Turbo Solidified Himself As An All-Time Shitbag Contestant: The Challenge Ride Or Die, Episode 2 Recap
Here we are again with another season of The Challenge. That means another season of recaps and getting annoyed by people who have no idea how the game is played, while on the show. Again, THERE ARE SPOILERS AHEAD this is your warning. I'll try to stick to the same format as before, but as always, send any feedback/suggestions/Q&A, whatever to me on Twitter.
TJ Lavin respects ..... rookies?
We got ourselves a mic'd up TJ and it did not disappoint. I assumed TJ just sat back, looked cool as shit and watched the daily challenges. Made a couple comments about people he knew and would roast those he hated, but quietly. Instead he was praising Horacio, who looked awesome during the daily challenge. Why does that matter? Well foreshadowing and the fact Horacio is a rookie. Each season you hope that a couple of rookies matter and can come back for more seasons and actually hold some weight. Horacio is boring but looks the part of a decent competitor.
The return of Kaycee and Kenny
So in the first episode, Kenny and Kaycee (reigning champ alongside CT) were removed from the show. Apparently Kaycee tested positive for COVID but stuck around in quarantine. Then Nam gets fucked over again:
His partner in his last season was Lolo Jones who quit the show too. My man needs some help. Anywho they bring back Kaycee and Kenny. Important because it adds to the Bananas/Nany alliance since Kaycee and Nany are dating. A lot of moving parts here, I know. Also Kaycee is probably the 2nd best female contestant on the show behind Laurel.
Production destroyed Nelson
Answer: Nelson doesn't win challenges. Such a hilariously mean comment by production that we need more of. Break the norm and let them chime in by roasting Nelson, who still thinks he's trying out to be on a movie. Everything he does is so over the top that it's impossible not to laugh at this dude.
Michele and Jay are lost
Michele and Jay should be an awesome team. Instead they are fucking up the social game by trying to play both sides. Watch Mac on It's Always Sunny one time and realize this never works. Bananas sniffs it out because Bananas is a legend of the game and immediately makes them show their hand in the Draw. Michele was crying during interrogation because she's friends with Nany and got thrown into the last 4. Again these two have been on the show before and seemingly forgot how to play it.
I love the setup this year
I missed blogging episode 1 because I had to watch it over the weekend. I'm a huge fan of the setup this year. Getting rid of the stupid spy thing. Having the daily challenge winners throw in 4 teams and then the draw is perfect. It's going to create fights. It's going to create a ton of gameplay decisions, something Bananas mastered last night. Bananas wanted to see who Jay was working with and break up a pretty clear alliance, so they threw in all the teams. Love that we got away from the rest of the bullshit.
Nurys, sup?
Turbo is an all-time shitbag
I think I forgot how awful Turbo is because he was on some of the worst seasons out there. Sure he's good as shit at the challenges but the worst social player I've seen. He started a fight on the boat to start episode 1. He challenged everyone and he got it. After Nany tried helping him and asking him if he wanted to go in or not he lost his shit. Naturally they threw him in and rightfully so. The dude sucks and it showed. The elimination was a memory game. Find the pairs, flip them over. Pretty straightforward. However, the ENTIRE show was helping Horacio and Olivia. Yelling out what to flip, it was a pretty easy win. Even TJ said it afterward, you need to have some sort of help here. You need to play the social game somewhat right. It cost Turbo, who again, shitbag.
Jordan is back
The show ended with TJ bringing Jordan back and we know his partner is going to be Aneesa based on promos. This matters because Jordan immediately becomes the 2nd best male contestant and oh, his ex-fiancee Tori is in the game. I'm sure that won't lead to shit at all.
Power Ranking remaining teams (not counting Jordan yet)
12. Tommy and Analyse
11. Kim and Colleen
10. Fessy and Moriah
9. Johnny and Ravyn
8. Nelson and Nurys
7. Jay and Michele
6. Chauncey and Amber
5. Horacio and Olivia
4. Jakk and Laurel
3. Kenny and Kaycee
2. Devin and Tori
1. Bananas and Nany