How did The Challenge season 38 episode 16 end? Recap, eliminations, and more

The Challenge season 38 aired a new episode on Wednesday, January 25, 2023, at 8 pm ET on MTV. On this week’s episode, the contestants fought hard to ensure their place in the finals, but only one pair got “100 percent…one step closer to the final.”

Tori and Devin won the daily task, and they had their eye on Nany and Banana as their target. So far, the veteran Ride or Die has stayed under the radar and sailed through the show without having to compete in The Zone as a team.

However, Devin decided that he wanted to “take a shot” to ensure that Johnny doesn’t make it to another final. His plan consisted of sending the seven-time champion into elimination alongside Fessy and Moriah to ensure that one of them got eliminated. Fessy and Moriah left the show just before the final.

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The Challenge's daily challenge consisted of a bucket full of ice

In Wednesday’s episode of The Challenge season 38, only five teams remained. The daily task of the episode was titled Frozen Senseless and required the teams to submerge themselves in tubs of ice. As TJ explained, during the task, each player had to race to dig and crawl under their own team barrier to make it to the opposite ends of the course.

On one end of the course were boxes with different shapes on them, one of the teammates had to blindly feel them while the other had to correctly assemble the shapes on the other end of the course. However, the teammates could only communicate while in the ice water.

Johnny Banana was the first player to dig through the barrier, while Horacio was right behind him. Nany and Moriah were the first to get the key, with Tori following closely behind. However, the task depended a lot on communication, and that’s what Banana and Nany seemed to lack. While in the bath, the two were seen getting into an argument.

In his confessional, Johnny said:

"Sometimes we show up and we are 100 percent locked in on the same page. Other times we show up and we’re on opposite ends of the universe. Winning is really important because the only thing worse than going home first, is going home last."

However, they weren’t the only team whose communication seemed a little off. In another tub, Moriah told Fessy that he was giving her too much information. While these two teams were starting to get nervous, the other teams kept calm. Ultimately, Tori and Devin won and became the only team safe from elimination.

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The social game

The Challenge teams returned to the house where Banana was seen video calling Wes Bergmann, another vet from the franchise. He asked Wes for advice about Devin, and he told him to expect everything because Devin is known for playing “both sides.”

Tori and Devin had a set target and wanted to see Faysal and Moriah go up against Nany and Bananas in the Zone. Their plan seemed to be in place as the rookie-rookie team told them that they would pick Aneesa and Jordan during the dagger pick.

The only thing left to do was pick a direct vote, and after a lot of thought, they picked Fessy and Moriah over Johnny and Nany to send them into elimination. Ultimately, the plan worked, and viewers saw The Challenge legends against each other in the elimination.

Eventually, the seven-time champion and his ride-or-die Nany won the elimination and joined the other teams, while Faysal and Moriah went on.

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Tune in next week for The Challenge season 38 as they kick-start the 100-hour final on Wednesday at 8 pm ET on MTV.