Another vet gets pulled from the game early on The Challenge: Ride or Dies

Sydney Bucksbaum
·9 min read
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Another week of The Challenge: Ride or Dies saw another veteran player getting pulled from the game early. But while Kaycee Clark got to return in this week's episode 2, "Friend or Faux," Nam Vo isn't so lucky. He might just be the unluckiest Challenge competitor in the history of the franchise at this point. So what led to his early departure, and why did Kaycee get a free pass back into the game? And how did Nany González and Johnny "Bananas" Devenanzio's late entry shake up the house? Let's recap!

First, a history lesson: Nany has competed on 12 seasons of The Challenge, made it to three finals (two of those being in the most recent two seasons), but has never won. She came close on Free Agents in 2014, finishing in second place just minutes behind Laurel Stucky, but for the majority of her Challenge career, she's focused more on romance, drama, and partying than the actual competition. Even her last two seasons, she's made it to the final both times but still her relationship with Kaycee took center stage instead. She literally gave up her chance at winning Spies, Lies, and Allies when she was forced to compete against Kaycee in the last elimination of the season, letting her girlfriend beat her to go on to win the whole thing. But going into season 38, everything's changed, and Nany's a completely new competitor.

After arriving late to the game at the end of last week's premiere with Johnny Bananas as her partner, Nany makes it clear at the very beginning of episode 2 that she's finally here to win. Her first confessional alone proves that this is a Nany we've never seen before on the show. She's calling this season "100 percent a business trip," she reveals she put on muscle mass, she's serious about figuring out the social and political lines in the house as soon as she arrives — she's on a mission to get her first win like never before. She's inspired by her romantic happiness with Kaycee, of course, but that's not the reason for this massive change. She tearfully reveals she recently lost her mother, and while she almost decided to not come this season to continue grieving, she knew her mother would be disappointed in her for giving up an opportunity like this. She ultimately decided to compete to carry on her mom's memory and win this in tribute for her. It's amazing to see how serious Nany is taking the competition after so many years, but it's tragic to hear the cause of it was losing her mom.

The Challenge 38
The Challenge 38

MTV Nany González and Johnny 'Bananas' Devenanzio in 'The Challenge' season 38

But Nany proves that she's more than just talk by making a big move and putting herself and her own game first immediately in this episode. It all starts when she and Johnny join the rest of the cast up on the risers in the elimination arena, and as they're saying hello to everyone, Johnny makes an off-hand joke to Turabi "Turbo" Çamkıran about how he's shocked that he's still here and hasn't killed anyone yet. Since Turbo already made it abundantly clear that he can't take a joke, he gets pissed and adds Johnny to his list of enemies right away. At this point you've got to wonder if Turbo really is this proud and has such a fragile ego or if this is all a front and he's just trying to make himself seem intimidating. Nothing about him is genuine this season, and he ends up causing his own demise. He can't get over Johnny's joke, and while Nany tries to calmly diffuse the situation, he just refuses to listen to her. It's worse than a toddler throwing a temper tantrum because this is a grown man, and Nany gives him more chances to save himself than he deserves, but he throws it all back in her face.

The tension rises after Nany and Bananas win the daily challenge (with Nany impressing everyone) and she once again gives Turbo a chance to remedy his game. She asks him calmly and with more patience than anyone else would give him if the rumors about him wanting to go into elimination are true, and he just starts attacking her. Despite Nany's best efforts, he won't let her finish a sentence, he refuses to see reason, and ultimately seals his own fate. Now Bananas and Nany have the green light to send Turbo (and his silent, suffering partner Tamara Alfaro) into elimination, especially since he refuses to even let Nany speak during their interrogation. He's not only ruined his own game but also his friendship with Nany, because she's officially done with him. And I don't blame her at all!

As for Turbo and Tamara's opponents, Nany once again proves she's a completely new competitor by putting her game over another friendship. She and Bananas want to kill the whole "rookie revolution" before it has the chance to take out another veteran pair, so they target Johnny Middlebrooks and Ravyn Rochelle, Horacio Gutiérrez and Olivia Kaiser, and Jay Starrett and Michele Fitzgerald as the three teams to go into The Draw. Michele is shocked because she and Nany have become "sisters" since they met last season, and breaks down in tears during their interrogation but Nany doesn't regret her decision at all. She feels for Michele, of course, but is doing whatever it takes to give herself the best shot at winning, and since Jay's aligned himself with the rookies, that means he's against the vets. And side note: Jay being impressed with Michele's tears was hilarious. "Is that how she won Survivor?!" Jay can really learn a thing or two about her social and political game.

At the elimination, Bananas and Nany send Turbo and Tamara straight in, and Nany says out loud that she is "manifesting his departure." Their friendship crashed and burned in record time. Meanwhile Michele and Jay finally get some luck on their side, and despite being the last to pick in The Draw, they get the dagger marked safe. They end up saving Johnny and Ravyn even though Michele knows that could put their own game in trouble since Johnny started the rookie revolution, but Jay just won't listen to reason.

During the elimination, "Memory Lane," it's Turbo and Tamara vs. Horacio and Olivia in a speed memory game finding matching pairs. Turbo and Tamara actually get their first pair before Horacio and Olivia, but Bananas and Nany start helping from the sidelines and pretty soon everyone on the sidelines yells out the correct answers to Horacio and Olivia. Since Turbo pushed literally everyone away in the house, no one wants to see him come back, and thanks to everyone helping Horacio and Olivia, he (and Tamara) end up losing and going home. In his final interview, Turbo says he will get revenge on everyone who helped Horacio and Olivia win, and his message to all his new rivals is: "Two words, one finger." But he still hopes that Nany will get her first win this season though. That's sweet, I guess? I really don't understand how Turbo got so bad this season. It wasn't even fun to watch! If he ever comes back, I hope it's with a huge attitude adjustment because he has no friends or allies left, and you just can't win The Challenge on your own.

As for Nam's fate, and other notable moments in this episode:

  • Another team bites the dust! Nam seriously cannot catch a break in this game, because his rookie partner Emmy Russ just straight-up quit — she even did it off-camera so we don't see any of it. That's how you know it was sudden. TJ announces before the daily challenge, "Emmy can't take it," and since she quit, that means Nam's out of the game too. He breaks down in tears during his final confessional because he has the worst luck in the history of The Challenge. Will we ever see him get to compete?!

  • Tori Deal opens up about how she recently decided to go on antidepressants and it's changed her life. She says she's in such a great place mentally now ... and it's a good thing, since TJ brings out her ex-fiancé Jordan Wiseley at the very end of the episode as another new player. We don't get to see his partner Aneesa Ferreira walk out with him yet, but since this "twist" was spoiled just like Bananas and Nany's late entrance was, we already knew this was coming for weeks. Tori, however, did not — you can tell her shocked reaction is genuine because she's not shouting and playing it up for the cameras. She's literally speechless.

  • Horacio paints a target on his back as a rookie of the year contender by his flawless and effortless domination in this daily challenge. He even proves to be a good partner to Olivia, helping coach her through it. This is absolutely a rookie team to watch, and the vets are taking notice. He also gets close to Laurel on a night out, so he's really making moves in this game.

  • Only four teams completed the daily challenge: Bananas and Nany, Horacio and Olivia, Tori and Devin Walker ... and Kaycee and Kenny Clark! That's right, despite getting pulled from the game in the premiere due to COVID, the Clark siblings are back. Nany's overjoyed that her girlfriend is still in the game, and Kenny's psyched to actually get to do a challenge, especially since he performed even better than Kaycee in his debut.

  • Scuba Nelly T's Weekly Losing Streak Watch: Nelson Thomas still hasn't won a daily challenge. I really hope a producer keeps asking him about his record losing streak before every single challenge, because this is becoming one of the show's best running jokes.

The Challenge: Ride or Dies airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on MTV.

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