Did The Final Reckoning Winner Make The Right Choice?

Move aside, Johnny Bananas — there’s a brand new Challenge top prize winner. However is the ultimate Final Reckoning winner just getting a bad rap?


On tonight’s Season 32 finale, the final four teams competed in a two-day marathon that included lengthy runs, descents into spooky caves and more puking than you’d find at any ipecac-gargling contest. And, to create matters more intense, TJ informed the order that while there would, indeed, be two winners, the individual victor who finished the game more speedily than his or her partner would have the decision to either split the million-dollar prize, or keep it all for himself or herself.


It was only the second time in franchise history that a ultimate winner got such a choice, and more than two years immediately after Johnny Bananas swiped Sarah’s share of the Rivals III check, the Final Reckoning finale proved to be a nail-biter straight out of the gate.


Right after climbing down ladders suspended from a stationary helicopter, teams tore off onto the barren South African race track. TJ informed each team that they’d have one Vendettas-inspired grenade to use to handicap any other team, nevertheless at the get-go, each went unused.


Sadly, Natalie didn’t even require a grenade to find herself at an immediate deficit. Whenever she and Paulie began way out ahead of the pack on the 4K run, Natalie accidentally took a wrong turn, and by the time she noticed her way back to the right route, each other team had completed the run.


“I’m so in the zone that I don’t even realize Paulie isn’t in front of me anymore,” Natalie mentioned before breaking down in tears.


Still, Natalie and Paulie made a fast turnaround, and in a subsequent challenge that tasked players with balancing atop a series of raised structures (with very little squirm room), Natalie and Paulie managed to outlast the pack.


Considering the group’s previous performances on the run, though, Ashley was sure that first place was still essentially a battle between her team and Joss and Sylvia’s.


Right after spending most of the night in back-breaking pain, the order met TJ at a meal buffet from hell that included cow snouts, chicken heads and sheep face. Each team had to eat as several of the 32 entrees as they could, and the initial team put down all of the grub successfully would stop the clock and avoid a penalty.


No surprise: the consummate vacuum cleaner Hunter helped his team to immediate victory, while Cara Maria and Marie continued to struggle, earning nevertheless another last-place finish.


And although Ashley had thrown a grenade at Sylvia and Joss before the picnic, burdening them with an extra entrée each, the Brit-American team remained hot on their heels, and finished second.


In the game’s final leg, each duo was directed to sprint three kilometers to a cave (Ashley and Hunter began ten minutes later than the rest, thanks to a rebutting grenade-toss from Joss and Sylvia), descend into a darkened pit and walk across fire. Once each person had arrived at the hot coals, TJ gave eligible teams one last chance to use a grenade, and though Paulie and Natalie swore they wouldn’t (Paulie even swore on his family’s life), they hit Joss and Sylvia with however another handicap. So while three out of four teams needed only to perform the walk to accomplish the final mission, Joss and Sylvia first had to unlock a pair of shackles, the right keys for which were mixed in with dozens of fakes.


And the move basically proved to be the game’s deciding factor. Cara and Marie’s fourth-place finish didn’t come as much of a surprise, and because of Natalie’s running blunder, she and Paulie took third place. TJ reported that the winning team had claimed victory by much less than two minutes, though, and once all was mentioned and done, it was Hunter and Ashley who’d claimed the best prize. Further, TJ revealed that Ashley had earned the perfect time in general, leaving her with the big decision: keep the million-dollar prize to herself, or split it with Hunter.


We’d be lying if we mentioned Ashley needed a little bit of time to mull it over. Almost immediately, and with decisive dismissal, she mentioned this:


“TJ all those things you mentioned about all those other partners is true,” Ashley mentioned, referring to TJ’s insistence that each player had made it to the final because of tandem efforts. “But this guy’s belittled me, put me down, along with slut-shamed me and threatened my life and my family’s life — I’m keeping the cash. I would mention I feel bad however I don’t, because this is nothing compared to what I went through all season.”


“Your self-worth is something you can’t get back,” Ashley continued. “And as soon as someone belittles you so much, I determined there's no way he deserves this."


And in a flash, Hunter, whose face had previously been painted with a giddy smile, was reduced to emotional rubble.


“You will burn in hell for this,” he spat at Ashley through tears.


Some players saw Ashley’s choice conniving, along with a betrayal of the spirit of the game.


“Ashley doesn’t even take a goddamn second-and-a-half,” Cara mentioned. “She had this sh*t suggested from the moment she stepped foot in the final. Ashley has right now taken one-million dollars, although also the title of biggest asshole in Challenge history.”


Others, though, saw Ashley’s moved as warranted considering Hunter’s treatment of her and, more, simply an observance of the rules of the game.


“I thought I was a savage, however Ashley, you, sweetheart are the queen of savagery,” Paulie mentioned. “I gotta tip my hat to her because she did it. Plus a lot of people might not directly agree with that, although I’m not one of these people.”


So, what do you suggest — did Ashley make the correct choice by keeping the million-dollar prize, and did she deserve it all? Did her arguments against splitting the check with Hunter convince you? Or, did Hunter earn his cut, and was Ashley’s move also punitive? Share your thoughts, and be sure to hang tight for the two-part Final Reckoning finale on Tuesday at 9/8c.