Eleven players remained at the start of The Challenge: USA season 2, episode 12, and by the time it came to a close, the cast rounded down to 10.
With the Final Challenge just around the corner, six women and five men entered their 12th Daily Challenge in pursuit of safety and power. A pair of Survivor competitors ultimately drew an upset and two challengers were nominated for the first time.
After the dust settled in the Arena, Survivor winner and multiple-time Challenge alum Michele Fitzgerald was ousted and joined the 13 other hopefuls eliminated from the CBS series.
So, what went down in episode 12 on Oct. 5, and what happened to Michele? Let’s break it down.
Chris Underwood finally secured safety by winning a Daily Challenge alongside Desi Williams, who wanted to right a wrong
The episode began with Survivor: Edge of Extinction winner Chris Underwood returning to the Challenge house after notching his third consecutive elimination victory, and fourth overall. Chris took on two-time Big Brother star Tyler Crispen in episode 11’s Arena, and he emerged victorious in “Barrel Tag.”
Although the other male competitors knew Chris was a threat and someone they wanted out of the game, the four of them (MTV’s The Challenge veterans Cory Wharton and John “Johnny Bananas” Devenanzio, and former Big Brother houseguests Josh Martinez and Faysal Shafaat) came together to confirm they wanted women to compete in the next elimination round.
On the other end, The Challenge champ Tori Deal investigated why she had three balls in The Hopper during the last go-around. She figured out it was Survivor’s Desi Williams, Chanelle Howell, and Chris who tossed their votes onto her. Riddled with guilt and the realization that the proven veteran would gun for her, Desi apologized to Tori.
However, she, Chanelle, and Michaela Bradshaw also took aim at Michele by attempting to pin the betrayal on the Survivor: Kaôh Rōng winner, which led to a verbal sparring match between her and Michaela.
Fast forward to the Daily Challenge, and the lines had been clearly drawn. The two major alliances (The Challenge vets featuring Bananas, Tori, Cory, Faysal, and Josh, and the former Survivor castaways with Chris, Desi, Michaela, and Chanelle) went to war in the solo-based challenge.
Also knowing the Final was imminent, the 11 players gunned for the victory in “Brain Squeeze,” a Daily that had them racing through the narrow and maze-like Punta Christo Fort in Pula, Croatia, searching for bags of puzzle pieces.
The bags weren’t only large and bulky, the challengers also had to run a long distance to transport them while only being allowed to take one at a time.
Although the Challenge vets crew appeared ahead of their opposition, it was Desi and Chris who finished their puzzles first. The veteran alliance operated under the assumption that there were only seven bags of puzzle pieces, whereas the Survivor group located an eighth deep into the fort.
It was a massive win for Chris, to say the least. Whether it was from a direct vote or through The Hopper, he had found himself battling in the sand the past three rounds of play. Triumphing in Brain Squeeze meant he could finally rest and yield some power. And for Desi, her first individual win this season meant she could further mitigate the damage she caused to her relationship with Tori — someone she respected and gave her word to.
Cassidy Clark found herself opposite Michele in the Arena, and she earned her third elimination victory
It was clear that by the time Michaela and Michele finished squabbling, the latter had become the main target of the Survivor alliance. They had hoped Michele would stick with them and vote in Tori last episode, but she chose to throw one on her fellow Survivor winner (Chris) instead, effectively choosing The Challenge veterans over her original show’s alliance.
So, when Desi and Chris sat down at the nomination deliberation, Desi made it clear she wanted Tori out of the Arena and Michele in. Chris obliged with no resistance. Then, they shifted focus onto the men. Besides Cory, who Chris admitted had shown him some semblance of loyalty, everyone else seemed fair game.
Wanting to cause some paranoia, Chris went with Josh, the Big Brother 19 winner who had yet to sit on the chopping block, and Desi agreed.
Once the house became aware of their nominations, and Josh let out a few tears, the plan was set in motion to make it a women’s elimination day. In the past four rounds, four men and one woman went home, and considering the possibility that there’d be one more double-elimination, the contestants saw it in their favor to even up the score.
It wasn’t a surprise to see how it worked out when they arrived at the Arena. While Michele voted for Cory and Survivor 43’s Cassidy Clark placed a ball for Chanelle, the two power alliances all voted for Cassidy.
Considering she wasn’t part of any dominant alliance and had seen elimination twice already, Cassidy was the perfect scapegoat.
With the odds heavily stacked against her, longtime host TJ Lavin pulled her ball from The Hopper, signaling the second Survivor alum vs. Survivor alum matchup of USA 2.
Cassidy entered the contest with wins over Big Brother’s Alyssa Snider and Alyssa Lopez, whereas Michele won the first Arena of the season against another ex-Big Brother houseguest, Ameerah Jones.
With it being a single-elimination day, Josh and Cory were spared, and Cassidy joined Michele and TJ in the sand.
They played “Hot Wheel,” a game that tested their endurance, strength, and strategic thinking. The Arena game required the women to spin a steering wheel back and forth. Their wheels were attached to a bar with a torch at the end of it, and the aim was to use the flame to light their six targets.
The match started as a back-and-forth struggle with no one earning the upper hand. But, after Cassidy lit her second target, she took over and defeated Michele 6-1. That was enough to end Michele’s campaign toward $250,000, and her third appearance in the franchise once again wrapped before the Final Challenge.
However, the 33-year-old’s time competing on The Challenge isn’t over. She’ll be back later this month as part of season 39’s Battle for a New Champion. She and Tori are the only players from USA 2 who are set to appear on the MTV flagship series’ next addition.
So, what’s in store for episode 13?
At the end of the episode, we saw snippets of what’s to come. And it looks like the cast will deal with one more double-elimination before the Final Challenge. The first season’s cast had the luxury of having 10 spots in the Final. But, it sounds like only eight players will fight for the grand prize and the illustrious champion accolade.
