The Challenge Double Agents Episode 15 Recap: 10 Biggest Takeaways
Episode 15 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 15th episode. These will be integral storylines that the 15th 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 Hall Brawl Training
CT training Big T for a Hall Brawl was a cute moment. It would have been much cuter had he not left her a few weeks ago. Regardless, it was a cool scene, and the concept of training for a Hall Brawl is something my brain has always considered but never thought I would actually see on television. I do remember CT playfully practicing Pole Wrestle with Diem all the way back on the Duel.
9 High In The Sky
For the fourth or fifth week in a row, we had a visually epic daily challenge. Like the last few challenges, they do not have the same impact of competition since we all knew that Big T would face Aneesa as long as Aneesa did not win. I would have killed to see the last place team go into elimination for this challenge; the sense of urgency would have been much higher.
Cory and Kam performed at a high level as the second-place team. I was proud of Cory actively trying to memorize the pattern because he felt the need to prove to Kam that even though he might not be the brightest, he can still bring more than physicality to the table. Fessy and Nany were a solid third-place team — Nany kept a solid pace; she is not as quick as Kaycee and Kam, meaning if she has any hope of winning a final, she needs Kaycee/Kam to get tripped up either by a partner or by a massive time penalty. Aneesa got gassed immediately (like less than a quarter-mile into her run), and after the challenge, she tried to say she started walking because Kyle had stopped, which was not true. Not only had Aneesa already been walking, but Kyle stopped because she was three miles behind him in a half-mile race. Big T did not perform much better than Aneesa, although she at least pretended she was trying her hardest by pulling out the “slow run” in which she probably could have went at the same pace walking; it just looks better when you make the running motions.
Leroy and Kaycee kill it once again, winning their fourth daily challenge of the season. Fun fact: Leroy competed on 7 partners seasons prior to Double Agents; in those seasons, he won a total of 4 daily challenges combined, meaning in his last season, he tied his career total and still has the potential to win more. They are an absolute force together.
8 Boring Dominance
I want Leroy to win the Challenge more than anything. Kam is already one of the all-time great female players, and the amount of hate she gets online has turned me into one of her biggest defenders. Together, they are creating one of the most boring seasons with their social, political, and physical dominance.
Kam and Leroy are too mature to get into the messy drama that Cara and Paulie would. That makes them better human beings, but for reality television purposes, the villain power alliance is always fun to root against. I cannot do that with Leroy and Kam; they play a smart and responsible game where they have taken out bigger threats and, for the most part, kept the target off of them. Yet, it is not making for the best television product. Their performance on this will be looked upon fondly in the history books, and if Leroy can get the win, then the general fan opinion of Double Agents will skyrocket. As a week-to-week television show, I am left wanting more from them.
7 80’s Party
Production realized that with the house’s lack of drama, they needed to give players costumes to have an 80’s dance party to get the episode to 90 minutes. It was a cute party, and some people looked exceptional in their 80s costumes: Cory, Big T, Nany, Kaycee, and Leroy. Cory takes the overall MVP for me as the way he did his hair and really got into the vibe was perfect. LVP is Fessy, as it looked like he was going to an outdoor rave.
6 Fessy vs. CT
While alone with Kyle, Fessy decided to throw some jabs at CT, saying CT is a shell of his former self and could only get a skull by competing against Josh in something non-physical. At the 80’s party, Fessy tries to insinuate that CT is no longer a great player and the people he has to go against these days (namely himself) are on a level that he has never seen. CT is quick to retort that two of his championships have come in the last five years and that he outran Fessy’s friends (or former friends) Nelson and Cory in the final.
What is so maddening about Fessy’s assertion that CT played against inferior competition is the fact that Total Madness and Double Agents have had two of the weaker male casts in Challenge history. It is not like Fessy is dominating this weaker competitor either. On Total Madness, post-prime versions of Wes and Bananas were killing the daily challenges, not Fessy. His elimination wins have been a Pole Wrestle against a guy with one hand and a Hall Brawl where he played dirty against his friend, who he had 40–60 pounds on. Meanwhile, CT has played the game with the house actively trying to ice him out of a skull. Despite the odds, he won two daily challenges with Big T, which is the same amount as Fessy; the difference is, Aneesa earned them their first win, and the second win got handed to him due to social connections. Fessy is trying to assert himself as the top dog when he might not even be one of the game’s top three guys.
CT taking off his wig during his argument with Fessy was such a great moment. I truly cannot fathom why Fessy would even step to CT. The guy lost an elimination to Jay Starrett and proceeded to shave his head and drop forty pounds. That’s not a guy you want to fuck with.
5 Aneesa’s continued lack of awareness
Once Aneesa realizes she will be the house vote, she corrals Cory to see if they can switch the target onto Nany. She tells Cory that on paper, they have herself, Cory, Kyle, and Kam. This is not true; Kam knows how much Nany means to Leroy and would never vote her in. Also, Kyle hates Aneesa and is hyping up Big T to try and take her out.
At the deliberation, she gets emotional and states that she has been on TV for 20 years, 14 seasons, and competed in the first Pole Wrestle. Aneesa wonders why they do not respect her, when just a day earlier, with her game on the line, she could not run a quarter of a mile.
4 Kyle is my MVP for the Season
He is just such a complete shithead in the most transparent way possible. Each week he comes on the show with his big ass smile and over-the-top confessionals, and for some reason, not only do I not hate it, I find myself liking him more and more. Kyle is the most lovable underachiever in Challenge history.
3 Big T’s Big Moment
They played Operation Fire Escape for the third time this season. According to the players, when entering the arena, they made it longer. Aneesa was upset she did not get an elimination where she could sit on Big T.
The game begins, and once Big T gets going, she keeps a steady pace and moved up and down the structure without any issue. Big T’s Pole Dancing classes came in handy here because she could lift her body weight with ease. You would think Aneesa’s history as a dancer would give her the same type of advantage. Instead, she barely even moved throughout the entire elimination as she was unable to lift her body weight. It annoyed me to no end that as people in the crowd were trying to give Aneesa pointers and support, she stated in confessional that she did not train to be hung up by her arms and legs. No shit Aneesa, nobody trains for this specific elimination. Still, being a 14 season veteran, this is the type of elimination where all the experience you mentioned at the deliberation should come in handy.
Big T gets her first-ever elimination win and does so in a dominant fashion. I am so happy for Big T; if anyone deserves this moment, it is her.
Aneesa is now a career 10–11 in eliminations. Statistically, the “average” player who has competed on the seasons that Aneesa has been on is expected to have made it to 4.09 finals — she has made it to 2. Mathematically, she is 48.8% as good as an average competitor.
2 Aftermath
Kyle pleads with Big T to take Fessy as a partner as it will shake the game up. He states that if she does not, Kyle/Amber will face CT/Big T in the next elimination. While this seemed like Kyle looking out for himself as it would have given him Nany as a partner instead of Amber and potentially safety from Kam/Leroy, what he said was right. Unless Kyle/Amber and CT/Big T win the daily challenge next week, they are going in against one another as the Leroy/Kam/Nany trio will stay loyal to one another.
Considering Amber’s only daily challenge win this season was because of Darrell’s trivia skills, I do not expect her and Kyle to pull out a win next week. Maybe Big T and CT can pull out some magic as they have won two daily challenges together this season.
1 Woman of Color
A cool note to end on is that we are guaranteed to have a woman of color winning this season of the Challenge! There is a 60% shot that we will get a Black female champion. The last Black Champion in Challenge history is Nehemiah all the way back on Season 16, The Gauntlet 3, and the last Black Female Champion was Janelle Casanave on Season 15, The Inferno 3.
We have never had a Black Champion in a solo or pairs season before. On paper, we could get two at once. Hopefully, history is made this season.
Also, if you want a laugh, I made a video breaking down the hilariously bad Penalty shootout between Cory and Nelson on Vendettas. Stay tuned, I have an interview dropping this week with a Blonde Female Challenge Legend.
