MTV The 'Rage Cage' elimination in 'The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies' episode seven.
“The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies” ended on a cliffhanger after episode six and the seventh episode, which was also an hour long, moved forward several of those storylines in a drama-heavy episode. Titled “Uncle CT,” the episode was described as, “Agents are on edge when TJ comes to Headquarters with a stunning directive that changes the game. CT comes to a troubling realization about his partner, Berna. Players compete in the brutally epic elimination, ‘Rage Cage.'”
Warning: This article contains spoilers for the seventh episode of “The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies” which aired on September 22 at 8 p.m. Eastern and Pacific times.
The episode didn’t have a lot of action as the mission took place in the episode last week but it was instead filled with drama, politicking and a lot of conversations about Josh Martinez and Fessy Shafaat’s fight and friendship and Emy Alupei’s plan to get out of her rookie-rookie pair.
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The Episode Begins With the Immediate Aftermath of the Fight Between Josh & Fessy
The episode begins exactly where last week’s episode ended, with Josh and Fessy in mid-argument after Fessy pushes Josh away with a hand on his face. Josh then jumps up and down on the couch and calls out to Fessy in a singsong tone that he’ll be going home — likely not his proudest moment. It’s clear that Fessy is worried about what will happen as he stands apart quietly.
Josh is still really worked up and asks Kaycee Clark to choose between him and Fessy, then begins yelling at Tori Deal and Cory Wharton for instigating the fight. While many fans seemed to be on his side after Fessy’s move in episode four, this fight is not a good look for the “Big Brother” champ. Esther Biade, who threw her drink at Amber Borzotra, apologizes to the “Double Agents” champ for her actions but makes clear in her confessional that she thinks Amber is fake. Berna Canbeldek also really doesn’t like Amber but it’s not as clear why she feels so strongly about it.
Amanda Garcia also calls out Cory and Tori for instigating and Devin Walker jokes in his confessional, “You might not have any ‘Challenge’ championships Cory, but you definitely have a gold medal in instigating, congratulations. No one can do it quite like you.” Tori tells her co-stars she feels bad and didn’t expect it to get so out of hand while Cory is more defensive and says Josh is a grownup and should be able to control his emotions.
“If you thought that he wasn’t gonna f****** pop from that then you must not know Josh,” Amanda tells Tori then proceeds to roll her eyes at her response, making it clear to viewers that there are still some clear divides among the veteran competitors.
Fessy & Josh Are Quick to Sit Down & Talk Through What Happened & It’s Refreshing to See the Two Open Up
After the argument, Fessy heads upstairs to talk to Josh and immediately apologizes, setting the scene for an emotional talk between the two friends with Kaycee and Nany Gonzalez watching on. Josh tells Fessy he often feels like he’s put down by his friend and Fessy apologizes for hurting Josh.
All four friends are emotional during the conversation and it’s refreshing to see these players open up and show a more human side beyond the game. Their talk continues the following morning as Josh confesses, “As much as I joke and all that stuff, it eats me alive all the f****** time that I haven’t made a final.” Fessy tells Josh that his friend won “Big Brother” while he feels like he hasn’t won anything yet and has put a lot of pressure on himself to do so.
In his confessional, Fessy says he doesn’t often show his emotions and that leads people to believe he doesn’t have any but his tearful talks with Josh show otherwise and whether fans like Fessy or not, these scenes go a long way in making these stars more well-rounded and relatable and the growth is great to see. Time will tell how these two will work together in the future but it was nice to see their friendship arc play out on screen.
Emy Joins Some of the Veterans in an Alliance & Tells CT Tamburello She Wants Him as a Partner
Apart from the Fessy and Josh situation, the other major storyline during this hour-long episode is Emy’s desire to get out of her all-rookie pair and get her “dream partner,” CT Tamburello. CT, who is now referred to as Uncle CT by several cast members thanks to Emy, seems interested in switching partners as well and we see CT, Devin, Kyle Christie and Emy discussing the Romanian rookie joining their alliance.
As Tori and Ed Eason look on, Emy signs into their alliance with some hot sauce as she reveals in her confessional that she doesn’t want to leave the game without being partnered with Uncle CT first. However, viewers also find out that she told Berna she wouldn’t try to steal CT so we already have some foreshadowing of future drama if Emy’s plan is successful.
Fessy Is Sent Home & the Deliberations Are Very Straightforward From There
“Well, it’s never good when I come to the house,” TJ Lavin says as he gathers the cast members at the “Challenge” house. He gives Esther a warning for the drink throwing and also warns Josh about his behavior. “You gotta chill out, it’s embarrassing dude,” he tells Josh harshly and we can all feel the disappointment radiating from the well-respected longtime host.
TJ tells Fessy that he has to pack his bags and leave within 15 minutes and the next scenes are very touching as Josh reveals that Fessy is really hurting inside. It’s nice to see the flaws in the reality stars and to see them taking accountability so hopefully, they both learn from it and grow.
The deliberation starts with Tori and Cory apologizing for instigating the fight and Josh opening up about feeling bad, then we have a couple of funny comments from Kyle and Devin. “It’s heartbreaking that Fessy has to be deactivated and go home, I mean boohoo we’re all crying,” Kyle says sarcastically in his confessional. During the nominations, Devin interjects bluntly, “Let’s move on, Fessy’s gone, he’s not dead. He got deactivated from a game.” Esther is chosen to go into elimination and there isn’t much debate about it.
Emy Goes Into the Hall-Brawl-Style Elimination Against Esther After Some Speculation That Amber Might Go In
The next discussions in the house are all about who will go in against Esther, because Emy tells Emanuel Neagu, one-half of the Agency, that she wants to go in only if it’s physical. Kaycee tells her partner Emanuel that she’s tempted to put in Amber.
We’re reminded once again that CT is open to getting Emy as a partner because he doesn’t trust Berna. He tells Tori he thinks Berna’s doing too much and getting reckless and that’s not good for his game. This episode has been dominated by conversations without much action but after the confusing mission and several unconnected storylines last week, it’s been nice to see the stories moving along this episode and viewers get to see some character developments.
The elimination ends up being Rage Cage, a twist on the classic Hall Brawl except with the walls made from chicken wire instead of solid walls and the sand is covered in ropes. Once the competitor has run through their opponent, they need to climb the other side of the cage and ring the bell, with the first to two getting the win.
Emy is put in against Esther and their first contact seems brutal, with both GoPros flying off their helmets. The “Survivor Romania” star wins the elimination in two rounds although Esther is just inches away from getting the point in the second round. In her exit speech, Esther calls out Amber for being fake while Emy has an emotional celebration.
Predictably, Emy chooses Uncle CT as her partner, who pretends to be surprised by the decision. “I don’t blame Emy, if I was her, I would want Uncle CT as well,” Kyle says what we’re all thinking in his confessional. Berna is then paired up with Hughie Maughan but she makes her feelings clear and says she’s not upset by Emy choosing CT but about the lie.
The two have an argument about their friendship, with Berna saying she feels betrayed, but Emy calls her out and points out Berna was cheering for Esther to win anyway. The scene is set for yet another week with an obvious target in the rookie-rookie team but hopefully, it’s not much longer until the vets start turning on themselves.
“The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies” airs on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. Eastern and Pacific times on MTV.
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