Two Episodes Shake Up The Ratings
Real World Road Rules Challenge - The Duel
January 5, 2007 Rankings by Logan Huffman
This week, MTV gave us a double dose of 'The Duel'. On the first episode, Wes and Evan continued to plot against CT, as they thought he was the strongest competitor remaining.
At the challenge, the players had to team up, and one member of the team would swim down to an anchor, then back up to the air bubble to tell the other player three sets of four-digit numbers to memorize. The other player would then swim down to a treasure chest to use the numbers to unlock combination locks on the chest, ultimately releasing a ball from the chest to float to the surface and signify their win.
CT & Diem went first, and were disqualified after both players went down to the anchor. With a fifteen minute time limit on the challenge, Evan & Jodi were unable to complete it, and Brad & Aneesa came up a few seconds short. As the only team able to complete the challenge, Wes & Svetlana emerged as the winners, granting Wes safety and winning Svetlana a BMW motorcycle.
At selection, Evan was left out. He followed through on his deal with Wes, choosing CT as his competitor for the Duel, which was selected to be Ascender. But after his choice, Evan flipped out on Wes, feeling like a pawn on Wes's quest to victory.
At the Duel, Evan tried to draw a cheat sheet for the puzzle on his hand, but was forced to wipe it off. In the end, Evan cracked under the pressure, and his poor performance allowed CT to win the Duel and remain in the game.
On the next episode, Diem and CT continued their flirting, and also practiced in case Diem was forced to go into a Duel.
At the challenge, the players had to climb up a truss and grab flags on their way up, with each flag representing a point. The flag at the top in the middle was worth three-and-a-half points. At the end of all of the heats, whichever guy and girl had the most points would win the challenge.
Jodi & Svetlana raced against each other first, and Jodi won the first heat. Brad and Wes followed, with Brad winning heat two. Diem beat Aneesa in heat three, and before the heat, Aneesa told Diem that she would not select her to go into a Duel. Diem and Jodi battled it out in heat four, and Jodi emerged victorious, once again securing herself safety from the impending Duel. Brad & CT battled it out, and CT won, gaining a digital projector in the process.
At selection, Aneesa was left out, and was forced to choose between her friends Diem and Svetlana to take to the Duel with her. Aneesa ultimately decided to renege on her word, choosing Diem to battle it out in the Duel, which was selected to be 'I Can'.
At the Duel, the women went back and forth wagering which of them could lift the most coffee bags. Diem said she could lift 150 bags, prompting Aneesa to call her out on her bet. In the end, Diem was unable to budge the coffee bags, causing her to be eliminated from 'The Duel'.
With the outsiders even with the veterans, who will take control of the game in these final stages? Find out next time on 'The Duel'.
Jodi
Current Ranking: 1 - Previous Ranking: 2
Jodi moves up into the top position this week. Jodi is amazing in the challenges. She wins immunity every single time. I don't know if she will perform well in the Duels, but she may never have to compete in one. If Jodi can continue her winning streak and not pull an Evan, I think she will be in the finals with a strong chance to win.
CT
Current Ranking: 2 - Previous Ranking: 4
CT moves up two positions in the ranks this week. Although he lost his strongest ally, I think it will power CT even more to win for Diem. He did screw up in the sunken treasure challenge, but redeemed himself in the Duel. He did a great job in the flag challenge, and I think he has a strong chance of winning the entire competition.
Aneesa
Current Ranking: 3 - Previous Ranking: 6
Aneesa gains three positions this week. At this point, I really don't think it matters that she is an outsider. Going into a Duel will depend solely on who wins the challenges. Aneesa isn't that great at challenges, so I expect her to go into the Duels. But Aneesa is great at Duels, as she has already won three of them, and I think she could win another. Aneesa has a strong chance of winning the game.
Svetlana
Current Ranking: 4 - Previous Ranking: 7
Svetlana also gains three positions this week. I've stopped counting Svetlana out, as I think she has clearly proven herself at this point. She has won 'Push Me' twice, which is what I consider the most difficult Duel. Svetlana also won a BMW motorcycle in the sunken treasure challenge, and she and Wes were the only team able to complete it. I still think Aneesa could beat her in a Duel, but she may stand a chance against Jodi. Svetlana may be the dark horse of this competition.
Wes
Current Ranking: 5 - Previous Ranking: 8
Wes gains three positions this week. Wes has proven himself to be a tough competitor, both physically and strategically. He cleverly manipulated Evan into selecting CT to take into the Duel, guaranteeing that one of Wes' strongest competitors would be eliminated. By the time Evan discovered his plan, it was too late. Now that Evan is gone, Wes will have a hard time defeating CT, but may be able to beat Brad in the upcoming Duel, or better yet, secure himself another immunity win like he did this week. I do give Wes a lot of credit for being the only guy able to complete the challenge, and if Wes can keep that up, he may end up in the finals.
Brad
Current Ranking: 6 - Previous Ranking: 5
Brad drops into the last position on the scoreboard this week. He hasn't performed that well in the challenges, but he did defeat Eric in a Duel. I just think that both Wes and CT are stronger than him, and he may have a hard time defeating them in any Duel. Brad's time in Brazil may be coming to an end.
Diem
Fourteenth Elimination
I was sad to see Diem go. She was a tough competitor, and a tough woman in general. She and CT make a great couple, and hopefully, they will stick together even after the competition. I'm glad he was able to boost her self-confidence and was able to get Diem to come out of her shell (and wig). I had a feeling this was coming. Diem was the weakest girl remaining, and made it this far based on her strong allies more than anything else. She was gutsy to try and lift 150 coffee bags, but in the end, Aneesa didn't fall for Diem's mind tricks, and Diem became the fourteenth player to be eliminated from 'The Duel' after she was unable to lift 150 coffee bags in the 'I Can' Duel.
Evan
Thirteenth Elimination
I'm actually a little surprised to be writing this. Like Jodi, Evan had been winning challenge after challenge, always gaining immunity from the Duels. But this week, he cracked under the pressure. He may have performed a little better in the sunken treasure challenge if he had remained calm. He obviously doubted his abilities for the Duel, trying to get away with drawing the cheat sheet on his hand for the puzzle. Although he was neck-and-neck with CT, he cracked again while assembling the puzzle. The pressure overwhelmed Evan, as he became the thirteenth player to be eliminated from the Duel after coming up short to CT in the 'Ascender' Duel.
Kina
Twelfth Elimination
I am absolutely thrilled that Kina was finally eliminated. As you all know, I was not a fan of Kina. However, she did perform decently in the challenges throughout the season, and she held her own against Svetlana for quite a while. She put a good effort into the Duel, but Kina became the twelfth player to be eliminated after falling to Svetlana in the 'Push Me' Duel.
Eric
Eleventh Elimination
Eric had been on the chopping block for a while, and it seemed inevitable that he would be challenged to another Duel. I'm not so sure Brad was the right choice to challenge, as he probably would have had better luck against Wes (although he may have feared Wes after watching Wes's Pole Wrestle Duel with Derrick). Pole Wrestle seemed like it would be a good Duel for Eric; but apparently, he didn't know how to use his size to his advantage, opting to just lie on the pole instead. I'm honestly surprised Eric made it this far. After battling Brad in the Pole Wrestle Duel and coming up short, Eric was the eleventh player to be eliminated from 'The Duel'.
Robin
Tenth Elimination
Robin dug her own grave. After her drunken assault on Aneesa, she was practically begging Aneesa to challenge her to a Duel. She picked the wrong girl to attack, as Aneesa is a fierce competitor. Oh, and Robin, you know that silver hook attached to the puzzle piece bag? Pull it to make the puzzle pieces fall to the ground, dumbass! I will credit Robin for hugging Aneesa and at least making a small effort to make amends for her words. Robin created her own demise, as she became the tenth player to be eliminated from 'The Duel' after being challenged by Aneesa and losing to her in the 'Ascender' Duel challenge. All I have to say is "Good Riddance!"
Derrick
Ninth Elimination
Derrick has been on many of these challenges, and despite his fierceness, he always comes up short. If another Duel besides 'Pole Wrestle' had been chosen, he may have beaten Wes, but his smaller size hindered him in 'Pole Wrestle'. Nevertheless, he did put up quite a fight. Despite being an amazing competitor time after time, Derrick came up short once again, becoming the ninth person to be eliminated from 'The Duel'.
Beth
Eigth Elimination
How could this happen to my Beth? How? I'm crushed. Oh wait, she'll surely be back next season, as she always provides extreme drama. Alright, I'm OK now. I hated to see Beth go out like that, as she totally overpowered Svetlana, but as the rules said, the flag had to be unclipped. It looked pretty easy to rip off, and I suspect her mistake could have happened to anyone. I wish they had gotten 'Pole Wrestle' as the Duel, and Beth would have won hands down. Despite all of her efforts and brilliant alliances and scheming, Beth became the eighth person to be eliminated from 'The Duel'.
Nehemiah
Seventh Elimination
Nehemiah got extremely unlucky. If nearly any other Duel challenge had been selected other than "I Can", Nehemiah probably would have won. Eric has probably 100 extra pounds on Nehemiah, and that was just too much for Nehemiah to overcome, especially in a challenge involving lifting. Beth's "Tenderoni" is no more, as Nehemiah became the seventh player to be eliminated from 'The Duel' after Eric successfully lifted all 165 of the logs for five seconds.
Casey
Sixth Elimination
While I really wanted to see Casey kick Robin's ass, we all knew what was going to happen, especially after Pole Wrestle was revealed to be 'The Duel' game. Although Casey did hold on, she looked like a little toy being dragged around by a dog. I know she was terrified of heights, but being that she didn't really have anyone to keep her safe, she should have at least attempted a jump in the platform challenge. Casey was probably the weakest girl, and despite all of her heart, she was the sixth contestant eliminated from 'The Duel'.
Kenny
Fifth Elimination
Kenny had a rough time. Although he is athletic, his strength paled in comparison to many of the other guys'. For whatever reason, Nehemiah decided that Kenny was the person he wanted to take to a duel, and even though I thought Kenny would surely win, Nehemiah proved me wrong, quickly stomping Kenny in the Ascender. Kenny was the fifth player to be eliminated from 'The Duel'.
Paula
Fourth Elimination
Even though Paula fell short in 'The Duel', she really impressed me with her toughness against Aneesa, one of the strongest and fiercest girls on the show. She held off Aneesa for an amazing eight minutes, which was something I didn't think Paula possessed the ability to do. If she hadn't been a Key West cast member, she may have made it much further into the competition. Despite her best efforts, Paula was the fourth player to be eliminated from 'The Duel'.
Tyler
Third Elimination
Even though Tyler tried his hardest, there is only so much you can do when everyone is against you. Tyler was the third person to be eliminated from 'The Duel' after challenging Derrick to a duel, and losing to Derrick in the ascension duel challenge.
Tina
Expelled
Tina was expelled from 'The Duel' after she lost her cool and punched Beth in the face. She was stupid for doing it, as she basically let Beth win the battle, and she just looked immature in the process. Tina's actions destroyed her chances at $150,000, making her the second person eliminated from 'The Duel'.
John
Eliminated: Episode 1
John was the first contestant to be eliminated from 'The Duel' after Tyler challenged him, and John unsuccessfully doubted Tyler's ability to lift thirty-one watermelons in 'The Duel' challenge.
Logan is a North Carolina native whose hobbies include a passion for reality shows, hiking, and Mocha Frappucinos. He can be contacted at Logan@RealityTVCalendar.com
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