Kaycee, Kyland, Tori, Devin, Laurel, and Ryan are all targets — Rachel too, maybe?
Dividing the Eras
We quickly get to the challenge, and it’s called Bottoms Out. The cast will be shown a series of 27 math equations. Every correctly answered equation will give the team a handhold or foothold on the wall, which will allow them to hang on during the second stage of the competition. Then, the cast will go inside a shipping crate suspended over water, and the floor will disappear. Players will use their pegs to hold on, and the era that lasts the longest wins. Immediately, many people struggle with the math, but players like Laurel, Devin, and Kyland feel confident. Rachel is oddly excited for this challenge, but she’s all alone — so its up to her to answer all the math problems. Era 1 gets six pegs, Era 3 and Era 4 gets 14 pegs, and Era 2 gets 17 pegs.
Holding On For the Win
Rachel goes first, and despite having the fewest pegs, she knows how to distribute her weight and lasts for a while. Era 4 goes second, and they only have two pegs per player. They mostly fall quickly — Theo doesn’t even get on the wall — but Kaycee lasts a long time and gives Rachel a run for her money. Era 3 goes third, and Jordan and Devin are the only players to last three minutes, and Devin is the final player hanging. Finally, Era 2 goes and the bulk of the team falls quickly. Laurel lasts for a while, but Nehemiah is the final person to drop. However, Rachel pulls out the win, finally giving Era 1 a victory. Era 3 lasted the least time, meaning Devin & Tori will be forced to go into the Arena.
Vacation’s Over
The cast goes to the club, and people are starting to talk game with Rachel — including Kaycee, who implies she has an “unspoken” alliance with Rachel. This was news to Rachel, but regardless of this alliance, she’s toying with the idea of sending in Laurel because a Laurel vs. Tori elimination is a win/win scenario. There’s also an appeal of sending in Kyland & Kaycee because it breaks up the Vacation Alliance. So, Rachel asks Laurel if she’d be willing to work together if Era 2 was protected. Laurel offers security, stating she has no other deals to honor, and the two could become a power alliance. Even Josh talks to Rachel to try to defend Kaycee, but he can’t deny the logic of protecting Laurel.
An Empty Chamber
At the Chamber, neither Devin nor Tori state preferred opponents, so its up to the targets to defend themselves. Ryan states that he’s always had Rachel’s back because they’re close friends, and everyone knows that’s true. But nobody else presents a strong case. Laurel, Kyland, and Kaycee reiterate their offers for protection, so Rachel leaves the Chamber with the same information she had going into it.
Taking a Vacation from the Alliance
Rachel tells Kaycee & Kyland that they’re going into the Arena, but Devin is irritated that Josh didn’t protect Kaycee. He feels Josh’s lack of effort meant three members of his core alliance, the Vacation Alliance, will be heading into The Arena. Devin tells Josh he’s been sloppy this season, and his efforts to protect people like Rachel and Bananas have caused his core alliance to doubt him. Josh is frustrated because he feels he always has to pick a side, but we don’t see Josh have a major melt down.
Devin vs. Kyland
The elimination is called Cable Connection Showdown. There are 40 Challenge logos and a table with a pile of 40 tangled plugs. The goal is to untangle the cords enough so you have enough slack to put each plug in its corresponding socket to illuminate a Challenge logo. Players can check for correctness, but they only have a few moments to see which circuits are connected. When the men compete, Kyland and Devin take different approaches. Kyland just untangles all the wires while Devin spends time memorizing the intricacies of each plug. The audience is shocked by how much faster Kyland is moving, but Devin seems confident of his strategy. Kyland goes for his first check, and he has 36 correct. Meanwhile, Devin goes for a check and only has two correct. Kyland is quickly able to rectify his errors, and he walks away victorious.
Tori vs. Kaycee
During the girl’s heat, they’ve learned from Devin’s mistake and they move fast. In terms of untangling the cables, Kaycee has a slight lead and she starts plugging in her plugs before Tori. So, Tori picks up the pace and she checks her board first. She has 26 correct, then Kaycee checks her board and has 36 correct. They both try to correct their mistakes and they run to the buzzer. They both have all 40 correct, but it came down to the buzzer, and Tori hit hers first.
An Individual Era
TJ announces that the teams are splitting up, and it’s an individual game from this point on. However, there are still targets. Tori has to choose three men, and she picks Derek, Ryan, and Bananas. Then, Kyland has to pick three women and he selects Rachel, Aviv, and Jenny. The competitors don’t really know what’s going to happen with the targets, but TJ warns that relationships are still important.
Stop Being Polite 