The Challenge Double Agents Episode 14 Recap: 10 Biggest Takeaways
Episode 14 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 14th episode. These will be integral storylines that the 14th 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 Aftermath of Nany’s win and Kyle’s Hilarious Apology
In the span of 2 weeks, Kyle’s partner situation was downgraded from Kam to Nany to Aneesa. The man is down bad. As someone who is a degenerate gambler, I know what it feels like to hit big and then watch your winnings blow away in an instant. His apology to Aneesa about calling her dead weight felt more like an insult session veiled under the guise of an apology. Aneesa could not stop laughing during it, making it much easier to watch than it would with most competitors. During the apology itself, Kyle remembers that Aneesa was the one who blindsided him into elimination earlier in the game. He has so many vendettas this season, ranging from Big Brother to CT, that he completely forgot that Aneesa was his enemy.
I still find it weird that Aneesa considers Kyle a downgrade over Fessy when she and Fessy did not perform well in any challenges as a pair together. The first daily, they finished first place separately, and the second one was the other teams throwing them the win due to social alliances. All other challenges they participated in, they were bottom tier. Based on performance, there is no reason to think Kyle is a downgrade.
9 Cory and Aneesa’s Weird Relationship
When Cory talks to Aneesa, it feels almost like a nephew-aunt relationship. It feels bizarre since they had sex a minimum of 10 times back in the day. I appreciate that Cory is one of the only people loyal and respectful to Aneesa when everyone else isn’t (including me). The guy has had the season from hell, voted into elimination 4 times with no shots at a Gold Skull, watching Nelson get blindsided by his #2 ally, and had to live in a house with Lolo Jones. Cory’s composure and maturity with all the adversity thrown at him is remarkable. He is a different man since becoming a dad.
8 Swimming Underwater is Hard
Swimming above water and underwater are two different skill-sets. Generally, people who have taken swim classes or have been on teams learn to hold their breath and can swim underwater without much issue. It is a difficult skill to pick up for those of us who learned to swim by jumping in a pool and kicking our arms and legs. Suffice to say; I am mega proud of Leroy and Kam. Their swimming has improved exponentially since Vendettas/War of the Worlds 2. I remember the challenge from Vendettas where they had to grab a ball, dive into the water, and place the ball in the net, and neither was capable of doing it. Fast-forward to 2021, and they are swimming between two tectonic plates!
7 Sink or Swim
Each team had a way different dynamic in this challenge. Nany and Fessy are a mess that I will get into in a bit. CT and Kam struggled in this challenge because they are two dominant personalities. Kam is like a math tutor who averages 93% on her tests and can explain how to solve problems to others; CT is the kid who does not study and averages 97% but cannot explain how he solved it. Their styles do not mesh at all. The team I was most impressed by was Kaycee and Leroy. If you asked me what their two biggest weaknesses were, I would say puzzles and swimming. They accomplished both in this challenge. If they can keep pace with other teams in their weak categories, you know they can physically kill the rest of the final.
Big T was supportive towards Cory after his DQ, whereas Darrell was a bit frustrated by Amber B. Up until this point, Darrell and Amber B have been one of the worst duos competitively. Their one challenge win was Darrell kicking ass in trivia by himself. Amber B’s only shining moment was a mediocre Hall Brawl win against Amber M. Kaycee asking Amber B to join the Big Brother alliance on Day 1 was a godsend for her game.
Kyle and Aneesa performed well, but as the first team, production edited them to make it look like they struggled more than they did, mostly to swerve us when it was announced they won. While the win keeps Kyle out of elimination, this may have been the last opportunity to ditch Aneesa before the final. Would you rather risk your spot in the final or go to the final knowing you will not win?
6 Nany is already done with Fessy’s shit
Nany having immediate buyer’s remorse and wishing she had Kyle back after two days of Fessy being her partner is Peak Nany. Fessy trying to sprint swim and kicking Nany in the face, knocking her snorkel out of her mouth is equivalent to Nick Young (former Challenge reunion host) celebrating his 3-pointer before it goes in and then missing. It is the second time this season where Nany’s partner has DQ’d her in a challenge. When Josh did it, Nany tried to pretend as though she deserved blame in the DQ as well to make him feel better. When Fessy DQ’d them, he blamed Nany and then gave her a patronizing speech about how he still wants to run the final with her. You can see her eyes that all she wants is him to ask what happened. I do not envision either of them going back into elimination this season, although with Aneesa being one of the outsiders left in the game if she were to defeat Big T in elimination next week, I could see Aneesa stealing Fessy back, which would open Nany up to taking Kyle back or getting CT.
5 House Vote Dilemma
Leroy-Kam-Nany is the trio alliance left in the game controlling the most power (Fessy/Kaycee being the BB duo attached to them). With Kyle/Aneesa winning the daily, they knew if they put Cory/Big T in as house vote, any of them could have got put into elimination randomly. In favor of saving themselves, they put their allies Darrell and Amber B in as the house vote. It is a gutting move for Leroy since he has so much respect for Darrell and even gives him the 411 in advance. Darrell makes it known that if he wins elimination, he is stealing Kaycee as a partner, half because it is what they deserve for putting him in, and half because he knows Kaycee gives him a better shot to win. Darrell and Cory try to rally to get Cory as house vote, and not even Amber’s BB peeps have her back. The vote goes 6–4; Darrell & Amber are the compromised agents.
4 Aneesa is a Loyal Bonehead
When Kyle sees that Darrell is the house vote, his mind immediately goes to the right place; he wants Darrell vs. CT. Throwing in the 3x Champ against the 4x Champ and possibly icing out of Cory from a skull leading to fewer potential people running the final is the optimal play. Aneesa refuses to and says in confessional: “I don’t know if Kyle realizes you only win for a day.” No Aneesa, he does realize, that is why he wants to make a big move while he has the chance, likely his only chance.
I can respect being loyal to Cory, but please stop pretending like you want to win this game when all your actions reflect the opposite. You are the lay-up team; you have to swing big if you want any shot at winning. Not to mention, you already took a swing in Week 1 by putting CT against Wes. CT has been calling Aneesa weak for years, and now when she has a shot to take him out before the final, she doesn’t? It is an all-time bad political move, and I feel bad for Kyle because throwing Cory in does not help him in any way. This is a critical error.
3 All-Time Elimination Blow Out
Cory and Darrell played Reverse Tug of War. Before the game started, Darrell knew that Cory out-sprinted him in the Dirty 30 purge that knocked him out of the game. His game-plan was to make it an endurance battle, and we know Darrell has elite endurance. The first round starts, and it is not even close; Cory is so much faster and explosive than Darrell. He hits the buzzer before Darrell even has a shot to jump towards his. Darrell literally gets knocked back onto his ass, realizes Cory won the round and jokingly asks him to slow down for round two. Cory is a former college-level defensive back, and his ACL is in much better condition than when he won the D30 purge; Darrell is still in fantastic shape, but he is getting older, and father time is undefeated.
Round two starts, and it is a much more competitive showing from Darrell. Cory still wins immediately. He turned a marathon into a 100 m dash. It was an absolute shellacking. Never in my life did I ever expect to see Darrell get torched in an elimination this badly. The dominance of this elimination was probably two tiers below the Bananas backpack and one tier below Wes getting his head rung by the bell in Hall Brawl.
2 Darrell is Still a Legend, and Cory is Finally The Guy They Put on a Billboard
Darrell may have gotten his ass kicked in elimination — still, at 41 years old, nobody wants to see him in a final. Most critics of Darrell claim he got wins in an easier era, so the fact he can acknowledge the game has gotten harder shows a remarkable amount of honesty and character. Glad we got him back for a season. Softening the blow is the fact that he is on the Challenge All-Stars debuting on April 1st.
Brace yourself for what I’m about to tell you. Cory is now a career 7–3 in eliminations, which ties him for the 4th best elim record ever through 10 eliminations, trailing only Laurel, Kam, Wes, and Nelson. He has the 9th best daily challenge ratio among male competitors all-time. If he makes the final, he will have made it to 4 out of 8 finals while competing in individual/pairs seasons. Statistically, Cory has put up all-time stats. If Cory pulls out a win, he immediately jumps in the conversation for Top 15–20 males to have ever competed on the show. If he wins, is he better than Zach or Brad all-time? I’m not sure, but there is definitely a conversation. Cory has finally become the guy they put on the Vendettas billboard years ago.
1 Aftermath
Cory politely leaves Big T and takes Kam as a partner. She is his 8th partner this season, meaning Cory has been partners with over 50% of the female cast. What a format. Her puzzle-solving ability is what he needs, and based on their total experience, they have to be the favorites alongside Leroy/Kaycee to win the final.
CT chooses to take back Big T, and boy oh boy, things are definitely not the same between them, even if Big T puts a smile on her face. I am glad CT took Big T because if he had taken Amber, Big T would have had no shot to go into elimination, potentially icing her out of the final. Amber is sad to lose Darrell; however, being the rogue agent at this point is a blessing. She cannot go into the next elimination, and every male left in the game is a competent player who can win a final.
Forecasting, as long as Aneesa does not win next week’s challenge, she and Big T will be the House Vote/Double Agent pick for what might be the final elimination of the season. If Aneesa were to win, I could see Nany being the Double Agent choice.
