Will Casey And Steve’s Lifeshield Hack Change The Challenge Game?

Strangely, a mission that found The Challenge: All Stars players tumbling off of a 25-story building just rocketed underdogs Casey and Steve to the top of the game. And now that the competition’s unlikeliest victors have completely flipped the script on the Arena-nominations process, is Season 2 changed for good?

Players prepared for the worst on the latest episode of the competition spinoff series as host TJ Lavin introduced each season’s most sadistic game: trivia. In this case, it was called “Bright Skies,” and if players answered a question incorrectly, they’d be yanked backwards off of a skyscraper’s roof and dropped 10 stories.

But Steve and Casey, both previous Arena nominees, finally took control of their fates, and each earned their first individual wins…ever.

“One of my goals coming here was to win a challenge,” Casey said through tears. “Not only is this becoming a super-real possibility, but I can win on something that I’m notoriously super afraid of.”

And being in the victor’s chair came unexpectedly naturally for Casey. Quickly, she and Steve realized that if they nominated Lifeshield holders Jodi and Cohutta into The Arena as part of their four picks, they could essentially goad the house into voting for replacement picks Ayanna and Derrick. Their logic? Nobody would vote for Tyler and Kendal, their two other candidates, once Jodi and Cohutta saved themselves.

But it quickly occurred to Steve that Katie — his best friend in the game who’d already been sentenced to the Arena for placing last in the day’s mission — had a mountain to climb against Ayanna, who’d quickly proved she was an elimination-round heavy hitter.

“We just made a damn good move on the guys’ side,” Casey said. “I can’t be super concerned with what’s going on in Steve’s head about Katie.”

Steve, however, had to face the music quickly, as Katie hammered him for failing to look out for her, his 2001 Road Rules: The Quest castmate.

“I’m not sure why Steve’s acting like he’s doing me a favor by putting me against one of the strongest girls in the house,” Katie said. “I’m baffled why he would do me dirty like that when I’m the only person here who would look out for him.”

And things went from bad to worse for Katie and Derrick in “Weight, There’s More,” which challenged players to move 1,000 pounds from one ramp to another before solving a puzzle. Ayanna and Brad handily took out their respective opponents, proving Casey’s and Steve’s master plan was worth the danger.

“Steve and I immediately hug each other, such a relief,” Casey said. “We took so many risks, and all of them paid off.”

Still, the move came at a price, as Steve wondered whether his friend of 20 years would forgive him.

“I’m a moron, and I wasn’t fighting for her,” Steve said. “This is a close friend, and I don’t know how to fix it.”

Challenge Godfather Mark was the only player who used the Lifeshield on Season 1 of All Stars to protect — funnily enough — Katie from The Arena. Consequently, the house nominated Arissa to compete in the “Wall Ball” elimination round in Katie’s place, compelling Arissa to quit after the fieriest Challenge tell-off ever.

“The way y’all pulled this sh*t was some flagrant, snake-ass sh*t,” Arissa famously spat, issuing a pair of middle fingers. “So f*ck you, I’m done!”

Think Casey and Steve’s Lifeshield hack will change the game? Share your thoughts, then hang tight for the next All Stars episode dropping on Thursdays only on Paramount+!