We have eight remaining males, eight remaining females, and one big purge coming our way.
In The Reduction Era
Alliances are scrambling to get numbers, but when the cast gets to the challenge, none of that matters. Not only is it the mini-final, it’s also a purge. The last place man and the last place woman are gone. The second-to-last place man goes into the Arena while the second-to-last-place female gets a penalty at the next challenge. The game is called Duned, and it’s an individual competition with multiple stages:
Checkpoint one: Run through a dune to a plot of sand where you’ll dig to find a key
Checkpoint two: Unlock the a paddle board and paddle one mile
Checkpoint three: A game of memory — recreate the puzzle, run to the finish line, and earn safety.
As the loser of the prior challenge, Theo is given a 2-minute time penalty, and he’s worried that this will prove his fitness is lacking this season.
Quicksand and Slowpokes
TJ sounds the horn, and the cast is off. Derek starts with an early lead during the run, but Jenny is the first person to secure a key. This means people have started to paddle while others are still struggling to unearth their key. Luckily, the digging checkpoint has a time limit, and it saves Aviv, Cara Maria, Derek, Nehemiah, and Olivia who couldn’t retrieve their keys in 30 minutes.
Memorable Victories
We don’t really see anyone struggle with the paddling, but Bananas is the first person to get to the game of memory. The competitors have to lift up boats that have images of Challenge seasons under them. Then, they need to recreate the sequence on a smaller grid. Bananas is the first person to call for a check, but he is wrong. Then, Kyland calls for a check and he’s correct. This puts Kyland in first place, but Jordan finishes the puzzle shortly behind him. Jordan is confident he can catch Kyland, but he’s not fast enough. Kyland wins for the men, while Tori comes in first for the women (and in third place overall).
The Purged and the Penalized
Competitors start trickling across the finish line and the last five people are Derek, Laurel, Michele, Nehemiah, and Theo. Olivia is eagerly waiting to see if her showmance will cross the line, but she watches Derek finish in sixth place. Luckily, Theo eventually gets through the run. He’s the last person to escape the purge, but he will go into the Arena. Michele also finishes, meaning she’ll be penalized at the next challenge, but this leaves Laurel to get purged. Laurel stubbornly exits this challenge where she felt “tortured.” After the competition, Nehemiah is upset to leave the game, but Laurel seems glad to be going home. Cara Maria speculates that Laurel wasn’t in shape to run a final, and losing the purge was a less embarrassing route out of the game.
The Chamber of No Secrets
We get to the Chamber, but Bananas feels it’s a waste. So, he uses this time to clip his toenails, and semi-jokingly insult Kyland and Tori. Even though Tori wants to have a serious conversation, Bananas feels he’s put his neck on the line for Tori on prior seasons and “been in the trenches” with her, but now she’s going against him. He believes conniving her would be a fruitless effort, so everyone exits the Chamber knowing exactly who’s going into the Arena.
Slithering Successes
We all know the matchup at this point, and Theo and Jordan will be playing Cramped Out. There are two cylinders with holes in them. Each player will start with eight poles to place through their opponent’s cylinder. Then, the two players will have one minute to maneuver through their cylinder. If both players make it through, they will play a game of high-low and the winner will be granted two more poles to place through their opponent’s tube. As more poles are added, the cylinders will become harder to navigate and TJ will reduce the amount of time competitors have to escape. The first heat isn’t too hard, but Bananas starts with luck in the game of high-low. Eventually, Theo gets the hang of things and luck gets on his side, and the two competitors are neck-and-neck.
Building Pressure
On the sidelines, Michele is obviously helping Theo, but Josh is cheering for everyone. Michele feels that the fact he’s showing support for Bananas directly opposes her. She silently calls Josh out, and he’s irritated by the accusation. As the game continues, more poles are being put into cylinders. They’re much harder to escape, then TJ reduces the time to 30 seconds. Bananas makes it out with time to spare, but Theo can’t get out in under 30 seconds. This gives Bananas the win and the ability to pick the next targets.
Painting the Targets
Unfortunately for Bananas, Tori is off the table for the targets. Just like the last time Bananas won in the Arena, he calls out Michele and Olivia, but he doesn’t resort to insults. He names Cara Maria the third target, which isn’t surprising because she’s the only eligible female who isn’t a part of the Bananas Angels Alliance. Cara notices that Bananas has been the only savior in the alliance, so maybe he’s the real angel — but in the same way Lucifer was an angel.
Stop Being Polite 