[Warning: The following post contains spoilers for The Challenge Season 41, Episode 3.]
If Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio wanted this season of The Challenge to be all about him, he more than succeeded (again) on Wednesday’s (August 13) new episode of Vets and New Threats. If he didn’t, well, he sure didn’t seem to mind it happening anyway.
At the start of the episode, the post-elimination “Selection” commenced, resulting in the following team pairings: Ayoleka “Leka” Sodade and Leroy Garrett; Izzy Fairthorne and Turabi “Turbo” Çamkıran; Olivia Kaiser and Justin Hinsley; Will Gagnon and Nany Gonzales; America Lopez and Bananas; Chris “C.T.” Tamburello and Dee Valladares, Aneesa Ferreira and Yeremi Hykel; Ashley Mitchell and Jake Cornish; Cedric Hodges and Michaela Bradshaw; Leo Dionicio and Aviv Melmed; Nya Moore and Gabe Wai; Ben Davis and Cara Maria Sorbello; Sydney Segal and Derek Chavez; Theo Campbell and Adrienne Naylor; and Tay Wilcoxson and Derrick Kosinski.
Nya, who injured her knee at the introductory challenge, confided in CT that her pain was worsening, and he encouraged her to get it checked out. Her partner, meanwhile, was furious to be placed with her and even thought she might’ve been sabotaging him by seeking an MRI.
At a spirited birthday bash for Derek — fit with a penis piñata and a roast by Cara Maria for extra flair — Nya pulled Gabe aside to take him to task and remind him that she was a respected veteran of the show, a finalist no less, and he needed to take several seats, which he later did.
The daily challenge was “Water Tower,” in which one teammate had to scale a giant tube, jump down into it, swim out from under it, and swim to a platform where the other would be working on a puzzle. Nya wasn’t cleared to participate, which meant she and Gabe were automatic losers and everyone else would place in the Top 8.
Finishing first were Olivia and Justin, who then had to work together to figure who they’d save from the jury. This is when it officially became The Bananas Show as they ultimately decided to save Izzy and put a target on America’s back, with hopes that Johnny would then become the “hangnail” and automatically become a jury subject next time.
At the deliberation, Michaela raised her objection to that decision, noting that Izzy wasn’t a target of the house, so this save toss was a waste. Johnny agreed and decided to issue a call-out of his own, saying, “First of all, I’d like to apologize to my partner because she’s in this position not of her own doing but because she went out on a ledge and chose me.”
That earned several facepalms from others, and Adrienne laughed that it wasn’t about him. “Hell yes, it is!” he exclaimed in response. “I’m talking, so this is all about me.” That last comment was then met with a chorus of groans before Adrienne said, “You’ve made yourself the center of attention.”
In response to her, Johnny boldly declared, “Yes, I have — for 25 seasons and will continue to do so. There’s a reason you’re here, and it’s because of me.” After Adrienne told him to “get a grip,” he added, “I am the f***ing Challenge.”
Interestingly, we didn’t get to hear the reactions of some of the more senior veterans in his company at the time, like Aneesa, CT, or Derrick, but Turbo offered a spirited response in a confessional, saying, “Come on, Bananas. Okay, you’re good. Okay, you’re a badass. You’re a legend. But you are not The Challenge … be humble, b****.”
After the deliberation, Johnny confronted showmance partner Dee over voting for his partner as part of a “coup d’etat” and accused Olivia of “rallying the troops” against him. Then, in the arena itself, as Nya and America prepared to square off, Johnny seized the opportunity to speak once again and said, “I feel home. I often joke about being here so much I owe you rent. But not this season. ‘Cause I’ve been living rent-free in Olivia’s head. So I’m good.” In a confessional, Olivia mocked that and his earlier outburst as “embarrassing.”
Eventually, this whole uproar proved to be for naught because Nya’s MRI results were ceremoniously revealed to disqualify her from the elimination, leaving Gabe as the hangnail and Johnny in the clear for now. Chances are, though, he won’t be for long.
Until then, the next wave of partnerships were decided as follows: Justin and Aviv; Olivia and Yeremi; Cedric and Cara; Michaela and Ben; Derek and Izzy; Sydney and Turbo, Aneesa and Will; Nany and Jake; Bananas and Leka; America and Theo; Derrick and Dee; Tay and Leroy; Ashley and Leo; and CT and Adrienne.
The Challenge, Wednesdays, 8/7c, MTV