a few memorable arguments like the Laurel and Cara Maria fight and Tori taking on Bananas’ Angels. Beyond that, there isn’t a whole lot that’s made a lasting impact. Some of the most dramatic Challengers on the season left in the first few episodes, and we’ve seen a few episodes without any real conflicts. This makes sitting through a 90-minute episode feel like it’s longer than 90 minutes.
The challenges are getting stale
The Challenge is starting to reach a problem that’s plagued Big Brother and Survivor for years now: Viewers know what challenges to expect. We can anticipate trivia, something with a semi-truck, and a mini-final. Then, the bulk of the daily challenges follow a similar formula where there’s a cardio or strength portion, which gives you a code, and the code unlocks puzzle pieces. It often feels like we’re doing the same thing in a different package each episode.
It really is too long
Starting with Double Agents, The Challenge was bulked up to 19 episodes per season, and this can really make the show drag. It truly felt like we were getting nowhere on Battle for a New Champion, but this still causes fatigue on Battle of the Era when people are consistently leaving. We understand that MTV needs to sell ads to afford that $1 million prize, but maybe they shouldn’t award those prizes if they don’t have the footage to make all the episodes feel important.
Don’t get me wrong, I still love The Challenge and I will definitely watch the show until the end. That doesn’t mean that every season is perfect; Battle of the Eras doesn’t seem to be living up to the hype it had in August. With 40 people on the roster, viewers expected each episode to be packed with memorable moments and important story lines. Instead, the season is reminding us that some people have been on the show for eras, but their stories could have wrapped up years ago.
Stop Being Polite 