Things got intense on episode 5 of The Challenge: Battle of the Eras as some players tried to form unlikely alliances and one longtime feud came to a head.

Which Era Won the Daily Challenge in Season 40 Episode 5 of ‘The Challenge’?

This week’s daily challenge required the players to navigate a large Y-shaped beam through the woods to collect sandbags. They then had to put the sandbags on a large scale until it was balanced.

Era 4 won the challenge, but several players from era 2 noticed that Laurel Stucky didn’t seem to be trying her hardest for their team. She later admitted to throwing the challenge so her team’s female target, Emily Schromm, would be a contender for elimination. Laurel, 39, felt like Emily was one of her biggest competitors and didn’t want to risk having to run against her in a final.

Meanwhile, era 1 came in last place, which meant their targets – CT Tamburello and Tina Barta – were automatically thrown into the elimination.

Who Went Home on ‘The Challenge’ Season 40 Episode 5?

Era 4’s targets, Olivia Kaiser and Kyland Young, had to decide whether they wanted to send in era 2 – Emily, 35, and Nehemiah Clark – or era 3 – Devin Walker and Tori Deal – against CT, 44, and Tina, 43.

Before the daily challenge, Nehemiah, 38, tried to strike up a deal with Devin, 35, and Tori, 31, to protect each other if either of their eras won. However, Devin did not agree to the deal, as he also had relationships with CT and Olivia, 32.

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At the deliberations, Nehemiah and Emily called out Devin for trying to make too many deals, citing his “Vacation Alliance” with Tori, Kaycee Clark and Josh Martinez. Devin then exposed Nehemiah for trying to make a secret alliance with him, leaving Kyland, 33, and Olivia confused, since Nehemiah told them before deliberations that Devin was the one spearheading the possible deal.

With era 3 and era 4 seemingly working together, it was of little surprise that Kyland and Olivia chose era 2 to go into elimination. The players had to remove 100 nails from a wall and then hammer them back into another wall.

Tina beat Emily for the girls, while Nehemiah pulled off an upset and sent home CT for the guys.

The winners then got to choose the targets for next week. Brad Fiorenza volunteered for era 1, and with Rachel Robinson being the only other female player left, she was the only choice. For era 2, Nehemiah chose to nominate Laurel, while Tina picked Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio. Cory Wharton volunteered for era 3, while Nehemiah chose Jonna Mannion – who was supposed to volunteer herself but opted not to – for the women. Era 4’s female target was Jenny West, while Josh, 30, volunteered for the men.

Cara Maria and Laurel Fight on ‘The Challenge’ Season 40

Cara Maria Sorbello and Laurel have had an up-and-down relationship for years and things exploded between them this week. After Michele Fitzgerald tried to settle her own past differences with Laurel – who refused – Cara, 38, told the Survivor champ that she would be her friend.

Laurel felt that Cara was just trying to rally people to be on her side and said she didn’t “respect” the move, while Cara pointed out that Laurel was having issues with multiple people in the house this season. “Maybe you’re the problem,” she told her former friend.

The fight between the women intensified until security had to step in. Cara received support from other players like Michele, 34, Rachel, 41, Ryan Kehoe and Emily, while Kyland and Theo Campbell checked in on Laurel after the blow-up.

‘The Challenge’ Season 40 Hookups

Meanwhile, Michele and Devin’s relationship continued to blossom this week. She explained that they had been friends for some time but that he always had a girlfriend so it never got past the point of friendship until this season. Although both of them were adamant that they weren’t looking for love on The Challenge, they weren’t able to escape their feelings!

Olivia and Theo’s romance also proved to be going strong, while Emily and Brad, 43, had to say their goodbyes following her elimination. The Real World alum admitted he’d miss Emily, but he also made it clear that he was prioritizing the game.