WARNING: SO MANY SPOILERS AHEAD! IF YOU HAVEN’T WATCHED THE FINALE OF THE CHALLENGE: TOTAL MADNESS, STOP READING!
Ready? Okay!
This year’s final challenge wasn’t in brutal heat like it’s been in years past like in War of the Worlds or in the jungle like we saw in War of the Worlds 2. It was on a snowy mountain, which presents its own set of, er, challenges.
And in the end we found out there would actually be two winners getting the split of a $1 million prize pool: one male and one female would take home $500,000 each.
And who won?
On the women’s side, it’s who we expected pretty much from the beginning: Jenny, who beat out her only remaining competition in Kaycee.
For the men, a legend cemented his legacy: Johnny Bananas won his seventh title and his first since he did this to Sarah in Rivals III:
Let’s break down some other things we found out from the dramatic finale:
1. Time for players to start practicing skiing!
The first checkpoint involved players getting on skis — or carrying them! — and bringing logs to a basket to light on fire. And there were so many shots of players falling and struggling. So if they’re all practicing ahead of future challenges, they’ve got to add skiing to the list.
2. One more Tribunal!
I love TJ Lavin repeteadly telling the group, “We reward winners here,” a clue that winning a stage would result in an advantage of some sort. It turned out that was the case for both Cory and Jenny (who won the first stage and formed the final Tribunal) and Bananas and Kaycee (who won that last elimination when Cory and Jenny sent them in). They all got to stay in “the compound” to finish the second stage of the competition, while poor Kyle and Fessy had to stay outside in the cold for a while by a fire before heading inside.
3. Bayleigh and Melissa bowed out
Melissa quit after the first stage and after volunteering to go into the final elimination, knowing full well she probably didn’t have a chance against Kaycee or Jenny. And I think she was right.
As for Bayleigh? She hurt her knee and toughed it out as long as possible before leaving. You have to give both of them so much respect for even finishing the first two stages.
4. Bummer for the runner-ups
Yep, if you didn’t win, you got nothing. But hey, let’s take a sec and congratulate Kyle for finishing as the second male! Let’s give a tip of the cap to Cory, who fought so hard to bring home the money to his family but fell short. And Fessy and Kaycee! Two of the best rookies ever to join The Challenge fell short, but I hope they come back again and build on their super impressive performances.
5. Math is the great, uh, equalizer
The final stage was a hike up the snowy mountain, and as usual, there was a puzzle element — solve a math equation to unlock a skull and move on. That’s where Fessy got a lead that he eventually lost, and poor Cory and Kaycee struggled. It’s a reminder that The Challenge isn’t just all about being athletic!
6. The GOAT cements his title
It was nearly two years ago that I wondered if the Johnny Bananas Era was over, and I’m certainly not walking it back. It was and, up to Wednesday night, was a good question. He hadn’t even made a final in his last six shows before Total Madness, so it was going to take an extra push to break through (and even though he talked about the Sarah Curse on the episode, he’s told me in the past, “It’s a byproduct of me wining as much as I have.”
So he tried something new: he formed a partnership with Wes that nearly got them both to the final. And although that wasn’t the only reason Bananas won, it was a sign that he had changed his game.
Now, if he wasn’t the GOAT before (he was!), he most certainly is now.
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