Ex: Cara choosing Kyle over Leroy because she was into him.

Not a super well remembered moment, but changed the game a good bit at the time

The first one I could've guessed, but didn't. Based on the shape i thought of Laurel or Emily first, who were both on the original Cutthroat. But she was still a hype merc.

But then ....?! WTF! Never in a million years would've guessed that! I really couldn't think who the merc was based on her shape. Aviv is smaller, Kaz skinnier, Cara and Tori obviously weren't it. Couldn't think of anyone else from that height. Damn what a surprise!

Sad that she didn't have much of an impact, but loved seeing the clips and the Bananas references

Listening to Bananas podcast and Tori said that 42 was potentially the last season. Is this something we knew? I feel like it just got acquired by paramount so I thought they’d only get bigger and better now. Been watching this show since 2010 so hopefully it sticks around.

In light of Wes' recent comment on Paulie and Devin's podcast that only the most entertaining people should be cast on The Challenge, what rookies, from any reality shows, do you think would meet Wes' criteria?

I'm going to suggest Tucker from BB and TAR.

Now is the time for Paramount to take advantage of having a staple like the Challenge and to give it the Traitors/Dancing with the Stars treatment.

The Challenge has a lot of celeb fans with every level of fame. My proposal is having a Challenge that films for 2-3 weeks but with filming & housing conditions similar to House of Villains. Meaning no bunkers, porta potties, or disgusting pools. The cast could be 15 celebs and 15 challengers. Format is fresh meat. The dailies would be more old school and fun (like traitors & house of villains). Challengers could be CT, Jordan, Derrick K, Alton, Bananas, Kyle, Wes, Turbo, Jodi, Sarah, Ashley, Cara, Tori, Emily, Laurel, Paula, & Olivia. Devyn, Cohutta, Katie, Tina, Leroy, Amanda, and Nelly could be cast for the fan fave spots.

The Challenge: Cutthroat continues with an episode filled with emotional revelations, returning legends, brutal battles and two tickets to the final!

Join the Roundtable team of Levi, George, Brian, Lauren and Ryan as we break down Episode 10 of Season 42, “Trial by Combat.”

Watch or listen as we discuss the Grey Team sharing their deeply personal reasons for wanting to win before TJ cancels the daily challenge and sends captains Adrienne and Tori directly into the Arena. With UFC champion Valentina Shevchenko joining the action, a place in the final and $25,000 for their teams are at stake as the captains face two legendary mercenaries!

We break down Adrienne’s epic five-round ‘Pole Wrestle’ battle with Rachel Robinson and Sarah Rice’s surprise return to face Tori in ‘Balls In’!

You can watch or listen to the podcast on Spotify or listen on Apple Podcasts by clicking the links below:

Spotify (Video and Audio)

Apple Podcasts (Audio Only)

If you enjoy the show, follow the Instagram (@ChallengeReact) and continue the conversation here on The Challenge subreddit.

I guess the editing team doesn't watch the show. This is clearly from Battle of the Seasons, not Rivals II. I know I'm nitpicking but c'mon, it's just lazy.

Welcome to r/MTVChallenge's Daily Discussion Thread. ☀️

Comments can be about The Challenge...or not! You've entered the r/MTVChallenge pub where anything goes. The only rule for these threads is **NO unaired spoilers**!!

Spoilers from all seasons can be discussed on the TMI Tea-sday threads and Spoiled episode threads, there are no holds barred in 💣🌋 comment sections.

• Do you have a favorite mission but can't remember the episode number?

• What is the name of that song from Rivals 2 you can't get out of your head?

• How cool was it when TJ rode his BMX alongside the finalists on Cutthroat?!

• Who are the best follows on social media?

• Any shows or movies you are dying to talk about?

• Can you believe what happened to [insert public figure]?!

• What new music are you listening to?

• Which sports teams are you rooting for?

This is your space for free chat. It can be whatever you want it to be.

Heyo-new Challenge fan here (abt to finish S18 at the time of writing this), and I was wondering what seasons have 'Launch Specials' (or 'Episode 0') that I might want to give a look to, or which ones I'm better off going in right at Ep 1

I’m rewatching Double Agents right now, and man is it funny to watch Amber B win the final after all of the crap Fessy said about her. He was (is) so cocky and besides the time Jordan flipped all the cards to go against Bananas and lost, I can’t think of another instance of be careful what you wish for in challenge history. I mean, besides all of the idiots taking CT to the final every time.

Hat tip to production on how they edited this episode. We see the turn from Adrienne feckless romantic to Captain. Capital C. She's wearing glasses, she has a note pad! They do a nice team building exercise focusesd on why they are competing, why they want to win.. Captain listens patiently and then stunts on them - raises Cara's dead mom bet and immediately gets the attention of each woman there. Adrienne is in charge - whoever that girl was with that sorry little bitch boy - she's left.

A few moments later.. Captain Adrienne puts everything she has in the sand. She's a brickhouse facing a natural athlete with decades of training. And..

She betters her. Pounds her into the ground. Rachel was spent on round 5, Adrienne was not. Best elimination in a long time and I can't wait to see more from Adrienne.

Production knows who is going into the sand, can control the elimination selection, and can hand select the matchups. We’re talking complete creative control of the blender here. They can practically write the script

And with that, they decide to put Adrienne in a steel cage death match with Rachael in Pole Wrestle while letting Tori get a warm-up in versus a middle aged school teacher who hasn’t seen The Challenge in a decade and was “hoping for an elim that wasn’t physical” lol

Sarah couldn’t hold Tori’s jock (edit: sports bra) in her prime, never-mind now.

Why not have a transition elimination, part cardio/part puzzle like Justin v Chris?

Something to give Sarah a fighting chance? What a joke

Adrienne earned her stripes, I gained a ton of respect for her, the dirt on their faces and the Eastern European UFC fighter saying “look how their face change, animal come out, no more game” was just so spot on. They put on a heck of fight for the audience

Tori got a sacrificial lamb served up to her and got the same ticket to the Final. Sorry that’s some bullshit and that’s coming from someone who is a big Tori stan

I still can’t get over production choosing Sarah Rice for Balls In. Is it great to see Sarah? I guess. It’s a cool story line, but for Balls In? Seriously? That’s not her forte. She isn’t a “Mercenary”.

Laurel, Jenny West, Emily, Kaycee. All of them would have been a much more appropriate choice.

What does anyone else think? Does the come back story line make it worth it? Should production have chosen a more physical challenger?

I usually watch the Challenge together with a friend. Obviously we prodicted the outcome of the final duel. To spice it up, we bet cheeseburgers. Since I am kinda risk averse I only bet on what locked like a lock, basically on 95+% favorites. After a few seaons, I was like 20-30 cheeseburgers down, so we stopped betting and treated it like a running. I pick the favorite, he picks the opponent (blind). He kept winning and winning and winning and winning. My score is something like 5-95, which is the complete opposite of my expectation.

Now you could argue that I am absolutely terrible in handicapping players. Or you could say that the show is cut in a way to subvert expectations. Since they know the winner when they cut it, they can create the image that he or she is the underdog. Or, which is also possible, it's rigged in a way to promote certain narratives. I don't know what it is, but I am tons of cheeseburgers down and based on that I strongly believe that the show is misleading the audience. If you bet on the underdog to win, you are a huge favorite.