The Challenge: Final Reckoning is the thirty-second season of the MTV reality competition series The Challenge. This season featured alumni from The Real World, Road Rules, The Challenge, Are You the One?, the U.S. version of Big Brother, and the U.K. television shows Ex on the Beach and Geordie Shore, competing along with, for the first time, alumni from Bad Girls Club and Vanderpump Rules who appeared on the U.S. version of Ex on the Beach. The season premiered on July 10, 2018 on MTV.
Contestants
Teams
Format
Contestants are competing in pairs with someone they have a vendetta against (i.e. a rival or ex), who are unknown to them until they successfully survive the Opening Challenge. The elements of the game are as follows:
Daily Missions: Each round, the pairs compete in a challenge. The winning team is immune from elimination and has the "Power Vote" in the Reckoning Vote. Reckoning Vote: Following the Daily Mission, teams have to secretly vote one of the losing pairs for the Elimination Round. The "Power Vote" counts as two votes, but may only be cast on one team. Elimination Rounds (Armageddon): At the "Armageddon", the results of the Reckoning Vote are revealed to the players. In the event of a tied vote, the pair holding the "Power Vote" hold the tie-breaking vote (but should they not be able to reach a decision, then they become the nominated pair). The teams who voted for the nominated team are also revealed, and the nominated team has to call-out a non-immune team who voted for them. The two teams then face each other in the Armageddon. The losing pair is eliminated, while the winners stay in the game.
In the end, the Final Four teams compete in the Final Challenge and compete for $1,000,000, with the winning team taking it all. Unbeknownst to the contestants until the final challenge, the person who accrues a faster time during aspects of the final challenge that are individually timed has a choice between keeping all the money to themselves or sharing it with their partner.
Twists
Redemption House: Similar to XXX: Dirty 30, the "Redemption House" gives eliminated teams a chance to re-enter the main game. Periodically, the teams in Redemption House participate in a Double Cross Draw. The team who picked the XX Card will challenge a fellow Redemption pair to an "Apocalypse Challenge", while the teams not picked are officially eliminated from the game and are sent home. The winning team from the "Apocalypse Challenge" returns to the main game, while the losing team stays in "Redemption House", awaiting the next Draw & Challenge. Purges: Some challenges are designated as Purges, where the losing team is immediately eliminated, while the winning team gains an advantage for the next Daily Mission. Mercenaries: For some of the Elimination Rounds, the Nominated pairs have to face a Mercenary team - late entrants into the game who compete to earn their spot in the game.