The Challenge Total Madness Episode 5 Recap And Power Rankings
The episode opens with Dee returning from the elimination. She drops Smashley’s name to the floor as she moves her over to the competitor’s bracket; making her the only female champion left in the house. Bear, Big T, Tori Deal, and Kailah are messing with a made-up Ouija Board. Jenna expresses some concern over Kailah and Bear’s flirtation and then goes to talk to Zach over the webphone. Their relationship always seems to factor into the season even when one of them is not in the house.
We get a clip of Rogan expressing a vendetta against Jay for taking out CT and making out with Dee; while Jay expresses concern, he will be thrown in again considering the situation he is in. Elsewhere in the gym, Wes, Nelson, and Cory are trying to reset the turf before Jordan begins to shout at them about doing it incorrectly. There is a bit of a leap in the footage here, but Jordan claims Wes runs at him while Wes claims he approached Jordan before Jordan threw a glass of orange juice at him. They have a weird argument that involves Jordan sticking a piece of deli meat in Wes’ face while shouting at him and Tori tries to get him to stop saying that’s their best piece of salami; while Wes tells him he won’t respond to being yelled at. Wes seems to have the upper hand before he tells Jordan he won’t respond when Jordan is talking to him like he talks to Tori. Pretty unnecessary shot by Wes and it ends in making both of them look bad.
EDIT: If I was going to take shots at Wes for bringing Tori into it, I felt I should mention The Challenge Instagram page did post a deleted scene where Wes apologizes to Tori for bringing her into the confrontation with Jordan.
Elsewhere Kailah complains to Jenna that Bear is being annoying but she does enjoy his company. Jenna cautions Kailah to be careful with how their relationship will be portrayed before we get to a different relationship where Wes and Dee talk. Wes tells Dee he wants Jordan to go into elimination, and she seems willing to help get that to happen. Interesting that Dee’s connection to Tori/Jordan seems completely severed, perhaps she is just placating Wes, but I thought she might act as more of a bridge between the two sides. I do think Jordan needs to do a better job of not creating so many enemies and not making any effort of resolution; he benefitted a lot last season from the PLANCK alliance not having an incentive to put him in until late in the game, and even on Dirty 30 and Battle Of The Exes 2 he had favorable political situations (Dirty 30 had a male cast of almost entirely his friends and Exes 2 he was paired with an all-timer politician in Sarah). Tori showed some strong social capabilities on Dirty 30 and Final Reckoning, so I think she would do well to be the leader of the couple politically.
We head to the mission, which TJ announces as being called Bomb Squad. The cast will be put randomly in teams of four (2 male/2 female). The first player will be in a car attempting to read math equations, the second will hear the equation and attempt to solve it, the third will get the sum from the second and grab three colored rods and give them to the fourth player who will use the rods to detonate a bomb. The fastest team forms the tribunal. The teams are as follows:
Team 1 — Jay Kailah Wes Nany
Team 2 — Johnny Dee Bear Tori Deal
Team 3 — Mattie Rogan Nelson Big T
Team 4 — Jenny Josh Swaggy C Kaycee
Team 5 — Melissa Bayleigh Kyle Cory
Team 6 — Jenna Jordan Aneesa Fessy
Teams 4, 5, and 6 complete the mission with Team 4 getting the win. Going early has proven to be a massive disadvantage so far this season, and each of the first three teams failed to explode the bomb. Jay just missed where the equations were, while Bear and Rogan both missed the equation. Cool mission overall but wish they would find a way to have more teams go at once, so we do not spend so much time on it. I do extremely appreciate the show hasn’t forced the Tribunal to only be a certain number of players and lets the entire house vote for the losing competitor compared to Vendettas where the Troika could just set up teams to vote they way they wanted and were perpetually in control of both who would have power and who would go in. The Tribunal is thus made up of Kaycee, Swaggy C, Josh, and Jenny and we head back to the house.
Before nominations, Jay tells Jenna he is worried about going in and the only other name he has heard is Jordan. Jenna says she can’t do Jordan but says she doesn’t think Jay will go in (and admits to lying via confessional). We get a shot of Jordan talking to Johnny, Jenna, Kailah, and Nany about Wes rallying the troops to throw him in and Jordan saying it’s fine by him to get the red skull now. Personally, I would throw whoever has the red skull in every single time so only one person in the game can be permitted to run the final; but I certainly see the logic in putting in someone as massive a final threat as Jordan. We then move to a scene of Johnny and Wes talking (Wes must have this space rented out as it’s always empty) and Johnny tells Wes he should just keep quiet for now. Nany walks in and tells Wes he is on to his partnership with Johnny, and you’d imagine if any of the women were clued into this coalition it would be Nany who has been allied with both (and even directly partnered with both) in the past.
I think the editing in this episode is particularly notable, we hear about Wes making these plans but never actually see him talk to anyone outside of Dee. We also get a clip of Cory talking about his kid as he is running in the mission. Edgic (using how the producers edit the show to determine how the storyline of the season will play out) is much more common in Survivor than The Challenge, but clearly can be applied to the past two seasons of The Challenge as well (go rewatch the Hunter-Turbo fight from War Of The Worlds, and see how the editors make Turbo look like a vigilante in the exchange). So far, I think Jordan has clearly been pushed as a villain, making me skeptical of his chances to win. Smashley was given a negative edit prior to her elimination, as can be seen by her exchanges with Johnny and Wes. They’ve tried to put Tori as an antagonist as well, but it’s a rough time making her seem unpleasant as she seems to be a genuinely positive character with her most villainous trait being farting next to her cat. Wes and Dee have gotten a mixed edit so far, having an anti-hero streak but being proven right usually; while Johnny, Jenny, Jenna, and Cory have been portrayed as the protagonists. Typically, villains will be out by the midway point, anti-heroes will impress but not win, and the protagonists will make up the victors. With the number of winners and overall format changing by the season, Edgic on The Challenge can only be a guide and not a set of rules never to be broken, but they inform a lot of the power rankings and show we only see a fraction of what actually happens in the Challenge house.
We head to nominations, where Wes does a misdirection and instead of voting for Jordan votes for Kyle. (Another Edgic note: In Wes’ confessional, it is clearly producer edited to make it seem like Johnny convinced him not to go after Jordan yet).The men all vote first, with Jordan voting for himself and the rest split between Jay and Bear. The women then vote, and the consensus is Jay with even Dee also putting her vote on him. Jay ends up going in for the third consecutive time. I feel bad for Jay, as he was put in a really poor position even for a rookie being the only guy in possession of a red skull. I do understand it from the other guys’ perspective, though. Why would I let someone else be voted in and obtain a red skull when I can ensure only one other competitor can have a red skull, and thus only have one person qualified to run the final if I can’t get a red skull myself?
The cast moves on to the club for the night, where Wes is talking to Cory and Nelson. Wes previously had an exceptionally tight alliance with Hunter that worked outstandingly for both on War of The Worlds, and he now seems to have some sort of agreement with Nelson and Cory. The Wes-Johnny web seems to consist of Wes working with the Young Bucks and the Big Brother contingent while Johnny works the Brits. I am curious how they will piece that together once the other competitors fall by the wayside, but for now, it has been quite successful. Rogan talks to Josh and Kaycee and tells them he wants to go in against Jay. They seem amenable to it and are likely just looking to make the least negative impact on their decision.
Back at the house, we get more of the Kailah-Bear dynamic as Offspring plays in the background. Bear says he has a girlfriend back at home but hasn’t called her since he has found someone he likes more. The duo ends up making out in the bathroom after Bear follows her there. I was honestly a little uncomfortable with how this was shown and don’t have much interest in commenting on it further.
We get the nominees for Interrogation, and it is Wes, Nelson, and Rogan. Rogan is first and is adamant about wanting to go in provided it is a physical elimination. He says after achieving victory his priority #1 would be getting his friends red skulls, and the Tribunal seems to favor him at this point. Nelson is next, and the Tribunal asks him if he is aligned with Wes, which he denies. I am not buying that, but Nelson cannot find his way out of trouble. Next up is Wes, and Josh is clearly the one leading the charge here. The situation quickly develops into a Tottenham-Arsenal situation, where Josh views Wes as his primary rival while Wes has bigger targets he is going after. Wes is one of the least emotional players in the history of the show and will almost always operate on what increases his chances of winning the most (with making good tv a good consideration as well). Wes does not view Josh as being capable in a final, which is why last season he did not appear keen on keeping him on his team (although he never actually made an effort to put him in) and this season would prefer to keep him around. Since Wes can beat Josh in a final, the only reason he would have for targeting him would be if Josh was coming after him. If I’m Josh in this scenario, it can be hard to play with your smarts and not your heart but I’d make a side deal with Wes and let everyone else think you were coming after him but reassure him he is not your priority until much later on in the season. While Wes certainly likes to portray himself as a modern Machiavelli, his track record is almost always sticking by his alliance and he usually steers them far into the season.
We head to Purgatory, and TJ expresses disappointment in Jay being voted in again. TJ can be and all he wants, but The Challenge producers really need to think through this format if they do not want someone to be thrown in repeatedly. The Tribunal all votes for Rogan, and we head for what looks like a physical matchup. TJ announces the elimination as Fire Ball, which consists of the competitors alternating between offense and defense attempting to score points by dropping a flaming ball in a basket. The defense attempts to stop them. Essentially, it is Balls In with the ball on fire.
The elimination begins with Jay on offense while Rogan plays defense. Jay takes about four steps before Rogan smashes him to the ground. Jay isn’t getting up and he’s not moving his arm and wheezing. The episode concludes with Jay lying lifeless on the ground putting us on a cliffhanger for next week.
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.
Power Rankings
24) Jay: When an episode ends on an injury question mark, it almost always results in a medical DQ. Jay looks like he will be on the same flight as Asaf, Smashley, CT, and Two N Jenn away from the bunker.
23) Melissa: She has been as quiet as anybody and at least Bayleigh and Big T have shown some allies.
22) Big T: Despite dalliances with Johnny and Wes she still seems likely to go in sooner rather than later.
21) Bear: He seems much more concerned with romantic conquests than competing at this point.
20) Bayleigh: She has been solid competitively, but rookies usually find their way into elimination.
19) Swaggy C: He has really impressed me so far but needs to expand his political web to move up.
18) Josh: Good to pick up the win but I do not like where his head is at all.
17) Fessy: He seems like a monster athlete but if he ever gets a skull, I don’t see why he wouldn’t be thrown in every time from then on.
16) Aneesa: She has stuck to the background and has yet to go much besides make hilarious reactions in nominations. Needs an ideal scenario in order to win.
15) Kaycee: She has been very impressive so far but gets next to no screen time and has yet to reveal major alliances.
14) Kailah: The only way she seems to get on TV is through Bear and has yet to show her Dirty 30 physical capabilities.
13) Jenna: I think Kailah is a better competitor, but she has gotten a significantly better edit so far.
12) Nany: I am interested to see where her political cards lie, she seems caught in between the Wes-Johnny-Jordan dynamic but has said her only ties are to Kailah and Jenna.
11) Rogan: Getting the red skull may prove to be more trouble than it is worth if Jay’s position follows to Rogan.
10) Nelson: He just cannot seem to pull himself out of the crossfire, but I trust his physical capabilities.
9) Kyle: Weird to move up after a burn vote but I actually like his position so far.
8) Cory: He has an absolutely immaculate edit and has yet to take any heat on him.
7) Mattie: Coming into the season, I thought her rookie year was a tad overrated, but she finds herself with her biggest enemy gone and most of the attention away from her.
6) Tori Deal: I thought about putting her lower, but she has too strong of a track record to drop below anybody else.
5) Jordan: He really needs to step up his activity and make some allies; his usual wild card game is really susceptible in this format.
4) Wes: He and Johnny seem to have a lockdown on the numbers, but his edit is bad enough to push him to #4.
3) Dee: She and Wes will probably be tied together in the rankings for a while here.
2) Johnny: He has really played poorly once he is in power the past few seasons (throwing the mission, putting in Hunter/Georgia instead of Wes/Dee) but with Wes at his side to curb his worst tendencies he should be pretty clean here on out.
1) Jenny: She just keeps winning and has zero people coming after her so far.
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 a specific matter you want to address, email rmcintyre1699@gmail.com.
