The Challenge: World Championship recap: Tori and Danny finally get on the same page
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It's taken nine episodes, but one The Challenge: World Championship team finally stopped fighting each other and started working together in this week's episode. And the thing Tori and Danny finally agreed on is... to nominate themselves for elimination?! Yes, that's really what happened. Let's recap how we got here, shall we?
There's not much that happens before the teams suit up for the challenge. With Jody and Benja getting eliminated last week, team Argentina is finally gone. But since they weren't ever really in power, that doesn't change much in the house. Where things are really getting spicy is how Team Australia keeps shooting friendly fire at each other, and how Tori and Danny still can't stop fighting. They really regret picking each other as partners, and it's absolutely hilarious how stubborn they both are.
The Challenge: Highway Hijacking
For some reason, Anthony Ramos from Transformers: Rise of the Beasts introduces this week's challenge... but I guess it makes more sense than Puss in Boots: The Last Wish! In "Highway Hijacking," one player jumps from a speeding semi-truck to another semi-truck to grab a key, jump back to the first semi-truck, race to the front, and unlock and hit a detonator. Meanwhile the other player will be strapped into a four-wheel ATV inside the truck, and once the detonator is hit, they will drive through the back wall and race to the finish line. This challenge looks incredibly fun no matter which job you do.
Theo and Sarah go first, with Theo running on top of the trucks and Sarah driving. They finish pretty quickly, and their time isn't displayed so you already know it's going to be tough determining which team does the best. Yes and Emily go next, with Yes on top and Emily in the truck. Emily crosses the finish line, but then she crashes and rolls the car a few times. Not going to lie, I thought she was about to get medically DQed here because that crash looked gnarly. The crew and medics rush over immediately to help her out of the car, but she's totally fine — she walks away with just a little whiplash. Talk about lucky!
All the other teams complete the challenge without any issues until Danny and Tori go last, and Tori tries to end her run by doing a donut after crossing the finish line — she definitely learned a thing or two from Jordan. Luckily, she also walks away without any injuries, and TJ gives her and Emily props for getting back up after crashing.
TJ announces Theo/Sarah and Jordan/Kaz are the top two teams, with Jordan and Kaz having the best overall time. They not only win the challenge but also get two tickets to the world premiere of the new Transformers movie — which is nowhere near as good as the cash prize they usually get from a Burger King-sponsored challenge. As for the losers, Kiki/Darrell had the worst time, so they're heading straight into elimination.
Back at the house, KellyAnne tries to get Emily and Yes to nominate Theo and Sarah, which is a plan that's dead on arrival. But KellyAnne keeps trying her hardest, and when she can't convince Kaycee and Troy to go for that plan, she turns around and tells Yes and Emily to vote for Kaycee and Troy. KellyAnne's a savage!
Meanwhile, Jordan and Tori try to convince Danny and Sarah to vote for Emily/Yes and Tristan/KellyAnne, which seems to go over well. But Kaz and Theo aren't part of the conversation, and Sarah has no intention of voting for Emily. They also make a deal to use either Tori/Danny or Sarah/Theo as a pawn during the vote, knowing that Jordan won't choose either team for elimination, and it is decided by a game of rock/paper/scissors which Tori loses spectacularly. I think watching Tori lose is the most fun Danny's had with her all season.
Nominations
Tori kicks it off by voting for her own team and Tristan/KellyAnne, and Sarah/Theo and Emily/Yes vote the same. Kaycee/Troy vote for Yes/Emily and Sarah/Theo, and KellyAnne/Tristan vote for Sarah/Theo and Tori/Danny. Upstairs, Jordan isn't surprised to see their plan succeed, but Kaz wonders if they should consider throwing in Danny and Tori. Jordan doesn't even think before he shoots that down, which upsets Kaz. Tori's loyalty to Jordan is clearly reciprocated, which is exactly why Danny shouldn't be gunning for Jordan so hard!
Elimination
It's Tristan's birthday, so he and KellyAnne are hoping for a birthday miracle in the Arena. But Jordan and Kaz vote them into elimination against Kiki and Darrell. Brutal.
The elimination is "Hands Off," where players use giant chopsticks to carry Tetris-shaped puzzle pieces over a balance beam, and then complete the puzzle once all nine pieces are across the line. Tristan and KellyAnne get their first piece across while Kiki and Darrell drop theirs and have to start over. But Tristan and KellyAnne drop their second piece, giving Kiki and Darrell time to catch up.
Tristan and KellyAnne get into a groove and take the lead again as Darrell and Kiki start to struggle and panic, but they eventually get it tied up again. Ultimately Darrell and Kiki get their last piece across and start on the puzzle, but Tristan and KellyAnne aren't that far behind. It all comes down to the puzzle, and Kiki and Darrell absolutely crush it. They end up winning really quickly, and send KellyAnne and Tristan home — on his birthday!
It's a disappointing end for KellyAnne, who has been politicking like never before and pulling off some great moves this season with her back against the wall the whole time. But at least Tristan didn't let his illness end their game early. It's much better to go out fighting than through a medical DQ or a quit. And Darrell and Kiki keep proving themselves to be a strong team. Could Darrell finally be on his way to getting that elusive fifth win?!
The Challenge: World Championship debuts new episodes Wednesdays on Paramount+.
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