Tonight on “The Challenge: Battle of the Eras,” the Challengers arrive to a beautiful new landscape where their dreams may come to a screeching halt. The players must stay afloat in an exhausting elimination.
Here are the contestants still in contention for the Season 40 championship:
Era 1: Rachel Robinson
Era 2: Cara Maria Sorbello, Derek Chavez, Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio
Era 3: Jordan Wiseley, Tori Deal
Era 4: Jenny West, Kyland Young, Michele Fitzgerald
Below, read our full recap of tonight’s episode, titled “Location Change Era” airing Wednesday, Dec. 18 (8:00 – 9:30 PM ET/PT) on MTV.
After winning in last week’s arena, Derek had named Jenny, Rachel, and Cara Maria as targets. TJ then surprised the Challengers by announcing a location change. They hop in a plane to the Philippines and warm up in their luxury villa before gearing up for their next challenge.
Before kicking off this final challenge of the season, TJ announces that Bananas, Derek, Jordan, and Kyland have all made the final. However, they’ll still compete because the loser of today’s challenge will start the final with a penalty. In “Fortress Bricks,” players will race to the top of a Spanish fortress. Next, they’ll haul 40 heavy bricks down to the bottom, two at a time, and carry 10 planks back to the top. They’ll use those planks to complete a puzzle. Whoever gets it done the fastest wins today’s challenge. The losing female will head straight into the final elimination arena. As the loser of the last challenge, Cara Maria is assessed a three-minute penalty.
This is a grueling challenge and Kyland has set a blistering pace at the outset. Struggling to keep up in the back is Michele, who only has to avoid last place to reach the final. She’s not as physically strong as the other women, but hopes the puzzle at the end will be the great equalizer. Kyland collects all of his puzzle pieces first, a full lap ahead of Jordan in second place. Unfortunately, Kyland shows a rare puzzle weakness when he’s not able to see where lines connect, and Jordan ends up securing this victory for the men. Bananas finishes second, Kyland is able to hang on for third, and Derek finishes last (he’ll start the final with a penalty).
For the women, Jenny collects her planks first and begins work on the puzzle. Rachel is close behind, followed by Cara Maria, Tori and Michele in last place. Jenny’s puzzle skills don’t fail her, and despite some breathing difficulties due to asthma, she wins this challenge and secures her spot in the final. Cara Maria finishes second, but still faces that three-minute time penalty. Rachel is third, and then it’s Michele who was able to come from behind and take out Tori with the puzzle. After a stellar season, Tori is heading straight into elimination and could miss the final. It’s all up to Jordan to decide which target she’ll face off against: Cara Maria or Rachel.
Tori says she doesn’t really have a preference for who she competes against. Both Rachel and Cara Maria are fierce competitors, so she’s ready to let the chips fall where they may. Rachel has been a master politician this season, and although Cara Maria is on friendly terms with Jordan, Rachel’s been working him for weeks. Perhaps her strongest argument to Jordan is the fact that she’s the sole survivor from Era 1 and they deserve to be represented in the final. When TJ asks Jordan who will be facing off against Tori in the arena, the four-time champ responds, “Cara Maria.”
In what’s simply called “The Final Elimination,” Tori and Cara Maria will hop off TJ’s ship called “Sinister” and tread water for as long as they can. Whoever lasts the longest will punch their ticket to the final. Cara Maria hates swimming challenges, but can she at least float? Complicating matters are sea creatures. A snake swims past them as plankton and small fish bite their flesh. With neither woman showing any signs of quitting, TJ makes them raise their hands above their head. Still not phased, they’re forced to raise their elbows out of the water. After more than two-and-a-half hours, Cara Maria finally dips beneath the surface. She is eliminated from the game and Tori moves on to the final. What a battle!
