Contestants Compete in Physical Challenges to Win a Million Dollars

By: Brooke Price

Contestants of “The Challenge: Double Agents.” Credit: mtv.com

“The Challenge” is a competition show where contestants put themselves through physical challenges in order to win. The show is an alternative to other competition shows such as “Big Brother” and “The Amazing Race” who aren’t currently releasing episodes. 

The contestants on the current season, “The Challenge: Double Agents,” were all in quarantine and had to have negative covid test results, according to Variety magazine. This was important since all of the contestants live in a house together for the duration of the season. 

This season was filmed in Iceland, which according to Variety, “has everything from glaciers to volcanos to black sand beaches that would make for visually interesting backdrops for competition challenges, elimination challenges and the eventual finale.”

Many contestants have been injured from the challenges and were deemed unfit to continue with the show. Others left for mental well-being.

“The Challenge” is on its 36th season and is available to watch on MTV. In this season, “The Challenge: Double Agents,” contestants are paired up with each other and compete in physical contests such as pushing other contestants off of a moving platform and dropping from a rope of a helicopter and swimming to the platform.

The winning team that completes a challenge in the shortest time becomes “double agents.” Double agents have to send in one team, voted in by the other houseguests into the crater, or elimination area, where the double agents can choose to send themselves in to compete for a gold skull or choose another pair to face off against the team facing elimination. 

Contestants who obtain a gold skull for surviving an elimination are qualified to compete in the finals and have the chance to earn a million dollars. Gold skulls are an important part of the game. Contestants can only get them if they beat another contestant in an elimination. 

There are a limited number of skulls in the show, so contestants need to take advantage of their time as double agents and think about going into elimination to obtain their gold skull.

Although two teams are selected to battle against each other in an elimination, it can be a guys elimination or a girls elimination, and the other partners are safe. During these situations, the partner of the eliminated houseguest will be called a “rogue agent” and the next elimination will determine their partner.

After eliminations, the contestant who wins the elimination can choose to stay with their partner, or have a first pick at any other contestant. This can stir up tension between the existing partners and some may pick a new partner, without discussing it beforehand to their other partner.

There is also some tension between the rookies, or newcomers to the game, with the contestants who were on previous seasons and are familiar with the game. This causes there to be alliances between the rookie players and a separate alliance for the returning players.

Contestants can make alliances to help them vote in weaker players into the crater, so that their friends could defeat them and obtain the gold skulls they need to get into the finals.

There is also a surprise event called a “security breach” where an eliminated contestant can return back into the game, or a double elimination can occur. Security breaches happen unexpectedly and add on to the tension of the show.

“The Challenge: Double Agents” airs Wednesday nights on MTV. The show is exciting to watch since teams compete in different challenges and eliminations. It also keeps you guessing who will win the final and take home the one million dollar grand prize.