The Challenge Total Madness Episode 15 Recap And Power Rankings
he episode starts with the cast returning from the elimination. Kyle and Johnny resolve to call in each other if one of them. Nelson and Cory are talking, and both express how much Cory’s family could use the money. Obviously, everybody could use the money, but nice to see the two take a reality check on the situation.
We head to the mission for the episode, entitled Crash Course. Each competitor except one will be standing on top of a variety of barrels. The one competitor will drive and attempt to use the e-brake to drift into the barrels, knocking them down. Whichever man and woman knock down the most will win. This will also be a double elimination, with both a man and a woman going in.
The mission provided some cool visuals, but overall felt a tad lackluster. It was very easy for allies to help other members of their alliance win, as seen by Jenny, Melissa, and Kyle kicking over their stacks when Johnny went. Johnny and Kaycee ended up as the Tribunal and pulled in Kyle after Johnny promised not to put in Fessy.
Kyle and Johnny plot with Fessy and say they will not put him in. Whether or not they choose to honor that deal is to be determined, but some of the women also come in and Jenny says she will vote for Rogan. The whole house then plans to vote in Rogan just as he walks in the room and clearly senses something is afoot. Jenny then goes to Nelson and Cory says she won’t say either of their names and will say Rogan instead. Nelson and Cory then go to Rogan and tell him Jenny is plotting to put him in, and the three resolve to try to put Jenny in.
At nominations, Rogan just puts himself in seemingly sensing he would have been voted in anyways. The female nominations are much more contentious. Jenny votes for Dee while Dee votes for Jenny, followed by Melissa voting for Bayleigh and Bayleigh voting for Melissa. With a four-way split, the men begin to vote. Fessy votes for Dee followed by Cory and Nelson voting for Jenny. Rogan then asks Jenny who she had planned to vote for. Rogan probably should have just let the votes come in to see where everyone was leaning but after some debating back and forth with Jenny he votes for her anyways, putting her in elimination. Jenny returns to the Tribunal room pissed and tells Johnny and Kyle what happened. They are both furious with Melissa for not voting for Dee, who says she is friends with both Dee and Jenny so she could not decide. I think criticism is entirely misplaced, as even if Melissa had changed her vote it would have been 4–3–1, and in no worlds would Bayleigh changing her vote make sense as then she would be almost guaranteed to go in. Kyle says he wants to put in Melissa now, who goes and hashes out the situation with Jenny.
We move to the Tribunal, where Kyle is happy to finally sit out the right side of the interrogation table. They quickly resolve to select Cory and Nelson as well as Bayleigh and Dee, keeping Fessy and Melissa out of trouble. Johnny specifically mentions he wants to see Rogan go home, interesting considering they had seemed quite cordial in the past. Cory and Nelson go into the Tribunal, and mostly just play coy to anything that may happen. Dee and Bayleigh make similar statements of confidence, closing the Tribunal for the episode.
After the Tribunal, Nelson approaches Kyle and Johnny with a proposition. After some joking around about his incompetence with puzzles and swimming, he tells them to put him in instead of Cory. He says Cory has a kid at home with another one on the way, and he wants to have as good a shot at the money as anybody. Johnny again states he wants Rogan to be eliminated so it comes down to which of the two has a better chance against him.
We head to Purgatory, and the house explodes in celebration at seeing a Challenge staple: Hall Brawl. This is as narrow a hall for the game I’ve ever seen and should make for an incredibly physical elimination. The votes end up being all three for Dee and all three for Nelson. TJ introduces the game as Hall Brawl, with each competitor attempting to run through their opponent and be the first one to hit a bell to receive a point. First to two points wins.
The women are first, as Jenny looks for vindication from her loss in Hall Brawl last season to Tori. The horn blows and Jenny takes a much lower position in the hall. Jenny tried to use a similar strategy last time, but this time goes shoulder first instead of diving and is able to push back Dee. Dee is still trying to push Jenny straight up, and Jenny just has too much leverage and forces Dee out of the hall, getting the point. They line up for the second round, and it’s basically a redux of the first. Dee doesn’t adapt at all, and she is again easily leveraged and pushed out of the hall and Jenny gets the second point and the win.
The men’s round is next. The horn rings and the two charge at each other. Rogan goes low and is able to take out Nelson’s legs, gaining the initial advantage. However, Nelson is able to get a good push on Rogan, and almost pushes him out of the bell. They end up getting entangled however, and after breaking apart, Rogan gets a bit of a head start and beats Nelson to the bell getting the first point. The second round, they hit each other head to head in a massive collision. Nelson is able to trip up Rogan, but then he himself trips and Rogan is able to get to the bell for the win.
Both men are clearly destroyed after the elimination. Nelson has a black eye, and Cory runs down to help him up and thank him for going in. TJ dismisses Nelson and Dee and tells the rest of the cast they are headed to the final.
Eliminated
Dee: Dee’s place in Challenge history is going to be a controversial one. She was on three seasons and made it to the doorstep of the final twice and won the final once. In all likelihood will not be seeing her again and hopefully her mental health can be improved.
Nelson: Nelson makes the ultimate face turn before being eliminated. This is his first time losing a solo elimination, and hopefully he can fall into the right place and get a win at some point.
Power Rankings
Women
4) Melissa: Clear fourth to me, but she has shown she is no pushover this season.
3) Bayleigh: I think any of the top three are live to win, she has a history in track and won the puzzle mission earlier in the year.
2) Kaycee: Her football pedigree should help in what seems to be an intense final.
1) Jenny: Relatively weak final lineup compared to most seasons but has shown to be well rounded and is the favorite here.
Men
5) Kyle: He was ok in the Vendettas final, but I’m not sure how representative that is and has not shown anything in long distance events since then.
4) Cory: He has had an incredible edit, but his previous final performances do not inspire significant confidence.
3) Fessy: He’s a bit big for a final but his endurance has been good when asked to be so far.
2) Rogan: He may have been the best overall performer in last season’s final and has a good overall skillset for a final.
1) Johnny: Clear favorite against an underwhelming lineup for the final.
Extra Notes
o In addition to releasing a new song, Tori and Jordan are also making masks to sell to the public. Please check it out, as each mask bought will also result in a donation of a mask to workers on the frontlines. Always great to see Challengers supporting the community in this trying time.
o Not Challenge related, but if anyone is in need of objective and useful COVID-19 news, check out Nate Duncan and Ben Taylor’s COVID Daily News podcast. Easily the most unbiased news aggregation service I’ve heard and gives much useful information including best practices for the virus and projections on how things are developing.
Fantasy Scoring
o NOTE: I periodically go back and check through the scoring throughout the season, so these are liable to change. If you have specific matter you want to address, email rmcintyre1699@gmail.com.
