My wife is losing interest in this season of The Challenge. I think the producers didn’t expect the cast members to band together so quickly and form such a large alliance (currently sporting four and a half teams). I also don’t think they figured said cast members would so cleverly figure out ways to game the challenges. This is the second one in a row where a pretty simple plan wound up easily putting one team in the bottom regardless of their skill level and knock off a few others along the way. There was some chance and skill to it, but not really, especially when it was so planned out.

Here’s something else about not only this season but the Challenge in general that’s a little crazy. If a guy hits a guy, he’s automatically sent home. I think it’s the same for a woman hitting a woman. However if a woman hits a guy, it’s not as big of a deal. Worse yet, a person can literally chase you around a house yelling terrible things at you and you literally can’t get away from them because most of the rooms don’t have doors. You have to rely on either your roommates to help keep that person away or, after putting up with enough torment, try and knock them out yourself. Of course, at that point, you get sent home. All of this is a roundabout way of saying that Knight is a douchebag who thinks he’s playing the game, but doesn’t understand that no one has ever won based entirely on psychological warfare, you also have to either be a beast yourself or not be saddled with the biggest joke team I’ve ever seen on one of these things.

Anyway, I’m guessing that things are going to get more interesting in the next episode or two (or at least hope they do). No matter who wins or loses the Arena that we won’t see until next week, one of the sickeningly sweet couples will be broken up, which I’m all for. I also think that the already rocky larger alliance is breaking down to a few core teams, which will at least make for some more interesting challenges. No one really thought this would last for more than a few Arenas, right? Anyway, if you want to check out the live blog, hit the jump.

* I’m hoping that Fresh Meat wins today’s challenge and throws this alliance for a loop.

* Start off on a party boat. They say how nice it is to get a break but either the last ep or the previous one started just like this.

* Devyn and Easy.

* Trishelle tells Knight that New Orleans is not a threat to them. Knight says if he can get Vegas to break, he has no problem with that.

* Frank tells the camera he’s not sure if Vegas is still in the alliance or not.

* Nany can’t find her laundry. She’s walking all over the house and no one’s saying anything. Knight tells Jemmye he’s the one who threw it in there. She’s not happy with his decision.

* Jemmye tells Nany about it. She immediately gets up and goes after him…with win in hand. She throws her wine glass. The laundry sinks to the bottom of the pool. Man, Knight must have really pissed Jemmye off. She tells him she’s never hated him more now than ever.

* Knight’s pissed, drunk and now throwing Nany’s entire suitcase into the pool. Dustin dives in with some of the others to get it and she seems less pissed.

* Frank tells Knight that he didn’t get in their heads, he just painted a big target on their backs and the alliance’s. Nany surprisingly kept her head together for this, I’m kinda shocked.

* The challenge is called Don’t Weigh Me Down. There’s a platform. Each team has two people up on the platform and they have to hold onto a rope holding a basket. The other half of the team is running around tossing rocks into other teams’ baskets. Whoever drops first goes in first, whoever lasts the longest gets Power Couple.

* St. Thomas wants to go after Brooklyn like the alliance, but Trey’s friends with the Brooklyn kids and doesn’t want to put rocks in their baskets. To fix this problem, Trey offers to hold the basket.

* Easy’s holding it himself, Alton and Nany for Vegas, Sam and Zach for San Diego, Jemmye and  for New Orleans, Devyn and Chet for Brooklyn. Laura and Trey for St. Thomas. CJ and Jonna for Cancun.

* Almost everyone’s going for Brooklyn, just a few elsewhere. They just drop it. Devyn wants to save he energy.

* Now they’re focusing on Fresh Meat. Easy’s all angry. Damn, that basket is PACKED. Devyn likes what she sees.

* Now the plan is to just throw rocks in down the line. Frank’s mad because people are putting rocks in their basket.

* St. Thomas is out next.

* Zach’s freaking out, he’s mad that he’s sharing the rope with Sam.

* Haha, now the alliance is now

* San Diego’s out next. Then New Orleans. Now it’s between Cancun and Vegas.

* No one wants Vegas to win because they’re wild cards.

* Vegas is out next so Cancun wins.

* Back at the house, Cancun gathers the alliance together as well as Marie and Robb. Marie and Robb are pissed because they don’t want their team members sent home. They talk shit, say if they go in they’re coming back strong and walk away. Gotta admire Marie’s gigantic balls.

* Derek goes up at the throwing in thing and says they’re sending in…commercial break. Back to it. They’re throwing in Fresh Meat. Whoa! Oh man, Easy and Devyn will probably be going up against each other.

* CJ tells the camera the alliance did this to keep Robb and Marie — who they consider part of the group — in.

* The Arena will be Mental. Sarah’s pretty good at puzzles, but Devyn is pretty sure she’s going in.

* CJ tells Trey why they didn’t get sent in. Trey says he thinks it’s because of him. He wants them to ask him for his advice/permission/etc.

* Now Chet’s getting into it with CJ. Chet calls him a phony.

* Club night. Devyn and Easy are hanging out with Alton and Sarah.

* Camila’s complaining that the new kids aren’t competitors, they’re just gamers. Jemmye jumps into it, then Devyn. I have no idea what they’re saying, but KNight’s getting in Devyn and Camila’s face.

* It looks like everyone’s all up in everyone’s faces. Camila to Knight, “She doesn’t love you!” OH SNAP.

* As they get back to the house, Knight says something to Nany — who was keeping other people from getting into it on the bus — and it looks like she hits him. Nany doesn’t go after him, but she’s all in his face.

* Here’s a weird thing with the rules, a dude hits a dude and he’s gone. A girl hits a dude and she’s okay. A guy gets all in a girl’s face calling her every name I can think of and that’s okay.

* Nany just wants to get out of there. Dustin goes after her to try and calm her down and keep her from going back in the house. Nany throws a glass at the floor near Knight.

* Drunk Knight’s telling Trishelle he’s the best manipulator there.

* Man, Knight is an asshole. He keeps saying it’s a game, but it’s  game with real people and as my wife points out, he has no idea how some of these women have been treated by men in the past. Is it worth intentionally damaging people on national television to try and win a game? Plus, let’s not forget that Knight is not athletic. He’s not Wes (who this tactic also doesn’t work for) and he can’t win challenges, so this is a pointless effort for him.

* The next day, Knight doesn’t care what he said. Jemmye feels bad. Jemmye tells the camera that Knight’s actions reinforce her not wanting to be with him.

* Nany tells Camila she’s down for being there now, doesn’t want to go home anymore and assumes the alliance is over.

* Easy and Devyn are now arguing because she didn’t want to tell him the age difference between her and an old guy she dates. He’s hurt because he was being super honest with her and she was lying to him. Devyn thinks he’s using the fact that she doesn’t want to talk about this on camera as an excuse to put up another wall.

* Man, there’s only 8 minutes left, I’m guessing this Arena is either super short or we’re looking at a To Be Continued. We also don’t know for sure who’s going in for Brooklyn yet.

* Now Devyn’s talking to Jemmye. She explains that she didn’t want to talk about this. Now Knight comes in and says he was talking to Easy. He goes back to Easy and says that he’s blowing it out of proportion. Both Devyn and Easy say that Knight is coherent and probably right in this situation.

* We’re going to end with Devyn and Easy talking and getting back together.

* Cut to Devyn talking to Sarah about going into the Arena. She says she’s going in but also doesn’t want to go up against Easy.

* Okay, I guess we’re going to intro the game. Camila’s obviously going in. I thought we were going to cut to the To Be Continued, but we do find out that Devyn is sending herself in.

* Holy crap, Johnny Mosley’s hair is terrible.