The Challenge 40: Battle of the Eras Episode 7 Recap: 10 Biggest Takeaways
The 7th episode of The Challenge 40: Battle of the Eras 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 Episode 7.
If you prefer audio/video, my podcast recap can be found above/below:
10 Devin’s Birthday
My only thought regarding Devin’s birthday is that I don’t know why Tori dressed exactly like Bob Ross for her Devin costume.
9 Leaps of Faith
It was cool that we actually got the visual of a “timer” at times during the daily challenge. Seeing Era 4 go first and knowing the other teams had to watch them compete for nearly an hour before they got turns gives fans a perspective on how difficult this challenge was. It was weird how long it took Era 4 to pull up Josh (who is a big guy), yet they had a seemingly easier time pulling up Theo. It could’ve just been the power of editing, and also, production knows the visual of it taking a long time to pull Josh up would be funnier for some fans at home.
Some standout moments from the daily challenge include Darrell overcoming his fear of heights and getting the extra flag for his team, as Derrick didn’t have the leaping ability with only one leg. For Era 2, Aviv managed to leap well enough to grab the last flag while being 5'0, 40 years old, and having not competed on this show in 18 years was so impressive. Derek Chavez flexed some puzzle skills as he solved the tangram in seemingly less than 30 seconds.
Eyes were on Nia for Era 3 as she’d DQ’d in multiple heights challenges in the past, where she’s refused to compete, and in this daily challenge, she came through for the team. As a whole, Era 3 crushed this challenge where everyone was physically strong, capable, and Cory/Averey didn’t fuck up on the puzzle. Era 3 took home the win, while Era 4 got sent directly in.
8 Derrick’s Leg
I cannot believe production is allowing Derrick to compete with essentially one leg. We’ve had players compete on this show with broken hands before, and while it was unsafe, you can have a broken hand and still have the cardio to run a Final. If you cannot run on two legs, there is no realistic way to win this game. They should’ve sent Derrick home last week or this week and skipped a male elimination.
While I have the utmost respect for Derrick — it’s just crazy that production is allowing him to compete, especially when he’s at risk for a lifelong severe injury. Rachel commented that she’d rather have a player on her team with Derrick’s heart than one with two good knees, and it was a nice thing to say… I’d just prefer to run with a person who can run.
7 Era 1 Doesn’t Get A Break
So many fans will be angry that Jordan & Nia saved Era 2’s Nehemiah & Aviv instead of Era 1’s Darrell & Tina. Era 1 has gone into every single elimination since the team phase began; they are down to 4 people, half of them are injured, and as a whole, they’re not a serious threat to win. So why throw them in rather than the formidable Era 2?
Well…Why not? For those not aware, Nia & Nehemiah have an extremely close bond where they’re essentially platonic soulmates. For Nia’s game, that is someone she can trust 100%, and considering men are choosing the women’s targets this season, it’s better to keep him around so she doesn’t get picked at an inopportune time. Importantly, the reason for not giving Era 1 a break is that they’re highly unlikely to repay the favor. They gave 120% during the daily challenge this week, and the best they could do was barely avoid last place. So, to expect them to ever win and be able to look out for you in the game is unrealistic.
Era 1 consists of legends who built this franchise up and deserve respect. Sadly, they are the easy vote, and The Challenge, since its inception, has been built upon people making the easy votes. Hell, Sarah Greyson got voted into 5 Eliminations the very first season this show had eliminations!
6 Devin Might Be The One Having A Micheltdown
It is funny that Bananas tried to warn Michele that Devin might be using her for the game. If anything, Michele benefits from her relationship with Devin as her relationship with him strengthens her bond with the vacation alliance players.
Meanwhile, for Devin, Michele is getting him to play a more emotionally involved and messy game. When the Vevmo spoiler team revealed the cast during departure week in March, I ranked Devin as a Top 5 contender based partly on his elite social, strategic, and political game. Two weeks ago, we saw Rachel annoyed with how Devin played the game; last week, Bananas & he went at it, and now, this week, we saw Cory frustrated by Devin. Going into Episode 8, Devin has a much bigger target than he’d like — his success in recent seasons has been predicated at times on the fact that he wasn’t an obvious target or a big threat. Now, he has to adapt and try to play in the game with formidable foes potentially taking shots at him. Devin’s already a Champion, but here is an opportunity to prove he’s an upper-echelon player.
5 Tina’s Story
First, I’m glad we got to hear Tina’s story about Vietnam and her mom. Second, I can’t believe Jordan & Nia thought for a second that Tina wouldn’t have a mini tirade/tantrum when given the news that she was getting voted into elimination. If anything, they’re lucky Tina didn’t bring out the pots and pans.
4 Bananas vs. Ryan
Last week, we saw some vintage Bananas during his argument with Devin & Michele. Everything with Bananas is deliberate, and his interactions with Ryan this week are a prime example. Part of Bananas has accepted that he and Nehemiah will likely be the targets every week going forward, as Ryan & Derek are well-protected. There’s also part of him who isn’t going to stop trying to change that fate.
When Bananas openly complained in the house about Ryan getting to skate , he didn’t think his words would get Ryan to self-nomination. Bananas hopes that if he keeps mentioning Ryan’s lack of willingness to be a team player, that word and sentiment among his teammates will eventually feel the same until Ryan gets pressured to step up.
I would compare Bananas actions with Ryan to someone complaining about the service at a restaurant and how they can’t get a glass of water — meanwhile, Ryan has a pitcher of water at his table in front of him. It’s not Ryan’s responsibility to give Bananas a glass from his pitcher. Likewise, nobody will care about what Bananas is saying… until they don’t have a glass of water either, and then they’ll look over at Ryan’s pitcher and want a glass. The question is whether or not Ryan will cave and give a glass out.
3 Math is Hard (Tina vs. Michele)
Again, credit to Tina for getting in the best shape of her life this season because she beat Michele physically. Ultimately, it came down to math, and at a certain point, it came down to who was worse at math. Turns out it was Tina and Michele got the win.
You would think a non-physical elimination would be better for these players’ skill sets — except the eliminations since the initial purge have been completely underwhelming. I actually think these two women would have put on a fantastic show if thrown into a headbanger against each other, as they seem a bit evenly matched physically, and both have more heart than you’d expect. Kim & Susie and Sylvia & Melissa have had two of the best headbanger eliminations ever, and they weren’t players you’d expect to wow you in a physical elimination.
2 Stuck in the Sand (Darrell vs. Kyland)
Darrell did not lose this elimination because he made a rookie mistake — he lost because he made a veteran mistake. He wanted to be precise with his numbers and methodical to avoid making a critical error, and in the process, Kyland slid in and stole the win. With all the concerns about his back and Era 1 breaking down due to age, Darrell had the elimination won from a physical perspective — it was a lapse of killer instinct and mental strength that did him in. Considering how much Darrell was exerting him physically, he was probably worried about the mental side.
Time catches up to all of us, and once again, Darrell loses an elimination to Kyland. It sucks to see Darrell go; however, he didn’t lose to a bum, and Kyland is a clear contender, likely with a better shot to win it all than Darrell.
Because of Darrell’s bad back, I won’t be surprised if some people say that Darrell threw the elimination. I don’t buy that based on the pure disgust & frustration that Darrell had in his face after the loss. You could tell he was beating himself up a bit.
1 Newest Targets
Something I forgot to hammer last week and that many people have been talking about recently online is that it’s unfair that the weekly target nominations go in order of 1–4 every time. This process has allowed players on Era 3 & 4 to play a bit more strategically, where last week Michele & Nia volunteered, knowing their opponents would be Tina or Aviv rather than Rachel or Cara. I’m here to tell you all…Yes, it was unfair that Era 1 always got targeted first. They should have had a rotation of which Era gets targeted first. It doesn’t matter as much anymore as Derrick & Rachel are the default Era 1 targets.
Kyland picked Cara as the Era 2 women’s target, and Derek took on the responsibility for the men, meaning Ryan was able to avoid nomination again. Derek being the target was a win for Cara because now Laurel won’t throw the daily challenge as she & Derek are close. For Era 3, Devin chose to skip his spot in the rotation, and Cory got targeted — meanwhile, Averey stepped up. On Era 4, the ladies let Jenny take on a nomination for a third time and Theo stepped up for the first time.
