Yes, we’ve still got more to talk about when it comes to everyone’s favorite animated Canadian
reality show. After three seasons, Total Drama went back to Camp Wawanakwa, ready to introduce
audiences to a whole new cast of characters AND a whole new set of crazy challenges. You guys know
the drill! Which one of these season 4 challenges were a cake-walk and which were a total nightmare?
I’m Brad with WickedBinge and this is Total Drama - Revenge of the Island Challenges:
Gruesome to Most Gruesome!
Now, just so we’re all on the same page: throughout our ranking, we’re going to be
looking at several factors as we determine which challenges are the most gruesome. These factors
include difficulty, discomfort, pain-level, and danger-level. Challenges that score high in
all of these factors will of course receive a high ranking. Additionally, if a challenge has multiple
parts to it, we’re going to be looking at all the parts together for an overall gruesome rating.
As always, we’re going to be starting with our easiest and least gruesome challenges
before working our way up to our most gruesome and terrifying! Okay, let’s go!
Starting with our least gruesome challenge, we have: The Go-Kart Challenge. Coming right
after the merging of the teams, the camper’s must each find a key hidden in Chef's kitchen.
The keys all go to a go-kart, which they must drive around the island, and the first camper
to spray-paint a mark on all three monuments on the island wins the challenge. At the risk of
making a pun, we have to say that this is a pretty low-key challenge. We see that in the first part
of the challenge, the keys aren’t really hidden in any dangerous spots, making them easy to grab
once they’re found. The only ‘danger’ are the giant cockroaches, but even they aren’t much.
Although the campers do have to briefly deal with laser-eyed squirrels before getting into their
cars, the driving portion of the challenge is surprisingly not too difficult either.
There aren’t very many dangers, nor is there a huge risk of injury outside of the crash risk
that naturally comes with a go-kart challenge, as there aren’t really a ton of crazy obstacles
that the contestants have to avoid. If a person is a good driver and knows where they’re going,
this challenge may even be fun for them instead of gruesome or painful. For these reasons,
we felt that this challenge earned the title of Least Gruesome.
For our second-least gruesome challenge, we had to go with the Search and Rescue challenge. For this
challenge, campers must race towards the shore. Once there, they have to save either Gwen or Sam
from a buried chest. Again, we see the contestants dealing with a giant squid and Fang while in the
water, although it’s only briefly. For the team that wins the first portion of the challenge, it’s
just a bit easier for them as they’re able to use a map and a compass. It’s still fairly difficult,
but those items certainly help. Later on in the episode, the teams have to briefly deal with
alligators and all the other dangers of a swamp. While the idea of getting attacked by an alligator
is pretty gruesome, is it really any more gruesome than the other animals that the campers have to
deal with this season? Really, what puts this challenge so low is that, in a sense, it’s more
of a gruesome challenge for Gwen and Sam than it is for the teams, as they’re the ones who are
at risk of suffocating. It’s pretty morbid reasoning, we’ll admit, but we still have to
go with it and declare this challenge one of the least gruesome ones of the season.
Following that, we have the Mt. Looming Tragedy challenge. Man, when a challenge
that involves literal mountain climbing is this far down, you know you’re in for a pretty crazy
season. In this challenge, campers must climb up Mt. Looming Tragedy, while at the same time
avoiding falling ice blocks, courtesy of Chef. Once on top of the mountain, they must play a
game of Capture the Flag while trying to survive the icy elements. We’ll acknowledge that climbing
a mountain free-handed is no easy task, and while campers are given the option of using
tools to help them, they have to fight off a giant mutant beetle in order to get them
so… yeah, not exactly a gimme. For those who struggle physically, this is a pretty
rough first-half - though not impossible, as B shows when he gets himself and his team to the
top of the mountain. As for the game portion of the challenge, teams only have to destroy each
other’s snow forts, not hurt each other. The only thing difficult about this part is all the snow
and ice that teams have to deal with, otherwise it’s really no more difficult (or gruesome)
than your average snowball fight. Although the first half of this episode’s challenge
was fairly difficult, the second half really brings down its gruesome ranking.
Next on our list is the Scavenger Hunt challenge. This episode has the two teams go on a scavenger
hunt through three different environments: the forest, the cemetery, and a dark cave.
Despite the scavenger hunt part, teams only need to reach the finish line with more
surviving members than the other team in order to win. Throughout the hunt,
the teams also have to avoid booby traps, as well as giant mutant spiders - much to
Cameron’s dismay - and even a giant squid at one point. Mutants and traps aside, this challenge
really isn’t too bad in terms of danger. The teams are forced to be clever as they decipher clues,
making this challenge slightly more intelligence driven than other challenges this season. Of
course, there’s still a physical element, and while things like the giant squid and
the minefield are pretty dangerous, they’re also able to be avoided if the camper wishes to do so.
The nature of the challenge allows each team to be pretty flexible in how they approach it. It’s
also revealed at the end of the challenge that the giant spider was actually Izzy in disguise,
meaning that (when it came to the spider, at least) the contestants weren’t in any danger.
Although this challenge could easily stir up some panic in contestants like Cameron or Brick, who
are afraid of spiders and the dark respectively, for the most part it’s a fairly straightforward
challenge to get through. For these reasons, it gets a spot on the lower half of our list.
Up next, we have the Cook and Run Challenge. This challenge alludes to an old favorite from all the
way back in the original Total Drama season, as contestants have to cook a dish. However,
there are a couple twists to this version of the challenge. Instead of having access to a
full pantry, campers have to use ingredients from around the island. The contestants then
have to eat their own dish before racing to the flagpole, all while avoiding getting hit by Chef.
Given all the dangers that can be found on the island, including toxic mushrooms and poison ivy,
this challenge already seems pretty gruesome even if it isn’t too difficult. Three out of the four
contestants end up getting sick. Taking that into consideration, forcing them to run and hide while
avoiding Chef’s “spaghetti gun” afterwards is pretty cruel. Now, fans of this season
may remember that this is the episode where we get Commando Zoey, who ends up setting several traps
that Chef has to avoid. One of these traps ends up severely injuring Scott, but because this wasn’t
part of the original challenge, we can’t really include it in the overall gruesomeness score.
Outside of this major injury, while the challenge is still pretty difficult to deal with, there are
still a few more that manage to outshine it in terms of both danger and gruesomeness.
Time to step up to the runway. Next is the Mutant Dress-up Challenge.
This is certainly a unique one. For this challenge, campers must dress up a mutated
animal and send it down the runway. Afterwards, the teams have to rescue Lindsay from Boney Island
after she’s kidnapped by Sasquatchanakwa. Now, by this point in the season, it’s been well
established just how dangerous the island’s mutant population is. You’ve got giant mutant angler
fish, mutant sharks, turtles and frogs - the list goes on! None of these animals are super easy to
catch, and of course that’s only half the battle. But surprisingly, the actual dress-up portion of
the challenge goes pretty smoothly. While this aspect does all depend on the animal that the
teams choose, the flexibility of that choice does help in toning down the possible danger.
Moving onto the impromptu rescue portion of the challenge, rather than being at risk of
being mauled by the sasquatch creature, teams only really have to dodge the barrels being thrown at
them a’la Donkey Kong. Again, the teams are able to approach the challenge from multiple angles,
which can either increase or decrease the danger factor depending on what plan they go with.
Additionally, while it’d hurt to get hit by one, flying barrels are hardly the most dangerous
obstacle that has ever been on this show. Really, it’s the flexibility of this particular challenge
as well as mid-level difficulty that allows it to rank lower on our list.
Entering into the upper half of our list, we have the Truth or Shark/Obstacle Course
challenge. In the first half of this challenge, campers had to either admit to an embarrassing
fact about themselves, or get themselves and their whole team dunked in the lake,
where they’ll have to deal with Fang, a four-legged shark. Then in the second half,
the teams compete in a baton-passing relay race on an obstacle course suspended over a pit of mud.
Although this challenge is one-part embarrassing and one-part physical, we don’t consider it to be
too bad. Sure, it may not be fun having your secrets revealed on TV, but based on the few
questions that Chris asked before cancelling the challenge, the reveal of these ‘secrets’
wasn’t exactly emotionally distressing. The only thing that boosts this challenge’s gruesome factor
are the brief interactions with Fang, considering that Scott nearly gets eaten. As for the second
half of the challenge, the obstacles themselves are pretty rough, as they include giant baseball
bats, mutant beavers and wrecking balls. The contestants are also forced to wear glasses that
blur their vision, just to add insult to injury. But even when considering the pretty painful
obstacles, an obstacle course over mud isn’t too bad at all by Total Drama standards. Messy,
painful and exhausting, but certainly not dangerous in comparison to some other
challenges that we’ve seen - or will see. For these reasons, we can’t place it any higher.
From the early episodes of the season to the finale, we now arrive at the Battle Royale
challenge. For this final challenge of the season, the remaining two campers have to make a suit of
armor out of various materials from a junk pile. Once their suit is complete, the two contestants
have to duel each other. The only requirement to win is that your opponent has to be pinned to the
ground for only three seconds. This is the main reason why we can’t put this challenge any higher.
For one, you could argue that the armor acts as decent padding, meaning that there’s a chance that
anyone participating in this particular challenge possibly wouldn’t get as hurt as they would in
other challenges. For another, the win condition isn’t too bad. Tiring a person out enough to pin
them for only three seconds isn’t really too harmful to the other person. Really, the only
thing that makes this challenge into a brawl is Lightning’s desire to beat Cameron to a pulp. If
it was any other pair competing, you could argue that it wouldn’t be nearly as harsh or violent.
Although, we can’t forget the mutants that Chris brings whenever he gets bored with the fight - but
again, the fact that the campers actually have armor to protect themselves this time around
goes a long way. As such, we felt that it wasn’t gruesome enough for us to place any higher.
Next up, we’re ranking the Aerial Challenge. In this challenge, the
campers take to the skies by building a flying machine. Once they’re in the air,
they have to go through the aerial obstacle course, which includes hoops of real fire and
flying mutant goats. The contestants also have to avoid the various awards of Chris’s that are
getting thrown at them by Heather as they try to catch her. Thankfully, the contestants are
able to use a projectile of their own - that being mutant goat eggs - to try and fight back.
Although the first half of this challenge is more intellectual, the second half certainly turns up
the heat - literally. Being high up in the air is already dangerous, but adding in the risk
of getting burned or mauled by a mutant goat really just brings it to a whole new
level of gruesome. However, because they end up flying over water instead of solid ground,
the risk turns out to be not quite as gruesome as it could have been. For this, we’ve lowered it’s
ranking just a bit, although we still consider it to be a pretty difficult and dangerous challenge.
We’re going to rank the Totem Challenge next. This first challenge really does set the tone for this
season and how much more dangerous it’s going to be compared to other seasons. While we can’t call
it the most gruesome, it’s certainly up there. For this challenge, teams had to cut their totem pole
down from a tree. Simple, right? Not exactly. See, each of the totems has a bomb attached to it. Yes,
a bomb. In order to deactivate the bomb, the teams have to then slide it down a hill
and ride it down a waterfall before placing it on a tree stump between two cabins. Oh,
and they only have seven minutes before the bomb explodes. See, it’s challenges like this
that really make you wonder how Chris got away with hosting for so long. The difficulties and
dangers with this challenge are pretty obvious. The contestants do get a bit of help though,
as one team gets a trampoline to help them reach their totem while the other gets a hacksaw that
can be used to cut their rope. It’s still pretty difficult though, and the challenge only gets
more intense from there. While the race itself isn’t too difficult, you can’t forget that the
teams are carrying a live bomb as they race - one that’s strong enough to destroy an entire cabin.
Falling down a waterfall is also nothing to sneeze at. Still, even with all of this,
there are still a couple challenges that manage to be even more dangerous than this one.
Going into our Top 3 most gruesome challenges, we have the Water Ski and Seagull Shooting
challenge. For this challenge, teams have to obtain some water skis from underwater.
Afterwards, they have to set off more mines than the other team using their mutant seagull shooters
in order to win the challenge. Naturally, any challenge that’s going to involve explosives
is going to get a higher ranking in terms of gruesomeness. Of course, any challenge that’s
in the water is going to involve sharks, which- yeah, never a good thing in terms of safety.
Even if both factors are pretty cartoony, we still have to acknowledge the danger factor. What makes
the first portion of this challenge even riskier is that the contestants that are obtaining the
water skis have to wear an old-fashioned diving suit, while their teammates pump air into the
suit. So, not only do divers have to look out for Fang, but they also have to rely on their teams to
make sure that they don’t drown. Considering how absent-minded this season’s contestants can be,
it’s a pretty scary thought. The second half of the challenge, naturally, is just as dangerous as
it is difficult. We even see Cameron get seriously injured during it after he gets thrown onto the
last mine. This moment definitely helps boost its ranking by showing just how dangerous and
injury-inducing this challenge can be. Sorry, Cameron… Still, we can’t give it our top spot,
as Jo was only forced to throw Cameron onto the mine after running out of seagulls to shoot.
If she still had one left, Cameron likely wouldn’t have gotten hurt. The danger factor is still
there, obviously, but this out-of-the-ordinary circumstance doesn’t play into the challenge
itself, and thus keeps it from getting put any higher. But hey, being in the top 3 isn’t too bad!
Just barely missing out on the title of Most Gruesome, it’s the Flower Retrieval
challenge. In this challenge, we see the final three contestants race through
the forest to retrieve a rare flower from Larry. Who’s Larry, you may be asking? Oh,
just a giant mutant venus flytrap that can eat a person whole, is all. No big deal. Anyway,
once they get the flower, they just have to race back to the finish line. Despite this challenge
being so close to the season’s finale, it really isn’t too bad. Chris even gives the campers a map
that they can use to help them find Larry - although, the path on the map only goes so far,
because Chris is just a jerk like that. There’s also, of course, the usual forest dangers
such as mutants and sinkholes, but those can be pretty easily avoided. The risk of getting
eaten alive by a giant plant, however, certainly boosts it’s gruesome factor. On the other hand,
given that it is just a plant and not an animal or beast, it could be argued that it would be easier
for someone to escape from its mouth if they were to be eaten - like how Lightning does. Buuuut on
the other OTHER hand, it also has the ability to chase down campers so, yeah, maybe it evens out.
What makes this challenge quite a bit tougher than some of the others is that the flower that
the campers have to retrieve is actually Larry's bite sensor, which means that there is no way for
anyone to grab it fast enough. In other words, campers have to be especially clever with this
one if they don’t want to get a limb bitten off. All in all, this challenge is pretty gruesome, but
we still can’t quite call it the MOST gruesome. The risk of getting eaten alive is pretty bad,
but not nearly as bad as getting blown up, or of getting radiation poisoning. Speaking of which...
Finishing off our list, we have the Radioactive Mine Challenge. It really shouldn’t be a surprise
to see this particular challenge ranked this high up. In this challenge, teams must search
for the Gilded Chris Award in an old mine. Okay, that isn’t so bad - it’s essentially another
scavenger hunt challenge, right? Yeahhh, about that. As Chris quickly reveals, the
mine that the campers are going into is radioactive. Geez, and we thought live bombs were
the peak of Chris McClean’s recklessness. Anyway, each contestant is given a Geiger detector with a
30-minute timer, and it’s heavily implied that if they don't get out of the mine in time, they’ll
likely die from toxic exposure. Given that Dakota not only lost her hair but also eventually mutated
after being in the mine, it’s made clear that the danger in this challenge is incredibly real. Chris
also gives them all heavy backpacks they have to wear in the mine until he says to drop them,
further adding to the difficulty of the challenge. Also it turns out the backpacks
have bombs in them, since Chris essentially just wanted to use the contestants to blow up the mine
and get the feds off their back. An effective strategy but seriously, what is with this guy
and bombs this season?! Still want more danger? How about giant mutant gophers and a feral
Ezekiel? Yeahhh, this challenge is pretty crazy, and considering how close contestants like Jo and
Lightning get to dying, it’s not only the most dangerous and gruesome challenge of this season
but probably one of the most gruesome challenges of the entire Total Drama series.
But let us know in the comment section if you agree with our ranking, and tell us what we should
cover next. Remember to hit that notification bell and binge our Most Gruesome playlist,
where we break down the most gruesome moments in your favorite cartoons,
shows and movies. But most importantly, stay wicked!