The Challenge: All Stars 3, Episode 3 brought a difficult decision for two cast members, as they held the coveted, or dreaded, power to sabotage any one of their castmates at the daily challenge.
That power goes to the man and woman who finish as the winners in the previous daily challenge. So that meant, Yes Duffy and Kendal Darnell had to wrestle internally with who they wanted to use the Sabotage on.
For Yes, it may have seemed like a difficult decision, but he was able to put it on his rival, Wes Bergmann. However, Kendal struggled much more over what to do with the power and made a surprising move in the game.
All Stars’ Kendal surprised castmates with Sabotage decision
As viewers saw in All Stars 3, Episode 3, Kendal had questions for host TJ Lavin about how she could use the Sabotage. She didn’t really want to apply the hardship to any of her castmates and even asked if she could give it to herself. TJ told her she could but reminded her how much money was at stake for the season.
She asked if she could use it on another one of the men, and TJ said she could. So rather than throwing the Sabotage at one of the women she was competing against, Kendal put the 35-lb weighted vest on MJ Garrett.
The move shocked her castmates, with MJ and Jonna Mannion particularly surprised Kendal decided to use the power in that way. It cost MJ in the daily challenge, as he finished last and went straight into elimination.
Following the episode’s arrival on Paramount Plus, Kendal replied to fans about her decision to use the Sabotage. In her response to a since-deleted tweet, Kendal explained how her thinking works, saying that as a hospice nurse, she’s “trained to think outside the box” to meet the needs of patients and family members “within the rules of the company.”
“Often times the needs are conflicting so creativity is key. Intelligence looks different on everyone,” she said in her tweet.
In a follow-up to that tweet, a fan said the way Kendal is portrayed on All Stars isn’t necessarily as an articulate and intelligent nurse but as an “indecisive airhead.” She explained it looks that way because of “Nerves.. Anxiety.. Insecurities.”
“I’m in my preteen years on The Challenge. In my adult life I know exactly what I’m doing,” she tweeted.
Kendal’s friend KellyAnne Judd shows support for the decision
Another fan replied to Kendal about why it made sense for her not to use the Sabotage on any of the women. The fan suggested Kendal’s strategy was not to upset any of the other women or make enemies. Unfortunately, she didn’t “win some favor” by putting the Sabotage on MJ, as it upset Jonna.
“Nailed it. This was Kendal’s intention,” KellyAnne Judd tweeted. “Should she have gone for the jugular? Apparently. But just because you play dirty doesn’t mean you’re going to win. So how I see it, why don’t you play the way that makes you feel your best?”
Once she watched the episode, Kendal learned more about the Treehouse Alliance, consisting of seven castmates, including Kailah Casillas, Veronica Portillo, Tina Bridges, Sylvia Elsrode, and Roni Chance.
That alliance made it a goal to target OGs KellyAnne and Kendal because they are strong competitors. Based on KellyAnne’s tweet, the better move in hindsight would’ve been to throw the Sabotage at one of those Treehouse members, particularly Kailah, who won the daily challenge.
Kendal dodged a bullet in the episode as the Treehouse tried to send her in as Veronica Portillo’s opponent for the elimination. However, two other women left the show as Tina Bridges suffered an injury and Jemmye Carroll had a family emergency she needed to go home for.
The Challenge: All Stars 3 episodes arrive Wednesdays on Paramount Plus.