Previously on “The Challenge: Total Madness”: Bear was taken for a loop by being put into Purgatory with Nelson after Jordan failed to overcome Fessy in the Elimination Round; joining Jordan on a trip back home.
Coming off their big wins in Purgatory, Nelson & Fessy have Cory hyped about entering an Elimination Round following this week’s ladies’ Elimination Round. All eyes are starting to move toward Bayleigh & Swaggy C as Josh is telling everyone the couple is working alongside Wes. Dee is also strategizing; trying to figure out how Jenny can be removed from the game. This week’s Challenge arrives and Big T, who split her toe during a drunken escapade last week, is sent home due to not being medically cleared; though host TJ Lavin declares his hope for her return. “Tunnel Rats” is this week’s Challenge: a four to five member team game where the competitors will have to enter the actual tunnels underneath them to search for water-submerged puzzle pieces for a hopeful fast solution of said puzzle. The first teams to drop below are Kaycee, Fessy, Jenny & Nelson taking on Bananas, Kyle, Melissa, Jenna & Rogan. Team 1 quickly gains their puzzle pieces with Team 2 not far behind. Unfortunately for Team 1, Fessy has to go back to retrieve slow-swimming Nelson as all members need to be at the puzzle solution spot. Team 2 is the first to solve the puzzle mostly thanks to Rogan.
Wes, Dee, Cory, Nany & Bayleigh make up Team 3 while a pumped-up Josh, Aneesa, Mattie, Swaggy & Kailah are Team 4 heading into the second heat. Unfortunately for Swaggy, he can’t swim to save his life and is disqualified; putting Team 4 down a player. Team 4 picks up the pace with Josh having to retrieve two pieces while Team 3 hastily gains all their pieces. Team 3 is able to solve the puzzle first with Team 4 actually timing out. TJ Lavin announces that Team 3 finished the fastest; making them the Tribunal for a double girls’ Elimination. Kaycee reveals she wants to go in and the non-Tribunal voters allow her to nominate herself. Aneesa follows suite and too puts her names on their board. Dee is going about her way in hopes of getting Jenny in another Elimination Round, but it’s Rogan of all people telling Jenny of Dee’s plan – the same person proclaiming Dee is his number one in this game.
Of course another night out allows for arguments including Josh claiming Swaggy is a fake person hiding the truth. When Swaggy tries to walk away, Josh throws his drink on him. Security has to separate the two with Josh actually standing on the bar while shouting at a restrained Swaggy. The Tribunal comes together the next day with Melissa, Jenny, Kailah & Jenna being possible competitors against Aneesa and Kaycee. Kailah pleads her case in wanting to take on Kaycee having defeated Aneesa in the past and wanting fresh meat. Melissa, like Jenna, doesn’t want to go in; though Jenna already has a red skull unlike Melissa. Jenny tries to avoid going in as well while promising to do everything in her power to ensure Cory goes into the next Elimination Round.
Entering Purgatory, Kaycee & Aneesa join host TJ Lavin before the Tribunal votes for Kailah to take on Kaycee. Aneesa’s opponent for the evening becomes Jenna for a defense of her red skull. The game of the evening is “Bombs Away”: each competitor will have to unload 100 “bombs” from inside a dumpster bin with the final bomb being the ticket to detonating the winning smoke bomb. Kailah and Kaycee are up first and it doesn’t take long before the weight of said bombs start taking their toll on Kailah. This fatigue proves to be Kailah’s undoing.
Aneesa and Jenna start their session and both are pretty consistent throughout the early portions, but it’s Aneesa who first shows that she’s getting tired. Jenna keeps chucking bombs and with the alert that Jenna is almost done sets a figurative fire underneath Aneesa that propels her to victory.
Episode High(s): Go Big or Go Home. Playing a scared game this season is obviously not for the best, but it may not be the most beneficial as well. This week’s episode truly proved that the new “red skull” system is a double-edge sword for those either ready to go into Purgatory or are trying to avoid being eliminated too early by witnessing two of the three volunteers winning. While Aneesa and Kaycee were able to win & earn their red skulls, Kailah found herself out of the game for having the same mentality of others who volunteered themselves. It’s so unpredictable whether or not people will step up and attempt to earn a red skull or patiently wait.
Episode Low(s): Underwhelming Challenge. This episode’s Weekly Challenge wasn’t the best. After the initial dive for each competitor, it was hard to see what was going on in the water; though there was little to be interested in seeing considering the puzzle pieces were floating instead of being submerged or something. Then the Challenge culminated in a puzzle that wasn’t too impressive. Not the most entertaining offering of the season thus far. Also, Josh is a wimp about his for throwing a drink at a person walking away.
Weekly Challenge Winner(s): Wes, Dee, Cory, Nany & Bayleigh
Elimination Round Winner(s): Kaycee & Aneesa
Eliminations: Asaf (Episode 1); Jenn (Episode 2); CT (Episode 3); Ashley (Episode 4); Jay (Episode 6); Tori (Episode 7); Jordan (Episode 8); Bear (Episode 8); Kailah (Episode 9); Jenna (Episode 9)
Most Embarrassing Athletic Display: Swaggy. There are a few things you should know about coming into any season of “The Challenge” including the fact there will be moments of swimming. Swaggy entering a competition where a basic knowledge of swimming is a must, his terrible performance during the Challenge not only cost his team; it also showed how weak he could be going forward.
Competitor of the Week: Kaycee. While Aneesa too volunteered and won, she understandably won by the skin of her teeth. Kaycee, however, showcased a level of talent & endurance unknown to a majority of her competitors thus far; making an incredible case that she is one of the strongest players in the game overall. There’s a chance we could be looking at a rookie-turned-champion in the very near future featuring Kaycee.
Episode Summary in Five Words or Less: Live by the sword…
