Hi!
Daylight’s Savings Time ended this week, which serves a reminder that time is made up and nothing matters! Also I’ve been watching WandaVision and have been working alone at home for a full calendar year as of this week, so yeah, I’m feeling loopy and disillusioned 😵
This week had nearly 100 fewer survey responses than last week’s PotW. That is No Bueno. Fix that for me, kthx.
Player of the Week
- Nany — 148
- Leroy — 57
- Kaycee — 22
- Gabby — 20
- tie with Kam & Kyle — 7
7) tie with Cory & CT — 6
9) Fessy — 2
10) tie with Amber & Darrell — 1
& no votes for Aneesa or Big T. Boo.
This was Nany’s episode, as you’ll see in all the results today. She finally got her skull and thereby broke her streak of losing 4 eliminations in a row. This is also her first individual elimination win ever, as she lost all the previous ones: versus Kellyanne on Bloodlines, Georgia on War of the Worlds 1, Ashley on War of the Worlds 2, and Melissa on Total Madness.
Nany got to face her choice of opponent — the 5 foot nothing débutante Gabby — and didn’t even need to win the mission to make that happen. She relied on her social game, flirtmance polidicking, and a 10-year-old friendship to get what she wanted, as Kaycee and Leroy were the Double Agents. While it’s annoying to see someone quit a mission, you can’t fault her for it. Rely on your strengths; work smarter, not harder; and if you don’t need to eat gross shit to achieve your goal — more power to you!
She also looked level-headed during deliberation and focused in the Crater, two things you don’t often associate with Ms. Meltdown Gonzalez. She then selected a new partner getting close to the final, the 6' 5" intimidating Fessy. Do I think he was the best choice? No, but makes her happy and that will boost her confidence — which is all Nany needs to do well. Just look at how she thrived with Johnny on Free Agents and Exes II.
Good job, Nanners. And also an attaboy to Leroy and Kaycee, who won the mission, thanks to their eating abilities and Kam’s math prowess. Cory & Gabby also did well during Survive the Night — chowing down on ram balls and relying on their friend Fessy for the math — and got props from TJ.
I’m not really sure how Lee got so many votes relative to Kaycee, when they did the exact same things all ep, but maybe it’s because he helped his Real World housemate get her skull? And it’s his connection to Kam that had her help them with the math? I guess that tracks.
CT also had no trouble with the eating, as expected, and Amber & Darrell got votes because…? I’m really not sure. But Amber B is the last remaining rookie (as are Kaycee and Fessy, by Gauntlet rules) so you go, Glen Coco.
Big T was Rogue, and all Aneesa did was get dunked on by her partners (both old and new), so 0 votes makes sense.
I’ll also give some extra respeck to Gabby, who showed out as a debut. She had 71 confessionals all season, whereas the next debut down the line (Nam) only had 46. In fact, she had a whopping 19 on episode 10, which u/willseamon explained is the highest non-final count for an individual since Jordan on WotW2, when he faced Josh in elimination.
AmBer, the last prospect standing, just passed Jay’s total count this episode, when he went home a full month and a half ago. She also has the fewest of everyone remaining, with 36😪 And people think she’s an actual contender for the crown? I don’t think. [But also, I have no idea, and crazier things have happened]
Gabby also had the showmance of the season, featured in multiple episodes stretching across a couple months. She smooched and bedded Fessy this episode; performed well during the mission (despite it being her first eating daily ever); got her wish to go down into the Crater; looked great during the elimination; and even scored a point against Nany despite being a full eight inches shorter than her. I am positive we’ll see her on season 37, and I love it. Georgia who??
Best Social / Political Game this episode
- Nany — 154
- Leroy — 35
- Kam — 24
- Fessy — 20
- Kaycee — 14
No surprises here (besides Big T getting only a singular vote). Nany quit the mission but still got her wish, her skull, and her preferred partner all because of her social and political prowess.
Strategically, is it smart to go with Fessy over more proven partners in a final like Darrell, CT, and even Cory? Not really, but what Fess does have going for him is that he is 6' 5" and well-connected politically. His Big Brother alliance, combined with his huge stature, will likely keep their team safe from elimination, since nobody wants to go against him in the Crater.
Fess had good social/political game this ep because he had two women agitating to get him as a partner — both of whom would’ve been an upgrade in a final to his current one, Aneesa. What’s more is that he pulled a good strategic move by throwing the mission to ensure he was eligible to be taken by Nany or Gabby, whomever won the elim. TJ might’ve chirped him for it, but the end justifies the means, and now Fessy is better suited for the final.
Leroy and Kaycee strengthened their social game by doing their close ally Nany a huge solid. Lee’s relationship with Kam is the reason that he and Kaycee won the daily. Kam stays in political power. And that’s that on that!
Best Edit this episode
- Nany — 163
- Leroy — 33
- Gabby — 31
- Kyle — 23
- tie with CT & Kam — 5
Again, a very Nany-centric episode. Was her edit pristine? No, they still showed her quitting the mission and TJ expressing disappointment in her. But she looked great during the elimination, cried before and after because of how happy and relieved she was, and got everything she wanted this ep.
Man, I feel like I’m missing something about Leroy because I can’t remember for the life of me what he contributed this ep besides winning the mission, helping Nany out, and hyping her up during the elimination. Of course, he looked good, but was his edit complex or all that interesting? I don’t think so.
Gabby, however, was all over this episode — even more than Nany and she probably deserved more votes than her, if I’m honest. She got the scenes with Fessy; she had all those confessionals; she actually tried in the mission; and watching her 5' tall body drag 5' 8" 10th-season (and thus super experienced) Nany across the Crater was impressive as hell. But Lee got more votes than her? When he wouldn’t’ve won the mission without Kam? Make it make sense.
Speaking of Kam & CT — they had a poor edit imo because this episode (in addition to the Next Week on The Challenge) revealed that they aren’t the power team they expected to be. Two alphas don’t not mix well, evidently, and I’m nervous for how they’ll perform the rest of the season. Their edgic strips have been phenomenal up to this point that I don’t want a fall from grace and/or contention. We’ll see. Kam did shine, however, with how quickly she was able to do that mental math. Impressive af.
Kyle got dropped by Nany yet still got this many votes for Best Edit. I’m guessing it’s because of how hilarious he was when he got Aneesa as a partner — even TJ struggled to hold in his laughter. Kyle continues to be amazing comic relief, so I’m happy he keeps getting a good edit. This might be my fave Kyle season, actually. Either DA or WotW1.
Biggest Misplay this episode
- Nany — 68
- Gabby — 54
- Kyle — 39
- Fessy — 33
- Aneesa — 32
People think Nany made a bad decision to take Fessy as a partner over 4-for-4 final wins Darrell, or just-won-2-seasons-ago CT, or staying with coming-off-a-second-place-finish Kyle. She also quit the mission, which doesn’t exactly inspire hope for her eating gross sh!t in a final. So yeah, misplays.
Gabby lost the elimination, so of course she’s a candidate for biggest misplay. I’m not sure what else she could have done, though? It was her first elimination ever, and she went up against someone greatly taller than her — in a game that requires you to jump up to grab a ring. She got eliminated, but as Allan would say, it was a good loss.
Kyle got dumped by his partner Nany and is saddled with flopped-in-the-mini-final Aneesa. This was out of his control, though, so how can it be a misplay? He performed well for the things that were in his control.
I don’t understand the votes for Fessy either. Yes, he quit the mission and had TJ chide him for it, but like I said above — this was strategic and actually a smart move, in my view. He upgraded his partner and improved his chances for the rest of the season. That’s a win, without even factoring in hooking up with such a babe.
And then Aneesa. Poor, poor Aneesa. I like her, and love the diversity and representation she brings to the show, but it’s become blatantly evident she can’t hang on Challenge seasons anymore. Nobody wants her as a partner, and she stands no chance in a modern final. She even had her best friend left in the game steal away her partner, after opening up and crying to her about it, and then even TJ laughed at her in the Crater. It’s borderline cruel, but what do you really expect? That’s an L.
Avg Episode Rating
was a 6.06 this week, the lowest all szn. OOP.
I guess that’s what happens when you randomly have an hour long episode (when every other one is 90 minutes); in which the mission doesn’t matter; only two teams try for it; there’s zero voting drama because everyone has an opportunity to get a skull (just like last season, which was also virtually devoid of deliberation drama); and nothing unexpected happens.
I’m excited for this week. Back to 90 minutes and 🤞🏼🤞🏼 the traditional episode format. There’s only two people left without Skulls — Cory and Big T — so soon enough, I BEG, we’ll get some cutthroat political moves.
Fave Moments
There were still some fun parts of this ep, though, like:
- Kaycee saying she’s never been this close to balls
- TJ laughing at Kyle’s reaction to getting Aneesa as a partner
- Nany winning the elimination and especially the juke!
- Leroy & Kaycee being the first pair to win a 3rd mission this szn
- the soundtrack 🎶
along with a bunch of complaints about the episode 😂 same.
—
And that’s all for today, folkx! The spreadsheet with results is here — which I’ve finally arranged so the people with the most votes for PotW, soc/pol game, edit, and misplay are at the top, with the fewest at the bottom. I did it manually, but apparently you can do it with a Custom Sort. I couldn’t figure it out — mentally, I’m a bum 😅
Some takeaways:
- Cory is still waiting for his breakout PotW episode, maybe this week? (he’s mentioned in the episode description)
- Kam & Big T are absolutely smashing the social / political game category, and third place is 700 points behind 🤯
- Kaycee & Cory are really not making any misplays, which is great for a successful floater game
Ok that’s enough. Hope you enjoyed, feel free to leave me some feedback!
🖤
