We have our winners — but the season isn’t over. What went down at the reunion?
Meet the Cast… Again
We’re greeted by our host, Devyn Simone, and most of the cast is there. We have: Aneesa, Aviv, Ashley, CT, Derek C., Derrick K., Johnny Bananas, Jonna, Leroy, Michaela, Nany, Olivia, Theo, Turbo, Atlas, Adrienne, Cedric, Dee, Gabe, Izzy, Leka, Leo, Jake, Justin, Sydney, Will, and Yeremi.
Not there: Cara Maria, Nia, Rogan, America, Blue, Ben, and Tay
Congratulations All Around
We kick off the reunion by celebrating Olivia & Yeremi’s win and Olivia & Theo’s baby. Olivia is gifted a “future Challenge champ” onesie, and Theo claims that he’s happy that his genetics were part of the winning team. We also get a lot of praise for the New Threats, but really, nothing new here.
The Bananas Saga
Olivia talks about her rivalry with Bananas, and she says she was kind of willing to risk her game to get Bananas sent home. He was a big part of the reason she got sent into her elimination last season, but Bananas says he wasn’t worried about Olivia coming into season 41, and his beef last season was with Tori. A lot of people seemed willing to vote against Bananas this season, but Gabe said he had a lot of respect for Bananas before their elimination.
Bananas also expanded on his “I am the Challenge” comment. About half of the people on the stage agreed with his statement, and he says he’s given more to the show than anyone else. Derrick K. and Leroy sing Bananas’ praises, but CT isn’t fully on board. Then, CT gives Bananas a cactus as a pseudo-trophy to acknowledge his Challenge legacy.
Hangnail Question
Throughout the reunion, Devyn is putting people in the hot seat by asking them “Hangnail” questions. So far, we’ve seen:
Question 1: Bananas is asked to name the Challenger least likely to return next season. He said Izzy, because the most impressive thing she did was make out with Rogan. Then, Ashley chimed in to say it was likely someone who’s not at the reunion: If they weren’t important enough to be invited to the reunion, they’re probably not interesting enough to return.
Question 2: Cedric was asked who the fakest person in the room was, and he said Derek C. He said it was because he betrayed Justin, but Derek said he told Justin to his face that he’d be voting for him.
Question 3: Who acts tough on social media, but doesn’t keep that energy in person? Michaela reads the question and passes it to Ashley. Ashley says it’s Sydney, but claims that she doesn’t go on social media a lot.
Question 4: Sydney reads the question: Which vets would you like to send to the retirement home? She passes the mic to Justin, and he names Aneesa.
Question 5: Adrienne reads the question: Who is the most overrated Challenger here? She passed it to Gabe, and he says it was the guy who huffed and puffed and forgot his inhaler… so, Theo.
Good and Bad Partners
We saw a montage of partnerships gone bad, and Will seemingly doubled down on Olivia being the problem on their team. However, Gabe took some responsibility for being a bad teammate. He felt he wasn’t performing as well as he expected, but Michaela chimed in to say that he was never good at working with others. Multiple people had issues with the way he spoke to his female partners, but Gabe apologized and seemed hurt by the fact that he made people feel less than him, and Jonna applauded his growth.
Turbo Troubles
Sydney talked about the struggles she had with Turbo, which seems different than what we saw on TV. Sydney knew that Turbo wanted to be the “alpha” in their partnership, which Sydney accepted, and she was fine being helpful at times, like making him tea and helping him clean. Leo said she seemed like a housewife, and Sydney agreed, but then she said Turbo got mad when she made tea for Yeremi because she was serving another man (Turbo denied this). Sydney also said Turbo didn’t want her to call her boyfriend at home, and Turbo agreed that he suggested she doesn’t call him because she would get upset and it would take her out of the game. Bananas tells Turbo that some people want friends and don’t want to be in game mode 100% of the time, and Turbo admitted he was wrong here.
Staked Claim #1
We revisit Gabe’s staked claim, and Bananas accuses Theo and Olivia for influencing this. Gabe says it was 25% his idea, and the rest was Theo’s influence. Olivia says she felt bad about the move, but she’d do it again. This was an unpopular statement, and Michaela let Olivia know this is why people are critical of her. Olivia says it was just a game move, but Michaela insists people knew about the manipulation and didn’t support it.
Turbo also blamed himself for having Gabe stake a claim on Nany. He told Gabe to stake a claim on the person next to Nany (Ashley), but Gabe mistook this as Turbo identifying Justin as a target.
Staked Claim #2
Of course, there was another claim staked this season — Yeremi and Olivia. Aviv immediately defends Nany and says that Yeremi didn’t stake a claim because of Nany’s heads up. It was really Sydney’s influence, because Aviv & Yeremi already knew their game was in jeopardy. Will still feels upset for being involved in this mix, and he said Nany had about 10 minutes to cast her vote once he was paired with Aviv. She didn’t have as much pressure as we saw on TV, but Justin still claims he and Nany were dumbfounded. However, Will and Nany confirm they’re still cool and they chat with each other (whether or not they hook up is unconfirmed).
Will’s Letter
Will says he was upset when he went home, and he didn’t write Nany a letter because he didn’t want to talk to her. He did write the letter to Justin (which we saw), then Nany owned the fact that she and Justin did vote him & Aviv in the Arena, but she still feels Cedric was a snake for not giving Will a heads up before Yeremi staked a claim. Cedric insists he didn’t know Yeremi was going to do that, and Devyn asked if anyone else was a snake on the stage.
The Hater Hot Seat
Michaela calls Olivia a snake, and Olivia seemed upset that Michaela was coming for her. Michaela was irritated that Olivia is being asked a lot of questions and keeps commenting on everything (Olivia did win the season), and Olivia called Michaela out for being a hater. Specifically, Olivia accuses Michaela of making comments on fan pages and Theo said 95% of Michaela’s confessionals are about Olivia. Michaela claims she’s not a hater, but Olivia wishes she had one so she can feel relevant.
Turbo’s Fake Friend
Turbo discussed why he called Derek “FF,” “fake as fuck.” Turbo insists that it’s because Derek was his friend, then he voted for him & Dee. Derek said he was cool with Turbo, but he met Turbo along with everyone else. They don’t have a huge history, and he had to vote someone in. Derek called Turbo a hypocrite, but Turbo doesn’t like to exchange pleasantries. Derek does, and Turbo mistook his kindness as an alliance.
The CT Show
We get a montage of Ashley flipping out on her partners, and she laughs about it. She apologizes, because she says she wasn’t super in shape this season.
Then, the silliness continues as CT imitates some confessional moments. Here’s the Challengers who found themselves in the hot seat:
- He imitated Olivia calling Will an asshole.
- He mocked Sydney calling people dumb. Sydney said some people are dumb, specifically naming Jake.
- He did an impression of Dee calling Derek a snake, and Derek claimed he wasn’t a snake. He was just nice to people.
- Finally, he impersonated Leroy, who said CT had the body of three dads who sit on the couch all day and do nothing but “chew cigarettes.” CT took the comment in stride, and like the lightheartedness of the activity.
Turbo’s Honor
We saw Turbo getting into arguments because he told people they were being “dishonorable” this season. Then, we see him recite a poem of sorts, where he pays CT compliments that spell out the word “Bitch.” Turbo calls CT a pussy, and CT gets mad, but this is where part one of the reunion ends. CLIFFHANGER.
Starting Part 2 Without a Bang
Part 2 begins with CT telling Turbo to watch his mouth, but Turbo keeps yelling. CT says if Turbo comes too close, he’ll see a “different side” of him, so security steps out. This de-escalates the fight, but CT and Turbo confirm they’re not really friends anymore. Turbo says he has multiple personalities, but none of them are like CT.
Pussy Mic Drop
Then, Turbo addresses Theo being “dishonorable.” Theo claims that Turbo is an actor because he always aligned with numbers. This is fine as a game move, but it contradicts Turbo’s message of honor and integrity. Theo claims Turbo is the real pussy, which makes Turbo go on a long rant that ends in a big F-U to Theo and a mic-drop.
Ashley vs. Aneesa Revisited
Ashley addresses her comments toward Aneesa, and Ashley says that she was partnered with Aneesa on All Stars Rivals six months prior, and they were both in the worst shape of their lives. Aneesa pushes back, saying she lost 40 pounds in a year, and she’s in her best shape in seasons. Ashley thinks Aneesa is living in delusion, and she’s the type of friend who tells it like it is. Aneesa claims they’re not friends because Ashley mentioned Aneesa’s father in their argument (context: Aneesa’s father recently passed away after battling dementia). Then, Ashley says Aneesa brought up an incident with a stalker — who Aneesa befriended — and claims she’s was willing to make low comments because Aneesa was throwing low blows.
Nany vs. Aneesa Revisited and Revealed
Then, we move to Nany and Aneesa’s blowout. Aneesa apologizes to Nany for her comments. Nany said she swept a few earlier comments under the rug to the point that she blew up. The two do not seem to have too hard feelings about this argument, and Aneesa admits she had unrealistic expectations. Nany says she wasn’t super close to Aneesa coming into this season, and she was no closer to Aneesa than she was to Ashley.
Then, the conversation changes tone when Nany asks Aneesa who she called after getting eliminated. Nany says Aneesa called Kaycee to tell her that Nany and Will hooked up. Because Nany was still filming, she didn’t have the freedom to tell her ex about her showmance. Nany says she had every intention of telling Kaycee, but Aneesa claims she called Kaycee because she was “worried” about Nany. This doesn’t align with Nany’s reality, because she felt she was in a good place, but she feels Aneesa will always treat her like a villain. The two veterans aren’t friends now, but they maintain a “see you when I see you” attitude.
Snakes Among Threats
Throughout the reunion, many people call Derek C. a snake, specifically because he betrayed Justin by voting him into the first Arena. Derek claims there were a lot of moving pieces before the first nomination ceremony, and he was worried he’d have to vote in another ally, Cara Maria. At that point, Derek was either going to break bonds with a new friend (Justin) or someone he’s worked with for seasons (Cara Maria). Derek chose to backstab his new friend, but he wishes he talked to Justin before he cast his vote.
Then, we talk about Derek’s argument with Leo over 2-for-1 drinks. Derek said he was more upset because Leo was interrupting him, but Leo gave Derek money to repay him for the drink he allegedly stole.
The attention moves to Izzy, who betrayed most of the New Threats by acting as an “informant” for Olivia. Izzy thinks Olivia really was her friend, and it benefited people to know where her loyalties lay. Olivia also feels Izzy was really a friend, not just an informant, but the New Threats feel Olivia was using Izzy. She might have liked Izzy, but Izzy wasn’t very high in Olivia’s alliance.
Hookup Checkup
First, we check in with Izzy. She says she and Rogan broke up because she found out Rogan allegedly had a girlfriend. Aneesa says Rogan told her he broke up with his girlfriend before the season, so the story is messy. But Rogan sent Izzy flowers, and she’s willing to open lines of communication again.
Bananas says he spoke with Dee before the season; they met at a season 40 finale party, and they’re both in Florida. They still talk, but they’re both very busy. Dee says when their schedules overlap, they’re “in a relationship for 48 hours,” but “it works.”
Will says he only hooked up with Dee in the hotel before the season started. Dee says her relationship with Will never overlapped with Bananas, but Will was upset when he saw Dee was moving on from him to be with Bananas.
Finally, Devyn checks in with Nany and Will. Nany confirms Will was good in bed, but she also says she nearly pursued a hookup with Cedric, but Cedric was too young.
Cheaters Revealed
We revisit the infamous cheating scandal on episode 9. Jonna says a producer dug out more peppers and onions from the bushes — and she ate them to move on from the eating checkpoint. Dee admits she cheated, but only because there was already a full onion in the bushes, so Bananas makes her wear an onion hat. Devyn asks people to confess if they cheated, and Leroy is the only one who raised his hand. Leroy’s excuse: He didn’t want to eat, so he decided to cheat.
TJ Time
Then, TJ calls in to talk about the cheating. He says he saw Dee’s backhand pass to get rid of her vegetables, and he assumes she learned the move somewhere — specifically, CT throwing his shoe behind his back on Double Agents and hitting Wes in the face. TJ apologized to CT because he assumed CT cheated, but he was wrong.
TJ also calls Sydney the stand-out New Threat. He also congratulated Olivia & Yeremi on their victory because he couldn’t be at the top of the mountain.
Injustice for Leka?
Devyn asks CT if he threw the Runes My Life challenge, and CT says no. Leka never thought CT threw it, but she heard rumors that CT was joking about his performance, and she wonders if CT would have tried harder on a male elimination day. CT says he deserves the flak that he got, and he thanks Leka for showing him grace. CT even expressed understanding for Michaela throwing the Cyclone challenge, because she was doing everyone a favor, and it put her in a good position in the house. CT feels he should have been in better shape this season, even though many of the veterans say he still could have won.
Rolling Against the Punches
One of the fan questions pertained to Michaela’s comment, where she said she’d punch Olivia in the face if Olivia kept talking. Michaela says she was irritated because Theo ran in front of Leroy & America during the Running Man challenge, leaving Adrienne in the dust and stealing shine from Leroy & America. Olivia claims Michaela was always chirping about Theo and making comments in her vicinity, which is why she confronted Michaela — plus, Olivia didn’t express her frustrations around Leroy & America during the confrontation. Michaela feels that Olivia thinks about her too much, but she wants to address this moment because she was never really going to punch Olivia in the face. She apologized to Olivia for that comment, which Olivia accepted, because as a Black woman, Michaela wants to distance herself from comments that have violent connotations.
When Vets Were New Threats
We take a look back at the veterans’ debut seasons and revisit some moments from Challenge history. CT says the evolution of the show is impressive, and Derrick says there are cameras in the house on Saturdays now because they used to be so wild; cast members even left the house to hook up with random people next door. Bananas says the houses used to always have a fully stocked alcohol closet — on The Island, there was no food, but they always had a full keg. Bananas has learned a lot about being a Challenger since he was the first person eliminated on The Duel, but he’s impressed with the New Threats, and he’s happy to leave the franchise in their hands if the veterans ever retire.
Stop Being Polite 