The Challenge Season 38 will hit the midway point of the season with Episode 9, and it looks to offer more drama for the Ride or Dies, players.
In previous installments, viewers saw friends having to make tough decisions due to the format of how the elimination matchup is determined.
Based on a synopsis for the upcoming ninth episode of the Ride or Dies season, another pair of friends will be “torn apart” because of the nature of the game.
In addition, former power couple Tori Deal and Jordan Wiseley are in the spotlight, as the formerly-engaged duo will experience issues in their relationship due to a hookup.
That could intertwine with the friends getting torn apart, or it could be another team altogether involved with that part of the synopsis.
This report will feature spoilers from The Challenge: Ride or Dies season.
The Challenge 38, Episode 9 synopsis hints at friends torn apart
Episode 9 of The Challenge: Ride or Dies is called Split Decision. While previous episodes included a tease for a cast member’s name, such as Michele Fitzgerald or Olivia Kaiser, this one keeps things a bit more hidden.
That may be because it teases a problem for two friends after a team gains power in the game. Based on the synopsis, it’s possible that a new team could win power in the game.
“The Challengers make it to the halfway point, and TJ stuns them with a game-changing twist. Tori and Jordan’s relationship is thrown for a loop when one catches feelings for another player. Winning power tears a pair of friends apart,” the IMDB synopsis reads.
Six teams have won a daily challenge through the first eight episodes of Ride or Dies. Two teams won a daily twice. Michele and Jay Starrett won a daily twice but were eliminated in Episode 8.
The other duo that won twice is Nelson Thomas and Nurys Mateo, but like Jay and Michele, they failed to make a significant dent in the game.
Could Episode 9 see Devin Walker and Tori Deal claim their first win of the season? That could set the stage for an interesting elimination decision, as Tori might have to send her bestie Aneesa Ferreira and her ex Jordan into the elimination.
An Episode 9 teaser trailer showed part of a heated discussion involving Tori and Jordan, as he has increased interest in rookie castmate, Nurys.
TJ Lavin’s ‘game-changing twist’ on the way
The synopsis also hints that TJ will flip the game around on the competitors. So far, everyone has competed with their Ride or Dies partner, but it’s possible they’ll be put into larger groups going forth.
The twist could also involve how the eliminations work. Will TJ announce that the worst-performing team automatically goes into elimination like in other seasons? There’s also the possibility that more than one team gets to vote on the elimination matchup.
Yet another possibility arrived in other seasons, where the team sent into the elimination got to call out their opponents, except for the daily challenge winners.
Viewers saw that elimination as a twist in Spies, Lies & Allies and as the format in All Stars 3. However, both involved individuals calling out their opponents for men and women rather than pairs.
Viewers will find out what TJ has in store for the Challengers when Episode 9 debuts on Wednesday, December 7.
The Challenge: Ride or Dies airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on MTV.