The Mercenaries Arrive on 'The Challenge: Final Reckoning': How Does That Affect Kam's Plan?

Kam Williams executed a well-thought-out plan during Tuesday's episode of The Challenge: Final Reckoning to ensure her and partner Kayleigh Morris' vote would be the one that mattered and sent a team into elimination. However, host T.J. Lavin had a twist up his sleeve that changed the game.

The challenge forced the competitors to work in two teams, but only the first set of partners to cross the finish line, Kam and Kayleigh, were the winners. Kam planned to use their power—their vote counted twice—to protect the teams she wanted to stay in the house. Kayleigh let her make her move.

Kam announced to the house she was going to vote for Kyle Christie and Brad Fiorenza or Joss Mooney and Sylvia Elsrode, shocking everyone because Sylvia was one of her close friends. Sylvia was visibly upset and even cried, but it was all fake because she knew Kam's plan. Kyle too knew Kam had something in mind. The rest of the teams came together and planned "burn votes" to cancel each other's out. That was what Kam wanted, so only the names she and Kayleigh said mattered.

When it came time for the elimination round in Armageddon, Faith Stowers and Angela Babicz were voted in. Jozea Flores and Da'Vonne Rogers had said their names as their "burn vote," which should have made them the girls' only eligible opponents. (Kam and Kayleigh were safe because of their win.) Kam had wanted those two rookie teams to face one another. That was when T.J. reminded everyone he's the "dirtiest player in the game" and had Ashley Mitchell and Hunter Barfield come in as the mercenaries.

The mercenaries are a concept introduced during 2010's Cutthroat. They are strong competitors not participating in a season brought in specifically to face players in an elimination round.

This is Ashley's seventh Challenge (including the spin-offs against Pros and Stars). She started on Rivals III in 2016 and won Invasion of the Champions in 2017. This is Hunter's third season of the MTV competition series, and he started on Invasion of the Champions.

Usually, the mercenaries just compete to take out players during eliminations and then leave. On Final Reckoning, they're there to take the losing team's place in the game, T.J. revealed. Ashley and Hunter fit the theme of the season (enemies working together) because they dated.

The Challenge: Final Reckoning airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on MTV.