The captains have been picked and players aren’t happy with the new twist. Derrick & Aneesa, Bananas & Laurel, Jordan & Nia, and Horacio & Jenny hold the title.
In the Trivia Era
We open with an Easter egg from Battle of the Exes teasing a trivia challenge, and sure enough, the cast is playing Cradled Cranium. The teams are separated on a beam and they pick Challenge-related questions from a board, all with different point values based on difficulty. If answered incorrectly, two competitors will drop. Immediately, Era 4 is struggling, but Era 1 is also having a hard time remembering the answers — even though they’ve appeared on basically every season. When Derrick answers a question incorrectly, he sends CT into the water who lands awkwardly on his back. He’s taken to the hospital, and the game continues with Era 4 coming in last place. Era 2 and Era 3 continue to do well until the scores are tied at 1,600 points. It seems like Era 2 is destined to win because they have so many players remaining, but they all fall because the team didn’t know Asaf appeared on So You Think You can Dance? and Sean Duffy went into politics.
Sudden Death Duel
Because Eras 2 and 3 are tied, we head into a sudden death round with Laurel and Jordan serving as representatives. Laurel knows Pole Wrestle debuted on The Duel, but Jordan loses because he forgot Devin’s Rivals 3 partner was Cheyenne (even though he was talking about her with Cory the night before). So, Era 2 wins. As Laurel celebrates her safety, she sends a big FU to Darrell who named her as captain. Darrell tells her to be quiet and no one was thinking about this, but Laurel continues to bicker with Darrell, telling him to get more massages from Emily… even though she’s married.
Strategies and Suspicions
CT is back in the game without any serious injuries, and it’s just in time for the cast to go out to the club. Many cast members are talking strategy and Jordan’s prepping Nia for the Chamber. Jordan feels he’s earned respect from Bananas over the years, but some people think he really had to earn his position in the game. Devin and Cory question how Jordan could possibly forget Cheyenne’s name, especially because Cory invited Jordan to his gender reveal party, and Cory feels something is off. Meanwhile, Derrick and Aneesa are talking to Bananas and they ask for safety, but Bananas prepares them for the possibility that Laurel won’t compromise — and he won’t go out like Tony.
It Takes an Era
Horacio tells Laurel he wants to keep Jordan around, so he asks for Derrick in the Arena. Laurel likes this because she wants to keep strong men around. However, the Era 2 team has a team meeting because they all want to be involved in the Arena choices. Nehemiah claims he fears Jordan in the final, but Laurel insists that Jordan has protected her on prior seasons (and got revenge by ensuring Michele went home on Ride or Dies). So, much to the dismay of the Era 2 team, Laurel promises to look out for Jordan.
A Page from the Old School
At the Chamber, Derrick comes prepared with notes. He pulls out a piece of paper and tries to show Bananas that Era 2 and Era 4 are his biggest threats, but Era 1 is on life support. He tries to exemplify that keeping him and Aneesa safe will benefit Bananas and Laurel, and Bananas is impressed by the effort. Then, Jordan talks, and he says that to return a favor and extend safety, competitors need to win. Era 2 and Era 3 could run the show if they were in cahoots. While Bananas feels the decision is weighing on his mind, he feels Laurel had her mind made up before the Chamber.
The Easy Choice
At the Arena, Jenny and Horacio hop down and await their opponents. So, Laurel pipes up and nominates Derrick and Aneesa. Bananas co-signs this, unwilling to see another stalemate. The game is called Pick It Up, and it’s a glorified game of Jacks. Competitors throw a ball onto a bamboo chute, and as it rolls to the end, the competitors collect Jacks. They must catch the ball at the end of the chute and peg the Jacks on a board. The process repeats until 40 pieces are collected and pegged.
Jenny vs. Aneesa
People feel Jenny is built for a Challenge, but she starts this elimination off slow. She struggles to get the ball onto the chute, allowing Aneesa to start with a lead. Then, Jenny develops a rhythm and she starts picking up speed. She even surpasses Aneesa, but she needs to take a lot of time to catch her breath. This makes the game neck-and-neck, and it seems like Aneesa is close to winning. She has her final three pieces in her hands, but she misses her ball when it comes off the chute. So, Jenny gets the chance to get her final two pieces, and she does it successfully, taking the victory.
Horacio vs. Derrick
This heats starts off much faster than the last one. Both men are moving with speed, and it’s also a neck-and-neck game — until Horacio drops a ball and has to reset three pieces. This gives Derrick the chance to catch up, but he gets greedy and drops a ball in the process. Both players are on their final pieces, and the horn sounds, but no one is applauding because they don’t know who won. It’s that close, but TJ reviews the footage and says Derrick completed his board first, sending Horacio home.
The New Captains
After winning, Derrick picks Tina, Emily, Tori, and Olivia — all of them volunteered. Jenny picks CT, who volunteers, but she has to make decisions for the remaining captains. Nehemiah, Devin, and Kyland get the title, but some eyebrows are raised. Devin expected Cory to volunteer and Kyland expected Josh to volunteer, but ultimately, this doesn’t matter… the only thing that matters are the names out of Jenny’s mouth.
Stop Being Polite 