It was really nice to have a season without Josh. This was a mostly enjoyable cast this season, but they almost liked each other too much. We needed a little bit more house drama, but I guess the Vets have known each other for so long at this point (and are getting into their 30s) and know they will play together again so they don't argue as much. We never really got that villain, though Fessy was kind of a jerk to Moriah.

Quinn said:

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It was really nice to have a season without Josh. This was a mostly enjoyable cast this season, but they almost liked each other too much. We needed a little bit more house drama, but I guess the Vets have known each other for so long at this point (and are getting into their 30s) and know they will play together again so they don't argue as much. We never really got that villain, though Fessy was kind of a jerk to Moriah.

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Agreed. No real villain. No drama or beefs. They needed someone to stir the pot a little.

I love that Fessy lost before the final. He's such a narcissist.
Maybe stop talking crap about the "old guys" until you actually beat them bro.

Great final so far. Damn its going to be brutal. A few thoughts:

- Tough break for Olivia. That ball to the face looked PAINFUL. Don't think her and Horacio could have caught up to Bananas or Devin anyway, but what a great season for the two rookies. Horacio is going to be a force in future seasons.

- Is there anything more annoying than Jordan trying to motivate Aneesa after she rolled her ankle? Its his fault that she rolled it in the first place! I don't think they could have competed with Devin or Banana's teams even without the rolled ankle.

- I think Aneesa needs to finally call it quits or get in shape. She is, and always has been, a liability on every team she's on. No excuse to show up to every season out of shape. Time to hang it up Aneesa. You know Jordan has gotta be livid.

- The decision for Jordan/Tori to sabotage Horacio instead of Bananas at the slingshot might come back to haunt them. Bananas and Nany were struggling with it, adding an extra 2 balls would have given Devin/Tori a much bigger lead.

- Gotta hand it to Devin, its obvious he put in a lot of work before this season. His endurance is much improved and you can tell he really wants to win this final.

- I think Devin and Tori end up winning this. Bananas doesn't seem dialed in this season/final. He is joking around a lot and doesn't seem to care. I think after he won his last final, he knows he will always be seen as the GOAT, and has nothing left to prove.

Wow, Olivia (and the Producers) are very lucky that didn't hit her in the eye. That could have been really bad.

Hard to see Jordan and Anessa winning, even though the final isn't a straight iron man/half marathon. There's still enough running that it will knock them out.

Rooting for Johnny and Nany, but will bd happy for Tori and Devin if they win.

I actually think that CT is the GOAT after his last few seasons and that Johnny needs a win to clearly retake the title.

"I don't want to hurt it more."
It's not going to get amputated, Aneesa. Pick it up a notch.

Absolutely BRUTAL final for Olivia. I hope her and Horacio stick around for a while.

Devin is killing it. Props to him.

Bananas will turn it on. I think he knows it's a marathon and not a sprint, plus trying to keep the mood light for Nany.

Two more episodes to go!

Quinn said:

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I actually think that CT is the GOAT after his last few seasons and that Johnny needs a win to clearly retake the title.

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How do you figure? Bananas has won 7 finals and CT has won 5. Wins are all that matters IMO.

Quinn said:

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Wow, Olivia (and the Producers) are very lucky that didn't hit her in the eye. That could have been really bad.

Hard to see Jordan and Anessa winning, even though the final isn't a straight iron man/half marathon. There's still enough running that it will knock them out.

Rooting for Johnny and Nany, but will bd happy for Tori and Devin if they win.

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I dont think MTV is held liable if a challenger gets injured while competing, Im sure they all sign a waiver.

ea1060 said:

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Quinn said:

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I actually think that CT is the GOAT after his last few seasons and that Johnny needs a win to clearly retake the title.

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How do you figure? Bananas has won 7 finals and CT has won 5. Wins are all that matters IMO.

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Prime CT was a different animal. Dad Bod CT was even really good. If CT didn't get kicked off like 5 challenges for fighting he could have easily had 2 more titles

Solid season overall! Great visual for the final and I love how it came down to an elimination between the final 3 teams. The entire season is determined by elimination, so finals coming down to mostly endurance is always a little funky.

Paramount Plus is probably my most watched streaming service app because I'm constantly rewatching The Challenge. I think one thing that sticks out for players like Wes, Nany, and Aneesa is the fact that they took breaks (Wes and Nany took a break after Rivals 3 and came back for WotW; Aneesa took a break after Dirty 30 and came back for Total Madness). I say this to say that some of these older vets just need time for us to get excited about them. Like Bananas took 2 seasons off and came back and was a breath of fresh air. When Wes decides to come back, it will be great!

I think the next couple Challenge related seasons we get are All Stars 4 and The World Championship. Excited for both given the casting that has been rumored!

TajMaballer said:

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I think the next couple Challenge related seasons we get are All Stars 4 and The World Championship. Excited for both given the casting that has been rumored!

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Looks like Wes is coming back for the World Championship. Also Bananas, Jordan, Nelson, Darrell, Tori, heck even Theo Campbell is back. Looks like an absolutely stacked cast.

https://ew.com/tv/the-challenge-world-championship-cast-list-first-look/

Oh HELL yeah!

Looks like the new season of the challenge is on CBS and premiering this Thursday. Josh, Wes, Bananas, Tori are back. I might check it out, but its just doesnt feel the same if its not on MTV.

The bar has been set higher than ever for the most competitive 💥 and cutthroat 🔪 season yet! 😏 Get ready for #TheChallengeUSA premiering NEXT THURSDAY AUG 10 at 10p on @CBS! 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/lRdVsWuyL5

— The Challenge (@TheChallenge) August 3, 2023

Challenge USA has been fairly entertaining so far. The vets were getting their butts kicked to start, but they seem to have started to figure out a strategy going forward. Can't believe it, but I have to compliment Josh for getting his way on the deliberation tonight. I do think the Challenge Vets should have done a better job of trying to get anyone that had appeared on the regular show to be in their alliance.

That was politically one of the best episodes of the challenge in many many years. Just good game play in the daily from Blue team and Josh in the voting. Excited to see how the rest of the season shakes out!

With Big Brother starting late and The Challenge now 2x a week I'm struggling to keep up, but the past two episodes have been great. Glad people are starting to defect and the Vets are poking at rifts on the other side to begin the uphill climb of evening the numbers up

TajMaballer said:

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That was politically one of the best episodes of the challenge in many many years. Just good game play in the daily from Blue team and Josh in the voting. Excited to see how the rest of the season shakes out!

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Yea great strategy by Josh. I'm surprised he got his way, even the people that changed their votes for him were like what just happened lol.

This season has been ok so far. For whatever reason, the Challenges on MTV seem to be way better: more action, drama, music, production, cutthroat etc. Something is missing in the CBS production but it's good enough to keep me watching.

Damn never thought I would ever like Paulie, but he seems to have grown and matured a lot since we last saw him. Good for him. Lol @ Bananas going on that long rant and then ending with how sad is it that my only two allies are Paulie and the other no name guy who I can't remember.

After last night's episode and how it was edited and played out, I'm assuming that Wes wins it all? Seems odd that they would use their "Legend bowing out of the game" storyline for just a head fake if he's going to get knocked out eventually. Also, it seemed very weird how certain the rest of the players were that Dusty won. I'll have to check social media later to see if they think that there was any time keeping shenanigans.

Either way, glad to see Wes back and the vets aligned on the Blue team (though previews make it seem like Teams might be going away soon.

The challenge is going to absolutely suck once the legends like Wes, CT, and Bananas retire. They are all in their early 40's or near 40. Who else from the veterans can keep their legacy alive?

That whole sequence was odd to me too. Maybe it was just the edit but even Wes thought he lost. I too wonder if he'll now hang on the rest of the season.

And I also agree that the CBS version just isn't as good as the MTV version. Pushing a majority Big Brother/Survivor etc cast just doesn't produce as entertaining a product I guess.

MTV needs to bring back Real World if for no other reason than provide future Challenge contestants.

Quinn said:

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After last night's episode and how it was edited and played out, I'm assuming that Wes wins it all? Seems odd that they would use their "Legend bowing out of the game" storyline for just a head fake if he's going to get knocked out eventually. Also, it seemed very weird how certain the rest of the players were that Dusty won. I'll have to check social media later to see if they think that there was any time keeping shenanigans.

Either way, glad to see Wes back and the vets aligned on the Blue team (though previews make it seem like Teams might be going away soon.

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Very very weird. Even TJ made it sound like it was obvious that Wes lost, and then all of a sudden says he's the winner. The other guy seemed way faster than Wes. Something smells fishy there.