The Challenge Double Agents Episode 12 Recap: 10 Biggest Takeaways
Episode 12 of Double Agents 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 12th episode. These will be integral storylines that the 12th episode focused on, and I’ll breakdown why they matter. Also, if you prefer a traditional Summary, the YouTube Podcast breakdown is above, and the Spotify/Apple Version below.
10 SECURITY BREACH
We ended last week on a cliffhanger twist about there being a Security Breach. Due to the fact we had two rogue agents, TJ announces there will be a double elimination. Instead of holding a second vote and awarding a second Double Agent, TJ announces that the team with the second-most votes (Josh/Nany) will be compromised as well as Devin/Gabby and that CT/Big T get to pick the opponents for each compromised agent. Kyle had the perfect reaction: WHAT THE FUCK?
Kyle worked with CT almost all game, and even he was like, “this seems a bit overpowered.” In past weeks, we haven’t even known whether it would be a male or female elimination, and now CT gets to pick either lay-up and potentially throw down a power player. Yeesh. CT has wanted to face Josh “The GOOF” Martinez in elimination for weeks, and he gets that. He also does not have to face his #1 ally Devin and asks Devin who he wants. Since Cory/Nam are Rogue Agents, Devin can only pick Leroy, Kyle, Darrell, and Fessy. Devin picks Darrell because Kyle is his best friend, and he knows that if he lost to Leroy/Fessy, it would give them too much satisfaction; rather than winning or losing to Darrell, you still look good. Not sure if Devin knew there was a puzzle portion when picking Darrell; had he known, then I think Leroy would have been a clear choice since Leroy and puzzles historically do not get along.
9 Darrell vs. Devin
Devin is a Challenge legend trophy hunter, and Darrell has the power of twelve lions and sees Devin as a juicy zebra he is ready to prowl on. It was a rare win-win elimination scenario for both players. Darrell is sneakily intelligent; the guy has a high-level of common sense, something you don’t see much on the Challenge. I remember years ago when doing promo for Invasion, he and Laurel were playing Beer Pong on a Livestream, and he said he used to run the dorms at Stanford, to which it was unclear whether he went to Stanford University, or he just ran the dorms. Either way, Darrell is good at beer pong, and he performed well in this elimination.
Darrell and Devin being able to watch Kam/Ashley play this elimination made it easier for them. Men inherently having more explosiveness when it comes to jumping also allows them a larger range of motion. Momentum is the name of the game, and it kept shifting back and forth between the two. Darrell had maybe a 30 second to minute advantage on the puzzle, and the two of them took a reasonable amount of time. Both were confident in their puzzle skills, and if you watch, they each used the basic tangram strategies when first approaching their boards, and neither was solving it. They weren’t aimlessly putting pieces on a board like most who can’t do puzzles would. Their tangram was visibly a little more difficult than what they usually throw at them. Darrell puts out the win, is now a career 6–2 eliminations, and has a great shot of making it to the final. Devin is now 4–2, which, even though I’ve loved him this season, living in a world where Devin is 5–1 with wins over Bananas, Wes, Darrell, and Zach would have been weird.
Walking out of this elimination, I was a bit off-put by how happy the crowd was. I understand Devin got on the bad side of many people, but this man has been fighting for his life since Week 1. He’s not Johnny Bananas.
8 CT vs. Josh
While CT knows he could beat Josh in essentially anything, he knew a game where body coordination and a puzzle would be a guaranteed win. Josh tried his best and grabbed 7 out of 8 puzzle pieces; however, CT had the game’s motion down, and the guy is a tangram master. CT telling us he plays with tangrams with his son is an adorable moment knowing that Diem used to carry tangrams around with her everywhere, and CT would lay in bed with her and practice them.
CT has his Gold Skull! He now has a winning record in eliminations again (6 wins, 5 losses). Josh is a career 1–4 in eliminations and joins Dario and Tony as the only male competitors to debut since Cutthroat to not make it to a final in their first four seasons.
It was immediately a bad sign for Josh when CT was edited over footage mid-elimination explaining why he was going to beat Josh’s ass. They did exact same thing to Josh during his elimination with Jordan.
7 Josh Got Completely Screwed
The Goof has been the bane of mine and many others fan existence this season. His attitude and demeanor have rubbed many the wrong way. With that in mind, Lolo’s removal from the game forced him into an elimination he would not have been in, and the person who wanted to face him the most (CT) had the power to put himself in against him. Not to mention, had Nam’s back injury pain flared up a day or two earlier, then Josh would not have gone into elimination either.
Talk about all-time awful luck. People won’t talk about it since Josh annoys them, but if this happened to Leroy, there’d be a plethora of angry social media posts. Had Josh gotten to stay, his alliance would have controlled the numbers, CT likely eliminates Devin, and then final two to three eliminations would probably be CT vs any of Darrell, Cory, and Kyle (in a world where CT doesn’t win one of the final daily challenges).
6 CT & Big T’s Split
After winning his elimination, CT announces in the most loud-mouth and dickish way possible that he is dumping Big T in exchange for Kam. Kyle’s jaw is dropped as he lost his queen, Big T is devastated that he would dump her in such a way, and even Kam isn’t over the moon since CT’s Day 1 rejection is on her mind. As a Wrestling Fan, CT pulled an all-time heel turn. He built Big T and his relationship up for weeks, only to embarrass her after their biggest triumph. Had he been respectful when announcing his choice, this would not have had as bad of optics as it did.
5 New Partnerships
CT wasn’t the only person to get a new partner. Darrell chose to stick with Amber B after his win. Kyle got the first priority of picking a new partner, with his options being Nany, Amber, and Gabby. He hilariously yelled, “NANNY, I’M HOME.” Referring to the fact that they were partners to start the game until they switched each other out for Kam and Josh (a choice they both preferred). Kyle and Nany already seemed like a match made in heaven, considering their playstyles, abilities, and veneers. Looking at the current, I don’t think it’s crazy to think that a Kyle and Nany combo couldn’t win the final. Their fatal flaws are puzzles and Kyle’s inability to pronounce her name after four seasons together.
Cory has priority over Nam because he was the first rogue agent. He picks Gabby, stating she is a “puzzle person.” I’m 95% sure he said that since he thinks she is stronger than Big T, which at this point, I am not sure if that is true. Nam gets Big T, and that partnership was like when you buy a product on Amazon, and it gets broken before it even gets delivered to you.
4 SPA DAY
MTV’s goal is to get us back on the daily challenge-elimination format going forward, and because of that, we got to see the players enjoy a day at the hot springs. Similar to last week, I always support them showing us the players having fun. Watching them go out is also jarring as they have been cooped in the house (even for partying) all season. A key takeaway from Spa Day was Nany telling Amber that she would steal Fessy as Josh would want her to compete with Fessy in the final if not him when she wins an elimination. Based on Total Madness, I’d maybe want to run the final with anyone other than Fessy.
3 Sometimes Less is S’More
CT tried to broker peace at the Hot Springs by sending Big T champagne. At the house, he builds a bonfire, gets blankets, and plans to make S’mores for himself and Big T as if she is his daughter. The whole situation is awkward. He tries to explain to Big T why he did what he did, and Big T flat out tells him that a friend does not speak to a friend the way CT did. CT keeps a cycle of backpedaling and then talking over Big T, trying to make it seem like what he did was not bad, that they are still friends, and she needs to understand what he did was best for both of them. Big T refuses to back down, awesomely.
At one point, CT seemed like he was going to make a decent apology, and then he told Big T that she wasn’t ready for the final, which, even if true, is not what you are supposed to say to a friend. Big T is a grown woman who understands her strengths and weaknesses. CT telling her that basically meant every previous conversation between them was a lie. Big T even essentially said that if CT just admitted that he thought Kam was better than her, then she could accept that. Just don’t publicly humiliate her and try to act innocent. CT attempting to gaslight Big T by saying that his son would ask why he didn’t win the million dollars was utterly gross. CT, stop trying to make yourself into this sympathetic hero when you pulled a Johnny Bananas move in a way that was douchier than even Bananas could achieve.
2 Nam’s Game Is Over
An ongoing subplot the last few weeks is Nam’s back troubles. He pulled it when competing in a daily challenge and then was probably aggravated to tenth degree from the stress of being Lolo Jones partner as long as he did.
We find out during the episode that he’s already on painkillers, he goes to the hospital to get an injection, and the man is in serious pain. To make matters worse, the man is sleeping in a Top Bunk with back troubles. Nobody was willing to give an injured Nam a bottom bunk?
When they arrive at the daily challenge at the end of the episode, TJ announces his game is over. Nam is in tears, and it’s heartbreaking. He went through a fate worse than hell this season (being Lolo’s partner), and the moment he finally gets to separate, his body shuts down on him. I would really like to see Nam compete in a future season. While he got to the final seven, it feels as though he didn’t even scrape the surface of his potential as a competitor.
1 Next Week’s Outlook
Nam’s DQ hurts Big T most as she now is ineligible for the next elimination, meaning there is a high chance we get Nany vs. Gabby in elimination. They are the only two women in the game without Gold Skulls eligible. Potentially, Aneesa or Amber could get thrown in as they are the two weakest women possessing Gold Skulls currently. With Nany wanting Aneesa’s partner, I would not be shocked if Aneesa gets thrown down to face Nany in an endurance-based game. However, I could only envision them getting put into elimination in a world where Gabby and Cory win the daily challenge. This is why the Skull twist is suboptimal; it limits potential outcomes due to people needing to volunteer to go in, rather than forcing two power players against one another.
We are getting an up all night challenge next week, which I am excited about because the last one we had (Rivals 3) was an absolute banger.
