Challenge Dirty 30 Episode 17 Recap: Please end it now!
I started blogging about Dirty 30 back in JUNE. It’s been six months, I’ve had three hair cuts, drank at least 100 cans of Coke Zero (which changed it to Coke Zero Sugar during that time), and have had two parking tickets. Why is this not over!?!?
Sigh…
Well… Here we are… The final challenge. In a season stacked with some of the greatest players of all time, we easily got one of the most predictable final groups ever. CT and Jordan were the two favorites going into the season — Jordan for being a dominant athlete in peak shape, and CT for being CT. Cara Maria and Camila are two female champions who were expected to make the final and they did. With one spot open on each side, Tori and Derrick filled those spots. Tori was bound to have an epic rookie season after her performance on AYTO Second Chances. We knew Derrick coming back after seven years would be something special.
Onto the recap:
Part 1
This was a continuation from last week’s final portion. In pairs they’re running up and down a trail, carrying giant boulders. CT can carry the most boulders, but his cardio is an issue. Derrick has the best speed, however, he can’t carry the most rocks. Jordan is the perfect middle ground. He and Camila narrowly edge Cara/Derrick, with Tori/CT coming in a close third.
Here are some guesstimations on time difference (minutes and seconds):
Camila/Jordan: 0:00
Cara/Derrick 0:20 (20 seconds behind first)
Tori/CT: 0:50 (50 seconds behind first)
Part 2
In the next portion of the final, teams have to throw bolas at a post, trying to get them to hang. They only need to get one bola to hang. If they miss, they have to retrieve the bola and take a shot of some fermented llama milk. As the winners of the previous mission, Jordan/Camila get to give an extra bola to another team. They pick CT/Tori as Jordan considers CT to be his biggest threat. CT/Tori are the first to get their bola to hang on the post. Too bad they have to hit two. Jordan/Camila finish in first, CT/Tori finish in second, and Cara/Derrick get third.
Guesstimate time differences accounting for first portion:
Camila/Jordan: 0:00
Tori/CT: 3:50
Cara/Derrick: 3:55
Part 3
As the winners of the previous mission, Camila and Jordan get to pick new partners. Jordan picks Tori and Camila picks CT. The third portion is a race to gather puzzle pieces whereafter teams must put together a jumbled up sudoku puzzle that intersects into different lines, forcing teams to make sure that no number is repeated twice. Cara Maria and Derrick are able to outpace everyone due to CT and Tori’s lack of cardio in this moment (holding back each of their partners). The problem is Derrick has almost never solved a puzzle in his entire Challenge career. Jordan/Tori get to the puzzle second and CT/Camila get there third. Cara tries to get the first puzzle check and she is two flipped numbers away from a correct puzzle. CT/Camila are able to finish in first, followed by Tori/Jordan. Cara gets frustrated by Derrick not being able to help her. She finally gets it on her second check.
Guesstimate total time differences after the three parts:
Camila 0:00
Tori 5:50
Cara 7:15
Jordan 0:00
CT 1:50
Derrick 7:15
Part 4
They encounter one more double cross before the season is over. The guy and girl that pull the double cross get to add five minutes onto one of their opponents times. CT, after not appearing in a single double cross all season, pulls it and then hits Jordan with five minutes. Tori gets it and hits Camila with five minutes.
Guesstimates:
Camila 0:00
Tori: 0:50
Cara: 2:15
CT: 0:00
Jordan 3:10
Derrick: 5:25
Part 5
The players now have to go on an individual race to an eventual mountain climb. When they get to the mountain, their time is paused until all six players get there. Two groups of three will be climbing up the mountain, their time resumes once they begin the climb. After climbing the mountain, there is another pause. They start up an individual race again to some big block puzzle pieces, where they will find a totem pole with five pictures on it. Players have to memorize the sequence and recreate the totem when they get to the second pole some distance away. They’re done once the pole is recreated.
Jordan smokes everyone by getting to the mountain first, Derrick and Camila finish in second and third. Later Tori comes in fourth, with CT/Cara running together right behind her. Jordan/Derrick/Camila climb the mountain together, and Jordan gets up first. Derrick follows, while Camila has a freak out on the mountain. She gets up eventually, with tears in her eyes. Luckily, she has a lead from the run to the mountain. In the second group, because he is too big, CT has trouble with the mountain being brittle. Cara beats Tori by a decent amount up the mountain. The individual race begins again, and the guys lead the trail with Camila behind, followed by Cara and Tori. Jordan is in the lead and memorizes the totem easily. He is the first to finish, with Derrick cheating off him to finish second, CT doing the same, Cara doing the same, and Tori doing the same. Everyone cheated except for Camila who got an incorrect check and had to run back to the first totem. Luckily for Camila, Tori fumbled too much with her pole, and she wasn’t last by a big margin.
Guesstimates:
Cara 0:00
Camila 0:15
Tori 0:40
Jordan 0:00
CT 3:50
Derrick 6:45
Part 6
By winning the previous portion, Jordan and Cara are allowed to pick new partners. Cara gets CT, and Jordan gets Tori. Derrick is afraid to have an emotionally unstable Camila. The players will be entering a smoky tent ,where they will need to read a wall of dots in order to decode a word. Once they have the word, they can exit and write the word on a chalk board.
Jordan/Tori complete it in 40 seconds. Cara/CT take 59 seconds, and Camila/Derrick take 66 seconds.
Guesstimates:
Cara 0:00
Tori 0:21
Camila 0:22
Jordan 0:00
CT 4:09
Derrick: 7:11
Night Time
By winning the previous part, Jordan and Tori get to pick one person to sleep on the floor instead of a cozy warm tent with blankets. Tori picks Camila, and Jordan picks Derrick.
Here’s what I want to make clear: Camila is clearly winning the final if you look at the other girls’ reactions, but MTV’s edit has completely shifted it and changed the narrative (especially by giving Cara and Tori far more confessionals). Because of this, my guesstimate times are skewed towards what the edit is showing. Likewise, Derrick is clearly beating CT, but they both trail Jordan by a healthy amount.
Part 6
The players will ride sleds pulled by a truck on salt flats. There will also be fire shooting for the sake of fire. If a player lets go of their sled before the truck stops running, they will have to run the rest of the distance. The final run looks like an intense 800–1200 meter run in high altitude (CT is struggling breathing). Nobody lets go of their sleds before the truck stops. Jordan absolutely crushes everyone in the run. His ability to run in any condition is breathtaking. Derrick comes in second after a few minutes. Camila and Tori are neck and neck for the first girls to finish, Cara trailing by a fair amount, and CT finishes last out of breathe.
Final Outcome Guess:
1 Camila
2 Tori
3 Cara Maria
1 Jordan
2 Derrick
3 CT
