Do The Stars Really Have a Shot at Evening The Challenge Score?
April 24, 2018Is a third straight victory for the Champs written in the Challenge stars? It certainly seemed like the case at Season 3 the get-go, but The Stars may have just successfully foiled their opponents’ plans.
On tonight’s Champs vs. Stars episode, The Stars began to wise up to the fact that even though the game had been divided into two mixed teams (for the first time, Champs and Stars have been competing together), The Champs are nevertheless angling to eliminate The Stars one by one.
“This week, we have to get the numbers, and then we’ll be able to help each other,” Casper Smart of The Stars said. “Because at the end of the day, that’s what they’re doing.”
And so, The Stars proceeded in solidarity. And after “Over the Edge,” which challenged Teams Red and Blue to a game of King Kong-sized shuffleboard, the Red Team was named the winner, and Ashley — a Champ — was deemed MVP. Immediately, she planned to throw teammate Brooke Hogan of The Stars into the elimination round to continue the trend of sacrificing The Stars’ strongest players.
But once it came time for Team Blue to choose its Arena representative, the whole game changed. Per Louise Hazel’s expert strategizing, Team Blue’s five Star members agreed to vote for Kam, while its five Champs voted for Hennessy. Louise knew a tie was inevitable, but crossed her fingers that it would give The Stars an advantage.
And she was right — the most recent Arena winner, Casper, was given the choice of sacrificial lamb, and he stuck with his vote: Kam was going in.
“The Champs take a lot of pride in the fact that they do this for a living, but they forget, I’m an Olympian,” Louise, who’d previously cut a deal with Wes, said after changing her tune. “It’s my job to assess who I’m going up against. I throw in Kam because I see Kam hanging off [The Stars’ Daniel “Boobie” Gibson], trying to manipulate him onto her side. This cannot happen. I see everything.”
And soon, Louise saw her plan succeed, as Brooke took out Kam in “Rock & Roll,” which challenged each competitor to push or pull a giant totem out of the Arena across one of her two designated sides. And Brooke’s victory was a huge morale boost for The Stars.
“It feels good to take somebody out from the opposite team, but it feels even better to know that it was a Champ,” Brooke said.
Later that night, Wes chided Louise for going back on her original plan to play by his rules, but she challenged him to rise to the occasion.
“I think it’s safe to say you’ve met your match in this one,” Louise said. “I’ve learned all of my moves from you, so technically you did that today.”
What do you think — does Kam’s elimination signal a turning point for The Stars, and do they really have a shot at winning? Or, is Brooke’s win an anomaly, and is it only a matter of time before The Stars lose their advantage again? Share your thoughts, and see how the next episode shakes down Tuesday at 10/9c!