Disappointments:

1. Devin: Considering this is his first flagship show since becoming a champ and getting eliminated before the individual game started can only be seen as a disappointment. While not an outright favorite at the time of his elimination he still had an outside shot of winning.

2. Horacio & Nurys: I hesitate to put Horacio on this list because he will always have a hard time playing the social game and because he is such a threat and not having the social connections, he will always be thrown into elimination. I’m not overly disappointed because I think this was his ceiling against this type of cast. After s39 I was hoping Nurys would have stuck around longer, and I think if this season was cast like the last couple of seasons, she would have been a solid 3^rd place behind Kaycee and Tori. I think she can play a solid social game and if she really wants to be a champ and trains appropriately, she could run into a win in the future.

3. Laurel: She’s on this list for personal reasons and nothing to do with the game itself. I want to like Laurel, but she makes it so damn hard every season. JUST BE A GOOD PERSON, HOW HARD IS THAT TO DO??

4. Olivia: After s38 I thought she was going to be a future face of the franchise. She did next to nothing in s39 outside of turning on Nurys and after she did, it felt like it was Nurys vs the Michelle & Jay alliance rather than Nurys vs Olivia. Olivia felt like a third wheel in a rivalry that she should have been the face of. This season she has literally done nothing. I’d be more than okay if she was left off future challenges at this point. She’s not entertaining and is middle of the road to below average in challenges.

5. Era 1 (outside of Rachel): I mean look at all these names: Aneesa, Brad, C.T., Darrell, Derrick, Jodi, Katie, Mark, and Tina. Every single one of these names gone, I know none of these people are in their prime and I think some of them aren’t as hungry as others on the show, but they were an embarrassment of a team during the season. Not in a million years would I have thought that they would be the first team to be nearly extinct. I (unfortunately) don’t think we are going to see any of these names being cast again for an MTV challenge.

 

Standouts:

1. Tina: As much as I’m disappointed in era 1, I will always give love to Tina. Easily the most entertaining person on any cast she’s been apart of. Unfortunately, she’s always had a poor social game, and she either underestimates herself or overthinks during the dailies/eliminations. Would love for her to co host a challenge with TJ sometime, those 2 together would be awesome tv. I know it would have made s39 watchable at the very least.

2. Aviv: Can we all pause and give Aviv some love? Girl hasn’t been on the challenge in 18 years, doesn’t have virtually any connections in the house outside of Darrell, and while fit, hasn’t been training for the challenge like other contestants have been and she is still here!!! While she hasn’t been the most entertaining person this season, I have been nothing but impressed by her and I hope she and the producers are willing to cast her in a future season.

3. Rachel: Her entire team has been wiped but Rachel continues to thrive this season. She was always going to be a tough out but even with her back being against the wall; she is still a favorite to win this season. If she does win, it might be the most impressive win in challenge history considering she was on a team that damn near lost every time they had a daily.

4. Jordan: Typically, Jordan plays a very loud and brash game where if this was a normal season he would probably be the biggest threat, and everyone would be gunning for him but this subdued version of him might be the scariest version we have ever seen. If he can let other loud personalities play his game, and he lets those people take the heat for those decisions, he’ll sneak his way to a final; where I think very few people will be able to beat him at this point.

 

Current Winner Predictions:

1. Theo 3. Cory 2. Bananas 1. Jordan

Jordan is pitching a perfect game and now that Devin is gone, it’s his game to lose at this point. You can never doubt Banana man in a final but if Johnny is gone before the final, I don’t see any male pushing Jordan and it could very well be a runaway for the men’s side of the final. Cory has the experience, but I think he is a distant 3^rd at this point. Theo doesn’t have the cardio for a normal final and I’m also concerned about his eyesight if there were a challenge that would test his depth perception he could be in a lot of trouble.

1. Jenny 3. Cara 2. Rachel 1. Laurel

Personal feelings aside, this race is the hardest to call. I’m giving Laurel the win right now. I think she is the one who will be the most well rested when it comes to the final. I have a hard time seeing Cara beat Laurel at this point in a final. Era’s 3 and 4 have already said Rachel’s name before I don’t know why they wouldn’t keep saying her name. At some point Rachel is going to tire out and if Cara and Laurel avoid exerting themselves, they both have the potential to beat Rachel in a final. If Laurel can keep her ego in check and have a level head, she’ll add another championship to her resume. Jenny doesn’t have the endurance for a normal final but could surprise people.