The Challenge XXX: Dirty 30 Episode 6 Recap and Power Rankings

Robert McIntyre
Aug 24, 2017 · 8 min read

The Challenge came back this week with maybe its best episode of the season yet. We start out with Tori dressed up as a horribly offensive Arabian palm reader named Raj with Marie as her mute assistant named Bellini telling Leroy he’s a butterfly before we get to Jemmye talking about her deceased ex-boyfriend Ryan Knight. For those not in the know, Knight was Jemmye’s on-again off-again boyfriend from her season of the Real World, Real World: New Orleans (2010.) The two did three seasons of The Challenge together and were partners for The Challenge: Battle of the Exes II. Knight died in 2015 after filming of the season from a drug overdose. Jemmye says how she feels she needed time off from the challenges in order to gather herself after Knight’s death and it is odd to not have him around the house. MTV hasn’t brought up Knight much since his death, so it is refreshing seeing them acknowledge him in a respectful manner. This takes us to the kitchen where Jordan is complaining about how much of a mess it is. There are lids, spoons, and open jars all lying around while Jordan keeps shouting about statistics saying this should be the case. We also get a confessional of Nicole saying that if Jordan is 100% sure he is right about something he will argue, which is something that would seem to be true for 100% of people. I’m on Team Jordan here (that kitchen looked worse than Theo Huxtable’s Room) but it’s pretty clear that this was foreshadowing some later drama. This takes us to the challenge of the week, called Pirate’s Treasure.

TJ announces this week the challenge will be played in pairs. He also announces as a catch that Jenna and Tony (as Redemption Winners) get to select the pairs. Jenna takes Bananas for herself and Tony chooses Tori. The rest of the pairs are Kailah/Jordan, Cara Maria/CT, Camila/Leroy (I love how Camila complains Leroy isn’t a leader, like she wouldn’t be happy taking charge,) Aneesa/Derrick, Britni/Cory, Marie/Hunter, Veronica/Nelson, Nicole/Dario, and Jemmye/Ammo. The challenge is to carry a treasure chest through an obstacle course before taking and raising a flag out of it to claim victory for your pair. The challenge is run in two heats, with the bottom two pairs in each heat going to the Double Cross. The first round is the first half of the teams, which means a stacked heat of Jenna/Bananas, Tori/Jenna, Kailah/Jordan, Cara Maria/CT, Camila/Leroy, and Derrick/Aneesa is up. The first part of the challenge is using a rope pulley system to bring the chest to the pair. Jenna/Bananas finish first with Camila/Leroy right behind them. The next obstacle is to dig a hole under a bridge and drag the chest under. Cara Maria/CT take the lead with Camila/Leroy in second. The pairs then have to place their chest above a hull roof of plywood and move the chest along from under the roof. Cara Maria/CT finish first again with the other teams trailing. The next obstacle is to carry the chest while hurdling a set of short walls. They finish this obstacle before any other pair even reaches it, and then are able to smash the chest open with a hammer and raise the flag for the win. Camila/Leroy get second with Kailah/Jordan getting third. This leaves a race between Jenna/Bananas, Tori/Tony, and Aneesa/Derrick to get out of the bottom two. Jenna/Jordan and Aneesa/Derrick head to the double cross. This puts heat two of Britni/Cory, Marie/Hunter, Veronica/Nelson, Nicole/Dario, and Jemmye/Ammo up next. Marie/Hunter kill the first obstacle but everyone else finishes at around the same time. For the next portion (digging under the bridge,) literally every pair gets smart and starts digging at the same spot on the bridge. Veronica/Nelson get the chest through first and run out ahead followed by Marie/Hunter. Cory then switches his team’s chest with Nicole/Dario’s and after Dario pushes it through Britni/Cory take it and sprint ahead, leaving Nicole/Dario and Ammo/Jemmye in the back. Veronica/Nelson get through the hull roof and wall hurdles way before everyone else before getting on the way to an easy victory. Britni/Cory get second and Mare/Hunter nab third leaving Nicole/Dario and Jemmye/Ammo in the bottom.

This takes to the party scene of the night, where Jemmye is already throwing shade about Jordan and Kailah being flirty around each other before we get to the bus trip back home. The bus ride gives us a not so great edition of inebriated reality star rap battle, which is all going fine and dandy until Jordan tells Jemmye she has a “Down Syndrome Face.” The bus immediately goes silent, with Aneesa remarking how rude the comment was. Once back at the house, Jordan runs around the house looking for Jemmye in order to apologize. In trying to get around Aneesa, Jordan does a Simeon Rice Swim Move which sets Aneesa off on him for pushing her. Camila of course is very eager to get in on the drama, telling Jordan she pushed Aneesa. Jordan keeps nodding his head and then starts looking for Jemmye while Aneesa yells at him. The next morning Veronica, Cara Maria, CT, and Nelson are deliberating on who to go on. Some other names such as Cory and Tony get brought up but it seems like Jordan is a safe bet to be voted in. Marie and Kailah are brought up, with Cara Maria saying each is ruffling feathers (when has Kailah been ruffling feathers? Has it all been edited out?) She brings up how Marie threw her friends under the bus as soon as she got the chance, but Veronica wants to throw in Kailah since they already voted her in. At the deliberation, the girl vote goes unanimously for Marie while the guy vote goes unanimously for Jordan. Jordan apologizes to Jemmye, and all seems okay on that front.

The competitors then reach the presidio where a large ring is in the middle, always a sure sign of a physical fight. Derrick draws the double cross for the guys, much to the excitement of Aneesa. Derrick goes with the easy choice and throws in Ammo. I would’ve done the same thing if I was Derrick, he seems to be aligned with Jordan so giving him the easiest matchup possible would make sense. Aneesa draws the double cross for the girls, and puts in Tori. This is not what I would have done, as Tori has been maybe the best female so far on this season and seems to be making friends quick with top players in the house. This elimination is called “Strip Tease,” but unfortunately for us no clothes will be coming off. Both players are blindfolded and have to wrestle five patches off the jumpsuit their opponent is wearing. Jordan strikes first getting Ammo’s back patch off. Ammo then takes off Jordan’s right arm patch in the next round. Ammo gets Jordan’s back next, putting the score 2–1 in Ammo’s favor. Ammo then gets Jordan’s other arm, putting him up 3–1. Jordan gets Ammo’s leg the next round and his arm after that, tying the score up. In the next round, Jordan flips Ammo over his head and gets his other leg, putting the score at 4–3 and Jordan on the verge of victory. Ammo seems really battered from the fall (you could hear his bones crack) and is slow moving around but sticks with it for the next round. Jordan gets Ammo’s last patch, winning the elimination. Ammo looks like a zombie before collapsing over. A producer rushes over to help him ending another episode of the challenge (still haven’t gotten a full daily challenge/deliberation/eliminations episode yet.)

Eliminated(?):

Ammo: I’m not sure if Redemption is still taking place (I’m assuming yes), but considering how bad his injury looked I’m leaning towards he is headed home no matter what. Shame, I was pleasantly surprised by Ammo this season considering the negative backlash from his Real World season.

In Game:

21) Marie (-1): If she beats Tori I’ll be absolutely floored.

20) Nicole (-1): Did nothing to help Dario in the challenge and has not been horrible athletically this season.

19) Cory (-3): Still feels like his number is coming soon.

18) Britni (+4): Has been decent athletically so far but has no political backing.

17) Tony (+1): Has not been good in the challenges so far but the majority of the house seems to have moved on to other targets.

16) Jemmye (+2): Will probably skate for a while since she has veteran friends but is not a physical threat.

15) Dario (-6): Doesn’t seem to have a strong backing from either side of the house and has not been good.

14) Aneesa (-4): Putting in Tori could really come back to bite her.

13) Hunter (-1): Didn’t do much in this episode but moves down due to others moving up.

12) Kailah (+2): Having Cara Maria stand up for her speaks well for her alliance standing.

11) Jenna (+4): Has not been doing well in the daily challenges but is well liked by the house.

10) Veronica (+1): Has been surprisingly good and hasn’t bothered anyone important yet.

9) Nelson (+4): Has been the second-best male in competitions this season but once Cory is gone he’ll probably be public enemy #1.

8) Tori (-5): Being in elimination brings her down but I can’t really see her losing.

7) Jordan (-2): We finally got a lot of Jordan this episode, and although his comments towards Jemmye were absolutely inexcusable I think it’ll blow over quick.

6) Bananas (+1): Moves up but still is the concentration of everyone’s attention.

5) Derrick K. (-1): Was bad in the challenge but still is in good political standing.

4) Camila (+4): Has been outstanding in challenges this season and was quiet by her standards.

3) Leroy (+3): Showed off what has made him a dominant competitor in the past and has been the most likable competitor so far.

2) CT: Killed the daily, has been superb all season, is playing a smart political game, and has strong allies.

1) Cara Maria: Ditto.

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