Takin' on 'The Challenge': The Big Mistake

Season 39 of The Alabama Take's favorite thing -- next to college football -- continues with Battle For a New Champion! This season is all about finding a first-time Challenge champ. Every week, devotees to The Challenge answer questions. Spoiler warning ahead!

This week we dealt with the fallout from the game entering the "Chaos" phase, with the house in shock after three-time Challenge champ Jordan was brought in as a surprise, promptly eliminated Ciarran and took $10k form the final prize pool. The daily split the house into three teams, with the winning team throwing Melissa into elimination. The house then voted in her good friend Big T. When they got there, T.J. brought in Challenge: U.K. and Challenge: World Championship winner Kaz to take on one of them in elimination. During the draw, she pulled Big T's name, letting Melissa off the hook. In an extremely tight battle, Big T prevailed and kept her place in the house while also keeping $10k in the final prize pool.

Question 1: We're six episodes deep into the season, do you have a better sense of some favorites now?

TD: I mean, I don't think I really have any clearer of an idea than I did in the first episode. Sure, people like Ciarran being eliminated clears out the muck a bit, but the changing format and shifting alliances make this season a bit harder to project. As I said earlier, Horacio seems like a favorite based on his performance last season, but who knows? Nurys seems like a sneaky pick, as well -- she's pretty good physically and has played a smart political game thus far.

Blaine: I'm a diehard of Horacio as both a fan and who he is as a competitor. His political game isn't fully developed, but when you're as good (and good-looking) as he is, maybe that's the least of his worries. And you have to believe in his former partner, too. Olivia made it to a final and was only DQ'ed due to a freak accident. She would've played on. She's tough, smart, and has a political game that flies under the radar and doesn't leave a mess.

Question 2: How do you like the daily challenges and eliminations this season?

TD: I like them a lot. The format lends itself to variety, which is always helpful. After a few seasons where the the challenges were more style than substance, the producers have gotten back into their bag for some good games.

Blaine: Usually my complaints about the daily competitions are that I didn't get the rules explained to me as well as I'd like or that it was hard to tell what was going on exactly. But I don't have those gripes this season. One of the many things that this show does well and makes it a staple of MTV is that the daily challenges tend to be fun to watch.

Question 3: After elimination, T.J. told the cast he'd see them "sooner than you think" -- what do you think he has up his sleeve?

TD: No idea, but the tease had some really shocked faces. It could just be an early morning wake up call for a daily challenge, or maybe T.J. has a surprise elimination or purge challenge up his sleeve.

Blaine: Yeah, this one got me, too. I assume the same as TD: that it's just going to be a particularly early challenge next time. But at some point, he's going to have to start eliminating players faster if a few more beat the old champions. That will leave more players than the show has weeks to air. I can't wait to see the other champions.