The Challenge 40 episode 4: Recap and more details explored

The Challenge 40 released episode 4 on September 4 at 8 pm ET/PT on MTV and Paramount+. The 40th season of The Challenge features both old contestants from the previous seasons and fresh ones, who compete in the Era Invitational. After the weakest contestants are eliminated, the remaining cast will move on to the Challenge Era and compete for the prize money of $1 million.

40 contestants started The Challenge 40, and 30 remain. Like the previous season, the show is hosted by TJ Lavin, who introduces twists and turns in the competition which none of the contestants have seen in the show's 26-year history.

The Challenge history lesson made a return in the episode, and doubt crept into the contestants due to a sudden death round.

---

What happened in episode 4 of The Challenge 40?

The challengers were seen returning after last week's elimination, with Darrell and Averey placing “targets” on two players from each era: Era 1’s Aneesa and Derrick, Era 2’s Bananas and Laurel, Era 3’s Jordan and Nia and Era 4’s Jenny and Horacio. Although Laurel from Era 2 wasn't happy, Era 3 looked calm as they revealed their plan of taking turns volunteering as targets.

Aneesa revealed to Jenny that she tore her ACL, and sprained her MCL and ankle. After requiring surgery, she trained every day and felt more fit than ever before. Jenny also expressed gratitude towards Aneesa for being the latter's “fitness coach,” as she had confidence that Aneesa would not make her a target.

After having a fight last week on The Challenge 40, Tori and Josh decided to clear the air and shook hands as they both apologized to each other. Horacio, on the other hand was feeling disheartened, as his girlfriend, Nurys, was eliminated last week.

TJ explained to the contestants that today's challenge would be trivia day. He also revealed his love for the challenge since he got to launch the contestants off a platform and into the sea. In the 'Cradled Cranium,' each player would be suspended 30 feet above the water in the cradle position.

A series of questions would be asked, and each category would have 10 questions with varying difficulty levels. The players of The Challenge 40 would get the points if they answered correctly but if they answered incorrectly, two players from their Era would be dropped into the water. The team with the most points will be declared the winner. The players from the losing Era would move on to elimination.

As the game moved on, and a few questions went unanswered, Era 2 and Era 3 ended up tied at 1,600 points, and the game went to sudden death. Laurel won the challenge for Era 2 when she answered correctly and Jordan couldn't.

This resulted in Laurel and Bananas being safe from elimination. Laurel launched a tirade of F-bombs on Darrell and accused him of soliciting massages from Emily.

Era 4 lost the challenge, resulting in Horacio and Jenny going up in the elimination arena, either against Derrick and Aneesa of Era 1 or Jordan and Nia of Era 3. After the challenge, Cory speculated with Devin that Jordan threw the challenge because Jordan was at the gender reveal of Cory and Cheyenne’s baby.

During the elimination round of The Challenge 40, Laurel and Bananas revealed that they picked Derrick & Aneesa to go against Horacio & Jenny. The challenge would be 'Pick It Up,' in which players would have to reach for a basket and grab a ball.

The players would then have to shoot the ball up into a track, and as the ball is rolling down the track, they would need to gather as many jacks as they can before the ball makes it to the end.

The players must also catch the ball by the end of it for the jacks they’ve picked up to count. The teams would have to race against each other and place 40 jacks on a board to win this contest. Jenny won her contest against Aneesa with a score of 40-37 while Derrick won against Horacio with one ball remaining. The winners will be able to select new targets heading into next week, while Aneesa and Horacio were eliminated.

The targets for the next challenge of The Challenge 40 are CT & Tina from Era 1, Nehemiah & Emily from Era 2, Devin & Tori from Era 3, and Kyland & Olivia from Era 4.

---

New episodes of The Challenge 40: Battle Of The Eras air every Wednesday on MTV and Paramonut+.