Battle of the Eras’ Almost Backfired

Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for ‘The Challenge: Battle of the Eras’.

The Big Picture

• The Challenge: Battle of the Eras
  debuted with 40 players from four eras to determine the greatest era of all time.
• A shocking purge on day one saw 32 players remaining with 8 facing elimination. Drama and tough decisions ensued.
• Emphasizing past relationships and alliances, the show delayed elimination challenges to build suspense and drama for viewers.

The Challenge: Battle of the Eras kicked off the season by collecting the biggest group of players in Challenge history. 40 vets from four eras were sent to Vietnam to help determine which Era is the greatest of all time. In a shocking purge on day one, the cast of 40 was forced to endure The Era Invitational to even compete in the season. 32 players will remain as 8 are about to be eliminated. But thankfully, the show that knows how to spread a moment over multiple episodes, did exactly that. Thankfully, The Challenge decided to delay the elimination challenges to the second episode, allowing another week of seeing all 40 competitors. For viewers watching, this was their chance to be able to see some of their favs return, especially from the early eras. But the prospect of watching them go home before the game started would have been a let down. For a season that wanted to honor the past, they elongated the present into the future. And it was the best decision possible.

The Challenge has been an MTV staple since 1998. Originally bringing personalities from The Real World and Road Rules to embark in silly games, The Challenge has expanded by bringing fresh meat and faces from various IPs together for heated drama and juicy hookups. The Challenge: Battle of the Eras celebrates the 40 seasons of the flagship series as 40 players from the four eras are enduring the toughest battle yet.

‘The Challenge: Battle of the Eras’ Kicked Off the Drama

With four teams comprised of 10 players from each era, The Challenge: Battle of the Eras takes the title and turns it on its head. As TJ Lavin shared, each team would be losing a male and female competitor to determine the 32 main players of the season. In the first challenge, the players had a lake-based battle where the top two male and female competitors from each era were automatically safe while the bottom two male and female competitors were automatically up for elimination. It was then revealed the top two from each era would select the next two individuals who would be up for elimination. Since the show wanted to keep the night juicy, the players had to put their past behind them and hope they could work together in the future. While it’s unclear whether the eras will continue to work against one another or reconvene as a team, the decisions coming out of night one are crucial.

Here’s a reminder of how things shook up. For Era 1, comprised of Seasons 1 through 10, CT Tamburello and Rachel Robinson were victorious with Mark Long and Katie Cooley automatically going into the Arena. For Era 2, comprised of Seasons 11 through 20, Johnny Bananas and Laurel Stucky were victorious with Ryan Kehoe and KellyAnne Judd automatically going into the Arena. For Era 3, comprised of Seasons 21 through 30, Cory Wharton and Tori Deal were victorious with Leroy Garrett and Nia Moore automatically going into the Arena. For Era 4, comprised of Seasons 31 through 39, Horacio Gutiérrez and Michele Fitzgerald were victorious with Theo Campbell and Nurys Mateo automatically going into the Area. In some purge situations on The Challenge, those eight bottom individuals might be cut without a chance to save themselves. Not here. Not only do they get to pitch who their opponent might be, but they also then have a chance to compete to save themselves. It allowed some weaker, and potentially older, individuals to have a second chance.

It was exciting to watch the high-stakes action in a visually stunning battle and then have the players at risk plead their case. But it was going to be a letdown to see 8 players leave so quickly. Thankfully, how the first challenge shook out, instant drama was created. Strong players didn’t necessarily prove themselves. Political players found themselves in positions of power. Cross-era alliances were used as leverage. Long-standing rivals were forced to let bygones be bygones. And this is just the beginning of the season!

‘The Challenge: Battle of the Eras’ Had To Be Two Parts

The best part of how this first episode broke down is The Challenge: Battle of the Eras didn’t skimp on sharing the full story. It wasn’t a quick chat to determine the second players to compete in the Arena; everyone, safe players and individuals at risk got to speak their minds. They put their strategy on the table and let the rest of the team riff off of it. For this landmark season, this is what the viewers deserved. By allowing each era to deliberate on their own also allowed no outside influences from other teams to impact the decision. With cross-era bonds, you were only as strong as your pitch and the people around you.

With Era 1, old school mentality came into play as, on the male side, Derrick Kosinski volunteered to go into The Arena. With the men having bonds that go back nearly 20 years, they proved that nice guys don’t always finish last. At the same time, none of them were willing to risk said friendships just to make it a day longer. In Era 2, the neverending rivalry of Laurel and Cara Maria Sorbello came to fruition once again. Easily the team with the strongest roster of women, the two had to decide whether it was best for Laurel to put Cara up for elimination or use her as a strong resource. The fact that these two were willing to potentially work as a team might have been the most jaw-dropping moment so far.

For Era 3, a massive mess was about to be created due to conflicting friendships and furious enemies. Cory and Tori have tight bonds with Devin Walker-Molaghan and Jordan Wiseley, so it seems like a shoo-in for Tony Raines, Cory’s previous fight partner, to be put in elimination. When it comes to the women, Amanda Garcia has never gotten along with most of the players on her team, but she tried to sway Cory to save her with the connection over their friend Nelson Thomas, who tragically lost his leg in a car accident. But it didn’t seem to work. Finally, drama unfolded with Era 4. Horacio is in a relationship with Nurys. Nurys wants to face off against her rival Olivia Kaiser, but Olivia’s bestie in the game is Michele Fitzgerald. So will it be Michele or Horacio who gets the power in this situation? For the men, Theo and Paulie Calafiore have history and are willing to face off in the arena. Only Paulie’s connection to Cara could attract major drama in the next stage of the game.

Essentially, breaking the premiere into two parts allowed all the necessary drama to come out of the game. Had it all been truncated into a single episode, with eight elimination rounds to play, the premiere would have felt cheapened. Four eras and their history of the game influenced how their tribunal played out. Whether you’re a loyalist from day one or came in later in the flagship series’ run, this was an incredibly accessible entry into the season. The pacing was perfect. The stakes were high. And this is why The Challenge thrives. This is already a season filled with juicy drama and exceptional strategy.

The Challenge: Battle of the Eras airs new episodes on MTV every Wednesday at 8:00pm. Episodes of The Challenge are available to stream on Paramount+ in the U.S.

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