The Challenge All Stars 5: Rivals Episode 4 Recap: 8 Biggest Takeaways
The 4th episode of The Challenge All Stars 5 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 8 Biggest moments/takeaways from Episode 4.
If you prefer audio/video, my podcast recap can be found above/below:
8 Repetitive Daily Challenges
As an isolated daily challenge, I didn’t hate this week’s daily challenge. What I dislike is that after four episodes, the dailies have already become super repetitive. Episodes 1 & 3 were basically cardio battles where the teams with two men who could carry more weight were at a distinct advantage. In Episodes 2 & 4, we’ve had these two challenges where a team with a strong male and a tall/light female is best suited for the daily challenge; and if not that type of team, then a two-male team is best suited. We already thought that Devin/Leroy, Steve/Adam, and Fessy/Amber were the strongest teams, but these daily challenges, being so physical, have made it to where they’re the only teams competitive in these daily challenges.
If you’re going to have these uneven pairs where there’s no punishment for last place in the daily challenge, what’s the point of doing super physical challenges? Have some fun carnival games where anyone can win, and power in the house might shift. If a team like Veronica & Katie won a daily challenge, we’d get a chaotic outcome. Hell, if Ashley & Aneesa won, there’d be drama within their pair about what to do. Instead, it feels like rinse and repeat every week.
7 Hung Out Dry
From a competition standpoint, Veronica & Katie objectively look like the worst pair in Challenge history. They did not get a single ring this week, and a big part of it was due to their lack of size & reach. So many of these daily challenges, Veronica & Katie don’t even have a legit shot to finish better than last. While the two of them are aware of their abilities and neither has delusions of winning, it still sucks to put on a safety harness and compete in a challenge where you’re gonna get zero rings even while trying.
Among other teams who did noticeably poorly, there was Corey & Big T, who, on paper, should’ve been a good team in this challenge, except for their coordination, partly because Corey still can’t walk on a balance beam.
Live Edit:
Let it be known that Corey & Big T did not do poorly. And if they did, it’s because Big T missed a few.
Adam & Steve finally struggled during a daily challenge, partly because Steve wasn’t strong enough while pushing Adam.
Sam spiraling through the air with Vanessa Carlton playing in the background was the funniest part of the daily challenge. The entire time that Sam was floundering through the air, Ashley K looked like she was Princess Peach floating magestically to get her rings. Somehow, though, Sam got 4 Rings, which was only 3 less than Ashley K’s 7 Rings. Compared to how it looked like they were doing, I would’ve assumed a 12–2 difference.
And then, of course, we had Aneesa & Ashley. If there was a daily challenge these two would do well in, it should be this one because Ashley is decently tall and has long limbs similar to Amber. During the challenge, Ashley ingeniously used her legs to grab rings. Unfortunately for Ashley, Aneesa proved not to be a real Challenge vet because she didn’t put any strategy into her throws. Aneesa never got a running start when pushing Ashley, so Ashley never got proper momentum.
6 Another Win
Fessy & Amber won the daily challenge, and Devin & Leroy came in 2nd. It’s the same Top 2 as last week, just flipped. I said this last week, but the format of this cast has made the wins for these pairs feel less impressive than they should. With this cast, I expect Fessy & Amber, Devin & Leroy, and Adam & Steve to win, which puts him in a shitty situation where they can only disappoint us from here. It’s not their fault — they didn’t make the cast for this season. Still, when we write history books about who the strongest rival pairs are ever , it will be tough to rank them honestly.
Shoutout to Shane & Da’Vonne for a solid performance this week. It’s gotten to the point with some of these top teams that when you see another team to be competitive, it gets you excited.
5 Katie’s Master Class
We had CT’s Pro Tips, and now we have Katie’s Master Class on All Stars 5. Considering Katie is not some scrub that took 9 seasons to win like CT, I’ll take her Master Class any day of the week.
4 Adam & Steve Volunteer
People in the house criticized Adam & Steve for volunteering. However, we’ve been through two house votes, and everyone has said their name except Veronica & Katie. So, I don’t blame them for not wanting to go through the process again.
Now, I loved Steve & Adam actively pitching to Fessy & Amber to give them a Star holder team to face. If you put yourself in that position, you might as well shoot big and give yourself what you think is the best shot to win.
3 Samneesa 4Ever
We got a fun 80’s Party this episode, and through it, a Sam & Aneesa hookup happened. Frank got sexiled from their room. Apparently, Frank wasn’t mad about them having sex next to them, he was just upset that for once, Sam was full of endurance.
I did not expect a Sam & Aneesa hookup this season. Hopefully, they can partner them together for Exes 3, and Sam can teach Aneesa what it takes to win a show.
2 A Vote That Makes No Sense
Fessy wants a Star, and Adam & Steve were willing to give them a Star if they won the elimination against a Star Holder team, like Devin & Leroy. Amber keeps saying that she wants to make a big move, and putting the two guy-guy teams against each other is a big move. So what did they do? They voted in Aneesa & Ashley. They put in a pair who is fighting during every daily challenge and will not be a threat in the Final. Additionally, they put in a team that they could easily beat in elimination down the line for when they need a Star. Also, Fessy said he voted for Aneesa because she said his name on Ride or Dies, but Devin literally sent Fessy into the last elimination on Ride or Dies, where if Fessy hadn’t gone in, he & Moriah probably would have won.
With this vote, Fessy & Amber only hurt their game because now there are fewer lay-ups on the board, and Adam & Steve might want to take a shot at them now, given the chance. Obviously, putting in Devin & Leroy would’ve been a risky move, but even if they came back and won, Adam & Steve are still gone in that scenario, and so now there’s much less competition in the game regardless. I’m continuously tired of Fessy playing a safe game and Amber always saying she wants to make a big move only to never make one.
1 No Goggles, No Chance
Ashley choosing to compete with this elimination without the goggles was like someone trying to play football without a helmet. There’s being tough, and there’s being dumb. As much as Aneesa has been the problem in their pair during the daily challenges, Ashley was the primary reason they lost this elimination. Her choice to self-waterboard was idiotic. That said, Ashley & Aneesa would probably never win this elimination anyway. Even without the goggles, Ashley’s thin frame was not built to stand in there and brace the force of that water hose, as well as two men who are 180+ lbs would.
Thus, Steve & Adam won, and Ashley & Aneesa were out. Once again, one of the more entertaining Rivals pairs is out of the house, and Steve & Adam continue to fight for their lives in this game. Now, I might need a fact check, but I believe Steve & Adam are the first players to win the first three eliminations of a season since Wes & Casey all the way back on Fresh Meat 1. It’s such a bummer that they don’t have the power to move Stars around. At this point, Adam & Steve could’ve theoretically moved around three Stars to where they were picking who was running the final with them. Instead, it’s gonna be a month of all the same Star holders. Bummer.
This season has been entertaining — it’s just frustrating when there is so much more potential there.
