Challenge Trades: Who’s Got the Upper Hand After The Partner Switch-Ups?

If the second Double Agents episode is any indication, few competitors will leave the game with the same partner they began with on Day 1.

On tonight’s installment, it seemed only Fessy and Aneesa had secured solid footing as a duo. For the second week in a row, they were named victors, and after a decisive win in “Ice Spy,” a game of last man standing (mixed with swimming in frigid water), many of the game’s remaining players began voicing concern about less-than-ideal partnerships.

Nany, for one, said she loved Kyle but was less than impressed with his drive to succeed, and she was eager to get a new second-hand man (she even pitched Fessy at the bar). Similarly, Big T had grown wary of her connection to newbie Joseph, who’d introduced himself to the game by falling asleep at the bar, picking a fight with Wes and doing fractions of sit-ups in the living room while everyone ate lunch.

Then there was Devin, who said he couldn’t understand Nicole through her thick New York accent and likened her to an “incredibly fit infant.”

“It’s so frustrating knowing that half of my fate lies in Joseph’s hands, and these hands don’t seem too keen to get me to the final,” Big T said. “I feel like I’m in a bad marriage with Joseph — we don’t speak to each other, we’re not having sex. There’s no communication. I’m looking to get a divorce.”

Luckily for T, the separation functioned more like a quick annulment. After irritating the house in a fiery round of Crater deliberations, Joseph earned a spot in the game’s second elimination round. His opponent? None other than Kyle, who’d upset Aneesa and Fessy by lying to them about his vote, secret intel Fessy and Aneesa were privileged to uncover as the reigning Double Agents.

Joseph, who put up a good fight in “Ring of Spies,” a twist on the classic “Pole Wrestle,” nevertheless fell to Kyle, who earned the game’s second Golden Skull and the choice of keeping Nany as a partner or trading up for anyone else, save for the day’s winner, Aneesa.

Kyle, who quickly realized he was in social quicksand, made the split-second choice to infiltrate and steal Kam — one of the game’s most plugged-in politicians — away from Josh. This left Josh with his good pal Nany, and CT — who’d been flying solo as a Rogue Agent since the elimination of his partner Ashley — with Big T.

And strangely, everyone was thrilled with their new pairings.

“When I see Big T, I see a girl with a lot of heart, willing to throw herself into harm’s way for a million dollars,” CT said, and Nany couldn’t stop smiling either.

“Kyle dumped me, and I get my best friend Josh,” she said. “This is amazing.”

But how will the new duos fare, and was it smart for Kyle to set such a crazy domino effect into motion? Share your thoughts, and see how the show’s next episode shakes out when Double Agents airs Wednesday at 8/7c!