The Challenge: Cutthroat Episode 13 Recap: 5 Biggest Takeaways
The 13th episode of The Challenge: Cutthroat 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 5 Biggest moments/takeaways from Episode 13.
If you prefer audio/video, my podcast recap can be found above/below:
5 Toddler Tirade
Last week, I strongly defended Lete’s reaction to being voted into elimination because I thought Adrienne was dumb to risk losing their best player before the Final. I still think it was dumb, but Lete asking Adrienne to get on her knees and apologize so that Lete won’t throw the Final in retaliation was preposterous. First off, making another human beg to get you to compete is childish. Second, Lete prides herself on being a competitor, so there’s no world where she won’t give 100%. Third, it’s flat-out dumb, given that if they won, Adrienne would decide how the money gets split.
I do enjoy it when a player overreacts to getting voted, because nobody should take getting tossed quietly. Lete just went a little too far. It did at least give the Grey Team an extra storyline going into the Final. Well…for 2 seconds until the Final started, and Lete was clearly trying.
4 A Tale of Two Finals
The immediate, superficial takeaway from the Final is that Grey took an early lead and looked like they were going to dominate. Except if you were actually watching the Final, anyone with a brain could’ve seen that Orange faced the much harder checkpoints first. So Orange’s “comeback” shouldn’t have shocked anyone who was actually watching. It does feel like Grey has a slight lead as of right now. Except they still have to push the giant metal hexagonal ball. If their ball weighs the same as the one Orange had to push and struggled with,th, with Will, Bananas, and CT on their side, then Grey is likely going to lose Day 1.
To which, we don’t even know what you get for winning Day 1.
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3 Big CTeasy
The Gauntlet 3 Final where Big Easy died was 3 miles. CT made his team take a full-on break after the first checkpoint, only 3 miles in.
What amazes me about CT is that, instead of taking accountability for performing poorly, he deflects and tries to blame his teammates for his failure. CT uses his history of accomplishments as the reason why they need to slow down for him, because he “knows what he’s doing”. I’ll give CT credit in that he did acknowledge that it is Day 1 of a 2 Day Final; thus, all of it might not matter if all they might get for running a marathon is a 2-minute head start the next day. That said, I thought it was complete and utter bullshit when CT stated that he had won his past 4 Finals going at the same pace he is now.
It was a completely false statement. CT was in good shape on Double Agents and was essentially outrunning everyone except his partner, Amber. Then on Spies, Lies & Allies, CT was in the best shape he’d been in since Exes 2, and he pushed his team’s pace, getting up and down that mountain fast in the end. The only Final where CT went this fast was on War of the Worlds 2, where they could go at a walking pace because they had to carry a gurney the entire time. Also, the major reason they won is that the U.S. team had to carry way more weight, despite being allowed to have the same number of people carry the gurney as Team U.K. did. I’m not trying to diminish CT’s accomplishment. I’m just calling him a fucking liar because, for him to say with a straight face that he’s going at the same pace here on Season 42 as he did in his most recent Finals, is just not true.
Gonna go deeper in as well. It’s hilarious that CT insisted that they needed him for a puzzle. Yet they got a puzzle checkpoint, and CT spent the entire time silent, trying to catch his breath & drink water while his team timed out. He then sat directly under a water cooler and poured water on himself until the medical team took him away. Which, actually, we NEED to talk about that.
The fact that the medical team took CT away and then let the Orange Team continue without him was bullshit. Part of the difficulty of the Final is that they’re literally tethered together. Without CT, Orange picked up momentum that helped them catch up to Grey. Not only were they not penalized, but they gained an advantage. Likewise, CT basically got a 2nd break despite teams only being supposed to get 1 break, which they’d already used. So CT got to have two breaks, his team got cut the lead, and then he was able to rejoin at no cost. Now, if we really wanna conspiracize, we could throw out a not-crazy idea that production might’ve dropped CT off before he rejoined — which, if that was the case, makes his temporary removal even more ludicrous. Even if not, CT got an additional break and was allowed to run/walk without a tether. Ultimately, none of this may matter because Part 2 of this Final might make Day 1 irrelevant. Regardless, the CT situation was ludicrous.
2 Powerful Women
Might as well call them team Grey Goose because they had a top-shelf performance based on what we saw on Day 1. Yes, they timed out on some checkpoints, but the ladies on the Grey Team were badass physically.
Adrienne was a badass captain; she showed no sign of weakness throughout the process and was a great motivator for her team. While Lete might’ve stumbled on their 1st attempt on the balance board portion — she was an absolute horse for their team. She got up and down the course during the brick-carrying section and made up for Cassidy & [redacted], who had slowed down a bit. Her height was a massive help at multiple checkpoints, including a puzzle where they would not have been able to reach the top points. Also, she supported Cassidy and helped keep pushing her as Cassidy began to fade.
To which, I have to note, Cassidy was getting gassed, but it shouldn’t be surprising because this is her first ever Final. Given everything, I was still impressed by Cassidy.
1 Orange You Glad You’re Still In It
Tori Deal is a total workhorse. She kept pushing the pace for her team, and she has the gas to run multiple Finals. Some fans will criticize Tori for pushing too hard — except if she relented, I think those men would be just as sore & tired while being further from victory. I live in the Phoenix area and run every day, even in the Summer. When the Sun is kicking my ass — walking or stopping often feels worse than running because it means I’m just getting fried like an egg out there. Obviously, you have to be aware if someone is going to pass out — except Tori basically didn’t care because, as she said, if it’s a medical DQ, you move on. It’s a dog-eat-dog world, and Tori is focused on winning. Something I am curious about regarding Tori is that she displayed so much puzzle prowess & improved on Season 40. Yet this season, she’s never taken the lead on any puzzles, even though she proved she could win them solo on 40. It’s weird.
Someone who did step up with the puzzles was Will. Although Will’s knee is about to explode, he was a big help to the team throughout Day 1. Bananas was sore, and Michele messed up the balance board once, but they were solid for the most part.
Given everything, all I hope is we don’t get a completely fucky finish next week. It’s already a bit fucky, though.
