After two shocking underdog victories, can Era 1 survive another week? Seems doubtful.
Alliance Defiance
Heading into the next daily challenge, the cast is scrambling to control everything. Era 3 and Era 4 are feeling close, but they also have ties with a few other people — specifically, Bananas and Laurel. Despite the alliances, the person who’s most worried is Jonna. She’s upset Nehemiah named her as a team representative, even though she was the only girl on Era 3 who hadn’t been in the position yet. However, the fact that Jonna didn’t volunteer looks off-putting to other competitors, and Cory is worried that will put him in a bad position of his team loses.
Sore in the Clouds
The daily challenge is called Cloud Catchers, and the goal is to race through an obstacle course and retrieve large, helium-filled balloons. Once all the balloons are attached to the team’s base, it will raise a banner and reveal a riddle. The team that solves the riddle the fastest with the most in-tact balloons will win. The competitors quickly realize that protecting the balloons is more important than speed, but one person who didn’t get that memo is Derrick. He jumps into a muddy ditch and hurts his leg. He’s screaming in pain, worried his leg is broken, but realizes he still needs to help his team. A lot of balloons are popping, and many players are getting frustrated — but one person who isn’t overcome by frustration is Cara Maria. She refuses to throw the challenge, even though it would guarantee Laurel goes into the Arena, and she is helping Era 2 take the lead.
Floating to Victory
Era 2 and Era 3 are neck-and-neck, and when they get to the riddle, they quickly realize the answer if “fire” which corresponds to a code. Era 3 opens their chest first, but this doesn’t really matter. Gen 4 went slow and steady, and they had the most unpopped balloons — so Jenny & Josh represent the winning team. Meanwhile, Era 1 comes in dead last, again, so it’s a matter of deciding between Bananas & Laurel or Cory & Jonna as the second nominees.
Two Eras Become One
At the Chamber, Brad & Rachel state no preference in terms of opponents. So, Cory states that he was under the impression that Era 3 and Era 4 were working together while Era 2 and Era 1 were helping each other. Jonna reiterates that, especially because she feels one of her strongest allies coming into this game (Nehemiah) betrayed her. So, she doesn’t really have anyone else she has to protect. Meanwhile, Bananas & Laurel deny having closer ties to Era 1 and they feel they’re in a better position to help Era 4 because Era 2 is more likely to win challenges. Also, Bananas has a strong friendship with Jenny and he brings up Josh’s betrayal on USA 2, stating that Josh now has an opportunity to make amends.
A Chamber Change of Heart
Before the Chamber, Josh & Jenny asked their team for input on the nominations, claiming they want them to be a team effort. However, Josh walks away from the Chamber stating he and Jenny ought to make the best decision for their game. This means keeping Bananas & Laurel safe, because he tells his teammates that he can’t send Bananas into the Arena given their history. They think this is the wrong move, but they understand Josh’s position. However, Jenny feels her team wasn’t looking out for her when they allowed her to become the representative for a second time, so she’s not going to look out for them now that she has power. Josh also tells Cory & Jonna that they’re going into elimination, and they’re upset, particularly Cory who views this as a friend taking a direct shot at his game.
Lover or Player
After leaving the club, Bananas warns Michele about her showmance with Devin. He thinks Devin might just be using Michele to advance his game, and Michele listens to the advice because she’s friends with Bananas. However, Michele brings this up to Devin, and Devin is upset because he actually has feelings for Michele (or so he claims). The next morning, Devin confronts Bananas, who’s eating a banana. Johnny kind of denies this conversation with Michele and makes it seem like the comments are blown out of proportion. Then, he flips the script and tries to accuse Devin of trying to get him out of the game. It’s now clear that the two champions aren’t as close as the appeared to be post-Ride or Dies, and Michele is upset that Bananas is trying to deny any involvement in this and make it seem like he’s the victim.
Brad vs. Cory
At the Arena, Cory & Jonna are named as Brad & Rachel’s opponents, and they’re playing To the Point. There’s a line of balls and each player has a wall of spikes behind them. The goal is to throw as many balls as possible so they’re lodged on their opponent’s spikes. Competitors can play defense or offense, but whoever has the most balls stuck on their spikes once all balls are out of bounds loses. Brad and Cory start by playing offense, not trying to protect their spikes, and they soon realize it’s not super easy to get a ball on the spikes. They’re missing a lot of throws, but Cory gets three balls on spikes before Brad gets his first one. Eventually, the score is 4-3 with Cory in the lead. Brad is trying to get another point, but Cory is just ensuring the balls go out of bounds. This strategy works, and it allows Cory to win and get back into the game.
Rachel vs. Jonna
The girls’ heat starts, and it follows a similar course. Rachel scores three balls on spikes before Jonna gets her first one. Eventually, the score is 5-2 with Rachel in the lead. She uses Cory’s strategy of throwing balls out of bounds while Jonna try to get more point. She only gets one more point, so with a 5-3 score, Rachel sends Jonna home.
The New Targets
After winning, the new targets are chosen by Rachel and Cory. On Era 1, Tina is selected by default and Darrell volunteers. Then, on Era 2, Rachel nominates Nehemiah and Cory picks Aviv. For Era 3 Cory selects Nia, who kinda volunteers, and Jordan really volunteers. Finally, Kyland and Michele volunteer on Gen 4 — which works out well for Michele because she feels her potential Arena opponents are more manageable this week.
Stop Being Polite 