The Challenge
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So lets hop back into this dud of a final!
But the level of intensity and unpredictability throughout this final remains pretty low.
And the unevenness of the cells regarding strong, smart competitors doesnt make for a nail-baiting race.
Theres also a severe lack of struggle depicted during this final.
Certain players make mistakes.
Nelson gets a cramp while swimming but looks extremely calm.
CT even announces, at one point, that he could do this shit all day.
Without it, everything looks like a five-minute run.
For the most part, everyone looks pretty okay running through the heat.
This may beafinal, but it certainly doesnt feel likeTJsfinal.
So everyone untangles the rope on top of the crate, which contains a safe.
The purple cell is moving as effortlessly as you would expect.
But the orange cell has Nelson, who proves to be the least valuable player at almost every checkpoint.
He ends up getting a cramp and cant swim to the answer key.
The editors venture to squeeze out as much drama as they can from this moment.
And I honestly think their team benefitted from him not having to memorize anything.
This is the point in the final where I wouldve smothered Nelson with a torpedo.
But Kaycee, Nany and Kyle keep letting Nelson shout out gibberish.
Eventually, they just start wasting energy by moving around torpedoes without figuring if it will work first.
Geniuses, these four!
Of course, when the purple cell arrives, CT figures the puzzle out in three seconds.
But I really needed someone to scream at Nelson at this moment.
Everyone chats and eats their giant can of soup.
Nany and Kaycee are having their couple banter.
Do we care about Nelson or Kyle ever winning a championship?
Yes, it would be cool if Nany shockingly pulled out a win.
But if she gets eliminated like on every other season, will it break any viewers hearts?
Likewise, Kyle beats Nelson in Back Me Up, which we saw earlier this season.
And Kaycee obviously beats Nany.
Im not invested enough in Kaycee and Nany as a couple to care about how tortuous this must feel.
But its clear Nany is just happy to have Kaycee in her life at this point.
And Im pretty sure she has a deal with MTV to appear on this show until she dies.
So shell be alright!
Next, TJ tells Kyle and Kaycee to pick teammates for the last portion of the final.
Kyle picks Tori, and Kaycee picks CT, which means Devin and Emy are stuck together.
So Kaycee and CT make it down first with Tori and Kyle seconds behind them.
Theyre jumping around and rolling in the grass as you would expect.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So Tori and Kyle come in second, and Emy and Devin come in third.
Kaycee and CT ultimately decide to give each team $100,000.
Not that $50,000 is anything to turn your nose up at.
Kaycee might not be cutthroat enough to do that, but CT is old-school enough that he certainly will.
Well, thats all, folks!
But at least we know there are some interesting rookies out there.
(AmericanSurvivorpeople, c’mon come back!)
The officialChallengeTwitter account is already asking fans whether theyd want to see anotherBattle of the ExesorRivalsseason.
So Im hoping for a full-onChallenge-aissance in the next year.
Until then, watch the old folks make way better television over at Paramount+ onThe Challenge: All Stars!
