‘The Challenge’ Finale Preview: Nelson Panics As He Struggles To Swim Without A Life Jacket

The orange cell faces a major roadblock when Nelson Thomas has some issues with swimming in this EXCLUSIVE look at 'The Challenge: Spies, Lies & Allies' finale.

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Season 37 of The Challenge: Spies, Lies & Allies will come to an end with the show’s Dec. 15 episode, and HollywoodLife has an EXCLUSIVE sneak peek. Part one of the final ended with the remaining eight competitors splitting up into two cells. On the purple cell is CT Tamburello, Emy Alupei, Tori Deal and Devin Walker, while the orange cell consists of Nany Gonzalez, Kaycee Clark, Nelson Thomas and Kyle Christie. In the preview above, the teams are tasked with unraveling a cage that’s covered in ropes and chains to unlock a safe. In order to open the safe, they have to dive under water to memorize a set of symbols, which they have to use to decode the numbers that will unlock the box.

The purple team stays calm and takes an early lead. “We’re working so well together as a unit,” Tori gushes. “I’m looking over at the orange diamond cell and they’re a little behind us, so my heart is just pounding right now.” The purple team gets into the water first, with Devin adding, “Our plan is very close to on track. We all have to memorize two of these numbers. I know I’ve got mine and I hope that I can count on my team to get theirs.”

nelson thomas
Nelson Thomas on season 37 of ‘The Challenge.’ (MTV)

Although the orange team is slightly behind, they get their rope unraveled and aren’t too far behind. However, Nelson is hesitant when it comes to jumping in the water. “No life jacket!?” he asks. “F***.” He pushes himself to do the swim with words of encouragement, but it isn’t long before he’s lagging behind his teammates. “Where’s Nelson?” Kyle wonders, as he makes it to the buoy.

“I have every single symbol memorized in my brain,” Kyle explains. “But Nelson is nowhere to be seen. I know he can’t swim without a life jacket, but come on man, it’s the final!” At that point, Nelson starts panicking, and screams out, “Aahh, I can’t make it!”

The clip ends there, so we’ll have to wait and see what Nelson’s fate is! The finale of The Challenge: Spies, Lies & Allies airs on Dec. 15 at 8:00 p.m. on MTV. Immediately following The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies season finale, fans can catch the premiere episode of THE CHALLENGE: ALL STARS  (Paramount+)  at 9:30p ET/PT.