The Cutthroat final has been just as messy as the season’s format. Midway through the first day, CT started feeling nauseous due to heat exhaustion.
This nightmare happened during the Orange Team’s second checkpoint, but CT began showing signs of fatigue after the first checkpoint. He made his team stop at the triage station, and when they pushed him to start running, CT warned them of a repeat of the “Big Easy” incident.
Of course, this refers to the Gauntlet 3 finale, where the Veterans pushed Eric too hard, and he collapsed. Eric was medically disqualified, and the Vets continued the race. They blasted past the rookies and completed the final first, only for TJ to tell them they didn’t finish as a full team, so they were disqualified.
In fact, many members of the Veterans team (and viewers) blamed CT for Eric’s medical disqualification. He was physically pulling Eric to move faster, and Brad pushed back. At one point, Brad told CT to slow down because Eric was throwing up. CT responded, “Don’t baby him.”
So it would almost feel like karma if CT suffered his own medical episode that cost his team a lot of money. But instead of being heavily ridiculed like Eric was, the Challenge gods showed him empathy.
CT was taken off the course for a medical evaluation, and the Orange team was allowed to continue. Then, CT was cleared to return to the game… giving him a rest, plenty of fluids, and a chance to skip some of the running.
Was CT’s Return to the Final Fair?
If you ask Tori, yes. It wouldn’t have been fair for the Orange Team to be stalled while CT got medical attention.
Allegedly, according to our unofficial season narrator Tori, TJ made it clear that teams would not be penalized for a medical DQ. In fact, she said the noble thing to do would be for CT to accept a medical disqualification… and she was upset when he returned to the game.
The truth is, this incident lives in a grey area because there is no standard for medical disqualifications during a final. On The Gauntlet, the Real World Team got a 10-minute penalty for Coral’s disqualification, while the Veterans team lost the whole Gauntlet 3 because medics took Big Easy away.
But this is Cutthroat, and the original Cutthroat season also had a grueling final. Two people were medically disqualified, and the Grey Team received no penalties (that we know of). Of course, they didn’t win, but we have no evidence to suggest they couldn’t have won if the remaining players outperformed the Red Team.
So let’s assume Tori’s statement is true — TJ had already established no penalties for a medical disqualification. And I do believe this rule was explicitly stated, because Tori was pushing for a medical disqualification before a medic assessed CT. And she’s always looking to exploit a loophole to make her game easier (like forcing a stalemate or coming up with a code during the trivia challenge).
Given that there’s no penalty for a medical DQ, it wouldn’t benefit production to get rid of CT from a storyline standpoint. He’s the anchor on the Orange Team, and without him, the team would have a much easier time catching the Grey Team.
Of course, they don’t want someone to die, so they chose to assess him to ensure he wasn’t having a heart attack (CT’s words). Once he was deemed fit to compete, they gave the Orange Team their anchor back.
Bananas called CT the best member of the Grey Team, and he’s right. If the Grey Team comes out on top, it’ll likely be because CT cost his team the final, not because they were just the better team.
What Should Have Happened
Clearly, production was making up the rules on the fly, and viewers are assessing the incident from the comfort of their couches. But it still appears unfair that CT just got a break while his team was able to progress through the final.
You have to wonder: if CT was just given water and a break, what was the point of the triage station? If he needed supplies, his teammates should have been forced to retrieve them from the triage station before a medic pulled him from the game (barring a more severe medical episode). Without this time burden, it comes across as the Orange Team getting rewarded for pushing CT too hard.
Where CT Was Right
We all know the final is a marathon, not a sprint. We also know CT is far from his peak physical shape. And we know this because we’ve seen him run many finals.
CT knows day one of the final will likely only result in a small time boost on day two, and these advantages rarely make a difference. So it’s a reasonable gamble to take it easy on day one, knowing that an injured, exhausted body will be a bigger hindrance on day two than the advantage is worth.
