The Challenge Double Agents Episode 13 Recap: 10 Biggest Takeaways
Episode 13 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 13th episode. These will be integral storylines that the 13th 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 60 Minute Shot-Clock
Instead of the typical 90-minute episode, MTV gave us a 60 minute due to a lack of content. It is no surprise since the two loudest people in the house (Josh and Devin) got eliminated last week, and most of the players remaining in the game have their Gold Skulls already and were waiting for the final female skull to get divvied out.
Frankly, it would have been insulting if they tried to make this a 90-minute episode. The only way I could see this being 90 minutes is if they tried to fit two daily challenges and two eliminations in, which I would have welcomed because the game at this point feels a bit too predictable. Speed it up!
9 Feeding Frenzy
We got another daily challenge that was representative of what the players might see in the final. They were forced to endure and stay up through the night-time, ate atypical items, and solve puzzles. I must say, I am a bit jealous that the players got to eat shark; I’ve always wanted to eat shark, it’s just the only restaurants that serve it, it is always on the pricier side, and if I am going to pay that much, I’d rather spend money on a steak I know I’ll enjoy.
Whoever created this daily challenge did a great job. The problem is that most players already had Gold Skulls, and there was no punishment for last place; most bailed out and didn’t go all in. Even Nany, who did not have a skull, gave up. Fessy actively did not try to keep himself eligible to get stolen by an elimination winner (smart move). After the Challenge, TJ scolded a majority of players for not trying, weirdly singling out Kam in an unnecessary way. At the same time, it’s productions’ fault for not having a punishment for losers.
Shout-out to the runners-up of the daily challenge Gabby and Cory. Cory had the strategy of eating and puking down, and Gabby was a trooper in her first-ever eating challenge. People call him cursed Cory as if he isn’t trying his ass off in the daily challenges. He’s come in 2nd place in the two daily challenges most similar to the final.
8 Kaycee and Leroy Power Duo
Kaycee and Leroy became the first team to win three daily challenges this season. They both proved to be strong eaters and got some help from Kam in the math department. As a pair, they work well together because they want to win, and they know how to stay cool under pressure. You don’t need to be best friends to be each other’s best partners, similar to Penn & Teller.
Would I say Kaycee and Leroy are the favorites in the final? No. Puzzles are still a real thing, and they needed Kam’s help. I will say there is no chance they finish in last place with their current chemistry/aptitude.
7 Gold Skull Twist Sucks
Since the onset of the Skull twist on Total Madness, I have been out on the format twist/change as it is an overcorrection to fans complaining about players “skating” to the final on War of the Worlds 2. The Skull twist is actively ruining politics, house drama, and the daily challenge. With thirteen people left in the game, instead of forcing powerhouses against one another in elimination, we get someone winning a daily challenge to guarantee their friend an easier elimination opponent.
Even if Gabby had won the daily challenge, we would have had the same outcome except with Nany being the house vote and Gabby volunteering herself. Please get rid of the Skull twist.
6 Scraping the Bottom of the Barrell for Content
They had such little content for this episode that we got a scene consisting of Cory asking Fessy about his situation with Tori, a player who was still engaged at the time of filming and had been eliminated for over a month after an abbreviated run on the show.
Cory did predict that Tori and Jordan would call it quits, and then Fessy and Tori would have a fling (they vacationed together a few months ago). Fessy saying that he would never get in-between someone who already has a man while having a shit-eating grin on his face that says, “Yeah, I would fuck anyone’s girlfriend, wife, mom, yoga instructor, sister, or fiancé given the chance” might have been my favorite Villain Fessy moment of the season.
5 Fessy and Gabby
After the daily challenge, Fessy and Gabby had a make-out session in the hallway then went to sleep together. Gabby is attracted to Fessy’s size, and Fessy is attracted to Gabby being a blonde. Instead of hearing Fessy talk about being an introvert, we got to listen to him tell Gabby about how he is observant and how he observes the fact she is attracted to him. Fessy’s “smooth-talking” is an active detriment towards his hook-up game. He would get more immediate action if he stood there and did nothing or flat-out opened with, “Hey, you look good, let’s hook-up.”
Both women that Fessy has been romantically entangled with this season (Tori and Gabby) had boyfriends at home during filming. He also might have had a girlfriend (Haleigh), and apparently, they were planning to live together after the season. A MESS.
4 After 14 Seasons, Aneesa has learned nothing
There are people on the Challenge who have had bad luck, which is why they have never won. Aneesa has never won because she does not have any self-awareness, does not train for this show, and then continues to give ammunition to other players as to why they don’t think she could win. She is emotionally torn up about Fessy not wanting her as a partner, wanting to switch, and the fact that others might want to steal him. However, FESSY ALREADY LEFT HER. She took him back after the fact and now does not fully compute why he would not want her as a partner. If Aneesa wanted him to be her partner that badly, then she would light a fire under her ass in the daily challenges. Her performance in the mini-final was abysmal, and she kept pawning off the idea that she only did so poorly because it wasn’t the final, which is maddening.
Since the third week, Aneesa has actively been the worst remaining female in the game. There is a baseline of capability, and Aneesa keeps proving to have deafening weaknesses. Its also telling that Aneesa has no grasp on the game that she is so heartbroken over the possibility of losing Fessy when the other partner possibilities are 4x Champ Darrell (who has never lost a final), 3x Champ CT, and then multi-time finalists in Leroy, Cory, and Kyle. Cory and Kyle specifically outperformed Fessy in the previous season’s final, Cory beating Fessy on both days. It is the real lack of total awareness that makes Aneesa perfect to host a Challenge podcast. She and social game queen Tori must have perfect insight into how the game played out.
3 Nany vs. Gabby
Before the elimination happened, both women were emotional. Gabby has gone through quite the journey on the show, made some mistakes along the way, but was ready to battle. Nany knew that she heavily favored to win yet couldn’t shake the fact that her career losses are stacking up against her. As a Clipper fan, I know what that is like; you are almost waiting for something bad to happen.
The elimination they play is similar to Pole Wrestle in that they have to run to a ring elevated between them, grab it, and then run it over and place it on top of a pillar to score a point in a best of 3 series. Nany had the massive advantage in this game not only because she weighs more and has been in headbangers in the past, but the ring was elevated in such a way that 5'1 Gabby would need to essentially perfectly time her jump to get the ring, whereas 5'8 Nany could get rip it out real easy. Having initial possession dictates momentum and limits the defending players’ grasp ability.
In Round 1, Gabby came out faster than the Bulls at Pamplona, reached up, grabbed the ring, and was still able to muster enough gas to drag Nany over to her pillar for the first point. The crowd was shocked, Nany’s brain was melting, and Gabby proved herself a ton. Nany was having war flashbacks. Luckily for her, the entire crowd, aside from Cory and Big T, were on her side. She composed herself, dug down deep, and won a hard-fought round two where she got to the ring first and fought to tie it up. There was an impressive moment in the second round where Gabby was on top of Nany, and Nany, as someone who has wrestled in headbanger in the past, reversed the momentum and got on top of Gabby while controlling the ring. She ripped the ring from Gabby soon after.
Round 3 came down to the height difference. Gabby went all out jumping for the ring, missed it, and her momentum was going in the opposite direction of Nany/the scoring area. Nany gets the third point and wins the elimination to become a career 4–9 in eliminations. In hindsight, Gabby maybe should have waited for Nany to take the ring and then jump her. The issue is, in the heat of the moment, a rookie coming up with that strategy is not likely to happen. If the ring was put in the middle of them and not elevated, Gabby could have won. At the same time, there are no weight/height divisions in the Challenge, and you have to play with the hand you are dealt. Gabby showed so much heart in this elimination that I wasn’t expecting, and I would love to see her come back. Now that she knows what the Challenge is about, I wouldn’t be shocked to see exponential growth if she returned.
2 Nany’s Streak Is Broken!
Nany’s elimination loss streak curse is broken! The last time Nany had won an elimination, Obama was President. It was not the dominant win I would expect in a headbanger against a much smaller woman, but it is a win nonetheless. If anyone needed some good luck in elimination, it’s Nany. She is primed to go to the final, and right now, she is at least the third-best girl remaining in the game. Leroy winning the daily and Nany winning the elimination the day after the 10th Anniversary of the RW Back to Las Vegas premiere is iconic.
1 Aftermath
Nany picked Fessy as a new partner, which is what she said she was going to do, and similar to my thoughts on Aneesa above, there are other men I’d rather run the final with. Fessy is a basketball player who averages 25 points a game but only 2 assists. Within his own skill-set, he is an awesome player who can dominate his realm. Problems arise once he has to help others. He is not a supportive partner and does not comprehend when others struggle.
Aneesa takes Kyle because he already has a skull. They will likely go into the next elimination if they don’t win since they are the lay-ups/outsiders of the people who have Skulls. Cory gets Big T, and it is Cory’s 7th partner this season, which accounts for 46.6% of the female cast, 53.8% if you don’t count people who medically DQ’d Episode 3 like Liv and Nicole Z. If they go into elimination and win, they are in the driver seat, they can steal anyone to be their partner.
