WARNING: SPOILER ALERT! DO NOT READ UNLESS YOU’VE SEEN THE LATEST EPISODE OF THE CHALLENGE!
Ready?
Season 38 of The Challenge is here: Ride or Dies, which pairs up competitors with one family member, friend or significant other as pairs try to win money. There are sure to be twists and turns that we’ll see throughout the season that might change everything.
As usual, we’ll do some power rankings each week to see who’s in the lead … and who could fall short.
In this week’s episode: One pairing dominates the weekly challenge, and another falls short of the final. Speaking of which: THE FINAL IS HERE NEXT WEEK WOOOO!
1
Bananas and Nany
Of course they’re the favorites going into the final. And as they noticed in this episode, they flew by relatively unscathed this season (Nany did go into elimination) before they didn’t finish first in the challenge.
Then? Devin and Tori decided NOT to throw them into elimination, going for Faysal and Moriah. But when these two didn’t pick the SAFE dagger, Olivia and Horacio chose to save Aneesa and Jordan.
So in they went in one of the toughest mental/physical combos I’ve ever seen in an elimination: Bridge It, in which each of the four contestants had three rungs they needed to use to climb up a pair of ropes by making a ladder with them. But if you dropped one or fell, you needed to start over.
Patience was the key, and Bananas and Nany stuck with it even as they fell or dropped a rung. It’s proof they’re more than ready to be the favorites starting next week.
2
Devin and Tory
It was a … curious … decision not to automatically send in Bananas and Nany. Why are Faysal and Moriah more of a threat when we know Faysal has struggled in finals and with teamwork? And that Moriah’s a rookie (a strong one but still)?
We know the elimination probably would have worked out the way it did either way. But still: Not the smartest of moves.
That said, they were AMAZING in Frozen Senseless, the weekly challenge in which one partner had to blindly feel around a puzzle solution and then communicate the answer to their companion … while both were in an ice bath.
When it comes to communication, puzzles and even the physical aspects of what promises to be a grueling final, these two have it. I wouldn’t be shocked to see them finish first.
3
Horacio and Olivia
Am I moving them down from second last week to third because they’re rookies? Sort of. But we’ve almost NEVER seen a rookie-rookie pairing like this one do so well in a season.
Let’s see what happens when faced with what’s to come next week.
4
Jordan and Aneesa
Jordan’s won seasons before. Aneesa has not. It would be super cool to see her finally win one after so many years on this series.
That said, I’m worried.
Jordan has helped Aneesa find that extra gear in recent weeks, and that will no doubt come into play next week. But when there’s that much pressure in a situation like a Challenge final, Jordan’s motivational tactics can wear thin. I wonder if that’ll happen with these two.
5
Faysal and Moriah (eliminated)
A rough ending to their season that had lots and lots of ups and downs. Faysal continues to fall short of a season win even though we’ve seen flashes of so much potential, and Moriah might be a contender down the road without her ride or die.
That said, they got this far! A hat tip for that.
