As we draw closer to the Battle Of The Exes finale, last week’s episode was definitely the most interesting… at least from a strategic perspective.
We left off with a cliffhanger about who CT and Diem would send into the Dome to face off against Ty and Emily. While the editing actually made it look like CT and Diem were considering throwing Johnny/Camila or Mark/Rob in, this was never really a possibility because of the alliance that the three have maintained since the beginning of the game. This meant that Dunbar and Paula were forced to face off against The Real World DC alum. It was definitely a match-up that had been built up for weeks, given Paula’s blossoming relationship with Ty and the fact that Paula and Dunbar had picked Ty/Emily to go into the Dome earlier in the season. Given the racial misunderstanding between Ty and Emily last week, I was quite invested in seeing what happened.
The Dome itself was pretty lackluster. It involved the girls facing off to grab a ball from one end of the floor and take it to the other so that they would have to meet in the middle and presumably face off in order to get past their opponent. The guys would then do the same thing. I would have preferred something more physical if only to see Emily take out her frustrations on Paula. Not much really to write about. Ty and Emily both won their heats sending Paula and Dunbar home.
The next group challenge was very cool as the teams were taken to a private airfield and told to grab lawn items that were placed in front of a plane and set them back up right in front of the plane’s propeller that was gusting wind at them. Because CT and Diem were the power couple, they had the advantage of selecting the order and in what was the most unbelievable moment of the season… chose to have Johnny and Camila go first.
This was a shockingly aggressive maneuver and while I can respect the strategy of putting the strongest team first, there were many chances that Johnny and Camila had to put CT and Diem (their strongest competition) in the line of fire and chose not to. As a result, I felt like CT and Diem owed them one. You can’t deny the genius of the move though as Johnny and Camila stumbled around and look hapless in a challenge for the first time this season.
Ty and Emily did a good job in the challenge capitalizing from the lessons they learned from the first teams error. Ultimately, however, CT and Diem were dominant for the second challenge in a row and repeated their reign as the power couple with Johnny and Camila heading straight into the area. It was a terrible position to be in for a couple who has dominated all season.
Just like last week, we were left with a cliffhanger decision from CT and Diem, but luckily, this week they told us who would be heading into the Dome. While I fully expected CT and Diem to pick Ty and Emily considering that they are relative newbies to the Challenges while the other teams have played with CT and Diem before, I was STUNNED by their decision to nominate Mark and Robin to square off against Johnny and Camila. Mark had never been nominated into an elimination challenge before and I know that he is quite close with Diem. The decision stunned me because with the drop of a hat, the game’s most powerful duo was left with the unfortunate task of facing each other with only the winner advancing to the finale.
Let’s call a spade a spade. My dream finale would have been Johnny/Camila vs. CT/Diem vs. Mark/Robin but I guess an argument can be made for Mark and Robin having to earn their spot there given how many Dome challenges Ty/Emily had won to be there. There is also no doubt that Johnny would have saved Mark and Mark would have saved Johnny so perhaps that’s what caused CT and Diem to make the decision that they did.
Anyway, that’s where we are with tonight’s episode being the last before the finale. Who will move on? My money is on Johnny and Camila. It just sucks because I loved Mark and Robin this season.
Rankings!
#1
CT & Diem
We finally have a new #1. While their relationship has been tumultuous this season, CT and Diem have finally found their stride heading into the Final Challenge and that isn’t good news for the other teams. While I wish they would have protected Mark and Robin, their brilliant strategy over the last two weeks can’t be faulted.
#2
Johnny Bananas & Camila
While I thought that a win was inevitable for Johnny and Camila, they have looked much weaker in the last two episodes. I am quite sure that they will beat Mark and Robin and I hope that their recent struggles will only fuel them into another powerful performance in the final challenge. Whether you love him or hate him, you have to admire Johnny’s dominance in this MTV Challenges. It’s truly remarkable that he almost always manages to find a way to the end. Even though they are in danger at the top of this week’s episode, their previous victories still put them in the #2 position.
#3
Ty & Emily
I like Emily and Ty has done much better this season that he has in previous versions, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I wanted the other teams to win more. Can’t really argue with a trip straight to the finals though.
#4
Mark & Robin
I can’t believe Mark’s record of not going into an elimination challenge is over. He is a legend. I don’t think we will see him on a Challenge again and I hope MTV gives him the send-off he deserves. If he does beat Johnny in the Dome tonight, it will be one of the greatest upsets in reality TV history.
And now for a special treat. I will be interviewing Diem Brown TONIGHT on The Murtz Show immediately after Battle Of The Exes airs on the East Coast. If you’d like to check it out or ask Diem a question, just click HERE at 11 PM Eastern, 8 PM Pacific.
The Challenge: Battle Of The Exes airs Wednesdays at 10 pm on MTV & MTV Canada
