A new year is upon us; and with it, a new of season of America’s unofficial fifth sport The Challenge. This season has brought in competitors from outside the states and even outside the network to compete, which shows how much the show is expanding. The show starts out with the competitors descending from a plane onto what looks like a soccer field. TJ introduces the show to the competitors, and Cory questions what a Vendetta is. He then points out some of the Vendettas, such as Cara Maria vs. Kailah and Leroy vs. Britni/Veronica. Most people tend to favor Kailah in her feud with Cara Maria, but I lean the other way. While throwing Cara Maria in was a good game move, it was breaking an alliance the two had and Kailah would not own up to going along with it (from what we saw on XXX: Dirty 30) when the two talked later that night. She also constantly claims to not be scared of Cara Maria, but to break an alliance with someone so you don’t have to face them would indicate that at the very least you seem them as your biggest threat to winning. After hashing out the Vendettas, TJ announces that the first challenge starts now. Each competitor will have to run up to the top of mountain on Gibraltar, including having to stay in the tunnels overnight. Whoever reaches the top first will receive $25,000 for their bank account, but the last place male and last place female will be eliminated.

Devin leading the pack to the first daily mission.

As they start, Ex On the Beach cast member Joss races out to an early lead; with Nelson, Zach, and Tony behind him. Joss’ Vendetta is ex-girlfriend and castmate Kayleigh, whom he cheated on. Nicole Ramos is struggling the most early on, looking as if she is about to vomit. Devin is not far behind the leaders, and claims to have gotten in shape this season. Joss is the first to the base in the tunnels and finds that each competitor must grab a box and stand in a circle for six hours. This opening challenge seems more difficult than basically every final pre-Fresh Meat II, but if they are going to eliminate the last two finishers it makes sense to make it super difficult. While in the tunnel, Marie starts hitting on Geordie Shore star Kyle, which Cara Maria does not appreciate. Kyle also says his vendetta is with Ex on the Beach cast member Rogan O’Connor, due to a twitter spat over an ex-girlfriend Rogan hooked up with. Love seems to be in the air in this tunnel, because after this we get a shot of Bananas awkwardly asking to touch Big Brother 18 cast member Natalie’s “box.” Natalie’s Vendetta is fellow Big Brother cast member Victor Arroyo, whom she evicted from the house. Bananas is single for the first time in five years, and probably has been told by MTV another Exes season is coming up and he’s going to need a partner. Britni also joins in on the love tunnel vibe, commenting on how attractive Brad looks holding his box.

Bananas’ flirting game seems like it may be a bit out of date.

The time eventually runs out, and the competitors start to depart based on how they finished. They also have not been allowed to sleep, which makes this challenge even more grueling. Joss leaves first, followed by Zach and Nelson. Eventually everyone leaves with Nicole R being the only one left. Ex On the Beach cast member Melissa is in 18th place. Her Vendetta is also Kayleigh, whom she suffered a falling out with after Melissa slept with Kayleigh’s boyfriend. Rogan is currently in 17th place, but looks to be absolutely dying. He’s taken off his shirt and is huffing and puffing like Big Easy. Right behind him is Cara Maria, Jemmye, and Kailah. I had Cara Maria and Kailah as my top two competitors on the female side and Jemmye in last, so this is not looking good for my preseason power rankings. Nicole is still in last, and looks like she is about to pass out. Joss then crosses the finish line, winning the first challenge and $25,000. Zach comes in second and Shane in third. Nicole Zanatta is the first of the girls and fourth overall, with Natalie behind her.

Joss finishing first.

A bit farther down the mountain, Rogan is really struggling. He eventually starts staggering back and forth and falls over. Bananas ends up finishing in 17th place, a far fall from his hot start to last season. Melissa starts vomiting after she finished. Rogan ends up falling and calling for a medic, and explains that he hurt his back a while ago and it is flaring up again. Kayleigh ends up finishing in 26th place, locking in Rogan and Nicole R as the bottom two and going home. Here are the final results from the first daily mission (6–12 were not shown finishing, so with those ones it is just guessing based on the edit):

1. Joss

2. Zach

3. Shane

4. Nicole Z

5. Natalie

6. Nelson

7. Leroy

8. Cory

9. Devin

10. Brad

11. Tony

12. Victor

13. Kam

14. Kyle

15. Cara Maria

16. Eddie

17. Bananas

18. Melissa

19. Jemmye

20. Kailah

21. Sylvia

22. Veronica

23. Britni

24. Alicia

25. Marie

26. Kayleigh

27. Nicole R

28. Rogan

Rogan wiped out on the side of the road.

I may have really overestimated how much the girls could compete with the guys in a prospective final, eleven out of the bottom fourteen spots were girls. I really hate the combining of the genders for the final this season, it seems like it will result in either tones down athletic competition or the girls never really competing for the top of the standings. I’d be happy to be proven wrong, but as of right now it’s not looking good for the women of the season.

Eat 6 Hard-Boiled Eggs while mimicking a competitor in the house has to be the most random task ever.

After TJ dismisses Nicole R and Rogan (it appears there will be no Redemption House this season), he announces the cast will be living in Marbella, Spain. The cast then rushes to the villa to pick rooms, which is an underrated choice as it often determines who is in which alliance. Cara Maria, Veronica, Jemmye, and Britni all are in the dark blue room together, and Shane puts himself into the light blue room with Brad, Nelson, Joss, Devin, and Victor. Nelson and Cory, whom are as close as any alliance in the house, decide to go in different rooms so they can hear what other competitors are saying. Kailah asks everyone what the “Troika” is, as it appears on what looks like a Bingo board on the wall of the house. Cory notices what looks like a leaderboard from the Battle of the Seasons/Battle of the Sexes days of The Challenge. I have always wanted them to reimplement the points system used there and allow competitors to “spend” their points on things such as switching teams for a daily mission or gaining immunity from elimination. I’m thinking it probably keeps track of everyone’s bank accounts, but I guess we shall see once The Challenges get going. They also notice the deliberation room has three screens, causing even more suspicion (maybe that is where the troika comes into play?)

If these three combine forces, we could be looking at a female JEK.

Bananas continues hitting on Natalie, saying he will be her future husband, to which she responds future ex-husband. Bananas always has had a thing for Latinas (Nany, Camila), so the fact he’s going for Natalie, who is Venezuelan, is not a surprise. We then get a cut of Britni already getting handsy with Brad. The last time Brad was on was when he won Cutthroat on the same team as then wife Tori Hall. He and Tori have since divorced and now spend their time sending petty tweets to each other on Twitter. Not wanting to be left out of the mix, Cory says he has come into the house in a relationship with Alicia Wright from Are You the One? Season 5. Cory’s a new dad, but that news broke after the season had been filmed so I don’t expect any mention of it here. However, Cory mentions that relationships can hurt you in this game, so they are trying not to be too up front with how committed they are to the rest of the house. Alicia’s Vendetta is former best friend Kam, after she slept with her perfect match Eddie before they went to the honeymoon suite

Britni sure seems to like the bearded dad type.

We then cut back to Brad and Britni, where some of the other cast members (Zach, Veronica, Kailah, Nelson, and Jemmye) talk about Britni is a way better fit for Brad than Tori. Brad and Britni start making out by the side of the house, to which Leroy remarks they are “like teenagers on Spring Break.” They then start hooking up in the bathroom. We then get a clip of Cory and Kam going at it, with Kam telling him to watch whom he attracts. Back in the Purple Room (which appears to Bananas, Leroy, and probably some others.) Cara Maria remarks to Natalie that Bananas is charming and can get to you, which Marie does not appreciate. Marie takes Natalie aside and tells her Cara Maria is a “mean girl” and should be watched out for.

Hopefully El Fit Vic has learned from his Big Brother failures.

After a commercial break, we get a clip of Victor talking to Joss. He tells Joss that “less is more” and keeping a low profile will get you further in the game. Victor was known for getting evicted three times on one season of Big Brother, so hopefully he has gained some political skills since then. He and Joss then seem to make a deal to align themselves together, which could help Victor a lot if Joss continues to perform. Alicia then says how she is an awful politician and will just do what Cory does, which means she’ll probably be gone by Episode 4. Marie looks very intoxicated, and start to seek out Kyle. They then start to make out in front of the whole house. Cory and Cara Maria are returning from the pool, and Cara looks visibly annoyed that Marie got to Kyle first. Kyle says is angry at himself for making out with Marie, and he would have gone with Cara Maria from the get go if he had the choice. We then get the seasonal Bananas toast, which ends this first episode. Now onto the ranks, which need some serious revision after how awful my preseason rankings were.

Eliminated:

Rogan: Short first stint on The Challenge for Rogan, and maybe also his only one.

Nicole R: Nicole’s strengths have never been physical, and it looks like this might be her last go around on the show.

Power Rankings:

26) Eddie (-4): The fact he didn’t get a single confessional and seemingly didn’t say a word the whole episode despite being a part of the primary love triangle on the season makes me think he’s gone quick and it is not from an elimination.

25) Kayleigh (+1): She moves up by the virtue of the fact that two people are gone and it appears one more will follow them soon, but she needs to make some serious political moves if she wants to last in this game.

24) Marie (-3): While endurance has never been Marie’s strength, she really did not look good climbing up that mountain and trying to rally the new girls to take down Cara Maria could really backfire.

23) Alicia: She is linked to the competitor who was public enemy #1 last season, and she did not impress on the initial climb.

22) Melissa (+5): I was surprised by Melissa’s performance on the climb, finishing fifth overall for the girls. If she can keep up her performance and not ruffle the wrong feathers she could hang around for a while.

21) Sylvia (-1): Not much from Sylvia, although if Nicole Z keeps up her performance Sylvia could be in trouble early.

20) Victor (+4): He performed well in the mission and looks to have learned from his failings on Big Brother, but we’ll see how he does once people start getting hit.

19) Jemmye (+9): Jemmye was horrible in the competitions last season, but she looked like she has spent some time in the gym this offseason. She’s always been a good politician, so if her athleticism is really improved she could last a while.

18) Veronica (-8): I was optimistic for Veronica this season, and her dropping so much is more a result of the competitors behind her impressing than anything else. However, she did look a bit out of shape and needs to make some steadfast alliances.

17) Cory (-3): He didn’t die on the mountain, and considering his struggles in endurance competitions that is a plus, but he still is in one of the worst political situations in the house and needs to start piecing together some past broken alliances.

16) Kyle (-3): Getting in the middle of the Marie-Cara Maria feud could hurt him in the long run and he was not impressive on that mountain run.

15) Britni (+1): She didn’t do great on the daily mission, but aligning with dominant players like Brad and Cara Maria could really help out her game.

14) Tony (+1): He didn’t et much screen time this episode, but that’s probably the best for his long-term outlook.

13) Natalie (+4): She placed second amongst the females in the first daily mission, and cuddling up to the face of the franchise seems like it could pay off huge long term.

12) Kam: A fourth place finish amongst the women is nothing to sneeze, at and she seemed to be vibing with Leroy and Bananas which would be great for her long-term outlook.

11) Joss (+7): I was tempted to move Joss even higher, but he has a huge target on his back now. Winning this type of daily mission shows he is a legit threat to win a final if he gets there.

10) Devin (+1): Devin looks to be in much better shape, and if he can let the Banana Boat and the Young Bucks to pick off each other while he flies under the radar he could be set for a long stay in Gibraltar.

9) Kailah (-3): Finishing in 10th did not look good when endurance is supposed to be one of her best attributes, and having newcomers like Kam and Natalie look so impressive means her game could be in trouble. Her evaluation as a competitor has always been more about attributes rather than track record, so she needs to start showing those attributes more consistently.

8) Shane: He looked good in the first daily mission, and people forget he and Brad were closely aligned on Battle of the Sexes 2. Living in the same room with Nelson, who has never been one to hide his emotions, could either elevate his game or sink it.

7) Leroy: He did well in the first daily mission, and doesn’t have anyone gunning for him.

6) Bananas (-5): Quite the fall for the Banana man, but he really did not look good on that mountain. I have faith in him to recover, but until he does he falls a bit.

5) Nicole Z (+4): She killed that daily mission, and if she keeps performing this way she could become the top dog for the girls.

4) Nelson (+1): Although being Cory’s top ally puts a target on his back, he’s still the favorite in a physical elimination against pretty much anybody.

3) Cara Maria (-1): I’m not as worried about her performance as Bananas’ but it still was not good. However, it looks like she may have more allies than it looked like coming with Britni, Natalie, and Kam at her side and she has underperformed on opening challenges before and then come back vigorously afterwards.

2) Brad (+1): It’s hard to evaluate Brad’s opening performance since we didn’t see him finish, but he looks to be in as good of shape as ever and his experience should carry him politically.

1) Zach (+2): Endurance has always been seen as Zach’s weakness, but I always felt like that’s not really fair since he was very good on the Battle of the Seasons final and his failure on the Free Agents final seemed to be due a lot more to elevation rather than his own stamina. While he’s not as big as he once was, that could be to his benefit in the long run.