Challenge: USA Recap: A Fiery Double Elimination Claims Two More Victims

It's the episode that every reality TV fan yearns for: It's double elimination time, baby!

We pick up with Thursday's cliffhanger, where Bananas gets to choose whether he wants to jump ship to another team. He says he's not here to go with the flow, so thinking that his only chance for survival is to win more challenges, he switches places with Cory and joins the Blue team.

DAILY CHALLENGE | In "Sideswiped," four players at a time will hang off the side of two double-stacker trucks. They must swing from truck to truck trying to stick tags on the opposite side. Naturally, the trucks will be barreling down a runway. TJ also fills them in on that double elimination biz, so the stakes? They are high.

Amanda drops most of her pieces, once again showcasing how her bark is clearly bigger (and louder) than her bite. The Blue team quickly falls out of it and decides to help Red win (thanks to Chris' smarts). Bananas literally throws all of his chips on the ground, as he works to defend his side of the wall against Monte. The plan works and Monte is "heated." Red takes the cake with 48 points and earns safety.

NOMINATIONS AND VOTING | Both the male and female player chosen by Red will be playing, but whom will it be? The Secret Garden ladies stand strong on wanting Wes and Amanda to be their noms, but Josh wants Desi and Luis in the Arena. Chanelle tries to compromise with the guys, but Dusty (who seems to be in the throes of love with Bananas) considers that to be "strong-arming.' (K.) Pretty soon everyone's shouting and Josh is standing up and... well, being Josh. He tells them he doesn't care if they stalemate (a definite no-no in the Challenge universe), but all he's doing is painting a target on himself. Tiffany changes her vote, making Desi the nomination. Michele also buckles under the pressure, sealing Luis' fate as well.

Desi spreads the word that she wants to go against Amanda, but specifically does not reveal that to Wes, knowing he'll use it against her. (Smart!) A lot of "Amanda" balls go into the Hopper, while Michaela throws a rogue "Wes" vote in for no apparent reason at all. Love that chaos!

"Double Crossed and Sideswiped" – Host TJ Lavin reveals a shocking double elimination leaving the Challengers scrambling to win a high-stakes, adrenaline filled semi-truck challenge to ensure their survival in the game, on THE CHALLENGE: USA, Sunday, Aug. 20 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network and streaming on Paramount+ (live and on demand for Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers, or on demand for Paramount+ Essential subscribers the day after the episode airs). Pictured: T.J. Lavin. Photo by Jonne Roriz, courtesy of Paramount ©2023 Paramount, All Rights Reserved.

THE ARENA | The votes are as follows:
Tyler: 3
Sebastian: 1
Wes: 2
Monte: 2
Bananas: 1
Chris: 6
Michaela: 4
Cassidy: 2
Amanda: 9

TJ fires up the Hopper and the two victims of the Secret Vote are: Amanda and Chris.

In "Evil Eye," opponents start at the center of the Arena, holding onto a disc. The goal is to get the object out of the selected area before his or her competitor. The men are up first and after a rough-and-tumble, Chris comes out on top. Amanda puts up a decent fight, but Desi's able to knock her right out of this competition. (Byeeeeee!)

Chris decides to return to Blue, while Desi chooses to join him, swapping places with Alyssa S.

Were you happy to see Chris and Desi pull it off? Could the MTV Vets possibly turn this thing around? Drop your thoughts in the comments below!