Challenge Total Madness Episode 6 Recap: Ten Biggest Takeaways
Episode 6 is in the books. You probably have some thoughts, so let’s compare. Instead of giving a simple summary, I decided to focus on the 10 Biggest moments/takeaways from the sixth episode. These will be integral storylines that the sixth episode focused on, and I’ll breakdown why they matter for the season.
10 Concussed Jay is out of the game
Jay could suck his next 3–4 seasons, and people will still be referring to him as underrated for the next ten years based on this season alone. The guy proved to be an entertaining personality, a solid competitor, and, more than anything, brought some good old school vibes to the Challenge. Not the gross frat bro vibes, but the guy you want to share a beer with and then maybe a run a final together vibes.
Watching him lose via concussion was rough as I’ve gotten a couple of concussions before, and I’ve been lucky that #1 they were mild and #2 they occurred in places my brain understood where I was. I got a concussion playing soccer, then played the rest of the game (not great) because my mind was able to get the hang of it because it was second nature. It wasn’t until we went to a pizza place after where the lighting was weird, and the pizza got served to use that my concussed brain got me to throw up all over the floor of the restaurant. Now, imagine how Jay fucking felt being in a pit of sand, wearing a helmet, flame retardent suit, goggles, and seeing a big muscly man ready to run at you while holding a ball that is on fire.
Rogan devouring Jay is a reminder that evil beats good a lot of the time. Regardless, I hope to see Jay back in the future.
9 Wes and Swayleigh’s alliance
They finally acknowledged that Wes and Swaggy/Bayleigh. Wes and Bayleigh live close to each other (I read neighbors or the same street). I did find it funny that Wes tried to say that Swayleigh has been safe because of him. Swaggy has been in three tribunals, Bayleigh’s made one, while Wes has been in zero.
It is good to know that even though Wes is aligning with Bananas, his traditional self of playing alongside rookies is still alive and well. Swaggy says he gets along with Wes, Bananas, and Jordan excites and scares me a bit. The guy is confident he can compete in a final with the three best players in the game and would instead align with them, then gun for them. It could blow up in his face quickly.
8 Nelson went from reasonably frustrated to a total dickhead
In last week’s ten takeaways, I noted that Nelson’s losses were sad to watch because the guy was trying hard in the challenges and was doing nothing wrong most of the time. When Aneesa dropped her puzzle piece, it felt like much of the same, and Nelson was rightly pissed. He was mad at the Challenge Gods because things aren’t going his way, no matter how hard he tries.
Then he went off the deep end and started yelling at Aneesa, accusing her of throwing it. When Kailah tried to defend Aneesa, he snapped/cursed back at her. Nelson is making a total ass of himself and bordering on misogynistic. Had Nelson kept his cool, and speculated that Aneesa threw the challenge in a confessional or to his friends, then it would have made for an exciting storyline and made him look better. Instead, Nelson is looking like a total jerk-off who will likely get thrown into elimination because of his actions. Or he might never get thrown in because people won’t want him to get a red skull.
Bananas shitting on Aneesa’s abilities as a competitor is fair most seasons, but she has been excellent this season. Cory and Fessy seem very disappointed by their alliance member.
7 Melissa the Pregnant Powerhouse
Am I disappointed by the lack of drama that Melissa is bringing? Yes. Am I shocked by how solid of a competitor she’s been? Yesser.
Melissa is quietly 5'7 with long limbs (her petite frame hides it). She was fearless in this wild daily challenge and used her size to her advantage. As much as I want her to be wild and crazy, I do have to remember at times that the girl is killing these daily challenges while pregnant.
6 Mattie needs to step it up
At 6'0, this should have been Mattie’s daily challenge from a physical perspective. Melissa is pregnant and giving her all in daily challenges. Mattie looks like she is in top shape, Tik Toking all over social media, and should be competitive with the other top females. Instead, she’s giving it 50% because she knows nobody wants to face her in elimination due to her size. It’s frustrating because Mattie has the talent and potential, as we’ve seen in it small doses in the past. She doesn’t have the killer instinct or the desire to win at all. I know people don’t like Dee, but that girl has a limited athletic skill-set and tries her ass off in these challenges. If Mattie had 50% of Dee’s drive, she’d be crushing this game.
5 Bayleigh and Jordan’s spat
Bayleigh is mad that Jordan didn’t try his hardest in the daily challenge because she wanted a shot at a Red Skull against Jenna or Kailah. I think she knows that he’s playing for Tori in the grand scheme of things. As a whole, this fight isn’t too deep, and the trailer made too much of it. Considering Wes wants to make a move against Jordan, it only makes it easier now that Bayleigh and Jordan have had a little blow-up.
4 Kailah is going through the stages of grief
The girl killed her three-year relationship and is now going through the motions of dealing with it on national television. Meanwhile, Bear is still pursuing her, and two men in their late 30’s are poking fun at her actions. Overall, I know Kailah is emotionally in a much better place now. Due to that, it lessens the blow of seeing her mentally deal with repercussions of her actions.
It did hurt watching the men play a prank on her, especially because she was happy at first to see Bear’s romantic gesture, and then to be immediately brought back down to earth. Not to mention, she threw a box of soy milk, and then milk came recoiled back and splattered all over her and her clothes — tough episode for Kailah.
3 Bananas and Wes are again doing too much
Bananas and Wes are the Cara and Paulie of this season. They are trying to tell the fans every room they’re having sex in. They want the world to know they are aligned, and we need to care. Do I? Well yeah, the edit is forcing me to care, and they are playing pranks/doing confessionals together that inherently makes me interested. As a whole, it seems a bit gimmicky for two guys who have been on the show for 15 years.
Also, I want to note, going into someone’s bed, taking their personal belongings, and taping them to the ceiling is not cool. Did Bear’s reaction make me laugh? Yes. Mostly because I’ve never seen Bear react in such a way, it almost made him seem human.
2 Nany is a great friend
Nany has had one of the roughest journeys thus far in the game. Her boy toy (Asaf) got eliminated first. A week or two later, Bear shot a fire extinguisher right in her face. Currently, her two best friends are having their lives fall apart. Kailah’s is falling apart because she decided to kiss Bear, and Jenna’s because Zach is an insecure twat. Nany has been supportive of both of them as a friend. Nany drags Zach in her confessionals, and it’s great to see that even Jenna’s closest friend doesn’t approve of their toxic relationship.
She put all the noise behind her and killed the daily challenge with Jordan. Nany is solid in daily challenges and is someone that players gain respect for when they partner with her. She isn’t the person who dominates the game, but with the right partner, she can keep up the pace. There are great players on this show who aren’t able to do that, so it speaks volumes that Nany can. I did not like that they chose Jenna for the Tribunal because it means Nany won’t be getting a free red skull.
1 Jenna’s Tumultuous and Toxic Relationship
Something separate from the show that I need to shoehorn in here. Thomas Buell did an interview recently where he acknowledged and confirmed after their Real World season, Jenna and Cory hooked up. It was also a rumor that existed in-between the time Zach and Jenna were not together. I must mention, Zach and Jenna were not together because Zach cheated on and ghosted her. The Cory rumor doesn’t matter as they were two consenting adults who deserve their privacy. I mean, if anyone in the world fits the bill of 27-year old Teen Mom, it’s Jenna, but that’s besides the point.
What matters is that Zach is mad because he read olds DMs from when Jenna and Zach were not together and is being a possessive asshole over it. Jenna hasn’t had a regular season of the Challenge since her rookie season if we are being honest. Zach called security on her during WOTW 1 because of BumbleGate, AND she had to get partnered with Gus. She was purged immediately from Final Reckoning and never had a shot back in the game. Jenna broke her ankle on Champs vs. Stars. She got yelled at and bullied by Camila on Dirty 30 for making game moves. Dealt with the fingering rumors and encountering Zach on Invasion. She fought with her cousin about Brianna getting a cozy bakery job on Bloodlines, and then on Rivals 3, had to learn Zach was cheating by calling home and him calling her Brooke.
SO THE ONE TIME JENNA HAS A SHOT TO FINALLY HAVE A SOMEWHAT NORMAL, ZACH DECIDES TO MAKE HER EXPERIENCE ABOUT HIMSELF.
Jesus Christ. I’ve made my jokes about Jenna over the years (and even a paragraph or two ago), but it’s getting hard to watch. As a human being, I hope the best for her. She is a lovely person and deserves so much better.
