News

The Challenge: Season 38 finale recap: Who won the Ride or Dies final?

host tj lavin appears in the challenge 38 episode 19
TJ Lavin at The Challenge: Ride or Dies final. Pic credit: MTV

The Challenge: Ride or Dies Episode 19 brought the frantic finish of the season’s final. It opened with each team speaking about how they’ve fared so far, with over 60 hours completed.

The remaining teams were: Jordan Wiseley with Aneesa Ferreira, Tori Deal with Devin Walker, and Johnny Bananas with Nany Gonzalez.

The teams arrived at a large purple Challenge sign with host TJ Lavin. He told them it was hour 69. They went up one pair at a time in the helicopter to throw chalk bombs at targets on the ground.

Aneesa and Jordan got 15 bombs. Tori and Devin got 20 bombs. Bananas and Nany got 25 bombs and chose the order the teams went in.

Devin and Tori had a lot of early misses but then adjusted when they threw the bombs. They ended up with 10 hits of their 20 bombs. Aneesa gave up most of her bombs to Jordan. They ended up getting six hits of their 16 bombs.

Bananas and Nany chose to go last, but Nany got the early hits while Bananas struggled. Bananas finally figured it out, but they ended up with fewer hits than Tori and Devin.

Since Tori and Devin won, they got to choose who went first. They got a 10-minute headstart on a run to get to a fork in the road, where they decided which way to go.

The second team to go was Aneesa and Jordan, with a five-minute headstart before Bananas and Nany went.

The Challenge final brings a cornfield maze and TJ’s glowing structure

TJ appeared at night in a cornfield and revealed the fork in the road. He said the No. 1 rule in The Challenge is “Never give up.”

Competitors were in a corn maze to choose their path with flashlights, glowing helmets, and backpacks at night. Aneesa said it was like Children of the Corn.

Tori and Devin got to a campsite with glowing triangles. Bananas questioned, “What the f**k is going on?”

Jordan and Aneesa arrived at a different site from the other teams that featured tents and glowing objects.

As everyone stood around confused, a huge central part of the cornfield suddenly started to radiate with different lights, and a colossal neon glowing structure was visible.

TJ’s voice boomed over a loud PA system as he announced it was time to let the games begin for “hour 82.”

He revealed that they had to find him in the corn maze as he called their names out. Tori and Devin got to start running through the maze first. Next, TJ called out for Nany and Bananas to go, followed by Jordan and Aneesa.

As they were running, Nany said in confessional she’d injured her knee during part of the final and hadn’t recovered yet. TJ yelled to everyone, “A million dollars is on the line.”

Another elimination takes place during the Ride or Dies final

Tori and Devin reached the site first, followed by Nany and Bananas, then Jordan and Aneesa. Nany was furious with Bananas about pushing her to go faster with her hurt knee.

TJ revealed Tori and Devin were safe from elimination because they got there first. The other two teams had an elimination. Bananas hugged Nany and apologized, kissing her on the cheek.

The two teams played Balls In. The event had the basket in the middle with a circle rope around it. If competitors were tackled but managed to get into the circle holding the ball, it counted as a point. They got zero points if they lost the ball or got stopped outside the circle. The first team to get three would win.

balls in elimination in the challenge ride or dies final
The Challenge: Ride or Dies final featured another elimination, with Balls In returning. Pic credit: MTV

Nany and Aneesa stopped each other from scoring in the first round, while Bananas and Jordan each scored a point. Nany kept getting past Aneesa but didn’t get her ball into the basket. She couldn’t stop Aneesa on her next turn. It was 2-1 in favor of Jordan and Aneesa.

It was tied at 2-2 after Bananas scored and then stopped Jordan. The event came down to Aneesa against Nany. Aneesa’s knee buckled, and Nany got past her to score. For Aneesa’s turn, Nany said in confessional she made a savage move, going straight for her ankle and tackling Aneesa down.

Aneesa was in tears when she went down, and Nany hugged her on the ground. A medic checked on Aneesa’s knee. She eventually got to her feet, and her castmates hugged her. Jordan told her she did great as his partner. TJ asked the losing team how it felt to be on Ride or Dies.

Aneesa said there were ups and downs, but Jordan brought out the best in her. In confessional, Jordan said his respect and love grew for Aneesa, and he’d “always have her back.”

Final two Ride or Dies teams battle in Level Up

After Aneesa and Jordan left the scene, TJ dismissed the other two teams to stay at separate camps, saying he’d call them to return to compete for one million dollars.

With three hours to go, the two teams returned to the venue. TJ revealed this was where the winners would be crowned, and they’d take home $1 million.

TJ brought out the other finalists to cheer them on, including Horacio Gutierrez with Olivia Kaiser. Olivia was visibly bruised with dark marks on her face after her slingshot backfired and a golf ball hit her in the final.

The two teams played Level Up. They had to get through four difficult rooms to reach and pull a lever in the middle first.

The first room involved a recreation of the elimination Nelson Thomas and Fessy Shafaat did with nine large spears they had to yank out of the walls and place in a nearby spot.

level up appears in the challenge ride or dies episode 19
Level Up appears as the last part of The Challenge final before winners could claim $1 million. Pic credit: MTV

Bananas and Nany completed the first level of the room. Next, they kicked and tore through a wall to a room with 200 cinder blocks. They pulled them out to stack up to assemble a puzzle outside of the structure. Bananas and Nany began arguing over what they needed to do.

They stacked up their blocks to make a Challenge logo but realized one block was off, so they had to start taking them all down to rebuild.

Tori and Devin completed their puzzle and moved on to Level 3, using a battering ram to break through the wall. They had to pull sand out of the next room and get through.

Who won The Challenge: Ride or Dies season?

Bananas and Nany were still stuck on their cinder block puzzle. They misplaced one block and realized they needed to rebuild, but decided to stop. Tori and Devin completed Level 3.

They reached a final room with chains they had to unravel and pull out. Bananas and Nany realized they had lost the final and could only watch. Devin and Tori kept going as Nany sat on the ground crying.

Tori and Devin advanced through their final level, pulled the lever, and officially won Ride or Dies. Bananas and Nany congratulated them on the victory. The others also offered congratulations, with Jordan hugging Tori after her winning season.

tori deal and devin walker win the challenge 38
Tori Deal and Devin Walker celebrate winning The Challenge: Ride or Dies. Pic credit: MTV

TJ announced they’d won $1 million. Upon winning, Devin said they would continue a tradition that the winners last season started. He said they’d give each of the other finalists up there $38,000 representing Season 38.

A surprised TJ said sharing money was a choice last season, but they weren’t even asked this season. That made the winners’ gesture extra special as the season closed out.

The Challenge: Ride or Dies airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on MTV.

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments