A Broomstick Is Better Than Nothing
Real World Road Rules Challenge - The Duel
November 29, 2006 Rankings by Logan Huffman
This week on 'The Duel", an argument erupted in Brad's bedroom after Beth was told by Svetlana that she was supposedly targeting Robin. Svetlana chimed in with her two cents, pissing Brad off and sending him into a tirade against her. After Svetlana ran out crying to call her boyfriend, Beth and Brad continued to argue, with Brad saying Beth "flies around on a broomstick", while Beth fired back that at least she "had something between her legs".
At the challenge titled "Rafty Race", the players had to reach different checkpoints, at which each checkpoint would have less and less of items; slowly eliminating players until only four remained. The four would then battle it out for safety for the women, as it was a female Duel day, or a Torch Kite and Kite Board for the guys which could be used for windsurfing. The players first had to walk backwards in giant fins to the first checkpoint, where three would be eliminated. The remaining eight players would use the pumps they got at the first checkpoint to pump up a raft, and then use their hands to raft out to the next checkpoint in the water, in which six oars were standing, eliminating two more players. The remaining six would use their oars to raft to a float with four sets of keys, eliminating the last two. The final four then battled it out to race back, use the keys to open up their treasure chests, and take the flag from the chest and race back to the finish line.
Once the challenge began, Wes, Svetlana, and Aneesa were eliminated at the first checkpoint, putting Beth's alliance in a bad position for the selection. However, on the raft pumping portion, Kina and Derrick forgot to pull their tags, eliminating them from the challenge. Paddling out to the oars, Diem and Brad come up short, and were both eliminated from the challenge as well. Next, Evan and Robin didn't grab their keys fast enough, eliminating them from the challenge as well. In the end, Beth and Eric were beat out, with Jodi and CT winning the challenge, granting Jodi safety from the impending Duel.
At the selection, Svetlana was left out, and in a shocking turn of events, she chose Beth to face-off against in the Duel, surprising and thrilling the Drama Mafia. The last remaining unseen Duel was revealed, as Svetlana chose "Push Me" for the impending Duel.
At the Duel, Svetlana and Beth both had to push on one side of a giant circular pole until one of them overpowered the other and reached the flag in the center. Whoever unclipped the carabineer attached to the flag would stay in the game, while the other person was eliminated. Despite Beth's obvious size advantage on her, Svetlana powered through the pain for an incredible thirty minutes before falling over. But Beth accidentally ripped the flag off instead of unclipping the carabineer, disqualifying her from the competition, which Svetlana won by default, much to the delight of the Drama Mafia.
Will Wes and Aneesa be able to battle back against the Drama Mafia after the eliminations of Casey, Nehemiah, and Beth? Find out next time on 'The Duel'.
Jodi
Current Ranking: 1 - Previous Ranking: 6
Jodi skyrockets into the top position of the scoreboard this week. She won the challenge for the women, ensuring her safety, and avoiding possible elimination from 'The Duel'. She consistently performs well challenge after challenge, having already racked up many challenge wins this season. Jodi is a force to be reckoned with, and will probably be around for a while.
CT
Current Ranking: 2 - Previous Ranking: 3
CT moves up one additional spot on the scoreboard this week. Like Jodi, he won this challenge, winning himself a Torch Kite and Kite Board for windsurfing. He has won several challenges already, and is one of the strongest men remaining in the competition. He is liked by mostly everyone, and even if he is challenged to a Duel, he will probably win.
Evan
Current Ranking: 3 - Previous Ranking: 1
Evan remains in the upper portion of the scoreboard this week. He delivered a decent performance in the challenge, falling only a little short of the race to finish by failing to get a key. He doesn't piss people off like some of the others, and although he is a threat, people don't view him the same way as they do CT or Brad. These factors combined may save him from facing a Duel.
Robin
Current Ranking: 4 - Previous Ranking: 11
Robin gains seven positions this week, despite her lackluster performance in the challenge. If she had taken the time to actually blow up her raft, she may have actually won. She didn't, and since it had practically no air in it, it didn't float very well in the water. Despite that performance, Robin isn't in any immediate danger at this point.
Diem
Current Ranking: 5 - Previous Ranking: 7
Diem gains two positions this week. She had a decent performance in the challenge, but came up a little short. She is liked more than Robin, which could save her from facing a Duel. CT adores her, and I'm sure he will save her every chance he gets.
Kina
Current Ranking: 6 - Previous Ranking: 2
Kina falls four places down the scoreboard this week. She put herself out of the challenge, as she didn't listen to the instructions and neglected to pull the tag off of the air pump, allowing Beth to take her pump. Kina got lucky, as if Beth would have been left out, Kina could have been challenged. But now that Beth, Kina's biggest nemesis, is gone, Kina should be safe for a while.
Eric
Current Ranking: 7 - Previous Ranking: 12
Surprisingly, Eric gains five positions this week. He did play smart by noticing that Derrick had forgotten to pull him pump tag, which allowed him to continue on in the challenge. I think he is least likely to be challenged by Wes to next week's Duel, as his extra weight would probably allow him to defeat Wes, as long as the Duel wasn't Ascender. Eric is still on the chopping block, but not at the moment.
Derrick
Current Ranking: 8 - Previous Ranking: 8
Derrick remains with the same ranking this week. He is definitely a tough competitor, but has definitely had a little trouble in the challenges lately. He could have won this challenge, but like Kina, he didn't listen to the instructions of pulling the tag, which cost him the challenge. He could possibly be challenged to a Duel by Wes next week, and we have seen him win a Duel, but whether or not he can win again is up in the air.
Brad
Current Ranking: 9 - Previous Ranking: 5
Brad slips four positions down the scoreboard this week. He may be challenged to a Duel by Wes, which could put him in significant danger. I'm not sure who would emerge from that Duel victorious, so Brad needs to win immunity to ensure his safety.
Aneesa
Current Ranking: 10 - Previous Ranking: 9
Aneesa slips another position this week. I really want to see Aneesa continue much further into the competition, but that looks unlikely at this point, due to that fact that she is an outsider. However, Svetlana is far weaker than her, and they will go for the easy kill on the next female Duel instead of Aneesa.
Svetlana
Current Ranking: 11 - Previous Ranking: 13
Svetlana moves up two spots on the scoreboard this week. While I don't particularly care for her, especially after she took out my Beth, I will give her credit for hanging in there for half-an-hour. She would have been better off targeting a Drama Mafia member, as they will be out for her come the next female Duel day. Her performance didn't change anyone's perception of her, as she won on a technicality. Svetlana is a lock to be challenged if she doesn't win the next female immunity.
Wes
Current Ranking: 12 - Previous Ranking: 4
Wes tumbles to the last position on the scoreboard this week. From the commercials, we can see that he is left out at the selection, so that leaves him with a fifty-fifty chance of elimination. I'm thinking he will challenge either Derrick or Brad, but whether he can beat them or not is unknown. The preview shows that the Duel is 'Pole Wrestle', so I think he would have a decent chance against any guy besides Eric. Wes's future on 'The Duel' is up in the air.
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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