The Challenge: Double Agents recap: A security breach and frustrating cliffhanger
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After last week's boring battle of the rookies on The Challenge: Double Agents, this week almost made up for that disappointing elimination. But instead of following that with the exciting elimination we know is coming, we just... didn't get one at all. Not cool leaving us on a cliffhanger and keeping all the CT action on hold for another week!
As everyone gets back to the house after the Ambers went head to head, CT knows he has to win a daily because it's the only way he'll get his chance at a gold skull. He has to put himself into elimination because no one else will. He sums up his current conundrum best: "My whole entire Challenge career has been about instilling fear in people. So people are afraid of me. [Sighs]"
Meanwhile, Josh is weirdly hitting on Nany even after she keeps repeating that they're "like family." He wants them to be like "step-siblings." Excuse me while I barf. Josh loves hitting on his female partners. Anyone else remember him trying to hook up with Amanda to "help their team dynamic" back on War of the Worlds? Barf again! Thankfully, no matter how boy crazy Nany gets, even she won't go there.
As for Lolo, it's always the same song and dance with her. If she's not complaining about her partner Nam, she's complaining about how she's being blocked from going into elimination because all the girls don't want to go against her. She feels like she's wasting her time being in the game when she could be home training for the Olympics. And listen, I get it: In the Olympics, she's there to win. But that's a horrible attitude to take here, just because at the moment, she's not winning the entire game. On The Challenge, you're there to compete. Is she actually going to quit? She's got the worst attitude of any Challenger, maybe ever. Maybe this just isn't the game for her.
And let's all bask in the glory of what it looks like when CT helps train Big T:
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The Challenge: Mission Air Lift
Teams start on a speed boat, and both players have to jump off the boat onto ropes hanging from a helicopter above. Once they reach the drop zone, they let go and fall into the water and swim to a floating platform, hitting a button to stop their time. The team with the fastest overall time wins. And since Cory is a rogue agent, this is a male elimination.
Kaycee and Leroy go first, and it turns out to be more of a "grab and hold on" situation than actually jumping onto a rope. Leroy worked on his swimming in the off-season, and it actually shows in this challenge. Next up is Darrell and Amber B., and they perform really well throughout. Kyle and Kam also kill it — since Kyle doesn't want to lose Kam as his partner, he's really feeling the pressure to perform. This is looking like an easy daily that will just come down to seconds. But when it's Josh and Nany's turn, for some reason, Josh thinks it's a good idea to grab Nany's rope as well as his. But he ends up just missing his own rope and almost makes Nany miss hers too. She still manages to grab on, but Josh tells her to let go and go down, so she drops down... and then falls completely off the boat. And then he has the gall to ask producers if they can go again! As if you get second chances to perform in a daily challenge. Josh and Nany DQ (because that's what happens when you mess up in a daily!), and it's all Josh's fault. Nany's pissed, and everyone else is laughing. But Nany, for some reason, is saying it's her fault when it's very clearly Josh's goof. Devin also won't let up with his comments, and somehow it sets Nany off, but Josh keeps his cool? No idea how that happens.
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During Fessy and Aneesa's run, Aneesa grabs her rope but "slowly falls down" like "a little turd" (her words, not mine!), and they DQ her too. It's not as pitiful a performance as Josh and Nany, though, so Aneesa's fine with it. Lolo and Nam are next, and she struggles with the rope hold and the swim, but they still make a good time overall. Nam feels a sharp pain in his back after they finish, and Lolo says she lost her shoe, which slowed her down in the swim, so Nam literally gives her the shoe off of his own foot, but she still can't stop complaining. In Devin and Gabby's run, Devin doesn't grab his rope, so they DQ as well. He just pulled a Josh after giving Josh so much crap nonstop for doing the same thing. Karma is real.
The last team to go is Big T and CT, and CT's worried about how Big T will perform. They hold hands in the beginning, upping their adorable factor even more, and they both get on the rope and hold on the entire time! No one is more shocked than Big T and CT themselves. Big T actually beats CT to the platform, impressing everyone. CT is sure they just won the whole thing, and he's amped. "That was quite marvelous," she says, and he shouts, "Quite marvelous?! F--- that! ... Made me proud? You made me look bad; that's how proud you made me!" She tells CT she was actually on her swim team in school but didn't say anything about it because she thought she'd be rusty. And she did pole dancing lessons which helped with her grip. "Apparently I've been training for these challenges all wrong," he says. What an incredibly hilarious and heartwarming way to end this daily. Wow. Big T gets a standing ovation from everyone when they get back on the shore, and it's well-deserved.
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Of course, TJ names CT and Big T the winners, calling their performance a total runaway. It wasn't even close! And CT knows this is probably his only chance at getting a gold skull, so he's going in "regardless" of who the house votes in. That means this elimination is going to be good.
Meanwhile, Lolo's crying again in her weird, staccato breathing. That's it, that's the tweet.
Back at the house, CT threatens Leroy, Kam, and Kyle by saying that if they give him what he wants as the house vote (a.k.a. "the goof," a.k.a. Josh), he'll go in, get his gold skull, and go back with Big T as his partner. If not, he'll become Mr. Steal Yo' Girl Partner. That's a pretty good threat! It forces all the power players to do his politicking for him so they can keep their partners.
That night at Club COVID, Big T and CT make quite the entrance and Big T announces she's the fun police tonight — that means whoever isn't having fun is on the chopping block. Amazing. I love when Team Big CT wins a daily! And clearly so does the rest of the house, because they're shotgunning beers, playing flip cup, and generally having maybe the best night "out" of the entire season. But Leroy tells Nany that CT wants her partner in elimination, and she and Leroy conspire to get Devin thrown in instead. Meanwhile, CT feels a distance with Darrell this season, and he's unsure where Darrell's head is even though they're both "OG" players and therefore should be working together.
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The next morning, Leroy tells Josh that CT wants to go against him, and Josh tries to put up this front, pretending he's not scared at all to go against CT.
Excuse me for a second...
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA.
Okay, we're back! Because Josh is aligned with all the Big Brother people, he might have the numbers to stay out of elimination (unfortunately). It's either going to be him or Devin against CT, and it all depends on what "swing voter" Darrell decides to do.
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Deliberation
Cory as rogue agent plays mediator and Devin announces that CT wants Josh as the house vote. Josh says he's loyal to his people and he trusts those alliances will save him in this vote. But Devin explains why he's better to keep around than Josh: he won't win a physical final because he's "more of an IT guy." He's "in the van with Aneesa," not a field agent. He also won't win against CT in the elimination and that makes their job of getting a skull even harder, etc. It's a great move to play the layup card and he makes a great case for himself. Josh just keeps talking about the numbers. If it came down to who made the better argument, Devin absolutely demolishes Josh here. But it really doesn't matter, because everyone except Darrell has their minds made up. And who knows what Darrell is thinking? Not even Darrell.
During the secret vote, both Leroy and Kam burned on Lolo and Nam, and Lolo voted for Josh because Big Brother didn't help her become the house vote last week. Afterward, CT and Big T find out the compromised agents are... Devin and Gabby. So Darrell sided with Big Brother! What the actual f---?! Darrell hates Big Brother, so this makes no sense. CT and Big T are really disappointed with how this turned out, and CT is really bummed that Darrell let him down after a decade of friendship. But it's set: CT vs. Devin. After which, CT is definitely going to change up partners. Sorry, Big T. It's coming. We all see it from a mile away.
CT immediately goes to his people, including Devin, and reveals Darrell was the deciding vote. And Devin isn't counting himself out just yet, because he's beaten both Bananas and Wes in eliminations before. "That just leaves CT and Darrell," he says, listing all The Challenge greats.
Meanwhile, Josh is crying again — but this time it's happy tears because he's got friends in the game. He's relieved that the people he trusted came through for him... and he doesn't have to go against CT.
And then Lolo just quits! She keeps saying she's "tried everything" for her shot at a gold skull, and her "own teammates" aren't allowing her to compete, but... how about winning a daily challenge? She hasn't done that yet! And then she says she's "not putting it all on you guys" even though she literally just did by saying everyone's blocking her from elimination and not "letting" her compete. Get this sore loser out of here and don't bring her back. Nam's happy to see her go, and so are the women.
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Elimination
Walking into The Crater, we see the setup for Kam vs. Ashley's elimination, just a lot higher off the ground. TJ reveals what everyone already knows: Gabby and Devin are the compromised agents. But then TJ reveals there's a "security breach" again... and then the episode ends. What an incredibly lame cliffhanger, keeping all the elimination action waiting a full week after such a lame elimination performance last week! Not cool, guys.
Challenger of the week: Big T for smashing everyone's expectations in the daily challenge.
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