On this season of The Challenge, it all comes down to gold skulls, as host T.J. Lavin has ruled contestants can’t run his final without one. Now, with all five of the men’s gold skulls secured, the remaining, skull-less male contestants are feeling the heat. Their only recourse to have a shot at the one million dollar prize is to steal a skull, so it’s time for the strategizing to begin.
After their shameful performance last week, episode 8 was a redemption for the men of The Challenge: Double Agents. In week’s brutal "All Brawl" challenge, it came down to Kam and Kyle versus CT and Big T. Killer Kam easily took out Big T and Kyle won his round with CT, making Kam and Kyle Double Agents for a second time. At elimination, Kam and Kyle (who both already have skulls) nominated Nany and Josh to go up against the house vote, Amber M. and Mechie, and Josh easily crushed Mechie in their elimination challenge. This was a major turning point, as there are now no more men’s skulls up for grabs. The remaining men—CT, Cory, Darrell, and Nam—are going to have to steal a skull from Kyle, Devin, Fessy, Leroy, or Josh if they want to run the final.
CT is a legend on The Challenge and is a smart competitor. He knows that no one in the house wants him to be in the final, so he long ago accepted the fact that he’ll have to win a challenge and nominate himself to go into the crater. CT is well aware of his strengths and weaknesses, so he probably won’t go after giants Fessy, Leroy, or Josh. In this week’s challenge, fans and fellow castmates theorize that he strategically let Kyle win, so knowing that he could have beaten him once before, CT will likely go after Kyle’s skull.
At the start of the season, Cory, Nelson, and Fessy were good friends on and off the show, but after a brutal Hall Brawl elimination challenge, Fessy sent Nelson home and created some major bad blood with his former friend group. Fessy may be a beast, but Cory’s not exactly small himself, and he may see going up against Fessy as a way to gain a skull and get revenge at the same time. There’s a good chance that Cory will try to steal Fessy’s skull.
Nam is a laid back guy who doesn’t really have beef with anyone in the house. He is one of the strongest men in the competition, so he’d have a decent shot against any of the current skull holders. But Leroy did just send Nam’s friend Jay home in elimination, so if Nam decides not to go the easy route by picking Kyle or Devin, he could go after Leroy’s skull.
Darrell is a bit of a wild card. He hasn’t been a part of any major drama and has so far kept a low profile in the competition. But who he tries to steal a skull from could come down to his partner. Amber B. is part of the Big Brother alliance, and Darrell and Amber B. as a team have worked hard not to break that alliance. This means Amber B. would likely steer Darrell away from fellow Big Brother alums Fessy and Josh, and Darrell will likely chose either Kyle or Devin.
While there are still skulls up for grabs among the women, things between the men are about to get messy. But it wouldn’t be The Challenge without some back-stabbing.